Happy New Year!

To sum it up, we had a very nice Christmas. On Christmas day, Jacob for some crazy reason decided to clean up the basement. Ha! I was actually really happy about it- we got it nice and organized and now have a DI pile and a garbage pile to get rid of. I've never done that before on Christmas, but we had fun together. The day after Christmas was spent ripping up the kitchen floor and tearing out the bottom cabinets, and Saturday was spent knocking out a wall and laying down the Hardibacker board for the tile. Yahoo, huh? We actually had fun together and had some good laughs. The girls enjoyed way too many movies to keep them occupied! I made Jacob move my fridge back and forth a few times while I decided exactly where I want it. He LOVED that. What a great fella. Monday night my little handyman made me a makeshift holder for my sink so I no longer have to do my dishes in the bathtub. Ya, let's just say I REALLY appreciate a sink now more than I ever have. If you ever get sick of looking at your pile of dishes, live without your dishwasher for a week. If that doesn't do the trick, try washing dishes in the bathtub and then you will really be counting your blessings! We'll lay the tile Thursday (Happy New Year!) then grout on Saturday. Keeping off the floor for 3-4 days is going to be quite a challenge. It's been a crazy week! I've made way too many trips to the Home Depot and am sick of looking at tile. But, once the tile is done and the new cabinets are in, I'll feel like a new woman!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house, the dishwasher leaked- a perfect job for a spouse. We pull out the washer and what do we see? The floor underneath is rotted as can be!

Pull out the wrench and warm up the drill, this is obviously much more than just a little spill. Rip up the linoleum, uncover the mold, the insurance adjustor comes Monday we're told. So for Christmas this year the kitchen's a mess, we'll be shopping for new tile and maybe new cabinets, I guess. But 'tis the season for joy, our blessings are still many, even if the "leak" drowns out our last penny.

Everybody Needs...

A Bath Buddy

A Riding Buddy

A Daddy

A Hand to Hold

A Best Buddy

Thanksgiving Update

I'm always behind on blogging! Oh well. Better late than never.

Thanksgiving was tons of fun. We were up in Logan and joined the Israelsen side for lunch. Of course we barely made it through eating before Allie decided she needed a nap and was in no way willing to compromise on that. So unfortunately our visiting was cut incredibly short. We still had a great time.

While up in Logan, Jacob surprised me with tickets to go see the Forgotten Carols-LOVED IT! However, McLean has added too much to it. I liked it better when I saw it a few years ago. But, still the perfect way to kick off the holiday season.

The 29th we celebrated Kenna's 3rd birthday with the Otte clan. It was so fun to play a few little party games with the cousins. Absolute chaos but it was a lot of fun. Yep, my little firstborn is 3! I truly can't believe it. She's knockin' at the door of the Sunbeams! Wow, we are graduating nursery. I thought it was crazy when she started nursery! Even crazier than that, Allie starts nursery in less than 2 months! Time flies. We'll hear wedding bells before we know it. Okay, whoa, slow down.... don't even want to think about that.

We celebrated with the Israelsen clan the next day, so Kenna got two cakes! She is sure blessed to have two awesome families who love her.

Before we headed down South, we stopped in at Temple Square and saw the lights. It was SO SO FUN! I haven't been there for a few years and I just ate it all up. The weather was amazing and the lights were beautiful and the Spirit was so peaceful. I love that place. Another perfect way to ring in the season.

Want to give a shout out to Grandma Shelly- she had a hip replacement last Friday (on her birthday- but what a heck of a gift, huh?) and so far is doing pretty darn good. So glad everything went well, mom. You'll be waterskiing before you know it! HA! You just keep on getting better. Sure love you.

Good luck to everyone on all the shopping and wrapping and eating and caroling and baking and eating and trimming and stressing and eating and tree-gazing and cocoa-sipping the next few weeks. I love stoking up the fireplace so our house is super toasty, then Jacob and I can snuggle on the couch and enjoy all the fun Christmas lights. Take time to enjoy the season and remember how incredibly blessed we are that the Savior came to Earth, and all the remarkable things He has done- and continues to do- for us.