Christmas is coming

On our way down to St George we stopped off in Oak City to do a little tree cutting. When you cut your own tree you are given a list of rules you must abide by in selecting a tree. Well my own personal opinion is it's impossible to find the perfect tree if you follow the rules and I figure as long as you keep the one about not cutting the tree next to the road who is really going to know. Another rule is you are supposed to cut the tree six inches up from the ground. The trunk it still alive and over time a new tree grows in it's place. In my experience we always find trees that are perfect but happen to be 12 feet tall so we just kind of cut the top six feet off and leave a bushy looking tree to occupy the forest. Over time the new tree grows in where it has been cut and it ends up being a little deformed looking with multiple trees splitting out of the main trunk. The benefit of this is I believe is they create a better habitat for all woodland creatures. Instead of one birds nest you can have 5 on each separate trunk. Talk about a family tree!

So why am I writing a whole lot about Christmas tree rules and my beliefs on them? This year I compensated for allowing crazy trees to grow in the forest by taking one as my own instead of cutting my perfect tree. Tree cutting is a lot harder when you have to drag two kids around and eventually we got tired and figured If you can't find the perfect tree you might as well cut the craziest one you can find. Our tree had been topped before and has what looks like three different trees coming out of the base. It's ten feet wide and when viewing it from the street looks like we put a bush in our front window. Yes after decorating it I may have been freaking out about having such a creature join in our Yuletide celebration. Fortunately today as Huntley and I were pulling into the driveway she squealed with delight and said "look at our crazy Christmas tree!" I decided that it's a whole lot more fun to have memories of the craziest tree around then the perfect tree.

As a side note our crazy tree is the most fragrant tree I've ever had. Triple the tree, triple the smell!

Thankful: day 27

I'm thankful for family time and the chance we had to spend the past five days together doing nothing but enjoying each others company. I'm thankful my hubby and girls are patient with me as I do my best at being a wife and mom. I'm extremely thankful for the chance to spend every day together and experiencing life with my little family!

Thankful: day 26

I'm thankful for smiles. Paisley is starting to grin it up and I love seeing dimples in her cute chubby cheeks. I love that she is now getting big enough that she interacts with me and smiles and coos. I'm thankful she is my baby girl even though she is growing up way too fast on me!

Thankful: day 25

I'm thankful for teamwork and that I'm part of a pretty good team. Yesterday was a long day. We spent half of it locked out of our condo and both girls had reached their wits end which was pushing me to my breaking point and beyond. Luckily I have an awesome teammate and between the two of us we spent the day taking turns switching off dealing with screaming kids or building up patience. I'm glad he's my eternal teammate and think we make a pretty great team.

Thankful: day 24

I'm thankful for life and the opportunity I have to live it. I'm thankful for good food, family, and the chance to spend it time enjoying life together. I'm thankful for Mera, Aunt Penny, and her girls who took over my girls for the day and let me craft with uber creative Aunt Becky. I'm thankful for a sweet hubby who just spent the past two hours standing in lines with me and my parents for watching the girls so we could have a midnight date. I'm just thankful for this day and making me realize how blessed I am.

Thankful: day 23

I'm thankful for holidays so we can have days off of work. I'm also thankful for family that lives out of town so we can have an excuse to go on vacation for holidays. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it to go on vacation with the amount of stuff we have to take but now that I'm all here and cozy in the same room with my girls it is definitely worth it. I'm thankful to have four whole days of family time in hopefully warm weather!

Thankful: day 22

I'm thankful for treats. I love anything sugar related especially involving chocolate. I love spending time with Huntley making treats even though it usually turns my kitchen into a disaster. Most of all I love "rewarding" myself at the end of the day with a bowl of something yummy. Probably not the best habit but I'm thankful for my quiet nighttime routine of snuggling up with my hubby and watching reruns on Netflix with brownies and icecream. It's definitely the simple things in life that make me happy.

