thanksgiving

we got to have thanksgiving dinner with kennedy this year. we were very excited to have her in utah. we celebrated wednesday night because that was the only night she was allowed to be with us. after stuffing our faces, we got everyone together for a group picture/video...

then mike got so excited/nervous that he pushed the pause button on the camera. but what he said was "on the count of three, everybody say cheese. 1...2....carly's pregnant!"

 

and here are the reactions we got:

 

 

then he realized he pushed pause and started recording again...

 

 and in case you can't hear, he said "oh, and there's more news...it's two."

 

so yes...we have more than ever to be thankful for this year! i am 17 weeks and due may 11, but will likely deliver in april, just a couple of weeks before we finish building our house. life is about to get really awesome around here.

 

while i am so excited i can hardly stand it, my heart hurts because i know some of you are praying for the same miracle. i'm praying for you too. i'm so sorry if this announcement brings pain or sadness. i've been there, and i don't think i'll soon forget what infertility feels like. you are not alone, and i know God will answer your prayer in His own time and His own way just as he has ours.

 

ordinary, every day world

i loved molly's blog post. i don't always express gratitude for how beautiful the ordinary really is, and i'm not great at documenting it. so here are some things i love that have become our ordinary world right now:

~our neighbors. across the street, we have two revival churches of sorts. they sing and preach in spanish so i never know what they are saying, but i tell you they have some exciting worship meetings. i love tuesday and friday evenings when their tuba shakes our walls. our neighbors on both sides of our house are two of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet. they are the best of friends. joann picks ella up 2 or 3 times a week just to get her out of the house. they go to mcdonald's for a coke, arby's for a milkshake, and KFC for the tuesday $2.99 special. they go to the dollar store, wal-mart, and are both quite fond of chuck-a-rama. it's great coming home at the same time they do and listening to their adventures from the day.

~our long grass. sure it looks like a jungle and coco gets lost in it, but it's nice not really stressing about yard work.

~the grocery store. it's a different experience shopping in our little town. no one is in a hurry. customer service is seriously lacking. the shelves are picked over if you go after 11 am, and we have the lamest wal-mart known to mankind. but for some odd reason, i've become fond of this quirky place.

~fall. it's the best season. the colors this year are incredible. i'm feeling like cooking again. and we are loving fall TV: parenthood and new girl (and of course lots of football.)

~coco messing up the rug and sliding across the floor when she hears mike's car pull in. she just can't contain her excitement!

our days are as ordinary as they come. wake up, go to work, come home, cook dinner, clean up, watch tv, repeat. i feel blessed to have this routine. it means we have jobs and income. it means we have food to eat and a bed to sleep in. more importantly, it means we have someone to come home to, and that's something i don't take for granted.

sun valley 2012

hard to believe the annual excursion to sun valley has already come and gone.

we look forward to this trip every year.

it's a family reunion of sorts mixed in with games, swimming, ice staking, eating, golfing, walking, shopping, late night chatting, biking, and making memories.

my grandparents are two of the most generous people i know, and i'm thankful that they make this trip possible.

pursuit of happiness

"now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy." --guillaume apollinaire

maybe it's the spring air, the extra hours of sunshine or simply the fact that we are two days from april (which is either going to become my favorite month ever or the worst month ever)--but around here we're just feeling very happy.

and maybe i will start each of my days the same way as this cute curly girl to keep the happy vibes going:




enjoy the weekend!

