I love this Song!

I've always loved this song. It's from the show The Last 5 Years. I'm not sure if I still love it or hate it a little for its accuracy...either way. Here it is for you to enjoy. If you get a chance you should you tube it and give it a listen. SO GOOD! Thank you Broadway for, once again, understanding my life and explaining it so well!


Jamie is over and Jamie is gone
Jamie's decided it's time to move on
Jamie has new dreams he's building upon
And I'm still hurting

Jamie arrived at the end of the line
Jamie's convinced that the problems are mine
Jamie is probably feeling just fine
And I'm still hurting

What about lies, Jamie?
What about things
That you swore to be true
What about you, Jamie
What about you

Jamie is sure something wonderful died
Jamie decides it's his right to decide
Jamie's got secrets he doesn't confide
And I'm still hurting

Go and hide and run away
Run away, run and find something better
Go and ride the sun away
Run away like it's simple
Like it's right...

Give me a day, Jamie
Bring back the lies
Hang them back on the wall
Maybe I'd see
How you could be
So certain that we
Had no chance at all

Jamie is over and where can I turn?
Covered with scars I did nothing to earn
Maybe there's somewhere a lesson to learn
But that wouldn't change the fact
That wouldn't speed the time
Once the foundation's cracked
And I'm
Still Hurting

Then Again...Maybe Not

*EDIT* I don't know how that sentence got moved up in the paragraph but it's now fixed and will hopefully make a bit more sense.**

I thought I'd get on here and post and everything would flow. But nothing is coming out right. I'm not in the right frame of mind for blogging....or much else for that matter. I feel jaded and I don't like blogging my naval for all to inspect.

However, it is official. After living in Kansas for 6 months, I have a job. I've been temping this summer with the same project management company as this spring. I left for two days for our anniversary and the office exploded. I made myself indispensable (hooray?) So they have bought out my contract and I am now a Murray Company employee. Maybe now I'll get a work email and a contract manager log in other than Temp? i will also be nannying part time for a couple in the ward. She's a vet so starting next week I will have 3 girls (3yrs, 18months, and 7 weeks) for 15 hours a week. I'm excited....and a littletrepidatious. Maybe it will get rid of my baby hunger. (*cough*doubt it*cough*)

So there is good news in our world right now. Sometimes its hard to see the roses for the thorns.

Now is the time I would typically vow to be better at posting and set some imaginary deadline for my next foray into informative, cheery ranting. But I know its not likely that I will get back to that point soon enough. So please excuse my hiatus from the blogging world. I will post again eventually.....probably.

I have Not Forgotten You

I promise....I've not forgotten you my dear blog world! No my life hasn't been boring...but it's not been over the moon exciting either. I've been working a temp job for the summer and haven't felt like jumping on to blog as soon as i get home. I have to finish my Heritage Makers Book by FRIDAY --Eep!-- so all my computer time is devoted to that...but then I'll be back. I promise you! Don't cry for me!...ok you can go ahead and cry a little!

A Note on Drowning

I am pretty sure that if you live in the midwest you have to love thunderstorms and I am no exception! I was so excited driving to my parents' house Friday (Yes a week ago I realize) because we were in for some storm action. I think my parents' house is perfectly situated because they seem to get the most excitement out of thunderstorms. Saturday started out sunny and gorgeous and then it started to sprinkle so we decided to do our gardening inside. It was probably the smartest we've been because we were hit with TORRENTIAL downpours. This post is all about the aftermath of that storm and the hilarity that ensued.
That is the plot of land my mom has tilled to use as her vegetable garden (Quite a bit bigger than my "mobile garden"). You can see the standing water on the mud and in the yard. There were spots where I was standing in probably 8 inches of water. Ridiculous. Mom's original goal was to get her seedlings into the garden that weekend...good thing we didn't get it before the rain.