Thankful: day 21

When I was at Paisley's doctor last week they had a wall with a list of things the people in the office were thankful for. One of the items was the beauties of the earth and I'm stealing that for today. I am thankful for the world we live in and especially the mountains. I love spending time in the great outdoors and experiencing all that the wilderness offers. I'm thankful that because of this love for the outdoors it has led me to different places in my life that I needed to be in, such as meeting one really nice guy. I'm glad he also loves spending time in nature and I hope our children end up inheriting this trait from us as well. I think we are on the right track with the amount of times Huntley has insisted we go camping in the past week. The poor girls requests keep getting denied but someday Paisley will be big and we can live in a tent and camp to her little hearts content.

Thankful: day 20

I'm thankful for the priesthood and that I am married to a worthy priesthood holder. Today was Paisley's blessing and I'm so thankful I have a husband who can bless her and who isn't afraid to bless our home. Chris is always willing to give me a blessing whenever I need one and I'm extremely thankful to him for that.

Thankful: day 19

I'm thankful for chunky babies. At Paisley's checkup we found out she weighed in at a whopping 13 lbs 2 oz. I knew she was a big girl, but wow that is quite the weight gain for only 2 months. I'm glad though because chunky babies make me feel safe. She looks healthy and I don't have to freak out about her as much if she gets sick. Plus the more she weighs the more weight I have to carry and I definitely need some help getting back into shape!

Thankful: day 18

Throughout the history of this blog you've all seen that Chris has many different hobbies, archery, trapping, fishing, and now hound dogs. As you can imagine he spends a small fortune on them but the good thing is he is constantly selling things from one hobby to support other hobbies so he never really spends any of our actual money we live on. As for me, I like to read but the library supports that hobby so it's pretty darn cheap. I'd say free but during huntley's rest time a few of her library books met a tub of vasoline and the librarians weren't too fond of that. My other hobby would be scrapbooking and doing crafty stuff but you can imagine that with working full time and raising a family I don't get much time to devote to that so it's more of a hobby about me starting a project and never finishing it. I also am the complete opposite of Chris and spend as little as possible on things I want. We both budget our money but maybe since I'm the one who actually pushes send on the bills it's harder to spend money when I think about the fact I just spent a whole lot of it paying the mortgage. I'm thankful that I think like this because it allows us to live within our means and keeps us out of debt. I'm also thankful Chris recognizes that and occasionally spends his constant flow of hobby money on me. Ever since the new silhouette cameo came out I've spent a lot of time trying to win one online, picking up pennies off the ground, and searching peoples couch cushions when they weren't looking. Yes mom I may have given Huntley the idea of jumping on the cushions so I could look for change and I only found 25 cents in your couch, lame. Anyways Chris took care of me and sold a snowmobile and bought me my very much coveted little toy. I may have had to compromise and ended up with another dog in the process but I have my very own toy to make whatever I can imagine with and I am so so so excited! Hopefully my babies cooperate and today will be my early Christmas and I can craft to my hearts content and make Christmas gifts while I'm at it. Thank You Chris!!! I love you!!!

Thankful: day 17

I'm thankful for medicine. Paisley had her two month checkup today and the poor thing had to get poked 3 times. I hate having to hold my baby when they give them shots. The look of betrayal they give you is possibly one of the worst feelings ever. On the flip side I'm sure having her get a disease would be worse so I will be grateful for the few minutes of pain she has to endure instead of an extended period of time for catching something that now can be prevented by a shot. I'm also thankful for tylenol so that the effects of her shots can be avoided and she can still be a happy baby.

