Happy Birthday Coco! 18 Years Old

Hard to believe 18 years ago today Alan and I went to the hospital to have our first child. After 3 years of me wanting so badly to have a baby. Going to fertility specialist and doing a bunch of test I almost gave up. In October 1989 I went to the specialist and he sat me down told me I needed to find a job I love and it will happen. That there was nothing wrong with Alan or me. So I looked for a job and got hired on as a Chapter 1 Teacher at Adams Elementary. I loved teaching the children to read and write stories!
In the beginning of December I was training for a marathon and went on my morning run and just couldn't complete the five miles for that day. I was just sick and it continued for the next few days. So I went to the Doctor on December 4Th and sure enough I was pregnant.
On the morning of July 31st Alan and I went to the hospital and a few hours later little Coco was born. She was such a beautiful little baby with dark hair and dimples. She was such a blessing and still is! It is amazing how much love you can have for one person so quickly and this is the way I felt for Coco. I wanted her so much! Coco I love you and I am so proud of the beautiful young lady you have become and the wonderful mother you are. Happy Birthday kiddo!!
And thank you Coco for redesigning my blog.
Everyone have a great day! Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Is this not the sweetest little thing you have seen. Okay next to my babies he is the cutest little guy in the world. He is the happiest baby I have seen. First thing after his bottle when I see him in the morning I am greeted with a precious smile of joy! It truly can lift my spirits up. Sweet little Talmage!


Anyway on to my last few days. There has been a little crafting , cleaning and cooking. Dallas started back to school on Monday, he wasn't thrilled with it. The girls don't start school till next Monday and can't wait to meet their teachers and see their friends again.


Today is Watcha Workin on Wednesday on Leslies blog. I am going to be doing some organizing of my work area, painting something, scrappin and cooking. Yesterday Coco and I were painting and I finished this.
I like it! Fall is my favorite season so I love the colors. Tonight we are having Crock Pot Sweet n Sour Tofu from The Crock Pot Ladies blog (Stephanie). This way I have more time for FuN!!! Off to the grocery store and back home for the fun.
I will check in a little later hopefully with pictures of things I finish today.

5 Months & 2 Other Blogger Give Aways

Can you guess what is in 5 months?

CHRISTMAS!!! Yahoo time to start the planning big time.
Maybe this would help to inspire you, over at Justina s blog Peper Creek Gatherings, she has 1 great giveaway! You need to go check it out and enter to win all the info is there. The frame is so CuTe!! Then there is another give away at JoAnne s blog The Carter Clan is giving away the sWeEtEsT little tool box that I want to win it would look great in my house. So make sure you go check her blog out too! I really want to win both but hate to be selfish!
Hugs, Bobbi Jo

New Store & What I Did

Good morning! Wednesday wasn't as productive as I wanted it to be. I am getting into the routine of getting up at 4:30 with Alan. Being that I didn't get to bed till late the night before I was a little tired and not very crafty. Thursday Coco, Dallas, Faith, Gabby, Talmage and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby that just opened up in June. Oh my goodness! Can I tell you that I found yet another dangerous store for me. We had fun and didn't get to look around nearly enough, but there is next week. I bought a few fall things to work on, decorate with and found some CuTe scrap-book paper for Christmas. I hadn't been to a Hobby Lobby since I was a little kid about 6 or so years old and it has changed a bunch!
This is the sign that I was working on Wed. It has a green coat with a crackle finish. And I painted on the Welcome.
This is one I did Thursday I did the same painting but used vinyl lettering on it. It would have been easier to paint it on but I like the way it looks.


I did this one too. It is a dark red/brown undercoat with a crackle finish. This will be hung in my kitchen. I am known for my cocoa in my family. The picture on the right are the 4 pages I got done scrapping.
I can't believe today is Friday. Not sure what is in store for today. I guess we will see. Have a great day! Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Whatcha Working on Wednesday!

It is that time again for Whatcha Working on Wednesday with Leslie. I started this and need to finish it. I had bought it a while back and couldn't decide what to do on it. It is almost too late for summer. Although here in Arizona (at least the valley), it is almost summer year round. YUCK! I am not a big fan of the heat. But I think this sign will be going on our front door. I also have a couple other projects that are nagging me to play with them.

