but i had to get rid of this last night.
the red, that is. i want to be one of those people that can do red. make a statement. be bold. but since our couches are red, i couldn’t live in a butcher shop. i’m easing into the red thing. slowly now. 🙂
up ’til 3 am last night priming, painting, and envisioning our life here. can’t wait. it’s gonna be great!
…is a fabulous way to develop some clean housekeeping habits.
no more pastey bathroom sinks with my make-up strewn all over the counter.
no more laundry in piles and a washing machine filled with sour smelling clothes that i’ve forgotten to put in the dryer.
no more papers and bills and whatever else by the phone just hoping to someday be sorted.
yes, i’d say this is a great way to get things in order and keep it that way.
unless, of course, this is what happens to your car…
i like pictures.
put a novel and a picture book in front of me and i’ll take the picture book any day. maybe that’s a reflection of my intelligence, but oh well.
so here’s my new little project. decided to do "a picture a day" deal. or whenever i feel like it. just want to be able to see the everyday glam (or lack thereof) as it’s happening. 🙂
it’s over there on the left.
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and i’ve affectionately named it cherie, cherie, what do you see? this is my life. that’s what i see.
enjoy!
all i’ve gotta say is: this is pure snow! it’s everywhere! have you any idea of what the street value of this mountain is?
whoa, what a week! trying to soak it all in and get back into the swing of things after one of the most anticipated and adventure-packed seven days i’ve had in a long while. we flew to utah, dropped off the kids with the fam, then headed up to whistler. yep, it’s in canada. i know, i had to look on a map too. 🙂
spent the week skiing, doing the spa thing, eating food that i don’t even know how to pronounce, zip lining, celebrating our cutest little leprechaun’s FIRST birthday and waiting for "the" call. lemme esplain what i mean by the call…
yes, i did a really crazy thing that is so unlike me and entered a contest. a huge, nationwide scrapbooking contest, nonetheless. not quite sure why i did. well, i do know why i did. but i’m a little embarrassed to divulge my motive. but i’ll be totally honest here. i think there comes a time when we all want a little recognition. maybe just a pat on the back or someone to say "wow, you’re good." and truly, that’s all i wanted. someone other than my family to say, "hey, kid, you’ve got it!" not to say that my family’s opinion isn’t the most important. but, you know, they are always supposed to tell you you’re great, right? and i love them for continuing to tell me i’ve got skills. 😉
basically i decided to hone my design, writing, and photography abilities and create some great memories for our family. i think the biggest achievement was the process of actually setting a goal for myself and overcoming my own insecurities, self doubt, and the obstacles that arose. i’m happy to say that i didn’t give up. THAT was the victory for me. but winning certainly would be swell too.
so after waiting a month and a half, i got a phone call. the results came in and i was lucky enough to get an honorable mention. happy about that. really, really happy. some of my entry will be published in the HOF creating keepsakes magazine this year.
and that’s all i’m going to say about that. in the meantime if anyone can find a hip substitute for the word "scrapbooking" let me know!
yep, that’s jeff and he’s riding a bull. and yes, that’s me in the background watching him and thinking please don’t make me get on that thing. please…oh…please.
we’re here in whistler for an award trip that jeff won for being at the top of the sales force last year. talk about rolling out the red carpet. pfizer really knows how to reward their employees. and jeff really deserves it. only problem…(even though it’s not a bad problem) is little ole’ me feeling a bit awkward to be so pampered. but not awkward enough to stop calling room service for a banana split every night. yo, baby!
it’s so beautiful here. cold and beautiful. whistler is incredible! i admit, i’m totally canadian illiterate, so it was eye opening to arrive in vancouver and see how large the city is. people actually do live in canada! and all this time i thought it was just moose, eh. 🙂
this month is a time of change, anticipation, hope, fear and more all tangled up in a twisted mess in my mind. nothing seems to be constant–my emotions, their emotions, our health, his work schedule, the house sale…
but as i was getting ready this morning and thinking of all the inconsistencies in my life, i stopped. and thought of the one thing that has never, ever been consistent.
but right now it is.
and it has been for almost a year. and i needed to be reminded this morning of how thankful i am for that one thing.
as early as i can remember i’ve struggled with it. struggled to overcome. sometimes more intensely than others. a year ago, i made a decision and i haven’t faltered. not once. i’ve wanted to give up at times. but i haven’t. and i have been blessed. that weakness is becoming strong to me.
i don’t know if that one thing will always be just like i want it to be.
but today it is. and i am grateful.
…annual passes to disneyland, baby!
who would have imagined that in my lifetime i’d ever possess annual passes to disneyland? que loco! hah, now i really feel like a so-cal guru. we went a few weeks ago with my family and then yesterday with our good friends. i was a little worried that it wouldn’t be so "magical" if we went too often. let me just say, the "magic" rolls deep for me, yo! (thanks for the lingo, garrett) 🙂
we had a wonderful time on both occasions. the only thing that would have made it better was if jeff could have been with us. he’s been out of town training for his new position. ugh, we miss him so much when he’s gone.
so, because everyone needs a plethora of disneyland pictures, i added a new album on the left of our family trip in february. LOVED having family here and enjoying fun times together.
come visit us and all your wildest dreams will come true. 😉
so, a few weeks ago, a wonderful friend came to spend the weekend with us. she asked if i would take some pictures of her and her cute little boy.
enter my thought process: me? take pictures? of other people? for real? yikes. my oh-so-not-professional camera stinks. ok, really it’s not equipment malfunction. it’s operator malfunction. me taking a good picture seems more like an accident than a regular occurance. just pray that one will turn out so she won’t think i’m a retard.
of course i didn’t tell her that i was totally freaking. but hey, i figured no worries…you get what you pay for right? 🙂 so after some attempted osmosis from the school of tara whitney, i hoped some talent would wear off on me. hah, more like fake it ’til you make it.
so without further self-bashing, i’ll show you the results. and you know what? not bad. not bad. (i’m secretly so excited i can hardly stand it)
reb, you’re beautiful!
this one’s my fave.
check out the rest here.
wayne’s baptism. february 25, 2006.
i feel priviliged, honored, and blessed to know a man such as this. how could we have known that our first aquantaince would allow us to be part of this…a true change of heart.
we first met wayne a little less than a year ago. karin, a friend in our ward, brought him along to bring us dinner when ella had pneumonia. he seemed like a great guy. funny. happy. a lot like jeff. oddly enough, after they left, jeff realized that wayne worked at one of his doctor’s offices. small world. and so it began.
we loved getting to know him better this past year. he is a man of faith. he always has been. he was a devout member of his church–even recorded gospel music and invited us to attend one of his congregation’s live recordings. we’re talking hallelujah, amen bruthah, raise-the-roof worship here. and you know those people can sing. honestly, i didn’t think wayne could come to our church, sing our hymns, and listen to our glorious ward choir without wondering where the "real" music was. (side note: i’m a member of our ward choir. yo, baby!)
he did come. he did wonder where the "real" music was. but he kept coming back. 🙂
thanks to karin, wonderful missionaries, an amazing love from ward members, and an incredibly powerful fireside and testimony of gladys knight, wayne felt the spirit. strongly. he knew how to recognize that spirit teaching him truth. he chose to follow those promptings and be baptized.
i’ve never been to a more powerful baptism. ever! the chapel was full. so much support. so much love. so much happiness.
he shared his testimony today in our sacrament meeting. moved me to tears. made me smile. made me grateful for my opportunity to feel the joy of missionary work here and now. who would have thought it could get even better than my experiences serving in spain? it can! it does! and it will!
truly i can say, "how great shall be your joy!"