Another week...

Well, we did it. We got through the first week back from vacation. The week went fast, and between the cleaning and the new book I got for Christmas, this week just flew by. Owen is walking all the time now and I love it. He actually isn't as fast walking as he is crawling, and so he is a little easier to keep up with (for now). Work on the basement is really coming along. Zacs been working on it at least 2 hours every night. He works so hard and I am really proud of what he has accomplished. We have almost all the doors on our cabinets back on. Some of them came out a little darker than we wanted and so we had to resand and restain them. Anyway, we are keeping busy and I am just really glad that the first week back went by fast.

Christmas

We went to Zac's parent's house for part of Christmas day and we have such a great time. It was so fun to watch the kids open their gifts. My mother-in-law is really talented and sewed the girls dresses and they got wings too, and the boys got Batman costumes with masks. They all got goggles too. So, these are a couple pictures of their excitement with their new gifts from grandma and grandpa.

We were with my family on Christmas eve and Christmas morning. We had so much fun there too. We went out to my Aunt Sylvia's for Christmas eve and played games and had a great dinner. It is a really fun tradition for our family and a great chance to see our cousins and their kids. I wish we got to see them more often, life is just crazy sometimes. We went to my parents afterwards and took it easy and just had fun. Christmas day was very entertaining and we had a great time. Ethan loves to give Owen kisses and Owen isn't sure what he thinks about it and so I have a few pictures like this one...

I loved watching Owen get excited about opening presents. He was sooooo cute!

Christmas means lots of neices and nephews and I love seeing how much they've grown up. This is Chelsie and Aubrey and they are adorable!!!!

Mom and Dad.

My gorgeous cousin Becky and her husband Ben. I love it when they visit!!!!

Everyone was so fun to hang out with. I have such a great family!!!

Diana's little boy, Ethan. He is such a cutie!!!!

Kara and Matt are so funny! They were a blast!

Blessings...

I am really trying to get into the Christmas spirit. I love Christmas, but I have a hard time when it only feels like Christmas about a week before and so I am trying to get in the mood for Christmas. I really feel like the older I get the more it becomes about Jesus Christ and all the blessings he has given to me and my family and so I am just going to list a few of the things I am grateful for this year to help me remember what it's all about.

1. FAMILY: I feel extremely blessed to have such an amazing family. We are all there for each other and it is so easy to feel loved. My parents are examples of loving others and wanting to serve and just being accepting. They are always so willing to help us with trials and really just listen. My sisters are incredible! I have so much fun with them and their families too. We just laugh and it always makes me anxious to see them and sad when we all go back home. I would be lost without the love and support of my sisters. My in-laws are so good to us. They are loving and helpful. I always wondered what kind of a family I would marry into and I couldn't have asked for a better one. They accepted me whole-heartedly from the beginning and made me feel like part of the family. Their kids are so happy and we get so excited to see them too. And of course, my son. From the moment he was born, we knew he was meant to be with us and he was immediately part of the family. He has learned how to smile, laugh, crawl, take steps and saw a couple of words. It has been so fun to be able to be with him everyday and not only watch him grow and learn, but to help him grow and learn. I love him more than anything! What a blessing to have him be a part of our family.

2. ZAC: He gets his own category, because there aren't enough words to express my love for my amazing husband. He is the most patient and understanding person I have ever known. He will always drop everything just to hold me on a bad day. He listens to me vent, joke, and when I tell him everything Owen did on a given day. He always makes me feel like I am worth being loved. He is my best friend and does so many things for me. But not only that, I feel like he wants to do those things for me. He kisses me every day before he leaves for work and there are a million other things that he does that seem small, but really mean a lot to me. He is truly the best part of who I am, and he is the reason I know Heavenly Father loves me. He blessed me with Zac.

3. FRIENDS/WARD MEMBERS: There are many people that I am lucky enough to have in my life. Friends from my childhood that I keep in touch with even though we are living in different states and towns. They have really stood by me and been loving and supportive. I feel like I have a lot of friends to turn to. This also includes friends that I see all the time. Like the ones that walk with me and just put their arm around me. It makes me feel loved and wanted. I am so grateful for good examples and friends with good hearts. We are truly blessed!

I am so grateful for this time of year to be able to remember the Savior and see His hand in every aspect of my life. When things go well, and I can easily see all of our blessings and during trials when the blessings and lessons are harder to see but become more apparent as time goes on. I love that I know I am one of God's children and that I matter. We are so blessed to have all we have and live a good life. Thank you to all of you that have helped me remember why friends are so important. Merry Christmas!

Owen Antics

Zac decided that Owen looked good in his tie and so we let him play around with it for awhile and it was great, because he would play for a minute and then play with the tie and so he was fully entertained the whole night.

I love these pictures because we got a coat from my sister-in-law and it is still a little big on him and he goes crazy when we put it on him when we go outside and so I hate that he looks tortured, but I'm pretty sure it's still funny! That coat is awesome! :)

We had a big snow storm come in the other day and Owen was hooked! He would just stare out the window trying to figure out what it was and a little upset not to play in it. He kept trying to climb the couch and touch the window. I love that Zac looks just as excited as he does. They are my favorite boys!

Had to include the picture of my son trying to go head-first down the stairs. This is at my sister's house. He had just just climbed up the stairs and wanted to go back down. I'm telling you, that boy is fearless!

These ones were more just about curiosity! I wanted to see what he would do with my slippers on his feet. Worth it! He was entertained for a good 5 minutes or so. I'll take it!

If looks could kill!

We've been playing this new game where I'll throw him the ball and he will throw it back on the ground and giggle. We have a lot of fun with this new game. :)

My gorgeous new niece!

So, I know there are a ton of pictures, but I can't help it if there are a lot of pictures of my adorable new niece. We all just fell in love with her right away. She is just perfect! She was so cuddly and we just loved holding her and seeing who she looked like.

This is Maggie!

Owen checking out his new cousin.

I could just hold her all day!!!

Her brothers and sisters couldn't wait couldn't wait to hold her either. They were so excited!!!

Owen was pretty excited to try and touch everyone's cameras. New toys! :)

Grandpa playing with Graycee and Emma. They were having a ball!!!!

They couldn't wait to go "high up in the sky"!

They were so cute!!!!

What a cutie!

My mom and my Grammy.

They each wanted a turn to hold the new baby. What a good big sister!

I love this one of Graycee touching Maggie's nose. FUN!

Diana and Ethan!

All the kids waiting for their new sister. Love those kiddos!!!

Owen's favorite toy

I got a delivery the other day and I left the box out in the living room and Owen started playing with it. I couldn't get the video to load, but he would push part of the lid down and just giggle. I had so much fun watching him. He was hillarious!

First Show...

I had my first show tonight and I am really excited about it! I got to be in a room with a bunch of people I love and I just had fun. I think that being a consultant for Pampered Chef is really going to be a great experience for me. I don't think that Zac minds being a guinea pig for my new recipes for the shows. I really enjoy getting out and socializing and just enjoying some time for me and a way to bring in some extra money. I am really relieved to get the first show done though. I was so curious to see how it would go and I had a lot of fun!