Coco and I went to Michael's craft store today. Coco found these cute little trays for dirt cheap. I don't know what is going to end up on it but we will find out later on. I also got a few fun items to start working on Teacher Gifts for the first day of school for the little girls and Halloween decorations.

Let's see how much I get done today. I have been up since 4:30am and I am feeling a power nap coming on before I get to start having too much fun. Check in later. Hope you are having fun! I would love to hear what you are doing, drop me a line. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

What I've Been Up To

On Friday afternoon Coco, Kyle and Talmage got here. This is Talmage eating peas! He is so CuTe! We visited unloaded Kyle's truck and they needed to run errands so I watched Talmage. I love this little guy his smile just melts my heart!

On Saturday DH and Kyle went back up to Pinetop to get the rest of their belongings. Coco came in my room about 11 am and said,"Mom, I think you aught to paint your room." I have been trying to decide what color to paint it and it is a decent size room so I knew it was going to be a lot of work. So we went and got paint and we decided to distress the bed and paint some of the other decor to fit the shabby chic/cottage look I wanted and this is what it looked like before. We forgot to take the picture before the bed was pulled apart. Duh moment!

And this is it after. It is hard to see how beautiful it turned out. The little sign hanging on the center of the bed says, "Honey moon Suite". The room is so cheerful and comfy. I just love it.

Coco worked on the bed and it turned out just the way I wanted it to. Thank you Miss Coco I love it!

Sunday we got up and I made our traditional Sunday breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. Took a short nap before church. Went to church. It was a good Sabbath day. Enjoyed all the lessons and speakers at church and visiting with a few friends. Sunday night we had grilled chicken and hamburgers.

Monday was a good day too. Alan got a regular job. For those who didn't know Alan has been out of steady work since January of 2007. It has been hard to find a job that would pay him what he is worth. He has been working but not the steady hours or benefits. So we are very grateful to those who have been praying for us and keeping us in their thoughts. He is working for a company as a superintendent doing commercial building. It is all new to him after building homes for so long there is much to learn, but I know he will do well. He is a good man and a hard worker.

Dallas and Kyle went to work for one of Alan's friends. The girls and I went to Scrapbooks Etc. and then to get a bite to eat. When we got home a little later in the day Coco and I decided to do some scrap-booking and these are the pages I completed. The one I had started before but didn't get it done. So today is Tuesday and I didn't' get my menu posted yesterday. Last night we had chicken and dumplings, tonight we are having Italian Beans from Crystals blog Family Homestead. You need to check it out. She has great recipes and so much knowledge to share . WOW!! Wednesday we will be having Country Style Ribs, Thursday soup/witches and Friday night is Date Night.

Today I am wanting to get some crafting going in between laundry loads. I will check in later. Have a fun Tuesday. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Small World

I know I am not the only one out there. As I am going on to blogs I enjoy looking for new blogs. I love to learn from others and I make it a point to learn something new every day. So a little while back I was searching on a blog and saw a name that stuck out My Country Home. So I checked it out as I was reading her profile I thought I would probably like her and her blog . Leslie has a lovely blog, I loved the crafts and great pictures and new I would want to come back, she seemed to have a lot in common with me. So I checked back and read about places she was going and where she lives, and I remembered some of the names from Pennsylvania where I was born and moved from when I was almost 5. So I emailed her and she and I have corresponded and what a small world it has turned out to truly be. From the clues that I gave her she talked with her Gran and turns out she new our family. Leslies Great Grandfather and my father were good friends and worked with each other for over 14 years. Her Gran said that her Dad and Aunt Ethyl went to visit my parents after they moved from Pennslyvania. Leslies aunts use to come over and play at our house with my oldest sister Wendy.

And another funny little story that Leslie told me of my mother taking her grandmother to the hospital when she was in labor with Leslie mom, . Her Gran said both she and my mom were pregnant and my mom looked further along so the people at the hospital were confused about which was pregnant. My mother would have been pregnant with my sister Marian. Leslie's Gran even said she gave my mom her dress that she wore to the hospital because she didn't need it and my mom did. I am sure with 7 children it was needed greatly at the time. Thank you Leslie's Gran for that!

