Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 in Numbers

ZERO cavities at Avery's 1st dentist visit.















ONE beautiful baby girl added to our family.













TWO glorious braids. FREEEEEEEDOM!!


THREE visits from Steve's Utah abiding parents. (3rd visit not pictured)

















Our FOUR legged friend was kicked outside permanently for bad, bad, bad behavior.















FIVE chairs reupholstered

















 

SIX fish caught identical to this one (or maybe just one, Steve would love it if 6 were the real number)


















SEVEN adoring cousins at Avery's 2nd birthday party.



EIGHT teeth grown in, and they are sharp, trust me.














My NINE months of pregnancy (plus one week, don't forget the extra week!) came to a blissful end.


















TEN million tantrums thrown by this little lady























ELEVEN inches of hair chopped off to save my ever loving mind














And just last night TWELVE amazing hours of solid sleep from Heidi Sue. This pretty much made my year, and just in the nick of time, the last day of 2013.













It really has been a blessed and wonderful year, filled with lots laughter, a few tears, and an incredible amount of love. Here's to reigning in another great year. Watch out 2014, here we come!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Felt Dolls

I like to make a homemade gift for Christmas (almost) every year, and this year I made felt "paper" dolls for Avery. I almost bought the pattern here....but not even including materials it would have cost $37 smackaroos. So I opted to make my own pattern based off of this one. It was time consuming and tedious, but surprisingly really fun. I think most women are suckers for tiny things and clothes, so when you combine the two, its a match made in Heaven. 
Avery is really into non-human (namely puppies) toys, so this is my attempt to pique her interest in dolls. Is that so bad? I figure if my little ploy doesn't work, I'll just play it!












And yes, I realize her eyes are not symmetrical, but, other than Barbie and possibly Kim Kardasian (post plastic surgery of course) whose eyes are? Just keepin' it real. 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Best Way to Kill Christmas Cheer

Is singing loud for all to hear. Just kidding. That's the best way to spread Christmas cheer.. No, I discovered the best way to kill Christmas cheer is with one word: Obamacare.

Last night Steve and I went to Home Depot for the THIRD time in the last three nights to get a Christmas tree. (The first two tries they were out of trees...out of trees!) Last night we were in luck and they had just got a new shipment fresh from the tree farm. I was feeling the Christmas spirit real good. Picture me dancing in the Christmas tree aisle, with Avery in my arms, singing along to all the Christmas tunes playing. I was in rare form.

We picked out our perfect tree and  two Home Depot guys tied it to our SUV for us. We were joking around with them and such, when suddenly, not even sure how this happened, one of the employees mentioned Obamacare and how he is signed up for the cheapest plan which is $500 a month, it only covers two visits to the doctor a year, has a $5000 deductible, and no prescription coverage. Total buzzkill.

Steve and I both were pretty introverted on the drive home thinking about what that employee said. And its not like we haven't heard all of the Obamacare issues before last night, but it sounded more real coming from a Home Depot employee than from Bill O'Reilly. It hit home, and it hit hard.
When we got home, I couldn't muster the strength to decorate the tree last night. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry at the thought of our family's future. Our poor tree doesn't even have one strand of lights on it.

This morning I was still struggling to think about anything else but what lies ahead for our family in 2014 and suddenly I remembered a quote from President Monson:
"My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."
In fact, the entire talk, from where that quote comes, is nothing short of amazing and incredibly uplifting. http://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/05/be-of-good-cheer. Read it. Its a good one. I needed to read that talk today.

It is so easy to get caught up in worldly problems, like money, and forget that the plan of salvation has zero to do with politics, grocery bills, insurance, etc. I need to be reminded often what this life is about. I need to have more faith and trust in the Lord that all the things we experience are for our good. If our family struggles financially next year, it will be for our good, and the Lord will not leave us. I know that.

Now...time to tackle that not-so-spirited-Christmas tree.