New Years Eve..

We are back from Snowflake early. We had intended on staying through tomorrow but we had a horrible night with Elodie last night so we decided to come home a day early. What can I say? The girl has been trained to sleep in her own bed, in her own room, with the door shut, music on, and her bears.....last night at grandma Brewer's we were missing her own room, music...oh, and HEAT!! Grandma doesn't run the heater through the whole house so it was FREEZING!! Elodie was completely exhausted but tossed and turned and cried pretty much the entire night....we maybe got 3 good hours of sleep. It was not fun and as soon as the sun was up Chris and I had made up our minds that we were heading out that day. It was a tough ride home since we had just done it the morning before but it is nice to be home and we will all be grateful to go to bed in our own beds tonight!!

We don't have any fabulous New Year's Eve plans..we never do...even when we didn't have any kids. It's just not us...we enjoy getting together with friends to play games but never till midnight. Especially tonight with Elodie's little adventure last tonight. It's a given that we will be in bed before 11pm tonight...which happens to be one of our new years resolutions. With Kohl's holiday hours I haven't been getting home until close to 1am every night I work...if Chris waits up for me then it means we don't get to bed until 1:30am or so..it's been hard to wake up, especially for Chris..now that the holidays are over we are hoping to get back on a better schedule..an earlier schedule!!

More resolutions tomorrow!! Happy New Year

A little bit of change.....


turns into $53!! Christopher and I have been putting all of our change in this jar for the last year...it took us so long to build it up because we kept dipping in to it and using the change for coke runs!! :) But it finally filled up and Chris and I took the time today to sift through it all and this is what we got!! Crazy huh? And we really didn't do much to earn it! Just a little bit of patience and VOILA!!
Today I am going to take my check and my change and open a new account for our family. We've decided that we want to take Elodie to Disneyland for Christmas next year....a graduation/family vacation. We want to start saving our money now so that we can really go all out for this trip. We want to stay in a really nice Disney resort, hit the hot spot eats, shopping and souveniers, and really enjoy every minute of our trip!! Especially since we haven't had any type of family vacation since our honeymoon..this trip is way over due and we still have to wait a year!! It will be worth it though and I'm excited to be saving for it. And hopefully Elodie will be at the perfect age to enjoy Mickey and Minnie and all their friends! :) I'm excited to because I have never been to California before so this will be a first for me as well. WooHoo..I'm really excited to start saving!!
We will be spending New Years with Chris family up in Snowflake. It's not usual for us to go up to Snowflake 2 weekends in a row but Chris' dad is getting the UFC fight on PayPerView and Chris and I really want to see it....yes I like fight night too! :) We leave tomorrow sometime in the morning and will be back on New Years Day...fun fun!
Until the New Year!!

Christmas Update...

We had a great Christmas...this year was really fun for Elodie because she is getting to the age where she likes certain things and kinda has the idea behind Santa. We didn't push the Santa too hard..she didn't want to sit on his lap and I was okay with that...it would have been a crying picture and we already have one of those.
Here is our weekend leading up to Christmas....
Thursday I worked so we didn't do much
Friday I was off, Christopher got off around 2pm and we headed out to do some last minute shopping. We certainly didn't want to be out shopping on Saturday. We met up with Chris' parents later that night..they were in town for Marshall's knee so we had dinner together. We went and saw the Temple lights which were gorgeous and enjoyed our quiet time with Grama and PaPa Yarn. The rest of the night was spent hopping from Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart looking for a papasan chair for Elodie....we knew for a while that we wanted to get her one and knew we would get it at Wal-Mart but for some reason kept putting it off.....we of course waited too long to get it and now it seemed like every store was out. We hit 4 Wal-Marts before we found the 1 and only Little Mermaid chair. Thank Heavens....we definitely got a taste of what it's like for parents around these holidays....we learned our lesson...next year, shop early!! And we did for the most part but that one chair got us!!
Saturday morning I worked then Chris picked me up and we headed out to a flea market to meet up with Chris' parents for a little more until they headed back up to Snowflake.
Saturday night we went to the Despain's for a Christmas party and enjoyed hanging out with that part of our family.
Sunday was Christmas eve...Elodie looked so cute in her dress...see slide show below....came home, made some goodies, did some bucket drop off's and relaxed the rest of the day...We wrapped presents and I finished up Amanda's scrapbook.
Monday morning was so much fun...Elodie came out of her room and saw her pink bike and said" Yeah, pink bike, you did it mommy!!" It was really cute...you could tell she was a little overwhelmed with all the presents but we really enjoyed her reactions!
After presents we headed out for Snowflake and spent the rest of the day with Chris' family...we had a great time and everyone really enjoyed themselves. We are planning to head back up there for New Years so it should make for another enjoyable weekend. We came back from Snowflake late Monday night...well early Tuesday morning...1am...BLAH! We were all beat and were happy to be home after such a long day. Tuesday morning when Elodie woke up it was like Christmas all over again...her bike was left under the tree from the day before and we she came into the living room she said "yeah, pink bike, you did it mommy!!" How sweet to be surprised over the same thing all over again! She is so fun!
Christopher was back to work Tuesday morning and I worked Tuesday night...my shifts have slowed down alot...only 2 days this week and next week. Kohl's called to see if I wanted some hours but I'm actually looking forward to the time off..I was working about 25 or 26 hours a week up until Christmas so this is definitely needed! Hopefully with all the time off I'll actually look forward to going back. My paychecks on the other hand I won't look forward to!
Christopher put in his notice at Schneider and he starts his new job on the 15th of January...same day that school starts.
Lots to look forward to in the new year!!

My thoughts on the day after Christmas...

For the past couple of holidays I have had an attitude about the day after Christmas...especially working in retail. It's frustrating and it really boggles my mind!! I worked last night at Kohl's and it was so surprising how many people were out buying stupid stuff...towels, table runners....TOYS!! Were these things such a priority that you just had to get out the day after everyone is suppose to have gotten all the things they wanted and you just have to go shopping? Obviously to you these things are a priority but to me I just see it as a lack of gratitude and appreciation. Clearly the things that you got the day before don't mean a thing to you because you are already out the very next day looking for something new. This is obviously a problem for some people who just need to be out shopping!

I am always shocked by the number of people who are out shopping the day after Christmas....you would think that the day after Christmas would be the one day that people wouldn't be out shopping. That this day would be a good exuse not to get out of the house. By this point you would think that people would be sick of shopping!! But no...not in our society!

The day after Christmas has really been a good reflection for me. I like to see the day after Christmas as a day to reflect on all the things I've been blessed with. I like to see it is one of the one days out of the year that I don't need anything and I can just be content with the things that I have. If you really think about it, the average family probably spends over $1000 per christmas...even a family as small as ours....between presents for everyone, christmas baking, christmas cards, candy, stockings..etc. Enough is enough....I think the day after Christmas all the stores in America should be closed. Because if you can't enjoy the things that you got on Christmas day then why did you get them in the first place!!! Enough said!!

P.S- This is not to say that I am against Christmas (obviously) I will always make this time of year enjoyable and memorable for my family but in the process teach them the importance of being content and happy with the things we have. It's a person problem in general! We should all take the challenge!
And I will be posting pictures of our fabulous Christmas later!! :)

It's official!!

News of the day....Christopher got a job offer today from Carter/Burgess...the first engineering firm he applied with. He hadn't heard back from them since the interview on Thursday and it was seriously driving him nuts..and me nuts for him! Since we had never done the whole interview with a big company before we didn't know what the time frame was like. Chris was assuming they would get back to him fairly quick because of how quickly they wanted to interview him. This morning he just couldn't take it anymore, He decided to send them an email this morning just to touch base....here is my availability date, if you need any more information type email. Well, about 20 minutes after sending the email "the boss" gave him a call and made him an offer. "The Boss" said Chris beat him by about an hour...isn't that funny, had Chris waited he would have gotten the phone call anyway..figures....it's like when I don't call Chris to see when he is coming home, it feels like forever. But when I do call he is in the subdivision..had I just waited a few more minutes he would have been home.

