Oh Holy Night!

Matt and I had an AMAZING Christmas! We spent Christmas this year down at my Mom's house and it was a blast! Matt and I both had to work Christmas Eve. I got off a little earlier them him so I made cookies galore! I made sugar cookies for my Mom and some for my Dad (who we visited with Christmas night) and then made some yummy chocolate candy cane cookies (THE BEST EVER!) so I was pretty busy up until Matt got home around 5:30pm. Once we got the cookies done, cleaned up, packed our things we took off! On the way down to my Mom's I started feeling a little sick, something like a stomach flu. I tried to brush it off and not let it interfere with my night but I couldn't. After we had some yummy Christmas Eve dinner we decided to take a few photos of all the presents that were already under the tree...

And it wasn't even Christmas yet!

Matt and I posing in front of the Christmas tree...it was must!

Austin and Mom...Ryan had to work Christmas Eve night, how lame is that!

Cheesers!

After snapping a few photos Matt and I opened one present each (family tradition...who doesn't have that for a tradition though?) after we first hid them and play the "hot, cold" game (you DeGriselles's know what I am talking about). Matt got me an "apple" clock for my "apple" kitchen and I got him a Wall-E ornament...

Wall-E! Love it!

My cute new clock, thanks baby!

We then read the "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as a family and then got on our Christmas PJ's. Matt and I decided that we are starting a new tradition where Matt will always wear green pj bottoms and me red. It turns out finding red and green pj's that sorta match can be quite the pain in the butt! After shopping all day we find these and think they are pretty cute!

Our PJ's!

Since I still wasn't feeling too hot I decided to head for bed. Usually I am up until all hours of the night Christmas Eve but I was beat! After only a couple hours though I woke up with the worse stomach pains ever! After waking up Matt and thinking the pain would never go away we went up to my Mom's room where Matt gave me a blessing. Within just a few minutes I was feeling much better. I was able to get some rest before Christmas morning and enjoy the day which was a HUGE reminder of the Lord's role in my life as a comforter and healer of the sick. Just another example of his love for him in which I am so grateful for! He truly is the reason for the season!

Christmas morning in our traditional "stairs" photo with all of us kids.

Wes and Chelsie opening presents.

Austin checking out his present.

I got my Mom this book "For the Love of the Cardinals" because the Cardinals are her favorite baseball team of all time. I wouldn't say she is obsessed but it's pretty dang close! And by the way she loved this book!

Ryan checking out this shirt and tie my Mom got for him.

Ressie came over to enjoy Christmas with us, she was so worn out mid-way through opening presents that she crawled under the Christmas tree and took a nap.

Now you can see why she was so tuckered out! What a cutie!!

Matt and I with all our loot! We got so much stuff for Christmas this year, we are so blessed!!

Ryan with his loot!

And of course Austin with his!

My siblings! So I have pretty much the best family ever! I love my sister and my brothers so much, they make the holidays so much fun! From left to right...Chelsie, Ryan, myself, and Austin

After presents we enjoyed some breakfast, took naps all morning, and just relaxed. After the naps we had some good lunch and then Matt and I took off back to our apartment to put our gifts away and take a shower. Matt and I decided to leave a couple presents at our apartment so we could open them up later. Well we were finally able to open them up! It was Christmas all over!!

We then took off to my Dad's house in Santaquin to exchange presents and have some dinner. My Dad and his wife Annette got us a lot of cute things for Christmas! We got a nice Christmas blanket, a Scentesy candle warmer, a cute frame I already hung up, a gift card to the Mall, and a gift card to Ruby Tuesday's. After dinner we played a little "American Idol" on the Wii (too funny for words!) then decided to take off. Well once we headed outside we knew it was going to be a long night...one word: blizzard! Snow was just falling down and the roads were a mess! It was the scariest drive home ever! We could barely see the roads in front of us, the wake-up strip on the edge of the road was the only indicator that we were still on the road. It took us almost an hour to get home and I couldn't have been more happy to see my apartment. Besides the scary drive home our Christmas was AMAZING! Matt completely spoiled me! i couldn't imagine my life without my hubby! I LOVE YOU BABY!

