So cute, right?

This was Guy's Christmas present from myself (Josh gave him a nerf gun).

I LOVE how they turned out. It took less than 2 hours, including shopping for fabric. I bought $2/yd fabric at Walmart and used less than a yard, and used a small remnant my mother had, and a remnant of fusible interfacing to make the pocket stiffer.

I found the tutorial at Stardustshoes and it was surprisingly straightforward.

Now I just need to relax and let him cook with me more often! He's learning the fine art of peanut butter & jelly sandwich-making. The irony is that he won't eat PB&J, but Leo and I will, so it works out.

Two weeks?

I think about blogging every day, I just don't do it very often apparently.

Not that this should be surprising; I'm not doing much of anything except getting by these last few weeks. The dishes continually threaten (it takes less than 24 hours to go from every single dish being clean to not having any clean plates, forks, knives, or kid-friendly bowls). The laundry sits in a pile in the living room unfolded for 5 or 6 days at a time. The kids need food and love and tickling.

And ring-around-the-rosy, apparently. Leo's first word? "Ashes, ashes". He can now also say, "we all fall". He gets so distracted by falling face first onto the couch that he hasn't yet tried to say, "down". It's really adorable, and a great way to cheer him up when he's sad.

This morning we hit the library, and the grocery store, and Wendy's for a dollar-menu trip. This afternoon I watched Project Runway, and ate fudge stripe cookies. I need to wash the dishes so we can eat dinner tonight. And ideally, if I get them done before the kids go to bed, I can have a little time to study German or play guitar.

The boys are sweet, as ever, but have runny noses and chapped lips and aren't sleeping as well as usual. In theory we should know whether or not Josh will be going for PhD interviews by mid-February. And I am majorly lacking in motivation to do anything but the bare minimum.

A Glimpse of Christmas

Our lovely little cardboard and foraged-foliage Adventskranz, or Advent Wreath

The boys' new advent calendar from Grandma & Grandpa


Lame, but I left my camera in Utah and have zero pictures of Christmas. This was from the morning the boys opened their presents from Oma & Opa. Don't mind the laundry in the background!

I love to study and teach

Next Sunday I get to teach Marriage Prep in the singles ward. The lesson is on overcoming challenges in marriage.

In reading some of the resources, I found myself flipping through the Family Home Evening Resource manual (excellent stuff) and found this quote.

“It is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price” -President Spencer W. Kimball, Marriage and Divorce.

It seems I've heard this quote plenty of times, but without that last qualifier. Are you willing to pay the price to have happiness and a successful marriage?

More food for thought was provided by the article "Agency and Anger", Elder Lynn G. Robbins
Understanding the connection between agency and anger is the first step in eliminating anger from our lives. We can choose not to become angry. And we can make that choice today, right now: “I will never become angry again.” Ponder this resolution.

One more Kimball quote for you, from the same book:

“A marriage may not always be even and incident-less, but it can be one of great peace. A couple may have poverty, illness, disappointment, failures, and even death in the family, but even these will not rob them of their peace. The marriage can be successful so long as selfishness does not enter in.”

I LOVE IT!

I love selling stuff I don't use or need or want.

In 20 minutes today, I earned $15 selling off stuff. It really is a good feeling, to be clearing ourselves out, giving things to people who want them, and trying to simplify, simplify, simplify.

Fruit Snacks

On Saturday Guy came into my room while I was trying to nurse Leo and put him down for a nap.

He had something wrapped in foil, and started begging to eat his fruit snacks.

I had a hard time not snorting, as it was an unopened pregnancy test. "Go put it in the bathroom, sweetie."

"Oh . . . it's for the dishwasher?"

"No. In the bathroom, love. Please." *snickers*

2010

I love making New Year's Resolutions.

This year, I had a lot of ideas for what I wanted to prioritize.

I really want to focus my efforts to expand my skills. Learning German, and learning to play the guitar, primarily.

Celebrating more with the kids, having more fun and a better plan.

Keeping the house in better order. Paring down to the necessities and a few wants, instead of drowning in stuff.

But you know what? My goals for 2010 are to grow a baby and keep reading scriptures, holding family home evening, and praying daily.