{IRL} in real life

Happy Monday. Did setting your clock forward for daylight savings time--and losing an hour of sleep--kick your hiney like it did ours? I really think daylight savings is ridiculous. Arizona has it right.

I'm loving capturing little bits and pieces of our life with my Galaxy 3 phone/Instagram. February was a busy month for us. So busy, I created a separate collage for Ella to put in her own scrapbook.

1. I read both Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Divergent Series Box Set. Both Lynn and I LOVED them both. Looking forward to book number three and the movies. 2. I had a milestone birthday this month. My talented daughter-in-law Tayler, made cupcakes for our family dinner. Not only were they beautiful, but so yummy! 3. My sweet little (granddaughter) Madi showing me her new haircut. She wants to show grandma everything. Makes me happy. :) 4. Birthday lunch with my friend, Jechelle. She introduced me to a new restaurant, Tortilla Bar in Orem, and I LOVE it! (Going again this week.) 5. I adore little people drawn by little people. (Artwork by: Madi) 6. Making lunch for Ella with our favorite bread. 7. Quiet Saturday mornings are the best. 8. Date night, dinner and Les Mis. We both thought it was wonderful, in a very different way than the live version. Yes, I cried. 9. My man sportin' his new Vans, a birthday gift from Kate. I don't know many grandpas who wear them. :) FEBRUARY 2013

{IRL} in real life

A few months ago, Lynn insisted I "get with it" and buy a smart phone. As an IT Supervisor, I think he was a little embarrassed his wife was still using a Blackberry--with no internet capabilities. :) Seriously, he's not that kind of guy. He just thought I'd have fun with it. He is that kind of guy. :)

It took me a few months to decide between an iPhone and an Android. Finally decided on the Samsung Galaxy III--bigger screen, better photos. I am lacking the coolness factor of an iPhone though.

I have a love/hate relationship with my SG3. I love that I can do so much more--take photos and keep in touch with my sister in Iceland and my other family members around the US through Facebook on a daily basis. I hate that it can suck up my time so quickly--way too much fun. I limit my time now and leave my phone in the kitchen when I'm in the office, etc. We're getting along much better now. :)

I am loving Instagram. It's great to be able to catch little glimpses of our everyday life to hold on to, treasure, and share so easily. Here are just a few of my favorite photos I took recently.

1. Look Mom! I love you.  
2. Upped my workout to one hour. These shoes remind me of Cheetos. :)  
3. Outside my office window. We've had so much snow and it's been SO cold--record lows.
4. I bought a box of dinosaurs for grandson, Karson, at the Children's Museum in SLC. He carried them everywhere. I miss him.  
5. Madi Mail: a letter from granddaughter, Madilyn. It was all glued together and crumpled up. Best mail ever. I love it.
6. Our newest granddaughter, Lilah Jane. She's an absolute delight and so, so sweet and content. The best baby I've ever seen. Bonus: she loves to cuddle. Kate is coming for her birthday this week and leaving Lilah home. Lynn teased her and said if she wasn't bringing Lilah, she shouldn't bother coming. :)  
7. My granddaughter Piper, on the day she was sealed to my stepson, Josh and his wife, Tayler. She stayed with us while Mommy and Daddy got ready, then we took her to the temple with us. Oh, how we love her.  
8. Mount Timpanogos Temple. Another McCrary family sealed together forever. I can't put into words how special it was to witness such a wonderful ordinance and how grateful we were to be there. Love them so much.
9. My fave earrings (Brighton), and I still love gray and mustard/yellow together. 

Yep, the overriding theme this month is grandkids. I'm sure they'll show up every other month too. :)

celebrate: meeting Ella's birth parents

I've shared just a small portion of our adoption story in past posts. I am so grateful to those who have responded. Your comments have given us such hope and encouragement. Thank you!

Our story continues.

About six months ago, we realized that Ella was "stuck" in her play therapy. I remember telling her therapist, Erin, "If I have to play out that story one more time I'm going to freak!" (At that time I was also in the playroom with Ella during therapy.)

Erin just laughed. She asked if I was really ready for a change. I knew what that meant. With change comes emotion. Not just a little emotion, A LOT of emotion from our Ella--spewing everywhere, especially in my face.