2011 memories, moments and lessons

favorite memories:
+going to st. george with my dad for my birthday
+growing closer to mike than i ever thought possible
+playing "samuri unite" in sun valley
+roadtrip to wyoming to take kennedy to school
+cruise to mexico

hardest moments:
+leaving logan--unexpectedly moving--drastically changing our plans and future goals
+house payment + rent payment
+living apart from mike for 6 months

lessons learned:
+forgive. forget. move on.
+"i am the master of my fate; i am the captain of my soul."
+"courage, then, and patience! courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones. and then when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." -victor hugo

"last christmas started this way, with me getting crapped on."

name that movie!

christmas didn't really start with me getting crapped on, but for some reason that hilarioius line keeps popping in my head.

christmas was actually really great again this year. i won't bore you with play-by-play details of how we spent the weekend, but i would like to say:

• new tradition: sleepover with the sisters on christmas eve eve.
• christmas should always be on a sunday. it really put the day in focus to start out by praising and worshipping God, thanking Him for the gift of His son, and contemplating the miracle of His birth and life.
• it took us until 1 pm on christmas day to finish eating/opening presents. i loved dragging it out.
• my mother is the best at giving thoughtful gifts.
• coco nearly shredded my little sister's bike tire because her ball got stuck behind it.
• i love when i get to spend full days with mike.
• i also love giving gifts and seeing the surprised/excited expressions on others' faces.
• just dance on the wii=hilarious. my dad playing just dance on the wii=no words.
• i suppose not having snow made for nice travelling weather, but what is up with this smog?

a few of my favorite photos from this december:

 



note to self: remember

Image found here

+remember that this week you toured the new brigham city temple with some work colleagues. remember that despite the chaos and noise of construction, the grounds were peaceful. remember the details inside: the exquisite hand-carved wood, the peach blossoms that are incorporated throughout the interior and exterior, the fruit trees that will soon be planted. remember the pride you felt walking through this beautiful building during its early construction. your hometown will soon have a temple!

+remember hillary, who told you with great conviction that she has a responsbility to love God and serve His children. remember her motto for serving and her response to being an instrument in God's hands, saying, "God, i've got this one." remember that there are people close to you who are lonely or struggling and need someone to answer their prayer by saying, "God, i've got this one."

+remember the sunbeam who was asked to draw a picture of what it looked like at jesus' birth and sincerely asked: what does birth look like? remember how you smiled and felt a bit of gratitude that you don't know what birth looks like.

+remember that you came home from long days feeling proud of the things you've accomplished. remember that you are good at what you do. remember the opportunities that have come your way. remember that along with some sadness and emptiness, this season of life is one of growth and happiness. remember that this week you didn't have to convince yourself that you were happy: you just felt it. fully, completely, painstakingly happy.

thankful

i love this thought. thankful = happy.

+i am thankful for my husband and that we are living under the same roof again.
+i am thankful for my grandpa, who has always been an example to me of enduring to the end and simply being happy and thankful, regardless of his circumstance.
+i am thankful for the opportunity to fast for others and see the results.
+i am thankful for our jobs.
+i am thankful that while the sale fell through on our house, the (ex) buyer's earnest money will help pay for the water heater we replaced for her.
+i am thankful for friends who "get it."
+i am thankful for old journals.
+i am thankful for the puppy who is easily entertained by frolicking around with a bobby pin.
+i am thankful for my sisters.

this is going to be the best thanksgiving ever. just sayin.

a christmas miracle

i had to order a last minute package yesterday. believe me, i would have ordered it much sooner had i known that i would need it by today.

this package cost us $300, had to be refrigerated as soon as i received it or it would be worthless, and required my signature in order for delivery.

i was promised delivery by noon. i called at 2 with the promise that i would have it by 4. at 4:45 i called again and was told they had until 7 pm, and perhaps until the next morning, to deliver it. this becomes a problem because they were delivering it to my work and no one would be there at 7 pm. if the package wasn't delivered until the next morning, it would be ruined unless it was refrigerated overnight.

the shipping company made it very clear to me that they did not offer "refrigeration services" and there was nothing they could do about my package. their distribution center was closed and they didn't even know where the package was.

i cried. i begged them to re-route it, hold it at their office, tell me where the truck was and i'd pick it up myself. i tried to explain that this package could not be left somewhere overnight. i'm sure the poor lady i was talking to had heard excuses and complaints all day from ornery last-minute shoppers who wanted to know where their gifts were. she kept trying to get me off the phone, saying "i'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but there's nothing i can do about it."