It is so wonderful that her Grans memory is so good. Otherwise the pieces might not have fallen together.

I think everything happens for a reason. And so many times I don't think we understand what a difference little thing like this can make. I was so excited almost giddy as I am reading Leslie's emails and her telling me of all the things that she had learned. I feel I have made a new friend so many miles away! Leslie has a great blog and I was right I do like her and love her blog.

Today Coco, Kyle and Talmage are moving down from Pinetop. I am happy that they are able to come down here I miss not having them close by. So I have there room ready and still working on Talmages ( I am suppose to be doing that right now instead of blogging! LOL). Kyle has one more test on Thursday to pass. He has been offered the job as long as he passes this one. Oh it is with Sheriff Joe Arpio office! So please keep him in your prayers that all goes well.

Just a cute little guy Alan brought in to show me this morning before he left for work. Have a great day. I will try and check in later. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Last Night and What I Got Done

Good morning! Last night the girls wanted to read a little bit before they went to sleep, Gabby asked if she could work on pulling out her tooth. I assumed it was lose. So about 20 min. later she comes in our room and said she got the string stuck. I asked if she used dental floss and she said yes. I look at it and it looks a little weird and it is under her tooth sticking out. Not a big peace mind you but it was there. So I try to pull it with a pair of pliers. I can't get it out. After E'lyse came in and was talking to Gabby and I we find out she used 20lb. fishing line. She had used some to make a necklace the other week when we were up north. So DH tried to pull it out. Trying to be gentle as to not hurt her and he couldn't get it out. So she said let me try again and she yanked it out. Well, the tooth wasn't even wiggly. ARG! Crazy kid! I figured out this is due to Faith pulling one of her teeth out earlier yesterday. Now on to what I got done yesterday:

Okay this is what I did . I painted the bathroom. The color is called Apricot Lily, it is a pale peachy tanish color. I still need to make some more decorations for it and I am debating doing some stenciling on the wall or maybe a sign of some sort.


This is E'lyses dog last night chasing our little froggy friend. We have a family of frogs that live around our house and come out every night. This poor little guy was so scared it fell over on it's back and scrambled to get back up to hop away to safety.


This is what is on Whatch Workin on Wednesday for next week, unless I get to it sooner. It was black and had a mirror but my daughter didn't want it anymore. It was kind of hard looking if that makes since. I should have taken a picture of it before I tore it apart. So yesterday while I was waiting for paint to dry, I thought of doing this. I decided to make it a ladies desk for my bedroom.
So today I am getting my den ready to turn it into a shared room with a very handsome little guy ,Talmage ( my grandson for those who think I am a fruit cake!) So off for now. Check in later. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Whatcha Working on Wednesday

I decided to join in with Leslie at My Country Home on her Whatcha Working on Wednesday. This morning after making Alan and Dallas' lunches and getting them off to work I did 3 loads of wash. I completed 2 scrapbook pages.

The one on the left is me and my Dad when I was 4 and the one on the right is Alan and I on our wedding day. I decided for the page since it is Reflections of the past it would look good in sepia so I had to go get a 5 x7 copy and change the coloring. I like them.

The next thing I started on is this: Look it a blank canvas HMMMM what should I do with this. We will see! I will give you a hint I had to go to the store for a few supplies. Having a blast and workin' away.

Hugs, Bobbi Jo

My New Crock-Pot

Yesterday when I bought my new crock-pot I wasn't sure about it. So I opened it up and it was round not oval. BUMMER! Roasts don't fit in the round one for our family. So this morning before the girls were up and Alan & Dallas went to work I went to a different Wal-Mart and got this beauty! This portable slow cooker allows you to enjoy slow cooked meals at home or at your next family party or pot luck supper. A locking, hinged lid ensures spill resistant travel and over sized carrying handles allow for simple portability making the Crock-Pot® Cook & Carry Slow Cooker great for convenient and easy serving.
The programmable Crock-Pot® Cook & Carry Slow Cooker features 4 automatic time settings and automatically shifts to the Warm setting when cook time is finished. Dishwasher-safe lid and stoneware make clean-up a breeze!
Now I wanted to let you know that Stephanie at http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ is giving away 10 of these. I'm sorry I couldn't wait to get my hands on this baby. So go over and enter if you are in need of the Big Kahuna of Crock-pots.
Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Sniff Sniff a Good Friend Gone

