Fun on a cold day

Amber's creation

Nathan's creations

A side view of my creation

My creation...isn't she cute?

I found this idea in the December issue of Family Fun. We decided to give it a try yesterday. I think they came out really cute and everyone had fun.

Charlotte, North Carolina!

My mother-in-law got her mission call! She's going to the mission home in Charlotte, North Carolina. We are all so surprised because she had requested to go to the Family History Center in SLC, and older single sisters usually get called where they want to go (at least more often than young missionaries). When she called us she said the thought it was hilarious and she hadn't stopped laughing. Anyway, she's really excited and we're excited for her!

Quote

The difference between an ordeal and an adventure is...attitude.

Good stuff, mostly

Amber's been doing really well. She's made several comments lately that give us hope. She seems sincere and happy. Yay! She's actually been really fun to be around. I chaperoned a young women meeting last night and it was awesome. It was so nice to see her happy and with a good attitude regarding church. We were watching a video about the theme for the year and it had a lot of different segments to it. She kept saying, "We can watch another one. Let's watch another one. We have time." She was laughing and joking around with Emily, which was really cool to see. They were both laughing and joking around, but not in an irreverent or sarcastic way.

I have an earache, a headache and PMS! Yuck! I actually left school early today because of my migraine. I never do that!

Amber had an orthodontist appointment after school today, and they said she will get her braces off next month, on the 24th.! Yay! I'm happy for her because she's had them on for a long time, but I'm also excited because they are expensive! She's had them on for three years now, and it costs over $300 a month. It's worth it, though. I would never want her to think that I resent paying for them because I don't. But three years is long enough.

I start Weight Watchers tomorrow. Yay! Maybe in a few months you will notice a thinner, healthier me!

A couple new digital scrapbook pages

Catching up

Well, things are going really well with Amber so far. She is making good choices and seems to really want to change her life around. She's gone to seminary both days and is all registered to start school tomorrow. She got a letter today in the mail saying that she won a poetry contest, so that was exciting for her. She's gone to family events and just hung out with us a lot. We've also been reading scriptures each night together.

Megan had a friend over this weekend. She was such a polite, sweet girl. Megan wanted her friend to meet Amber, plus she wanted to spend time with Taylor. We took them to Eastern Slope Inn on Saturday to go swimming. We invited Darcy and Gus and the boys to come, too. It was so relaxing for us and fun for the kids. All the kids loved it, except Tannon. He was not impressed at all, but he did get used to it towards the end.

Nathan is watching Chuggington right now, a new animated show about trains. He loves it.

Well, I start my next class tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it actually because I enjoy the reading and discussions that we have in class. I'm not so into writing papers, but that's okay.

Nathan at 5 1/2

Right now, at 5 1/2, Nathan:

loves Martha Speaks, Jungle Junction and Busytown Mysteries on TV

is learning to read (on level 3 at school)

is well liked at school

his best friends are Branson, Joshie, Kacie, Kaylin, Isaiah and Rhiana

eats more at mealtime than he used to (likes spaghetti, tacos, chicken, broccoli, hot dogs, etc.)

is a CTR at church (DeeDee is his teacher this year)

Amber is moving back

Amber is moving back in with us, probably next week. We're really hoping things go well this time. Jackie, you're going to have another seminary student! Yay!

Looking forward to...

Here are a few things I'm looking forward to as a thinner person (hopefully this summer):

• Getting a Clinique makeover (I don't have to be thinner to do this, but it is going to be a reward for me because I have a feeling it will be expensive. Also, I've found that my eyes are getting really sensitive to the regular makeup I usually use)
• Playing tennis
• Jumping rope (I know this sounds kind of weird, but I loved this as a kid and it's good cardio exercise)
• Hiking
• Riding horses (we'll have AJ and Chance down here this spring)

Christmas

Here are all the kiddos in front of the tree.

Stop the Bite

Last night, I commented to Nathan that he seemed to be getting better at not biting his nails. He said, "Yeah, I quitted that whole business. It causes too much trouble." He's so funny! We had just started painting the tips of his fingers and his nails with Stop the Bite. It's this really yucky tasting, but harmless, clear liquid that you paint on like nail polish. He hates that stuff, but it works really well. I guess he decided it wasn't worth it to keep biting his nails.

2009 in review

What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? Went to a Literacy for All conference in Providence, Rhode Island, joined facebook, been a mom to a Kindergartener, brought Nathan to soccer camp, started my Master's Degree ...


Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I improved in some areas, but not in others. I made more for this year.



Did anyone close to you give birth? We got 3 new great nieces, Syndney, Gabriella and Aris and one great nephew, Mikey


Did anyone close to you die? No one, thankfully.


What countries did you visit? No other countries, but we did go to the Catskill Mountains in New York on a weeklong family vacation


What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? Better health and an ipod


What was your biggest achievement of the year? I'd have to say, starting my Master's Degree. Those first couple classes were kind of intense.


What was your biggest failure? Gaining weight instead of losing it...Uggh!


Did you suffer illness or injury? Nope


What was the best thing you bought? Scrapbooking stuff. Awesome!


Whose behavior merited celebration? Dan because he's such an awesome husband and father, all the time


Where did most of your money go? Plane tickets for the girls, braces for Amber, a new lawn mower and a generator. Oh, and the playhouse/shed


What did you get really, really, really excited about? Scrapbooking, of course!



What do you wish you'd done more of? Exercised


What do you wish you'd done less of? Eating


How did you spend Christmas? We did our tree with the 24th, but on Christmas day, we went down to my parents' house and then to see Grammy Record. We celebrated with Dan's side the day after Christmas.


Did you fall in love in 2009? Of course, with my Danny Boy.



What was your favorite TV program? My favorite would have to be 18 Kids and Counting. I love lots of shows on TLC.


What was the best book you read this year? The Storekeeper's Daughter by Wanda Brunstetter


What did you want and get for Christmas? A Cricut, but I didn't think I'd get one. Dan and I weren't going to buy each other anything, but Dan surprised me with it.



What was your favorite film of this year? The Blind Side


What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 37. We went to my favorite restaurant, the Olive Garden. Aaaahhhh!


What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having more energy


How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005? Uh, fashion?


What kept you sane? Having a family, calling and a job that I love.


What political issue stirred you the most? The whole move away from true freedom


Who did you miss? My brother Matt


Who was the best new person (people) you met? My Master's Degree Cohort is awesome. I have a whole new group of friends.


Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: There is a lot of peace and satisfaction in being prepared