Resolutions take 2

I am looking around at my house, thinking of the sickness that has just swept through me, and apparently my home as well, destroying all energy and order to our lives for the last week, and I think it is time to start over again.

New Years Resolutions Take two.

 A mulligan I will tell my husband.

My second chance, and I promise this time will be it.

There is an empty box of cookies in our living room.. yes my husband and I ate them all.. In one day. The counters are covered in dishes, the laundry is piled high, and for some reason I caved last night and let our babe sleep in our bed cuddled up so nicely in my arms all night…someday he will learn and someday I will sleep.  Internally I am still stirring over the judgmental comments I made last week, the eyelashes I pulled out, the birthdays I Forgot and the people I didn’t bother to say hi to because I was too tired. Pretty much looking around I can see EVERY New Years Resolution I made, being thrown out the window.

BUT- THERE IS HOPE! Because anyone that thinks if you aren’t perfect the first month you’re ruined, is denying themselves the very hope that comes from a New Years Resolution. The opportunity to change and improve and mark that change through the years! So here is to starting one more time and to becoming at least a little bit better in 2014!

This year New Years resolutions have meant a lot more to me, It really hit me with the new year. 2012 I had lots of excuses, I was still in school, I was pregnant and tired, I had a baby, moved to a new place.. bla bla bla. But 2013 I stayed in the same place, No baby, Yet Nothing CHANGED! Yet I haven’t lost a pound of weight like I wanted and I still caved to my personal temptations to sneak seconds on dessert, I still pulled out my eyelashes when I was stressed and I still avoided the dishes at all costs, I still watched hours of pointless and mind numbing television shows,I still indulged in the juicy gossip that I know was not uplifting. A WHOLE YEAR PASSED and I was still doing the same things I didn’t want to do. The same things that I don’t want to define me. But if you do them for that long.. don’t they define you?

What about the positive things that I want to define me?

What about being a good listener

Loving the scriptures

Being a dedicated Journal writer

A good attentive Mother

A devoted Wife to my best friend

Having a House that housed the spirit

Having a clean house

Being a positive person

A confident person

How can I be these things if they are not the things I am constantly doing?

My New years Resolutions… do MORE of these things and LESS much less of the things above.

So, I guess I am writing this blog not because I am being hard on myself, but because I want to face the reality that what I do each day will be who I become. I feel like if I write it here.. Embarrassingly enough for the whole world to see, maybe I will be better at owning up to it. Maybe we all can. Maybe we need to take more moments to evaluate exactly where we are in life and where we want to be going, and make sure that every seemingly unimportant day is taking us one day closer to where we want to be.  

Since I am writing this all out.. I guess I will post it, and I will let you know how the improvements go.. month by month, one day at a time. 

This little boy!

Maybe I do give him too much attention, and really it might ruin him. But I Love this little boy with all my heart and will be so happy just to play with him every day for the rest of my life. 

I want to take a quick minute and remember my favorite things that he is doing right now at 16.5 months. I feel like they change so much! 

He learned how to hit a ball with a golf club, tennis racket and ping pong paddle and thinks it is awesome. 

He waits at the door everyday when marshall comes home until marshall opens the door and then he laughs and runs away and hides- usually in plain sight in our bedroom for marshall to find him. 

he softly holds our cheeks and pulls our faces in so our foreheads can touch. 

He loves to grab knives out of the dishwasher. 

He loves to dance to music anytime anywhere

he gets excited and walks around fist pumping the air saying 'ya ya ya ya' 

he says- ball, ya, dog, cat, again shoes,chesse, apple,mama, dadda, amen,nana, gamma, fruit snack ( in his own way..) up

he loves to give hugs and kiss especially when he sees mom and dad kiss

He loves green smoothies

He folds his arms for prayer whenever we sit at the table

He still points the the ipad and says baball until we show him highlight videos

He sleeps with at least 4 pacifiers each night- one for him, one for his stuffed dog, and one for each hand, sometimes more :)

The Perfect Day

 I have always spent my birthdays in Utah, doing pretty much the same old thing. This year, the day fell on the last weekend of Marshall break we were all alone in Kirksville with nothing to do but whatever our hearts felt like. Marshall went all out to make it the best, most relaxing day I can remember.
We woke up to our water pipes frozen again. so naturally we went out for breakfast :) Then it was off to one of my all time favorite places ever, Nauvoo. I don't know why I have always been enchanted with the place since I was very little the history has made me fall in love. We stopped in Quincy for some yummy food, shopping at hobby lobby ( Ive been missing that place) and then we took Max boy to a place called Bonkers- a giant soft play place/bounce house/arcade for little kids and the babe was in heaven. Then he napped while we headed to this beautiful place!