So, we have a new job now and Christopher is excited. I know this is best for him..to give him the experience he needs and the training he deserves. He plans to start the same day that school starts again..January 15th..so about 4 weeks. I'm nervous for him and the reaction he will get from the Schneiders...they knew he was planning on switching but thought he wouldn't get a new job until the summer. This just all happened so fast and it certainly wasn't something we could
have predicted! I think he is going to try and tell them today so when I see him tonight hopefully all went well.

Christopher had 2 more job interviews scheduled after Carter/Burgess...he had one of them on Monday and although he liked them, they were going to pay less and he didn't like them as much as Carter/Burgess.....and the other interview he went ahead and cancelled. I'm so proud of him. I know it's a boost to put yourself out there and get so many responses in such a short perioud. Even a company who wasn't hiring sent him an email telling him that they were going to keep his resume on file for when they do start hiring.

Our only concern now is insurance..we are covered fully through the Schneiders and don't know who we will afford it otherwise...we don't qualify for State help so we will just have to pray about and see what happens. Thankfully we have all been healthy but insurance is definitely something you need "just in case". Things to worry about after the holiday!!

5 days till Christmas...got Emilee's gift from Elodie shipped today...only need to get my stockings filled and something for Justin.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Cake Anyone?

I think this is my favorite cake so far..I've done 22 cakes so far and I love the way this one turned out. I'm a little behind in posting, I did this cake 2 Sunday's ago for a friends 4 year olds birthday. With anything, I love when you can picture it in your mind and when it all comes together, it looks exactly like what you had invisioned. -

This was the first time I painted a cake...used this stuff called luster dust...very messy but the outcome is FABULOUS! All shimmery and sparkley....loved it! All the shells are white chocolate painted in luster dust and the sand is graham cracker crust.

The cake made it to its destination safely and the reaction was very good!! I can breathe a sigh of relief once the cake has been delivered. Until that point I'm a nervous wreck! But all went well and hopefully more cake orders to come!

In other news..Christmas just 6 days away...only a handful of presents to buy and stockings to stuff. My favorite day is coming tomorrow...baking holiday stuff tomorrow for the Schneiders and other friends! Love that part! Christopher's parents will be here Thursday through Saturday...making plans to go see the Temple lights Friday night....they are so pretty and I know Elodie will really enjoy them this time!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

New Job, New Camera, New Brakes...



We have had a great weekend so far...nothing like wrapping up the weekend with a relaxing Sunday afternoon.
I mentioned a couple of post ago that Christopher decided to start looking for a new engineering firm to work for...remember, the whole reason we decided to give up our house! Anyway, his resume was finally ready to post Thursday. There was this guy who had been helping him update his resume...this particular guy works at Carter/Burgess..an engineering firm in downtown Phoenix. Christopher had been working with this guy for the last couple of weeks and throughout the whole resume process was hoping that in the end this guy would pass Chris' resume on to his boss. Well, guess what happened! Just that. Christopher got an email from this guy Wednesday afternoon saying that he wanted to pass Chris' resume on to his boss and wanted to know if that would be okay with Chris...uh YEAH! And then about 20 minutes later Chris' gets a call from "the boss" and sets up an interview to meet with him Thursday morning! Interview went great, now Christopher gets to sit back and stress until a hopeful offer is made! The other crazy thing is Chris got to work mid Thursday and had 2 other firms waiting to set up job interviews with him!! From what they all say, Chris' resume is very impressive and they all want to meet with him! Definitely a testament to paying our tithing and Chris being dedicated to his schooling. Did I mention he made the deans list again this semester..4th time in a row!
Christopher really likes Carter/Burgess and the great thing is that they are putting an office in the east valley...where we live now. The commute would stink for the time being but I would love to stay in this area!

Friday we celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We decided it was time to purchase a new camera and we did just that. A little pricey but definitely worth it. We got a canon Powershot S3.....fabulous camera, takes pictures immediately, and the quality is perfect. I think I will be really happy with this camera. I liked my little Sony Powershot, but the screen blacked out on us about 2 or 3 months ago and when we called Sony to see if could be fixed, 1. it was going to cost about the same as the camera was worth and 2. they had a recall for a certain model of their powershots but of course our model wasn't included in that recall, even though the symptoms were exactly the same, Sony said they couldn't do anything because they hadn't tested our model and it could be something we did to the camera!! Chris told Sony he was going to throw the camera in the trash and buy a canon...we didn't throw our sony away but we did buy a canon! :) It isn't hard to believe that we have been married 5 years..it actually feels longer than that..in a good way, mostly because we have been togther since I was 16...10 years...now thats a long time! We went to dinner with Audrey and Derek to this steakhouse out in Queen Creek....really fun atmosphere with big fire pits you can roast marshmellows in and a live band. We had a great time with them and came home smelling like a campfire. What else could you ask for on your anniversary! We have really gotten to be good friends with Audrey and Derek and really enjoy their company. Elodie and Ryanna get along so well and thats fun too.

Saturday we took our car in to get the brakes looked at. We knew they needed some help..Chris had changed the brake pads twice and they still squeeked...recently they started grinding...serious problems...which we knew since we just paid our car off in October! So around 10am Chris dropped me and Elodie off at the mall and he took the car in and walked to the mall. We did some shopping, ate lunch at BJ's, and went to see "Happy Feet"..finally used that gift card we got last Christmas from the Schneiders. 6 hours later, a 1 mile walk back to the brake place (we didn't know it was THAT far-but the walk was nice,good thing we had the stroller) and $650 our car has new brake everything and is as good as new. We knew it was bad and was in need of a good makeover. Thankfully we had the money in savings. Although, I tdon't know which is worse..having the money and having to dip into savings (BLAH!) or not having the money and stressing out about how you are going to pay off that huge credit card debt. I will take option A....even though it stinks that we had to dip into savings.

This next week is going to be crazy...can you believe the last week before Christmas! Only a few more things to get for Elodie and Christopher....a few books and a chair for Elodie and stocking stuffers for Christopher.
All of my christmas cards and newsletters have been mailed. Making all my holiday treats this week and we will be heading up to Snowflake Christmas day!!

Long Time No Cake....

I haven't made a cake since October's wedding cake so I was really excited when I was asked to make the bridal shower cake for Chris' cousin Randa. I think it turned out really cute and everyone loved the way it looked and tasted....what more could you ask for...a few more cake orders would be nice since I'm asking! I'm not doing the wedding cake but I was happy to help out with the bridal shower.

In other news, I can't believe it is December! Christopher's last day of school is tomorrow and his last final is next Tuesday!!! This semester has gone by super fast...no complaints on this end that is for sure! This will be a much needed break from school and he won't go back until the end of January...VERY NICE!!
We are slowly getting ready for the holidays, we put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving and it's been so fun to see Elodie's reaction to the Christmas season...hopefully this year she won't scream bloody murder when she gets her picture taken with Santa. We've done some christmas shopping..I love our method because even though nothing is a surprise, it's so fun to shop together.

Chris is getting me a sewing machine and some Stampin' Up markers I've had my eye on forever! Really excited about that....since both of my gifts are pretty expensive my shopping is pretty much done.

Chris on the other hand is alittle harder to shop for! He really wants a $1500 laptop but since that is way out of our budget we took the more practical route: new shoes, clothes, a dvd burner, and I'll surprise him with a few other things under the tree and in his stocking! The stockings are the funnest part because those end up being our only real surprises!
Elodie has been so fun to shop for this year. She LOVES Strawberry Shortcake and anything Princess and it's been really hard not to buy everything of both of those things. She has been asking for a pink bike forever so as soon as we got our Christmas Bonus we went and got it for her....it's hiding in the storage closet as I type. I also got her some christmas pj's, clothes, a couple of books and a Strawberry Shortcake DVD and MEGA coloring book. Good Christmas!! We are super excited to see her face Christmas morning when the bike is under the tree with a huge bow on it!
It's going to be really fun and will only get more fun as the years pass. I see how parents can go overboard for their kids! It's the season!!

Bummed...