The storm came in from the south and came down so hard that the little hole in the window was not big enough and the window sill was filling up with water. I didn't get a picture of my mom draining it--she used a turkey baster and a flower vase...I couldn't get my camera I was laughing too hard. So this is my dad drilling another hole fore the water to escape through.

(Side note about my dad's right hand: the vicious neighbor dog was attacking our dog, Junior, dragging him on the ground by his ear. Dad tried kicking and pulling but nothing was working so he punched the evil beast on top of the head. Dad broke his hand...the dog was unfazed.)

Before dad could actually use the drill, it had to charge but the battery was stuck on the drill . This struggle of trying to get the drill apart from the battery with a gimp and a short little redhead went on for about 5 minutes before I came to rescue. I personally love the drill bits in my dad's mouth. Mom was quite afraid that this shot was going to look like a dirty picture...so I'm pretty sure the use of power tools suggests they're not doing something right. Or I fear for my mom's safety. I haven't decided which yet.

As you can see, my dad had already let go at this point but this picture makes me laugh so hard. Mom is SO ready for the next pull. Her legs are braced in a lunge to absorb the shock and she has her game face on! You may not think it is as funny...but I'm laughing right now just remembering it.

A casualty of the storm. My mom had seedlings ready to go in the ground that had outgrown their seedling pots. Since the ground wasn't ready and my mom is resourceful she moved the seedlings into shoeboxes and set them outside on the patio table...under the edge of the eaves. So with the downpour and the subsequent runoff from the roof (the house has no gutters) the seedlings were lambasted with water. We moved the salvageable ones into the back mud room area of the house and left several outside floated in their own watery graves. Some have succumb to their injuries. My mom was quite upset...so I'm trying to stifle my laughter.

This is Muffin. Yes, you read that correctly. This monster is MUFFIN or, as my dad calls him, The Muffinator. He was my mom's empty nest dog (she still has not had a truly empty nest except for almost a year while Evan was on his Mission.) All of our other animals can be trusted to go out in the yard, romp in the fields, and return home in a timely manner. Not Muffin. He still has to be on a chain when he is outside. In the chaos of trying to rescue the drowned seedlings, Muffin escaped. For several hours he was having the time of his life running through fields and ponds and storm-made lakes and rolling in the mud. Mom finally chased him down in the car after dinner and this is what came in through the front door. You can't really tell inthis picture but his wet hair curls around his ears and looks like a bad eighties crimp perm. Hilarious. Of course after coming in he had to be snuggled and tried to play the sad puppy for having to be out in the rain. PANSY!

Leaving for dinner we saw this. A perfectly arched bright rainbow. The other end was on the other side of the house. Thank goodness the rainbow is a promise that God will not WHOLLY flood the earth again. I don't think my camera could capture the antics of any more flooding than we experienced last weekend in Carthage, MO.

Spring Festivities

I adore spring!! It is my absolute favorite season. I love the baby animals the new growth on trees and flowers, the thunderstorms, sun, the breeze...EVERYTHING! Johnny and I are going down to Carthage tonight and we'll be back Sunday morning in time to go to church. I haven't been home since the wedding and I'm excited to just go visit for a day. My mom is doing the vegetable garden hardcore this year and she has inspired me. We always had a vegetable garden growing up in Sioux Falls and now that I have a little patio I really want a little vegetable garden of my own. So I'm bringing my seeds and some planter type things (maybe the pails leftover from the wedding?) and she's going to help me get something going. I can't touch what she's doing with her tilled garden and CHICKENS?! but I'll get a little produce for me and Johnny ray to enjoy...hopefully. OH! And I'm going to use her bread machine to make some tasty bread! Huzzah!

