Nerds are Cool wordart freebie

I have a house of boys but we are not big sports fans. We enjoy a good game once in a while but I have yet to decorate a room in sports theme. We are self proclaimed NERDS. Yep, both hubby and I would rather read a good book than watch tv. In school we were the typical nerds. I went to a very small school so it didn't matter as much. Although I joke that the coaches were terribly disappointed when their star center's tall younger sister couldn't shoot the ball worth a darn. They would have to wait a couple more years for the next star in the family. Student government was more up my alley.

 Dear hubby was painfully shy (although you would NEVER know it now) and couldn't hardly talk to anyone. Books became a safe retreat for him. A 2 year service mission helped him as much if not more than the people he served. 

Now raising our boys they have picked up our traits. Tracking reading minutes is more work than the reading. The boys are always reading and enjoying it. My oldest has even been "hanging out" at the library this summer. At our house, you get grounded from your book, not the other way around. 

I love it! I love that my boys are finding joy in reading and learning that we have. Mad scientist parties are always a big hit. 

So when I found a chemistry font I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to give it a try.

 What do you think? Sports fan or Geek Squad? My oldest didn't want to do track but he jumped at doing Science Olympiad. Geek Squad it is in this house of boys. ;-) 

Enjoy this fun word art!

Nerds are Cool Download

 My Class Download

School is Cool wordart freebie

Summer is quickly coming to a close. We have had lots of adventures. Now the adventure of school shopping is beginning. How are you doing with that? Have you started yet? There are many benefits to having all boys and this is the time of year I celebrate the most. My boys are easy peasy to shop for but finding pants for my oldest son could be interesting. He is tall and skinny! Then the run begins for school supplies. I miss being able to hit all the deals of the week and be back home in an hour. Yep, just an hour, if I hurried. The stores were close to home and each other. Now I have to plan out my trip a bit more. Do I price match at Walmart (the only store in town) or travel 45 minutes? At least I like planning and shopping. Now if my boys can last through it all. 

In light of this and school starting soon I made up several new wordarts. My goal is to be ahead and ready for the next event or holiday before it gets here. Let's see how well I do eh?!

 All this week I will be posting school fun wordart. Check it out. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Shopping!

Nice Job Download

 School is Cool Download

Flashcards organized....

I absolutely love it when inspiration strikes unexpectantly!

I also love that my hubby doesn't question why I buy various things, sometimes I don't know until later what I plan to use them for. 

I stopped by Walgreens today and noticed several items on sale. I make a point to stock up on sale items, even school items. They had several goodies for our PTA santa shop too. I picked up some small notepads (a constant need for OCD list makers like me) then I noticed flashcards for math and reading on clearance. We had looked at them last spring but never bought any. They will work great for our road trip coming up this weekend, so I grabbed 4 different sets. Moving on down the line I picked up a few other items, including some index card holders. I didn't know exactly what I would use them for but I knew there was something wonderful waiting for them. Plus they were only $0.49. Score for cheap organization.

After getting home the boys helped unload the bags. Some stuff to the PTA box. Some to the kitchen. Some to the school supplies.....

Hours later, as I am getting ready for work, I look down at the flashcards on the counter. The boys have already tested Mr. Matthew on his letters.....A thought suddenly comes to me. "What if I put them in those index card boxes?! I bet they'll fit!"

 Downstairs I go, grab the boxes...straighten a few things...notice the boys need to clean up their games...ah-ha that's where the Windex I just bought got put. (every mom multitasks to the max right?!) ......ok, back upstairs

 No to test my theory....

 Wouldn't you know! A perfect fit. Now the cards might have a chance to survive...but how are the boys going to know which is which? Some of those cute labels I have pinned on pinterest...Nah, I don't have time for that right now. The boxes have bright labels already....I wonder....

 Ahhh, just cut around the label and use clear packing tape.

Voila! Perfect storage for our flashcards. These will be going with us this weekend.
Gotta love inspiration!

Priesthood Line of Authority Plaques

Update: I am still doing this for anyone who wants a copy for their line. Just let me know. Thank you to all who have shared their line with me. It has been amazing to see them all! 

 We believe that God has given men power to act in his name today just as in the days of old. Through this priesthood power men can perform blessings and other sacred acts. A priesthood line of authority is a sequential pattern of ordinations that can be followed back to the early beginnings of the Church.  Each worthy man that holds this priesthood power can trace his authority directly back to Jesus Christ. 

It is amazing to me to know the power that my sweet husband holds. Our home has an added sense of safety and security from the storms of the world by his honoring his priesthood power. 