This weekend went by fast. I was so happy with all that I was able to get done on Saturday. I got wash done, cleaned the house, cleaned the fruit & veggies that I got Saturday morning. I made Black Bean Chicken Chili, Beef Veggie Stew, Pickled Beets, Chocolate Pudding, Mango/Apple Applesauce. May I say the applesauce was so good. Big hit with the family. I didn't put a bunch of sugar in it I used 1/3 cup and then honey, it was yummy! Then for dinner Alan was busy and didn't want to stop for a big sit down dinner so I made the girls mac-n-cheese, Alan had soup and meat/cheese grilled sandwich and I had a ham/cheese omelet. Dallas and E'lyse were at friends houses.
On Sunday I had a problem that I couldn't make it to church so I took it easy most of the day. I made a roast in the crock-pot using my secret ingredient (diet coke and a frozen roast.) Makes it so tender and yummy. With mash taters/ gravy and then ice-cream for dessert. The girls were put in charge of doing the dinner dishes. This is when it happened.Sniff Sniff! E'lyse wasn't gentle with turning my crock over in the sink and it cracked. OH MY!! I was very sad to lose this wonderful friend.
Today E'lyse, Alise a friend of her, Faith, Gabby and I went to run errands. We went to Scrapbooks Ect. for my page of the week, they had wonderful embossing templates on the sale table and I bought some cute papers. I was looking for paper that had the school theme but no luck there. I found a fun gift to make for the little girls teachers for the first day of school. We then went to Wal-Mart to get my new crock-pot. I found a replacement not like my old one but hopefully I will grow to love it as much. We then came home and I finished up my work for the day.
On the menu this week: Monday-Spaghetti & meatballs, spinach & cucumbers and for dessert a Perfectly Perfect Hershey's Chocolate Cake with peanut-butter icing.
Tuesday-Black Bean Chicken Chili, with corn bread and green salad. Wednesday-Roasted Turkey, taters/gravy green beans. Thursday-Tomato Soup and toasted cheese sandwiches, Friday-Not sure if we are going to be here or not due to when we go to help Coco & Kyle move. If we are here we will have grilled chicken, asparagus & melon.
So that is it for now. We are having FHE tonight so I better go finish the lesson planning. Have a great Monday night! Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Saturday Food, Craft & Food

Every other Saturday in our area there is a Co-Op that you can get called Bountiful Baskets. You pay $15 for 2 baskets one is fruit and the other veggies. This was what I got today. It is so worth the price. The item in the back plastic container is a head of lettuce still attached to the root. A lot of it is organic and just yummy!
When I was scrap booking (made 6 pages) Gabby wanted to do something crafty. So she got into the fun foam box and decided to make these.

Gabby made cute door hangers. Since Coco , Kyle and Talmage will be moving down next weekend she decided to make them some. The green one is for Talmage she has made a turtle on it at the top right side. The orange one is for Coco & Kyles room, the purple one is hers and she made me one that is pink but I have it on our bedroom door already.
This is a problem. Today I have been cooking and cleaning. I made a Black Bean Chicken Chili, and a veggie beef stew. I decided to cook up some beets to make pickled eggs. Now from cutting up the beets after cooking them my hands are dark pink. The picture looks better than my hands do. I guess it will be an extra long soak in the bath tonight to get it out before church tomorrow. This I thought was really cute. As I was in the kitchen cutting up veggies for the stew I had a large pot on but almost everyday there is hot chocolate in it. Gabby come bouncing out to the kitchen grabs her red cup of the day and looks into the pot and had this look of "What the heck is that it isn't hot chocolate?", she looked at me then and I started laughing it was the beats cooking. The look on her face was priceless.
Hope you are having a great Saturday. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