Malheuresment today started out slightly left of what was planned. Our spare bedroom's bathroom toilet was clogged and overflowed. Approximately 10 gallons of toilet water spilled onto the 3sq. ft of tile and seeped into the carpet. oi. I am so glad we live in a complex where we can just call the clubhouse and someone comes to take care of it within an hour. Granted the first guy showed up with just a plunger, as if I was THAT much of a ninny that I couldn't unclog the toilet myself. So he left and sent over a carpet guy (with preetty narsty BO) who steamed it out and sprayed to avoid mold. Now I get to mop and scrubbed the tile. And then pack an overnight bag, run to target, and wait for Johnny to get done with work so I can go see good old Carthage. Can I get a woot woot?

Hopefully I'll get some batteries for my camera so I can get a few pictures of our adventures in the country.

OH! I had an interview with ForRent.com and it went really well. I also got a call from the staffing agency and the Law Office wanted to know if I was still available so I may have an interview there. Fingers crossed for a job by May Day?

Happy Easter Monday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! My Johnny Ray had to work so our Easter was rather unremarkable- celebration wise. Of course I am so grateful for the reminder of our Savior's resurrection and the blessing that the Atonement has been in my life. When I say unremarkable I mean no big dinner, no eggs or baskets or chocolate (probably all good things)-no family gathering. I called my mom and was confused at first as to why she was making a pie.

In other news: There's really no other news. I did a temp assignment at a construction project management company for 3 days last week. Still no job. A couple more interviews, lots more resumes, and a bucket of stress. We have been very blessed that Johnny has had some overtime and we've had money for food and gas and have been able to pay our bills. We're hoping that by this time next month Johnny's car payments will be straightened out and that will relieve a lot of the financial stress. (NEVER do business with Nuvell- they are EVIL!) I did two interviews with a real estate appraisal office and thought things went very well but I ever heard from them again. I have an interview with For Rent Magazine on Wednesday. Johnny says we're okay and I don't need to stress, but I'm not buying it.

I feel silly posting essentially the same thing so I haven't been posting. But I check my subscriptions and for the first time since I can remember, there was no post from Jenny H. I had a little bit of withdrawal and thought I should post so that I can nag her for not posting and entertaining me in my cabin fever extravaganza.

Today's To Do List:
Shower--woohoo!
Find recycling place--recycle
Buy Brown Sugar, Garlic and Ginger
Bring Timecard in to temp office
Get Monday Free Redbox--yay!
Send out more Resumes--fingers crossed
Call Event Planner for Job Opportunities
Make Sweet & Sour Veggie Chicken--we'll see
Watch Monday Free Redbox with Hubby.
Hope not to go crazy.

I'm off to cross out number one--at noon. Sad. Hope you all have an eventful Monday!

The Internets

Oh how I have missed thee. Now that you are back in my life, internet, I am sure you will be a huge help in procrastinating, updating and maybe even finding a job.

No Halley does not have a job yet: color me going crazy! I have had a few more interviews but no more offers. I keep applying and hoping that someone will want me eventually. I have an interview with a staffing agency on thursday morning but they will likely not have anything permanent for me right now. She said if everything goes well then they can put me in their database and maybe find me some temporary to possible hire work. I have some major cabin fever going on in this joint! Hopefully the home internet will make the job search a little more convenient since I won't have to go up to the clubhouse to get online anymore. I will need to use my laptop on wireless though since this computer doesn't have the MS Works suite so my resume wouldn't save or be able to be sent. Also this ergonomic keyboard is a bit unsettling.

Other than that, there's not a whole lot going on. Johnny is working and (thank heavens) getting some overtime. And we have an adorable baby bunny that lives in the bush by our back porch. We've been leaving him some celery and brussel sprouts and he and his family have gobbled them up. He is so cute! Johnny and I call him Peter. He is very speedy, and even though he runs away as soon as he realizes we're watching him, I know we're really good friends!

I'm sorry I've not been so good with the updates in the month we've been here but I promise it will get better!

Bon Avril Poisson demain!!

Quick Update from Kansas

No tornadoes yet! Woohoo!