i was clearly not making any headway in my desperate attempt to explain to her that this wasn't a gift and i wasn't just a stressed out last-minute shopper.

thankfully we have a friend who works for the shipping company in ogden but lives here in logan. i called him and explained my dilemma, asking if he knew anything i could do. he just happened to be driving right past the distribution center when i called. it was after 5 and i had already been told that they were closed, but they just happened to still be open. they just happened to have my package there, and they allowed him to pick it up for me so i could get it home.

coincidence?
i think not. it was a tender mercy. silly as it may sound, it was a reminder that the lord hasn't forgotten me.
it was a christmas miracle!

i delight in snow

because coco goes to the bathroom much faster when the ground is covered with it (she doesn't like squatting out in the cold. can you blame her?) and because the dog poop on our grass is buried so she can't roll around in it. for some reason she has an affinity for rolling around in other dogs' business. thank you snow, for covering it up.

and i also delight in snow because it reminds me how great our neighbors are. i came home today to a clean driveway! thanks bryce!

i delight in hope

dr laura got me thinking the other day when she told a caller that hope is just delayed disappointment. i guess this could be true if we hope in certain situations or even certain people, but if we add "in christ" to the end of it, hope is anything but delayed disappointment.

elder faust said, "there are tremendous sources of hope beyond our own ability, learning, strength, and capacity. hope is the anchor of our souls. hope is trust in god's promises, faith that if we act now, the desired blessings will be fulfilled in the future."

god has promised that "whose believeth in [me] might with surety hope for a better world."

i love the promise from god that if we believe in him and his son, we can always hope for something better. wrongs will one day be made right, things will work out, and when we can't believe that or possibly see how, we must put our hope and trust in god. god's promises to us will be fulfilled.

delighting in:

*coming home after a 14+ hour day to freshly baked cookies. my husband is awesome.
*lunch dates with annika and hallie.
*staying up late to discuss christmas gift ideas.
*routine. and the occasional change in routine.
*the new martha stuart living magazine.
*marta's fabulous holiday binder. i need to get organized- only 6 weeks left!
*tuesday nights. i'm learning a lot at institute and feeling a new excitement to study the bible.
*drive-thru windows and the employees at sonic who know exactly what i want when my car pulls up.
*our lovely new oven and the self clean cycle. how did i live without it?!
*the sweet ladies we visited this week who told us that whenever they hear the ambulance in our neighborhood, they call all their friends to make sure the ambulance wasn't coming for them. i hope i have friends like that when i grow up (:
*new family pictures. brittany did a fabulous job. i think i have about 700 photos to edit. it's gonna take me a while.
*jeggings. don't judge. they are so darn comfy.
*my niece, holly, who was looking at the ribbons attached to some balloons and told her mom, "these strings are like aunt carly's hair. they're so curly." she makes me smile.

i delight in the senses

coco and i went on a walk this afternoon.
walking in the fall is an experience that involves all the senses.
i felt the same excitement as coco as she pranced and lept on the sidewalk.
i saw the fading sunlight, bright blue skies, and lots of joggers trying to get in a good run before the weather changes.

crisp leaves crunched under my feet, and the few leaves left clinging to their trees are still vibrantly colored.

i turned the ipod volume up and listened to ingrid (and a little guggenheim grotto, the band that opened for her).

coco tried to get a group of joggers behind us and ended up running circles around me, leaving me wrapped like a mummy in her leash. i looked like a fool trying to get untangled.

i saw the new christmas window displays in the stores along center street and felt the anticipation of a new season and good things to come.

i love living in this beautiful place.

i am grateful for my senses to take it all in.

delight

my friend erin has a whole blog dedicated to "daily delights," and i figured i'd shamelessly steal her idea this month and share some things i delight in as a form of having an attitude of gratitude. (did i use enough alliteration and rhyming in that sentence?) i have experienced firsthand that it's impossible to feel anything but immense gratitude when i choose to focus on the many blessings i have. there is much to feel delightful about :)

name them one by one...

"the man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life!"

