A Special Time of Year

 It's been a while since I've blogged and mainly that's because I've been so busy. Lot's has gone on and I'm excited to finally write you about it!

First, my big brother, Dayne, got married on Dec 20 in Utah so I got to fly out there for a short trip and hang with my family. Isaac had to stay home. It was the first time since he got back from his mission that we've been apart so that was a little rough, needless to say, we got through it. :) The wedding was great though. It took us all by surprise when my brother announced he'd gotten engaged, but we've all come to the conclusion that Allison (his new bride) is the best thing that's ever happened to him. I'm really excited to have her in the family, and I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.

 

 While I was in Utah, I was able to go see one of my best friends and her newborn, 3-day-old baby. It was awesome to see them both and to hold that little guy. While I was just holding him and looking at him, I just kept thinking, "Dang, I dunno if I'm ready for this yet." It's an intimidating thing to think you could be solely responsible for something so helpless. But I know my friend is gonna be an amazing mom. I'm so excited I was able to see them.

After the Utah visit, I came home with only a few days left until Christmas. Isaac and I had already done most of our Christmas shopping, but I had a special project I still needed to finish. In a random bout of extreme craftiness I decided to make a nativity for Caitlin, Isaac's sister. I knew it would involved many hours of delicate work, but I was excited. So after I got back to the wedding I got started on it.

This is what it looked like after I had drawn only 3 of the wise-men.

 We got all of the pieces from Hobby Lobby. The manger is a little cardboard box lid, and the stable is a tissue box cover that has a piece you can slide in the back to store all of the nativity pieces.

So I drew what I wanted on each of the pieces.

 After I was satisfied with what I had drawn, I began painting each piece. This part took a long time. Painting wood is nice because it dries so quickly so you don't have to worry about smudging the paint, but it's also annoying for that same reason. There's little room for error because it's hard to get the paint out of the wood once it's on. I'll admit that I ended up taking a nail file to a couple of the pieces and sanding down some parts I messed up on.

Isaac wanted to help so I gave him the job of painting the stable and the animals. Isaac will be the first to tell you that craftiness is not a talent he has. In fact, any amount of craftiness really stresses him out. But I figured that all of those pieces only require one color to be applied, so it couldn't be that stressful. He still got a little frustrated, but he made it through alright.

This is what it looked like after the first night of painting.

 It took a lot of supplies and an entire kitchen table, but I  was able to finish the whole nativity by Christmas Eve morning.

 I was really proud the finished product.


After Isaac got off work on Christmas Eve, we were able to drive down to my parent's house. It's so awesome that our families are such good friends, because it means we didn't have to pick which family to have Christmas with this year. They were both in the same place!

I've never missed a Christmas with my family, and I think it would be a hard thing for me. I know that eventually, we may not be able to go to my family's house, but for now, I'm really glad we can.

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, we opened our stockings in the morning and then waited to open presents until we got back from church. It was fun doing it that way. It kinda made Christmas last longer. I took a few pictures with my phone, but I'm thinking I need to be better about my picture taking.

This is Hannah opening her much-awaited dishes. It's a family tradition that once you turn 16 my mom buys you a bunch of stuff to start preparing you for college. I got several different types of dishes and cookware for all of the birthdays and Christmases after I turned 16. Hannah was super excited... as you can tell by this picture.

This is Ethan opening his new computer desk, definitely the biggest present in the stack this year.

Anyway, I feel very blessed to have such an awesome family. Christmas is all about family, and in the week preceding Christmas I was able to witness a marriage, cuddle with a brand new baby, and spend some great times with my family. It's been a great Christmas.

Updates and Crafts

Today, one of my kids at day care asked me about a little red mark on my face (probably from a previous zit or something). She asked, "You have boo-boo?" and I replied, "Yup, I have a boo-boo, but it's ok." And I smiled at her to assure her I was fine. In a continued look of concern she replied with complete seriousness, "Did the boys kick you in the face?!" It was filled with anger when she said it. I laughed really hard and assured her that no, the boys did not kick me in the face. It cracked me up that she would jump to that conclusion.

