year in review: our 2010

This year has been such a whirlwind. Job changes, a move across the country, school, a new baby, and a few little vacations have kept us on our toes. We have grown as a couple and a family through it all, and we have every reason to count our blessings. We feel that Heavenly Father has been very involved in all that we have experienced this year. We are so grateful and feel very blessed and happy. Here are some highlights:

January

• Got buried in snow, frozen fog and ice
• After a year of trying and waiting, we found out we were pregnant
• Morning sickness commenced

February

• Grace started swimming lessons
• We took a lovely ski holiday with my family in Tahoe
• We spent hours/days/weeks watching the Winter Olympics

March

• It warmed up enough to start playing outside again
• We finished our home improvement projects
• We put our house on the market

April

• Our house sold
• We celebrated Easter and hosted our second annual Jerusalem dinner with my parents
• We found out that our #3 was going to be a girl
• We spent a little spring break keeping our house spotlessly clean for real estate showings, riding bikes, and taking care of our friends chickens

May

• Cori and I celebrated our 6th anniversary with a trip to Chicago
• Cori accepted a new position with Honeywell in Phoenix
• We moved out of our house and into a hotel

June

• We moved from our hotel home in IL to corporate housing in AZ with a lovely cross country drive in between
• The kids and I went swimming nearly every day

July

• We celebrated the 4th of July with both our families at Lake Tahoe
• I survived being enormously pregnant in the crazy AZ heat

August

• We moved into our new house
• Grace started at a new preschool
• Grant and I were invited into a playschool group
• Eden joined our family and we were all instantly in love with her

September

• Construction on our pool was completed
• We went swimming nearly everyday
• Grant turned 3

October

• Grace turned 5
• A pirate and a witch's cat for Halloween
• We welcomed bunches of family in for Eden's blessing

November

• We took a little family vacation to Heber and the Petrified Forrest National Park
• We saw the Grand Canyon
• We enjoyed a snowy Thanksgiving with Cori's family in UT

December

• We took cookies to our neighbors and saw the lights at the Mesa Temple
• Have felt joy and happiness in celebrating the birth and life our our Savior
• We are looking forward to Christmas in NV

happy girl

temple lights and christmastime thoughts

Last night we made the 45 minute drive to the Mesa Temple. Along the way, I was thinking. Though I love our new home and our new home town, a big part of me has mourned the absence of Fall and Winter. All of the cozy scenes that have been a natural part of our Christmastimes do not exist here. There was an exquisite sunset and Cori and I got to talking about the jagged rocky mounts that fill the horizon around our neighborhood. They are barren but for some sage growth and saguaros. It made me wonder what Bethlehem was like on that Spring night the Savior was born. The little town was not blanketed in snow. There were no frosted window panes. Shepherds were not bundled in fashionable winter attire as they watched their flocks. Maybe Bethlehem was a little like the Mesa Temple grounds were last night. Moderately cool temperatures (it was 75* as we were getting out of the car). Clear skies. Crowds of people speaking different languages. Choirs singing. Palm trees swaying.

blessings

How is it a new week already? I have three posts I started throughout the week and never got around to finishing. This week has been busy with holiday festivity. Cookie plates and Christmas cards are ready for delivery. The evenings ahead will be occupied with laundry and wrapping paper. And then we are off to Nevada. I've worked hard to not completely neglect Grace and Grant in the process of getting things done. We made sugar cookies (pictured above). We picnick lunched almost everyday. The crowning quote of the week came from Grace. We were laying on a blanket in the backyard grass. She had her head in my lap, string cheese in hand, and said, "Mom, this is the best." I agree, it was. This week I'm also grateful for:

• My time as a full time missionary. We went to the Mesa Temple tonight to see the lights. As we walked around the different nativity displays, we heard music and quotes from the Luke II video. I spent two Christmases as a missionary. Cori spent three. Hearing that video brought back vivid and warm memories and feelings for both of us.
• The brave people who have protected and continue to protect our freedom. Pearl Harbor has been on my mind this week. (Dec 7th, and all)
• The lovely mail that comes this time of year. Isn't it wonderful to open the mail box to something other than adds and bills?
• Our babysitting co-op. Though it is a bit crazy when it is our turn (13 kids ages 6 and under) we have a month of free babysitting. We keep Eden with us, and have really enjoyed our Friday nights as a threesome.

picnicking in december

a little reminder

Cori and I started collecting nativities the winter we got engaged. We have been gifted a few from my parents' travels as well as from Cori's mom's crafting excellence. Of course, they get set up around the house come this time of year. On Saturday we were busy cleaning. At one point I noticed that the nativities with multiple pieces (and that were in arms' reach) had all been rearranged by Gracie and Grant. When we first set them out, all the sheep, wise men, shepherds, etc. were spread out and arranged to show all the figures like a picture. But the kids found more appropriate placement. All the figures are circled around and focused on the Christ child. It made me smile, and then reflect. Amidst the craziness of trying to get a million things checked off my list this weekend it was a good reminder about what I should have my heart focused on.

blessings

Reading Christmas stories and eating snacks by the fire. Yes, it actually got chilly enough the other night to warrant turning the fireplace on. We even turned on the heater once. (It is a good thing we don't need it often though, because we discovered it isn't working properly.) Other nights, I get the fire going just because I want to. 'Tis the season! I'm so glad! This week, I'm also grateful for:

• Cori who is happy to sit and do stuff like this when he gets home from work.
• The First Presidency Christmas Devotional tonight. It is one of my favorite things about the holiday. I'm so glad we can watch it on our TV rather than hauling the kids back to church right around dinner time.
• More sleep these days. Eden has started occasionally sleeping through the night. (Is that a choir of angels I hear singing?) Though the exercise time I had just worked into our schedule needs adjusting again, I'm glad to be moving into this next developmental chapter with our baby.
• December! Music on. Decorations up. Travel planned. This time of year always feels the same kind of wonderful to me- even this year under the palm trees in Phoenix.

the grand canyon: south rim drive

Here are a few pictures from our drive of the Grand Canyon's south rim. It was a cold and blustery day. We hadn't been there more than an hour when the skies went completely gray. It was still breathtaking. Seriously. I was kind of surprised at how amazing this canyon is. Everyone knows it is a big deal. But when I reached the precipice of the first viewpoint I had one of those moments where the rest of the world goes still. And then I thought of Abraham considering the nothingness of man. And then Eden started fussing. The poignant moments of parenthood are so brief. :)

We spent a bit of time at the visitor center at the south rim's west side. Then we drove east stopping at viewpoints along the way. After a little while, we kept Eden in the car and took turns walking about with the older kids at the different stops. It was pretty cold and windy.


The last stop on the east side of the south rim is the historic Desert View Watchtower. It was built in the 1930's right on the edge of a cliff and offers some impressively acrophobic views.



We're looking forward to visiting again- perhaps on a clearer, warmer day. And we definitely plan to venture up to the north rim sometime. We're happy that the canyon is on our way to Utah!