Happy Halloween!

So after all of my sewing for hours and hours in my closet, I figured I would be taking enough pictures of my kids to fill an album. I did almost that, but not quite. I will share some of my favorites, but I have some other things to share first.

Who knew it could be sooo HOT on the 31st of October? After all, it was 93 degrees this afternoon which I can attest to. I was out at the park with my kids per Weston's request.

After playing on the slides, Weston asked to go on the swings. He loves to swing high! I put Hannah in one swing and gave her a little push. Then it was Weston's turn. I picked up that tank and put him in his swing. Before I could even push him he looked at me and said, "I be close to my Jesus." It took me a bit to process, but then I got it. He wanted me to push him high so he could be close to Jesus. Tug my heart strings!

Now on to the part everyone is waiting for. Last year, before Hannah was even born, Ellen purchased a little Tinkerbell pattern at the fabric store to be used this year. We have obviously had some time to think about this years costumes. We figured if Hannah was Tinkerbell, we should make Weston Peter Pan and Caden Captain Hook. I have been doing A LOT of sewing and now my house looks like Hurricane Ike came through it. I have much cleaning to do.......but I figure it was worth it. I think they look darn cute!

A little bit of every day

I got an email from Aunt Andrea letting me know she was missing pictures of the kids. Well, I have not taken too many. I did take this one picture of Hannah after we made some cookies in hopes of starting the "Halloween Ghost" tradition in our neighborhood. I think every kid should be able to lick the beaters every once in while.
Also, Weston made me laugh today. He was looking at colors and pointed to the color purple and said, "Purple." Very excited I said, "That's right! You are one smart cookie!" He looked at me a little confused and said, "Weston is a cookie now?" So cute!

I'm sure you are all wondering.....

what the "buzz" is at the Bast house. As I was sitting on the couch near the front window yesterday, I was admiring my blooming plants in the front yard. I looked at our tree that needs some trimming and noticed a very large black......something. I couldn't tell what it was. I thought maybe someone lost a dark colored hat or shirt that was blown in the wind and ended up hanging over one of the branches. I walked outside to observe the lost something....and the lost something was a HUGE clump of bees! Okay....maybe not HUGE. But, I thought it was. It is probably the size of half a basketball. After much concern and looking for a bee exterminator, my second counselor (who does pest control) in the bishopric explained everything.

Apparently this is the time of year that the bees travel to or from the mountains...don't remember which. The queen bee is enveloped in the middle of this clump as they travel and they have to stop and rest every once in a while. I guess they reserved a room at the Bast Inn without my knowledge. But, they should be gone in a couple of days without any harm done. This is the best picture I could get without thinking I would be stung to death!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Hannah turned one today! Time sure flies! Not too much was happening at the Bast home front in lieu of the Birthday celebration. But, we did celebrate, and that is all that matters.

I received this cupcake clip complimentary of Hannah's Birthday a couple of weeks ago.

Which inspired me to make this outfit to compliment the complimentary cupcake clip.

Quite froofy....I know. But, I LOVE how it turned out. I used to not like froofy things as a little girl, but times have changed! We did do a little Birthday shopping this evening....thanks to the Grandparents! And to finish the evening off.......

Hannah did this.

And then THIS
(which neither of my boys did...way to go girl!)

And a BIG SMILE

We love you Hannah!

Grandparents and Football

What a fun weekend we had! Grandma and Grandpa Bast came to visit and I was able to see Caden play his best football game this season! He scored three touchdowns for his team this last Saturday. It is such a joy to watch my talented son! Grandma and Grandpa Bast were able to watch him play as well, which does not happen often. This time of year, we do not see them much. Caden has a football game every weekend, as well as Uncle Alec and Sean. So, it ends up neither family can visit the other without missing games. It was a treat to have the Grandparents down this weekend!

Jeffrey R. Holland Quote

" God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But, He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe."
- Jeffrey R. Holland

My good friend Jeff shared with me this quote about 7 or 8 months ago and I was surprised with the language Elder Holland used in regards to dreaming. Usually dreaming has such a bad connotation attached to it, that I enjoyed a unique perspective on how it is an important part of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

GRATEFUL

I loved this conference weekend and all the messages that were given! Elder Bednar spoke about prayer and challenged us to pray about all the things we are grateful for.....nothing more. I have taken that challenge, but also thought I could post some things that I am grateful for this last weekend.

I am GRATEFUL for my beautiful family. I am GRATEFUL for the gospel and the guidance it gives me each day. I am GRATEFUL for living prophets who receive revelation in our behalf. I am GRATEFUL I was able to plant a small garden in hopes of becoming more self-reliant. I am GRATEFUL that Michael was able to attend the Priesthood session. I am GRATEFUL that we had a chance to go out on a date after the Priesthood session. I am GRATEFUL that Michael decided we should turn around and head back home when the radio started to die in the car on the way to our movie. I am GRATEFUL that the car died in an area where we were able to get in on the side of the road without harm. I am GRATEFUL for Elder Wirthlin's talk during the Saturday afternoon session that reminded us to laugh through it all. I am GRATEFUL that our neighbor was able to come and help us get the car home. I am GRATEFUL that we had another vehicle to drive to the Blockbuster to replace the date night movie at the theater. I am GRATEFUL that we had some left over prescription when Hannah awoke with the croup later that same night. I am GRATEFUL for the priesthood and a worthy husband who blesses our home. I am GRATEFUL for a cozy home to live in and food to eat. I am GRATEFUL for the atonement and the meaning it gives to my life. And last, but not least, I am GRATEFUL for my children who play together nice.....most of the time.

Not such an innocent face?

Some of you may recall that Michael recently switched jobs. We both prayed about it and felt really good about it. We knew that he would be cutting his salary in half.....until things pick up. This meant that I may have to go back to work for a while to help pay the bills. I figured I have experience dispatching and so that is what I looked for. Pinal County just happened to be hiring and so I applied. It is always a long process to get hired and today I had the privilege of taking part in a "truth test". It was more-or-less a lie detector test using your voice frequency. I hate those things, because I don't know that they actually work. But, that has never been the issue.

The questions start off simple. "Is your name Sarah Dianne Bast?" "Yes", I reply. "Do I have a mustache?" Another yes is heard from my mouth. But these questions become more and more personal. "Have you ever tried cocaine or any other drug?" I truthfully reply, "No." The test continues until finished and the Sergeant then reviews the test looking a little confused. At least that is the impression coming my way.

"It's just really strange," he says to me while rubbing his chin and staring at the computer monitor. "Your voice seemed really stressed on every question."

I crinkle my nose and respond, "Really?"

The Sergeant smoothly tips his chair to the reclining position and looks at me over the rim of his glasses. "Now, are you sure you have never been to a party when you were in high school where other kids were taking drugs or drinking?"

"Yes. I am pretty sure. If they were, I was oblivious to the fact."

To quickly finish the story, he looks at me and proceeds to ask if I am mormon. Of course I said yes and he continued to tell me that he had partied with plenty of mormons as a juvenile who were not innocent of such behavior. I think I have had every person at every "truth test" question me about the fact that I have never tasted one drop of alchohol or tried any type of drug. How could this be? So rare, it must be, to not have succumed to the temptation.

He did not even tell me if I passed or failed, which does not matter to me. All that matters is that I know I told the truth, whether or not they want to believe. I figure no one can trust a face like that, right?

P.S. for those of you that saw the previous picture of me...I had to change it. I think I looked like a member of "KISS".