My Friday

Today I got the kiddos up early to start working on their rooms. We got started then a argument broke out with the little girls. I was thinking what is going on their has been a lot of arguing this week. Then it hit me. Has this ever happened to you, I realized with Alan working late we had missed probably 3 or 4 nights of scripture reading and family prayer. So I called the kiddos to the table and told them I discovered what was wrong. So we got our scriptures and read. Then we said a prayer that was lead by Dallas with a heartfelt love.
We got a good start then the AC guy showed up to check out the units, my neighbor came over to visit. After she left we got busy again on the rooms. Then my sweet Relief Society President came over to visit. Her name is Sis. Sparks, I love this lady she is so sweet. So after her and I visiting for about a half hour she left and I got busy with the kiddos again.
I came into our den to get some information and Gabby came in, today's hair style as a Om-pa Loom-pa, (I don't know why.) She looks up at me with her big eyes and said, "Mommy, you were right the scriptures and prayer did help." It was so cute.
We got the rooms moved around and the girls seem happy with being roommates with E'lyse.
So all in all we had a very good day. So off to date night with my sweetie. Have a great night. Talk to you tomorrow. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Why Can't I Get My Grocery Bill Down?

This is Dallas' breakfast. 4 cut up potatoes & sausage with 4 eggs.
This is the making of 6 sandwiches for Dallas' lunch.
So why can't I get my grocery bill down? HE HE Gotta love teenage boys. Good thing I like to cook. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Whipping Through Wednesday

First of all I love getting comments from people. Sometimes you just wonder if anyone is reading your blog. Brooke so glad you are okay and back home. Can't wait to hear about your trip. You are so sweet!
Kaylyn you are so kind. I think I am at an easier time in my life to get more crafting done than I was even 2 or 3 years ago, but I have always made time to craft it is my sanity saver.
Coco scraping at least one day a week should be mandatory! LOL
This morning started with Alan & I getting up at 4:45. I made his lunch while he got ready for work. When he left my day got very productive. I did the following: Started reorganizing the den, did 5 loads of laundry, the girls were being pistols so they got grounded from the T.V. and sent to time out for a while. So in the mean time I took everything but their beds and barbie houses out of their room. After they were released from time out all they had left in their room was the barbie houses and a few barbies each. I had all of their things in our bedroom including all their clothes. They have a bad habit of changing clothes several times a day. So I picked out 5 outfits for the rest of this week, p.j.'s and underclothes. The rest of the clothing is packed in containers that I will pull out the outfits again for next week. I have the church dresses hung in our closet. I got 3 bags of trash from the items that they had packed away from last week due to combining the girls in one room since we will have the Lucas family living with us.( TOO EXCITED!!) Anyway I also got 2 and a half bags of toys and clothing to give away. Their bedroom looks so clean, I love this!
After I was done with this I got dinner ready, we are having Cheesy potatoes with ham, summer squash and chocolate pudding. Just waiting on Alan to get home from work.
Tomorrow I will be working with E'lyse and Dallas packing up items from their rooms. We will be going up to Pinetop next Friday to help Coco, Kyle and Talmage move down.
Oh before I forget I found a lady that is amazing. Okay I think she is. I don't normally watch the Rachel Ray talk show but, I turned the T.V. and it was on their was a lady named Stephanie. She wanted to cut down on expenses so she made a resolution to cook dinner in her crock pot every day of this year. Her blog is called "A Year of Crock Potting". This is the link to her blog http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/. I don't know about you but I love my crock pot. I use mine about 3 times a week. So I printed off some of the recipes and they sound wonderful. There are revues or verdicts for each of them. So check it out!
So after dinner, scriptures, prayer with the family and dishes I am headed for a bath, reading and early to bed. Tomorrow I hope to get to work on my Christmas items, maybe squeeze in some scrap book fun too!! Heck I think I might do a page or two while I wait for my sweetie to get home. Have a great night! Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Today

Today in between wash, housework, feeding the family and the daily items to do I got 9 pages scrapped. YEAH! It was fun too. Some where pages of the week that I had fallen behind on. With my new camera I have taken 330 pictures so far. I think most where taken over this past weekend.
Alan was off work today so he worked on completeing our work bench & organizing the garage, so now I can get to work on my wood projects for the holidays. I am excited about this!
Well I am off to get my bath, read and then to bed I want to get more things accomplished tomorrow. Have a great night. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Don't Mess with Mom

Just kidding ! Well not really, today E'lyse was helping unpack my printer and put the tape on her face. So being the crazy picture taker that I am I had to catch this picture of her.

