Greatest day!

Tyler and I woke up at 11:00am, yes, 11:00am on Saturday. We spent the night at his parents house but everyone else took of early for a weekend in Yakima. We stayed behind in Idaho and decided to have a lazy day.

After waking Tyler read a book in front of the fire for a while as I continued to lay in bed "resting." From there we made a bed of blankets and pillows on the living room floor and watched "P.S. I love you." It was so fun to just be close and enjoy a movie, and good call to put Gerard Butler in the movie because Tyler willingly watches since he was "King Leonidas" in the movie "300."

Then we cleaned up his parents house a bit and headed back home. Tyler took the dogs to the lake while I showered and cleaned our house a bit. Then we headed to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for some kitchen must haves. Meanwhile, we got a call from a good friend and his wife that they were in town from LaGrand. We met at Costco to eat and then headed to ColdStone for ice cream.

Since parting from our wonderful friends and ice cream I have puttered around the kitchen, making room for my new waffle iron from my mother-in-law and Tyler has watched a football game and played his new video game (yes I know, videogame, but everyone needs their vice. Mine are probably trashy shows on ABC).

I also did some editing on PhotoShop and watched a few tutorials for some new tricks. What fun! What a wonderful day, no complaints from Tyler or myself, just a wonderful lazy day between lovers!

Holiday blues

I don't want the title of this post to concern anyone. Christmas is amazing, wonderful, and one of my favorite times of the year. Even with all of these good feelings about Christmas, the holidays are a hard time for me. I think I blogged about this last year too, but here it is again, making me an emotional cookie baking crazy lady!

There isn't really one thing that makes me feel sad around Christmas, but just the absence of secure/fond memories. I haven't had a Christmas with both parents since 8th grade and because of this I don't really have any traditions that I hold near and dear to my heart. Yeah, I can remember some of the things we did when I was younger, but sometimes they are hard to remember without remembering the later years.

My heart often feels "hurt" during the holidays, I don't know how to explain it. It is a literal, tear-jerking, pain.

So how do I get past this? I'm not really sure. I know that I obviously need to pray about it, year round! It is only God who can bring security during the holidays, not Tyler or my own will.

How sweet it is....

to be loved by Tyler!

As you read below, last week was an important week. I had three interviews for audit internships with top accounting firms. About a month ago my mom bought me my first suit...a pinned striped black skirted suit. I planned to break out the suit for the interviews, and what is a suit without heels? I usually park about a 12 minute walk from campus...and the interview site was about a 10 minute walk from the buildings I am in on campus. So I was concerned about all of the walking. And no, wearing tennis shoes to walk around in with my suit was NOT an option.

Tyler had the day off so he drove me to campus, dropped me off, and picked me up at the end of the day. Campus is a 25 minute drive from our house on a good day. I realize more and more that it is the little things that Tyler does to show love. He didn't have to drive me in, he could have told me to stop being such a girl and wear different shoes...but he didn't! What a sweet man.

Later in the week he told me that he was trying to do anything to calm my nerves and make the week go smoothly. Wow, to put my needs ahead of his own for a week without me thinking about him much at all. How sweet it is to be loved by him...

I was selected for second round interviews with two of the firms. I have one in Boise on Tuesday and I fly to Spokane on Wednesday for a Thursday interview. I am thankful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to interview...what a blessing!

1/2 marathon, 10 days away!

So I have always been a runner, but never worked too hard at it or enjoyed it or kept with it on my own accord. It has always been an easy way to stay in shape. Did you know to start burning fat you can run for 15 minutes or walk for 45 minutes. No thank you to walking for 45 minutes to just start burning fat. Ugh! Not that fat burning is a big concern, but why would I do anything for 45 minutes that I could do in 15?

My best friend, Hannah, lives in Portland and I haven't seen her since the early part of the year. So in an effort to get her to come to Idaho I decided I would see if she would run a half marathon with me. Hannah is a personal trainer and actually enjoys this type of thing. Haha, so needless to say, I didn't have to do much convincing and she was already planning on coming over the same weekend.

Let the training begin, 10 weeks ago. I started running and have averaged 4-5 runs per week. Until this week, which I will blame on school and lazyness, and will title "tapering." Haha! It has been pretty fun, at week four I wanted to give up. Hannah decided we needed to email our workouts to each other. From then on, fear fueled my ambition. Hannah was running her miles much faster than I was. Yikes! So I have worked harder and brought my times down.

