What we did for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Everyday

Christmas and Thanksgiving were wonderful this year. We truly have been blessed by Heavenly Father. We stayed in town for both holidays. On Thanksgiving, my in-laws went to Missouri so we had the house to ourselves. We had Sam's sister, Annie, and his brother, Josh, over for Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, we played the longest game of Mario Party ever. It took us almost 3 1/2 hours to finish. But we had fun doing so. There was so much to be thankful for this year! I am so blessed with such wonderful in-laws for putting up with us. I am also so blessed that both Sam and I are employed. I am grateful for my family, even though they are far away. I'm grateful for our wonderful daughter and our health not to mention both our cars work (for now).

We were able to enjoy Christmas early as Sam's sister, Kim and her family came over, as well as Josh and Annie. We opened presents. At first I wanted to wait until Christmas morning because I love that anticipation and waiting but I bent to the pressure and joined in. Plus we all were there as a family. I think I watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (Jim Carrey version) a hundred times and still didn't get sick of watching it.

I turned 26 in December and had a great birthday. I have gotten accepted to Boise State University for the fall of 2012. I am currently still in process in applying for financial aid and other college necessities but I'm getting closer to going back to school and finishing. I'm looking at getting a Bachelor's in English with an emphasis in writing.

Lilly turned 2 in October. She is such a good kid! Her words constantly expand everyday. I know she learns when she's with Anna and Joseph (The kids I babysit). She is a toddler and I can hard believe it. When I'm upset, frustrated, or angry, she'll say, "Hello?" and keep saying it until I say hello back. Then she'll smile at me and say, "I'm happy!" That gets me to smile every time. Sometimes it gets annoying only because it's like I can't stay mad at her. When she tries hard at something and succeeds, she'll come up to me and say, "I did it! I did it!" In the morning when she wakes up and Sam and I are still in bed, she'll yell out, "Mommy! Mommy!" or "Daddy! Daddy!"

She loves to come shopping with me, especially to Costco. Her favorite place to go is in the dairy section where it's a room and it's cold. You walk into the room and there's a blast of cold air. She loves that. She'll shiver and say, "It's cold!" When it's time to check out, she'll sit patiently in the cart as I pay for the goods. When I'm done with that and we reunite, she smiles, holds out her arms and says, "Mommy!" Then we hug! She's so cute and I love her.

Sam is still working at Stevens-Henegar as a teacher. They've given him 2-3 classes every term. He's also been working on some freelance projects. His expertise with computers are so impressive and he's a natural at it. He and Wade Towne had done a pilot for a series called "The Helpdesk" and it's been picked up by a TV channel on cable. They've also got an invitation to be a part of a film festival. That's pretty exciting! Here is the short:



This new year is already starting great! We might have found an apartment that fits our needs and financial budget. We are super excited! Especially me. It's been over 1 1/2 years since we have been on our own. I am so excited! I've been working on being more positive. It has a big affect on me. I feel the days go by faster and my attitude is better. Granted, I still have my bad days. My patience with the kids is longer and I'm not so uptight.

I've also been challenging myself with writing more. I've started doing some volunteer work at Horizon Hospice with a man named John Viehwieg. He records interviews with patients and then he gives them to me to transcribe them. I love doing it! I love hearing the stories and being able to be a part of that project. I'm also trying to get more immersed in the writing community in Boise.

Well that's the update of our little family here in Boise. We are suppose to hear more about our apartment this week so I will keep that updated.