A new addition to the family!

Yep – you read that right, a new addition. We are expecting Walker Baby #1 on February 2, 2012! And we found out today that our little one is a BOY! We are super excited and can’t wait to meet him! He is a super active baby and has spent plenty of time kicking me the past few weeks. He definatly has a little personality of his own, as he seems to kick more when we are watching Chick Flicks – I guess he doesn’t like them already! Anyway, we are super excited and wanted to share it with all of you..

The Spirit and Power of an Apostle

I know you are all anxiously awaiting my many exciting and amazing updates from this summer (from Disney World, to Girls Camp, to a Cubbies game and more) but that is going to have to wait just a little while longer. I feel the need to write this post while things are still fresh in my memory.

Yesterday Nate and I had the AMAZING opportunity to listen to Elder Bednar speak. For those of you who are not LDS, Elder Bednar is one of the 12 Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who leads our church. He did a special session for the youth only (Ages 12-18) here in Richmond that Nate and I were able to attend because I am a Seminary teacher. (For more on what Seminary is please see my older posts).

I'm not sure I can do the experience justice, but I will try. The meeting itself was nothing unusual, despite the less than typical format. He held a question and answer session where the youth asked him questions and he then helped guide them to the answers. They asked some fairly insightful question and he gave some excellent answers, but nothing that would have differed from any other leader.

What really struck me was the AMAZING spirit and power that Elder Bednar has. His presence brings a feeling of peace and closeness to the Savior. I'm not sure how else to describe it, but I after being that close to him I think I better understand the Thousands of people that flocked to Jesus and the Apostles just to hear them speak. His testimony radiates from Him so strongly. I wish I could listen to the apostles up close like that all of the time.

I don't think I can explain it better than this, so I will only add one more thing. I KNOW that Elder Bednar is truly an Apostle called of God. I know that he helps to guide and direct the Lord's church here on Earth.

(If you would like to know more about the LDS Church please let me know. I'd be happy to talk to you about it)

Updates!!!

Yep, so it's been a while since I updated this blog. Life continues to be full for the Walkers. We have had TONS of stuff going on, from Birthdays, to fundraisers, to visits for cousins, seminary, new toys, weddings, basketball, jewlery sales and more. Not to mention works, school and the everyday hum drum.

I'm going to do my best to get a bunch of this up here. We finally got a new camera in February so some of the updates should even include pictures. Hopefully you will enjoy the updates.

Love,
Diane

Finnie Gets a Fence

For her 1st birthday we decided to get Finn an electric fence. This little puppy has ENERGY. She will run circles around the house and bound and play for hours so it was high time she got some space outside to do so. Her training is coming along fine…perhaps a little too well. She is completely scared of the white flags…so much so that even treats cannot entice her. WHen on a leash she does fine, but if we let her off she just goes and hangs out under the deck eating grass. Oh well, at least she's outside!

NOTE: It has been 3 weeks since I originally wrote this post. She is now doing AWESOME! We have been buddy training her with Lucy both at Mom and Dad's as well as our house. Now she will run and play and chase bunnies squirrels and cats right to the border, but doesn't cross! She's doing wonderful and it's been really good to let her get out and RUN!

Easter Wreath

So I saw this on a blog and it was too cute not to make (plus it's been a while since I did a fun craft!). Anyway, I ended up having to go out and buy more peeps - not because I ran out mind you, but rather a certain adorable scoundrel kept sneaking up and eating them OFF THE WREATH. She had managed to eat almost a dozen before I realized! Luckily they are pretty cheap and walgreens is only two mintues away!


Needless to say we'll have to keep an eye on her when we head out the door for walks to make sure the wreath says in one piece!

Wedding Cake!

Well my dear friend Ellen got married in March and as her present I made her wedding cake! It almost killed me (literally). It was a 4 tier square cake with buttercream icing. I am no master of smooth buttercream icing, nor square cakes! However, with a TON of help from my dear friend Amanda I was able to make it work. Here are the pictures.

(Yes, I'm still an amatuer but it no complaints because hey, it was free!)