I ran my long runs with a friend here in Idaho, and what a blessing that was. It has been fun spending more time with Jenny and we even went on a double date to Olive Garden with the husbands. Every other run, except for one, has been by myself.

Anyway, this is a long post to say, I am excited. It is going to be a lot of fun, and I am interested to see how I race compared to my long runs, training, etc. Most of all, I am so pumped to have Hannah all to myself for 13.1 miles. Hopefully I won't be sucking too much air to chat with her!

Life lately...

School has started and I love it. One of my harder semesters but I have awesome profs. My accounting prof is great...he was a partner at one of the big 4 accounting firms for 29 years. I won't bore all of you with more accounting details or stories he has, but to me, they are amazing.

Tonight we are going to Olive Garden with Jake and Jenny and then to play games at their house. Should be a great time. I am looking forward to it since my evening after work consisted of being so tired I didn't do anything, being so tired I couldn't nap, and cleaning up to piles of dog puke from Tyler's parent's dog. Oh joy!

Tyler was sick this last week because he has been working so much lately. He worked 84 hour last week. Yikes! No thanks! He is working so hard and I am so grateful. Great things are coming his way...hoping to post about them soon. :-)

My mom and her husband came to visit for a couple of days, it was a lot of fun. Mom and I did a little shopping and she bought me my first suit. It is going to come in handy with interviews and other accounting functions. Yay...it is a classic black pin stripe with a skirt instead of pants. Love it!

Also, Tyler and I spoiled ourselves and got Blackberry's. 3G, didn't know I was missing out on so much. If you haven't crossed over, don't. It is addicting. Pathetic, I know!

Hope everyone is doing well. Lots of pregnant ladies lately...wish you all healthy pregnancies! I am happy to report that I do not currently have baby fever. :-)

Crazy Good Love - 2 Year Anniversary

Tyler surprised me by cleaning the house while I was at work. Not the way most guys want to spend their day off! He did such a good job too...vacuumed and swept...the whole bit! He also gave me the beautiful roses...they are such a pale pink it is cool!

I am amazed at what these two years have been. It is hard to describe...far surpasses my greatest expectations. I don't know if I ever really believed I would be this loved and this happy. Let's be honest, Tyler is a boy, and I am a girl...so we have our differences. But I can go from wondering what he is thinking to smiling and laughing like no other time in my life. It is very clear how God has used Tyler in my life and I pray that the Lord blesses Tyler with me as much as I am blessed by him.

We exchanged gifts...which we didn't plan but we both did. Then went to dinner and on a walk with Josey on the greenbelt. It was really wonderful. We are relaxing and watching some TV now. When I asked Tyler what one of his favorite things about marriage is he said, "Sleeping next to you each night." I agreed, it is a great feeling to sleep next to someone you love.

First Harvest

I have been picking Sugar Snap Peas for about a week and a half. They are amazing in salads. Today I picked our first cucumber. I put some in a salad and Tyler had his with salt. It was great. Having a garden has been so much fun...almost weird how much fun it is. I am already looking forward to next year. I will have a much bigger garden, in raised garden boxes, and in a different location. I have learned a lot this year, trial and error.

I am also doing herbs in my kitchen, mostly basil and parsley. I am hoping to be just like Giada, minus her amazing boobs (ha, who am I kidding, I just need the name of her doctor) and the TV show. :-)

Friends of summer

This summer I have been fortunate to hang out with some pretty cool people. My handsome husband, cousin Travis, Paige Fast, and Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas.

Libby just married one of Tyler's friends and we couldn't agree more with his choice of Libby. She is such a neat girl, makes you feel welcome right away and I have enjoyed spending time with her at a baseball game, their wedding, camping in the mountains, and Sushi/Graples.

I took Paige to a block party and it was a blast. She loved he bounce houses, but not as much as a person in a dog costume. She loved that thing!

Tyler, Travis and I have done tons together this summer. We are so glad that Travis moved to Idaho and are thinking of ways to keep him here forever. Him and Tyler are like twins, so sometimes I can't get a word in or I get picked on...but they are such great guys it is worth it. Haha!

I haven't seen some of my favorite people this summer...hope to soon. I am going to make a point of it in the next couple of weeks.

