Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Three Heirlooms

Our home is not decorated with the latest stuff from design stores and boutiques, but with things that have meaning. We have a giant map of Sweden. Kamiko got it when working on a merit badge, but I thought it was so cool, that I paid to have it framed and I think I'll always keep it. We have paintings from my mission in Bolivia and framed work from our trip to Sweden and the Netherlands. I love it. Well, in the midst of it all, I have three heirlooms. One is new... I got it for Christmas.

Heirloom #1: The chest of drawers that sits by our front door. I got it from Grandpa Sears when we got married. It had always been in their home. It has a marble top and is beautiful. I consider myself very lucky to have it. In the top drawer when I got it was a wall hanging that says "God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers." I love that I got that little bonus. It reminds me of Grandma Sears every time I see it. The marble-topped chest has already been in photos on the blog. It's where I put cute stuff for the holidays.

Heirloom #2: A framed piece of a quilt made by Margaret Teeples Hunter, my great-grandma and daughter of Nicholaus Gourley, Martin Handcart Company survivor. I'm not sure. It just about killed mom to cut up the quilt, but I'm so glad she did so we could all have a piece of it. To make it even more special, dad made the frame for it out of wood he collected from the old Hunter homestead in Holden, Utah. I love every detail of it.

Heirloom #3: Newest edition...garnet earrings. Wow, were we surprised when we all got a tiny box from Cardinal Jewelers in Pleasanton, California, for Christmas. You see, Cardinal was the place dad went for everything for mom. We girls all got birthstone rings from Jim there. I think dad did trade work with Jim. Anyway, last summer, mom and dad took a garnet bracelet that had belonged to my great-grandmother, Vera, to Jim at Cardinal Jewelers. The bracelet was made of a bunch of connected flowers. Mom and dad had Jim take the bracelet apart and make earrings from the flowers. I love them!

The included photo has the earrings and framed quilt on top of the chest of drawers. I am blessed with such meaningful items in my possession. I wonder which kid will end up with which item. At Christmastime, I must dedicate a blog to my meaningful Christmas decorations. I do have some of those, too.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Post-Work Friday Wii Madness

After work on a Friday, some TA's, Starlyn and I went to KC's apartment to play Wii dance games. It was a lot of fun. In attendance were: Kamiko, Annie, KC, Kilee, Starlyn and myself. Photographic proof.
Can you tell the song was Michael Jackson's "Thriller"?



The lab moms didn't do so badly, either.

Allie and Sarah Smart Celebrate Turning 16!

Sarah Smart moved into the neighborhood and ward last summer. She is a really fun girl. She and Allie get along great. It's a blessing to have her around. Their birthdays are just days apart, so they celebrated together. The parents split the cost of renting a room at Noah's. The kids played Wii, watched a movie, listened to music, played pool and ate.

Allie and Sarah made a lot of the food: salsa, fruit and dip, vegetables and dip, cookies, brownies, etc. We had lots of candy and a friend of the Smart family made a really cute cake. It was a fun night. The parents enjoyed sitting in the lobby and talking.

We are ready for the guests
Sara Routt and Allie
getting the cake ready


Kamiko and Sam come



THE CAKE!


The Birthday Girls