Thankful: day 16

I'm thankful for good friends. When you say the word friends I typically think of childhood. I grew up in an awesome neighborhood where we were all friends. We'd spend the summers playing night games and winters sledding. Some of my favorite memories are when my mom was gone and we'd have the neighborhood over to play crazy games my mom would have never let us play. I also had my "crew" I hung out with all through jr high and high school. I don't think it's very common to keep the same best friends through all those years but we were always together and those 5 girls are still my favorite people in the world even though we only see each other every few years. Now that I'm grown I also have some pretty great friends. They help me out with my kids and listen and give me good advice when I need it. It's funny that when you are a grown up you don't have to ask for permission to play with your friends but instead use your kids as an excuse to play. I'm glad I have friends in my life!

Thankful: day 15

I'm thankful for knowledge. Huntley had school today and when I got home from work she was thrilled to tell me everything she learned. I love watching her learn and grow and the fact she is in her sponge stage and soaking everything up in the world around her. I'm thankful both Chris and I had/have the opportunity to go to school. I'm glad I was able to get my degree and use it to help take care of my family. During school I couldn't wait to hurry up and get done but now at times I actually miss it and the challenges it brought. Maybe that means I need to look at getting my masters. Then again maybe I should just be happy doing classes for Chris every now and then, at least they are free. Which also leads to being thankful for financial aid. Hooray for being poor and getting free schooling.

Thankful: day 14

I'm thankful for tender mercies and the evidence of my heavenly father in my life. Today was one of those no good horrible very bad days and I was having a hard time figuring out what to do to make it better. Of course my husband and mom knew the answer but sometimes actually doing what you know needs to be done and doing what needs to be done is hard and I didn't feel I had the courage to do what needed to be done. As I was sitting and stewing over my problem I decided to try and read a book my mom had given me a few days ago. The book recapped a talk given during a past general conference by Elder Bednar about the tender mercies of the lord. Our father in heaven knows us and what we are going through and allows us to have experiences in order to feel his love. The world may call these coincidences but as I look back on my life I've had too many coincidences that have given me proof that things happen for a reason and there is a higher power that has a hand in our life. As I thought about this I immediately began to feel better and have more peace about what I needed to do. To top things off as I began to read on the book shared an experience of a woman who had to make the same decision as I do and her positive outcome. I'm not expecting my situation to work out the same as hers but I do know that the outcome will be the ideal outcome for me and that I have no need to fear. I'm thankful that even though I can have bad days my Heavenly Father is always there for me and can provide me with the comfort I need.

Thankful: day 13

I'm thankful for my home. When we started looking for houses we found our current house and another that had already been remodeled for the same price. At the time Chris and I thought it would be fun to buy the one that needed a lot of work because it would be so much fun to redo everything and make it our own. During this process we've discovered several things things about ourselves. Number one being we aren't very patient. Hence the two toned wallpaper our dining room is sporting and the fact every room has a project started and not one is finished. Second being we need to make more money because remodeling requires a lot of it. Third, we really wish Scott lived closer because he has lots of skills that we'd love to take advantage of. Finally we found out that even though our house drives us crazy at least we have a house and can provide a place for our girls to make shelters of their own in. Below Hunt discovered trying to make a tent out of a moving swing is about as productive as her parents remodeling skills.

Thankful: day 12

Today was cold. We spent the day doing chores and watching movies and only venturing outside to get a few groceries. Today made me extremely thankful for running water and indoor plumbing. I can't imagine having to potty train a toddler on a freezing day and running out to an outhouse. Or having to get my girls ready for Sunday by boiling water for their bath. Yes I'll stick to modern day living and my water heater that is as old as me. Any tips on killing a water heater would be appreciated. Only one more month until our home warranty is up.

Thankful: day 11

Huntley has started dressing herself in the morning. She is very independent and wants to match things on her own. Somedays I just have to bite my tongue and let her stay in what she chooses to put on. Occasionally it's embarrassing to be seen in public with her but she is learning agency and how to make her own choices. Of course the country we live in is the ultimate example of freedom of choice. I'm thankful for this freedom and all those who have fought to ensure it. I'm glad I live in a place and time where I can make my own choices and not be ridiculed or harassed for them and I'm glad there are those willing to sacrifice so that my children will be able to have the freedom to choose as well.

