1.28.2010

San Antonio visit

During the Christmas break we were able to go down south and visit my family. It was the first time that James was able to meet his cousin, Micaela. We were horrible parents and didn’t take as many pictures as we should have since it was his first Christmas, but here are a few that we have :)

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James with his uncle David

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Cousin Micaela, Aunt Andrea and James posing right before riding the train near the zoo.

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Look at that pouty face that James has- I think it is so adorable!

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James with Aunt Ashley in Provo right before we left for San Antonio

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James and daddy opening up presents in Provo before leaving for San Antonio

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Christmas morning with Daddy

2010 Goals

With it being a new year, the young women’s organization has been asked to create goals for 2010. Some of the goals that we have for the girls as well as us leaders include going to the temple monthly, reading the Book of Mormon, completely Personal Progress experiences and projects, etc.
While coming up with the goals, I have felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility for the girls that I am over. This responsibility has had me wonder, “Am I doing enough and am I spiritually prepared to have Heavenly Father be able to guide me to know what to do for the girls?” Lately I have been feeling stressed and overwhelmed with things that I know I should be doing. I need to get into the homes of our inactive girls and sit and visit with their families. I need to clean the 3rd bedroom (our ‘collect-all’ bedroom that contains my countless crafts, books, and seasonal decorations). I need to read to James more. I need to stay up on my school reading. I need to go to the temple more often. I need to spend more quality time with Matt rather than watching TV with him. I need to take down the Christmas stockings (yes they are still up). I need to find new recipes for dinner. I need to set aside more time for in depth scripture study. I need to remember to take my vitamins everyday. I need to take more pictures of James. I need, I need, I need. The list goes on and on.
In this overwhelmed state, I decided to talk to Matt about it. I have found that by just voicing what I am feeling, I am able to work out problems and find a solutions better than when I just think about it. In talking to him he reassured me that I am doing a good job, but we came up with an action plan… I guess you could say my own personal 2010 goals. For me, I need a clean house to feel motivated to do other things- if the house is dirty, I tend to get lazy and not want to do anything. So the first thing that I do everyday is make sure that the living room, dining room and kitchen are clean. My goal everyday is to then do something ‘extra’ (aside from the normal things I do) in each of the following categories: spiritual, temporal, and relationship.
The relationship category has reaped the most blessings. For the relationship category I find one new way every day to show my love for either Matt or James. Yesterday it was spending 45 minutes reading to James. The day before that was getting Matt an tiny accessory for his Ipod. The day before that was making him brownies (his favorite) in the shape of a heart. I have noticed that it is so easy to put Matt on the back burner when there is lots of homework to do, James to take care of, and young women stuff to complete. By doing this goal Matt and I are able to serve each other and really become closer rather than just staying the same.
For the temporal goal, I do one chore that I wasn’t planning on doing or one assignment that isn’t due until later. This goal helps me feel accomplished. There are so many times when I finish the day and I feel like, “What have I done today? I don’t have anything to show for myself.”. This goal helps me feel like I have accomplished something.
For the spiritual goal, everyday I try to really take time out of my day to grow spiritually whether that is through reading the Ensign or New Era, watching a church history dvd, or share my testimony with a less active young woman.
Overall this has really helped me feel better about myself because I know that slowly but surely I am improving :)

12.08.2009

cutest boy ever!!

I love dressing James up in cute clothes. I think its a blessing in disguise that we don’t have a lot of extra money because I would definitely want to buy LOTS of cute clothes for James.
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SNOW!!!

Here in Utah we have been in need of moisture for some time and we have finally gotten a good dose of it! 19 feet of snow fell in the mountains near our home yesterday. We only received about 8 inches of that at our house, but I still think that is a lot for one day! This week is full of snow storms, so hopefully I will be able to take more pictures of it! Here is a picture of James all bundled up getting ready to go to the store with me.

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YUMMY FINGERS!

James LOVES his fingers… especially when they are in his mouth! Usually babies like to put their thumb in their mouth, but James on the other hand loves to put his pointer finger and his thumb in his mouth at the same time.
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I am sure if he could he would put his entire fist in there! Here he is with an “You caught me” look:
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Here he is after reading books:

Tis The Season!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The time we get to spend with family, remembering Christ, the friendliness of strangers, the hot chocolate, the Christmas trees and decorations, all of the neighborhood lights, and yes, even the snow (I never thought I would be saying that!). The Sunday after Thanksgiving we decided to put up our Christmas tree- this is the first Christmas that we have an artificial tree. :( I love the experience of going and chopping down a Christmas tree like we did last year, but since James is now here, we thought it would be safer if we stuck to an artificial tree instead.

We started putting it together pretty late at night, and James was fascinated by what we were doing- here he is watching dad put the tree together:002 - Copy

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The tree is almost done…

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The finished tree…

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Now its time for lights! If you look closely you can see the Christmas lights :)

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In case you didn’t notice, while Matt was putting up the lights, James decided to spit up all over himself so we had to change his outfit :)

While we were putting up the ornaments, James fell asleep so we didn’t take anymore pictures with him and the tree. But here is the finished product along with a few other Christmas decorations. I wish I could buy/make more decorations, but we have to be frugal. Oh some day!

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