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! :)