Thankful: day 10

I'm thankful for a body that is healthy and can do many things. When Chris was taking an anatomy class he would try and tell me all about how amazing the human body is and how things work. I agree whole heartedly but all you have to do is say the word vein and I get the heebie geebies and want to immediately end the conversation. Lets just say I'm happy I have a healthy body and that the rest of my family does too. Healthy little girls in tutus are the cutest thing ever.

Thankful: day 9

I'm thankful for sleep. Right now sleep is a precious commodity and I'm grateful for every little minute I can get. The occasional nights I get four hours in a row leave me waking up feeling amazing. Someday I'll get to sleep through the night again. I'm also glad i don't have any problems sleeping. Chris has a hard time sleeping and we just spent 40 bucks on pills to see if it will help. I can't imagine not being able to sleep and having to function like you were living with a newborn all of the time. Plus if we both had that problem that would be 80 bucks a month and that is a lot of money! I'm also thankful when my babies sleep. They look like precious little angels when they are sleeping. It's a good reminder to me that they are children of god and I need to have more patience with them and be a better mother.

Thankful: day 8

I'm thankful for cell phones and all that they can do. It amazes me how fast the technology of cell phones has progressed. When I was younger my parents bought a van from my dad's work. We were cleaning it up right after we got it when we noticed this weird box phone looking thing under the drivers seat. My mom started to mess with it to figure out what it was and the thing started beeping. I seriously thought it was a bomb and we were all going to die. After she called my dad at work we found out it was a car phone. How cool is that?!?! I immediately started telling all of my friends we had a car phone and thinking I was so cool. Real cool considering the fact we never even used it but occasionally i would sit in the driveway pull it out, yes it had a long slinky looking cord attached to the box that was mounted under the seat, and pretend I was talking to someone on it. You never know who might see me and think how cool I was. If only my past self could see me now. Instead of having a super awesome car phone I have a sleek little cell phone. It's not attached to anything and at all times I can see what my hubby and Huntley are up too. Man, I have definitely reached cool status now.

Road Trip to Yogan

As you all know Chris's latest hobby is hound dogs. This hobby has turned our house into an online garage sale with dogs and supplies constantly coming and going. This last weekend he needed to go to Logan to pick up a new dog box. I haven't been to Logan since the day I moved out of my apartment and back home to get ready to marry Chris so I was really excited to go back and see what has changed in that little town where I spent two years of my life. Huntley was really excited to go as well, although for different reasons. When we got there we realized she thought we were going to visit her friend Logan and was upset when we told her we were in Logan and not going to Yogan's house. Luckily my favorite places in Logan are quite entertaining to a 3 year old. We first distracted Huntley by letting her play in the snow. She loved it which is good since she's going to be spending a lot of time with her daddy chasing dogs in the snow.
Next we stopped off at the Pepperedige Farm factory and stocked up on a lifetime supply of goldfish.

Goldfish make you thirsty so we headed over to Gossners and bought chocolate milk and cheese. Saturdays are definitley not a good day to go to Gossners. I miss going on Tuesday's where it was only my roomies and I and the nursing home bus. We'd gorge ourselves on cheese and dream of the day when we could live in the nursing home and go to Gossners, that would be the life.

Last but not least we stopped off at Smith and Edwards where we discovered Huntley is like her dad and wasn't to into the idea of using all the old army crap to take random photo's with. Fortunately Paisley is too little to say what she does and does not like so I had fun introducing her to one of my all time idols. If we ever have a boy John Wayne just might be fighting Wyatt Earp for naming rights.

Well now that you've read all this you can see my days in Logan revolved around food (no I didn't hit up Lee's for free samples) and we probably shouldn't have a boy because the poor kid will probably end up having issues with his name. Good times, good times.

Thankful: day 7

I am thankful for moms. I have the best mom and mother in law ever.

