Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I vividly remember how I felt at this exact time last year. I was 6 months pregnant and bursting with anticipation for our daughter to arrive in a few short months. Chris was knee-deep in his MBA program. We were living in my inlaws' basement with no bedroom for our pending arrival. There were no job prospects in his horizon and with the economy in its funk we had no idea what blessings or misfortunes 2009 would bring us. You could say that the future was one enormous question mark. I remember playing out every possible scenario in my head, i.e. "what if we have the baby, and Chris doesn't have a job yet and I have to go back to work while he looks for a job?"... "Who would watch the baby?"... "What if he gets a job and we have to move somewhere awful and start our family in the middle of nowhere?"... "What do we do for insurance if neither of us is working?" and on and on and on...
Here it is 2010 and I am almost brought to tears thinking about the blessings and opportunities that were handed to us this past year. I honestly feel like this was a year of miracles for our little family. Our beautiful and spirited Lily came to us in March and just as my maternity leave was about to expire, Chris was given the opportunity of a lifetime when he received funding for his start-up company. I remember stringing my boss along telling him that I was definitely coming back after I had the baby and then praying earnestly that I wouldn't have to...and then literally the day I was due back at work Chris was hired as a consultant by his team of investors, and then a short while later they signed the deal to invest in his start-up. I remember fretting constantly (and driving us all crazy) about what I would do with Lily because she wouldn't take a bottle and fearing the logistical nightmare that commuting and working and caring for Lily and Chris' job hunting would cause. And I remember the utter elation, relief, and gratitude we felt when we realized that our hundreds of prayers had been answered and not only did Chris' deal come through, but I wouldn't have to go back to work and with the equity buyout by the investors we would have the opportunity to buy our first home in our beloved Salt Lake, which is home to us, and where we'd always dreamed of raising our family. This truly was a year of miracles for us and I must say that I was a little sad to see 2009 go...
We are counting our many blessings at this time and we consider you, our friends and family, to be huge blessings in our lives.
We love you all and wish you wonderful things in the new year!!
Happy 2010!!

and Merry Belated Christmas too!!

Yes. This is a dog bone. We decided this year that Santa got Lily's gifts mixed up with the dogs'. Lily was mesmerized with the dog bones and would throw a tantrum when we tried to take them from her... and the dogs were mesmerized with the tinker toys...

The wrapping paper and ribbons came in second to the dog bones

Ruby pouting and whining about having to share her bone

What did I just tell you?

What did I just tell you?

Are you not listening?

I guess we need new couches anyway...

What can I do to make you more comfortable?

Thanksgiving at Dad's "Farm", Part II

These pictures are of loved ones that make long plane rides worth it: Dad, Lindsey and Rachel (also Tammy, Kurt and Trent--not pictured). It pains me that we literally only see each other a few times a year. We all live in a different state, so we count it as a miracle when we can get organized enough to all get together.


Hiking with Dad and Lindsey

Lily and her Aunty Linds

Me and Rachie

Thanksgiving at Dad's "Farm"

About a month ago my dad left big city Atlanta and moved to a tiny little town in Vermont, called Woodstock. He's always dreamed of having land and living a quiet little existence and now with his career winding down he jumped at the chance to live his dream. We thought he went crazy until we saw the place (we still think he's a little crazy). The population of the town is 1700. It is a picturesque, quaint little town and now with his land and his farmhouse and his tractor, etc. etc. my dad is a self-proclaimed "fake farmer." He has the land and the barn, just no cows to milk or sheep to graze...He lives in a cute farmhouse, built in 1790. Yes, you read that right. It is adorable and charming, but very funky. None of the walls or floors are straight, flat, square or perpendicular. If it weren't so dang far away I would go there every chance I could get. There aren't direct flights and the closest airport is a 1 1/2 hour drive from their house, so let's just say that flying/layovers/long car rides and Lily don't exactly paint a pretty picture. The first picture in this post is of how we survived our flight: tylenol before and sugar during (exemplary parents, we know). While we were there we had lots of fun with things that have wheels: atvs, motorcycles, tractors, etc. We each gained an embarrassing amount of weight for such a short trip because of my step-mom's fabulous and fattening cooking (Thanksgiving dinner was just the tip of the iceberg). The highlight of our trip aside from being with family we rarely get to see was driving to Sharon, Vermont to the birthplace of the prophet, Joseph Smith. We attended church and visited a monument erected in his honor and the small plot of land where his birth home rested. The peace and the spirit surrounding that place is hard to describe. Loved it! It was a great way to end the Thanksgiving holiday and made us so grateful for all that we are blessed with.

The longest flight of our lives

The barn, house, and swimming hole

Fun on wheels

Fun on wheels, Part II

The white bench is where the prophet's house rested.

Highlights of this Week

Okay...so I used to do these posts and I am going to try and get back in the habit. Like many, I'm sure, (I hope) I find life as a mom to be totally crazy much of the time, and if I don't stop and remind myself how lucky I am, and that I spent many a year looking forward to "arriving" here- I find myself focusing on the stressful things and not on the wonderful things. So here goes...

* Today's beautiful weather and the scenic mountains. Living in Michigan taught me that not only do I love the mountains, I REQUIRE them to feel at home, at peace...and also as a frame of reference because I have zero sense of direction. And I do mean zero.

* A very friendly neighbor who invited me to playgroup with the other neighbor/ward moms and kids even though my kid is not yet of playing age. I think she sensed that I needed to get out of my house.

* A wonderfully working dishwasher. Never had one until now.

* A very hot, very long shower during Lily's nap.

* A tantrum-free jaunt through IKEA.

* Christmas stuff hitting the shelves and the way it makes me giggle with delight.

* And a very well-timed call and a great conversation with a wonderful friend.

Our Very Own Randy

Yesterday's weather prompted the purchase of this cumbersome, way-too-big-but-we-think-she'll-grow-into-it ensemble, dubbed the "randy."

Tolerating it mildly.

I left the room for a second and heard sounds of struggle...

Followed by crying...well Lil was crying, and call me mean, but I was laughing my head off.

All very reminiscent of my favorite Christmas movie.
I LOVE winter, and I am already excited for Christmas!

Buddies

I came downstairs to this cute scene last Saturday. It is so fun to see Chris interact with Lil. She really hams it up for her dad. She seems to understand that Mom meets most of her needs, but Dad is more fun, a.k.a. he is the guy that'll throw you up in the air or hang you upside down (not my favorite trick of theirs.) And he is the guy to watch the Utes win with!