What I created yesterday

This salad makes me laugh. I am definitely the mom of preschoolers (note the Goldfish). I was feeling on the lazy side, so I didn't create much of anything else. :) But it sure was yummy- maybe I could use it as a color inspiration piece sometime...but probably not. :)

Not to be undone

Silly singing Ava

Isn't she funny? I wonder where she gets all of her silliness from...probably TODD!

Preschool fun

Today was my turn at preschool. My assigned theme was "Animals & their families" and the letter /Z/. We had such a good time! We went on a bear hunt and then on a /Z/ hunt and the marble painting was SUCH a hit. Everyone loved that one, I'll have to do that again with the girls. Here is what today looked like:

Put the paint-covered marble in a box & roll around... Fun times! Rockin' and Rollin'Our other craft, lion masks. Peek-a-boo! I mean ROAR!

SO on the ball

Our taxes are IN! We are the BOMB! We should get our return the first few weeks of February, which couldn't be better timing! Our return is the biggest its ever been and we didn't buy a house, have a kid or nothing! I should also add that my business added and subtracted nothing. All that work for not. :) Hooray for tax returns!

Reflection

I can't think of a single thing to post, but I just thought I would post something so that you didn't have to look at our Christmas stuff. Hmmm...yep, nothing. That's all I've got- a head full of emptiness at the moment. Ah, here's a thought!
My goals for the new year- I want to be more comfortable in the skin I'm in. I want to accept challenges as they come & look for the lesson instead of making them last longer. I want to embrace our theme this year in Relief Society (Open Mind. Open Heart. Willing Hands.) by learning something new everyday, being grateful for all my blessings & recognizing them daily, and by serving others with charity in my heart. If I achieve all of that then I'll be closer to the person the Lord wants me to be & that would be just wonderful.
This is a picture I took of me on a morning I felt really happy- inside and out. I actually hate pictures of me, but I also like to have some sort picture to all my posts. :)

Make a Smilebox greeting

Pictures Part II

Pictures Part III

Our first Christmas morning...

PS

Yes, I got a hair cut- 13 inches! I wanted a change, plus my hair grows super fast, so it's no big loss. I still have my locks but I plan on sending them to Locks of Love now that the holiday is over. This is my after-hair-cut-picture...it's grown a bit since then.

Hello again people

Well, life returns to normal. I am busy working on preparing the year for Relief Society. We have ward conference, leadership training, presidency meetings, and visiting teaching conference all coming up in less than a month. So I'll be one busy lady! Not to mention that I haven't met with my presidency since the middle of December, so we'll have a lot to do!
Today will be a day of staying in doors if I can help it. I need to go to the store, but I may just send Todd on his way home. We don't need a whole lot and it's cold out there and a constant rain too. Looks like those warm clothes will come in handy! It's suppose to get warm again this week? I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind! :)
Yesterday was a big day for the Blackhurst little girls. Ava went to her first full day of primary and Sydnee had her first non-Ava nursery. So we have been prepping the girls for months. Remember these girls have spent all but 15 1/2 months of their lives side-by-side, so this was going to possibly be very difficult. Well, we all went together to drop Sydnee off. Ava gave her a hug and then Todd took her in. On the way to church Ava gave Sydnee one of the prep talks we had been giving, "Sydnee when you go to nursery today and I am not there, do not be sad, I will come get you when it is all over." And Sydnee replies, "I will cry" or something like that. Anyhow, Sydnee started to cry when we left (rip rip into my heart), then we take Ava to her class. She is very nervous and a little scared. Preston has saved a spot for her, but the instant we leave her she starts to cry (rip, rip)- and don't you know it my eyes welled up a bit too! So we got out of there and took a breathe and hoped for the best. I was teaching RS and the parents have to pick up their kids from their classes now, so we finished a bit early and I went to get Ava. She was having a good time. Her teacher had made her a little church bag with the letter "A" and put a Book of Mormon in it. Ava has been "reading from the scriptures" ever since we got home, she was so excited to get her own B.O.M., funny girl. Ava and I went to pick up Sydnee and when Sydnee saw Ava she said, "Sister! Sister!" Which is hilarious to me since she never calls her that, and they hugged and then we went to find Daddy. I spoke with one of Sydnee's nursery leaders and she said that Sydnee cried for like 15 minutes and then fell asleep. We knew that might happen with 1pm church. She said when she woke up she cried a little more and then started to play along. It will be a rough month, but they'll work it out. Growing girls. Growing girls.
So anyways, it's good to be back in the swing of things. We immensely enjoyed our holiday and are a little sad its gone. I will post the pictures I have later.
Love to you all!
Lindsey

Patience, my dear ones

Yes, it is January 2nd and I said I would post today. Unfortunately, my camera is not with me (since the batteries dies during the unwrapping once again- what timing!) so this is just a little post.



We've had a wonderful Christmas celebration. Holidays are all about families to me, so being with family is priority one. We spent Christmas with the Blackhursts in Dallas, and New Years with the Kennedys in College Station. Santa Claus unexpectedly came twice to visit our little girls, although I am positive that it has nothing to do with "extra good behavior." The week before Christmas I began to wonder if Santa ever really put coal in stockings. I'm not totally naive, though, most of the time when I'm frustrated with my children its when I've got too much going on and my priorities are out of line. One thing I love about Christmas is the gift giving, its really the best part, but due to financial strain (who doesn't have these now-a-days?) we started our shopping later than usual (to save up) and it added some stress to an already crazy life. I believe everyone enjoyed their gifts, and the especially sentimental ones were greatly appreciated- which is the real gift for me.



One of the high-lights of this Christmas was heading up our ward's "Angel Tree" or Innkeeper Project, as I called it. (From the quote by Neal A. Maxwell, "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is enough room for Jesus.") Being in charge of the organization of providing Christmas gifts for several families is a daunting task, but I have such a great team- it was really a rewarding experience. The best part was being a part of seeing everyone's generosity, even in such difficult times. It was touching, and wonderful, and those giving families and individuals blessed my life by their goodness even though I didn't unwrap the gifts they gave.



Some other personal highlights of this season: turning 30 and spending a quiet and fun evening with my husband, watching my friend Jana jump up and down yelling at her husband to NOT pick our package at an ornament exchange because he was going for the "Old Maid", spending time with some of my favorite families as we reflected on our year serving in the Relief Society, shopping with my sisters and mother the day after Thanksgiving, cooking for my in-laws while my father in-law was ill, decorating the tree with the little girls, going caroling with Ava's preschool class, seeing the Hawka (sp?) performed by the YM and our Tongan missionary, spending "Christmas morning" with the Prices as the girls discovered what Santa had brought, a night of laughing about nothing- and simple things- with friends to celebrate our friendships, decorating gingerbread houses with the girls and the Blackhursts, playing Pounce, the arrival of Lilly- my new niece, and my annual Christmas poem with the Kennedys.



What a blessing this season is- thanks to all of those people who make life fun, and happy.