Jordyn is 13!! Happy Birthday Teenager!

We now have a teenager! Jordyn's birthday fell during Easter break vacation, so we were able to do several fun things to celebrate. First, she got a new bed! She has been in a twin size bed that we got from a garage sale when she was one year old, so we upgraded her to a queen mattress and she is so excited!



She really wanted to have a day out to the movies and eat with the group of friends, so we invited Peyton and Presley Woods, and Molly and Chloee O'Bannon to go with us. It was me with seven girls ranging in age from 8 to 13. It was loud, wild, and really fun! We ate at five guys burgers, painted at color me mine, and saw Cinderella, the new movie. Afterward, we walked around to a few stores. Then, the girls did not want the day to be over so they came over to our house to hang out till almost midnight. It was a 12 hour excursion, and tons of fun!

Another request of Jordyn was a day at Magic Mountain. Just she and Tucker went to, and had a wonderful day trip down there! They got there right when it opened and ran to the back of the park and were able to do several rides before there was even a single line! Later, it got busy since it was spring break, but they had a blast.

And on her actual birthday, this year it was Easter and general conference. So we had the Easter bunny come, we watched conference, Tucker made her request to dinner of salmon, mashed potatoes, and Caesar salad. And then we had grandma and grandpa come over for brownies and to watch Jordan's birth video. I don't know that she has the ability to appreciate the miracle of her birth, but it was amazing to watch it again and see how scary the whole experience was. Grandma wrapped Jordan's presence in a humongous box with tons of tape, so it took her a long time to open her gifts, which makes it more fun! She got a crocheted blanket from grandma, with her requested colors, and it is very beautiful and will be cherished forever. She also got a beautiful church dress and sandals. Peyton and Lexi made Jordyn their own card and poster (Peyton was so proud she made it all by herself) and we were able to put up some decorations before Tucker and Jo got home from Magic Mountain. Jo also got the much loved traditional phone call from Gam and Pa with their beautiful birthday song, as well as a card with money in the mail! All in all, I would say she had a great birthday week!

We are so proud of Jordyn, she is a wonderful girl, an awesome big sister, and a very down to earth and smart person. I feel so blessed to be her mother! We love you Jo!!

(I also added screenshots of some of the Instagram posts that were dedicated to her as well, and a text from grandma.)

December and my sanity

I know December is busy for most families. But I have this dream of curling up on the couch with my kids and watching Christmas movies and sleeping in and cuddling up and just soaking in the season. And that is not what it feels like!

I know that signmaking has a lot to do with it. Lindy and I set a deadline on our custom orders this year for December 5. We each had nearly 80 orders just within a couple weeks. That's intense!

I feel like I need a tuneup on how to switch files in my brain more efficiently. Whether it's the mom file, the housecleaner file, the orientation and mobility job file, the sign maker file, etc. I don't feel like I am as efficient as I would like to be!

Sometimes I sneak pictures of my clients when I am on a lesson. This is one of my favorite high school kids.







Lindy and I always talk about how we get a little embarrassed when we go to Home Depot and have like 30 cuts of wood we need. Even though we both have our own saws at home, sometimes it's nice to have them chop up a huge piece of wood and to all the sizes that we need.






This year, we made ornaments for the girls teachers. Pretty cheap and easy gift, but I thought they turned out pretty cute.



My goal was to have a street a Christmas story to the girls every night. But that hasn't happened! We've done a few so far!



I don't know what it is about me that wants to do everything, but I've had the secret desire to buy metal stamping kit for a while. We finally bought some and want to make the girls teachers keychains for the end-of-the-year gifts.



Another season of Harmony. It feels so crazy to fit yet another thing in, but I enjoy being able to do something like this with my mom.



We have had the same UPS driver for like 10 years. He is so nice! We even made him a gift!



In all honesty, one of the hardest parts about the sign making for me is the humongous mess that it causes. It totally makes me unable to keep up with my health, and it also completely adds to the clutter. I know it's temporary, but it steals energy away from my brain because it makes me feel more weighed down.



Just for kicks, sometimes I like to keep a record of the crazy dance schedule we get each month.


When I can get myself to let go and trust other people to help me, these girls can be pretty helpful!












Elf on the shelf! I think this might be our fifth Christmas having him? It's definitely fun for the girls.



We decided to do the 12 days of Christmas for our neighbors this year. Luckily, Jordyn is old enough to really like to take on projects like this. So we printed off a list of fairly inexpensive ideas and each night she run something over to them and then knocks on the door and runs away.






The girls had a foggy day delay for school on the day we had a harmony performance, so I took them with me. Peyton was so thrilled that she got to stand by the Sopranos and sing with us at one of our places! She seriously knows every song!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We got home from Utah in the middle of the night Saturday night, and on Sunday we didn't waste any time starting to decorate for Christmas! Our time during the week is so limited, I wanted to get decorations up as soon as possible. The girls absolutely love to be a part of it and are such big helpers now. But no matter what, it is always a huge project!


We get to welcome Elfie back into our lives! Sure hope he doesn't forget to move every single night!


I have never put the tree over on that side of the room, at least as far as I remember, and I really like it there a lot! It's not a huge tree, but it serves it's purpose and fits great in our small living room.









Too bad the rest of the house doesn't look so pretty! This is just a tiny snippet of the laundry that needs to be done after our trip. Not all of it is dirty, but we still need to put it all away. I wish I had a maid!