This past week...

Lots has happened this past week.

But first of all, I never want to forget how much I love that my fridge looks like this every other day:

The girls put their own pictures up on the fridge. We do art every day. I love it because it keeps them busy. And I usually have a handful that I put in the recycling bin every day. I try to keep the cutest ones.

 And Jonathan got to ride in a small plane and actually fly a small plane.

The doctor he is standing next to is his attending this month and owns part of this plane. It's like a plane time-share thing. So he does a clinic in Show Low once every month, so he can fly his plane and write it as a tax write off. 

But small planes are scary. They go down all the time. So I was praying like crazy for him. But he just thought it was fun.

And Sami participated in her first talent show this morning. It was in her preschool, and she sang "I am a Child of God." She rocked it. I am so proud of her.

And the biggest thing in my life that happened this past week is that I got released from Young Women and called as the first counselor in the Primary.

Being released was very bittersweet. I have been in YW for so long that it was just a part of me and what I did. I loved, loved, loved working with the other leaders and getting to know the girls on a personal level. But I don't think I will miss how busy it can be. Young Women can be pretty relentless as far as planning and meetings and programs because there is always something coming up. But it is good and important for the teenage girls. It is truly an inspired program. And I am so glad to have been a part of it in this ward.

And now I am in primary. This will be a huge adventure for me because I have never been in primary. I have helped out in nursery a lot, but there is so much I am going to need to learn. I am excited to learn the primary songs that my girls know (and sing only a line or two of) that I don't know. I have loved reading the manual and feeling the spirit of primary. When I told my dad I was now in primary, he told me that he loves primary and feels it is one of the most spiritual places in the church. I feel this is really going to help me grow spiritually and as a person. And I am excited. And a little nervous. 

Digital Art Journaling

I have seen art journaling a lot recently. And I have been interested. But I don't have an art studio, which is pretty much what you need to keep all the paint, brushes, canvases, and other supplies needed handy.

So when Jessica Sprague offered a digital version, and it was on sale in December, I signed up with some Christmas present money. 

To tell you the truth, this is a hard class for me. 

The style is so different. So different that I often struggle liking it.

My creativity is stretched, for sure. 

So I am behind in my  online class. Because a lot of nights I just don't have the mental energy to go there.

But it is good for me. 

So here is some (ok, almost all) I have done so far.

I love this one. I pretty much just copied what the teacher did. (You will see that there is a big gap between what the teacher does and I copy, versus what I come up with on my own. But, hey, that's why she's the teacher, right?!) 

The quote says "It is not easy to separate ourselves from what we think we should do and walk in the direction of what we know we must do."

 This next one needs...something. Not sure yet, a border?  But of course we love this quote.

 This next one I do like. It is from a book by Trina Paulus called "Hope for the Flowers."  

Wendy Watson Nelson gave this synopsis: A story is told of a caterpillar named Yellow who was trying to discover what she should do with her life. In her wanderings she came upon another caterpillar caught in some gauzy filament. Concerned, she asked if she could help. The other caterpillar explained that the filament was all part of becoming a butterfly. When Yellow heard the word butterfly, her whole insides leaped. "But what is a butterfly?" she asked. The cocooned caterpillar explained, "It's what you are meant to become." Yellow was intrigued but a bit defiant: "How can I believe there's a butterfly inside you or me when all I see if a fuzzy worm?" After further reflection she pensively asked, "How does one become a butterfly?" The answer? "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."
 (Synopsis by Wendy Watson Nelson, Increasing Intimacy In Marriage," page 82.)

Our girls camp theme is "Becoming," using the butterfly as the imagery. And we have been talking a lot about the idea of becoming more like the Savior at Young Women and our meetings. So with those two things in mind, I came up with the poster. I love the colors, and I love the message. I am going to frame it in my room to remind myself to not hold myself back with assumptions or negative thinking, or whatever. :)

 And lastly, home. I again copied Jessica Sprague on this one. But I like it. I think.

Even though I don't love everything I make with photoshop, I love the possibilities. 

Our vacation is over...

