Red Ladder Design - A Step Back

We have been doing Red Ladder Design, our wedding announcement business, for about nine years now. It's been amazing and wonderful and such a neat part of our lives. I've loved meeting with brides and grooms and then working with them to create the perfect announcements for their wedding day. It's been a creative outlet for me. It's given me something to work on during my extra hours (especially when the kids were young and David was working late). I don't want to say that it's given me purpose, or fulfillment, or helped me keep a sense of self - because honestly my greatest purpose and fulfillment have come from being a mother. But it has been a good thing for me through the years. 

However, when we made the decision to homeschool this year - I knew that there wasn't a way that I would be able to do both homeschool and Red Ladder. There just... wasn't. In all honesty, I've been slowing down steadily over the past couple of years - just doing things for friends and through word of mouth. I have completely stopped advertising (and stopped updating my website and social media -which I wasn't ever really any good at anyway) and have just been doing a few small things here and there. Even that has started to become a little more stressful than I'd like. I've loved doing this as a relaxing, creative, and positive outlet - but it was never supposed to be a stressful thing. 

So we've decided to stop Red Ladder for the time being. Not that we won't ever come back to it, or anything like that. We'll still keep our business license and website for right now. But at this stage in our lives it's not really fitting in the same way that it was before. 

That being said - my last set of announcements that I did was a whole suite of announcement/pocket/inserts, rsvp cards, save the date cards and thank you cards. They were simple with gold foil accents, and they were gorgeous. Easily the most Pinterest-worthy, beautiful, expensive order I've ever done. It was the perfect order to end on! Seriously, if you're going to stop your design business, at least make your last design the pinnacle of your design talent! I really enjoyed working on these announcements (even though the gold foil added a new level of stress) - but I'm relieved and excited to be focusing my creative energy on my family and pursing this new path.

Dear Thursday: A list of things I love.

For today's installment of "Dear Thursday", how about a list of things that I'm really loving right now? Okay... go.

Things I really love right now: 

-My Contigo water bottle with a straw. (Gotten as a gift after Caleb was born.) I prefer to drink my water through a straw and this water bottle is so nice and makes me happy (and helps me drink more water.)

-My new can opener. After months of using a barely functional hand-can opener that you had to muscle your way through to open anything David surprised me with a hands-free battery operated opener. I've opened three cans today and my love for this opener grows each time.

-Regency Romance Novels. I go through phases with books, sometimes getting into science fiction, sometimes contemporary novels, once I really got into anything that had to do with the French Revolution, etc... Right now I just really really enjoy these Regency romance novels. Sarah M. Eden is my favorite Author right now and all her books are just sooo good!

--My scripture study. A while ago I bought a Book of Mormon Study Guide from the Red Headed Hostess and I truly love it. It has a small section for each verse, with probing questions like "draw what was happening" or "write about a doctrine or principle" or "record a phrase or lesson that stands out to you". It's really made me slow down and dig deeper into my Book of Mormon study. Instead of just reading it, and maybe writing down a verse that stands out - I'm thinking about each and every verse and what I can learn from it. I'm getting more involved in the story. I'm drawing stick figures and writing down take-away lessons and I'm really enjoying it like I've never enjoyed my scripture study before. Another thing that has helped with that study journal is that I also have the Book of Mormon Student Manual: Religion 121-122 and as I read the Book of Mormon, I've been able to read quotes that expand and illustrate the things contained in the verses. It helps me to think about what I'm reading and then I'm able to write down the things that are important to me into my study-journal. 

After the last conference, listening to Elder Nelson's talk about our Savior, I decided to buy another little journal and take his challenge to use the topical guide as a curriculum and read and mark every verse about Jesus Christ and record my thoughts and testimony. It's been a beautiful experience and I'm not even through the first section "Jesus Christ: Summary". I also pulled out my "Family Inspiration Journal" that I started in college before I was even married where I've recorded important inspiration that I've received about how I want to teach and love my family and quotes that have inspired and uplifted me regarding the importance of family. I've been making an effort to be writing in that more often as well. I do don't all of those study things every day, but I'll pick one area to focus on for the morning, then when I'm done- I stack everything up in a big pile and stick it under the desk in my bedroom. Then, the next morning, I pull it all out again. 