We are moved in and Johnny is working like mad. He likes his job (I think he's liking the power a lot too). I am still looking for a job. I had an interview on tuesday but the job would not have been good for us and I have a job for a management position with customer care on Monday so wish me luck! Our new apartment is still full of boxes and I really have no motivation to un pack them...much to Johnny's chagrin. I got a new phone number (the collection calls for Aisha Johnson were REALLY getting annoying) so I now have a local number. Let me know if you didn't get the mass text and need my digits. I really don't miss Utah. Sorry. Imiss my friends and family lots and I miss having a job and my friends from work but the place itself...not so much. Our ward here is awesome! The Elder's quorum helped us move in and had everything off the truck in less than an hour. Sunday night we already had an invitation to dinner, everyone is so welcoming and friendly--a complete 180 from our last ward. Its nice being closer to my parents. They came up the first weekend we were here to help us get organized and set up the bed and couch and such. They came up again last weekend for Johnny's and my Dad's birthday. Its so great to know they are a short drive away if I need them or want to visit.

Sorry no pictures of the new place yet. We don't have internet at the house yet so I'm at the clubhouse mooching and looking for a job. Hopefully both the internet and job situations will be remedied soon. That's all for now. Time to make dinner for my husband. Much love!

Last Entry as a Utard!

So if you ever need to get candle wax out of carpet do this: put a brown paper sack over the wax and iron it with a hot iron. It melts the wax and sucks it up into the paper! It's amazing. The wax is almost completely all gone. I had a few trouble spots since the wax got under the baseboards. It took me a bout an hour with the amount of wax there was but I did it and it looks amazing! I was so proud of myself!


So we were little packing machines last night. We enlisted the help of Johnny's nephew, Preston, who is "sick" today and helping the boys load the truck. I went to bed a midnight because I had to work my last (10 hour) shift today. The boys got almost everything packed, except the bedroom and the big furniture, and finally went to bed around 2:30 this morning.


My coworker Marci brought me a stack of boxes so I spent my Saturday night putting them together. I went through an entire roll of tape and totally ruined my nail polish.
I didn't stack them very neatly at first so between the boxes and our suitcases full of all our clothes, we didn't have much of a living room. Just a walkway from the door to the couch.
I tidied them up by the time Johnny Ray came home so we had half a living room until last night.


So long Utah! I don't know when I'll have access to the internet next so it may be a bit before I can blog again. Call me if you miss me too much! Thanks for the last two and a half years, it's been real. We're clicking our heels and heading to Kansas!

A Note on Spreading Out

My favorite cookies (since I can't have white chocolate macademia nut) are oatmeal scotchies. I've not found many people out here that know what those are so in case you are among them: Oatmeal Scotchies are oatmeal butterscotch cookies and they are delicious! Well i decided to make a batchbut, because we are broke and I am cheap, I got the generic botterscotch chips which did not have a recipe. I tried to find one in my many cookbooks but could only find one for bars or one for oatmeal chocolate chip. So, being the genius I am, I decided to combine the two. The cookies called for butter AND shortening, the bars called for just butter. I didn't have shortening so I used just butter....and this was the result.One giant gookie all spread out on the pan. They looked horrible but were still quite tasty! I walked into the family room to Johnny all spread out on the sofa. and quite content.
I joined him on the couch for a good snuggle. But soon the picture we had sitting on top of our TV fell off and hit the candle which had been sitting on the warmer all day. And soon we had wax spread out all down the wall and deep in the carpet.
I scraped as much as I could off the wall and from the carpet. Tonight I'm trying a neat trick I learned on the internet where you put a brown paper sack on top of the wax and then iron it with a hot iron and it soaks all the wax out of the carpet and on to the sack. Here's hoping it works!!

Farewell Apartment!