June 2009

June was a great month. Tyler and I did a lot of fun things around Idaho...along with our cousin Travis. He is renting our basement from us and he has been so much fun.

We went to a Renaissance fair at the beginning of June. It was much more fun than I expected...but Tyler and Travis knew it would be awesome all the time. Seriously, Tyler was looking forward to it much like a 9 year old boy would have. So cute!We went to a Greek Food Festival...yum! Tyler liked it too....his first Gyro experience.

We also went up to Spokane for Hoopfest. What a blast. Tyler's team didn't do as well as we hoped, but we had two other family teams that won their divisions. Neato! Ashley Puga met us up there too which was a lot of fun.

And My Soul Sings...

This morning at church I was humbled and confronted by the Lord. What a special time it was. I will blog more about it later, but this song started it all.

Lord of all the earth
And all of heaven
I come and seek Your face
Worship You with all I have within me
Humbled by Your grace

Every heart every nation
Every tribe all creation
Will bow before Your presence and sing

You are high and lifted up
You are high and lifted up
And my soul sings hallelujah
To the Lamb
The Lamb of God

Lord of righteousness
You come in glory
Bright and morning star
All my days I’ll worship and adore You
Healer of my heart

Every prayer every cry
You alone satisfy
We will lift Your praise
Again and again

Majesty
Majesty
Jesus Lamb of God
Majesty
Majesty
Holy are You Lord

Week of...

I have friends that make a "menu" each month of what they are going to make for dinner. While I love this idea because I love being organized, when it comes to cooking I usually get inspired during the day and can't stick to a menu. For the last two weeks I have done something new and it has been pretty cool. Just thought I would share it with you.

I quickly write out a page titled "Week of Month Day-Day." Then I list the days and any special notes about that day that Tyler or myself might need to remember. For example, we are having friends over on Thursday night and I have girls night on Friday night. The next section is dinner. I list the days that we will both be home to have dinner together. The rest of the nights we either do leftovers or sack dinners at work. I usually list the main course options but don't assign them a day, that way I have 4 or 5 ideas of stuff that I have on hand. The last section is a goal section. Last week my goal was to have the house clean before we went to Park City. I pretty much accomplished that goal and I think it was because I wrote it down. This week my goal is to catch up in my summer course and to wash my face every night. Anyway, this has helped keep us on track, try it if you need some motivation and a "communication center" for those busy days.

On to the goal of washing my face every night. I know, how gross is it that I don't get to it every night. I always wash my face in the mornings, but evenings are hit and miss. No wonder I don't have amazing skin. This isn't rocket science. So, I am going to try and wash my face at 8:00 or 9:00 every night. Usually I wait until bed time and after I brush my teeth I am too tired to stand. Haha. So doing it earlier should help. So, bug me about this and make sure I do it. I'll keep you updated on my progress and if my faces shines with thankfulness for much needed night time attention.

Family Vacay in Park City, UT

Tyler's parents invited us on a family vacation to Park City. We hadn't been there so we were pretty excited. The weekend lived up to our expectations. We have a great time with his parents and sister. Activities included tennis, uno, movies, sushi, shopping, the Olympic park, a huge zip-line, and lounging around. We are thankful for our family!

Tara Graduates

My sister-in-law graduated from NNU this year. Yay! What a beautiful girl!

Life

If you know me, you know I think things through, I am a list maker, etc. Getting married young (20) was no rash decision on my part. With countless people "mentioning" how young I was I bought a book and emailed friends that had married young. I knew that I wanted to get married, and I didn't have a fairy tale image of marriage in my mind. I knew that it was going to be the best and hardest thing I ever do. One friend that I emailed was Megan Mackeson. She was married young and had been married for a couple of years when I emailed her. Megan and I were friends in high school, not super close, but we were friends and have some good laughs and memories together. For some reason, she is someone that I feel I can email or ask any question about any situation and she isn't going to judge, she is going to give me an answer full of wisdom and prayer to go with it. What a blessing she is! Her email about getting married young was awesome. One concern that a lot of people had was how much I would be giving up. Megan said (not word for word, her words are better), "Yeah, I might not be able to go out with my girlfriends as much as when I was single, but when I do, I have a loving husband to come home to. On the nights that I don't go out, I have a loving husband at home with me." How neat!