Unfortunately we weren't able to spend the holidays with Matt's family. Matt's brother Aaron came over to visit us on the 21st which was nice but we would have loved spending more time with everyone. Luckily we will be able to see some of the family next month has we take off to Cali for a whole week! There we will be able to give Mom and Dad the Christmas presents we got them and we've been told Santa dropped a few presents for us at their house so it will be Christmas all over again!

The best part of Christmas was by far spending so much time with my AMAZING, WONDERFUL, INCREDIBLE family! I love them all SO SO MUCH!

Yummy!

So over the Holidays I stumbled upon over 100 cookie cutters and have updated them on to my cookie website Sprinkles 'n Frosting! Check them out! If you would like to place an order or check out prices click here!

Thanks!

Can you say...too much SNOW!

So yesterday morning when I drove to work the weather was perfect (which to me means no snow) but by about 8am it started to snow a little, then a little more, then a little more...and it didn't stop until probably 5pm! And they weren't little snow flakes either, they were probably the biggest snow flakes I've ever seen. At my work we all just sat there starring at the blizzard that was upon us wondering when it would stop and how much bigger could the flakes get. Well the snow-plowers couldn't get to all the roads quick enough so understandably I was pretty nervous about my drive home. I decided to take the freeway because it seemed like with all the traffic most of the snow shouldn't stick...well it wasn't a bad ride home until I hit a patch of black ice and my car started to go out of control. I didn't have time to really think of what I should do except slow down a little and try to get control of my car again. All in all it was only about 10 seconds of me being scared to death but it seemed like an eternity. I made it home safe and sound (and with EXTREMELY white knuckles). Once I got home it was actually pretty neat seeing how much snow we got. I shoveled our walk way and took some photos, and even measured to see how much snow we got...about a foot! I couldn't believe it! Growing up it seemed like we never had snow storms this bad (or else I would have LOVED it!) and we are supposed to get an even bigger one on Christmas Day (which is why I am pretty glad I will be at my Mom's house most of the day just relaxing). Here are some of the photos I took...now if only we could come up with a way for snow to completely avoid the roads when it came falling down I would be set!

(My apartment and walk-way)

(Another view of our walk-way that I shoveled and my car down at the bottom)

(I made a little path to our trash...hehe)



(A foot of snow in our yard! Crazy!!)

(This guy got his car stuck but he was being kind of a dork so I just laughed!)

(He finally got his car out...oh and my little car that barely made it home last night not to mention when I was leaving for work this morning it barely made it out of all this snow, it was pretty interesting to say that least)

(I just thought the lights with the snow on top of them looked really cool...)

What the?!

Ok so this has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas and is pretty much the weirdest and most unusal thing I have ever seen but I laughed my butt off watching it so I thought you might enjoy it too! (oh and it get's really good around the 4:13 mark)

The True Reason for the Season!

With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season I think it's so important for us to remember the true meaning of Christmas. To quote President Monson, "To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ.” Let us come unto him during this holiday season, let us draw nearer to his example, let us serve others this Christmas season for "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." I pray your holiday season will be "merry and bright" and we can all become a little more Christ-like.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:10-14)

On the road to recovery...

Matt has a condition called Diabetic Retinopathy that affects his vision. Blood vessels in his eyes become damaged and it blurs his vision (blood actually leaks into his eyes which causes the blurred vision). He gets laser treatments every so often to help the poor vision. Well about 2 weeks ago the blood vessels caused his vision to become even worse in his left eye and his doctor told him he would need surgery. On Friday we took him to a clinic here in Provo to get his surgery done. He was a little nervous as they were getting ready for the surgery but was a trooper! After changing into a hospital gown and getting an IV he was ready to go. I kissed him goodbye and anxiously waited for the surgery to get over. I waited about an hour (in which I fell asleep a couple of times) until the nurse came in and told me he was done. When I went back into the post-op room he was sitting there in bed like nothing happened. He wasn't put completely under which was nice because he wasn't groggy or anything. He did have to wear a nice eye patch for the rest of the day but all and all it went very well. His vision is still really bad in that eye but after a visit to the doctor today it looks like the surgery did what it was suppose to do. It will just take time now to heal his eye but we are very grateful everything went so well. Here are some photos...

