HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. We don't "celebrate" Thanksgiving in the way we do any other holiday and it is one of the most important, not only in history, but in our personal lives as well. This is when we should take the time to list all we are thankful for whether by alphabet or numerical. We are always so wound up in the things we dislike, want, need or just life in general, but we rarely take the time to actually be grateful and share that appreciation.

1. I am thankful for my testimony and membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

2. I am thankful for the times when I learn and grow from the trials and not so pleasant "opportunities" that life brings.

3. I am thankful for a loving husband, forgiving children and thoughtful family and friends.

4. Again, I am thankful for the gospel in my life and the knowledge I have because of my membership.

I hope you all had a THANKFUL Thanksgiving, shared with family and/or friends!!!

Do it yourself!

A while back I told some of you that I had made a new frame for our old bed. The old metal frame was two peices that didn't join right and I spent 4 hours a move getting it together. So a friend of mine has been chating with me about timber frame construction. Its the good old stuff thats both rugged and beautiful. I decided to give my creativity (and mad skills) a whirl and how well it worked. It only took six months to get the photos together and to put on the finishing touches but with a little planning and a 12 hour day you too can build this sleep saving device. Here are some pictures we snagged during the build. Oh, the pictures loaded backwards so feel free to scroll.


This future shot reveals the tapered ends as well as the layout of the frame. Poor Bryant, he wanted to be more hands-on but had burned up most of his energy. Notice the amount of toe clearance around the frame perimeter to accommodate my feet.


To adapt a more classic look I popped the wicker backing out from the old headboard and then used 3/8” lag bolts to secure it to the top beam.


The rest of the frame was secured with ½”x 5” galvanized lag bolts. The joint bolts were countersunk and the legs were not. Just a note, the truck is not to scale!


I could not find a good timber saw, but I did have a reciprocating saw and it cut my depth markings just fine.


With the strength of Zeus,(hence the rubber mallet), I chiseled the large chunks free and used a rasp to file the interlocking cuts smooth and to create an old-timey look.


I selected 3-4X6” fir main beams with 3-4X4” cedar cross beams. The whole structure is solid and provides a pleasant aroma too. Overall difficulties were minimal, just a few sore joints and some bruising. Hope you all enjoyed these few photos, I should have taken more of them but with me being lazy and all it makes for difficulties. Please forgive me. Big Jake

Halloween FUN

I know it's be a few days/weeks since Halloween, but I still wanted to post the fun of the pumpkins and the day/night.
We got pumpkins from my mom for each of the kids. The Monday before Halloween we carved the pumpkins to avoid too many wrinkly faces. The kids each choose the face that their pumpkin had. It was fun to see them excited and disgusted with the process. They thought it was the best when we could actually see the faces with all the lights off.
Bryant had a Halloween party at preschool in the morning, then the kids got to spend the day with grandma where they had another little party and then we went trick-or-treating to a few neighborhoods in town (like 20 houses). Bryant knew full well what this entailed since his preschool teacher took them for a trial run that morning. Kayelynn wasn't quite sure why we couldn't go into the home of our friends, but then realized that the candy was why we came and there was no reason to stay. Sarah didn't understand at the first house why we would want to touch her bag and then why the candy should be put into the bag and not her mouth. After three houses she realized that she was getting candy at every house and that if she said "tt-teet" she would get candy. When the people would let her choose candy she was so excited she would say thank you as she took 3 more :) It was cute to see her enjoy the night. The kids all had fun and were really excited to come home and explore what their bags held.



Halloween Night

The neatest part of pumpkins

The kids with their own pumpkins