Texas Garden Coming!

Back when Kenn and I were young and carefree and living at Alpine Storage in Orem, Utah, we had a tiny little excuse for a backyard, and an even tinier little excuse for a garden. See here.


It was very small, but we liked having it, and we got some good veggies from it. And since we moved to Texas, we've always wanted to have a garden again, but there's never been time or money or energy for it. Until now. :)

This past Christmas, we did something new for presents, where we each got Something we Want, Something we Need, Something to Wear, and Something to Read (thank you, Candace!). My Something I Want was garden beds, raised up, nice, pretty, garden beds. My loving husband being the spectacular man he is decided it was definitely time to make this happen. So in preparation, I read a fantastic book and started making lists (because I am ALWAYS making lists when something big is going on, believe me--Kenn makes fun of me for it). I decided everything I wanted to grow, and we decided to do 8X4 raised beds, and I planned each square and when I would need to plant seeds and inside, outside, transferring, all of that. Luckily, Candace is plowing ahead (no pun intended) on her garden, too, so we went halvsies on a bunch of seeds.

So with this being a big new project, I think I'll document it and you can all watch in wonder as we try to grow things in the belligerent heat of Texas.

And we're off!

If you have a blog, maybe you SHOULD blog

This is what I'm telling myself. Obviously, there is a chance that Kenn and I shouldn't even HAVE a blog, because we never post anything. Unlike my dear friend Emily, who has become the blogging QUEEN and has at least one, sometimes two, new posts daily (not to mention the fact that she started a SECOND blog just to show her picture project).

So yes, I am a slacker.

Sorry.

But in my defense, if I'm not on the computer blogging, doesn't that mean I'm off doing more important and productive things??? I'd like to think so. For example, since my last post, we celebrated Christmas AND New Year's (lots of junk food and having fun with friends and playing games). Caleb and Beckett had a FABULOUS Christmas, heck, we all did, but it was so much fun. They were spoiled, and I kind of liked it.

Since January, I have gotten back into scrapbooking (I'm now past Caleb's 1st birthday! I'm catching up!), and I started on our plans for the garden beds (more to come on that later).

I think the biggest thing that I did, though, and the most important to me, is that I started doing some temple work for my own family. My ward's Relief Society announced in December that we would be having a R.S. temple trip at the end of January, and they wanted us to bring our own names to do work for. I have attempted to work on my genealogy in the past, but could never quite keep it all straight and get it ALL connected, especially using Personal Ancestral File. But now, the Church has developed The New FamilySearch, and it is FABULOUS! I was able to do so much the first day I logged in. Most of my father's family was even in there, so I added as much as I could, made connections between people that hadn't previously been made, and (the best part) I was able to see whose temple work had been done and whose hadn't. My own paternal grandparents, Amos and Kitty Ettinger, had not had their work done, nor had most of their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other family members.

On January 20th, I got to take 19 family names with me to the San Antonio Temple, and I was baptized for my grandmother, and some great-grandmothers, and some other amazing women that I am descended from. I was also able to watch as a couple of wonderful guys whom I didn't know at all helped me and did the baptisms for my male relatives. It was the most amazing morning, and the closest I've felt to Heaven in a while. I loved it. :*)

So see?? I've been busy, and THAT is why we haven't been blogging. And it seems like things just get busier, but I'll try try try to keep up. In fact, I'll try right now.

My Grandma Ettinger--isn't she classy?
She looked that beautiful EVERY day. :)