New Year's Resolution

I have been thinking a lot about what I could be doing better in my life and I am, as usual, frustrated about how I have a hard time thinking about others' needs. So for 2009 I am going to try to do one service project every month. In order to ensure that I do this, I am planning to budget $10 and at least 1 hour per month for the project. I know that it is not much, but it is a start! I would really appreciate any ideas you might have. Here are the thoughts that I have so far, they are pretty generic so please help me out:

Watch someone's kids for them
Draw or paint a cheerful picture for someone
Help someone with their taxes
Bring someone dinner
Make someone a cheesecake or other special dessert
Write someone a letter of appreciation
Help someone organize a space or create a budget

Anyone who would like some help, please let me know! Also, I would appreciate ideas on how to find the people that need help.

Hannah's First Tooth!

Hannah has been pretty grumpy lately, but now we know why--I rubbed my finger along her bottom gum this morning and felt a sharp little tooth!

German Christmas Traditions

Well, this year we are incorporating several German traditions into our Christmas celebrations, especially considering that both Jamie and I have many German Ancestors. We very much enjoyed our Christmas in Germany last year and hope to pass some of our favorite traditions on to our children. Our good friends, Ingo and Regina even sent us a little book of Austrian Christmas stories to read to Anika.

Tradition #1 German Christmas songs: These songs are so sweet. Our friends gifted us the CDs we listened to in their home last year. We are still trying to learn some of the words, but we know the words from several of them. (Sorry about the video, I didn't realize that I don't know how to turn a video back when I took it.)



Tradition #2 Adventskalender: Okay, I know a lot of people here have this tradition, but we definitely wanted to include this one to continue the tradition from last year. Ours is made from candy wrapped in tissue paper strung on a curling ribbon.



Tradition #3 Heiligabend (Holy Evening): In Germany, Christmas eve is the day that gets all of the attention. People tell Christmas stories, eat fancy dinners, put up the tree, sing songs, stay up late, and share gifts on Christmas eve. We want to do something a little different. We are planning to tell stories about Jesus on Christmas eve, but still open gifts on Christmas morning.

Hannah's First bath in the Big Bathtub

At first she cried and didn't like it at all, but after I handed her the washcloth she was happy.

Christmas Cooking

On Thursday we all went to my mom's house and made a ton of Christmas cookies. When we were done we had 7 different types of baked goods to hand out to the families we visit teach. It takes all day every year, but it is great!


On Saturday we all got together at Alisa's house and made a bunch of tamales. It was our first time and the tamales would have been very good except that we used bad flour. Sad :( Well, we still had a ton of fun!

10 Years Ago....

Wow, I can't believe how fast time flies! It was this day ten years ago that Jamie proposed. We had been dating just less than 3 months and I went in to see him at our usual meeting spot in the institute chapel at the piano, which was incidentally the same place we met. I had just grabbed a large blueberry muffin from the lobby and we were going to talk before class started. After finishing the Christmas hymn he had been playing, he told me he wanted to show me a new magic trick so I watched as he inexplicably made several coins move through his hand, through the piano bench, and disappear. He made it seem like they were in his hand and when he asked me how many coins were in his hand I (trying to be smart) said "none". When he very slowly opened his hand it took my brain a moment to process what was lying in it--a beautiful engagement ring! My emotions took over at that point, so I didn't quite hear exactly what he said, but it was sweet and simple--something like "will you be my wife for eternity?" I think I said yes more than once (I don't even know for sure that I let him finish the proposal before I answered). Anyway, after I told everyone we knew at the institute building, Jamie and I went to the Prep for Celestial Marriage class we were taking and then I went home and told my whole family. He told me later that he just KNEW I would say yes. Am I that predictable?
Okay, these are not actually pictures from our engagement, but you get the idea right? The one above is us at "our" piano, and in the one below Jamie is doing a magic trick for a small audience.

Sounds like Fun!

Okay, so Cherri wants me to blog about ME. Her blog was fun to read so I thought I would do one too. Here are a few things about me:

1) I am afraid of really loud thunder. Not the soft rumbles, but the really loud CRACKS. Every time the lightning gets really close and loud I am afraid that our house will be hit. The only other thing I am really afraid of is climbing a ladder.