Having Jonathan home, all to ourselves, for a whole week was heaven. He hurt his back and Sami had diarrhea  (drinking tub water), but other than those two unfortunate events, it was awesome! We didn't do anything other than the everyday, but it was so nice to have constant help. When I was making dinner or busy and the girls needed something, I sent them to their dad. We stayed up late because Jonathan knew he could sleep in and I knew I could have a nap. Jonathan vacuumed, did the dishes, and helped put the kids to bed. I steamed cleaned our carpets and cleaned out the girls' toys-two things that are really hard without him here entertaining the girls. 

I could get real used to having him home a lot more.

The thing about his schedule is that he has to submit his vacation at the beginning of the residency year, so he planned this vacation last year. And for some reason, he took all his vacation at the beginning of this year, so he has another week off in March. Can't wait!!

And a few more random things about Janie. Her hair looks like this, or worse, every morning. Poor thing. Even when I put in in a little pony tail, it still is out of control. Do you have any tricks for hair problems like this?

Janie is now in Sunbeams. (Sniff, sniff. I don't have anyone in nursery anymore. Except Jonathan-he's a nursery worker ☺) So I took her to the bookstore and let her pick out a Book of Mormon to take to church with her. She wanted the cute mini one (which is oddly more expensive than the big ones??). 

Later that day, I saw her outside "reading" her new scriptures. I love that. You go, girl! Scripture power! :)

It's a New Year

Ah, 2012. I hope you are good to us.

A new year feels refreshing. 

So far, it's been a good year. Jonathan is officially half way done with residency!! This means it's down hill from here. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are grateful for that light.

And Jonathan has this next week off. Which means respite for me.

Whenever I find myself overly frustrated and overwhelmed with motherhood and life in general, I know I need some respite. It's amazing how just one afternoon off every once in a while makes me a better mother. But it does. This afternoon I went into my bedroom, by myself, climbed into bed and read a book for an hour. It was glorious. And I took a little nap. It's going to be a great week, I can already tell.

And I did make some resolutions.

As I thought of things I wanted to happen this year, I realized that there is just some stuff that I can't totally control. So I crossed them off the list. I kept the stuff that I do have control of.  

Basically I want to be a better, nicer person. :)

I want to be better about keeping a scripture journal, I want my family to feel like they are my top priority by my actions and my attentiveness, and I want to exercise more (of course, don't we all?!), among other things. 

The thing I realized about resolutions, is that they are basically the goals I have all the time. A new year just allows me to get more focused on how to get there, and I appreciate that.

I hope it's a good year. I am excited to see what it brings our way! 

Fun Christmas

We had lots of fun leading up to Christmas. 

Sami's preschool had a performance at a nursing home. It was so sweet to see the kids up there and to see the smiles on the faces of the elderly. Sami wanted to be Mary, but her part was already taken when we got there, so Sami got to be an angel. I thought that was perfect, since Sami is an angel to us.

During the performance, the other Olsen munchkin was making faces.

After the Nativity scene, the kids sang and passed out Christmas cards. (Sami kept her reindeer hat over her eyes, which we thought was funny and cute.)

Jonathan took that day off so he could see Sami perform. It was so good he was there because after the performance, a sweet, cute, elderly lady fell and Jonathan was able to help her.

A few days before Christmas, we had a Christmas cookie party at Grandma's house. The older cousins were there, and Sami and Janie are their biggest fans. They made a gingerbread house, decorated cookies, and had lunch. It was all very fun and very yummy!

My girls are so blessed to have amazing Grandmas! I don't know what I would do without Grandma Trish.

After the cookie fun, we went to Build-a-Bear so Janie could pick out a bear. It's a tradition when the grandkids turn three that Grandma buys them their own bear. What a fun day! 

Then on Christmas Eve, it was Janie's birthday. She was so sweet and thanked us for every gift. (Even the yard sale ones.)

Her favorite gift is a Baby Alive doll from Grandpa Larry. I told Grandpa that she would love it. And she does. But the baby "pooped" green stuff on my floor and I haven't been a fan since. Now she doesn't get "real" food. Because I can't handle any more yucky messes. So it's my fault she has it, because I told Grandpa to buy it for her, but take it from me, people, don't buy the pooping baby!

She had a great birthday. Grandma and Aunt Tami brought her some super fancy (and yummy!) cupcakes, and she got lots of presents and food.