Elodie still takes an afternoon nap....WOOHOO!..so when she laid down this afternoon after lunch I was all excited to get some scrapbooking out and spend the next 3 hours in the zone. I usually spend most of Elodie's naps doing chores I can't do while she is awake...I'm making a resolution for myself though because by the time I get all the house stuff I need to do done, I don't have anytime for myself because Elodie is awake. I've decided to atleast take 2 days out of the week for myself. Especially now that I'm working in the evenings and don't have that me time after Elodie goes down for the night. So, now back to my story....I pulled my scrap suitcase out...made room for myself at the dining room table....then I realized that all the stuff I needed was stashed in Elodie's closet. STINK!!

So I watched Dr. Phil and took a little siesta instead! :) Even though I wanted to scrap...I still feel good about the me time I took while Elodie is down. Tomorrow though for sure I am going to scrapbook! FOR SURE!

Thankful Tuesday...

I would wait until Thursday to do this but we will be on the road to Snowflake and know we will be pooped by the time we get home Thursday night. Plus Thankful Tuesday sounds better than Thankful Wednesday! :)

I love this time of year....we should give thanks and realize our blessings everyday of the year but this occasion is an extra special time to count my MANY blessings! Here are my top 10....

10. Our home...sounds silly with all the drama of giving up our new house but I have to be thankful for the house that we are in right now. I'm grateful that we live comfortably and feel safe in our home. I'm glad Elodie has a big backyard to play in, a subdivision thats quiet enough to take walks through, and a playground not too far from our house. Even though it will be a great milestone for our family when we move out of this house, for right now I'm grateful for where we are!

9. Our ward...we have been so blessed to be in a ward with so many other young married couples and small families. We all are going to school and it's so nice to have that common ground right off the bat. We have made some great friends in this ward and I know that we will continue that friendship well after we all move from here. I'm so glad that Chris and I are involved in our ward and have been given opportunities to lead and serve. I know that it has strengthened our testimonies of the gospel.

8. My blog...I'm so glad that I can keep a journal. I've always been a really good journal writer but this is so much more convenient!! It's so nice to be able to come in to our computer room, sit down for 15 minutes or so and type away! I love it and I really look forward to being able to record my thoughts and attach pictures! It's great!

7. Scrapbooking...I love my hobby! Even though it seems like lately I haven't had any free time to scrapbook, I love it! I love flipping through pages I have done and share them with others. It's such an outlet for me and I LOVE IT!!

6. Christopher's Job...man where would we be without it! I know that the whole purpose in us moving to Snowflake was so that I could work for Steve and get that connection for Christopher. The Schneider's have been SO good to us and we have been so blessed from Christopher's job! I'm sad for Chris to be moving on from this job...(we don't have an exact date yet..just whenever Chris get's his resume submitted and starts getting offers-we could easily stay with the Schneider's through next semester)...but I know that they will always hold a special place in our heart!

5. My Job!!....never thought I would be saying that. I didn't really like it at first, I love being home with my family but now 8 months later, I don't see a time when I will stop working...atleast not until we get pregnant again. I love that I can contribute to our financial status. I love that we are going to continue saving for a future home. I love that Christopher and Elodie get time together without me around. I know it's so good for both of them.

4. Our families...they are so supportive and loving. I'm sad that I live so far from them but I love the relationship we have and the times we get to share together. They are all wonderful and we love them!

3. Our health....it's such a blessing to never be sick (knock on wood)! One less stressful thing to worry about and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father that our family is healthy and
happy!

2. Elodie...I can't imagine my life without her! She is so much fun to be with, has such a sweet and innocent personality. I just love her! I love how complete our family feels with her in it....I know that she will eventually have a baby sister or brother but for now I feel content with our family. You only have one baby once and I want to enjoy it to it's fullest! I love being a mother and I love that I get the chance to raise such a sweet little girl!

1. CHRISTOPHER!!...he and Elodie were a toss up for first place! :) Ladies and Gentlemen I truely lucked up! Now Chris is far from perfect but he is the only one for me! I am blessed to have found a man...a very SMART man who works hard, who loves me, loves Elodie, wants to provide a good future for himself and his family, who loves the gospel and works hard to fufill his callings and responsibilities in the church. There are things that I can complain about....but when it is all added up, the complaints are just petty compared to all the wonderful things that Chris has given to me. I look forward to our future together. I know it is bright. I look forward to raising a family with Chris, purchasing a home, and all the wonderful things that come from having an eternal marriage. I'm so blessed to be in a relationship that is equal. I know Christopher respects me and appreciates all I do for our family. I'm just so lucky!

My thanks to my Heavenly Father for all the many blessings that I have. I know that trials and struggles are part of this life here on earth but I can appreciate them because of all the things that make me happy! I love my life, I love my family, and I'm just so happy to be where I am right now in my life!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Quiet Weekend...

We enjoyed our weekend with Chris' parents. It's always nice when they come to visit. We get to spend some one on one time with them and Elodie isn't competing for granma/papa attention. We met up with them Friday night after the cable guy came to our house...now the internet is working but our cable tv is all screwy and fuzzy...go figure. Fix one problem to get another one! We went to dinner with Chris' parents and Amanda and her friends. It was nice seeing Amanda. It's crazy we haven't seen the since the Big Dirty...time flies way too fast! I'm still getting use to the idea of cancelling on our house. Most everyone knows that we were planning on moving and so anytime we see someone we haven't talked to in a while, the first question is "how is your house going?" It's a bit of a bummer to tell the story over and over..sometimes I feel like I'm justifing our decision but it's the truth and it will be nice when everyone knows and we can move on to something else. For the time being it's no ones fault...everyone is just curious!

Amanda got an ultrasound done while she was down and it was so cute to see the little girl Atwood. So fun they are having a girl.

Saturday morning I worked..it's starting to get REALLY crazy with the holidays fast approaching. The store was crazy and I am so anxious to get my christmas shopping done so we can move past the mad rush of people!! I love this time of year though so I don't want it to pass too fast!! We met up with Chris' parents later that evening and went to dinner.

Sunday was church...and then Chris' parents came over for lunch and the nascar race. Very relaxing and nice to play hostess to them...they are always wanting to buy us dinner and such so it was nice to take care of them instead! Barbie and Marshall got me lots of lotions for my birthday and that was so nice of them.

We've decided to go down to Snowflake for Thanksgiving. Chris' cousin is getting married down here the day after Thanksgiving so it will just be the immediate family...should be nice and quiet....we will come up Thanksgiving day and come back that night..short and sweet. Chris has a 4 day weekend so I know he would like to enjoy that at home! WITH ME AND ELODIE! :)

Today is recupe day from the weekend. I try to keep from doing much on the weekend so come Monday everything is ready to be put back in shape. Kitchen, Laundry, Bathroom...etc...I like to have a clean house so I almost get antsy for Monday when I can reorganize my living space.

Got a chance to visit with Audrey and their new baby this afternoon. Chris came home for lunch so I went over there while he was home with Elodie. Such a cute little baby. I'm really excited for them and it's so fun to be apart of the process with good friends.

I work tonight and every night except Thursday and Saturday...should make for a great paycheck next week!
Chris is down to a mere 5 or so weeks of school left. CRAZY how fast this semester has flown by!! Hopefully the next 2 semesters will go by just as fast!

Putting my tree up at the end of this week...LOVE MY TREE and all the extras that go with it. I'm a matchy person. My ornaments match my tree skirt that matches my stockings..etc. I even bought extra stockings so our whole family would have matching ones. A little compulsive but I love the way it all looks together! All my Christmas decorations come with great memories of our 2nd Christmas married. We were in Snowflake for our 2nd reception when we got married so we celebrated our first Christmas in Snowflake with Chirs' family. Our 2nd Christmas was really our first since we were in our own house with our own tree and such. Chris got an xbox that year....good memories! I can't remember what I got...not because it wasn't special but because it was more fun to give to Christopher! That's how it should be.

Not sure what I am giving Chris this year...He wants a laptop but the one he wants cost $1400...not sure that's going to happen this year!! Our anniversary is coming up on the 15th of December and the traditional gift is wood and the modern gift is silverware. I'm bummed because I got Chris an office bookshelf for our anniversary last year..wish I would have waited! Need to put more thought in to it.....