2) My favorite animal is a dolphin. Someday I would like to swim with the dolphins! They are so beautiful and cute and smart and fast.

3) I love water: waterfalls, streams, creeks, beaches, and lakes. They really help me to feel peaceful.



4) I love nature in general. Going somewhere that is really beautiful with mountains or lush greenery is really relaxing for me.


5) I enjoy learning. I have studied many things and have learned a little about a lot. The things I have learned something about so far (in no particular order) are: personal finance, cooking/baking, computers, physics, photography, decorating/design, sales, geology, human relations, parenting, dog training, the gospel/scriptures, drawing & painting, German, auto repair, real estate, nutrition & health, music, business, and most recently, emergency preparedness. Learning is FUN!



6) I am an absolute sucker for a thoughtful compliment. I even have a place where I have written down the nicest things people have said to me.

7) I went to MCC instead of my last 3 years of high school. I changed my major from secondary education physics to business (go figure!).



8) I like to write. Writing helps me clarify my thoughts and express myself. I have many journals and lists cluttering up my house. Right now I am writing for the homemaking cottage and it is so much fun!

9) I don't usually express my opinion if it might possibly offend someone. Because of that I often keep quiet when I am around others. If I do say something, I often berate myself for it afterwards. Strangely though, I am not easily offended by what others say. It must be from growing up around my dad :).

10) As a child my sisters and I loved to play a game we called "fairies and unicorns" we would fly to an imaginary place we called rainbow land. I also liked to pretend I was a flying white tiger. We had so much fun together on our 17 acres of property! We were best friends then and remain best friends now.

5 Months Old

Well, Hannah is getting to be a very big girl, she is already 5 months old! Here is a picture Cherri took. It is a tradition in Jamie's family to take naked baby pics at 5 months with just a bonnet.

Thanks Cherri!

The other day, Cherri took me out for a photo shoot so she could get some practice. It was a lot of fun and she got some great shots. These two are probably my favorite. Take a look at Cherri's new photography blog at www.shutterspark.blogspot.com!

Pinetop pics

New Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our trip last month to Pinetop. Anika loved seeing grandma and grandpa Gardner and her cousins! Cherri took better pictures than I did, so these are hers :)

A Few Catch-Up Photos

Jamie found this swing at Wal Mart and couldn't wait all the way till Anika's birthday to install it.




Our Friends from Germany sent Anika a book to help her learn to read and understand the alphabet in German. Jamie of course wasted no time reading it to her.

Fun With Cousins

We are so lucky to live near so many cousins! In the last month we have had several opportunities to play with them...sometimes at our house and sometimes at theirs.

Hannah is 3 Months Old

Okay, I know I have been lazy about putting up pics and adding new posts, but not much has been going on (and yet I still always feel busy--what's that about?). Anyway, I was finally able to get my computer to read my camera card so here are a few recent pictures of Hannah.

Hannah Laughed!

Hannah has been smiling for quite a while now, but today when I was talking to her and lightly tickling her, she giggled! It was very brief, but OH so cute!

2 Months Old!

Hannah is two months old now. She weighs 11 pounds, 2 oz and is 22 inches long. They grow so FAST! Here she is sitting in the Bumbo seat that showed up in the mail today :)

Hannah's Blessing

Yes, this post is very late, but at least it is here! These are two of the beautiful photos Cherri took of Hannah and me after Hannah's Blessing last Sunday. Jamie blessed her that she would always remember who she is and where she came from and that she would have a strong testimony of the gospel.

Fun with sand

On Saturday, Jamie and Jeff brought sand and shoveled it into the sandbox! Anika loves playing in it. Here she is having a great time with her cousins Elise and Celeste.

Fun At Oma and Opa's house

For Jeff's Birthday we went to visit them. Emma, Jonah, and Lily were there too. Oma got to do her favorite job--holding babies. It was great...Hannah just loves to be held!
Oma had punching balloons for all of the kids. They loved them! Unfortunately, a couple of them popped, including Anika's, and she was completely devastated. She talked about wanting her yellow balloon back all day after that.


Oma and Opa have a great backyard for the grandkids, they had so much fun playing together!