(This is right before the surgery...Matt was anxiously awaiting for them to get started)

(Right after the surgery with his eye patch on...I think he looks pretty good for just having a needle in his eye...ouch!)

(His extremely red eye)

(Checking out his lovely eye patch he wears at night so he doesn't accidentally rub his eye when he is sleeping)

It's finally done!

This semester I took an Astronomy class and it's been really fun! Besides learning a lot of really neat facts (like did you know that...The planet Venus does not tilt as it goes around the Sun, so consequently, it has no seasons or The Sun contains over 99.8 percent of the total material (mass) in our solar system, while Jupiter contains most of the rest) I was able to get out my old painting supplies and whip up a new painting for our final project. We were given the assignment to take one of our talents and create something to display either a concept we learned in class or something we will take from class. I was planning on making some sugar cookies shaped like the planets and stars since baking sugar cookies has become a hobby for me. When I told Matt my idea he thought it would be really cool if I painted something instead and showed off the little artistic talent I claim to have. I haven't picked up a paint brush in way too long so I was a little apprehensive with jumping right into a full out painting for my final project. With encouragement from my amazing husband I was able to dive right into it and spark an old flame with my love for painting. Here is my finished product (it's about the size of a small table top), the photo quality is not the best but I think it turned out pretty good...

'Tis the Season!

So this weekend found Matt and myself decorating our apartment for Christmas. It's always interesting going from a small apartment to a slightly larger apartment and finding out that you don't have as many decorations as you thought you had (or you just have more space then you use to have). All and all it was fun finally getting our decorations up! We even bought our first large Christmas tree (yes it's artificial but we love it!) here are some photos...

(This is a little video I made of our lights. Last year Matt and I found these really cool lights that fade from white to multi-colored. Usually I don't like lights that fade because either someone has them on a really fast setting and it gives me a migraine or it just looks tacky but these ones actually were really cool and Matt and I love them! Funny story is after we decorated our tree with lights (just plain old boring ones) we found these ones but decided we didn't want to redecorate the tree (since we went over every branch) so next year these little puppies will be on our tree and I think it will look pretty cool!)

(Without the flash and during the white phase of the lights)

(Also without the flash and during the multi-colored phase of the lights)

(The wreath on our door. I got this wreath at my bridal shower almost three years ago!)

(Our Christmas tree!)

(And now with lights!)

(Our little village under our tree...small now but give it a couple years and I can see a whole little country being formed!)

(Our 'Willow Tree' nativity scene Matt's parents got us for Christmas last year)

(Our little welcome tree)

(The cute story behind this was it was our first nativity scene when we got married. It was Matt's and he's probably had it for some time now, though I am not sure how he acquired it. We will probably get many more nativity scenes throughout our life but this one holds a special place in our hearts. Sidenote: I just recently found out from Matt's dad that this nativity scene was made by him and Matt's mom in the early years of their marriage when they didn't have a whole lot of money to get a big elaborate nativity scene. I have to say I think it means even more to me now!)

(Our little Santa pillow)

(Our little decoration on our end table)

So besides decorating our home Matt and I had a pretty busy weekend! On Thursday Matt and I attended the Mount Timpanogas Temple (the one we got married in!) with our Ward which was really cool! It's always nice to go to the temple and enjoy the beauty of it but going to the one you were married in just seems to be that much more amazing!

On Friday my mom bought us tickets to see 'A Christmas Carol' at the Hale Center Theater in Orem. The play was pretty dang good! I recommend everyone in the area to go out and see it! I admit I wasn't really thrilled to see a play (past experiences of being in the nose bleed section altered my views) but after going that has completely changed! The wonderful thing about this theater is that it's so different from anyone I've ever been to. For starters it's a lot smaller which means you get a more close, intimate experience. Matt and I were on the front row and the way the stage was positioned (basically the audience was doing a 360 around the stage which was really cool) the characters would get so close to us if we stuck our foot out we would trip them (no we didn't stick out our foot though tempting). It was a pretty amazing experience and something Matt and I are going to try to do again and again.

