Vintage Halloween Coloring

Does it count as vintage if it's only from my childhood? ... we'll just go with it.

I wanted to share my favorite coloring pages when I was a kid. I loved these. And today my tots are coloring them. I love that they don't care that they are hand traced. The top 3 were my favorites growing up.

Here's the download for the pdf if anyone else is interested in vintage halloween.

Hope Smiling Brightly Before Us

Little Miss Hannah is 8 years old today. How could this cute little bug... grow so quickly? 8 years have come and gone. sigh...

Here she is at age 3ish. Bright little girlie!

Today I felt like the title of the post - Hope Smiling Brightly Before Us. (for 1... I finally got some meds to help this awful rash... that gives me hope that one day I'll stop itching and be healthy).

But most importantly... I feel like Hannah is a little ray of sunshine. She's an awesome helper. She smiles and is cheerful at home. She laughs. She sings - even opera! She loves to read. She loves hugs. She is kind. A boy at school said she is the smartest and the nicest girl in the class. She really is a good, good gal. She was so excited about her new scriptures with her name embossed on them. She doesn't like a lot of public attention, but in small groups she likes to shine.

Miss Hannah is a bright spot in our family. She does pretty well handling her 3 brothers as you can see:

Happy Birthday Miss Hannah Mae. We sure love you!

It's that time again ... Merry Monday

I wanted to rework my favorite quiet book to give as a freebie to the public. I investigated Terms of use on the cute Primary images I had purchased, swapped some images, and such...  It appears it's all fine and dandy... and ready to go.

Today we have a new Merry Monday - We Believe Freebie on the Simply Fresh Designs Blog.

Go forth and check it out!

Theme for Today: HOPE

Hope Valley by Earthwater

Did you know there was such a place as HOPE VALLEY? I didn't ... until today. It does exist ... in England. Some day my feet may walk there. It is lovely.

That photo got me thinking about HOPE.

I won't list the eternal amounts of marvelous quotes I love about hope, but here are a few talks I want to listen to or read today.

Infinite Power of Hope by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The Joy of Hope Fulfilled by Elder M. Russell Ballard

Hope, the anchor of the Soul by President James E. Faust

Brightness of Hope by Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Got HOPE? It's a good thing.

a bit of cheer = *LIGHT*

Love this! Just keep moving... This sums up my day... I really just wanted to hang out in bed all day and watch a girly movie and then read a book. Instead I MOVED and got some projects tackled. Hopefully the MOVING made for a more balanced and fulfilling day.

vol25 'life is like riding a bicycle'

You know why I love this one? ... the light... the cheerful colors... the hanging mini quilt... the rug... the plant. Makes me want to decorate my house in all the cheerful colors I love.

Allie Hoopes

I love what this gal, Heather, is doing with the Joyful Life Library. To honor the joyful life of her baby Samuel who died, at 6 weeks old,  she started an organization to donate books to the local picu so the parents can read to their sick kiddos. So sweet and inspiring!

Isn't this so bright and fun?! It's a sewing kit for girlies from the Discovery Store. I want to put together my own homemade kit for Christmas with brightly-colored little felt shapes/projects, ric-rac, buttons, embroidery thread ... for miss hannah ... who has a great interest in CREATING.

Just another Merry Monday

Just wanted to let ya know that I posted another freebie for Merry Monday on my Simply Fresh Designs Blog.

We have the 8x10 size:

the 4x6 size:

and the new 3x4 size (2 on a 4x6 print)

love me a Buttercup Yellow bike

Really - can I just win this bike?... but only in yellow (more like buttercup). ... and only with 2 tots strapped in the back instead of a dog. I'll keep the bright-cheery flowers. Yep... I'll cross my fingers. The Jordan River Trail is calling me .... Yodel-ay-hee-hoo!

Lift up your head... and REJOICE

This scripture caught my eye this morning and reminded me of my mission to capture Joy this Autumn season. Life is good.

Here is something that lifts my heart lately ... This is a present for Miss Hannah for her baptism. Shhhhh, don't tell. It's 20x9 and fits perfectly in a frame from Ikea.

Love this 12x12 size and need to pick up a frame at Michaels.

I'm quite in love with family history and photos... not that I know a thing about the real work of family history... that is utterly confusing...

BUT I love reading stories and seeing photos of those who came before... my roots. Those really old photos are so wonderful. I always wonder what struggles these people endured ... how they overcame... what kind of faith and strength they had. Love it all.

I'm making preparations to sell these custom Family Tree Prints on my Simply Fresh Designs Website.

Turning my heart to my fathers (& mothers!!) .... makes my heart REJOICE.

One-Year-Old

Our little Truman turned 1 today. He is a cute skinny tot. He walks all over the place, falls all over the place, and has a very loud and shrill scream. But he babbles so cute and lays his head on our shoulder when he meets someone new. We sure love this little kiddo.

*LIGHT* in the Trenches

I've been thinking about life in the trenches lately. I'm often reminded that this stage of life with 4 tots under the age of 8 is a challenging time of life... oh, it's good too... there are many blessings and joys... but...

The constancy of little ones NEEDing all day is overwhelming. I either have a babe on my hip while working, OR 1 or 2 little ones wanting a love, OR 1 or 2 older tots wanting to be heard ... or all at the same time.  It is good to have these little blessings in our home ... just overwhelming for this mama.

Those without little ones would tell me to cherish the moments because soon they'll be gone (or the tots will grow to be teenagers!!). I know - it's true. But the daily stuff is often full of challenges - physically and emotionally for young mothers.

So yes... the 24/7 trenches.  So - how do we survive? I read a brief snippet of a book by Linda Eyre about life in the trenches.

"I needed to find the LIGHT in my trench of motherhood...

I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

Linda Eyre

ah-ha... there can be LIGHT in the trenches. It may not make the hard work go away, but it will make it more bearable.

"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon [the mothers of zion] were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." Mosiah 24:15

LIGHT is good.  It's essential to survival.  Elder Holland, in our recent Regional Conference, counseled us to build a reservoir of faith to gather from when times are tough.  Replenish... Refill... Rejuvenate... all important things to work on.


10:30 a.m. - p.s.  the person who said, "Don't cry over spilled milk," never had a baby grab an open formula bottle which dumped itself into every unimaginable and uncleanable area of the stove. Or maybe they did and 50 years later couldn't remember why spilled milk would have been so traumatic and so they gave their grandchildren that advice.  ... hold on.... the LIGHT will come.