Christmas Day!

Hello again friends.  Can I just say that I'm loving this snow?  I just think it's so beautiful and I'm so happy we had a white Christmas this year, unlike last.  Steve and I had a really fun Christmas day.  We woke and opened presents.  His main present this year was a picture of the Salt Lake Temple.  We've been looking for one since we got married but they're all so darn expensive that we held off on buying one.  Well lucky for me  one of my friends showed me a website where you can download temple pictures for free!  I found one I thought he would like and blew it up for 7 bucks!  Then I went to Hobby Lobby and found a beautiful frame which just happened 50% off.  The total package came out to be about $80.  Take that $400 Deseret Book pictures!

However Steve didn't get the picture right off the bat.  I toyed with him a bit.  Back story, last year I bought Steve a personalized bobble head and he guessed what his present was.  Seriously!  Who guesses a personalized bobble head?!  I was so mad.

But that's okay.  A new year, a new surprise right?  Well that would have been right, until I ruined it.  I was teasing him (as he does to me with my presents) and I accidentally let it slip that I was getting him a picture!  *facepalm* Christmas is ruined.
I let it slip that he was getting a picture... but I didn't tell him what he was getting a picture OF... So one of my cute friends gave me the idea of giving him a picture of me.  We went and did a little photo shoot and this is the picture we went with.

I felt really awkward buying an 8x10 picture of me... and Steve felt equally as awkward receiving it.  After a few moments of awkwards, "oh thank you!" "I really love it" I said, "okay, that's not really  your present" and I ran upstairs to my craft room brought down his picture.

After presents we went to Momma Howe's house for some delicious Christmas breakfast.  After breakfast we went to Les Miserables!   Ah such a wonderful movie! I've been reading the book over the last month (yes it takes that long. It's a really long book) and I have to say the book is so much better!  I think everyone should read it at least once in their life!

After Les Mis we went to Scott and Claire's house (Steve's brother and his wife) for dinner and presents.  It was a really fun night.  Claire is expecting a boy in March and this will be the first grandchild on Steve's side. I'm so excited!  They only live about 5 minutes away from us!

It was a really nice Christmas!

The night before Christmas

Hi friends, how did Christmas already come and go?  I don't feel like I had adequate time to celebrate.  I blame school.  School got out for me on December 11th and a few days later for Steve.  Once school was out I realized that I really hadn't given presents much thought.  I usually like to have my shopping done before December. *sigh* Oh well.

I'd also like to make it known that this blog won't be my best work.  I've been hit with a nasty little virus and any witty comments or playful wording are M.I.A. at the moment.  That being said, lets proceed.

This year for Christmas my oldest brother Todd and his family, who live in Texas, came into town.  This is the first time in 11 years that we've all been together for Christmas!  I was pretty excited.  We had Christmas Eve at my brother Jeff's house.  It was packed. Packed full of love! (too cheesy?  sorry.) But seriously, it was crowded.  There's almost 30 of us all together.

I wouldn't have it any other way.  It was seriously the best.  My nephew took a fancy to my ugly Christmas sweater and my nieces took a fancy to Steve.  {they have little crushes on him, it's kind of adorable.}

I really wish we all lived closer to each other.  One day I'll buy a mountain side or a city where all my loved ones can live.  That way we'll all be within a 5 mile radius.  

Here's another random picture of little miss Avery and myself.

Like I said, not my best work but whaddya gunna do. *shrug* 

Kelsey's Wedding!

Hello again blog world!

Remember how I mentioned that I lie to take pictures of things here?  Well about a month ago I had an opportunity to take pictures at ANOTHER wedding.  It was so much fun!  I think weddings are what I want to specialize in.  There's just always so much love in the air.

Anyway,  Here's a few of my favorite.

I am Grateful

Hello fellow blog friends!
Thanksgiving is two days away.  I'm ready to get my pie on and I'm pretty darn excited about it.  It's going to be really weird this Thanksgiving.  It's the first one ever that I won't be with my family.  I'm excited to get to see how Steve's family celebrates and what they do differently.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving I've been thinking a lot about what I'm thankful for.  I feel like I take SOOO much for granted and I need to take time to stop and write down what I'm thankful for.

So here it goes, and not in any particular order of importance...

(This might be a large post.  I'm pretty blessed.)

I'm grateful for this girl.

Seriously grateful for her.  With the exception of Steve, I have never been this close with anyone.  She knows me inside and out and I her.  I am also grateful for e-mail, phones, cars, and airplanes that help me stay in touch and visit her as often as possible.  I sure wish she wasn't still back in Vegas.

Not only am I grateful for her, I'm grateful for all of my friends.  I've learned wonderful lessons from every single one of them and without them, I wouldn't be who I am today.

I'm so grateful for my family.

Not just the family that I was born into, but the family I married into.  I'm so grateful for the uniquely individual relationships I have with each one of them.  We're all so very different, but love each other so darn much and for that I am overwhelmingly grateful.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to go to school (even if I have an endless sea of semesters before me.)  Sometimes I'm overwhelmed and exhausted with working full time and trying to cram in as many classes as I can but when I calm down and practice my deep breathing I am grateful.  I know that it's a blessing to be able to better myself through education.  I'm also very grateful to be able to pay my own way and not have to go into debt for school.