All day the kids say funny things like that. I seriously think 2 year olds are the best. I'm sure all you mommies out there are shaking your heads right now, but I love them! They are right at the age where they can finally start telling you what they want, and you can finally start helping them understand what's acceptable. There's so much exploration involved. Sometimes I can't help but laugh when I watch them. I wish I could video tape them for my blog, especially during "dance time" or something. I'm pretty sure there's nothing more adorable than a 2 -year-old, curly headed girl shaking her little hips with maracas in her hands to the song We're going on a bear hunt. But, I guess the day care has a policy about that. Maybe sometime I could sneak a few pictures. :)

Anyway, I honestly didn't intend to get on here and blog about my kids at day care again. ( They are just so adorable, I can't help it.) I came on, really, to give a general update. :)

Isaac is doing well. His work is going really well other than the fact that he gets pretty bored. We found out that he is officially accepted to Tech and he'll be able to start in January, so that's awesome. Also, he was able to get a full Pell grant which is a huge blessing, even if it solidifies the fact that we really are that poor. He's excited for school to start so that he can study at work and it'll give him something more productive to do. Sometimes I have to remind myself that he only got off his mission 4 1/2 months ago and that down time is still a hard thing for him. But overall, he's doing really well.

As for me, I'm just working, applying to grad school, and getting my independent study classes done. It's been pretty good. Also, I've discovered the wonders of Pinterest as of late, and that's my new hobby. While Isaac plays video games, I "pin" all of the amazing crafts, recipes, or hairstyles I dream of attempting one day. In fact, I wanted to do a craft so badly the other day that I decided to make a co-worker something for our secret Santa exchange. She told me she liked turquoise and Breaking Dawn, so I decided to make something that had both of those elements in it. Her name starts with a "K" so I made her a collage of breaking dawn pictures with turquoise painted on the sides and back. This is the finished product: (the bow is just for presentation purposes)

 

I used Mod Podge to seal it all together and make it look cool.

It kinda gives it a shiny texture. Anyway, so that was my craft for the month or something. It was a bunch of fun to make. I think the best part about making stuff like this, for me, is the fact that when it's done it looks just like I wanted it to. When that happens I get excited and feel like I've accomplished something. I wasn't completely satisfied with it, but it was my first attempt to do something like that, so I think it turned out pretty well. I gave it to the co-worker at work today and she was more than excited about it. She was showing everyone. I definitely think I'll be doing this again for anyone I need to make a personalized and inexpensive gift for.

Anyway, long blog post, but I hope everyone is doing well! I can't believe Christmas is only a week and a half away. Seriously, where did all the time go? Good luck with the Christmas shopping!

Working with children

Yesterday, at work, a child that I've grown a little attached to who has a very rough home life (her mom is actually living in the shelter), was having a very hard time going down for a nap. I had already tried disciplining her, but that didn't really phase her. As I helped another child get to sleep, she would walk around, not really making noise, but definitely braking the rules. Finally, another teacher came in and starting trying to help her. We're fairly certain this child has fetal alcohol syndrome. Anytime she gets worked up about anything, it's very difficult to calm her down. She doesn't know how to soothe herself. Anyway, so the other teacher was trying to help her sleep without forcing a temper tantrum. At that point, my teacher, the one actually in charge of the classroom, comes back from lunch and sees that she's not asleep. After a long while of being patient and trying to get her to lay down, they began using force as a last effort. They held down her arms and feet, hoping she'd calm down, but that just made things a lot worse. She began screaming hysterically. They tried talking to her and singing to her, anything they could to calm her down, but she wasn't having it. I was just observing at this point. As I walked over there, she reached out to me with a hopeful look in her eyes. I didn't want to interfere, so I walked away and she continued to scream. 2 year olds can sleep through a lot, but after 5-10 minutes of her screaming, the rest of the class were all starting to squirm. I figured, I'd try to see if I could help. As soon as I went over there, she jumped into my arms and wrapped her whole body around me. I sat down with her and she quickly calmed down and put her head on my shoulder. I held her like that for 5 minutes or so as she fell asleep and then she woke up a little and climbed onto her mat to get comfortable. That was it. She just wanted to be held.

As I was holding her, I marveled at how much love I could feel for this little one. I thought of her life, what it must be like. I thought of what kind of teenager she is going to be, and how many of her actions will really be her fault. It really made me stop for a moment and realize that we can't judge people. We have no idea where they've come from. At 2 years old, I can already tell the difference between children that are getting what they need at home and children that call me "mom" because I seem to fit the description better than anyone else in their life. If that difference is so distinct at 2, I can't help but think that as teenagers and adults it'll be even more pronounced. Which means, I can't even blame the parents for everything that's going on. Maybe they are doing the best they can.

Maybe people are just trying to do the best with what they have. For that little girl, her mom came to the shelter, which means she came to get help. That's probably the best decision she could've made for her children, and hopefully she'll continue to make good decisions that could make the difference in the lives of her girls.