As we leave our apartment in Salt Lake I figured now may be a good time to post the few pictures I have taken of our living room. I actually took these right after Christmas...but It is marathon posting time. The pictures are uploaded and I am going!
The original idea was to add and 8x10 of us individually on the other corners but it is not happening now. The two pictures are from our actual wedding day in Nauvoo and in the center is our Sealing Certificate from the temple. And to the left you can see our homemade curtains. They are a greenie gold silk type material. I love when the light comes in in the morning and they look completely gold!
This is one of our end tables (we got a great deal on two end tables and a matching coffee table.) The flowers are my bouquet, preserved. I'm a little concerned now about the drive across country, I desperately hope they survive. The Lamp is actually more maroon than red, and I like the sparkly danglies on it.
This is a close up of what's on the end table. Its one of our engagements with the Family proclamation on top of it in transparent. It was a wedding present from the Jones family and we love it!
I love our couch! It's so comfy and also very versatile. I promise that the coffee table only looks this clear when we have people coming over. It is currently covered in mail and bills and other papers we may need before we leave. These were some pretty flowers Johnny decided to get while we were grocery shopping. He knows how much I love fresh flowers and tries to get some in the house as much as possible.

So there you have it... I'll try to post pictures of our new apartment before we are moving next!

The United States of Halley

We're no longer unemployed or homeless! Hooray! Johnny was hired as the new Sous Chef for Village Shalom. He's actually employed by Aramark and since they are taking over this company's dining facility he has to do hiring and training so we are both excited for him! That also means he has to be there for the takeover on March 2--which means we can't leave March 1st. SO we're actually leaving the 27th. (OY!) He also found us a place to live---we got in on a great deal at the Pointe Royal Townhomes. We don't have a specific unit just yet because he's actually going to look at a slightly bigger model on monday before he flies out. The facility looks really nice and is just 5 minutes straight down the road from his office, and only 20 from the hospital. Oh and I applied to be a hospital operator for the University of Kansas Hospital part time. Its all very real now...and I'm freaking out a little bit! So... 7 DAYS and Counting!

Posting Fail

I have been meaning to post for quite some time but have failed miserably. You see I keep taking pictures with the intent of posting them on my blog but then when I get to work and don't get the pictures uploaded I can't think of anything to post sans illustration. And it's pretty sad...cause I had some GREAT blog ideas.

I am working for Amanda today. Her fiance surprised her and flew in from Missouri for Valentine's Day, and since my Hubby is in Missouri doing interviews and we won't be doing anything tonight, I took her shift. Johnny pointed out that since our husband's switched places it only made sense that we switch shifts. It stinks just a little because A) its the first day back from a long weekend so we're busy and B) Johnny has his first interview today and he can't call me when he's done because I'll be on the phones. (It's been an hour and no text message so I hope that means it's going well.)

I still have pretty much nothing packed, and I'm kind of concerned a bit. Johnny says we don't have much so it shouldn't take long but, I've moved before and it ALWAYS takes longer than you think, not to mention we have a lot of crap...he doesn't realize it because it is cleverly disguised. So I figure he won't be working the week he gets back so HE can pack everything up while I'm working. HAHA. (Ok so probably not really everything cause he's a but when he's stressed and I don't want to add to that...or to risk him throwing things out to avoid packing them)


So we had a very nice Valentine's day with our friends Ryan and Jannali (who probably think we are the worst couple in the world now)...but I'll have more on that later when I get those dern pictures uplaoded! Have a happy Fat Tuesday!!

Some Explanations

I had to wait to explain until our bums had been covered and we'd notified our employers. SO, Drumroll please>>>>>......>>>>>.....

We Are Moving March 1st!

Johnny left the New Yorker Friday night and he says he feels much better...so that's good. I know it sounds sudden...but the way our apartment lease is set up we have to give thirty days notice, from the 1st. So it was either March first or April first and I don't know that we can afford to move any later because of Rent. We've been talking about moving and planning on moving for a while but now that we have the actual deadline...I'm freaking out! I keep looking around my house trying to figure out how we have nothing, but too much stuff to move out there.
So here's the plan:
**Johnny will be going out to Missouri for a week in the middle of February to actually meet with some people. We're still dealing with people not looking cause we're in Salt Lake. He'll be taking a stack of resumes and hopefully doing some interviewing.
**If he finds a job, he'll be looking for an apartment.
**March First we will be driving our little selves and all our worldly possessions across country. I don't know where our final destination will be. Right now our pit stop will be my parent's house in Carthage, Missouri. (Just a couple weeks at the most)
**Its an adventure....I have to keep telling myself, and sometimes Johnny, it will be an adventure.

