Professional Painter...

While Craig & Jared enjoyed a weekend with "the guys" attending Jeff's football game in Rexburg, I decided to go visit Marci and offered to paint her living room. It looks BEAUTIFUL. Heidi came to join us for a few hours and within one day, we had her stairway, living room AND kitchen completely covered with a gorgeous color of "Humble Gold". It looks so warm and inviting. Marci has a lovely home and is a great homemaker.

Kitchen

Dining and Living Room

Living Room

Stairway

painting was a little tricky....but with the help of an extendable pole and a paint pad, it was accomplished!

Seminary!

I thought I'd share a little glimpse into the classroom of Seminary!

Here is a view of the class. We have 17 students (freshmen and sophomores). They are THE BEST kids ever. Seriously.

We were taking pictures of our class since we had 100% attendance and we couldn't help but notice all the converse shows in the bunch.
Here is the group shot. Great group of kids.


We are starting Mosiah this week and so we'll be learning about all the places in Book Of Mormon land. Here is a "map" to help us keep track of their comings and goings. This one is on the wall so I can use it as a visual aid during the lessons. I love visual aids...


This is something I've looked forward to doing since last summer when I was preparing for this year's class on Book of Mormon. I wanted to re-create the bookmark provided to each student. When I look at the bookmark, I'm so confused. So I thought if I made it ginormous then we could discuss it and make sense of it. So, I made a transparency and blew it up on the wall - this wall is huge - goes from window to window - probably 10 feet. And then I used butcher paper to cut out the colored pieces. It looks really cool. I'm excited to use it as yet another VISUAL AID!

I love seminary...

OCTOBER

Welcome to Fall....

Harvest is over....the days are getting cooler...our furnace is on and so is our fireplace..and it's dark at night.

Craig & I went to visit Jeff & Sadie this month and one of the highlights was to cheer Jeff on at his intramural football game. His team (the Wolverines) won and it was as exciting as any college game. We had a blast with Jeff and Sadie - shopping, visiting, sleeping in, making and eating donuts and attending their church. It was a great weekend.

We have a new addition to the family at Boulder Resort. We got a new puppy. Her name is Lacey. We are hoping that Addy will teach her all her wonderful habits - we are spoiled by her.

For Halloween, we gathered at Jeni & Kevin's house. It was a lot of fun. I planned a Halloween party complete with games and prizes. The kids had a blast. We then got dressed in costumes and went trick or treating throughout the neighborhood. It was a perfect Halloween night too. We came back for scones and milk (it was too warm for cocoa).

The highlight for the month of October was Hailey's blessing. And actually it occured on November 1st. She looked like an angel pouf in her blessing gown that I was honored to sew for her. It had 4 layers of satin edged tulle. She was a good little girl too. She was blessed to have 2 great grandparents, 2 grandparents and 5 uncles stand with her dad in the circle. She is very blessed.

September

(These pictures are in reverse order - but I'm still learning how to do posts....)

Don't you love September? Back to school...fall days...football...cooler weather? Here are a few pictures to share of our month of September:

Although this event occurred on September 30th, it should be at the top of the list. Little Hailey Jewel arrived on that date to join her older sister Paige - 2.5 (pictured holding her), her bigger brother Carter - 5 and her oldest sister Aubree - 7. She is very much loved and appreciated and is a good baby too!

We helped celebrate Grandma Helen Gene's 80th birthday on September 19th (her birthdate is the 23rd). Grandpa Paul turned 81 on October 28th. They are still living in their own home and trying to "find good in every age".

Seminary started back up in September. We are studying Book of Mormon. We have 17 kids in our freshmen/sophomore class. They are THE BEST!

We held our first formal Sabin Family Reunion during Labor Day weekend this year. It was a blast. We attended the Ellensburg Rodeo. It was the first time in 23 years that it rained. We got soaked. But we endured and still had a good time.


While gathered for our family reunion, we had our Family Picture taken - a favorite activity for everyone (NOT!). This was taken in between storms. Thank you Melanie for sharing your talents and your bravery! Way to go Sabin FaRmily!

I'm Back!

Don't be shocked. I know it's been over 6 months since I've posted to my blog, but I've been busy.... (Not that you haven't been busy too - it's just not been a high priority on my list, obviously.) But I wanted to give a brief update on what's been happening in the Sabin Farmily.

On December 20, 2008, Jeff married Sadie VanderSloot in the Idaho Falls Temple. An open house was held on January 2, 2009 in Mattawa to honor the newlyweds. It was a beautiful winter wedding. Her colors were red, gold and brown. We love having Sadie a member of our family and as you can tell, she fits right in. Jeff and Sadie are happily settled in Rexburg while Jeff continues his education at BYU-Idaho. Sadie is working as a nurse at Madison Hospital. They are a fun couple.

Jeff and Sadie Sabin

In February, we welcomed a new addition to our "Farmily" - we traded in our old tractor for a "new" used John Deere 4960. We had the old one for 31 years. It was sad to see it leave. But it's nice to have a dependable piece of machinery. Here is our family as we all welcomed the new tractor to our farm.

We also welcomed another "tractor" to our farm - a miniature "gator" for the grandchildren to ride. It has been a huge hit at Boulder Resort with the kids. Here is Aubree (6), Carter (4) and Paige (2) playing with the new toy.

Here are the grandchildren in their Easter attire. I made the little girls dresses and they loved twirling in their full skirts. Aubree (6 1/2), Carter (almost 5), Kate (almost 4), Paige (2) and Preston (18 months). I love being a grandma. It's a blessing to live close enough to the grandchildren to spend time with them.

Sara changed my summer plans by announcing her engagement to Derek Roylance during spring break. They chose June 26, 2009 as their wedding date. It made for a busy May & June. Here is Sara surrounded by her sisters and sister-in-law and me at her bridal shower.

l-r: Heidi, Jeni, Vicki, Sara, Marci, Sadie

On June 26, 2009, Derek & Sara were married in the Columbia River Temple. It was also my parent's 55th wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful day and Sara was a beautiful bride. Her colors were black & white and bubblegum pink. It was a pretty wedding. I became quite the wedding planner - making her dress, the little girl's dresses, the cake, the food, the decorations, the announcements, you name it! But it was worth it. And the best part was Sara was so pleased with the results.

Mrs. & Mrs. Derek Roylance



back: Aubree, Sara, Derek

front: Paige, Kate, Carter

(Preston is missing from the picture)

There is no rest for the weary. Right after the wedding, I spent all my time preparing for Girls Camp at Ensign Ranch. I was called as a stake camp specialist. Our theme was EMT - Eternity Matters Today. It was a wonderful theme as we focused on the importance of using our time wisely today. Because it was an EMT theme, we had fun with nurse's hats, stethescopes, doctor visits, prescriptions, and other medical-themed ideas. The weather was perfect which helped make for a very fun and successful week.

Stake Camp Leaderse: Jenny Eppich, Cecily Stott, Vicki, Debbie Gilbert

That just about brings you up to date. We finished Jared's driver's ed last week which meant 3 days a week trips to Tri Cities one hour away - thankfully we carpooled with 3 other parents so we only had to drive a few times. But, it was quite a time commitment and we're glad we're done. We're planting buckwheat on the farm, getting ready to start 3rd cutting and just finished wheat harvest. Isn't a busy life great?!