Olympus High School Class of 2000 Alumni Website

February has come and gone and I haven’t made a post for 2010. Pretty sad I know and I have the same excuse as everyone else…”I’m just so busy.” Life is certainly flying right past me but that doesn’t mean I’m standing still. Jeff is in his second and final semester of grad school at ASU and is busier than EVER! I’m still working with foster youth and loving every second of it. I get to work with 14 amazing teenagers every week. My life is blessed each day by their existence and I’m lucky to know them. I’m even more lucky to have them let me into their lives. I wish I could take a picture and share each of their stories with you. But since I’m not able to do that, I will share some pictures of what we’ve been up to.Not much happened in January but here’s a picture to celebrate the snow we don’t have in Arizona.Some of my family came down for Valentine’s Day and Winston went through the Mesa Temple. In case any of you were wondering…he will be leaving May 4th for the Sao Paolo Brazil South Mission. Hooray for him!
Isn’t is gorgeous this time of year?

Of course, who can celebrate Valentine’s Day without making sugar cookies? I was lucky to have my talented Aunt Tracy and cousin Emma invite me over for some serious baking and decorating. Didn’t the cookies turn out super cute? They tasted as good as they looked…that’s for sure!
Nacho felt the need to celebrate LOVE DAY! He was the dog of the park for VD. The ladies couldn’t keep their eyes off of him.

Lastly, our neighbors who are from India, invited us to celebrate their “Holi Day” or “Festival of Colors.” We ate food, listened to music, and participated in the colorful festivities. I got completely plastered by paint and drenched with water… if you can’t tell by the picture.

So attractive. I will do my best to update more often. As you can see, we are alive and well. Here’s to a lucky March!

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Time to make a POST!

Funny how I know that by simply reading this book, my life will be blessed in countless ways, yet at the same time I find it one of the hardest things to do even though I know it’s good for me! Anyways, these are my thoughts lately, just thought I’d share incase if any of you go through that same cycle I do. And if you feel up to it, you can join me in my goal, always helps to have a little support group

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Love is Making Changes

On Friday Bryan brought these beautiful flowers in to my work on his lunch hour. It was a great way to start Valentine’s weekend. Thanks Bryan I love them, almost as much as I love you.

So today I made Bryan cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. I think he liked them.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

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Cupid Came In Person…

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Love is making cookies

Today has just been one of those days when you feel like you are running around without your head! And on top of that the house is a disaster, messes everywhere, nothing is going as planned, the car is on empty, I have yet to shower, I feel like we will be jobless and poor forever, I have no desire to accomplish anything and all I want to do is eat comfort food and crawl back in bed! Please tell me I’m not the only one who has these kind of days! Before Tim left, he lifted my chin and says, “Cheer up Charlie!” If only it was that easy. Sigh… Thank goodness for blogs and people who like to listen to other people complain… I think I am beginning to feel a little bit better now that I’ve let it all out.

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Today

Christmas this year was wonderful. I don’t have many pictures on our camera, but somehow that makes me feel like we enjoyed the season all the more. I’m not going to give you a detailed play-by-play of the week or even the day, as I’m sure our holiday celebrating has much the same feeling as yours, but here are a few highlights…

• Lyvia loved the new bed that Santa brought her. She wrote him a letter asking for a music box and it showed up that morning as well. I love the look of total surprise and awe when she walked into the living room on Christmas morning and saw the gifts! Mini Soapbox Warning: I think this is one of the reasons why I’m still a Santa believer. There is a beautiful mix of spiritual and secular at this time of year and I have loved immersing Lyv in both. I don’t think you need to cut out the gift-giving entirely to make this season “meaningful”. After all- the spirit of anonymous giving is pretty powerful! Showing gratitude has been the key for our family. I love Christmas!
• Jason being genuinely surprised at his gift. And if you know him- it’s hard to surprise this guy!
• Spending our traditional time with each family. It didn’t seem rushed or hectic this year… I think we’re paring down! We’re lucky to live close enough to each family to be able to see everyone- even grandparents!
• I didn’t beat myself up over not getting to see the lights Downtown, building snowmen or other “must’s” during this season and, surprisingly, I feel great about it. I’ve decided that things are only as important as I make them.
• Baby 2 is a mover. I love feeling her kick and wiggle in here! I’m/she’s measuring a bit bigger than expected at my last appointment- but we’re still looking at mid-March for her arrival. I’m pretty psyched. So is Jason. Lyv….well…not as much- I don’t know if she really gets it- but she’ll come around.
• Nothing like a seven foot tall, glittering, glowing tree in your living room to liven the spirits. I’ve now re-decorated it for our “New Year’s Eve” tree and am seriously considering just turning it into a Valentine’s tree, too. Let’s spread the joy of tree-dom to a few other holidays, shall we?
• I’ve been doing some major cleaning/organizing/de-cluttering at my house. Maybe it’s the whole nesting thing…or maybe it’s that my house was just driving me crazy. But now, room by room, it’s feeling more peaceful. I love that feeling.

Here’s to feeling peaceful and happy in 2010. Cheers!

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joyful, joyful