Trip to See Sherise

Well, this past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go out to Utah and visit with Sherise. She is going to a private high school out there and we were able to spend the weekend together! It was a pretty busy weekend. Shelly and Chase came down from Idaho and went with me to pick her up on Friday. Then we all went down to Provo to have dinner with Rachel and see her dorm. We also managed to spend a good chunk of our time shopping, but what do you expect from four Nuffer girls!!! After shopping (and a close encounter with an RA getting Chase kicked out of Rachel's room) we parted ways with Rachel and headed back to Grandma's. Saturday included a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel, more shopping, pedicures and hair highlights! Rachel rolled in about 11pm just in time for Bed. Sunday morning Sherise and Rachel found that the Easter Bunny {Grandma} had visited early leaving them baskets and an egg hunt! It was really fun to watch these two hunt for Eggs! We went to church and spent the rest of the day playing games and just hanging out! It was an awesome weekend! Just wish Kristan and Cami could have been there too!

Organizing the House

I like to try and fool people that I am a naturally clean person. I do my best to appear clean and well groomed, and when we have company over I spend lots of time making sure the house looks perfect and effortless. But believe it or not, I am naturally a wonderful mess maker. The stories my mom tells about me hiding dishes and stashing wrappers and old papers are true. Although I like organization (and the fun stuff like my label maker that come with being organized) that is not my natural disposition. I have to think about hanging the towel back up, or closing the drawer or putting the book back exactly where I got it from. I have found that when I am not working full time I do just fine. I have the time I need (and energy) to keep things very clean. The first year we were married Nate worked 60hrs a week and that summer I worked about 10. Needless to say our house was spotless (seriously, there were always vaccuum lines on the carpet - even in the living room). But lately between work and seminary and life I haven't been doing as well as I did back then.

I'm not saying I'm a total slob, but I rather that I have mess maker tendancies with not enough space. My pantry was a perfect example. We didn't have enough shelves/space for everything, so after a while I got tired of it not fitting and just loaded things on top of each other. This resulted in a Brother & Sister Bear style closed where you have to slam the door quickly so nothing falls over before you shut it (Berenstein Bears Anyone? ). Anyway, I have finally been sick of it enough to do something about it (the it being my house). I decided to start with the Laundry Room and Pantry and I'm happy to report that after the purchase of some organizational shelving and cabinents they now look like this.

Yes, I recognize this is silly entry, but it was actually pretty fulfilling to do, so I figured I'd share it with you all. Feel free to laugh at my ridiculousness.

**Please note that I do clean my bathrooms, mop my floors, and vaccuum on a VERY regular Basis. And my dishes get done everyday and my fridge is generally VERY clean. The spaces discussed in this entry are more of the drawers, closets, and cabinents where things can be hidden and shoved….***

Gardening

I know that it will come to no shock to you as my readers that I have once again planted a garden. You might even be thinking that perhaps this is not really "blog worthy" information any more, but I just cannot seem to help myself. I love the statisfaction I get from working with dirt and pulling weeds. Not to mention using the yummy home grown stuff from my garden in the kitchen. I am convinced that the herbs alone make up for the entire cost as I use fresh herbs ALL the time and they are EXPENSIVE when you buy them in the produce section each week.

This year I decided to make the herb garden bigger, so I transplanted my chives and rosemary bush to the other side of the garden and planted a bunch more. I'm trying basil, oregano, majorum, sage, dill, cilantro, and thyme. I use all of the herbs on a fairly regular baisis so I figure this will be great. Plus I LOVE the smell of working with them. You will notice that I did not inlcude mint on this list. Mint, although delicious, is TAKING OVER my back yard. Underneath the deck is totally covered and I spent a good chunk of time pulling it out of the garden. Once I get it totally pulled it will be moving back to it's pot where it has to stay contained and cannot try "garden domination" again.

I also put in some veggies (lettuce, spinach, peas, and green beans) and I’m excited to have them start. I'm even being brave this year and trying the squash, bell peppers, and jalapenos from seed. (Luckily if this fails home depot stocks seedlings so I can plant them later in the season!!)

Anyway, the moral of this is that I love gardening and this year we are off to a good start. What about you? Doing a window garden? Or a truly full blown one? What are you planting?

Jewlery Extraveganza!

So my wonderful Amelia and I decided to try our luck at selling. We made a TON of jewlery and set up our wares for sale at the local community sale at Spring Run Elementary. We had lots of fun and didn't do too bad on the selling part either. I was a little bummed that my necklaces didn't sell well, but I think it was just the wrong crowd for that. (Priced at $12 and $15 dollar, although a great price for neclaces, was a high item cost for the venue in general). But the Earings, bracelts, hairflowers, and rings sold very well. Here are the pictures of our creations!



I had the intentions of selling these online, but in typical Diane fashion, I ended up giving most of them away or keeping them myself. Oh well, they do make lovely gifts and thank you's!!!