And then it was Christmas morning. Jonathan had the day off (Yippee!), and we were so blessed with beautiful gifts. 

And I didn't take one picture. Not one.

I am so disappointed that I didn't take pictures. But by this time, I was exhausted. Really, between the parties, birthdays, and trying to do meaningful traditions for birthdays and Christmas, I was so tired. Jonathan is on wards, so this month has been hard for him and he has been gone a lot. But he was there on Christmas morning,which was so nice. (He bought me a GPS, so no more getting lost!)

By the time we were getting ready for church, I was ornery. I am ashamed to say it. But getting everything ready seemed so tough. I knew I still had to get ready for our Christmas dinner (we had some family coming over), and I felt overwhelmed. 

Then I went to church.

It was so beautiful. Just what I needed. I realized (again), that all this wasn't important, it really is about celebrating Christ, his life and Atonement. 

I repented, apologized to Jonathan for my bad attitude, and we had a wonderful afternoon.

Everyone helped with dinner, we talked, laughed, played with the girls.

It was so nice.

I am so thankful for the Savior.

We had an another great Christmas.

Happy Birthday Jane Noel!

Three years ago today, Janie came to us. It was a warm, beautiful, Arizonan afternoon. And our life has been so blessed with her in it.

She has brought us so much sweetness and joy. She is our favorite Christmas gift ever!

At three years old, Janie is:

Sweet: If we had to describe Janie in one word, this would be it. 

Sensitive: Janie is very sensitive to emotions. If someone is scared on tv, she is scared. She is also very sensitive to discipline. If we talk to her a bit too harshly (in her opinion), she bursts into tears. When we tell her to go to her room to time out, she runs to her room. (That part is kind of nice, no kicking and screaming. She just goes herself. But she is usually sobbing.)

Not completely potty trained: This can be very frustrating for me, depending on the day. We have been working for months. She is about 75% there. Ok, maybe 65%. It's the poo poo part that's hard. (Sorry, too much info, I know.) I have high hopes now that she is three. 

Charming: She knows how to do it. The way she tilts her head, moves her hands, and her quiet voice...it can be hard to say no to this one. (Mommy and Daddy don't have a problem, but Grandparents have a hard time.)

Adores her big sister: Where Sami goes, Janie wants to follow. And she is a great playmate for Sami. 

Mama's girl: If I were to completely smother her with hugs and kisses, and do nothing all day but hold and kiss her, it would be a dream come true for this one.  I hear "I need a hug" and "I need hold you," (that's how she asks to be held), all day long. And I try to hold her and hug her as often as she asks, but it's not always possible. But I do enjoy a cuddle bug.

Happy Birthday, Janie! We love you so much! We are so glad that you came to our family. 

Our Fancy Nancy Party

Last Saturday we had the girls' birthday party.  Our theme was "Fancy Nancy," based on the books. So we had nine girls total, all dressed in their "fanciest clothes." It was so fun. 

Here are the birthday girls. I opened the dress-up trunks and they picked out what they wanted to wear. They looked so "fancy." And so darling.

In the first book, Nancy loves parfaits "which is fancy for ice cream sundaes." So that's what we served. Jonathan and Aunt Tami served up the ice cream sundaes but each girl had her own cup of sprinkles that she could put on her own ice cream. 

We read the book, ate our ice cream, colored a Fancy Nancy page, opened presents and played games. All the girls were so sweet and cute. 

All the girls looked so adorable. But the girl dressed in black and hot pink (Kaari) would have won the "Closest to Fancy Nancy in the Flesh" award, if there was such a thing. She looked just like her. Even had the leg warmers. Love it!

And Jonathan's mom and sister came, which was so sweet. I love this picture of Grandma!

Jonathan was supposed to have come home on that Saturday at 11 am. Our party was at 2, and he walked in the door at 2:15. I am so grateful that he made it and didn't miss the party.

And the girls got such beautiful gifts. They got a bit spoiled, which I think is ok on your birthday. (If everyone got a little spoiled on their birthday, I think the world would be a nicer place. ☺)

We are so thankful for all our friends, and all their little friends, who came to celebrate with us. 

And mostly we are thankful for Sami and Janie, that they came to our family, and we love to celebrate their birthdays!