Erin could see that Ella had parts of her story that were missing, and suggested we fill in the blanks. We all met together and with a stack of pictures and photos, unfolded Ella's story before her eyes. Erin explained each part so Ella could understand. It was hard to listen to all she had been through when she was so little. Ella was pretty quiet--and then hyper--as she took it all in.

Yes, there was a fall-out--as expected--but it was also very helpful. Ella had very strong, painful emotions associated with her mother, but I was the only mother she remembered. Now she could see, that it wasn't me who hurt her so deeply.

Fast forward, and Ella starts asking more questions about her birth parents. Why did they make bad choices? Do they still make bad choices? She wondered if she wasn't with them because "she wasn't born right." That seriously broke my heart. I could see the little wheels turning in her head and her self-worth being impaired.

We thought perhaps it was time for Ella to "meet" her birth parents. I say meet, only because she didn't remember them. She had pictures and had actually talked to her birth father, Sean, a couple of times, but was still struggling with whether they were "real".

The big day.

For days, Ella shared her feelings as excited, but also nervous. I'd tell her, "Me too!" and we'd giggle. We explained to Ella that she could change her mind at any time and cancel the meeting.

Ella chose to meet at the Family Support and Treatment Center. I was hesitant, but Erin explained it was a very understandable choice, because she feels safe there and it's where she deals with hard things. (Yep, my issue again. :))

Boy, I was pretty serious about getting this right! :)

celebrate | madilyn's fairy party

My granddaughter, Madi, turned four a few weeks ago. Her party was at our house, since she just moved to Idaho and hasn't made many friends there yet. It won't take long though, she's a little jabber jaws and makes friends very easily. :)

arcadia california/president foster missionaries

Our oldest son, Patrick, served a two year mission for our church in South Carolina.

This photo was taken right before he left. He's so young. He was a cocky jock who knew pretty much everything. I still had a hard time letting him go. :)

Patrick LOVED his mission--the people, teaching the gospel, the opportunities for service and the experiences. And he loved and adored his Mission President, Leroy Barrett. Patrick served as Assistant to the President for a period of time, so they worked very closely together.

simple recipe: chicken fajitas

We had a bittersweet weekend.

The bitter was that my nephew, Jordan ( a.k.a "Joe" to the family), was involved in a very serious car accident that sent him to the hospital in critical condition. I was scared. I prayed a lot. I immediately called and had his name put on the temple prayer rolls. I'll share more details later (when the legal stuff is done), but so you're not left hanging, his surgery for a broken femur went well, and he's no longer in critical condition. :) We love you, Joe.

The sweet was that our little granddaughter, Madilyn, turned four years old and came from Idaho to share her birthday celebration with us. (I'll share more on that in another post.)

The entire weekend was filled with noise and messes--oh, big messes--and craziness and laughter. It was perfect. We loved that we had so much family time together. 

Patrick and Ashlee came back over on Sunday for lunch. Lynn wanted fajitas. I realized we'd had them three Sundays in a row--twice when the kids came over and another when we went to their house. Guess I don't even need the say how much we love them. And I love how simple they are to make.

we rock! + you rock printable

I've been consumed with Super Saturday projects and details lately, resulting in no posts for awhile. But I am super excited to share everything--soon.

Like many children, our Ella loves rocks. And they're all very special for different reasons. She has an extensive collection and can tell you exactly where each one came from. 

Last weekend, Ella created this family of rocks. There's me, her, Annabelle (Patrick and Ashlee's dog) Patrick (older bro), Ashlee (older bro's wife) and Dad.

Yep, she's the sparkly Princess one who's highlighted and covered up with a piece of toilet paper. The rest of us just kind of sit there being all boring and dull. I guess I know how we measure up. :)

Speaking of rocks, here's a little sneak peek at one of the projects for Super Saturday. (I know, I can't wait.) I created a series of 5x7 fill-able frame printables and this is one of my favorite. Place the print in a frame and use a dry-erase marker on the glass to write in the details. Just wipe it off (no water needed) and use it over and over.

Originally Ella wrote the message, but I smeared it when I was carrying it with a bunch of other stuff. It was so sweet in her 6 year old writing. Ella adores her older brother, but she also blames everything on him. "What is that smell?" It's Patrick. "Wow, this is a big mess!" Patrick did it, not me. "Why is there no chocolate left?" Patrick ate it. Of course he's never around when it happens. It's hilarious.