Now I am married, for almost two years, and I love it. Getting married young for me turned out to be great, I have longer to be married! :-) Obviously, after marriage comes babies. No, I am not pregnant. I have always wanted to be a mom. Lately though, I am realizing what a blessing it will be to be a mom and how much fun it really will be. Also one of the hardest but best things I will ever do. We want to wait a little while longer to have kids, but my heart longs to care for someone like I see mother's caring for their children. I love reading blogs of young mothers, and Megan is no exception. How neat to have so many pictures and videos of first events, cute little quirks, etc. I can't wait. Although I have baby fever, I don't have it enough to do anything too serious about it. It doesn't help that I can already tell that Tyler is going to be an amazing father. He is so loyal and wise, I can't wait to team up with him and the Lord to raise our kids!

So, good job moms. Keep the pictures and videos coming to I can live through you for awhile longer! You are all amazing!

22

Back in March I turned 22! I enjoy being 22 more than 21 because now, when I say my age, people don't associate my age with drinking, partying, long nights of regret, etc. I always thought that was funny about being 21.

I didn't take a lot of pictures (I know, I am mad too!) but here are two from the party at my in-laws house. My dad and his wife came to town for a couple of days and spoiled me rotten with Jewelry and an amazing seafood dinner. I had a lemon-drop, appetizers, two lobster tails, and dessert. More please!

Black Tie Affair

Back in February I promised pictures of the black tie awards banquet at work. Here they are...look how hot my husband is!

Chocolate Covered Pretz

Some treats I made for Laura's last day at work. We'll miss you Laura!

Hair affair

Well folks...I am growing out my hair. I am so proud, I just got back from a cut and color and I didn't give in to the temptation to cut it shorter! Whoohoo! Not sure how long I want it, but sure I want to grow it out. I am young, only 22. I don't have kids and I have blonde hair, so what better than "living it up" with long beautiful locks. Wish me luck in this endeavor!

EEEEEEEE-ster!!!

Easter...one of my favorite days. As an only child I have colored eggs by myself every year until this year. I didn't color eggs, instead I made Jiggler Eggs (see picture above). It was quite fun and I kept thinking "what a great mom I am going to be" while I was making them. :-)

We went to Tyler's parents house for Easter and ate a feast with his grandparents, sister, cousin, and friends from NNU. It was a big group and one of our table conversations centered around sad dog stories. I brought it up and we just ran with it, kind of twisted. We are all dog lovers so we have everyone feeling pretty sad for a few minutes. That night we went to an Easter production at a local Nazarene church. It was great, very different that I expected. Not your average Jesus from birth til resurrection type of production.

I really look forward to having kids on Easter and teaching them of God's amazing gift of grace and watching them search for eggs. What fun!

Jewelry Storage

For those of you like me, jewelry storage is such a trying endevor. I usually get mine all organized and a week later everything is a tangled mess. Well...mess no more! I bought three ice cube trays and put earring pairs in each spot. It is amazing, and cuts down on my morning routine so fast. The great thing is they stack. I am going to put mine in the top drawer of my dresser, this way no one sees all of the jewelry clutter but I know exactly where my favorite earrings for the day are. Do it, so cheap, so great!

Some random pictures

Here are some random pictures I found in my email.

Tyler and Macey in Sun Valley for the 4th of July 2008!

Macey holding her cousin, Simon, June 2008. Not going to lie, I have a little baby fever right now, but not enough to do anything about it!

A little modeling promo from a quick trip to Portland. Kate is in Europe right now I think, great girl.

Jack of all trades, master of none

Some of you probably hear me bring up past accomplishments, activities, etc. It has been so weird for me to lose some of my talents that set myself apart from others. Yes, I have always been good in a number of areas, music, sports, arts, decorating, etc. But now, I honestly can't say there is anything I am a master of. This is not to build me up in anyway, instead it is to motivate myself and see if any of you have found the balance in growing up and leaving some things behind. I need to decide what I want to cultivate in my life and continue to learn and grow in. Here are some talents that have changed in my life:

Piano- I started playing piano when I was 5. I took lessons until I was 12 and then accompianied choirs in my hometown. I was a great sightreader and people knew that I was a great pianist. Now, there are probably 10 people who even know I play/ed the piano. I sit down and play every once in a while and become greatly discouraged because I am back to the same place I was when I was 8 or 9. One of my goals is to take improv piano lessons and to reteach myself piano theory. I have said I will do this when I graduate from college. Is this something I should cultivate?