Everybody knows what Elodie wants...A PINK BIKE!! We are definitely getting her one and I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning when she comes in and sees it under the tree...will definitely get that on video!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Random thoughts from the week...

So our internet has been out since SUNDAY!! I hate our cable connection...and what's worse is our home phone line is connected to our internet...so when our internet isn't working, our phone line isn't! Isn't it nice to be paying for something you can't even use!! Very frustrating! Cox is coming out this evening...the only time they could come is between 5-7pm! Who does this on a Friday night? And of course one of us has to be home! BLAH!! Hopefully they can fix it and we can move on!! Especially since it's so annoying when I come in the office to sit on the internet for a while and it's not working!! It's my link to the outside world! Thank heavens for a cell phone otherwise with everything down I would have no other communication with the world around me! Dramatic I know!!

So since I haven't had internet for the last 5 days...and for some reason it just started to work this morning....I'll take it while I've got it! I checked my AOL account and I had 31 emails!! And not just junky ones either....it was fun to let it sit for a while and then have all this good mail to go through! :)

To update since Monday, I worked both Monday and Tuesday night....I'm starting to pick up alot of hours...if I can get atleast 20 hours in one week it makes for a super good paycheck. I have that this week but it means me going in on Saturday morning...only till 1pm so it's not that bad. My manager told me that they have extra payroll so anytime I'm not working and I want to just come in. SWEET!
Wednesday night was home with the family...we went to Target, rented a movie (Cars, super cute and Elodie loved it!). Came home and veg'd as a family..Chris had a little bit of homework but not too much. He also ended up telling Bob that he was planning on leaving Schneider at the beginning of the year. He wasn't planning on it to keep from any awkwardness but Bob brought him home and was asking him about school and stuff...Chris couldn't keep it a secret so he told him. We were worried how they would react...especially with all the nice things they have done for us while Chris has worked for them...insurance, buying Chris' books, bonus', etc....but the Schneiders are fabulous people...Bob completely understood....I mean just think if he were in Chris' position..he would have done the exact same thing. And it's not about the Schneiders..it's about Chris getting out there and seeing what else is available before he graduates. As we knew, Bob told Chris his job was always waiting for him so that is nice to know! I think it's good that the Schneider's know because now Chris will have someone he can talk to about different companies and their offers...before Chris didn't really feel like he could talk to anyone about it. And who better to talk to than your bosses who have been doing this work for 10 or so years! Plus, it's not such a burden on Chris, he really didn't like the idea of keeping it from the Schneider's but nothing is set in stone so he didn't feel it right to say anything...Anyway...a heavy burden off Chris' shoulders...lets just hope this doesn't effect our Christmas bonus! :) Christopher got his resume back from review...there are a few changes he needs to make but overall looks good and is ready to be submitted to companies...EXCITING but bittersweet..I like Chris working for the Schneider's. It's all we have known since we have lived here so it's a bit scary to change. We will see. We feel really good about this move so the adventure is on!

Audrey had her baby boy Wednesday night....a 9 pounder!! Isn't that crazy!! I think they come home today but I haven't actually talked to her so I'm not for sure. Can't wait to see that baby! It's crazy it's been 9 months! Audrey wouldn't be saying that....it always goes faster when you aren't the one pregnant! :)

Last night was our Christmas Enrichment night. I did Christmas cards again this year and they were a success...love my stampin' up products...they really come in handy for actvities like this. It was a nice turn out and I think everyone enjoyed the crafts and had a good time.

And here we are this morning...word on the street is Chris' parents will be in town this weekend. Amanda is here is with her softball team..they are playing in a 4 day tournament in Mesa...hoping to see all of them while they are here.

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving..where oh where did this year go! Not sure what our plans are yet...we have gone up to Snowflake in the passed but haven't heard what everyones plans are yet. We will probably end up in Snowflake anyway just to be with family. I work Friday night so we will only go for the day.... Bums me out that we aren't in Louisiana....maybe after Chris graduates we can be a little more flighty!! :)

"It may not always go the way it should, but I know the heart of life is good" John Mayer

So what a difference a weekend can make...it's crazy how life can be going in a certain direction and with one choice everything gets flipped around..nothing terrible. Our family is healthy and happy and no one can complain when those things are going your way.

I know I've mentioned in previous post that Christopher went to a job fair hosted by the ASU Civil Engineering Department. It got him thinking about his career and if he wants to stay with Schneider...especially with how specialized they are, he wants to see what else is available and what else he might enjoy doing. Don't blame him especially since he will be doing it for the next 30 or so years...and how much of our own money has been put into his education...we need to get this right.

Well, the more he thinks about it and talks to me about it, the more determined he is to find a different job with a different company. He is very interested in land development and there are some huge companies in the Phoenix area that we know would hire him on the spot. And I'm not just saying this because he is my husband...with his GPA and his ranking I know anyone would be crazy not to hire him...SO, we have been talking a bit about it and Friday Chris was ready to make some decisions. He isn't wanting to switch jobs until after the first of the year....so he has some time to submit his resumes and see what is available.

The biggest decision that needed to be made was over our house. When we first decided to buy this house it was because we knew Chris was going to be working for the Schneider's after he graduated and this house was in the area so he didn't have to commute. Well, alot can change in 9 months and now that isn't the case. If he takes a job working in Phoenix he would have a huge commute and I am totally against that! I hate having Chris on the road to begin with so the though of him driving 1hr each way makes me sick....so the decision was simple...we gave up our house this weekend. Went in and cancelled! I thought I would be more sad about the decision. I am sad because we got attached, taking pictures, and knowing the Trujillo's were going to be our neighbors..but this is more than that. I'm not sad because I know our future will still be successful...we are still going to buy a house but just in a different location. We feel really good about this decision and I'm really pretty excited about our future. Whatever it may hold. Sure it's a bit scary especially since we had things mapped out and we don't know where Chris is going to work and we aren't familiar with any other areas.

This decision also takes the weight off our shoulders financially. We were prepared to buy this house but now we can relax a bit, let Chris worry about his education and not so much on how many hours he has to get so we don't have to dip into savings. I feel the pressure being lifted already!! And we will be in an even better position to buy in a year from now....I'm going to keep working, partially because I like the extra spending money and during the summers it will really pad our savings account. And I like the idea that I'm contributing and I've said that before.

So, where do we go from here? We renew our lease with the campus (BLAH!)...I think that was the most depressing thing about not getting the house....we have to stay here a bit longer! After Chris gets a new job we will have a better idea of where we need to move and we will hope to try for a new house again before Chris graduates..hopefully around this time '07...and I feel good about that!

In other news....got to have a little reunion with Randa, Kristy, and LeAnn over the weekend...LeAnn got married and both Randa and Kristy were in town for the wedding! I loved seeing all of them. We shared such a fabulous time up at Ricks and they will forever be my dearest friends! Kristy lives in Laguna Beach..how cool is that! Randa is still in Brazil and we keep in touch a bunch..and LeAnn is living here with her now husband! Crazy we have been out of Ricks for 7 years! YIKES! Feels like yesterday! :)

More family pictures...

This one cracks me up...Kim (our photographer) was bribing Elodie with a piece of candy....it was working because Elodie kept looking at the camera..well on the last shot, Kim gave Elodie her candy and this is the shot we caught!! Crazy girl! Can't believe she is 26 months old. She is such a character!

Family Pictures...

Got my family pictures back yesterday...it's funny because I always prepare myself for the worst so I can be surprised and happy when the results turn out great. I was this way about the pictures...I wasn't expecting the quality to stink, but I was expecting me not looking good, Christopher too tired, and Elodie not looking at the camera....and other than a few shots of Elodie not looking at the camera, everything turned out great!! I can't even tell that Christoher had only gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before!! Love family pictures..in our family room I have a huge 11x13 family picture with 2 8x10's on either side (one of Elodie and one of me and Chris). I love the way it makes my family room look....pictures are good and I can't wait to make a mini album of all the leftovers. I say that about every year including all of our engagement pictures but I have yet to start any of them. I have this vision in my head of a 8x8 album sitting somewhere in our living room for people to look through..it will happen!! Just something to work on!! :) Enjoy the pictures, I love them!! A moment of silence for Regina who has done our family pictures in the past....too far from home this year....maybe next year!! :)

All before 2pm...

