Young Women's... HERE COMES SAVANNAH!!!

Yep. She's excited.  She started counting down days to '12' on November 17, 2012. Well... that day finally arrived, and she celebrated in style!

It all started with the birthday party. I am NOT a birthday party person. We just haven't really ever done them. This year, however, we have had parties for all the children, and Savannah was the last birthday this year to get a party.

I have been planning this party all year. In my head. It went off nearly as I had planned! (The only exceptions being that I didn't decorate like I planned in my head to do.)

Savannah's Birthday Party was a "Late-Over, Make-Over" party - going from 7 - 11 p.m. It included homemade pizzas, a movie (Ella Enchanted), and make-overs for Savannah and all of her friends. Andrew was in charge of the pizzas, and the girls were thrilled! One of my dear friends here in Salem has quite a bit of experience with make-up, and she consented to come teach the girls the proper application of make-up of all sorts, even though Savannah's make-up use will be minimal!

It was amazing to me to see the transformation of the girls. From the most eager - to the least eager... the greatest transformation was that of the least eager, a young woman who was extremely reluctant to wear make-up! Thankfully, the make-up applied to all of the girls was tasteful and minimally done, and the girls hardly looked as though they had been made-up.

The one thing I did NOT expect at this party was comments about boys. Andrew and I know that Savannah has a young man that she thinks is handsome (and he is!), but we didn't think that Savannah's friends would know about that and say something about it! "Oooo, Savannah, S****** is sure to notice you now!" "And so will B*****!" And then the talk turned from Savannah, to all the other girls discussing who they thought was handsome and why. I'm not ready for this yet.

All the girls gathered to see exactly how to apply makeup...

Savannah, all finished... a little make-up!

Posing for the camera! Her friends all told her that she was certainly going to catch the eye of one of the boys from church! (or two or three names may have come up....)

Margaret was allowed to stay up for the party, too! She had a VERY LITTLE bit of make-up... that wore off within minutes.

All Savannah's friends: L-R from the back, ending with Savannah: Ellie Stuart, Macey Smith, Lucy Knight, Preslee Sellers, McKenna Wonderling and Savannah

The party ended as a success... and Savannah has informed me that I am "THE COOLEST MOM EVER!"

Saturday - her actual birthday - was (as Savannah said) "the greatest day ever!" She went shopping with Grandma and Grandpa Stahr, and came home with multiple new outfits. Dinner was fun with Chicken Parmesan and Italian Cream Sodas (a new family favorite...) - ending with an ice-cream cake from Safeway.

Sunday, Savannah was recognized in church as the newest young woman in our ward, she sang in a trio with Margaret (who cried through the whole thing because of nerves), and another of Margaret's friends, and went to her first Young Women's meeting. After church, ALL of her new classmates and advisors and personal progress coach came to our house to welcome Savannah to Beehives. Needless to say, she has been super excited to be a beehive. She's counting hours until her first official activity. I was told to get my shoes on at noon today... I think we have a few more hours before the activity!

I sure am pleased with the young woman she is becoming. We have our differences, but Savannah is a wonderful young woman, and I was super proud of her reaction and treatment of Margaret on Sunday when Margaret was having troubles. They may yet amaze me and truly become best friends!

So... Happy Birthday, Savannah! May 12 be an excellent year for you! You are certainly loved.

The cake. "I blew them all out with one breath! And there were a LOT of candles!!!"

Jensens and Reunions

And I know I haven't put some of these on the family facebook site yet, but I wanted to share these awesome photos I have of some pretty amazing people. And maybe share some emotions.

One of my favorite memories of this reunion had more to do with an event that happened AFTER almost everyone left, so not many were able to participate, but I wanted to share anyway.