Visit from Jeff and Beck

Way back in February My Uncle Jeff and Aunt Beck found time for a Visit to VA and it was WONDERFUL!!! We spent lots of time playing, eating, and just talking. My little cousing James (he's only 2! even though my uncle and mom or only 14 months apart in age) was SO MUCH FUN. Seriously, if I could have kept him for my own I would have. Little Olivia on the other hand HATED me. When I even looked at her she would scream! She did let me hold her (but just the once) and I think it was only successful because I was singing to her and playing with her the whole time.

Anway, here's some pictures from while they were here. I hope that we get to see them more often!

Fundraiser Success

This year I once again had the opportunity to assist with the Manchester / Clover HIll Young Women's fundraiser. It gets easier and easier every year. This year we were able to raise over $1800 for the girls to go to camp. We followed the same format as in years past: a 4 course dinner with live entertainment and I think it was another success! I really enjoyed workign with the girls and we actually had plenty of food this year. We were also able to get things out of the kitchen faster and be more efficient. I am always amazed and how well the girls worked when the time came to make it a great event. We were able to get a couple of Jazz Musicians from VCU to come and play and I think it was awesome! Thanks to everyone who supported the girls to make it such a great success - we had over 150 people support the event!

Basketball Officiating

You saw that right - Basketball OFFICIATING! And that's Diane, not Nate! This year since I was not busy coaching the YW they let me officiate! This is coming a long way from three years prior when I didn't even know most of the rules. I loved it. I learned a heck of a lot more about how Basketball works. I also gained a totally new appreciation for the refs. It is not as cut and dry as I thought it would be, and there is a lot of multitasking going on. Although I wasn't great at first and I'm still not the best, I think I improved quite a bit and hope they let me do it again next year! (Also as a side note, Kye's team, the Manchester YM, were once again the Stake Champions! Hooray for Kye!)

First Snow

I can't help it...I JUST LOVE SNOW! I woke up and looked out my window at 5:45 this morning to find to my extreme joy that it was snowing, and sticking! It made my last day of seminary in 2010 that much more awesome. We read a beautiful story told by President Monson, then played White Elephant Scripture Chase. Afterwards, I was so excited about the snow that I couldn't even take my usual 30 minute nap before work...so instead I walked outside in it. Now as I sit in my living room (obviously working hard from home) looking at the beautiful winter wonder land I can't help but be greatful for this wonderful blessing from my Heavenly Father to start off my week so well.

Just for good measure (excuse the pun), I did check to see how much we got so I can start tracking this winter from the first snowfall forward(the pittance of snow last week didn't count)!! Here were the results:

(Just in case you can't see, it says 2 inches on the button! Not too shabby for Virginia.)


Anyway, I hope your week's are off to the fabulous start that mine is! Merry Christmas!

Love,
Diane

Gingerbread Villiage

So after 5 hours of baking, we had the pleasure of creating beautiful "gingerbread" masterpieces on Saturday. Nate, Chase, Shelly, Mom and I participated in the festivities this year...We had a TON!!! of breakage, but it just made it that much more challenging!

Here is one of the whole village:


Now can you guess who made each house?!?!? (Diane, Nate, Shelly, Chase, or Mom)

1. Before it came crashing down from the weight of Santa's Sleigh!


2.

3.

4.

5.

Halloween 2010

Halloween, Halloween,
A holiday that I love so!
Filled with candy, pumpikins and cookies,
Ghouls and goblins on the go!





While not my very favorite Holiday, there are many traditions of halloween that are near and dear to my heart! We started with carving pumpkins and making carmel corn with Sherise. I admit I used a stencil, but still exciting, none the less. The baby one was so hard (as in tough skinned) I was glad to get any shape into it without loosing a finger! And Nate's wolf is AMAZING if I do say so my self.




Then it was on to decorating cookies. I think Halloween cookies are my favorite kind! They are just so much fun.

Saturday we tackled carmel/candy apples. The first go made great hard candy, but you couldn't bite into them without breaking all your teeth! The second go was better, but perhaps a little soft. Hopefully next time I will find a happy medium.

We spent actual Halloween eating snack food for dinner (lil smokies and wings) and watching Corpse Bride while the tricker treaters came a knocking. All in all we had a wonderful weekend! I hope you did too!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

How to say thank you...