I'm grateful for my wonderful job.  I know what it's like to struggle and scrape by pay check to pay check.  I'm so grateful for a job that is not only steady, but has excellent benefits.  I'm grateful for the means for Steve and I to be self sufficient and help others out when we can.

I'm grateful for the people I work with, not just my co-workers, but also my supervisors.  Everyone is treated with respect and love.  I've never felt so appreciated and happy at any other job.

I'm grateful for the doctors who have taken the time to try to help my back.  It still hurts quite a bit but it's come leaps and bounds from where it used to be.

I'm grateful for my good health, with the exception of my back, I am in excellent heath.  I very rarely get sick. (knock on wood)

I'm grateful for food.  It is Thanksgiving after all.

I'm grateful for new opportunities.

I'm grateful for my talents, even if I have a hard time seeing them at times.

I'm grateful for Maggee.

She's just the cutest.  She makes me laugh every day.

I'm grateful for my puppies at my parents house.

I'm grateful for my church callings and the opportunity I have to get to know my sweet little primary girls.  I teach the 11 year olds.  Each of them are so unique and sweet.  I'm going to cry when they leave me for Young Women's.

I'm grateful for my memory foam mattress.

I'm grateful for heat.

I'm grateful for socks.  I'm pretty sure I have bad circulation because my feet are always cold.  I would be a Miserable Mary if socks didn't exist.

I'm grateful for Pinterest.  I have become so crafty thanks to that lovely site.

I'm grateful for my car.

I'm grateful for the gym.

I'm definitely grateful for chocolate.

And diet coke.

I'm grateful for love.  What kind of a sad world would we live in if love didn't exist?

I'm grateful for second chances.

I'm grateful for forgiveness.

Steve...

I put him towards the end because I don't know what to write.  There are not words for the gratitude I feel for him.  He is my world.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that a man like him existed.  He is patient and kind.  He is funny and silly.  He is unbelievable smart.  To the point where he has to dumb things down to talk to me sometimes. haha.  He is spiritual and honorable.  He actually likes to clean.  He is musical.  He understands me.  He always knows exactly what I need.  He knows all my insecurities and faults and he loves me just the same.  No matter what I do or what I say, I will never be able to fully express my love and my gratitude for my Steve.  He is my everything.

And last, but most definitely not least,  I am grateful for my Heavenly Father.  He is the one who has blessed me with this wonderful life.  I have done nothing to deserve his love and kindness and yet he completely engulfs me in it.  I know that he loves me, I can feel his love everywhere.  I am so grateful that no matter what has happened or what I have done, I can always speak to him, always.  I love that he is always there to teach me and to guide me.  I am grateful that he knows me far better than I know myself.  He has always given me exactly what I needed, even if it wasn't what I wanted.  I am grateful for the comfort that I receive from him and I am so grateful for second chances... and third and forth and fifth chances.  I know that I take so much for granted and I can't possibly begin to understand all that he has blessed me with, but none the less, I try to always thank him for everything I can.

I'm a bad person... and here's why

I find it absolutely hilarious when people fall.  I just can't help it.  I'm getting better as I get older, I can at least ask if the person is okay, or hold my laugh in until I'm not around them anymore, but I always laugh.  It is unavoidable.

Would you like some examples?

The other days as I was walking down the sidewalk downtown there was a girl waling next to me.  She tripped over something on the sidewalk, stumbled a few feet then smacked straight into a pole.  She refused to acknowledge that I was there and just kept walking like nothing had happened.  Poor little thing.

Stephen has also introduced me to a little thing on youtube called monthly fail compilations.  We get so excited at the beginning of every month  because that means there's a new video from the month before!  (I know, we're perfect for each other.)  Now before I show you one of these videos I feel the need to tell you a few things. 1. These videos widely display human stupidity (and drunken-ness). 2. There may be an occasional curse. And 3. Some of these look extremely painful.  I find it best to tell my self that the people in the videos are fine.  That way I don't feel bad laughing at them.  (I also really like when the friends laugh instead of helping)

My favorites on this particular month's video are at 2:45, 5:01, 5:16, 6:01, 7:41, 7:58, 9:01, 10:56, 11:37, 13:22.

Actually, you may just want to only watch the ones I posted.  That way you avoid the really painful ones and don't spend the full 13 minutes watching it like I did...

Oh, I also really love this one. I'm probably going to be a fairly terrible parent.

Please don't judge me too harshly after you've read this.

I like to photograph things

Hey blog world!  It's been a little while. I've pretty much given up on consistently blogging while I'm going to school.  There really is just no time for it.  So why am I on right now you ask?  Because I've had just about all the structuring of molecules I can take tonight and I've hit a brain block with my English paper.  Therefore I'm blogging!  Some of you may know, and some of you may not know, that over the last couple months my passion for photography has been growing immensely.  I'd have to say my dream job is to be a photographer but I still have leaps and bounds to go.  Right now I just pretend.  None the less, here's just a little sample of my favorites.

Alright... So there's more than a few here... But any who.  Here they are.