Primary Elections

Is anyone as intrigued with the outcome of the primaries as I am. I have to say that this is going to be one interesting year as we watch the campaigns of the different candidates. I just want to challenge all of you to get yourself informed. I am not here to blow any particular candidates horn. My political beliefs are my own, but do you know what yours are? Have you learned about the candidates and what they have to offer. We are blessed to live in a country where we actually have the right to vote for who we want in office! Please don't take it for granted!

The 52 Blessings Project

While doing some blog hopping I came across Gardenview Cottage. She had come across this idea that I think is totally awesome. I am really excited to participate on this through out the year, and maybe you will want to join in too! Here is the details of the project. I think that it has been decided to do the post on each Sunday, but I will let you know if it changes. They are working on getting a Mr. Linky so people can link up and visit each others blogs to see each others blessings! (Okay...so I added my own Mr. Linky here at the bottom of this post...if you decide to participate...just add a link to your individual blessing post so I can come visit you!) How wonderful is that!?

The 52 Blessings Project

Once a week post a photo of something you are most grateful for. This gives us a chance to reflect on the good things we have learned from or that have made us better in our everyday lives or things we just enjoy! I think everyone needs to be more grateful for what they have now instead of always thinking about what we want! This is one of the things we can do to be more gracious people. It will be like a photo gratitude journal.

Week One

I have actually been wanting to write this post for a couple of months now, but time just got away from me. Now that I have this new "project," I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. One thing that I haven't really talked about on my blog is some of the things that are going on in my extended family. Back in July, my brother in law decided that he wanted a different life instead of the one with my sister Nancy. It has broken my heart to watch the pain that she has had to go through. The other thing is that my 2 brothers (Jonny & Jimmy) that are 2 and 4 years older than me have recently announced that their girlfriends are pregnant. Not exactly the way my parents would have liked to add grandchildren, but they are happy just the same. It's not really a bad thing, but I know that they are already struggling financially and adding another baby to the mix is going to make it harder. What does all this have to do with something that I am grateful for you may ask? Watching my family going through these different trials in their relationships has really made me reflect on my own relationship with Shawn...and that is what I am truly grateful for.

I am blessed in so many ways when it comes to Shawn...

• I am blessed to have a man that is good with money. In the beginning of our relationship I really struggled with how "frugal" Shawn was. Over the years, he has let up a bit...but one thing I know... We will never be in debt, and will always be provided for.
• I am blessed to be able to stay home with my children. There are so many mothers out there that have to work in order to sustain their family. I am so thankful that Shawn got the education he needed, and has always had a job that pays enough to support us without me having to work.
• I am blessed to have a man that holds the priesthood. It is one of the most comforting things to know that if something is wrong, if someone is sick, or for any reason at all...that my husband is able to administer a blessing from our Heavenly Father. I am thankful that he lives his life worthily.
• I am blessed to have a man who adores me. This has been something that I sometimes take for granted, but after watching my sister...I have come to realize how lucky I am. He loves me with all of his heart, and I am thankful to share that love with him.

I really could go on and on, but I am sure that you get the idea. I just want him to know that I am grateful to have him in my life. I may not always be the best at showing it, but that is something that I am working on. Shawn, you are my love, my best friend, and everything I could have ever hoped for. I am so thankful to have been able to have you in my life for the past 8 years. I look forward to sharing many, many more memories with you as we grow old together. Thanks for making me laugh, comforting me when I cry, and loving me for who I am.

Aspirations for 2008

When I think of the word "resolution" it seems so definite. In fact, I looked it up in the dictionary and it said "firm or unwavering adherence to one's purpose." It is just me, or is that why I think that so many resolutions fall short? My life changes daily. The things that I experience each day, change my thinking of things, and through out the year I need to re-evaluate how things are progressing. Resolutions are hard to keep because life it self involves so much change - how can you be firm or unwavering!? That is why I would like to use the word "Aspiration" instead. Webster defines it as "something that one hopes or intends to accomplish"...or in other words...a goal. I may not achieve every one, but at least I can work on trying to become a better person.

Many people choose a word that they live by through out the year. After I wrote down many of the things that I want to accomplish the word that came to me was
I think so many reasons why many of my goals fall short is because I have not planned properly. It is amazing how smoothly things go when I have planned ahead and prepared things before I actually want to accomplish them. So this year I hope to be a better planner in order to execute the desires of my heart.