Today I have started working on some Christmas planning after my Visiting Teachers left. I am going to do some scrap booking and organizing of kiddos rooms along with more Christmas crafts planning. The girls and I started talking about what we needed for this years Gingerbread houses on our way home Sunday and came up with some fun ideas. I think we are going to make a little village with them to have on display. So off I go to get creative.

Have a great afternoon. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

More From This Weekend

Who doesn't love fire works? I love them I think the 4Th of July is a great holiday!
More fire works! I love the colors and such great memories can be made each year with the family.
This is Justin & Dallas goofing around before the fire works started. Justin is a cousin and one of Dallas's best friends.

This is a rare thing you will see. A picture of me.Sherrie in on the left and I am on the right holding sweet little tired Talmage. He woke up as soon as the fire works started.This is one of my best friends Sherrie Pickeral. I have known her for about 20 years. We use to craft until wee hours of the morning while the guys would fall asleep on the couch and the kiddos on the floor. We always have a good time when we are together. It was good to spend time with the Pickeral family in Heber for the fire works. Heber is suppose to have some of the best fire works in Arizona. The night was great it was 63 degrees and such a pretty night. The fire works were awesome! My pictures didn't do justice.

The 4Th & Home Again

We are so thankful to Coco & Kyle for their hospitality this weekend.We love you! This weekend was very fun! This picture was taken on the 4Th in Show Low. Coco, Kyle and Talmage looking excited about the wonderful fire works.
Talmage wanted to go to sleep, but the fire works were to good to miss. He rolled himself over to look at them.
Alan took Gabby and Faith to go fishing at Scott's Reservoir on Saturday morning. Gabby caught 2 fish, Faith caught 2 and Alan and Gabby caught 1 together. They were so proud. This is a traditional way of posing with fish for a picture in the Nichols Family. I can't remember how many pictures I have seen of the Nichols men with their string of fish.
These are our beautiful girls! Gabby on the bottom, Faith standing in red, white and blue, E'lyse to the left and Coco to the right.
Dallas with his signature pose! What a great smile.

E'lyse, Faith, Gabby and I came home Sunday afternoon that turned into us getting home in the evening. WOW! Traffic was crazy! We had a great trip though. We had cool weather and rain a good portion on the way home. It is always fun to go visit family and friends but there is no place like home and no bed like my own. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Happy 4th Of July!

We are going to be off in a little while and wanting to take the opportunity to wish everyone a safe and Happy 4th of July! May you make the most of this great summer holiday. Make a memory or start a new tradition with your families. I would love to hear about them too. So please let me know what you do on this day each year or just what you are doing this year. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Hello!

I have been absent for the better part of this week. Having Coco and Talmage at the house has been fun and kept me busy visiting and trying to spend as much time as I can with them. Today we came up to the White Mountains for the 4th weekend. It is so nice here. Down in the valley it is so hot and yucky to go outside unless it is early in the morning. We got up here today and it was about 2:30ish and it was about 85 degrees. So nice and a little sprinkling! Coco & Kyle are letting us stay with them at their house.
We are watching fireworks in Show Low tomorrow night. There is a great place by a church that we have gone to the past few years. On Saturday night we are going to go to Heber and attend the fireworks there. We have friends, Randy & Sherri Pickeral. They have family up here and are visiting with them, they invited us over to have a cookout with them. It will be a fun time with Randy & Sherri. We use to be at their house at least once a week and go to the Temple or out to dinner but now days we don't get to spend time with them. Hopefully I am able to get great pictures. On Sunday we are hoping to visit with my brother and his family in Taylor. Plans had changed due to my brothers wife having to work at the hospital over the weekend.
When we got up here E'lyse and I went to visit our old neighbors. It was sad to see the cabin. Made me want to turn back time and be back here living. I sure love it up here. Maybe someday we will be back up here in our own house. So I am off to get a shower and read. Have a great night. Hugs, Bobbi Jo