Patrick has special little dates with Ella where he'll pick her up and they'll go get a special treat, to breakfast, or somewhere fun. He really does rock as an older brother. :)

So I have an issue. Well many, but this one I'm willing to share. ;) Actually, it's more of a strong belief. I've seen the "I *heart* you because" printable on blogs and Pinterest, and I think it's darling. But, (here's the personal issue/strong belief part) I spent too many years telling and showing my children, I love you no matter what. We had a saying--"I love you and there's nothing you can do about it." Oh my, did my children test me to see if I really meant it! So...when I see, "I love you because you cleaned your room," I struggle. There. Now you know.

So I changed things up a bit.

Because you rock for stopping by--thanks so much!--here's the printable. (*For personal use only please.)

Remember, when you have this printed, make sure the "auto enhance" is turned OFF, otherwise the colors will be very, very different.

Let someone in your life know they rock.

P.S. I'd love if you'd leave a comment, letting me know who you're printing this for and one reason they rock. :)

I linked this project up here:

our sand bucket list

Summer break is about a month and a half over. I can't believe the time is going so quickly! Last year we sat down at Family Night and created a bucket list of things we wanted to do during the summer. We called it our "sand bucket list." We were able to cross off almost every activity on the list!

This year, we created another list. I let Ella go through the photos on my kids board on Pinterest for ideas. I've added the links to some of our list (at the bottom), just in case you're running out of summer fun activities.

We're doing okay at crossing off items. Ella seems more content with just chillin' a lot of the time, so I'm going with it. :)

Slip n' Slide
zoo with Madi

remembering: adoption day

 Three years ago today, we adopted our sweet little Ella.

It's taken me this long to be able to write about it. The events leading up to it were heart-breaking, stressful, painful, traumatic, even ridiculous--and yet amazing.

Our home away from home.

The case went on and on, far longer than it should have. We had a judge who was unwilling to make a decision. At the beginning of the case, he called all the lawyers involved to the bench and told them, "Okay, we all know how this is going to end, do you want to just settle?" And yet the case went on for many, many more months.

celebrate: family festival at Cedar Hills, UT

Our weekend was crazy. Crazy fun. Not only was it Father's Day, but our little city has the Family Festival every year and both happened to fall on the same weekend. The Family Festival has a carnival, movie and dinner in the park, band night, a fun run, a baking contest, parade and great fireworks. The fire department also shoots off their hoses for the kids to play in--always a favorite--but we didn't make it this year. (Don't tell the girls.) It's small town fun. Here's a little peek at our festivities. (*Heads up: lots of photos.)

Heading out for the parade.

memory keeping: take twelve challenge

I decided to take the "Take Twelve" challenge over at Ella Publishing. You shoot 12 photos on the 12th of each month. This is my first month. It was a bit difficult to get started. I tend to over think things. :) I actually spilled over into June 13th. Once I got started, I ended up with more photos than I needed though. Here's the result.

1. My favorite breakfast: plain yogurt, fresh blueberries, a sprinkling of Grape Nuts, and pecans. I eat it just about every morning.  2. Ella's roly poly. She named him/her Precious. We had a discussion about what they eat. We need to look it up. 3. Cleaned the front porch today. LOVING the new storm door.  4. On the bookshelf--me, First King of Shannara (one of Lynn's favorite series), Lynn, Beyonders. Next on my list, Little Bee and City of Bones (both borrowed from DIL Ashlee). 5. Grocery shopping. 6. My sweet granddaughter Madi. She loved making her own jewelry by stringing beads on pipe cleaners. 7. My favorite sunglasses. 8. Success in the garden. 9. Preston was selling his mom's cookies so I bought some oatmeal white chocolate chip with toffee bits for dessert. Sooooo good. 10. Best part of my day--lunch with my son, Patrick, then a little furniture shopping together. Back to his and Ashlee's new home to show me the new washer and dryer and what they've accomplished. 11. A new box of crayons for Ella. Life is good. 12. Ella's breakfast + Cheerios. We're a little more lax in the summer. :)

A little glimpse into our lives--simple stuff. Yep, it was fun.