I write about this because I want to share my testimony that when you are making the effort to study the words of our Savior, when you're reading your scriptures and recording the things that you've learned - you truly do feel strengthened and uplifted. My testimony has grown and I feel more confident in my every-day happenings. When I'm faced with uncertainty, I can draw upon the things that I'm reading and learning and it fills me with strength. I've never really felt like I was "feasting" on the words of Christ. But now, I'm feeling like I have a taste of what that is like. I enjoy the time I have in the scriptures and often wish I could keep reading and studying for much longer than I am able to. (Sometimes I wake up before the kids are up to read, but most mornings I sit on my floor to study with Caleb laying out by me and Lydia and Austin playing with toys, Caleb, or each other nearby.) I hope that they know that their mama loved the scriptures, and that those scriptures helped her to be a better mother every day. 

--The Thanksgiving Meadows Babysitting Co-op. It's a babysitting swap where you earn popsicle sticks by babysitting other people's kids and then you can use those same sticks to "pay" others to babysit your kids. It's been such a lifesaver for errand running, visiting teaching, doctors appointments, etc... All those small little things that are difficult to take kids to but are during the day when David is at work. I love it! (We also do a Babysitting Swap for date-nights with two other couples where we watch all the kids on one night and we get two dates out of it. It's been the best thing for our date-nights, ever!) 

--I've been working on a paint-by-numbers painting over the past six months and although I can only work on it a little here and there, I've really really been enjoying it. 

-Watching Hallmark movies with David. The cheesy plotlines, the use of the same actors over and over, and even the terrible typography for the title at the beginning of the show that makes it seem like it was made in the late 80s. I'm glad that David likes to watch them as much as I do.

-I got to go to the temple one evening last month while David stayed home with all three kids and it was wonderful. I basically cried the entire time I was there because of how grateful I was to be in the temple that night. I'm so grateful to be able to live so close to a temple and to go and feel of the Lord's love for me there. Someday I hope to be a temple worker, but as for now, I want to try to go to the temple even more often.  

 -This bread is sooo good.

-Okay, so my van (a 2014 Chrysler Town and Country) is SO awesome. It's hands-down the newest, nicest, fanciest car I've ever owned. My one requirement when shopping for a new van was having a back-up-camera because we live on a street with SO many little kids. But it's got some other cool features. I just realized that you can download your music CD's to the van's hard drive and then select favorites from each CD. Austin would always request specific songs from different CDs, and now I have them all downloaded into one playlist and it's awesome. I also like that my phone is connected to my van and when someone calls me I can answer from my steering wheel and talk through the dashboard. You've got to admit that's cool. (I'm sure soon, that will be totally standard in every car - but for now it's pretty cool.)

--This is the prettiest illustration of a mermaid that I've ever seen. If I ever have to do a mermaid costume or anything, I'd want it to be like this.  

--Let's talk about Chick-fil-A's Frosted Strawberry Lemonade. I'm not one to spend a lot of money on fast food, especially for myself, but this cross between a lemonade and a milkshake is just soooo good. It's a limited time thing, which is good, because I've already had about five this summer. David's taken to asking how much I like something in relation to how much I like this drink. "If I were to come home would you like that more or less than a frosted strawberry lemonady" Ha.


--Listening to books on Overdrive. Both me and Lydia have really been enjoying this. Overdrive is an online library where you can download books and audiobooks to your phone. I used to watch tv shows while folding the laundry and such, but I've started listening to Audio-books on my phone because I feel like it doesn't make me so unapproachable to my kids but I'm still able to be entertained while doing something fairly monotonous. At night after we put Lydia and Austin to bed, we've been letting Lydia listen to the Boxcar Children books for 15-20 minutes and she's really been loving it, too.

-I love my laundry room. I love the window I can look out of, I love the counter that I can fold clothes on, I love the L-A-U-N-D-R-Y letters above the washer/dryer. I have a method called "don't start another load until the clothes have been folded directly out of the dryer" and it works for me. No baskets of clean clothes hanging around. It will be hard to ever move because I love this laundry room so much.

-Great Value Tropical Trail Mix. It's got dried fruit & nuts, including cashews. We've been eating a lot of this lately.

-I had a realllllly bad experience with a wedding announcement client back in September and I honestly considered shutting Red Ladder down and calling it a good run. I just recognized that there were times that I was putting too much stress on myself and my kids were suffering for it. (Seriously, it was an awful experience where I basically worked through the night for a week to get a rush order finished for a couple who originally said that they just wanted something simple, but then were easily the pickiest and most demanding couple I've ever worked with - only to have them be dissatisfied with the final product and ask for their money back, after I'd already delivered the announcements to them. I lost money on the order, not to mention the countless hours I'd put in, and it almost caused me to stop doing what I love to do.) However, after several months I've finally started to do a few announcements here and there again. I've made some new rules for myself (like NO rush orders) and I'm feeling really good about things again. I just recently did these announcements for a family friend (Mikelle Oliver) and I love the way that they turned out. Plus those envelopes, guys. I swoon every time I see them. (There are florals on the front, too.) They were originally going to be black and white (due to cost), and last minute I decided to print them in color anyway and for days I'd be doing something completely unrelated and I'd stop and say to David, "Remember those envelopes? They were so gorgeous!" I really love having something in my life that is so creatively fulfilling, and even though I've taken a huge step back to make room for my bigger priorities in life (aka- my family), I'm glad that this can still be part of my life. 