***

a few things i'm thankful for...

being thankful is really easy when things are going your way, right? it's easy to recognize our blessings when we feel so content that we couldn't possibly want another thing in life. however, when things aren't going the way we plan or hope or want, it can be challenging to notice the blessings we have and express gratitude for them. elder bednar gave a talk in general conference not too long ago and told a story about having a general authority visit his family when he was president at BYU idaho. a tragedy had recently happened in the community (don't remember exactly what it was) but the general authority counseled elder bednar's wife to offer a prayer to the lord where she only THANKED him for their blessings. have you ever tried to say a prayer where you only thanked the lord? i am guilty of praying most fervently when i'm asking him for something, not thanking him for all i have. so my goal for the rest of the month is to wake up and thank the lord for my many blessings. to pay more attention to his hand in my life and to express more gratitude to him for all he has done for me.

five-year-plan

the five-year-plan i made when i graduated from high school looked very different from how life is now, five years later. (have i really been graduated five years?) i was going to be a college graduate from the university of utah with a degree in psychology. i would be working in slc with troubled youth or theorizing about the minds of criminals. i would be traveling the world, driving a sweet car, living in a lovely apartment downtown, and what five-year-plan doesn't include the possibility of finding/marrying mr. right? :) well, at least that much of the five-year-plan actually happened.

growing up, i always wanted to be a writer. i have books and notebooks and folders filled with stories i'd write. i kept them hidden (and always will) but i have always loved to write. i never would have guessed that one day i would actually be getting paid to do it. this week, i found out that my official job title will now be PR/Marketing Specialist. i'm pretty darn excited that i will now get paid to do what i love: write. i've felt a bit overwhelmed, incompetent, and stressed this week in trying to figure out what i'm doing and how the pr company/ceo expect things to be written but i'm loving it so far. i have a lot to learn, and i look forward to this new adventure of writing press releases, updating the company website, and being involved in the marketing efforts of the company. looks like i will be using my college degree, after all.

i can't decide what i'm more excited about: the fact that i don't have to fill out a time card anymore, or the fact that my email signature is going to sound a whole lot more important than it did a week ago :)

life is good.

random tuesday thoughts

• so, it was a lot of fun going to the usu game saturday night. jaycee carroll broke the scoring record and the spectrum went wild- he had a standing ovation for 2 minutes and everyone was chanting his name. mike is excited that he can one day tell our kids we were at the game when jaycee broke the record.
• i have the sweetest boss. i leave work at 1:00 pm every other day for school, and yesterday he ran outside before i left to scrape all the snow and ice off my car. he also got mad at the foreman who took my parking spot. how can you not love working with a guy like that?
• the weather channel said it was 5 degrees this morning with a -14 wind chill. i almost lost my ears to frostbite on the way to class. but i saw some dude wearing shorts and cowboy boots and figured if he didn't have frostbite yet, i could make it with both ears attached.
• i met lots of new neighbors on sunday because our ward was reorganized. i didn't even know the people who live across the street (sad, i know) because that was the ward and stake boundary. the things you learn when you meet your neighbors! turns out one of them used to babysit the allen kids whenever my parents were out of town. i loved when she babysat and i thought of her like an older sister. i'm pretty excited that she lives across the street now.

6 Things

Because it's November 6th, here are 6 things I'm grateful for:

1. My Husband. He's the best, what more can I say? :)

2. Christmas Music. I realize that it's still early in November, but I love Christmas music. This CD by Hilary Weeks always gets me excited for Christmas.


3. My Family. They're pretty great!



4. School. Even though I just wish I was done, I'm glad I have the chance to earn my degree. And I am working hard for it!

5. Diet Coke. Sometimes I can't make it through the day without a little Diet Coke goodness.

6. Dr Laura. This woman is brutal. I can only handle her in little bits at a time. But I'm glad someone with her influence will stand up for kids who have irresponsible parents, speak out against people who "shack up," and advocate for husbands who have crappy wives. And just when I think I'm having a rough day, I listen to Dr Laura and remind myself that my life is very blessed.