So I turned 25 on Tuesday. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but I like to make a big deal out of birthdays. Especially landmark birthdays. So this year I threw myself a party and it was a BLAST but I made a mistake...I threw it before my actual birthday. Four days before. Then we had my family party on Sunday, so by the time my actual birthday rolled around I was already a little skeptical that it was going to be a bust. It started off with seminary at 6:10...which was fine. Somehow I thought it would magically be a super fantastic lesson, but it was average (no doubt due to my lack of preparation, but I just can't spare more than two hours a day, one for teaching and one for prep). Then had a terrible dream during my morning nap (from 7-7:40) at which point I woke up to realize Nate had already left and I did not remember him saying goodbye (although I"m sure he did...I just sleep heavy). So I got ready for work and as I was leaving found a lovely pile of puppy business in the bathroom...gross. So after cleaning that up and scolding her I was running late and feeling completely bummed. Work did not improve my mood with urgent requests and the like all morning. Needless to say that by the afternoon I was ready to declare my birthday over and just move on. Then I got on facebook and found that not one, not two, not ten, but FORTY-THREE people had taken the time to wish me happy birthday. I was shocked! And surprised! It made me smile for pretty much the first time that day. Work kept me busy till well after five keeping me mildly bummed, but on my way home some of my favorite little ones (and their amazing mom) had left me an ADORABLE voicemail with a happy birthday song. Upon arriving home I found a few cards, a spotless home, and a wonderful (although terrible) homemade "Happy Birthday" banner with a gift underneath. I must admit, I teared up. All in all, it turned out to be great. The small acts of love and kindness made me feel truly loved and appreciated, despite my skepticism.

So how do I say thank you to all of these people that helped me feel special on a day when I really need it? I'm not sure...so THANK YOU!!! I am truly blessed to have such amazingly wonderful people in my lives! The small acts are the things that truly matter in life. I guess I will just have to try and pay it forward to others.

So thanks you to everyone for a surprisingly wonderful Birthday!

Long time no see...

Well, it seems it has been a long time since I blogged. I guess part of it is my crazy life right now. Work has been super busy (in a good way). And then with seminary on top of that I just haven't gotten around to much blogging, but I'll try and turn over a new leaf. It also probably has to do with the fact that my camera is MIA, so you won't get any good picutres until it is located and I always feel my blog is boring without pictures...

So what have we been up to lately? Not much of anything exciting, but I will share one fun thing. Nate and I are playing fantasy football this fall with my sister, her husband and friends. I admit I didn't put much effort into the draft (other than the 5 minutes before) and based many of my picks on looks but.....after 5 games I am currenlty #1 in the league!!! It really has all to do with luck, but it's been kind of fun all the same! Oh, and my team name is DianeRocks! That's right, I am just that awesome.

So what have you been up to? Any fun fall adventures?

Love,
Diane

Suprise Suprise

Well, there's never a dull moment at the Walker house. Last week we had a wonderful new Bishop called in our ward. Nate and I were both so excited! Then on Wednesday he set up a meeting with me. I knew what was coming, but was hoping that I was wrong....but sure enough I was right (as always!). On Sunday it was made official that I will be serving as one of the Manchester Ward Seminary Teachers for the kids attending Manchester High School.

Yep, you heard me right, I'll be teaching SEMINARY! Yep, that means getting up before 6 AM EVERYDAY. I'm so excited and yet so terrified all at the same time (with my primary fear being that I won't be able to wake up in the mornings....). {For those of you who aren't LDS, Seminary is an early morning scripture study class that the high school students attend before school each day. I will be teaching it at my home as a volunteer. If you have more questions please ask me!!}

I know that I have lots of other updates to post (vacations, trips, family events, garden, etc.) and maybe I'll get to that today or tomorrow, but for now I'm still reelling at the news.

Wish me luck!

Love,
Diane

Fun or flop?

This past week I have been experimenting. I am in charge of the activities and food on the Fourth of July with all of Nate's Family this year and I want everything to be awesome. The Menu and Games have been pretty easy to come up with, but dessert was eluding me. I wanted it to be BBQ friendly and fun for the kids...but also festive (not to mention something I haven't done before because where is the fun it that?!?). So I decided to try making red white and blue pinwheel cookies on sticks. This way the kind of look like the whimsical suckers you get at carnivals, but instead they are cookies! Here's how the test run turned out:

What do you think? Cute enough to be served as dessert on the 4th? ( I will also have the firecracker popsicles to help cool everyone down).



Oh, and someone decided to try and help me while I was holding the sifter full of powdered sugar....she sure smelled good!