Could it really be an update?

All is well in the Moss home! We are still here for those who may be wondering... ;D Not sure I can make up for all the time since I have last blogged, but here is some of what we have been up to in the last month. We are so excited for the warmer weather that is(hopefully) coming! It hit in the fifties today so that is promising right? Since we have seen the farmers starting to plant, we figure the sun has to make an appearance soon! We are looking forward to planting a garden of our own. We already planted three more fruit trees, so now we have a total of seven! My grapes are starting to bud and I also have strawberries coming in! We are looking forward to doing lots and lots of yard work! Nothing like being out in the fresh air to work! We also got chickens(eight to be exact!) We got four Ameraucanas(pictured below, lay blue, green and pink eggs) and four Rhode Island Reds(lay brown eggs). Kids are loving it so far and we are looking forward to having some fresh eggs from our backyard! Trevor has been busy working on the coop when he has any moments to spare and when the weather cooperates. Kids have been having fun hammering nails with dad and the chickens are looking forward to their new home.

Here's the start of the coop! Nice huh?? ;D

Todd is eager to help his dad with the hammer!

The boys taking a break...

Here I am helping block the wind! BOY is it windy out here with no trees to block it! Brrrrr!

Here it is as of last night...I will keep updating it as it comes along. We are thinking of painting it a nice barn red. Should be fun!

At the start of April, we got a wonderful visit from my family! My grandfather, mother, and her husband, drove out from Michigan to see my brother Jonathan graduate and bring me some family heirlooms. It was great to visit with them and it always makes me wish visits didn't have to be so far and few between. Grandpa brought be a sewing machine that was my great great grandmothers(Lizzy Volser). I have displayed her photo along with her husbands on the top of it. It makes a wonderful addition to our home and makes me wish I could learn more about her!

My grandfather also brought us out a light that was in his and grandma's home and installed it for me. :D I love it!

This desk was my grandmothers and she had used it for her flower arranging business. I have already done a lot of work on it, but it still has quite a bit more to go. I will have to show before and after photos when I get it completed. Grandpa also brought out two cast iron beds that were my great great grandmothers. I've been busy working on finishing them too. I will have to post pictures of them later. I am so grateful to have these pieces in my home. I know they are just "things" but I feel closer to my grandma knowing they meant a lot to her. I love learning about my family history and feel like this is a great way to teach my children a little more about their grandmother.

And last but not least, the Easter Bunny did make a quick drop off at the Moss home!

New YEAR 2011!!!

What a wonderful way to spend the last day of the year up in Star Valley Wyoming!!! Our friends Nathan and Elizabeth invited us and the kids to the cabin to play and ring in the new year. It was a beautiful sunny day!!!(even at 9 degrees!)

Activities included snowmobiling, sledding, cross country skiing and snowboarding!

The snow was a little deep!

Ahhhhh...Beautiful Country!! It was the perfect day and a great way to end the year.

Merry Christmas 2010!

This Christmas season was our first time celebrating with just us! We were sad we were not able to travel to be with extended family, but it was nice to not have to worry about driving in snow. It was a quiet relaxing Christmas. The kids were so excited, but didn't wake up until 7:30! It was wonderful to sleep in!! When we got downstairs each of them got to open one gift and their stockings. Then we ate a huge breakfast that everyone helped cook! After all our bellies were full, we opened the rest of the gifts. After that, the day was filled with playing with playing with new toys, putting together puzzles and eating a big turkey dinner! We feel so blessed to have our health, home and family.

...And since we have no place to go, Let it SNOW, let it snow, let it snow!!

November 22, 2010 -7:00am: Woke kids up..they got dressed...ate breakfast...put on snow gear...and watched out the window for the bus. And they waited....and waited....and still waited...

I decided to check the computer to see...yep, school cancelled! Whoohoo!(Kind of hard to find out when you don't have television to watch the news...) The kids were already dressed, and decided to make the best out of this great snow day!

Why not go sledding!!! They were out there for hours! So much fun!

It's great to have our own property with some hills just their size!

Here's to many more snow days!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

A morning sunset...

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow....

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below

Kids enjoying the first snowfall!

Halloween is no more...make room for the snow Mr. Pumpkin!

Trying to make a snowman.

Despite the fridged temperatures out around us, we stayed warm with a fire in the stove. I'm very impressed with this home. They really knew how to build homes 100 years ago! It's solid. The wind can be blowing 50 miles an hour, and the house doesn't even creak! The front part of the home is only heated by what you see here, fire. Surprisingly enough(since I was worried about heating our home with just a stove) it's gets almost too warm! I keep asking Trevor to turn down the fire! ;D The old bricks keep heat in and cold out! Brilliant! I love this home!

Man's Red Fire

The colder weather is fast approaching. Each day we can see many farmers working long hours to prepare for the harvest. Our street will soon be filled with trucks carrying potatoes and wheat. This will be our first winter in our home. As we are looking forward to thoughts of hot chocolate, where to put the Christmas tree, and kids being able to sled in our backyard, we are also filled with worry about how to keep warm. Our home's main heat source is a wood burning stove. Feeling very unprepared without a truck or a chainsaw, we knew that it would be a bit difficult getting the wood we would need. This last week though, with the help of some wonderful friends(and their trucks), we were able to get a few cords of wood! It's a good start but a few more cords may be needed. We have found joy in the physical work of cutting and stacking. It's difficult, but we are grateful for the sore muscles! We now feel a bit more prepared for the harsh winter winds of Rexburg! Bring it on! P.S Dear Santa, this year we would like a Dodge Ram and a chain saw....

"Our" Potato field ready for the pickin'

"Lumber Jack Trevor" hard at work!

Kids helping stacking the wood. They did MOST of the stacking! Great to have eager helpers!

The pile so far. Much more to come....

A visit to remember...

Previously recorded in my last blog: "Since it is a home filled with history, I have often wondered who has walked these floors before. How fascinating it might be to know stories about those who lived here when the bricks were new. I will have to look into it and see what I can find."

Well last night I found out the name of the sisters who lived in our home so very long ago. Her name is Shirley Squires. Now most of you don't know this, but not only do I now know the name of who lived here before, I already KNOW HER!!! What a small world. Shirley was in my ward in Archer. We got to know her family quite well. In fact, I was in need of newspapers to wrap our dishes in for the move and Shirley gave me a hole box of them. I was thrilled to know it was her home! I just had to surprise her and took a visit to Archer today.

Shirley opened up the door with a smile already on her face! She knew why I was there. What a visit that was. Her grandfather, Armon Bigler, built the home(I asked if 1911 was correct year and she said she didn't know the exact date but said that sounded accurate). Her father, Hugh, lived in the home as a boy. She has an old picture of Hugh's brother sitting on the steps by the front door(she said she would find all the old photos to show me at a later date). Shirley herself was born in the home! Her mother use to make large dinners for the thrashers(I didn't know what this was and figured I should look it up... thrasher - a farm machine for separating seeds or grain from the husks and straw. I guess they would use this term for the men that would gather up the straw and place it in the thrasher. Many of the thrashers in the area would go to their home to receive a large hardy meal and Shirley remembers helping with the cooking and serving. She remembers her father telling her mother to "put more meat out there".

We had a wonderful visit and I invited all the of the family to come and see the home that is so dear to them. I look forward to hearing the endless amounts of stories and memories of Shirley Squires. Even though this home is just bricks and mortar to many, I know that the value is so much grater to many. I must say, I have fallen in love with this "little English Cottage".