Even though I'm grown with a family of my own my mom still takes care of me. She babysits Huntley, feeds us lots of meals, is the brains behind everything I do for YW's, and never complains about giving me advice even when I call for simple things. I love that my mom is consistent and her answer is always going to be "did you pray about it?". A lot of the time I definitely need that reminder.

Linda lives far away but I still couldn't get through life without her. She e-mails me all day long which really helps work go by a lot faster. During the summer her constant phone calls helped me out a lot emotionally and gave me the strength to keep on pushing. She's also extremely lucky and the two times she visited this summer where the only weeks Chris wasn't on a fire. I'm glad she came not only because she takes care of everything while she is here but it was really nice to actually see Chris for longer than two days. Wildfires must know not to mess with a boy and his mommy!

Thankful: day 6

I'm thankful for my grandparents! I am extremely lucky and have been able to know all of grandparents and have had them all play an active role in my life. Not only do I have my biological grandparents but I'm also lucky enough to have a couple extra adopted grandparents too. I'm glad my girls have so many grandparents as well and love watching Huntley interact with them. She loves going to grandpa Phillips's every Sunday and helping him make popcorn. It makes me smile when we leave church and she immediately asks to see popcorn pa. She is one spoiled little girl when we go to their house but I'm glad she has that relationship with them and hope she can always remember Sunday afternoons at their house.

Thankful: day 5

I am so thankful for weekends! I can't imagine how how horrible life would be if we didn't have two days to get a break from the routine of the regular week. I love having a day where I can focus completely on things at home and not have to worry about work. Spending all day with my girls is wonderful and I can't wait for the time to come so I can spend everyday with them and just be their mommy.

Thankful: day 4

I am definitely extremely thankful for Chris! To be honest, he actually drives me crazy most of the time. He has strange hobbies, constantly teases me, and his taste in TV just makes me shake my head. On the flip side I'm glad for all of that because it's what makes my life far from boring. He works to make sure our family is taken care of and isn't afraid to get out of his comfort zone to make this happen. Huntley loves spending time with her daddy and when Paisley was first born she only slept good on the nights he was home. Chris encourages me to be my best self and I'm so thankful I get to spend eternity with him.

Thankful: day 3

Today after dance class Huntley and I helped my dad dig potatoes. During that one activity I could think of a lot of things I was thankful for. It wasn't too cold out and the sun was brightly shining away. I got to spend quality time with my dad and daughter and found out Hunt is as nerdy as I am. I love digging potatoes and being surprised with each shovelful. Huntley is the same way and gave squeals of delight every time she would see red skin appear out of the dirt. I'm thankful I am her mom and get to watch her grow, learn, and get excited about everything around her.

Thankful: day 2

Today I am thankful for electricity, or the lack there of. This morning their was a power outage that knocked out the power in all of south Utah county. While normally I'm quite thankful for electricity and all that accompanies it, it was quite nice to stay home and enjoy work from the comfort of my own couch. Paisley had to actually nap in her crib but thanks to grandpa she was still able to sleep with the noise of a saw in the background. Lucky for us grandpa has awesome skills to help our electricity be less!

Thankful: day 1

I've always wanted to do a daily thankful post during the month of November, but let's face it I've never really been that good at blogging. This year it just might happen! Of course day 1 I have to start off by being thankful for my little girls. Today was especially trying, Paisley cried lots, Huntley had accidents, and it was COLD but I wouldn't trade being a mommy for anything. Huntley giving me a big hug and telling me she'd miss me too much before going to sleep just makes me happy!

Baby bumblebees

Huntley loved Halloween and didn't want it to end! My favorite quote of the night was when we were trying to get her to leave popcorn pa's. Grandma tried to help us out by saying she needed to get her pajamas on. Hunt responded by grabbing her hand, pulling her to the bedroom, and saying "come mere, me help you". Unfortunately for her that didn't happen and when she wakes up she'll be one sad little girl when she finds out there is no Halloween tomorrow day.