joys of a cardboard box

for Christmas, Nathan gave me a rocking recliner...something I have wanted for a long time...
That recliner came in a very large box and a few days later turned into a house for a little lady.
There truly is nothing better than a box.

the computer...

so our hard drive is fried...lovely!! ugh..
luckily my father-in-law saved my pictures that were on there, you know like all my wedding, savannah's whole life.. etc..etc.. lessoned learned back up the hard drive..
but we are computerless..
oh and the hubby has two internet classes this semester....lovely..
hopefully, we will get it fixed soon.. till then..no pictures on the good ol blog...

so here is what has been happening around here in the past month or so..

Savannah turned two on December 27th. I can not believe i have a toddler.. seriously??? wasn't she born yesterday???
She had a rough birthday though, she woke up with a 102.3 fever. sweet huh? sooo thinking it's her tonsils AGAIN, we take her to urgent care.. they can't find a thing wrong with her.. till she goes to scream and opens her mouth really wide and there they are her two year old molars.. creeping in.. seriously??? so we take her home and dope her up on tylenol, and have a family party that afternoon, which I'm pretty sure she doesn't remember AT ALL.

January started and Nate has gone back to school and work..he is such a good man, works so hard for us. We definately miss him when he is gone at night.

I think my baby girl grew up over night... literally, i put a baby to bed one night and a little girl woke up the next. She is communicating so well, using full sentences, counting, and just is all around so cute.

School is going well for me, I love my job, and i only have 89 days till summer break..but who's counting? :0)

working+motherhood+wife+desire to craft+household chores=insanity

Have you ever reached a point in your life where you simply think you might be going insane.. You have five thousand things on your plate plus a few you wish where on you plate (ie... scrapbooking, crafting, decorating ) and you don't know where to begin..add in a demanding, opinionated, head strong, delightful and funny two year old, and I simply have felt insane, inadequate and just plain tired.

I've decided this year is the year to come out of my slump. For a long time, I have blamed not having the laundry done or not being able to get to a project on the fact I had a baby or I have a toddler, but seriously.. who am I kidding...just get it done right?

I have also decided to stop feeling inadequate. I love President Uchtdorf's talk Happiness, Your Heritage. I've read it a hundred times and have decided to actually listen, think and do what he is saying. My favorite part is...

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.”

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.


And if the laundry isn't done when you come, there are dishes in the skink, my floors aren't mopped, or my hair isn't done.. it's because I've decided to take more time to get on the floor and play with Savannah, to teach her things of this world and of the gospel...
"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will – to your surprise – miss them profoundly. Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important – and what is most important almost always involves the people around us." - Pres. Thomas S. Monson

So for the new year, my goals:
1-spend more time being with those who are important to me.
2-take time for me, be creative. (actually finish some of those projects laying around in binders, folders, closets and in my head)
3-slow down
4-take 20 minutes every day to clean up, so i don't feel overwhelmed.
5- work harder at being a better teacher, both to my fourth graders and my Savannah.
6-FHE with Savannah..(any ideas on fun ways to have FHE with a two year old...)

For this journey is not meant to be endured, but enjoyed.

a wonderful holiday season

we had a wonderful holiday at our home. it is simply magical to have a little one at Christmas time. Everyone was spoiled. Savannah got a play kitchen and a new baby with a stroller from Santa and couldn't be happier. In fact we had a few other things for her and put them away for this summer because after the kitchen and the baby doll she didn't care about anything else.
We got to spend time with my sister and brother-in-law. We wish they lived closer. Savannah asks for aunt bec every time we go to grandma's now.
The only down side to the holidays is that our computer is down. I have no way to upload pictures to the good old blog. We only have our lap top which is an oldie goldie and can't handle the pictures. DARN it. I am hoping our computer gets fixed this week. If not I will have to figure out some way to upload photos.. cuz what's a blog without pictures??

just for aunt becca

we thought we would return the favor.. she updated her blog so I thought I should update mine..
it is hard to believe than in less than a month we will have a 2 year old at our house.
it seems like yesterday that we were just bringing her home from the hospital, and now she is an amazing, funny and smart little girl running around our house. We sure do love her.
Most recently she has started to go to bed in her big girl bed instead of mama rocking her. seriously?? she is just too big, but i'm kicking myself, I should of had her doing this a long time ago..I have time for myself now. lesson learned right?
She is talking up a storm, learning names of aunts and uncles, saying please and thank you and amen. She can identify Jesus in a picture, and baby Jesus in a manger.
She is in love with Curious George and Caulliou..
all in all she is just wonderful. I feel so blessed to have her in our home.

this weekends project

I think i'll whip one of these up this weekend since the hubby won't let me put up the tree yet, i'll just get crafting instead.

witching you a late happy halloween

miss. savannah on halloween. she is suppose to be a witch.. in reality.. she just had a cute halloween outfit.