The Mississippi was frozen almost completely, and it made me think of those sweet pioneers crossing the river to come to Utah. It feels fun to have lived on both ends. Utah and Here.  Sometimes I feel like I will understand our ancestors so much better now because we have lived here so close. Soon we'll say goodbye to Nauvoo the Beautiful and feel so grateful for the short but very important time it has been for our lives. I really don't want to leave our perfect town in Kirksville and I really don't want to give up coming to Nauvoo so often. But moving back to Utah is going to be so happy as well. 

Anyways... We took Max to a babysitter in our Stake and went to the temple, where we happened to run into 2 couples from school, there were just 10 of us on the session and the man in charge was Marshall's old family friend and his new wife Susan Easton Black. They are the sweetest old people. and it was the most perfect time in the Temple. Another lady there had to give me a tissue I cried so many happy tears. There really aren't words for how perfect the night was. 

We picked up our sweet little boy and went home to the condo we rented for the night, and marshall made me a delicious dinner. 

Maybe it sounds like a boring night to you. But I have never felt so lucky or special. I am so grateful for an incredible husband that always treats me like a queen and for our sweet little baby who makes me happy and giddy beyond words. I am in love. Thanks for the best day ever! 

And incase you were worried we had friends over for cake and ice cream and games when we got home. Marshall let me make my own cake just like I wanted. Red Velvet yum! 

It has been the best 24 years I could ever imagine! Maybe I will get a little wiser this year :)

Just Us

Merry Christmas and A Happy New year to you all! This Christmas was our first Christmas at home, in Kirksville just us! It was the first big holiday ever at home just us for that matter! We made our own dinner, wrapped our own presents, were in charge of our own traditions. We felt really strongly going into the season that this is what we should do this year, save some money, stay home enjoy Marshalls time off, get organize for the coming year and just try it out for once. While it was very fun with some great adventures, we all missed home. We missed our families and season in Utah. But we are very excited that that will what next year will hold for us! as we will be moving to Utah this summer for Rotations!

So here is what our break looked like through pictures.

 Our first real christmas tree! we tied it to our car and everything! it was beautiful and made our house smell so lovely! Lights and christmas trees twinkling might be my favorite things in the world! We racked up our electric bill because i just couldn't bear to ever have the lights off this month!

The pictures below are of Max being the cutest helper in the kichten this season, and Marshall too of course. baking with them is the best kind of baking! They even did a perfect job spreading that butter and rolling up the rolls!

 On Christmas even we carried on the traditions of PJs and a movie the night before so we wrapped up our pajamas we had bought ourselves and opened them a few minutes later- I know a big waste of wrapping paper but it was fun. Max was just learning the concept of opening presents. We all looked great in our new pjs dont ya think? Then I had suprised Marshall with our movie and we are now (finally) the proud owners of a muppets christmas carol. I even thought it was funny this year.

 Our Christmas season was filled with playing the Nativity with these cute little sets. Max was obsessed we acted out the Christmas story with them daily and also had a nativity tornado by max daily. I am so grateful to have these little figures around to remind us and help us teach maxwell the true meaning of christmas.

 We had candy canes make a pathway from Maxwells room to the tree on christmas morning he was so excited it took forever for him to find his presents because all he wanted was the candy!

 My mom Made him a Superman cape on one side and batman on the other. He looks so cute in it and runs around the house so fast whenever he has it on!

 He loved his race track!

 The present tower!

 This break also consisted of a lot of cuddling and watching basketball with dad. Every day- multiple times aday max points to the computer or ipad and says "baball? baball" and then signs please to us. its so cute that we watch lots of basketball.

 Living in the midwest has been so fun because we get to see Marshalls sisters alot in Des Moines and Minnesota. after christmas we all met up in Des Moines for some sledding fun! Right by Tifs house there is a golf course with awesome sledding hills, we had too much fun! It was so fun for max to get to play with some of his cousins this christmas he loves them!

 Trying to play the Wii with his boy cousins! he fits right in! he liked playing Just Dance tho he was good at that one! Then we mad Gingerbread houses together! It was so cool to see everyones different style. How do you like them?

 Heres mine! I know your favorite :)

It was a wonderful christmas and we wish it wasnt almost over but we are so excited for the new year ahead and the many memories well make and new years resolutions well keep!