Staying Put

Just a quick update to let you know that we received Trent's orders today, and we are staying here for the next few years. I am so happy that the kids will be in the same school for a little while longer and that we will be in this community and that we don't have to try and sell our house yet!

So.......... if you were planning a visit to DC, you still have a few years in which to catch the Warners. :)

Speaking of Young Women....

At our activity night just before school started this past August, the girls made locker pockets. We solicited for worn out jeans and got plenty. We cut the pockets out and provided the girls with sharpies, fabric paint, jewels etc., hot glue and fabric scraps. They did such a great job decorating them. We glued magnets on the back and put a small size For the Strength of Youth card in each one. They could then use them to hold lip gloss, pencils etc. inside their lockers.

I am a great thief of ideas. I got this one from The Idea Door. It turned out better than I imagined.

Look What I Made

I am currently the Young Women's President in our ward at church. That makes me specifically the advisor to the Laurels (the girls who are 16-18). Last year, I was looking for an idea for a little something to make for my girls when they leave young women, and I fell in love with this bag pattern from Heather Bailey. I love that it gave me options for my don't come anywhere near me with a bow type girls to my very girly girls. Last summer, I made three as I had one girl graduate and go off to college and two leave to go live in England for three years.

I was at the fabric store last week getting fabric for a couple of projects I am working on, and I remembered these bags that I never blogged about. I looked briefly at fabric options for my two Laurels who will graduate this spring and who are awaiting college acceptance letters right now. I have found a few other things I like since last year, but I still love this bag best, so I will be doing two more sometime this Spring.

Here is the first one I did for my super cute tomboy of a girl:

Here is a slightly different option for her sister:

Here is the final one I made with the bow and everything. Experience paid off as I think it turned out the best of the three:

Ashley is modeling this one. Isn't she cute? :)

I have never been super crafty. I wish I was and that I had more natural talent for decorating. I would like to be able to make my house look more put together that way, but I can follow a pattern, and I enjoy it. Need a super cute idea for a gift? May I suggest this pattern or several others from Heather Bailey.

Cautiously Optimistic

As you likely know, we are currently at the end of a job shopping year. For us that means that Trent will change jobs this summer. He had to put together what is called a shopping list in October. That is a list of jobs he would like orders for that are on the list of available / open jobs. He then ranks them from what he wants the most on down. We ignored many jobs that would generally be appealing this time around, because we really wanted to stay in this area for a few more years. It looks like we will be getting our wish. Trent's detailer called Friday and said he would be getting orders for a job at headquarters. I am still cautiously optimistic, because Trent was told the same thing two years ago only to have the job change two days later. Still, we are cautiously optimistic that we will be here in our little old house in our little old neighborhood for a while longer. Hooray!!