This was originally going to be a short-and-sweet post of a few things that I was liking right now, but it ended up getting a little longer than I had planned. In fact it took a full morning to finish it all up. Luckily, the kids were pretty happy to play with each other and let me blog - but at one point I looked up from my spot on the couch and saw this: an empty entertainment center and toy corner. The result is that my kitchen looks like this right now. #bloggingisworththemess At least they are having a good time while I get to blog, right?  

I'd be remiss if I didn't include these three (and their dad) in my things I love post. Because, although I'm not always the most patient, or the most perfect, I love them so incredibly much.

Friday Five

1- I love these sweet boys. David is always (and has always been) wonderful. But the other day I was thinking about how he's really picked things up to the next level. He's kind, patient, and loving. He works incredibly hard, and although busy season technically is over - he still has some heavy projects he's trying to push through at work. But even though he's still putting in a lot of hours and energy at work, he still gives us 100% at home. I'm amazed by him every day and can't say enough how lucky we are to have him. He knows how to make each one of us feel special and loved and we are blessed by that.

2-I've taken a HUGE step back with Red Ladder Design because I've found that if I take on too much it gets incredibly stressful for me and my kids suffer for it. I have done a handful of wedding announcements over the past few months and I'm glad to say that I was able to keep things pretty balanced. I just finished up my last set of wedding announcements and I'm in love with them. Look at these gorgeous envelopes! 

3-We went to the farm with some friends and had such a nice time. It snowed last week (!?!) and had been a little rainy in the morning but the weather was perfect when we went and there were almost NO other people there. The peacock had splayed his feathers all out, which the kids loved, and we rode the horses 4 times in a row. Austin really wanted to ride the horses, but then got nervous and didn't want to ride the first time, but then he decided to try it and after that I couldn't get him off! He really loved it.

4- On Tuesday Caleb just would not nurse. He'd cry and cry and so I'd rock him until he fell asleep thinking that he'd nurse when he woke up and wasn't so tired - but then he wouldn't nurse again and would just fall back asleep. Finally after about 7 hours of him sleeping and/or not nursing - I held my crying baby in my lap while I pumped about 3 oz of milk for him. Pumping is hard for me and I'm not usually very successful at it so I was grateful I was able to get some milk for him. I started feeding him and he took the bottle right away. It was a stressful thing for me, but it was SO sweet because Lydia asked if she could feed him and she sat and fed him the whole thing. By that night he was nursing fine again, so I'm not sure what the deal was... but look how sweet these kids are. 

5-I hadn't mopped my floor since Caleb was born. (Over 2 months.) Don't judge. Spot cleaning was getting us through, but I finally decided to bite the bullet and do it. At our house, mopping is a family affair. :) 

6-These boys are cute. It won't be too long before Caleb starts catching up to Austin in size! (Also, we're hoping to potty train Austin this summer. He's definitely interested and probably ready but I've been putting it off.)

6-My cousin, Trey Knowles, is getting married tomorrow and my Grandma and Grandpa Knowles were in town from Boise for the wedding. We had them over for dinner and to hang out tonight and it was such a nice time. I love my Grandparents so much and am so glad it worked out that we could spend so much time with them. I'm glad that even though they live far away, my kids are growing up knowing and loving them, too. 

Happy Friday!

Friday Five

Here are some things we've been up to lately: 

1- Grandpa Walker stopped by one afternoon and... brought ice cream! I love living so close to the freeway. My dad tries to stop most times when he's driving by, even if it's just for a minute. 

2- We had an Aubrey/Nathan weekend. The other Rencher kids went with their parents to Youth Conference, but Aubrey and Nathan got to stay and play with us. (Jacob was supposed to stay too, but he got a little sick and his parents wanted to keep him close.) The first night we had our very own "Movie Night" (one of Lydia's favorite special activities lately). The Saturday we played massive amounts of "Cover your Assets", made chocolate covered pretzels, and even went to the Towne Cinema to see the Good Dinosaur (complete with loads of popcorn and treats). David was even able to get off work early enough to come to the movie with us. It was so wonderful. 

