sunday brunch

happenings

today was wonderful!
arose early to help at Nie Nie's house up the street scraping out old 1960's contact paper in the laundry room cabinets.
rushed home to leave for the Provo Temple to do family baptisms.
we went to Leanna and Ernesto's for lunch and watched "Anne of Green Gables"
then headed to SLC with my hubby to only 'window shop'
and couldn't help but look at this lovely book for an hour,
oh santa, I really want this book, i'll be extra good!

i have what i need

what a day, what a day.
plenty of food, good conversation and fantastic company.
i think my sister Leanna and I called my mom about 500 times making sure we made her recipes completely right!! gosh i missed her cooking and laughter today. i always miss family around the holidays, but it's also a part of growing up and realizing what I have at a certain time is exactly what i need. i have what i need,,,
a loving husband
a roof over my head
a job that I love
enough money to get by
and happiness

last thanksgiving

i met Charlie's family in Georgia,,,
and fell in love with them!went ice skating

maybe we showed off in front of the camera, just maybe

this year will be different.
we are not heading home, rather enjoying this splendid holiday with Leanna and Ernesto and other couples from our wards and jobs! Everyone has 2 or 3 assignments and I have the lovely pleasure of making...
candied Yams
creamy corn
and PIES
all homemade of course!!

blonde no longer...

Twins
separated at birth, now unite

gotta love wigs, Jacque pulled this lovely thing out last night and we spent the whole night posing as twins and having a blast while our men were playing rock band!

did I mention jacque was 9 months pregnant???
she thought so anyways

had to get a silly one of me and my love... aren't we attractive??

okay, so since I've been brunette, as of yesterday, I have NOT had sooooooooo much fun!! really, as soon as I got my hair dyed it has been a non-stop party.
brunettes definitely have MORE fun!

southern biscuits for my southern boy

yummy southern biscuits from none other than my
Betty Crocker

added some extra yummy ingredients:
cooked bacon
freshly shredded cheddar cheese

ways to serve with FLAIR

i added a cute easy-to-drink straw

Charles Owen knows that Saturday mornings are what I call
Bed & Breakfast
really it's just me waking up early and making him breakfast in bed!
I try to add something different each week, like today i added a straw in his juice,,, some days it's fresh roses from the garden or a small bowl of pudding and whip cream.
Saturday is the ONLY day my hubby can sleep in, after a long week of waking up at 3:30,,,AM! it's one way to reward him for his hard work, the other ways are inappropriate to share!!

reminiscing...

as it gets much colder here in Provo, these pictures remind me of the BEST summer I've ever had! it was my first summer being married to my sweetheart Charles Owen!
because of charlie's work schedule, we weren't able to have our 'real' honeymoon till the end of summer, so the week before we headed up to Utah we swam the pacific ocean, traveled to another country, dined in fine restaurants, dined in not so 'fine' restaurants, sunbathed till our hearts content and drank many pina coladas to top it off!
I can't wait to find what this summer has in store for us!

thanks {mom & dad}

an early christmas present
finally,
a beautiful bed-set

*i love the bows on the pillows*

gotta love the huge {candy cane}
some might say {uh uh CHARLIE} it's a waste of space,
i say it's for decor!

thou shalt love thy neighbor

nie nie dialogues... ever heard of it? how about stephanie and christian nielson?? Stephenie {nie nie} was a fellow blogger and she wrote of the joys and learning of motherhood. she was always positive in every post and it was her blog that inspired me to start my own. She and her husband were in a plane crash early September and their families, friends and the blog world have opened their arms with raising money to support the expensive surgeries, the care for their 4 children and much more.

because of the constant care that christian and more stephanie will need in the upcoming years, a sibling bought a house here in provo that will be done December 15th for christian and the children to move in! a dear friend from my ward was called as the PM project manager for the redesign and remodel of the house. she has been so busy and i wanted to help.
this morning i walked down the street from where i live to the new nielson home only to find so much work to be done.
I kept tears from running down my face as i worked hard to make a new home for this beloved family. i was able to chat with nie nie's brother andrew who made me feel so welcome. they offered to buy me lunch and drinks and I was so admired of their attitudes to serve and give. i could feel the spirit in the house so strong, i knew i was learning so much about this family and their love for our Savior Jesus Christ. what a way to bring the spirit of thanksgiving into my life.

if you'd like to learn more about the family just click on the side of my blog at 'i read nie nie'
if you'd like to learn more about the updates of the home click on robison family blog on my friend's list.

cupcakes and good news

cupcakes for enrichment

oh, and the good news:

christmas banners etc.

*nestled above the fireplace*

because 'merry christmas' was too long above the fireplace,
i put 'christmas' above the spot i
frequent most,,, the kitchen sink

all the while waiting for
the weekend to roll around