Faith and Works

After getting our new fireplace installed the next big project was a fire rack. Dan went to work and I think really enjoyed making a nice fire rack for us by the shed. Once he finished that he started pricing out wood. Fire wood is expensive. So Dan prayed he'd be able to find free wood. The very next day I saw that friends of our came home from church to find a tree down in their back yard leaning against their house. We called them and they told us to come get it! So within one day Dan's prayers were answered, sorry Jones's!

Dan took a day off of work to load and unload they extremely heavy tree logs/stumps. I had no idea how heavy wood is! Then we borrowed a wood splitter, for 1/10th of our wood, from some friends and Dan went to work splitting the wood. The entire time Dan was out working with that spliter I was praying Heavenly Father would protect him (and Jake and Tess who helped) from accident. Seriously, it made me so nervous. Thankfully the wood got split without any injuries. When Dan was done he quoted the scripture faith without works is dead... I was the one praying for all 10 of his fingers and  he was the one working!

Then we had a huge pile of wood to get stack in the backyard. So this past weekend, it was perfect Spring weather, we hauled the wood using a wheel barrow and a wagon. It took Dan and I 3.5 hours! Jake and Tess did really well helping us for the first hour without any complaints! We worked until late evening filling the fire rack and then creating a new pile on the other side of the shed. So after a whole lot of prayers and WORK we have enough wood for probably two Winters.

Easter Sunday

James blessed sweet baby Alice Ann today. The Bishop forgot about it during Sacrament meeting so we did it right after in his office. After church we enjoyed dinner with the Warner clan. I really enjoyed getting to know Lorin and Marsala Warner. It was an eventful weekend for the Warner family, so glad we live close enough to be a part of it.

Easter Weekend

I spent Friday unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning and shopping so we'd be ready for the weekend. The kids played so well with each other and were actually very helpful! Saturday morning we went to Benjamin's baptism and then did our own egg dying before heading to the Warners for an egg hunt. 

Clara really took to Grandpa Larry,which says a lot right now since she is attached to my hip around new people. It was really helpful to me! At dinner that night she wouldn't get in her seat. We enticed her by sitting next to Grandpa and she went right in. Then after dinner he played hide and seek with her and Abby. The rest of their visit Clara wanted to be right with him and chatted with him the entire time. I couldn't be happier with how wonderful Larry is with our kids. I sure love that man!

Uncle Harold

This trip we got to spend some really special and fun time with Uncle Harold. 

From the time we pulled into Grandma Great's driveway the kids were asking to go see Uncle Harold. He is so good to them--always ready with a treat and lots of love. Abby thinks the world of him and Clara joined his fan club this trip as well! 

The first night we were there we got to watch Uncle Harold frame his art work that I picked out for us to bring home! It was so fun to listen to his stories, songs, and watch him work his artistic magic. We all really enjoyed it. While the kids played, and Clara slept in Dan's arms, Uncle Harold spent some good quality time showing us special things about his studio. I especially loved hearing about the John Deere pocket knife that David gave him weeks before he passed away. Uncle Harold had the knife put in a shadow box and took it to show David. Harold has kept the finger print left on the glass that belonged to David.  I also really enjoyed seeing pictures and hearing stories from Street Daddy's. When we went inside he showed us a painting he recently did that is absolutely gorgeous and really made me think of my Grandpa Breinholt. Harold captured the lighting on a lake during the beautiful Fall perfectly. He is a self-made talented artist. 

The kids loved listening and dancing to Harold playing his harmonica and guitars. Clara warmed right up and danced around saying "more" when the music ended.

Even though they are blurry, these pictures are too cute not to include. 

Fishing at his pond. Chris, Drayton, and Jake.

Tess caught one!

Enjoying some hotdogs and the fire in Uncle Harold's shop. 

Kelsey and Clara

Grandma with her grands and great-grands!
I love this picture of Grandma and Abby smiling at each other!

All of us there that night.

Later that night, I walked into Harold's living room with Clara on my hip to see the other kids dancing around. Clara wouldn't get down at first but then she warmed right up to the crowd of people and LOVED it. That girl has got some rhythm. Once again, she asked for "more"when Harold would stop.

We spent our last night with Uncle Harold and then enjoyed a southern breakfast of eggs, grits and bacon. Abby devoured the grits! 

Tess and Abby tried buttermilk for the first time. Tess kinda liked it. Abby, not so much.

We had to get a little more music in before we hit the road. 

On our way back we stopped at Cracker-Barrel. Abby ordered grits but after one bite declared that they weren't as good as Uncle Harold's and wouldn't eat them.

We got home late Thursday night and went right to work Friday cleaning house getting ready for Easter weekend. But first we hung these...