Bitten

For some strange reason, it's hard for me to cut up my favorite fabrics...
I just want to sit and look at my stash!

Happy Valentines Day!

Have a Lovely day!
I know we will!

Love Thought #4

#4
A love letter.

Dear Old Man Winter,
I feel like we haven't been getting along too well as of late. I feel like I should offer an apology and let you know that I am actually quite fond of you.

Without you, I couldn't

*go skiing in a couple of weeks
*build a snowman with my kiddies tomorrow
*drink hot chocolate
*take long bubble baths (they just aren't the same without you)
*look out my windows and see a pure white wonderland
*build a fire in the fireplace and sit and watch the flames dance
*drive a snowmobile
*wear my favorite sweaters, coats, uggs, soft cozy socks, scarfs and hats
*appreciate my four wheel drive Land Rover & snow tires
*spend all day indoors and feel good about it
*make "snow jello"
*go tubing at Rock Canyon Park
*let my awesome neighbors do us the service of clearing our driveway
*see the temple from our deck (in the summer the trees block our view)
*cuddle under our cozy blankets and watch t.v. or movies with my family
*see my breath outside
*watch as kiddies sit on the heater and put a quilt on top of them, and recall the days I did the same in my own childhood
*let my body get flabby since I can hide it with jeans and sweaters
*have snowball fights
*hear Gracie say "look at the snow...it has sparkles on it!"

*see deer and deer tracks in the snow all over our neighborhood like I did tonight

(there are about five in the very center of this picture...behind the tree.)

So you see, I do love you. You just get on my nerves sometimes but I will just keep in mind the things I love about you and we will be able to live with one another ...for a few more weeks, anyway!
Lots of love,
Kristen

I love you Gracie girl!

Love Thought #3

#3
The essence of the Lord's teaching is to "love thy neighbor." And when asked, "Who is my neighbour?" (Luke 10:29) Christ responded with one of the best known parables - the story of the good Samaritan.

In the tradition of the good Samaritan, so many put aside pressing concerns and surmount personal barriers or beliefs to assist a neighbor in need. Without promise of reward or compensation, without prior or pending connection, good men and women continue to help each other.

How often do we cross paths with a poor wayfarer- perhaps without even knowing it- who hangs on the positive word we share, who looks for the smile we wear, who lives by the love we emulate. The Lord, whose love is present for all who pass by, summarized with his life and teachings that "inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, ...Ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)

Marjorie Pay Hinckley wrote in her book, "Small and Simple Things," "Each of us can ask ourselves each morning, 'What can I do to make life happier for someone today?'"

This is such an amazing way to live. Imagine if everyone thought like this and lived their lives loving their neighbors and striving to make others happy.

After all,

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?"
-George Elliot

Valentine Open House

Been busy getting ready for this!

Email me@ kdegraff@gmail.com if you need directions!
It's going to be sooooo Awesome!!!

Love Thought #2

#2
Flashback!
I took these pictures four years ago on Valentines day morning. I remember this like it was yesterday! I had just fed and bathed the twins and they were getting ready for a nap. It was a cold yucky day and I remember that I was sad that I hadn't gotten around to getting Clay a Valentines present and I REALLY didn't want to leave the house (bundle up the babies, haul them and the gynormous diaper bag around town...no thanks) to get him one. I decided to make him a special card with a bunch of pictures of his two new, adorable valentines and I! Later that day he came home and put my Valentine roses in a vase and we sat down after putting the babies down to a yummy P.F. Changs take-out dinner. I gave him his card and apologized that I didn't get him anything else. Of course he didn't care one bit! He said that the card and his family was all he could ever want! I'm sure he bought me some kind of nice gift, but I don't even remember what it was. I just remember sitting across from him eating my lettuce wraps and honey shrimp loving the much needed quiet time, alone, with my sweet Valentine. This was a Valentines day that I will never forget! I've always been able to find such joy in my little family and look forward to the many more memories we will make together!

When the voices of Children are heard on the green
And laughing is heard on the hill,
My heart is at rest within my breast
And everything else is still.
~William Blake, "Nurse's Song"

Clay, Jack, Grace, Maxwell.... I don't need anything else either. I love you!

Love Thought #1

I'm celebrating
Valentines Week
with a daily
"Love Thought"!!!

#1
Everyone wants to love, and everyone wants to be loved. From our earliest years, we look for love. Some people travel far and wide in search of it, and others may not know love when they’ve found it.
In days past, children left little paper hearts or small boxes of candy on the doorsteps of friends. Sometimes the children would ring the doorbell and run. Usually they included a note that read, “I love you.”
Yet even at a young age, children seem to understand that “love is more than a paper heart. Love is of the very essence of life,” as a wise religious leader once taught. “Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. . . . Love, like faith, is a gift of God.” -Gordon B Hinkley
But love has many counterfeits. If we’re not careful, we may mistake love for one of its
impersonators. True love is never manipulative, domineering, or selfish. It doesn’t require loyalty tests or paybacks.
Real love is freely given. It liberates and empowers. It enlarges the heart and makes room for others. Love withholds judgment and is patient. Love manifests itself in kindness, respect, and compassion. Love overlooks differences and extends mercy. Love is an abundant, generous feeling that changes the way we see the world, the way we live in the world.
Those who have received genuine love, and those who have given it, know that it is truly God’s greatest gift to His children.

-This is a message from "Music and the Spoken Word" (speaking of love... I love this program and hope it continues for another 80 years!)

I Heart the Sun!

What a Beautiful Day! I've missed my friend the sun as you
all know! He came today~ kissed me, and said hello!

Collective Soul

All that I know is that I'm

Loving
this song!

By Collective Soul

**We like it really loud!**

The kiddies and I have been dancing to it all day!
Get down to it... you know you want to!

Just had to share!

My New Favorite Shop!

Well, Anthropologie will always be my true favorite but..
I just discovered
this little beauty last week.
It has some major eye candy that I can't get enough of.
It's frilly, romantic and ALL GIRL!
Can I have one of EVERYTHING? Please?
Oh how I love this place!