On Saturday Matt had the day off which was pretty stinkin wonderful! We ran some errands, did some shopping, and just enjoyed the day together! We were able to pick up some Christmas essentials (wrapping paper, gift bags and boxes, ribbon, and gift tags). Later that night we finished wrapping all our families presents and one of these days (while Matt is at work) I will finish wrapping his presents and then we will be done! YEA! Later that day I was able to work a little more on my Astronomy final project (a painting I am doing of the solar system) and hopefully I will be done with it tonight, it is due Wednesday so I better get it done!

On Sunday it was nice because Matt had the day off and was able to attend church with me and help in the library (for the first time in way too long). After church I decided to make a pie...

The pie is cherry and it was delicious! Healthy? No! Yummy? Of course! I have of huge love of baking so this just sufficed my need for the day! That was my weekend, it was pretty perfect! The best was Matt had Saturday and Sunday off, what could be better?!

This week I am wrapping things up in my Astronomy class and next Monday (the 15th) I have my final. It will be nice to have a little break from school. Also this week Matt goes in to have his eye surgery Friday on the 12th. We haven't gotten the details on the surgery yet but it looks like he will be staying in the hospital Friday night. He will be getting a week off of work which will really help his recovery. Until the time comes we really don't know what to expect but any prayers would be greatly appreciated!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Every year around this time (or maybe even earlier) I can vividly remember my mom singing "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas". This was usually something that made us kids uneasy because it meant that it was time to start decorating the house which would take hours not to mention probably a couple of temper tantrums, whining, and an all together need for a part-time job just to get out of the house (and they say holidays are about spending time with the family). It has only been since I've moved out that I have really enjoyed decorating the house for Christmas.

Well as it goes Matt and I have not yet even started decorating (well that's not technically true, I did get our holiday wreath out and stick it on the door but I mean how hard can that be?). The biggest thing stopping us is that we don't have a tree. For the past two Christmas's we've had a pretty small little tree that matched perfectly with our small little apartment. With all our ornaments, lights, and tinsel the tree has been overloaded to the point where we have decided to go with a larger (artificial) tree that will serve to better fit our larger apartment as well. Well I think tonight we are going to purchase the new addition to our home and I couldn't be more excited! It will be nice to finally get the tree up as well as the rest of our Christmas decorations. Wish us luck!

On a side note this week should be a pretty good one. For starters Matt has Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off and I couldn't be more excited! We have a very eventful week planned with going to Ward Temple Night on Thursday, our Ward Christmas Party on Friday, "A Christmas Carol" with the family later Friday night, sleeping in on Saturday and just taking the day to relax, and Matt having Sunday off for the first time in about a month which pretty much is the highlight of the week for me! Not to mention that today I am getting an eye exam which means I will be getting some new glasses which is much needed! Now to figure out what I wanna get...hmmm.

Yea for Family & Food!

Yesterday Matt and I enjoyed our second Thanksgiving of the season at my Mom's house. We enjoyed mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, yams, green beans and bacon (that was Matt and my idea), corn, rolls, and yummy pumpkin pie and peach pie a la mode! After dinner we looked at some Christmas photos from through out the years and it definitely got us in the Christmas mood (only a month away)!

(Me and Matt...poor guy had to work graveyards this week so he is very tired in these pictures)

(Me and the siblings...plus a very cute little puppy!)


(Ryan and Resley)

(Austin, my Mom, me, and Matt...yeah he is giving me bunny ears the little stinker!)

(Yea for the cheesy pictures!)

(Pre-Thanksgiving)

(The turkey!)

(Ryan and Wes carving up our turkey!)

(Matt and I making his famous green beans and bacon...all I can say is thanks Mommy D.!)

(Austin getting his grub on!)

(Matt getting ready to eat!)

(Austin, Chelsie, and Wes ready to chow down!)

(Ryan, my Mom, and Austin after a very yummy Thanksgiving!)