3- I never blogged these photos when I took them, but I kind of love them. When Lydia was a baby I used to put her in the sink and let her play while I did the dishes. She loved it and so did I. I haven't done it with Austin as much, but one day he was especially clingy so I scooped him up and put him in the sink. Lydia insisted that I finish the dishes in the other sink so she could get in, too.  They played while I finished cleaning my whole kitchen. 

4- I love how well Lydia and Austin are playing together lately. I'm not sure what they were doing Well... I know that Austin was trying to get to the cords under the computer to flip the switch- effectively killing the desktop and turning off the wifi, argh. The cords are now boxed up and protected with duct tape. Lydia moved all the chairs over and climbed into the fort to play. So silly.

5- My Grandma Walker isn't doing super well and was taken to the hospital in Odgen this weekend. We went and visited her this week. It's not anything in particular that is wrong. Just more of the same. A lot of pain, low oxygen, and some stomach/bowel issues. It was nice to visit with her and my grandpa all the same. Lately when we've been going to visit them in Wyoming she's been working on some coloring books and seems to really enjoy it. So we brought her an adult coloring book of the LDS temples and it's lovely and I hope she likes it. They still haven't released her from the hospital and it looks like they are trying to get her into a rehab facility again. My heart breaks for her because I know that she really just wants to be at home but also that she's in a lot of pain. 

Austin and Lydia liked the view from her window. 

OH, and can I add one more tangent to the end of this post? Yesterday I got a surprise sneak peek at the final product for a collaboration I've been working on with a company called Pure Creations. Next week these Thank You Cards (along with 7 other Thank You designs) will be listed on Jane.com! I'm thrilled about the whole thing and the card is hanging prominently on my refrigerator. I know I say this a lot, but it's so neat to see the final product of something that I created in my mind and put together on the computer. I'm so excited about the whole thing! 

Also, I took down a giant pile of junk that had been placed on the fridge at one point or another, cleaned the whole surface, and put a few things back onto the fridge to "stage" it (including re-writing my grocery list) so I could take this picture and put it on my Red Ladder Design facebook page.

Five Things

1. After grocery shopping this week, our fruit drawer looked like this. Lydia and I are in heaven. There were such good sales on fruit that I may have gotten a little carried away. A golden honeydew, two plums, a mango, two kiwis, two apples, two peaches,  plus a cucumber, two red peppers, and an avocado. Not pictured: a bunch of bananas and a zucchini. We are happy girls this week.

2. Visitors! Our good friends Brad and Eve Tuft moved to Iowa several years ago and were kind enough to take a few minutes to stop by and visit us while they were in Utah. Brad was David's best friend for many years at Utah State and was actually in the same institute class where David and I met. I'm always grateful that David had such good friends in college, and Brad and Eve were among the best of those. It was nice to be able to catch up and meet their little boy. Here we all are: Brad, Braden, Eve, Emma, Me, Lydia, and David.

The next night we were able to have Melissa and Blake up for dinner. We ate some delicious California club pizza and chatted for a while. It was fun for us and Lydia LOVES them. She couldn't get enough of Melissa. 

3. We are working hard to get our yard all put together. We've spent a good deal of time at Glover Nursery and we think that we have all of our plants picked out that we want in our flowerbeds. I even made an amazing photoshop rendition of what our house will look like with all of the plants that we want, but I can't find it! I think that it must have gotten deleted or something. I'm really bummed. I'll leave you with this picture of a columnar oak tree. I found this in a Walmart parking lot and thought that if possible - it would be a beautiful tree for our front yard. I took a picture and pulled off a leaf and we took it to the nursery. I mentioned it and showed the leaf to the guy that was helping us - who immediately knew exactly what it was. I was very impressed. Long story short - we are going to have one of these beauties growing in our yard very soon!

4. This was actually last week - but we went to story time at the library with the Coopers and had a great time. They put on a puppet show and Lydia loved watching the animals pop out from behind the curtain. While the kids were singing songs - she decided to go off exploring. She is quite the little adventurer. We love playing with Carson and Elsie (and Ashley). 

5. After over a year of effort, our new Red Ladder Design website launched this week!  We are thrilled with the design and functionality of the website and hope to be able to start bringing in more business from online instead of our bridal fairs. This is just the first step in having an online presence that better reflects us and what we do. 

Along with our big website release - our Facebook page got a makeover as well.

We are thrilled with the way everything looks. We love our Red Ladder Design business and are glad that everything is progressing so nicely.

Happy Friday!