I know everyone has them..days when you feel so unproductive, alittle worthless and bored....on days like this I love to make a list and as I do my "to do's" I get so much pleasure in scratching them off the list. Even more rewarding is when you look at the clock and realize you have gotten so much done and it's not even 2pm!!
I had a day like this today...feeling kinda blah with that time of the month making it's grand entrance yesterday and our pity party of our house, which by the way, we have decided to take a break from the house...create a little distance. For a while we were passing the house atleast once a week, taking pictures and such...for now we are going to back off a little. Give us some time without the house. I think it will be good for us...and the house! :)

So anyway, today I made a list!! And to lift my spirits I decided to blog about my productive day so far...
Bring Chris to the Shuttle 6:45am- Check
Home around 7am peace and quiet, back to be for a while- Check
Elodie up at 8am- Check
Stripped bed to wash sheets- Check ( I use to wash the sheets every Saturday but during the week I was working so hard to keep from doing any housework over the weekend that it became a burden to wash the sheets on Saturday...so I switched it to Monday which is one of my 2 laundry days during the week...so far it's worked out nicely-and yes I do wash my sheets once a week!)
Elodie milk,tv time, and check my email- Check
Shower, dressed, makeup- Check
Elodie breakfast- Check
Unload dishwasher-Check
Load dishwasher-Check
Wipe down highchair and Elodie-Check
Wash Elodie's hands and brush her teeth- Check
Change Elodie's diaper and clothes- Check
Gather launder and start one of 4 loads today- Check
Make tuna fish for lunch- Check
Target for "personal items" and cokes ( I wanted to surprise Chris with one since we don't keep them in the house and we always wish we had one,
especially for lunch)- Check
Pick up Chris from Shuttle 11:30am- Check
Lunch and family time- Check
Chris to work 12noon, Elodie and me time- Check
Wipe down bathroom and clean bathtub- Check
Take down shower curtain to wash- Check
Unload washer, reload washer, white load done, load dryer- Check
Clean up kitchen after lunch- Check
Elodie nap 1:30pm- Check
And now I'm here updating my blog..can we say superwoman..not quite but I do feel good about everything I've accomplished so far...
And I'm not even done..I still have to fold laundry, iron shirts, start dinner, put shower curtain back in the bathroom, work at 6pm and there's a whole other list to make for tomorrow..list are good. I love them. I'm one of those quirky ones that will write something down after I've already made my list just so I can scratch it off my list! Just feels good to scratch it off!!
In other news, Chris and I talked about opening up another checking account to save for a vacation after he graduates next fall. Elodie will be the perfect age to take to Dineyland and we are hoping we can do that as a graduation present. If we start now saving we can have a good chunk for a great vacation! Wish us luck!
Alacey

They say it's your birthday...

Yeap, today is my birthday. I'm 26 years old! No longer early twenties....now I'm late twenties!! YIKES!! A bit scary but with alot to look forward to who could be sad about getting older!!
I am super excited about today..Chris and I are going on an official date without Elodie. We watched Ryanna last night for Audrey and Derek while they went to dinner for Derek's birthday/law job interview so they are going to watch Elodie for us tonight. It was so fun last night watching Elodie and Ryanna pal around together. It's such a fun age and Elodie gets so excited to have a playmate over! We had a great time and Elodie was worn out by 10pm when Ryanna went home. She slept in until 9am this morning. Happy Birthday to me!! Although my parents called at about 8am to wish me a Happy Birthday. I love them so much and appreciate their love and support. I have been so blessed in my life to have wonderful, supportive parents and I hope Chris and I can be the best for Elodie.
So for tonight..Chris and I are finally making our way to the Cheesecake Factory in Chandler...I have been wanting to go there forever! In fact...when Pirates of the Carribean 2 came out I told Chris I had planned a date that included the Cheesecake Factory and Pirates of the Carribean...all he had to do was plan the night and get a babysitter. Unfortunately, Pirates of the Carribean is about to come out on dvd and we still haven't made it to the Cheesecake Factory. So we will for my birthday. I'm okay with Christopher not getting around to the date until now...he has been so swamped with school and work..I'm just excited we get a night together without Elodie. Although I'll probably spend the whole night wanting to get back to her!
I don't know what will happen after dinner...we thought maybe a movie because the theater is right there next to the resteraunt but I looked last night and there isn't really anything playing right now. Maybe just some shopping for ME!! :)
I'll update later...
As for now, I have an exuse to do as little around the house as possible. I don't feel the least bit guilty. Elodie is sleeping right now so I think I'll pull out some scrapbooking and catch up on a little bit. Maybe squeeze in a nap myself! GASP! :) Probably not but the idea sounds nice!
In other news...Christopher got a job offer with the city of Phoenix working as a Structural designer....recently there was an Engineering Job Fair and Christopher submitted his resume....everyone is finally getting around to making job offers. Chris has been rolling around the thought of leaving Schneider....it's such a small firm and he isn't getting a well rounded experience that he will need to progress. He is thinking about switching for a year or so then after some better experience in other civil engineering fields, he will have a better idea as to what he wants.....structural is all he knows right now and he is scared to get stuck in rut. Right now he is in a posistion to move around a bit...once graduation he will need to settle into something. We will see..the Schneiders have been so good to us and I just love them for taking care of us the way they have. I know that if Chris decides to do Structural Engineering after getting some other experience he will always have a job with Schneider..and that is so nice to know.
Chris probably won't make any decisions until after the first of the year. I think he wants to line something up for the summer so he can work full time. I support him 100% and I know he wants whats best for our family.
All for now...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
Alacey

Happy Halloween!!!

We had our ward trunk-or-treat last night...it was alot of fun and such a safe way for kids to get candy!! It's also alot more fun for the adults when they get to socialize! Elodie was a princess and really got excited about the idea of getting candy and yelling "Trink-or-Treat!"...she wasn't too excited about all the scary costumes and mask..she got pretty skittish about that and had Chris holding her most of the time. She ventured out towards the end and I think she loosened up once she knew no one was out to get her. I don't blame her...some of those costumes were scary...especially with the face painting and such..YIKES!! We got some great pictures from the evening..I'm really pleased with the end result of all of them and Elodie even felt it important enough to actually look at the camera! We have family pictures this evening so it gives me hope that when someone besides me is holding the camera she will actually look!! Pray for me!
Enjoy the pictures....each year can only get more fun as Elodie is more aware of what's going on and gets excited about her costume...No more Princesses!! I saw enough last night to last me a full year!! :)



Our little Princess all ready to go to the ward Trunk-Or-Treat!!


Elodie and Her Daddy!! Her own Prince Charming!

Our little family in front of our award winning trunk!


Elodie and her cowboy buddy Isaac!


Ladies and Gentlemen...we have a winner! Elodie is actually looking at the camera in this picture! And I love the way it turned out! Elodie wouldn't wear her crown so I HAD to! :)

Happy Birthday PawPaw

...and Esther...and Aunt Jeanne....and Uncle Bill

Today is my PawPaw Whitney's 93rd birthday!! I can't believe it! And he is doing so well and healthy..it's amazing. Here is a man who still can get on his tractor and plant a garden....who when the last time I talked to him was making baby cribs ("for whoever might need one")...who has been in a Sean Penn movie....goes to the gym to do water aerobics!.who works at the Baton Rouge Temple once a week with the Furr's..and was in a senior olympics last summer and had to be catergorized with the 70 years old because there wasn't anyone older than that for him to compete against!!
I love the memories I have of my PawPaw and MawMaw Whitney's house. MawMaw left us way too soon. Having grandparents within 5 minutes from your own house was great and I am so grateful that I was able to have all the great times I did with them. I'm sad that we live so far from PawPaw now. I'm sad Elodie won't know PawPaw Whitney like I do....I just hope that even though we are far from home, I can still give Elodie the relationship she deserves with my parents. I know how important that relationship is.
I love my PawPaw. I'm happy Chris has a great relationship with him too.
Happy Birthday PawPaw! Love, Chris, Alacey, and Elodie

Photo taken in 1985...I was 5 years old....now I'm almost 26!! Love this picture!