Uncle West was camping on the back lawn. (He has an unusual way of setting up his tent, but it worked for him, so...) After he had the tent set up, Andrew and I invited him to join us for family prayer. With some prodding, he did. Now - unlike many of my siblings, we do not always sing before praying. But that night, we were prompted to sing. I still get emotional thinking of the sweet spirit in our living room as we were all reminded that we are children of our Heavenly Father, and hearing Uncle West sing with us the words, "I am a Child of God. He has sent me here..." He knew all the words. I cried. And I was thankful I didn't get to pray, I wouldn't have made it.

I have some pretty strong feelings towards all of my family, and I know that I don't always express them - or maybe express them well. Sometimes those strong feelings may not have been as kind as they ought to. However, I am grateful for the knowledge that OUR family is an Eternal One. I am thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who allows me the chance to become better on a daily basis. And even though I may not call, or write, or send flowers, I hold my family close to my heart.  And if you're part of it, I am grateful for you. Wow. FAMILIES ARE FOREVER. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for making that a priority in your lives and being the example. And thanks, all you siblings, for being part of it. I love you. I think we should get together or call or write or send flowers more often. I should probably start.

I wish everyone could have been there. And Thanks, Uncle Rusty - for Bringing Donna. What a wonderful spirit she brought to our family.

Uncle Rusty and Aunt Donna. May she rest in peace. May we find peace in her passing.

Uncle West, Uncle Rusty, Uncle Dusty, Uncle Ken, Mom, Aunt Dot. Missing Aunt Sandy. Maybe next time.

The same set of above mentioned Hooligans.

Margaret wants to visit Texas. That's where the McQuivey's are. I miss them, too.

See. Hooligans. Up to Shenanigans.

Aunt Donna, Uncle Rusty, Savannah. Comparing hats.

Aunt Donna and Uncle Rusty - in cowboy hats. Savannah wanted to share.

Cider Saturday... A brief (very) update

We jugged 102.5 gallons of cider. We sold nearly half of that.
We used just over 2200 lbs of apples in our cider.

We were joined this year by Ethan and Shannon Nuttall and their crew of excellent helpers, Steven and Andrea Stahr, Laurel Stahr, and - of course, Our Fantastic Five. All of whom worked hard to help us get the Cider stored.

Additionally, we pressed another 12.5 gallons of cider the following Thursday for a grand total of 115 gallons of Apple Cider. Yum. This year is one of the best yet.

And now for the photos:

This is one of my favorite cider photos. I LOVE the joy on the children's faces!

Look at all those helpers! Even Grandpa is loading apples!

Ready for Pressing!

Funny how everyone seems to be gone when it's time to clean up... even the kids are nowhere to be seen....

Cider Thursday. The final pounds of apples...

Liquid Gold.

THIS is what I'll be making next year. Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls. Delicious!

LeGrand is now 5.

Crazy, but true.

This boy would rather run around in his swim suit without his shirt on... he regularly tells me, "no shirt, no service?" Yep. Better get it on. And his swim trunks have pictures of Legos on them. Lego Batman, no less.

 It was a fantastic day. We started with a trip to WalMart where LeGrand informed me that he wanted barbecued chips and Beer of the ROOT kind to go with his hotdogs at lunch. We obliged.

Then, three of LeGrand's friends from church came to play. They really just wanted to play with Legos, but were satisfied with running through the Mom Sprayer. Well... most of them were. One friend didn't want to get wet. He ran through the mist. Andrew was barbecue chef, cooking up some tasty hot dogs. Real Chicken Hot Dogs, not the delicious kind we normally have, but the kids ate all but 4 of them. 20 hot dogs. I should have had more buns. The cats were thrilled.

After lunch, we didn't wait three hours and went swimming with some friends. The water was fabulous. LeGrand was thrilled. Bailey was not. She got used to it, and then was thrilled.

Finally, home to get ready for a family barbecue with Grandma and Grandpa Stahr, Aunt Rachel and Jamie, and our adopted Grandparents, The Grays.

Dinner was lovely, the sun was shining, and it was hot... much different than I remember it being for LeGrand's day of birth. It was glorious. And then... the gifts.

