Merry Christmas

This Christmas holiday has been so FUN so far with Dan, my mom, 5 sisters (miss you Heidi!), 2 brothers-in-law, 1 brother, 4 nephews, and 4 nieces. We have had dance parties, watched The Polar Express, made gingerbread houses, played laser tag, played in the snow, decorated sugar cookies, and played lots of Wii. I love Christmas and I love family. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!



(Dan's gingerbread house was the best according to my 8 year old nephew Will)

Last Minute Shopping and Calling 911

We are in Grand Junction, Colorado with my family this week for Christmas. It is so perfect. It has been snowing a little bit. The tree is beautiful. We are eating lots of treats. We even did some last minute shopping today. All of these add to the festiveness (pretty sure I just made that word up) of the season! Except when we had to call 911 today....Dan, Erin, and I ran to the local Target here which is part of the mall. We got we we needed in Target, stopped in two other stores in the mall, and then headed back to Target to go out to our car. While entering back into Target from the mall two guys were practically running with carts FULL out of Target, setting off the beepers, into the mall section and out towards a random side exit door. Several people around us thought this was suspicious as well and said, "Did they just steal all that?" We were pretty sure they did as well so found the first Target employee at a checkout line and told him. He surprisingly didn't seem to care or react quickly in any way so we exited through the Target doors outside and saw the two guys unloading their two carts very quickly into a car strategically parked right by the random exit door they ran out. I decided I was going to get the plate number and quickly walked towards the car. I got it and as they car sped away almost causing an accident I yelled to Dan to call 911 with the number. So he did and it turns out the police knew exactly whose car it was and that it belonged to a woman who had done this sort of thing before. This wasn't exactly what we expected while doing a little holiday shopping in Grand Junction but I have to admit I kind of liked feeling like Nancy Drew. Watch out holiday shoplifters!

Quality Time

I've spent all afternoon in my sweatpants spending some quality time with my i-pod...while I've been PACKING! I can't believe how much we have in our little one bedroom apartment because it certainly doesn't look like that much when it is all cozy in the spot where it belongs. I've also been thinking about all the things we've done and the friends we have met since we've lived in #2 at Country Corner Condos. I'm really going to miss it. But that is how change is supposed to be, right? A little exciting and a little sad. Well wish us luck, it is going to be a busy week with moving, working, shopping, wrapping, moving, cleaning, and baking! Happy Holidays and p.s.- I can't wait to eat some mint brownies.

Thought of the Day

"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us, and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers.”
(found here)

We're Moving...

to Pleasant Grove, Utah! (Just 10 minutes up the road) It isn't the move we have been anticipating after Dan's graduation but we are thrilled with how things have worked out. We felt like this was the best offer and we're excited that a move back to D.C could be down the road in the next couple years! Staying here though meant for me that we had to move out of Provo/Orem. We found a great condo in Pleasant Grove that we'll be moving into next week. We'll be sure to post pictures of the new place after we get settled.

We're Moving....

still deciding on where though. More details to follow soon :)


(photo found here)

Happy December

I love this month. I love the time to spend with family. I love the Christmas lights. I love the treats. I love the spirit of giving.

(photo found here)