Precise vs. Playful Painting

Pretty much all I've done all week is PAINT. My kitchen is now half done, or slightly more than half done actually. It looks AMAZING!!

The difference is remarkable!! There is only primer so far underneath the bar in the photos above, but you can clearly see some potential. The upper cabinets have all been primed and painted: 2-3 coats of bonding primer, then 2-3 coats of the cream. I've gotten much better at hanging up the doors now too, ha ha. 

Every day I get the same shirt and stretchy pants on, and after a good breakfast, I begin. When I painted under the bar, that was by far the hardest section thus far. The vertical groove lines made it difficult to apply the primer, so I had to spend extra EXTRA time getting it just right. The foam roller - even when I got it nice and goopy - wasn't enough to get down in those grooves, so I had to grab my angled brush and push it into each and every vertical groove. I set up my yoga mat and watched a couple shows while I worked down on the floor, so that made it more enjoyable. But by the time I was all done, my right wrist and forearm were "crippled" for the next 24 hours or so. I tried using my left hand for a while, which worked okay, but I'm not super ambidextrous. Thank goodness for Deep Relief essential oil and Ibuprofen.

As I looked back at all my photos from the week, I noticed that the only other huge thing that I worked on was my SECRET PROJECT that I can't disclose just yet. It's my gift to Scott for Father's Day. The project is complete, but I'm just not at liberty to share what we did until a few more weeks have passed. :) It was a BIG undertaking, but it is all done and it was definitely a SUCCESS!! Stay tuned . . .

Friday night we all went to the Whitworth's house in Rigby for an early birthday party for Amber. She will be 26 years old tomorrow! (May 18) My, how the time flies!! While Weston made a delicious cheesecake from scratch (same recipe as what Jacob made for Hannah's birthday a few weeks ago), I worked with Abby and Gwen to make a Rainbow Cake. It is a family favorite that my mom used to make when we were growing up. I've made it numerous times for my family and they all love it. 

You bake a white cake in two round cake pans as normal. (Be sure to spray each pan and then add a little bit of flour to each one) Then, after it cools, you poke holes all over the cake while it's still in the pans. Meanwhile, you get to choose two fun colors of Jell-o, one for each cake layer. Add 1/2 cup of boiling water to the first color of Jell-o in a bowl, stirring to dissolve well. Then spoon it over all the holes of the first cake layer until it's nice and saturated. Then repeat with the second color of Jell-o for the second cake layer. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until they're good and set. Then cover with cool whip and decorate. SO YUMMY!!

The trick, of course, is in getting the Jello-y cake out of each pan carefully. I like to fill up my kitchen sink with about 3-4 inches of very warm water. Then I very carefully place the cake pan on top of the water, making sure it is floating and not sinking. Wait a few minutes to allow the Jell-o to loosen up, then invert over your serving dish. It takes a little finessing, so be patient. 

With Abby and Gwen, we decided to make a rainbow path of sprinkles on top of the cake in a snail shell pattern. I'm surprised that I didn't get a picture of it! But it was a hectic day of baking, and then we left in a big hurry to get to Rigby in time for the party. Just know that it was a hit with all the kids (and even a few adults). The grownups mainly focused on the beautiful cheesecake that Weston made, and we also had fun visiting and enjoying each other's company. 

Amber loved to eat her toes as a baby. And why not? If you can, then go for it!

Sometimes she would eat her books, too. But she eventually learned to read them instead.

Scott and Amber (1994)

Family horse ride near Island Park, Idaho (circa 2004)

Benson, Jacob, and Amber right before Scott left for Iraq the first time (2004)

What a treat it has been to raise Amber. She has always been an easy child, so full of love and a giving attitude. She is kind and thoughtful. She is smart and capable. She is a deep thinker and great conversationalist. She is musical, artistic, intelligent, and an amazing cook. Everything she does ends up with an artistic flair and adds joy, color, and spice to our world! :) 

She also enjoys teaching her girls to enjoy art in all its forms. She invites them to help her in the kitchen, and she will patiently set up a painting station for them to create something. They painted rocks in the back yard together last night, for example.

So yeah, we've all been doing lots of painting around here lately. And speaking of painting, Amber has also opened up a print shop on her website. (amberwhitworth.com)  She has listed a handful of prints so far (fan favorites mostly), and has plans to add exponentially to her shop over the next year. I'm just so proud of her and I hope all her dreams come true! 

News from Scott:

He and everyone else on base are now on lockdown. First it was one person who tested positive for coronavirus, and within 48 hours there are now three that have tested positive on the base.  So nobody is allowed to leave the base and nobody is allowed to come on base until they can investigate how wide the circle of potential is. Scott was frustrated night before last because not only is the food at the chow hall lacking in deliciousness, but now they can only eat it as "take-out". He said he was tempted to eat an MRE yesterday. 

While on lockdown, this means he cannot go work downtown at all either. So he's missing out on extra money and he would prefer to make as much money as he can while he's away from home. He is mostly in good spirits as usual, but sometimes he admits that he gets a little grumpy or impatient with the situation. He can smell the finish line and just wants to be done so he can come home. I can't blame him. He's been gone for a long, long time. 

Scott, enjoying watching Gwen create a fort out of rocks and dandelions on the front walk by the porch:

Our discussion today from the Sunday School lesson in the "Come Follow Me" manual was very applicable. The focus this past week was on how a group of people deals with a challenging situation, and how do they overcome the situation. Faith is crucial, and patience, a good attitude, and obedience are also extremely important. Scott wanted to discuss whether or not God actually causes bad things to happen vs. merely allowing them to happen. 

We talked about how pertinent this lesson is right now, with the entire world affected by coronavirus. On the one hand, there are some really terrible things happening: sickness, death, unemployment, lack of food, loneliness, etc. But on the other hand, there are some really wonderful things coming out of the hardships: gratitude for the things that matter most, re-evaluating of what matters most, cherishing relationships more abundantly with family and friends, more people praying to God and becoming more spiritually minded, and more kindness and service to our fellow men. 

So it's a blurry area as to whether God made a decision to create this situation or whether it happened by accident, neglect, or otherwise and He just allowed it all to happen. Either way, it's up to us to look for the good and to try to learn and grow as much as we can during this lengthy trial. We know that He loves us very much and will do all that He can to help us to learn and grow and become better people. We just need to trust Him, trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, and follow their loving and perfect examples. We will be more refined in the end, more polished, more mature, and more grateful when things improve some day.