Needle Craft

The sunrises have been glorious this week! Watching the sky change is one of my favorite things to do in the morning.

The children laugh at me because sometimes, right in the middle of breakfast, I will get up and run to the window and tell them all how beautiful the sunrise is today. I hope they always remember to cherish the little things and relish in the beauty of nature.

We sauced a whole lotta tomatoes this morning. We have crates upon crates ripening faster than we can keep up! We've learned a few new tricks though to speed up the saucing process and are getting a lot of it canned up into spaghetti sauce and salsa! Yum!

Naptime cuddles are still a thing with this sweet boy and I cherish them. I regret all of the reading and worrying I did with the first few babies. I wish I had just sat and enjoyed them more instead of making sure I wasn't going to spoil them with too many cuddles or create bad sleep habits. Holding him in my arms always feels right.

Today I woke up with a desire to knit. It's something that has always intimidated and intrigued me all at the same time. So I dug out Gramma's knitting needles from my Mom's basement, took a peek in an old needle craft book that my Mom handed me and looked up a YouTube tutorial. After the littles fell asleep I went to work feeling like my fingers were all thumbs, tongue stuck out slightly to the side and muttering things out loud when I finally get it like, "Hallelujah!" after one hundred tries on a single stitch. I've dropped my needles one hundred times and the darn stitches don't stay on very well, but I haven't given up! Casting on wasn't so bad, but this knit/purl thing might take me forever! I probably should have started with something like a dishcloth.

Frost

I snuck outside just after the big kids left for school this morning to savor the simple things that the morning had to offer. 

These frosted leaves were so beautiful!

As I've focused on the little moments of joy my heart has been filled with inexpressible gratitude. I loved watching Sawyer drift off to sleep this afternoon in my arms. Seeing his eye lashes resting on his cheeks as his chest rises and falls will always be one of my favorite things. 

After picking the big kids up from piano lessons we had a bit of a bumpy night. I made eggs for dinner and then it was chaos as children shuffled in and out of showers and baths and completed their dinner jobs. We managed scriptures and bedtime prayers (just barely) and then I let out a huge sigh of relief as I snuggled Sawyer to sleep. While I rocked I could hear the two oldest reading books to the little boys and in the background I could hear Joe singing away in the bathroom (he holds the record around here for taking forever in the bathroom). Somehow Sawyer nodded off to sleep while listening to a mishmash of "The Little Blue Truck" and "The Cat in the Hat" being read at the same time. I love when everyone is under the same roof, helping, serving, singing and reading. I went to bed feeling very blessed (and tired).

LEGO

The big boys have been really into their Lego's lately and I love the things that they come up with. Hyrum made transformers today for him and Joe to play with and they are so cool. The knees and arms move and their ninjas can sit inside of them. They played with these for a long time today!

Thankful

I felt pretty blessed this morning as I looked around at our family and all we've been given. We are healthy and happy and enjoying life!

Sawyer and I stayed cozy warm today with our knits.

We had our own little Stannix family Thanksgiving dinner tonight with a homegrown chicken, dressing, potatoes, veggies and warm dinner rolls. 

Together is my favorite place to be.

Garlic Roasted Tomato Sauce

We have been processing tomatoes like crazy around here. I've had fun trying different methods and recipes and am hoping to find a great sauce that our family loves. In the past they have been too watery, so Mom and I are trying to remedy that by reducing them a little bit longer and experimenting with different canning recipes. I found a great recipe for a roasted tomato onion garlic sauce. I spent the entire day washing, slicing, and roasting tomatoes. Mom did up a few batches over at her place and then we spent a morning pressure canning the sauce to store. 

Ollie asked me today, "Are your muscles heavy? 'Cause my muscles are heavy!" After a day of lifting heavy pots of Tomato sauce I think my muscles are pretty heavy. 

I'm slowly learning and enjoy working side by side with my Mom. She is a wealth of knowledge and I hope one day to be as confident as she is with the pressure canner!

The Big Things

This morning didn't quite go as planned. It was the end of the week, the kids were grumpy, and I had been awake for three nights with a sick babe. My patience level was not where it should have been and I got pretty grumpy over silly little things. Just as we were sitting down to read scriptures, one of the kids muttered, "Boooooor-ing." Then a younger sibling decided it would be funny to copy them and I threw up my arms in defeat. The scriptures went away and I started talking to them about the morning and how I expected them to do the little things that I asked without complaining (pack backpacks, practice piano etc.). I told them that if they know how to be obedient when I ask small things of them, then it will be easier to be obedient later when I need to ask a big thing of them. As we were discussing this issue my thoughts were turned to our Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost touched my heart and reminded me of a great lesson. I immediately quit scolding and once I changed the tone of my voice I was able to teach the children a great principle! 