"WOAH! Just what I always wanted! A FIRE TRUCK AND A MOTORCYCLE!" (yes, he did yell that...) He would sleep with them if I let him.

Legos. Swim Goggles. A cool shirt that Bailey immediately claimed as her own. A WADING Pool. More Legos. Every little boy's dream.

LeGrand is a pretty cool kid. He loves to give and receive hugs. He loves to play outside - and sometimes goes to visit the neighbor to tell the neighbor about all the cool things the neighbor has. He loves his primary class, (Sue Gray is his teacher) and his teacher told me that he knows all the right answers - not just the primary answers. He is a hoot to listen to in sharing time - where he comes up with all those one liners I may never know. But - he is a sweet little boy, and I'm glad he's part of our family.

Bailey is now... TWO!

Bailey celebrated her second birthday on 18 May 2013. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the past two years...

Sure am grateful that she's a part of my life! She brings an incredible amount of joy to our home.

Excitement on the farm!

Chicks. We have 2 of them. We used to have three, but the third chick didn't live up to his name of Rocky Balboa, and gave up. Savannah was pretty sad. I'm not surprised. He was a pretty cute little chick.

The other two, Pip and Squeak, are running around after their Mom, and thriving. They're pretty cute, too. Bailey calls them "ninnens." She's pretty cute, too.

Mama Hen with Pip and Squeak

This is Rocky. He didn't survive, but he was cute while he lasted!

We also have kittens. 4 of them. We had five, but I gave one away. The children haven't touched them, so they stand a fighting chance at survival.

Here are the five... the striped one has become part of someone else's family.

 As soon as Mama Cat brings the kittens out, I'll get pictures... of the children mauling holding them, too.

We also have more loads of wood coming in to replenish the woodpile, we're getting ready to plant our gardens, and life is great.

Andrew and LeGrand - tilling the squash garden.  One of their favorite things to do.

Bee-coming a Beekeeper

I am proud to announce that I am a beekeeper. I built my first hive on May 3, after having a tornado of bees take up residency in our woodpile that Andrew brought home from Portland. There is something fascinating about having Honey Bees take up residency on your property. When we first saw them, the children had been sent outside to do some school work (beautiful day, they weren't doing anything in the house, why not?). Savannah shortly thereafter came running down the hill to tell me that we had something swirling in the air, and it must be a "hibernating thing". Not a hibernating thing. A SWARMING, Triangulating thing. Basically, the bees were lost and trying to find themselves.

So, they decided to make their home in the woodpile. Not so o.k. with Andrew. Or me, for that matter. Needless to say, I did some quick research and found a beekeeper who was willing to sell me materials for a bee box, found a friend with a bee suit I could borrow so that I could move my bees without getting stung, and VOILA! I am now, keeper of the bees.

Bees are fascinating. They clean their frames out meticulously. And they are surprisingly gentle. LeGrand was amazed that he could "pet a bee" without getting stung, and has sat with me for many long minutes watching as the bees push old dirt and old hive from other bees out of their new home. Not only is it rewarding to know that we will have our own honey, it's surprisingly calming to watch the bees doing their work.

the box with all 10 frames inside

the box, waiting for bees

getting ready to move the bees

SUCCESS! Bees are moved! NO stings...

carefully petting a bee - under mom's shadow...

cleaning house. The pile of dirt in the lower right hand corner is what they have taken out. They're very efficient.

I would like to say that I haven't been stung, but that wouldn't be true. I was stung last Friday when I couldn't leave them be. (every pun intended). I was checking on their progress, and Andrew needed me to see something. In my haste to put the lid back on the bees, I angered two of them and one stung me on the knee - the other on the side of my hand. The knee hurt. The hand, not so much. And two of my bees died. I probably squished a lot more after the two stung me, too - trying to get the lid down without being stung more. Bees can, after all, smell fear... and after being stung, I was afraid. Very afraid. For now, I am leaving them be. And watching from a safe distance as they clean and bring in pollen and do their work. In the fall, we plunder and eat honey. But they don't need to know that...yet.