With that in mind, I still want to post some specific things that I would like to accomplish throughout this year. They may end up changing, but at least this is a start!

• Create a more structured environment for my kids. Plan activities ahead, and spend more quality time with them. I feel like so many times I just let the day happen. I want to be a better mother to my children. I think that by developing better routines it will give them the safety and security they need to flourish.
• Have FHE (Family Home Evening) each week, and also daily scripture study, and prayer. I really have to admit that we have slacked alot in this area. We do pretty good with prayer, but lack in the other areas. I want to do better at planning meaningful evenings where we can teach our children spiritual things, but also have fun as a family unit.
• Be a more positive and encouraging wife. Sometimes I think that I can be negative about alot of things when it comes to Shawn. I really love him with everything I have, but sometimes I don't think that I show it the best that I can. I want to be more proactive about planning date nights, and things that can help strengthen our relationship. Lets face it...kids take alot out of me...but my husband needs me too.
• Work on building a better year supply. Our church recommends storing a year supply of food. We have the storage capacity to do it, but I have never really looked into how much we really need to sustain our family. This year I want to work on getting the things that we need to be prepared.
• Purge! I tend to be a pack rat. I plan this year to try to purge alot of the stuff laying around our house. The great thing about moving is that it forces you to purge. We have lived in our house for almost 5 years now, and have no plans on moving. We have accumulated alot of things that I really should just get rid of.
• Work on the storage room 15 minutes a day. For those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember when I tried to defeat this task. I failed miserably! That room is very overwhelming, but it needs to get under control. If I can just spend 15 minutes in there everyday... I should be able to get it to the organized room that I dream it to be.

So there they are. I hope to be a much better planner this year and not a procrastinator. I tend to do the latter. I hate it, but I am a major procrastinator. I look forward to this new year, and aspire to achieve great things. Happy New Year to all of you! 2008 is going to ROCK!

After Christmas Party

I have always been a little jealous of Shawn and his friends from high school. He has a wonderful group of friends and they are so good at keeping in touch. They always make the effort to get together at least once a year if not more. I had a great group of friends too, and the funny thing is that alot of them married each other, but for some reason we don't see each other (except for Julie and Robbie). I really enjoy the friendships that Shawn and I have with his group, and am thankful that we are able to continue to do things together. It has been fun to watch all of our families grow. We got together a few days after Christmas this year. We had a mexican potluck, and had fun catching up while our kids ran wild around our house. At one point we tried to get all the kids together to take a picture, but we couldn't get them all together at once. Instead we took pictures of each family as they left the party. It was such a fun time. I hope to try to reconnect with some of my friends this year. Hopefully we can make that happen.

We also decided at the last minute to get together for New Years Eve. We all made a drive out to Katie's house for some fun. We played games, talked, and even built a fire in their fire pit in the backyard. It was alot of fun even though that was when I was getting sick. I did manage to snap a photo of everyone (minus Candice and her husband - they left before we took the shot) before we headed back home. I was the one taking this picture...so that is why Shawn is all by himself.

Coming into the New Year I have alot of things that I would like to accomplish. I know alot of times resolutions fall short, but I like to just look at them as goals. They may change throughout the year, but for now I feel it is important to write them down. I might even surprise myself by actually achieving them! Looking back on 2007, I feel like we have been blessed in so many ways. It was such a good year for our family. I started this blog last year in hopes that I could use it as a journal to record things that we did as a family. I really have enjoyed blogging, and hope to continue it for a long time.

Traditions

I know that Christmas is over, but I wanted to share some of the things that I had found while trying to look for different ways to establish Christmas traditions for my little family. I really want to build meaningful memories for my children. I feel that the family is so important, and I want them to feel safe in our home. I think that traditions really help to establish the security that every child needs. Some of these traditions have already been established, and others are ones that we started this year or would like to incorporate in the year to come.

