Book Club Books

I am a member of a book club and it occurred to me that some of you might like to read some of the books we are reading.  I thought I'd share the January and February books that our little club read/is reading.  I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I did. Yep, I'm done with them both, and I loved them both!

In January we read this award winning, Young Adult Fiction book:

And in February we are reading this one (It just might be in my top 10 books!):

Enjoy!

Just Stuff

Today I thought I'd share a plethora of things and photos. Enjoy!

First off: spider web cupcakes. I was in charge of a little activity for the teenage girls at church. We did an activity to illustrate to 'webs we weave' with the words we say, whether good or bad. I used the book, "Charlotte's Web" as an example of how through "weaving a web of good words" Charlotte was able to not only raise Wilbur's confidence, but save his life. After the little lesson, we wove our own web. We all sat in a large circle. I had a big ball of yarn and I started. I held on to the end of the yarn and said something I liked or admired about another person in the circle. Then I tossed them the ball of yarn to that person, while still holding on to my end. Everyone did the same until everyone in the circle had been "talked about" and we had woven our own web of love. Cheesy? Maybe...but I thought it made a point. I baked cupcakes for the girls to decorate like spider webs. I totally forgot to take a photo of them, but I've included a photo I found online that looks like what we did. Instead of the gumdrop spider, I just had spider rings they could poke down in the middle of their webs Here's a link to show you how to frost your own. The photo is also from their site since I was a goober and forgot to take photos of my own. These little cupcakes are so simple and easy to make, and kiddos and grown ups alike seem to get a kick out of them.

Next, I thought I'd share a fun photo that was taken by our newspaper, The Deseret News last week at Dawson's game. I love it! Doesn't he look studly?
I loved this photo too. It was taken by team photographer, Mark Spencer. He does such a great job!
Here are a few more photos I thought I'd share. Kori (my sweet daughter) is pregnant with babies #2 and #3, a little girl and boy. We are so excited. She and her family live in Chicago. Her sister-in-law, Carly threw her a beautiful shower this past weekend. I just love the colors and decor. Kori made the "twins" banner to later hang in the nursery, and also made the labels on the food to help Carly out a little bit. Ahhh, a girl after my own heart...a paper crafter! lol.
Tannon had a great week too. He baptized 3 people in San Fernando, Spain this past week. I'm so proud of him and his decision to serve a 2-year mission for the Lord in Spain. He's over half-way done. I can't believe it. I get to see this kid of ours again in less than one year. YIPEEEE!
I am feeling a little bit bad that I don't have any great photos or news to share about Easton and Daysha this week. As I read over this post before posting, I realized that they are the only ones of our kiddos I didn't share photos of this week. E and D, if you are reading, I love you just as much as those who are pictured today. Send me some photos! lol.

Lastly, I just finished a really great book. If you are at all interested in Civil War history, specifically the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, you will love this book. I am a BIG fan of fiction but this book is not fiction at all. It's written to feel like fiction, but everything inside is factual and totally non-fiction. That's the best way I can think of to learn a little bit about history and be entertained at the same time. It is co-written by Bill O'Reilly (yes, that Bill O'Reilly...the political pundit) and Martin Dugard. It's called Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America. It doesn't matter whether you love Bill O'Reilly or hate him. The book does not share political views or ideas. It's simply the story of what happened leading up to and during the week of Abraham Lincoln's death. I learned a TON and enjoyed reading it so much. I would highly recommend it (photo courtesy of Amazon.com).

That's more than enough for today, don't you think? If you're still reading, have a GREAT day! If you're not, have a great day anyway. :)

Harvest Happiness Card

This is my 2nd post for today.

After finishing a book that left me emotionally spent ("The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak...I highly recommend it {Thanks, Kristine W. for recommending it to me!}), I needed a little creative time. I only had a few minutes before it was time to get ready to go to Dawson's football game , so I did something very simple. Sometimes simple is good.

I used sketch #131 from CardPatterns. I also used the Dreamin' L2 Paper Pack from Close To My Heart, as well as these other Close To My Heart products: Harvest Happiness Stamp Set, Dreamin' MyStickease, Mocha Opaques, Bronze Glitter Gel (painted on thinly with a paint brush on the leaf), Chocolate Waxy Flax, Spray Pen, Goldrush Stamp Pad, Cocoa Stamp Pad, Cocoa Marker (to outline the leaf), Cocoa Reinker (mixed with water in the Spray Pen).

See you later, everyone. I'm off for some Friday Night Lights. GO, Springville High School Red Devils!