So since Johnny is no longer at the New Yorker, I've gotten a glimpse of what a normal marriage looks like. I think I kind of like it. It is a weird feeling knowing that I will see my husband every night and not just as I'm going to bed. We do have a lot more dishes than normal since we've been making dinner every night. But HE'S cleaning the house tonight...HA HA! Tomorrow we finally have our double date with Ryan and Jannali that we've been planning for almost two years now. It's also weird being able to plan a date NOT on Tuesday....or a holiday ON the actual day. For one brief shining moment we thought we could actually have valentine's day ON valentines day...but alas he will be in Missouri and I will be here. I think Amanda and I may have a girls night since both our men will be in the Show me state.

So I hope that fills anyone in who may have had questions. I realize it probably seemed worse than it is...but I'm a drama queen, you should expect that sort of thing by now!

The (not so) Calm Before the Storm

I love my husband. That's what's most important right now. He can be a turd and he has a temper, but I've known that all along. His temper mellowed for a bit, however his neurotin (the medication he's been on for his herniated disk) makes him a bit testy sometimes. But he loves me. I know he loves me even when he's a butthead. He's dropped back on his neurotin considerably but has had to add more pain medicine and muscle relaxers since the accident with the drunk driver. He has to have a neuro CT and bone scan on February 10th because the MRI's have only shown soft tissue damage and given no explanation for his now daily headaches. I know I'm not always as sympathetic as I should be, and I take him for granted. He has been working two jobs the entire time we've been together. He starts at 9 in the morning at the Bakery and would often be out till 11 or later with the New Yorker. He works himself to death and then I expect him to come home and be happy and giggly and playful all the time but the second I have a bad day or headache I'm a total grump and just want to curl up in bed.

Something happened last night. The details are not important. Suffice it to say our ball has been kicked and we are rolling full speed ahead. The next month is going to be a complete whirlwind for us and we are entering completely uncharted territory in our lives. I love my husband, and we can make it through this stronger and happier than ever....that's what's important right now.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Yes I know my blog looks a mess, right. I am trying to update with cuteness and the Christmas one is STUCK, hardcore. I'm enabling the help of my somewhat more tech savvy (read: nerdy) friends so it should be fully adorable by tonight. Thanks for your understanding!


EDIT:Ha! I figured it out all on my own...Hooray! Still tweaking it as bit...but it should be fabulous soon!

Frustration

I am getting really frustrated with the job hunt! Since October we (I for John) have sent in at least 20 resumes to jobs from Kansas City, to Arkansas, to Oklahoma, and yes, even Branson. We've only heard back now from 3...count it, 3! One wrote us back to say the position had been filled, one won't pay enough and is only offering a part-time position (and doesn't know what the hell he's doing) and we just got another email asking if we were planning on moving. The job we applied for in Oklahoma lo the many months ago at the casino is looking for a sous chef again so Johnny'll be calling them today or tomorrow to check up on that. One place, that Johnny would have been GREAT for said "we didn't bother calling you back cause we didn't want to pay to relocate someone." Paid relocation is not necessary for us, we're about at the point of giving notice, packing up, and moving and THEN finding a job. People are not even looking at us cause we live in Utah. Mom thinks it may also be because of the last name. Racist redneck bastards! I've put in the email or cover letter for most of the jobs that we are planning to move or in the process of moving, but still NOTHING. FAH!