Running- I also started running in elementary school. I was the girl that the boys hated getting beat by in the mile run in PE. I had great success, school record holder, state competitor, ran in college, etc. Now I am just a morning running, which I do love, but I know I could do better. I could run races, I could improve and be more fit. Is this something I should cultivate?

Athletisism- I used to be able to jump into any game and be a contributing member of the team. Now, I find myself making silly noises when I miss the ball or have to move quickly. The competitiveness has left me. Besides running, I have digressed in my ability to be athletic. Is this something I should cultivate?

There are more, but I want to hear from some of you. Where is the balance? I don't know what to be okay with and what to push myself in. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone, please let me know what you think. Keep in mind my last post was all about slowing down...irony???

No real rhyme or reason...

Slow down...that's what everyone has been telling me. For some people, they tell me to slow down and minutes later ask me to do this or that. For one, it is a plea to have a wife who doesn't spend hours in tears due to stress. For others, it is the longing to see their daughter/daughter-in-law enjoy her days as a young 21 year old with her entire life ahead of her. So why haven't I slowed down?

I don't know why I feel the need to do so much or accomplish so much. I have always been crazy busy, but usually it all turns out okay in the end. Until now. I recently sat for a 7 hour test to be investment licensed. I put in countless hours preparing, yet I failed. I wasn't overly confident going into the test, I actually cried for about an hour the night before I took it because I felt unprepared. Everyone around me assured me I would be alright. After taking the test and seeing FAIL appear on the screen, I cried on the drive back to Nampa. I told myself I would not cry about it at work, the guys don't walk into the office in tears if they fail, so neither would I. It's like Reba sings "cowgirls don't cry." Anyway, in the days following I know that failing that test is not like me, and that was one of the first tell tail signs that I am overdoing it. Also, I am trying to say "I didn't pass" instead of "failed" because it is more positive. :-)

Although I am going going going, full time student, full time employee, full time wife, the progress in school gets further out with each semester. This is to no one's fault. I transferred from NNU to BSU and lost some credits, but my level of happiness at BSU was greatly worth the lost credits. I took 15 credits last semester while working full time, which I swore I would never do again. Then, the other night I was looking at my remaining classes and realized I would have to take 15 credits again in order to graduate when I wanted. So I decided I would do it. This is where my dear husband piped in, and co-workers, and dad, and mom, etc. I don't have to tell you what they said, you already know, you are probably wanting to tell me the same thing. So, I am slowing down. I won't gradute until December of 2010, but at least I will remember these years of my life and have great memories of doing other things besides stressing out. So hopefully, you will see me more, and I will have something to talk about besides school.

Anyway, I am putting it out there. I am slowing down. Now you know and you will hold me to it. So it may take me as long to finish my undergrad as it does a doctor to finish med school. At the end of the day, I am 21, I am young. I need to remember this, there is no rush, slow down!

Fun and Satisfying things to do that don't cost money!

I am just coming up with these, but I hope someone has some fun with them!

1. Rearrange the furniture/decor in your house.
2. Create a new recipe with food in your house.
3. Start a blog.
4. Go to the library and get a book.
5. Practice taking cool/abstract photos.
6. Polish any wood furniture that you have.
7. Watch a movie.
8. What a TV series online, this is one of my favorites.
9. Wash all of the odd things in your house like blankets, rugs, etc.
10. Organize the drawers in your kitchen/bathroom.
11. Bake cookies and have a nephew, niece, friend come over to frost them.
12. Go through your files and get rid of anything you don't need...can you tell I like to organize.
13. Scrapbook.
14. Play board games or card games with your husband/wife.
15. Call a friend to go on a walk to catch up instead of sitting on your butt while you catch up.
16. Go running.
17. Work out at home doing push-ups, sit-ups, wall sits, etc.
18. Try new styles with your hair on a lazy saturday so you can do them later.
19. Give yourself and pedi and mani.
20. Have friends over for dinner, I need to do this more.

Alright, this is one of my breaks from studying. I am taking a huge test on Monday the 23rd...I believe it is 6 hours long and has a 40% passing rate. Wish me luck....a pray hard!