Anyway, I know that this was a long entry, but I was in a thoughtful mood. Hug a child close to you when you can, and just love them, because they need it.

It's that time of year again

Isaac and I would like to extend our Christmas wishes to all of you with this video.  Hope it makes you smile!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/e9AnEqgyTiqObYjz

Today, I was walking to lunch from my work (Isaac had the car), and I started thinking about things that make me smile. There were some random ones, but I thought I'd share and maybe they'll make you smile too.

My little niece, Ellie

 #1. A child's smile. I can't help it. If ever a child is smiling or giggling it makes me really happy. There's something so pure and awesome about it. 

#2. Little baby semis. Seriously, every time one of these drives by I feel like I want to point and laugh at it, like you would to a bully who is not so tough now. These get me every time.

#3. Isaac cooking, mostly the action, not always the result. :) He's pretty adorable with it. Every time he tries to cook, it's like a test for him. It takes all he has to figure it out. Watching him cook, and helping him with it, makes me 1. Really grateful for a husband who is willing to try to learn new things and 2. Grateful for a mother who taught me all I ever needed to know about cooking. I feel like I took that talent for granted until I lived with Isaac. :)

#4. Obviously music has to go on here. But something that especially makes me smile is when Christine hits that crazy high note during the ultimate chorus in Phantom of the Opera. I remember many days growing up that my sister, Meagan, would play the piano, and I would sing this song with her. We'd belt it out like there was no tomorrow, basically screaming as loud as we could by the time we hit that note (with our siblings and parents yelling for us to stop in the background). Sometimes, if I'm having a stressful day, I'll pull out my Phantom soundtrack and belt it up. 

#5. What I endearingly call my "fuzzy thongs." Yes, they seem like a pointless invention (slippers without the toes covered??) But just slipping my feet into the plush, neatly trimmed fluffiness makes me feel like a queen.

And much, much more. I would add more, but right now I have a husband sitting on the couch next to me that I should get back to. Anyway, post and lemme know what random things make you smile.

Good news and good times

And announcing a new arrival to the Olive Family!!!!!

Before all you Grandmas get too excited out there, I'm just talking about our new fish! :D

2 days ago I went to the Library to drop off a book and somehow ended up at the Petsmart next door. I have been wanting to get a Beta fish for a while, and I figured I'd go look at them. Well, I found one. :)

His name is Theo, and he's a good fish. He likes to eat, and he basically recognizes my voice by now.

I got him and all of his accessories (including water treatment and food) for 15 dollars! I actually bought the bowl, rocks, and plant at Hobby Lobby. The bowl was half off, I used a coupon for the rocks, and the plant was 90% off because it was part of their Fall decor. I just took the plant apart and stuck it in the tank. I think it looks pretty good!

Theo seems to enjoy it, and I figure he hasn't died yet, so I must be doing something right.

In other news, Isaac and I put up our Christmas decorations yesterday. I was so excited. I remember every year growing up on the day after Thanksgiving, my family would all put up our Christmas decorations. I always loved doing that with them. And a couple of years ago, my mom gave me an awesome pre-lit Christmas tree for when I had my own place, so I've been waiting to use all of this Christmas stuff for a while now.

Isaac wasn't quite as excited about it, but I think he was just excited to see me so happy. He even got his new lap top yesterday. I thought for sure he wouldn't want to do decorations with a new lap top to explore. But when we got home, he put the laptop in our room (without even opening the box) and said, "So what do you want to set up first?" That made me really happy. So we put up our tree and all of the other little things we have.

It's a seriously legit Christmas tree. We both talked about how fun it will be when our kids bring home little decorations each year for us to put on the tree. I'd take messy, home made decorations over fancy, matching ones any day.

We also got this amazing nativity as a wedding present from a close family friend. I love Jim Shore, and I may have to admit that this was my very favorite wedding present. I had been wanting a nativity for a few years now, but they were always too expensive. I think Isaac and I will treasure this one for many years to come.

Anyway, so life is good here. I'll most likely be officially starting my job within the next couple of days now that the background check, fingerprinting, TB test, and drug test are all taken care off. It'll be nice for me to have something more to keep me busy. We're so grateful for all that we have and especially for our families.

Marriage

This morning, I woke up feeling really grateful for the husband that I have.

It's kind of funny, because for the last month or so, I haven't been able to feel that gratitude. Adjustments are really hard for me, so getting used to this whole marriage thing has been a roller coaster. I've actually been praying and seeking out ways to draw closer to Isaac during this transitive time.

So I was glad this morning, when I woke up feeling a genuine gratitude and love for him. There's a few small and simple things that have come to mean the world to me.