It belongs to us...

Our Civic!!! We finally paid our last payment a few weeks ago!! The car is all ours! It feels so good to own something...there are a few things we own...our computer, our video camera, our washer and dryer. But this is huge!! We have had this car since before we got married. We bought it a couple of weeks before we got engaged. The first big purchase we made as a couple and my first new car. Well, I made the purchase and Chris was my co-signer. I always tell him he owes me $3000! Some might think this was a risky purchase but we knew we were getting married. And here we are 5 years later with one official owned vehicle to our names! It's going to be great not having to fork out $356 a month....we are planning on trying to save that money for the house. We will see. I love that slowly we are getting out of debt. It's as if we were meant to purchase this home at this time because of the fact that all of our bills are slowly being paid off. Everything happens for a reason. Lets just hope we can stay on track.
It's been crazy living here in Mesa...most of it relying souly on student loans and Chris' work money. It's been really nice to see us progress each semester and do better each semester. Each year we can look back and see how much better we did than the year before. We have grown spiritually as a family and financially as well! It's nice to be saving more of our scholarship and student loan money, as opposed to spending it! I'm so proud of us and the progress we have made in the last 2 years since we have lived here. It can only get better, especially as Chris and I work together!

The only annoying thing...

Everyone talks about the "terrible twos"....I haven't felt that way about Elodie being 2. She talks well with us, is very happy and energetic, and overall I love to have her around! The only annoying thing I have discovered about 2 is picture taking. All of a sudden, Elodie has become too cool for pictures. Everything around her is so much more entertaining than getting her picture taken. She will not look at the camera at all no matter how silly you are acting to get her attention. And when she does look at the camera, she looks at you for a split second, with no smile, and then promptly looks away. If your not ready for that split second (which my camera isn't because it takes forever to take a picture) then you have lost the shot and have to settle for one where she isn't looking at you.
The reason I bring this us is because last year when we took Elodie to the pumpkin patch her pictures turned out GORGEOUS!! Every picture was the perfect lighting with Elodie smiling so sweetly right at the camera! My expectations were too high to begin with....that was my first problem. Then you tack on the fact that Elodie wouldn't look at the camera!! All you end up with are 20 cute pictures of a sweet little girl who thinks she is too busy looking at everything else and ignores you when you are trying to take her picture! I'm really nervous for our family pictures coming up this Wednesday. I'm paying $100 for these pictures so she better get her act straight! Doesn't she understand that this is important to me!! :) GOSH!
I have attached a few pics from our outing to the pumpkin patch....I get a kick out of them!! She is such a prissy pants!






This one really sais it best..."There are better things for me to be looking at!! The ceiling of this tarp is more interesting to look at than you Mom!"

Sad News...

Yesterday my mom called to let me know that Doye and Esther went in for their 20 week check up to find out the sex of their baby...the doctor couldn't find a heartbeat. My heart is so sad for them right now. They had to do invetro to get pregnant and that in itself was a hard time for them..and now this. I can't even imagine. How nieve we as humans can be sometimes. I think Chris and I were telling people we were pregnant only a couple of weeks after my missed period. We never thought about complications or the thought of miscarriage. It definitely makes you appreciate the health of you and your own baby. How blessed we are to be healthy and have the things we need to be healthy!

Because the baby is 20 weeks, Doye and Esther went in today to be induced. I can't imagine delivering a baby that has passed on. I talked to my dad this morning and no one has heard anything. I asked him how Doye was doing yesterday when they talked to him and my dad said he sounded fine but you know how men are. Chris and I were talking this morning and I said that I think it's harder for the man because he has to be so strong for his wife. He has to stay together so he can be there for his wife and I know that that is super hard. Poor Doye will definitely need support of his own. Esther's family lives in Mexico...I hope they can come and be with Esther. I know I would definitely need my own mother in a time like that.

It just seems so unfair for a couple who wants a child so much to have so many difficulties getting pregnant. Chris and I know of a handful of people just in our ward that are struggling with the same problem. It doesn't seem fair when you know these people are going to make the best parents. I know this is where the gospel has to play a huge role. I am praying that Doye and Esther can stick together and support each other. I can't even imagine how hurt they are right now. I am also praying that our family can support them...I hate that we live so far away and can't be at the hospital with them. Maybe that is better for them right now, I don't know but it is hard to be on the outside with no way to help except sending a card or a phone call.

I talked to Alexis this morning and she was getting ready to purchase a grieving basket for Doye and Esther..we will definitely be contributing to that.

I hate that things like this make you appreciate your family's health much more. I hate that it takes something tragic to want to stay in better contact. Alexis made the comment that she had wished that she had called Esther more often. I feel the same way. Esther's birthday is Monday and I had made plans to give her a call. How sad to be grieving when you should be celebrating. And here I am worried about my own birthday in a couple of weeks. How wordly we can all be when things are going well.

I love my family...I pray that Chris and I can support Doye and Esther and let them know how much we love them even though we are far away. I don't know if Doye and Esther will have a funeral....what they will name the baby or anything. All to be decided and found out later.
Until then...thanking Heavenly Father for everything I am blessed with...
Lacey

House Pictures and such...

So here are some new pictures of our house from over the weekend....


The windows got put in....


The electrical and plumbing has been completed....


Elodie's Bathroom


Our Bathroom....my tub is HUGE!! I am super excited about this!! Nothing like having 2 people in a bathtub made for 1.....referring to me and Chris!


This is the sliding glass door in our kitchen that leads to the backyard....which isn't 9 acres like my parents back yard, but for the 4 of us...it's just enough!! Elodie and Ginger are really going to love having their own space!


And finally, Elodie in her bedroom!!
Until this weekend!
-Alacey

More updates

Hello! Hello! Haven't posted anything in a few days and just felt the need to sit down and relive my thoughts and the last couple of days! I have been working like crazy..the last couple of weeks have been crazy so I've had alot of days off...lately since Audrey's shower and my big wedding cake, things have slowed down and I'm working alot more hours. 18 last week and 22 this week....I had initially asked for no more than 25 hours a week and I appreciate that Kohl's has respected my wishes! :) It's just a huge juggling act. I will love it when my paycheck comes in and we can have a little fun money..especially with my birthday coming up in 2 weeks..Big 26!! I'm getting so old! YIKES! On the flip side I am so proud of myself. I feel like I am contributing in a different way and I love that I can feel like I am providing for my family outside of the home. Don't get me wrong..I know my SAHM job is more than contributing to the wellbeing of my family but I also feel a sense of accomplishment when I can produce some money for our family.
I love that Chris and I are working together for something we both want. It feels like the reward will be so much more than the sacrafice. And I know that if we do all we can and work hard together that we can accomplish this huge hill of buying a house. I hate all the uncertainty...I hate not knowing for sure if we can afford this house....I hate that we can't fully be excited about this house because of money. I do know that Heavenly Father will bless our efforts and I do know that we feel good about this decision..It just stinks that the house isn't fully ours just yet. Patience is a virtue that will forever be my downfall!
We went and looked at the house this weekend...A lot has been in done in the last week...all the plumbing and electrical. My tub is in!! WooHoo! It's much bigger than I remember and you know I took a picture so I will post those later.
In other news....Elodie got some sparkly pink dress shoes for her Princess costume...she loves them so much she put them on this morning after we got them and wouldn't take them off when it was time for her nap..I have learned early to pick my battles and this was one I was willing to lose. She is still asleep after 2 hours so maybe they were worth it! :)
Christopher is doing well in school..like always....registration for next semester is soon....Engineering job fair at the end of the month. Even though we love working with the Schneider's, Chris is going to submit his resume to get some feelers for what else is available. We will keep our options open for sure!
No cake orders....
That is all for now..until my posted pictures! Alacey

More pictures...