A day early...

First of all. I must brag on my husband for a minute, he worked 76 hours this week. Yes, this week, most of us hardly work that in two weeks. What a guy!

Since he has been working so much, our schedules haven't matched up at all lately. I miss him terribly, and after sitting around feeling sorry for myself on Friday night, I kicked it into high gear and decided to get my part of valentine's day ready for him a day early. So I prepared a wonderful dinner, made a heart shaped cookie and served it to him on the "You are special today" plate, gave him and card and sweet tart hearts, and continued my tradition of valentine's lingerie purchased from walmart. So when he came home, there was his wife, in valentine's lingerie and an apron, cooking away. To which he had to chuckle.

He was such a good sport as I asked him to take pictures to document every aspect of our early valentine's day. Can you tell in one of the pictures he thought it was cute to hide behind me, seriously, having 12 year old boys is going to be a snap for me. Sometimes he reverts back to that age, and to be honest it usually makes me laugh, which only encourages the behavior.

I want to give you a glimpse of this. Tyler is so good at mocking me, which is good, because as many of you know I take myself too seriously sometimes. So during dinner I asked him if it was good (it was a new recipe), and he simply said "yeah, it's really good." So I asked him to tell me about it. In response he laughed at me and broke into an opera song proclaiming, "It is so good, I want to tell the whole world, make it every night, etc." Honestly, I just wanted some constructive criticism. Regardless, I laughed and laughed.

I am so thankful to have a man that makes me laugh. What a blessing! I have to remind myself that he makes me laugh while I am in tears for some comment or something "boyish" that he did. Anyway, we finished off the night watching season three of heroes. He is at work again tonight (Valentine's day) but he will be home soon. The greatest part, tomorrow is two years since he proposed to me. We are heading to the Cheesecake Factory for some quality eats and treats. I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day!

Where the magic happens! :-)

Here are some pictures of our bedroom, I love it. It was the first room I did when we moved in and I had the design in mind for quite a while. It will change a little bit at the end of the month, with some new furniture pieces. Anyway, Tyler has been gone for 10 days and comes home tomorrow night. We have a black tie awards banquet for my work, should be a ton of fun. Tyler is wearing a tux and I am wearing a floor lenth formal. I'll be sure to take some pictures to update y'all. Anyway, have a happy weekend!

What a friend!

Ashley Puga, for those of you who know her, wow! You are blessed! I am so thankful for her special friendship. I spent last Saturday with her, treating her to a birthday surprise. She was told to dress up a little and be ready by 6:00. Much to her surprise, I showed up with a cute little poem that clued her in to what the night had ahead. We started out at Brick 29, an amazing restaurant. We had calamari, a salmon entree, and bread pudding and creme broule for dessert. Amazing! Then we headed to her house to snap a quick picture before we headed to Walmart. Yes, Walmart for her birthday. It was so great, we each had $12 to create a frame for the picture of us. We both got creative! Then we headed to see "New In Town" which we both enjoyed. Anyway, I am so grateful for Ashley. She listens, and pokes and prods, and hugs, and laughs, and all the things girls need a friend to do. I am so excited for this next year for her and all it holds. I hope you all have a friend like Ashley.

Studio D

I am so happy with my new hair cut and color. I have been ranting and raving about Megan at Studio D. She does such a great job and makes the whole experience so fun. Studio D is an amazing salon, it is in Nampa. If you live in Boise, Studio D is worth the Drive. I have never enjoyed the "salon experience" before, but now I am hooked! If you want to check out Megan's skills at Studio D let me know and I'll give you a referral card for $10 off! You will love Megan and your new look!

P.S. --My page background and our bedroom look a lot alike!

Sew...a needle pulling thread

While my mom is an amazing seamstress, I have come to the realization that I don' t have a clue how to sew. Sure, she tried to teach me, but I wanted my stuff to look good so I would usually have to do it all. Whoops! A couple of weeks ago I tried to hem a curtain for the office at work. What a chore, getting the machine threaded was a headache in itself, not to mention my thread kept breaking once I was sewing. After some frustration and seven calls to my mom, the curtain is hemmed. It was not an enjoyable!

