Blessings

Grace giving the ball a little pep talk. This will come as no surprise to those who know her.

We had an eventful week. Grace had her first soccer practice and game. Eden has started rolling over and eating cereal at night. The week seemed so busy and yet I don't feel like I got much done. The kids all got a lot done, though, so I'll let that count and be grateful. :) This week I am also grateful for:

• The proximity of our church. Today was one of those days where I didn't get to take the sacrament, I didn't get to sit through any of Sunday School, and Relief Society was about as much a lost cause. But I took a moment to give thanks that we are only minutes away from our building. Grant spent his first Sunday in Primary today as a Sunbeam which also made the day special.
• Our big girl Grace. It is so much fun watching her do things she enjoys.
• My talents which were nurtured in my early years. So many things I love to do now -- read, sing, play piano, ski -- were developed through sacrifice of the time and means of my parents. I appreciate it so much these days.

lips

This baby face! The lips. The cheeks. The chin(s).

That's all.

Christmas Week

We spent the week of Christmas at my parents' house. Grace and Grant helped Papa Jeff assemble his train. We visited the children's museum. Everyone worked on getting the tree decorated- it was fun going through decades of keepsake ornaments. Aunt Thea and Aunt Sara took turns baking cookies with Grace and Grant. We watched our favorite Christmas movies. The kids moved Joseph and Mary closer to their stable on the advent calendar each night. Dad took us all out to our favorite Basque restaurant. Cori and I took advantage of a lot of babysitting (skiing and a night out to the movies, so great!). Lots and lots of books were read. We even got out to a fun Christmas light show.

Christmas Eve, we feasted on tamales.

Of course, we had a little Christmas program that night after dinner. We read Luke II. We sang carols and Hymns. The kids put together a nativity scene as we went along. Then we ate lots of pie.

Before bed, Grace and Grant got their first gifts. Then, a letter was written to Santa and a plate of cookies and carrots (for the reindeer) was arranged. Cori and Papa Jeff worked in the garage for a while getting certain gifts put together.

Christmas day was a complete treat. Grant and his new strider bike were instantly inseperable. He rode it all over the house. He would put it down for a minute and then decide that he needed to "park it somewhere else." By that afternoon he was cruising around with both feet off the ground. It will come as no surprise that Gracie is a gusher. She was extatic about gifts received. She also took great pleasure in watching others open the gifts she had chosen for them. It was so sweet. We got to spend a big chunk of the day with my brother and Erin, his girlfriend. We talked and played games (and laughed a lot) and finished the day with a viewing of Indiana Jones.

it couldn't last forever

After two blissful weeks in Nevada on holiday with my family, we are home again. Posts to follow about all our fun. Christmas was so very nice this year.

We've been busy unpacking bags, packing up Christmas, and buying fish and aquarium accoutrement for the tank Santa brought. Cori had today off work and we ALL slept in. Grace didn't make it to preschool. Nobody minded. We enjoyed one last family day before the grind resumes tomorrow.

In other news, Eden has been growing up at lightning speed before our very eyes. She dove into her first bowl of cereal tonight at dinner.

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.