Kim

summer fun: the meadow fairies

Ella saw a penny in the Target parking lot recently. After picking it up she said, "The Meadow Fairies have sure come a long way. They must really be tired." It made me smile.

memory keeping: a simple dance scrapbook

We call our Ella, "Ella Bella Tu Tu" because she loves to dance. She started taking lessons at The Dance Conservatory when she was two years old. Even more than dancing, she loves to perform.

Last month TDC had their winter concert at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo. The dancers performed Mary Poppins.

There's Ella, third from the left.

At the end of the dance, the girls got to "strike a pose." Ella practiced hers over and over. :)

I found Ella thumbing through her "dance book" the other day. It's a simple scrapbook in a "half pint" or 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" album. I used the same size album for my family favorites recipe book.

happy birthday, glade lynn mccrary

Lynn at 4 months old

Just want to wish my favorite guy in the entire world, the best birthday EVER! I love you more than chocolate, manicures, date night, shopping and even Target. :) Yep, you're loved a ton! Happy 55th Birthday, Hon!

fall field trip 2011

It snowed just a little today. Ella and I talked about the seasons. I told her I think fall is my favorite. She likes summer best because she gets to visit Grandma and Grandpa.

A couple of weeks ago the kindergarten class went on their fall field trip. Ella was a little anxious, but so excited.

E with friends, David and Ella B.

Her lunch was planned a week in advance. We packed her favorite things (a ham and cheese Lunchables with an Oreo, apple slices and juice), because it was a very special occasion.

Even more exciting than packing a special lunch, was riding the school bus. Finally! For a year before Ella started kindergarten, she would tell me how much she was looking forward to riding the bus to school. (We live one block away.) As thrilled as she was, Ella told me she cried when she first got on the bus, just a little, so no one could see. (Then I cried just a little, because it made me sad.) But then she forgot how scared she was and it was okay. :)

At the park in the canyon, each student received a paper bag with a list of items to collect. Being in the canyon + collecting = one happy little girl. Ella is an expert collector--mini princesses, rocks, Happy Meal toys, rocks, ponies, rocks, pennies from the Meadow Fairies (more on that later), rocks.

i love you, mommy!

Hi Mommy, I miss you so much. Are you feeling better?

ideas for general conference

I have been so cranky lately. I have a lot on my plate at the moment (though that will eventually pass, I know), Ella's transition into Kindergarten has not been as easy as we'd hoped, I'm being released from serving on the RS Board which I've loved, and I cleaned out the food storage room awhile back and am totally avoiding organizing that part of my life. Mostly, I think I just need some direction.

I've been reading Daughters in my Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society with the sisters in my ward. I'm having a hard time getting past the preface, because I keep re-reading parts. I know, that's good. I've been particularly pondering this quote by Belle S. Spafford:

"The average woman today, I believe, would do well to appraise her interests, evaluate the activities in which she is engaged, and then take steps to simplify her life, putting things of first importance first, placing emphasis where the rewards will be greatest and most enduring, and ridding herself of the less rewarding activities."

I think it's time to re-evaluate again. As with everything else in life, it's a process. I've felt a bit off balance lately. I thought I knew what I'd be doing next, but I was wrong. Which means there are most likely even greater blessings in store. I'm just not very good at waiting sometimes.

first day of kindergarten: a big thumbs up!

sign from How Does She?

I can't believe how quickly this day has come. Elles told me for weeks she was excited, but also feeling a little nervous about starting Kindergarten.

it's official!

  

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Patrick and Ashlee were "officially" engaged last night after a romantic dinner at La Caille. We are beyond excited. We love, love, love Ashlee and it brings us so much joy to see Patrick so happy.

They've decided on January 6th as the date and will be married in the Salt Lake Temple since that's where both Lynn and I and Ashlee's parents were sealed. Love it.

More to come.

out and about: 10 tips for Disneyland and travel

1. We decided to look at some other airline options this year and saved almost $500 by flying Jet Blue into Long Beach Airport. We really enjoyed our flight and Jet Blue doesn't charge for your first piece of luggage (per person) or strollers and booster seats. Long Beach Airport is pretty small and nasty, but you're there all of what...15 minutes? Worth $500.