In the few minutes before we had to rush out the door to catch the bus we talked about how our Heavenly Father expects us to do little things each day like pray to him, study our scriptures, and show Charity and love for others. As we practice obeying these little things each day we are happier and it is easier for us to obey the big things later! Sometimes Heavenly Father asks little things of us, and other times he asks great things of us that can seem impossible to do. But when we are asked to serve in a calling that might be difficult or push us out of our comfort zone, or asked to follow a big commandment that might seem hard, or go through a big trial that will strengthen our faith, it will be easier for us to do if we have already learned to obey the little things. We will be able to trust in our loving Heavenly Father when He asks us to go through those hard things and we will be blessed.

We didn't exactly read any scriptures, but together we were able to learn a great principle that I hope they will always remember. After giving them each a big hug and apologizing, they rushed to catch their bus as it pulled up to the end of the lane.

"When we love the Lord, obedience ceases to be a burden. Obedience becomes a delight. When we love the Lord, we seek less for things that benefit us and turn our hearts toward things that will bless and uplift others."
~Joseph B. Wirthlin

Thankful Trees

 Life has been keeping us pretty busy, but I wouldn't change a thing! Lately I've been lucky enough to volunteer in Joe's class once a week when they are at the arena. 

I love being on the ice with him and his class!

 Finley loves helping out in the kitchen and especially loves making cookies. Lately, Oatmeal cookies have been our go-to recipe.

 After school this week we were able to work on our thankful trees. I love hearing what the littles are thankful for each year. It's so important to count our blessings and be mindful of the little things.

 Finley took this cutting and pasting project very seriously and filled each and every leaf with something he was grateful for.

I loved listening to these two at the end of the table as Camilla helped Oliver write the things he was thankful for and cut out his leaves. 

 It was so nice to spend the afternoon together laughing, eating cookies, and counting our blessings.

 I'm so thankful for these littles of mine!!

Extra Arms

Today was my first day home after a long weekend away with Mr. Stannix and Hyrum in Salt Lake City. We were welcomed back by happy children, a croupy preschooler and a sick, feverish babe. Gramma had some rough nights the last few nights with two sick boys and hadn't gotten much sleep.

Sawyer spent the day snuggling whoever would stop for a few minutes to cuddle him. He jumped from the arms of Daddy, to Mommy, to Gramma, & Grampa. If it wasn't for the extra arms I wouldn't have gotten nearly the things done that I needed to.

I managed to put a nice dent in the laundry piled high on my bed for folding. I processed 20lbs of tomatoes into sauce and managed a few dozen apple muffins. Then Mom and I made room in the freezer for half a beef that is coming in the next day or two. The boys had fun playing outside after school. I ended the day admiring a gorgeous sunset and the trees dressed in white.

Two Wheels

Today we woke to the most beautiful Autumn day. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and the smells divine. After peeking at the forecast it was decided that this would be the last good day to get the potatoes out of the ground and into the cellar.

 Grampa dug while the little boys and I set the potatoes out to dry and then picked them into wheelbarrows. We brought them back to the house where we sorted them into crates, some for seed next year and the rest for eating.

When we had finished sorting, Finley asked for help with his big bike. He has been working on his balance for a while now, but he didn't really have a desire to learn until recently. After helping him push off a few times, he peddled his heart out all the way across the yard! We all cheered and clapped and he walked his bike back with a big smile on his face. As night fell upon us and it started spitting rain, we took a few more turns around the yard and then called it a day! It won't be long now before he is peddling around the neighborhood with his older siblings on two wheels!

Happy October

October has arrived and we are on the countdown until General Conference. To prepare for this weekend of spiritual enlightenment I have decided to do another social media fast. This means I won't be on Instagram or Facebook for a while. I've found that disconnecting from the world helps me focus more on my heart and the needs of my family. 

We are really excited to be heading down to Salt Lake with Hyrum this year to take in this special weekend right on temple square. The rest of our littles will enjoy the conference from home with Gramma and Grampa. 

 I am desperately trying to keep up with this blog each day instead of catching up on happenings months at a time. The pictures and stories captured on our family blog are such a treasure to us, and the kids especially love looking through our blog books and reminiscing. They grow up way too fast and I want to savor every moment!

 The recent dusting of snow we received finally melted today, so the little boys and I went out on an Autumn walk around the neighborhood. We ventured up the side of the highway and admired the pretty leaves.

 This truly is my favorite season and it never seems to last long enough!

We are looking forward to hot apple cider, Autumn soups, devouring novels and snuggling on the heat vent in the early morning light. 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

~LM Montgomery