Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I know we did. We spent eve at my parents house eating massive goodies and dinner. We read the Christmas story, wrote down some acts of service we will do this year, and opened gifts. We awoke early to see if Santa really came, and of course he did. We hung out all day, then went to the Johnson's for some food and rock band. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Have you ever been somewhere (someone else's house) and realized how incredibly grateful you are for your own? Last night I had the opportunity to go visit a couple little children. As I walked up to one of the homes, there was a strong odor of different things. As I walked in the door, I saw food and garbage all over the floor. I have never seen anything like it besides on tv. I can't describe to you the sadness I felt for these poor children living there. I wanted to just take them home with me. I know everyone has different circumstances, and I don't have the perfectly clean house of Martha Stewart. However, leaving that house, I was so incredibly grateful for the home I have. I am grateful, that I have a warm house, with lights, and running water. Sure, I need to vacuum more than once a day, and I should dust more often. I may have a "little old house", but I love it. I love that I can take care of my family here. There are days that I just wish so bad for a garage, for a bigger kitchen (even though this one is cute),
for a bed on the floor,
(this bed is for real, you need a ladder to get on)
a bigger bathroom, or maybe 2 bathrooms. After last night,however, I hope I never have those feelings again. I am so lucky to have what I do.

Believer

KJ is 9 years old

couple weeks ago...this is pretty much exactly word for word.

KJ-mom i really want this robot for christmas

me-uh, do you really think that you would play with a robot that is controlled by the computer? for real dude, it's 269 bucks.

kj-don't worry mom (pats me on the arm) i am going to ask santa for it.

me-oh, ok. but wouldn't you like something you would actually use more than a month?

kj-yeah, maybe i will ask him for shoulder pads since i think those are more anyway.

me-chuckle chuckle, ok. sounds good to me

kj-don't you think it's cool when you go to the store and all the toys and things are in boxes, then when santa brings them for christmas they are in the same kind of package as the store? it's like the elves know exactly what it looks like!

me-i know, it's pretty cool hu.

kj-can you ask for anything like 100 bucks or a house?

me-no, it needs to be a toy they can make.

kj-oh, ok. i want football pads.

me-k

--------------------------

last week

kj-mom the tooth fairy didn't come last night!

me-oh no, it must have been too windy for her

kj-mom, it wasn't windy last night. oh, but maybe it's cause i put the tooth in a bag with a knot in it and she couldn't get it open. we'll have to put it in a ziplock.

me-yeah, you are probably right. we'll do that tonight.

boys

my boys:)

i am loved-however wish i wasn't by this one

i made a smart move almost 8 years ago to go to work for Dr. Brenden R. White. we opened a new office and have grown the practice to almost 1 million a year in gross revenue. we started with just the 2 of us, now there are 6 and 1 other doctor too! last year when i had sam he let me take my work home and work whenever it's convenient for me. i get to log on at midnight and do my billing, or i can get on at noon. it is so awesome. i have the best boss ever and couldn't be more lucky. this is possible for we have such awesome people working there now that i am truly not needed. this fantastic coworker sends my things every few days so i don't have to drive up and get it. the whole reason for this post is.....





no those aren't lips from mandy, those are lips from the postal worker next door to our office. you see, i used to take the mail over every day. of course we would small talk and such. but don't you think this is a bit much? i wish i could go on about how much this totally grosses me out, but i don't feel right explaining exactly why since you never know who is reading this.... anyhow, i just wanted everyone to know that i get packages every few days that look like the above. too bad it isn't from a keith urban or shad would have a run for his money

yadda yadda

wish i had more pictures, but i got a new camera/dvd from the in laws and i am still trying to figure out how to download and bla bla bla.

have you ever realized what your parents were going through when you went on dates? so last night my brother called asking if i had heard from my parents, i told him no, but i tried to call them earlier and they didn't answer. he told me that he and his family had been waiting at our parents house for 2 hours and they weren't there. he said both of their phones were sitting on the counter, along with mom's purse, and there was a stew on the oven that was boiling. now, it wouldn't be unusual for their phones to be there, but mom's purse, and especially the stew? i began to panic. i told shad and bless his heart, he asked if i wanted to drive down there (he asked from the bathroom-where he lived all day yesterday). i decided no, they are big, they probably went for a drive and lost track of time. however the stove kept bugging me. i literally felt sick. my chest was hurting with panic that they went for a short ride and went into a ravine, were kidnapped, or hurt somewhere. i was about ready to start calling hospitals to see if they were there, but then thought mom's purse is in the house, their phones are in the house, how will anyone know who to contact. then i realized that our home phone wasn't charged enough and if they were trying to call us by looking in the phone book for our number, i wouldn't get the call. after about a half hour of total freak out (but not in front of kj-otherwise he would freak out) i called my brother to see if they were back yet, and sure enough they were. they went for a drive, she thought she turned the stove off, but really she just put a lid on the pot. lol. moral to the story, i now know what it will feel like when my kids go out, and i haven't heard from them and they are late. don't do that again.

sam is cutting 4 teeth right now. he is such a trooper. i have tried to take a few pictures of them poking out, but he doesn't really want to cooperate with me. you can see the little points all over in there. it's pretty funny.

thanksgiving was awesome. i haven't had thanksgiving with my family since shad and i started dating, actually before that, but not sure if it was just once before that or what. we have been married 10 years, so that is 11 thanksgivings. i always thought it felt weird having thanksgiving somewhere else, but i realized that it was weird having it somewhere else this year. oh, don't get me wrong, being together with my parents was fantastic, but i realized that just because you aren't with your "blood" family, doesn't make the day any different. i ate way too much, hung out with my family, relaxed, played with the kids, and had an all around fantastic time. i'm thinking next year i will have to do both families. i missed the johnson's, but don't want to miss the wall family thanksgiving either. oh life is so rough.

i am so thankful for my family, for a house that is warm (may be small-but it's warm), i am so happy that i get to work from home so i can be here while sam is cutting more teeth. i love picking up kj from school everyday, and i love that my parents are living here in utah. life is really, really good.