I'm getting frustrated and so is Johnny. He is SO over tiredthat I feel like if he's home, he's sleeping. Or I'm sleeping because it's midnight and I have to work in the morning. Not gonna lie, I'm a little starved for attention. Which really makes everything that much more frustrating. I know I'm not the first to go through this schtuff and I will not be the last, and it could be worse, and really I'm just being a big baby....so this is my whiney baby post.

On a funner note~I got to babysit Tristan again on saturday. He does not look like a naked turtle anymore, he is definitely a chubster mcgee. And adorable. And I heart him. That is all.

I Heart Playgrounds!

Yesterday was my day off for the week. My boss is wonderful and has made sure that no matter what my schedule is she makes sure that I have Tuesday nights off to be with my hubby. He is in winter hours so works in the mornings giving me a chance to sleep in and watch my guilty pleasures like Real Housewives of Orange County, Intervention, the First 48...you get the idea. Yesterday I got the urge to go for a walk/jog--if I don't do so immediately when I get these urges, my laziness wins out and I never go. So out I went--I walked over to the park by my house and had the best out of house experience I've had by myself in quite a while. First I played on the swings. I love swinging, I always have. It's the closest I'll ever get to flying. I had a rude awakening when I moved to the monkey bars. After a year and a half of not waiting tables, my tray arm has definitely weakened. I felt very sad and pathetic....and tall cause I could touch the ground! Some boys came to play in the skate park area and I felt lame so I made my way around the park to the duck pond. I love duck ponds! I want a koi pond and a duck pond when I grow up and have a mansion. I watched the ducks and geese and laughed at their noises which sound like laughter. I laughed at the geese that had eaten sticky cake someone left which gave them all crumb mustaches and felt bad for the one who accidentally flew into the tree. I stopped at the swings again and went down the slide before leaving the park, lamenting the fact that I was alone and could, therefore, not play on the teeter-totter. I jogged home and found my house was an oven compared to the cool winter air I'd spent the last hour playing in. I love being a little kid! Maybe the real reason I want to have children is so I can feed ducks and swing and slide and teeter-totter to my heart's content without feeling lame or judged. Maybe the real reason I want to teach elementary school is because I want to that age again, I want to be that person again, I just want to play again!

...And A Happy New Year!

I can not believe it is 2009! I hope you have all had wonderful holidays and celebrations. I had a fabulous first married Christmas. My parents and baby brother came out from Missouri and My Sister and her 8mo old baby came up from Arizona. I loved having my parents staying with us, I'm not sure Johnny loved it quite as much as I did but....that's to be expected I suppose. We were very busy running back and forth doing all kinds of stuff and nothing at all.

Little Tristan was blessed on Sunday by his daddy with help from his Bestefar (my daddy John), his Great grandpa (also John), Uncle Johnny, and some other gentlemen I don't know. This is the second nephew that Johnny has stood in the circle for the blessing of. It is a blessed reminder of how grateful I am that he holds the Priesthood. It's some thing that I know I take for granted, but that is, and has always been, so important to me. One of my goals this year is to live more like the person I want to be in the Gospel. I have been severely lacking in that aspect of my life and I can feel it and it really bothers me. I am so grateful to have the Gospel in my life and the Priesthood in my home. I hope that as we focus more on that part of our lives that we will grow together as a family, we will be prepared to raise children in the gospel, and Johnny will feel worthy and ready to take our own baby into his arms to give her a name and blessing.

That was a little deeper than anticipted.

In all the hustle, I failed to take any pictures ( I know...shocking.) I have elaborate plans to take a post-first Christmas First Christmas picture with our adorable tree which, yes, is still up! I'm not sure if that will actually happen so in the meantime I will bore you with a few of my fav Bridals.

I Love my Mommy!

Alright so we have a couple goofy ones, and A Classic...not really cohesive but it is what you get today!

I was a little excited...just a bit....

I Call this one..."A Woohoo"
I love the background on this one!
Ryan did such a good job I love all the pics...more to come. Not all of them goofy I promise!