I'm grateful for a kiss in the morning when Isaac wakes up:

The first time Isaac and I were sleeping in our apartment, he woke up before me, and gave me a kiss to tell me he was awake. Now, he does that every morning, and if he ever forgets it makes me sad. I always go back to sleep for a little while, but I love that he does that. It's an awesome way to start the day.

I love that we can go to church every Sunday:

I especially love sitting next to him and singing the hymns. There's something awesome about singing together. It always makes me a tiny bit sad that we have to split up the last hour of church for Relief Society and Priesthood. :)

I'm so glad he can hold his own:

Lots of people that know Isaac, are scared for him in this relationship because they think I'll just run him over. They think I've been running this show the whole time. What they don't realize is that Isaac can hold is own and does, often. I love that about him, and I wouldn't want it any other way. He puts me in my place better than anyone else I know, and somehow he always does it in the most loving and patient way.

I'm glad I'm learning more about marriage:

Before I got married, I didn't understand what marriage was all about. I didn't even really get why marriage was even necessary (other than the obvious added benefits ;) And I'm definitely not claiming to know all about it now, but I'm beginning to get little glimpses. Marriage is meaningful and special. It's something that says, "I'll be there for you no matter what." or "I'll try my hardest to be the person you see in me." It's giving yourself completely over to another person. For me, I think that's been the hardest part. I've never been the type of person who eagerly shares her feelings. During the past month, I've realized that it's a lot harder to hide from a person when you're around them 24/7. I've found myself beginning to open up, which is scary to me, but also pretty liberating. I'm glad Isaac is the exact type of person who can make me open up without forcing it.

Anyway, I suppose every married blog needs a nice, serious love entry every now and then. I don't plan on writing them often. So if you like that kind of thing, I guess you'll just have to read this entry over and over. Today, I was just feeling it. :)

Manly Men

Today, I discovered something about Isaac.

If you don't know Isaac very well, let me be the first to tell you that he is the type of person who loves asking for help. That may sound weird, but really, it's true. For example, he'll ask the guy at best buy "Ok, so will you tell me everything about this computer, just so I can understand it better." He loves involving people in a decision he's making, and I think he just loves to let others help him learn. Sometimes, it can even become a crutch for him because he has such a hard time just doing things on his own; he just likes others' input. But anyway, today... was a different story.

I don't know how many wives, girlfriends, or sisters out there are familiar with this place:

 But it is seriously like a different world. Upon walking through its doors a typical woman will find that every husky, working man is "just there to help if you need it" and every woman working there is annoyed by you. In the few times I've gone, I've learned to expect this, and honestly, I use it to my advantage sometimes. ("Hey there, Mr. Handsome, you wanna come over here and find me everything in the whole store that I need? *giggle*)

But today, no, today was a different story. Today I went with Isaac to Home Depot. Isaac is building some shelves in our laundry room for storage. He's been working on this project for a few weeks now, and it's kinda his baby.

And this afternoon he ascertained that we needed "just a few more things" to get these shelves up and running. I was already out and about with him, so I went along. I stayed in the background once we got to Home Depot, knowing that Isaac knew what he needed and where to find it. As we got to the isle, though, Isaac was unsure of something to do with the screws he needed. For 5 minutes he went back and forth, thinking through everything. Twice he was asked by a worker if he needed help, and he said no. I looked on in wonder. This was not the husband I knew!

Then it hit me.

In this magical man-world named Home Depot, no respectable man asks for help! Shouldn't knowledge about wood, tools, and screws just be inherent for the manliest men? *Insert manly grunt here*

I watched for a while, smiling inside (but definitely not outside, I couldn't let him see I was enjoying this) and eventually, I realized what I had to do. I walked up to a worker guy (across the isle, far enough away from Isaac to look like I was on my own). I smiled and sweetly asked "Hi, I just need a little help knowing what to do here, do you think you could help me?" To which the husky man with tattoos eagerly replied, "Of course!" All during the time that the man was helping me, Isaac stayed on the other side of the isle. I was kinda laughing inside at this point. He was being pretty adorable about the whole thing. But eventually we got what we needed and headed out.

So here's the ultimate discovery I made today. Home Depot changes people, and no one is exempt from this. Even my husband fell under the stereotypical spell of sheer "manliness," cast on every poor man the moment he walks through the Depot doors. Men become "manlier", and women... we just become "helpless", or so they think... (tell that to Mr. Husky!).

Overall, the trip was successful and he's finally gonna get those shelves done. And I'm still smiling just thinking about the whole thing.