I have decided that my little girls will not leave for college without knowing how to sew. I felt so incompetant, so this is what I am doing. I am going to teach myself to sew. I picked a bag pattern and some great fabric, so slowly but surely I am working on the bag. I've already made some mistakes, but that is the fun of it. I am hoping to find someone that lives near me that can teach me more after I get done with the bag. When I finish the bag, I'll post a picture...it could be a while!

Special times!

Yikes...that last blog entry was a marathon. Sorry about that! Tonight, after a long day at work, I am very thankful for friends and my husband. During lunch I texted Jessie to see if I could hang out tonight because after a day like today, I didn't want to be alone all evening while Tyler is working. Not only did she said I could come hang out, but she made me dinner and her husband bought us wine to help my evening finish well. It was so nice to have a place to go where I am surrounded by good friends. I have really been blessed by Jessie, she is my running partner and we have so much fun being honest and sharing our confrontational viewpoints. Haha!

I am also thankful that my boss is letting me go in late tomorrow for the sole perpous of sleeping in with my husband. Tyler has been working nights and he is working nights this weekend so the extra hour in the morning together will be amazing! Yay!

Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas...four times! If you make it to the end of this blog you'll hear how my heart handled Christmas this year.

On Tuesday, the 23rd, we drove to Dallas, Oregon to spend Christmas with my mom and Nels. Tuesday was a rough day of travel, due to the winter storm, and we ended up staying in Gresham for the night to catch the BSU game and relax. The skid plate on the 4runner also was bent so we couldn't go any further until we removed it. We had fun at the hotel, walking to Burger King, watching the game (although BSU lost...grr), and just relaxing. We woke up Wednesday morning and Tyler went to the 4runner and laid in the snow to take the skid plate off...what a guy! We spent a few days with my mom and Nels were we did Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Nels' kids and Christmas with my mom's side of the family. It was really a lot of fun! My new brothers and sisters are so nice and my new nieces and nephews are adorable and very funny! Time with my mom's side of the family was fun, there are new babies and they are too cute. Everyone is doing pretty well, and we all enjoyed our time together.

On Saturday Tyler and I headed up to Lake Oswego to spend some time with my dad and his wife, Susan. Yes, you read correctly, I spent time at my dad's house. WHAT A BLESSING! Being about to spend time with both my mom and dad was wonderful. It is the first time I have been able to do this and I look forward to doing it from now on. I am so thankful to have my dad in my life again, every girl needs a dad! They took us to a really nice dinner, it was a very nice time!

On Tuesday, December 30th, Tyler and I did our Christmas together. It was so fun! He did an amazing job with my presents, especially my stocking. I would have picked everything that he put in there...it was such a treat! It was so nice to spend time just the two of us. I am so thankful for Tyler and the wisdom and levelheadedness he brings to some of the chaotic moments in my life.

On New Year's Eve and New Years we did Christmas Eve and Christmas with Tyler's family. His brother flew out from South Carolina and we spent most nights that week staying up late watching movies, playing games, etc. I lost at Monopoly and Yahtzee...which doesn't happen very often! We had a wonderful Christmas dinner and spent over an hour opening gifts and stockings. We went sledding up on the mountain with his family also, which is always a good time.

If you are still reading, here is the part I have really been looking forward to sharing with you. The holidays are always a weird time of year for me. While I look forward to going home and seeing family it isn't the feeling of utter joy. In the past I have had a lot of painful holidays and there is still uncertainty weather "this year" will be a dramatic year or not. Luckily, this year was not. That was such a blessing. At the same time, it was fairly emotional for me. I really noticed that I long for stability during the holidays. I have had so many holidays without traditions or with some traditions ending. I shared with Tyler my longing for stability, and he understood. He was so helpful in coming up with ways we can create traditions and give our children the joy of the holidays that Tyler grew up with and still enjoys with his family. I am not saying that my family isn't a good time, but I am noticing the effects of not having both parents, together, to share the holidays with. I am really looking forward to creating traditions with Tyler. I am amazed at his understanding for my feelings. I have really been affected by my family's past more now than I thought I would. I can't imagine working through these feelings without the Lord, and I am so thankful that He has given me a Godly man to be here with me.

I hope that you all enjoyed your holidays and that you created traditions of your own. I have been thinking of all of you lately and I hope you are blessed in 2009. I am so excited for 2009...it is the first year that I will have my truly joyful spirit year-round. Yay!