Feeding the ducks...it was so funny to see all these ducks swimming around us! You could tell they were use to being around people and they knew exactly why you were around! FOOD! The other funny thing was when we were all out of bread and we were walking away, the ducks started to swim after us. Crazy ducks...no dummies though! :)


We had a great time as a family and hopefully these little trips won't come so far in between. It's crazy how fast this semester is going! Chris is already ready to register for next semester! CRAZY! I'm enjoying the ride. I love our family, I'm content with where we are right now, I'm happy we are saving money for our house and working together to accomplish something we both want. I love the gospel, I'm so grateful that we are all healthy, the weather outside is great! What more could you possibly ask for! The grass is green right where we are standing!!

In other news...we got Elodie her Halloween costume. I wanted her to be an LSU Tiger and that was what we had planned on. I was going to order the costume....and then Elodie and I went to Old Navy and she saw the Princess costume. And I made the mistake of letting her hold it. I wasn't up for the battle and I don't really mind the idea of her being a Princess. I guess once in every little girl's life she needs to be a princess. Next year though, she will definitely be a LSU Tiger!!

Hello Again!

I love Sunday afternoons.....everyone is sleeping right now, the house is super quiet, and I have the computer all to myself!! Later today we are going to Audrey and Derek's for dinner, I need to make a dessert but for now I thought I would do a little updating. I promised pictures from our night out at the park and here they are!

Elodie was so funny on the swing...Chris was pushing her really high and she looked paralized! Her whole body was so stiff the entire time and she had this look on her face like she was trying to have fun!!

On the slide....



More to come later...blogger timed me out and I can't post anymore pictures!
Audrey's shower was a success this weekend.....she is such a great friend and I love that we were able to do this for her. She scored some great stuff and I'll post pictures of the cake and the shower later.
No more cakes for a while......I'm a little burned out this month. I can't believe in July I did 5 cakes! It was crazy....lots of money but crazy! :)
All for now..everyone is waking up from their naps. We are off to Derek and Audrey's for dinner. Elodie loves to play with Ryanna and we enjoy the company too! :)

Life Lesson Learned Again...

Wednesday night, Elodie and I had a great idea. We packed dinner into an ice chest (chicken salad sandwiches on costco rolls, strawberries, leftover Barro's pizza from lunch (hee hee), and blonde blombshells) and went and kidnapped Chris from work. He had no idea what was going on so he was going crazy with questions....if you don't know, Christopher likes to be in control and this was not up his alley. It was fun for me because I don't think I have ever done this and it was nice to drive Chris alittle nuts! He figured it out about halfway to Freestone Park....Oh well, it was still fun to surprise him!
It's so nice here in Arizona right now so being at the park with Elodie was so great. She loves the playground and is at the point where you just have to keep a close eye on her. Other than that, she can go up the whole playground by herself and slide down the tallest slide by herself too! We are still working on the swings..they are still alittle too big for her. We enjoyed that until some big kids (which this playground was meant for 5 and under and they were way over 5!- Stupid parents for not caring and letting their kids spoil it for everyone else!) came along and overwhelmed Elodie a bit....she holds her own but I don't like her way up high with all those big kids running around. Anyway, we took a walk around the whole park, fed the ducks some bread, and just enjoyed being together. It was really nice and I know we all enjoyed ourselves.....Chris enjoyed himself much more after my batteries in my camera died and he didn't have to worry about "posing" for pictures. I'm just getting him ready for our family pictures in November, which we are taking at Freestone Park!
After the park, we decided to stop and rent a movie...This movie called "Click" with Adam Sandler was out and we both had been waiting to see...
Here comes the lesson learned....
The movie is about this man who has a stressful job as an architect, has a great family and house, but is constantly having to choose between work and family...and usually work wins....sound familiar to anyone?
Anyway, he is super stressed....goes for a drive to Bed,Bath, and Beyond to find a Universal remote for his television and ends up with this "life universal remote" that controls his future...he can fast forward through the bad parts (fights, dinners with the inlaws, sex), pause certain parts, etc....anyway, at first it's a great idea...then the remote takes a life of it's own and starts fastforwarding on it's own (kinda like tivo where you watch it once and it automatically records for you the next time..or you record something and tivo records something else that is similar). The remote starts doing that.....and ends up fastforwarding through like 10years of his life!! He misses alot. His kids growing up, his dad died, he and his wife divorce! It was crazy and a really eye opener to what is important in life. Alot of times we are so anxious to fastforward through a certain part of our life to get to something that we think is better that we end up missing some really great parts along the way! I think this is when we find true happiness, when we can be excited about the future but content and happy with where we are rigth now. I'm trying to find that. And I'm reminded how fast life passes because I have a 2 year old!!

Having her in my life definitely is a constant reminder how fast time flies by and how I can't take this moment for granite. It's hard with your first baby because you are excited for all the "first" they will do.....it's easy to get caught up in the "I can't until she does..." that you forget to just be excited about what she is doing today. It's a daily battle!
The movie was a bit sad but of course had a happy ending....he was dreaming the whole time and of course woke up with a better perspective of what is really important in life. I just hope that as Chris and I enter the "working world" when he graduates that we can keep our feet on the ground and remember what is really important. Not money....but family! And there is definitely a balance between wanting to give your family a great life with money and wanting to give your family and a great life through time spent together. I hope we can find that balance and I know the gospel will help us do that!
Well, that's my spill for the day! I will post pictures of our park adventures later!

Pictures...

Forgot to post some pictures from our weekend. ENJOY!










Pictures of the house..it seems so much smaller without all the inside walls up..it's crazy how that works!





Elodie watching "Little Mermaid". It was a good thing that I didn't want her to look at the camera...she wouldn't peel her eyes off the television!!




And finally the wedding cake!! It really did turn out so pretty and outside at night with all the twinkley lights...it's was bautiful and I am really proud of it! Here's to more cake orders!