Gingerbread Houses & Temple Lights: This was something we started doing as a extended family last year. I have to say that it is so much fun. Tori and Tracy are wonderful enough to make all the gingerbread from scratch, and it really has provided the best memories. This year we went and saw the temple lights afterwards, and I think that it would be great to continue doing it this way. We had a friend get together a few days after Christmas, and the kids demolished it. Caden wasn't feeling too well that night and didn't discover the evidence until a few days later. He was a little upset, but next year we will get to do a new one. Here is the before and after. :)

A New Ornament: In the past we had always gotten the kids a new ornament each year that signified some sort of accomplishment or whatever they were infatuated with that particular year. This Christmas we started a new twist on the ornament. As I had stated previously, this year I was really not into getting toys for my kids. I felt like they had so much stuff already. So the new thing we did was this. Caden's gift from us was tickets to go to the Monster Truck Jam. The ornament that he got to unwrap was a Monster Truck that we converted into an ornament. Now in the future we will plan some sort of event or thing to go do with our kids, and the ornament they open will represent the activity that we will share. So not only will we be able to do something special with just them...they will have a new ornament with their name and year to remember what gift they received from us. Since Sydney is so young this year...we didn't exactly go the same route, but we did get her a Care Bear ornament. That girl is so in love with those things. She got one for her birthday this year that came with a DVD, and if I let her she would watch it all day long. I can only take so much of "We are Care Bears...La, La,La, la laaaaaa!" It is a music video that is on the DVD.

Reading a Christmas Story every night: Back in the day when I was in Young Women's (a youth group in my church for girls 12-18) my leaders had given us a book that had a scripture, a song, and a story to read every single night up until Christmas. I think it is a wonderful idea, but my kids didn't dig it so much. They really need something with pictures. So my plan is to collect enough children's Christmas books throughout the year so we have one to read each night before they go to bed. I will wrap them up and they will get to open a new one each night. If you have any suggestions of a favorite book...Please let me know!

Christmas Eve Pajamas: This is something I have done since Caden was born. I love the Old Navy sleep sets and buy them a new one each year. I am sad because this is the last year that I can get the Old Navy ones for Caden...They don't sell the sleep sets in sizes bigger than 5T. Regardless, it is always the one gift that they get to open on Christmas Eve. I love how cute they always look in them.

Neighbor Gifts: I have always wanted to do this, but have never been organized enough to get something together. Julie aka Crazy Mama of 6, called attention to this fabulous lady who compiled a list of easy and fast ways to to put together something to give to the neighbors...Now I just have to pick which one we will want to do next year! I think this is something fun to get together, and helps the kids to get in the spirit of giving instead of receiving.

Birthday Party for Jesus: My friend Katie gave me this idea. We weren't able to do it this year, but I plan on incorporating next year. So many times children get caught up in the Santa aspect of the holiday. I want my children to recognize the importance of why we really celebrate Christmas. I think if we have a family night were we have a "birthday party" for Jesus with a cake and all...then it can help them to understand what an important role our Savior plays during this time of year.

Christmas Breakfast: Shawn's step mom established this tradition a few years ago. We always go over to Shawn's dads for a Christmas morning breakfast. It is great because I don't have to cook! It is always something that we look forward to and it is always great to spend time with Shawn's Dad. I might end up incorporating Staci's idea of waffles/ice cream/strawberries for a meal with just Shawn, me and the kids...since we go to Shawn's dad's on Christmas...maybe we will try doing this on Christmas Eve Morning.

Acting out the Nativity: Right now there aren't enough grand kids to participate in a live reenactment of the Nativity, but we did buy the Little People Nativity, Lil Shepherds, and Lil' Drummer Boy set for the kids this year. Maybe we can have the kids do it using all the toys. I think this is important for them to understand, and would be a fun way to use the set...and something that we can do with just our little unit instead of the extended family.

These are just a few that I really like, and there a ton more that I have to mull over and decide which ones to use. Here are also a few sites that give ideas of different traditions.

Cafe Traditions
The Sprague Lab - (thanks Abbie)
Garden View Cottage - this is a blog I stumbled upon where she shared 14 of her favorite traditions. One of the ones I liked was tradition #11 where she made pillowcases out of Christmas fabric...I might just do that...we will see.

Also if you have any others that you would like to tell me about...I would LOVE to hear them! I can't wait to gear up for next year! Christmas is such a great season, and I am so sad to see it go (so is Caden...because I have been sick, we have yet to get our decorations down. Caden gets upset every time I mention taking the tree down - He says he wants Christmas to last forever)! One thing that I hope to do this year is start my shopping early. Every year I say that I will, but end up scrambling in the end...Here is to hoping!