During college I lived with a group of girls and for the first time in my life did not enjoy the protection of having the priesthood power in my home. Although we felt safe their was a noticeable difference. Something was missing. My roommate and I talked several times about this. Never again would we take this protection and blessing from our Heavenly Father for granted. 

Now I am blessed with this protection through my sweet husband. I know that the priesthood is power and authority from Heaven. I have seen miracles happen through it. I have seen and felt the peace that comes with its sacred use. Being able to trace this authority directly back to my Savior leaves me in awe. I know my Father in Heaven is mindful of me and my family. 

I have wanted to have a nice photo of this for some time. I finally got the information I needed to do just that. This is what I came up with.

I love how it turned out! I used a photo from the online gospel library. You can request your line of authority from the Church via mail or email. For privacy they will only send it to the household of living individuals. I had my dad's sent to my mom and had her forward the info onto me. I am doing one for my dad, father-in-law, and brother too. Now I will have it to add each of my boys names to as they get old enough and are ordained to the priesthood.

If you are like me, and have been wanting something like this I am offering to do this for the first 10 people to comment. Leave me a comment then email your info to me. I will put it in and email you the JPEG file to print where you prefer.

Canvas Awning how to....and a summertime word art.

Now that we have a wonderful deck I made great plans to enjoy family BBQ's on it every evening throughout the summer. My boys love Love LOVE eating outside. Great idea right?! Well, the kicker was dear hubby spends all day working in the desert sun. He said he didn't mind the heat but he just couldn't handle anymore sun. By the time he gets home he just wants to relax in the cool shade. I totally understood. We still need to finish the cross beams for the pergola but that won't really shade much. Our umbrella for the table bit the dust last fall and another umbrella was out of the budget. Instead I found inspiration in the paint section of Home Depot...

(Just a funny side note...pulling into Home Depot one day my sweet 5 year old lamented, "Mom, I don't want to go in that store!!" I asked why and he proceded to tell me, "Because I don't wanna do any crafts or projects!!" Oh, my dear son knows his mom so well. Home Depot is often worse than a craft store for me. Outa the mouth of babes right)

So back to my project (hehehe).....CANVAS!! Yep, canvas. You can get large drop clothes for a fraction of the cost of canvas at the craft store.

We found a large drop cloth (12x15) that I thought would work great. 

The plan was to use pipe to hold the canvas but YIKES that was expensive. It needed to be strong enough to hole the canvas over 15 ft....PVC was to light but conduit just might work. Only 1/3 the cost too.

 

 I had to use this connector to piece 2 sections.

 They were long!

 Then we used these brackets to screw into the beams.

 Now when I want to take it down in the fall I can just undo the brackets but I don't have to take it out of the beams. Perfect!

 Now I needed a way to hold the canvas to the rods. I had pictures several different ways but actually getting one of those ways to WORK was a whole other story. Remember I was trying to keep the cost down as well as be functional and versitile. I thought these curtain clips would work but nope. They weren't strong enough to hold up against the wind.

 I tried sewing a 3 inch seam to slide the bar through. That worked great until I needed to close the brackets holding the rod in the center. The center bracket on the middle rod was impossible to get the screw in the right spot. 

Back to plan A I went...large snap gromets.

By now I REALLY wanted this little project done. I was getting frustrated that I hadn't accomplished anything on our weekend off. Just when I was close to getting it figured out the heavens opened and DUMPED on us. 

I couldn't just let it go though. OH NO!
I was out their in the rain frantically trying to finish my little big project.

 Can you see the drops? They were huge! And came on with a vengeance that only a rain shower in the desert can do.

 Undaughnted I trudged on. I needed to get the holes for the grommets marked and cut. I am so thankful for a wonderful hubby and a son who is learning that mom just needs to "get it done" sometimes. They were out there like troopers helping me as I barked orders ahem, asked calmly. (I mean come ON! It was pouring rain!)

 In the end we did get it done and I LOVE IT!

 We can open and close it as we need and now I can easily take it down at the end of the season.

 Now dear dad will gladly go out on the shaded deck and BBQ juicy steaks for his family.

 I love sitting on the deck, just enjoying the fresh summer air. I love our time at the patio table as a family. The boys love it too.

Did you notice my pillow? We found that at Home Depot. I loved it but dear hubby didn't think it would match the new cushions. When we got them home I knew I needed it! By the time I got back to Home Depot the pillow was gone. Every day thereafter I would check to see if they had gotten another back in. Finally my patience paid off. My sweet hubby just laughed but knew exactly what I was doing. He gets this little twinkle in his eye that says "I knew it!" Yep, he's got my number all right. I love what it says:

Click the picture for the download.