Alacey

Weekend Update

We had a crazy but fabulous weekend!! I spent all of last week preparing for my wedding on Saturday. If I wasn't baking cakes, I was off buying ribbon or EGGS! I went through 3 cartons of eggs....54 eggs to be exact! Isn't that crazy....it was a lot of cake!
The weekend started out with a trip to our new house. They have made so much progress. It's crazy the difference a week makes! All of the walls are up and the roof is up too! Woo Hoo...crazy how fast they can do things. No one was joking when they said that we would start seeing weekly changes!! I'm excited to head back out there next weekend!
After the house we went to On the Border for dinner. Great food and the company was great..just me, Chris, and Elodie. And we scored a booth in the back of the restaurant! Don't know how that happened but we weren't complaining! It was great!
We spent the rest of the evening trying to find me a nice apron for the next night. I was going to be serving the sheet cakes at the reception so I wanted to look super professional! Found a really nice one at World Market.
And finally, we found ourselves at Target. I have been wanting to get Elodie "The Little Mermaid" for a while now....it just barely came out on a 2-disc dvd set with lots of special features and such. It was my favorite Disney movie growing up and since they are only out for a limited time, I wanted to make sure we got her the dvd. And we did. She was so excited even though she had no idea what the movie was. She kept saying what we thought was "Remember" but later found out she was trying to say "Little Mermaid". So cute!! Movies are still a little long for a 2 year olds attention span but Elodie LOVES this movie!! She sat through the whole thing and loved every minute of it! I wish I would have caught some pictures of her the first night she watched it but the lighting was dark so I waited until Saturday (Shhh...no one needs to know that the pics were taken on her second time watching the movie). I also picked up one more reason why it is fabulous being a parent! I don't really remember when Little Mermaid came out for the first time...I don't remember how old I was or if I got it as a Christmas gift or Birthday present...but I do remember loving the movie and wanting to watch it all the time. The best thing now that I am able to share this with Elodie..is I can catch a glimpse of maybe how I reacted when I saw "The Little Mermaid" for the first time! It's really sweet and Chris and I sat with Elodie and mostly watched her reactions instead of watching the movie. It's great to experience all of Elodie's first...to be able to record them and keep them fresh in our minds through journals and scrapbooks! Can't wait to scrapbook about her first time watching "The Little Mermaid"...one of mommy's favorites! I spent the rest of the night working on my wedding cake and got all of it put together except the placement of the pearls. I feel really good about where I am with the cakes and will finish them up tomorrow...the reception wasn't until 7pm and I didn't have to be there until 6pm.
Saturday was a crazy day...Chris played ball that morning with the Elder's Quorum and Elodie and I went to Target for a couple of last minute things we forgot to buy the night before. We came home, Elodie wanted to watch "The Little Mermaid" and I started back in the kitchen with my cakes. i finished my wedding cake completely by 11am so I was feeing really good and calm about only have to ice the sheets and do a bit of decorations on them. After Chris got home we headed out for lunch and stopped by the party store for some trays for me to carry my cake slices on....my first wedding cake I did, I didn't think about needing trays and ended up having to us my cookie sheet that I just happened to have brought....kinda tacky but no one really noticed except me...atleast I hope no one noticed! :) We came home, put Elodie down for a nap and I started on my sheet cakes....I didn't think they would take me that long, and none of them gave me any problems but it still took me about 3 hours to fill, ice, and decorate all 3 sheet cakes! BLAH! I seriously don't charge enough for my time at home working on these cakes!!
The reception ran smoothly. My cake held up outside and everyone had nice things to say about it! The bride loved it and I'm so pleased for that. I have been so blessed with great customers...everyone always has nice things to say about my cakes and no one has complained yet...lets keep it that way! The reception was crazy...I seriously walked 5 miles back and forth to the cake table trying to keep it full of cake....some people were taking cake off of my trays before I could get them to the table! Mad house! It was alot of fun and once the cakes are delivered, the stress of it all goes out the window and I really enjoy everything else. Who wouldn't enjoy a good wedding!!
I was pooped by the time I got home and relieved that it all went well.
Sunday we went to church...week four with no calling and I'm really starting to enjoy myself. No need to rush from room to room at church and nothing but Elodie's stuff to worry about! It's great...I even got a chance to sneek a peek in Elodie's nursery class...I haven't ever done that because of Relief Society. It was really fun watching her through the little window in the door...she couldn't see us so it was fun to see her interact (bully) with the other kids. We use to be a little worried about her because of her size but she really holds her own!! Sunday afternoon we lazied around the house and took a walk through the subdivison...the weather is so nice right now and it's really great to be outside!
And that was our weekend....great great great!
This week is going to be another crazy one. Tuesday night is the RS scrapbooking group at my house (we are altering Halloween Buckets) and I am trying to get everything settled for Audrey's baby shower on Saturday. I am making the cake so I have to get started on that too. Besides school, work, and Elodie life is great and I feel so blessed!
Did I mention that Chris got an extra $700 in grant money....ASU had a mix up at the beginning of the semester and owed us some grant money we didn't know about...$700 to be exact. They stuck it into our checking account over the weekend...it was a nice surprise when Chris looked at our account on Saturday! Can we say tithing!!! It's so great when you are doing what you are suppose to!! There is no doubt that we are being blessed for our efforts!

Our New House!!

Here are the pictures we took on Sunday in between conference sessions. All the wood just waiting to turn into our beautiful house! Now that the wood is here we will start seeing weekly changes and it will start taking shape! This is such an exciting time for us...we are super happy to be getting this house and it's so fun to watch the progression. I'm tracking the progress of the house to make a super cute mini scrapbook!!

October!!!

I love that it is October!! Finally the weather will start cooling down...HALLOWEEN!! I pulled out all of my Fall/Halloween decorations today and started making the house feel a little more festive. Would love to be decorating my new house, but you can't have everything!!
This past weekend was fabulous! I can't believe last weekend went by so fast. It seemed like I was just writing about the RS Broadcast and now the General Conference Broadcast has come and gone!!
So conference was an upper. I could really feel the spirit in our home and I loved all of the talks. I especially loved Elder David Bednar's (he was my Ricks College President while I was there- it's cool too because we had a few FHE's in his home wit his family-really an awesome family!) talk about holding grudges and being offended. No one is perfect!
My favorite part of the whole conference was at the end when the congregation stood and sang "We Thank Thee Oh' God for a Prophet"....it was soooooo neat!! The tv showed the Prophet the whole time the congregation was singing!! I just loved it and I could really feel the spirit! How blessed we are to have a living Prophet to give us counsel and guide us!! President Hinckley is 96 and is going strong!! I hope he lives forever!
On to other news....We went and looked at our house between conference sessions yesterday. The wood has come and we took some pictures of Elodie sitting on top of the wood pile....the 2 houses next to ours have already been framed...one week ago they were all empty lots....now we have 2 houses standing on either side of us. I can't wait to see ours going up!! We are planning to go out every weekend until the house is done. Will definitely make for an excellent mini scrapbook! I will post pictures once I get them downloaded on to the computer. Jerry (the KB Rep) told us we would be able to see changes weekly so it is starting to get really exciting! Even if I have to get through Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas stuck on the ASU east campus! That's why we have Sarah and Mike...we stopped by their house too to give them a Housewarming gift...a gift card to the Quilted Bear...love that place! I am so excited that we get to be their neighbors. They are such a great couple and it will be so fun to have them near by still! Right now they are giving us all the inside scoop on our new ward and such. We are very excited.
Their house is coming together so nicely. It is really starting to look like a home and they are doing a great job of making it their own! Sarah had all of her fall decorations up and they looked so nice it that new house! Makes me SO excited to decorate my own house. The house is going to be BEAUTIFUL come Christmas!! I'll have to help Sarah decorate until I our house is done! :)
Other than that, things are normal...just the way we like it...Chris is busy with school and work...Elodie is keeping me on my toes....she is so happy and healthy and we are so grateful for that! Such a light in our family. She is talking so well and saying words in complete sentences...some only we can understand! She sings all the time and LOVES Signing Time still...for that I am grateful...don't mind her watching it!
I'm doing my 3rd wedding cake this weekend...really excited. I have 2 under my belt so I'm more excited than nervous. Plus the cake I am doing I have done before so it should be fun!! Getting paid a bit for and that makes me feel good. I don't want to get too big but I sure do love cake decorating and hope business continues for me!
Until I post some pictures!

Thoughts from the Relief Society General Broadcast

I loved the Relief Society Broadcast this year...I love it every year but I really needed it this year....especially since my release.
Here are the notes I jotted down during the session....I love taking notes from the talks and then looking back on them. Such an upper!

Bonnie D. Parkin: RS General President
Daily love from our Heavenly Father- we are entitled and need to feel His love.
His love is constant, reliable, and trusted
All we do in Relief Society should show our Heavenly Father's love.
When we allow Heavenly Father to love us, we can feel safe.
Eternal love from our Heavenly Father is constant and sometimes unrecognizeable.
As I encircle my children with love, They can catch a glimpse of Heavenly Father's love.
Teach my children to include Heavenly Father in all of their decisions and help them see his hand in all things.
Love and covenants bind us together for eternity. "How do I feel the Lord's love in my daily life?"

Kathleen H. Hughes: RS 1st Counselor
The Lord's love can offer us peace and strength.
Peace and contentment are signs of Heavenly Father's love for us.
Seek the Lord's love through the small things
-genuine prayer
-regular scripture study
We will find Him in the details of our life.
Women are asked to be nurtures but to also be firm in their foundation.
"Come unto Me and have eternal life"

Anne C. Pingree: RS 2nd Counselor
Heavenly Father is always eager to recieve us if we choose to follow Him
We draw closer to the Savior when we serve others
COURSE CORRECTIONS- we choose how to treat others!!

"Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer and brings to all the world His love. Give praise and glory ever more!

President Gordon B. Hinckley:
LDS- Love, Devotion, and Service
Relief Society is all of these
EDUCATION- it is my responsibility to gain all the education I can while on this earth. The more I know, the more I can teach my children!!
Do the very best you can! Set goals for yourself!

Relief society stands for Self Reliance - FOOD STORAGE!!

Relief Society stands for Sacrifice - MOTHERHOOD!

Relief Society stands for Faith - TITHING!!

"Know Thee more clearly, Love Thee more dearly, Follow Thee more nearly everyday"