refreshing: to make like new, to give new life

aka, the new year.

As 2009 comes to a close I feel hopeful and excited and somewhat relieved. 2009 was a heavy year. By no means do I mean that it was all bad; everything, all the good, bad and ugly just added up to be really heavy for some reason. I'm excited to be able to set it down and pick up not only a new year, but a new decade. It kind of makes me feel like that new York Peppermint Patties commercial. (I tried to find a link to it, but didn't see anything. If you have no idea what I'm talking about then I guess tough luck.) Invigorated, rejuvinated and light.... ahhhhh. I can't wait.

Last night, Deke and I started talking about our top 9 favorite events of the 2000's, but then it just turned into a discussion about our top 9 favorite make-outs we had while we were dating each other. You can see where our priorities lie.  SO, in order to celebrate the new, I'm going to highlight some of my favorite things of the old. Of the last decade, that is. And I'll spare you the details of our make-outs.  You're welcome. When the first decade of this century began I was only 14. FOURTEEN. Yikes.

Anyway, in no particular order, here are 9 of my top favorite things that happened in the 2000's.

9 - High School

I know it's probably not so cool to admit you like, even loved, high school. But I totally did. Friends, football games, musicals, dating, proms, boys... I loved it all.

8 - BYU

I ventured off alone, not knowing anyone when I moved down, and it was the best thing I ever did. I had some of the greatest girls in the whole world for roommates both freshman and sophomore years. While I still am not (and probably never will be) a fan of Provo the city, I will always love and appreciate the education I received at BYU. I really couldn't have asked for a better higher education experience.

7 - Meeting Deek.

No explanation necessary

6 - Getting Married

A pretty big deal I hear. Kind of a defining day in one's life.

5 - Graduating from college

Proudly graduating with 120.5 credits. You need 120 in order to graduate...

4 - Europe/Russia

It was so surreal to see in person everything I had studied about in school right in front of me in living breathing color. To be able to experience it with all of my senses was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I honestly think about something from that trip atleast once a day. And to experience it with Deek made it all the more sweeter.

3 - Living in Hawaii

While it took the majority of our savings to do it, it was one of the best decisions we've ever made as a couple. I'm pretty sure both of our families thought we were nuts to just pick up and leave for a semester. Would you believe me if I told you that the suggestion to go was a direct answer to a prayer? Seriously. I was praying about something, and then about 2 minutes after I finished praying I had the distinct impression that we needed to move to Hawaii to address my concern. Seriously. It's not every day God tells you to pack your bags and move to a tropical paradise.

2 -  Being Pregnant.

And I'm not even joking. Minus the first 3 months of my pregnancy that will go under "The Top 9 Worst Things About the Last Decade."  Having a baby was something I really, really, desperately wanted. It was the most incredible experience to physically be a part of the creation of a life. I can honestly say I loved being pregnant, and in a way, was sad to see it end.

1 - Reese

Again, no explanation necessary.

I hope the next 10 turn out to be just as great as the last, and you know what? I have a feeling they certainly will...

Cheers and Happy New Year!

should i be worried?

Every night, Reese starts out in the middle of her crib,  parallel to the long sides of the crib. 45 minutes later she looks like this:

(yes, I realize there's no sheet. it was in the laundry.)

My quirky kid has to have her face smooshed against something in order to sleep. What the heck? Last night after finding her like this right before I went to bed, I moved her back to the middle.  Seriously 2 minutes later, I watched her do this funky caterpillar thing to get back to bumpers where should could continue her face smooshing practices. I'm pretty sure this goes against all crib safety rules. But what can I do? Crazy kid.

"nice to meet you, we share a bed.....

.....and her? Oh yes. She's our offspring. Surprise! Fancy that."

Anyway, the title of this post often describes how I feel around Christmas time. Regarding Deek, that is. Or my awesome lavender linen spray.

You see, we have both been blessed with very active, family oriented, tradition loving families.  But both of our very active, family oriented, tradition loving families come from other very active, family oriented, tradition loving families. And we LOVE this. Seriously. We wouldn't have it any other way. I repeat, we LOVE it. But between our immediate and extended families, combined with the regular hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas means that the chances of Deek and I having a moment alone together lasting longer than 5 minutes in the days/week leading up to Christmas is as probable as it is that I will refrain from eating every smidgen of chocolate I see.  Or that my last sentence could be described as brief. In other words, not very.

Am I alone in feeling this way?

As the sun sets on Christmas night I'm always sad that the anticipation and activities have come to a close for another year, but a little part of myself is actually a tad relieved. I finally get my own little family all to myself.

Again, particularly saying this to our mothers - we LOVE all of the family get togethers. They're one of the things that make Christmas, Christmas {in a good way :)}. But it's just nice to be our own little unit once it's all done.

So, this year in order to celebrate, we took a holiday from our holiday. The Saturday after Christmas was the first day in a long while we had no event to be to or shopping to be done. We slept in til 12:00. As in noon. All 3 of us. Reese woke up at 7:30AM to eat and then went right back to bed with the both of us.  Beautiful.

We then lounged around in our sweats ALL day and ended it with a movie before heading back to bed. Even more beautful.

It was one of the very best gifts I received this year - a whole entire day with nowhere to be, nothing to do, and my 2 very favorite people in the entire world by my side. That was the most beautiful thing of all.

{The cliche Christmas post is coming soon. Probably. Eventually. Still waiting to get a few pictures and stuff.}

temple square

There's something so festive and heart warming about Temple Square Christmas lights. I love them and I'm so glad we made the effort to go.

Of course as soon as we got there Reese decided she was ravishingly hungry and started screaming and wouldn't take the bottle of defrosted milk I had brought. Fun. I'm really sure our fellow patrons fully enjoyed the sounds of our screaming offspring as they peacefully watched the Nativity production take place.

Lovely.

By the time we finally got her settled down we only had about 15 minutes left to walk through, but what can you do, right? We still had a great time, even with our little monster along for the ride. Much thanks to Jason & Erin for putting up with difficult company. :)

Us:

Jason & Erin clan:

Merry Christmas!

annual tree cutting extravaganza

Except for this year, while there was a tree, there was no cutting involved. For the first time in all 5 Christmases we've been married, we didn't cut our own tree down. Gasp.

I know, I know...

Instead of voyaging to the land of Christmas Meadows, we took the equally {not as} long journey to our local Smith's Marketplace to pillage for our tree. The logistics of taking a 3 month old who still nurses every 3 hours trekking around the snow covered mountains in sub zero temperatures just wasn't sounding so great. So we did the next best thing. We let someone else do all the work for us. Awesome.

Deek with the loot:

High quality picture of Jen:

Right before this picture was taken I was yelling at Deek saying something along the lines of "It's too dang cold to take a picture! I'm getting in the truck..." (it was, like 8 degrees.)

But then he made me feel really guilty about not documenting significant events (like buying a tree at a grocery store) and how I'll regret not taking a picture, and yada, yada, yada. I'm sure it provided quality entertainment for the Smith's parking lot public.

I grudgingly let him take the picture. Meanwhile, my fingers were snapping off.

Don't tell him this, but now looking back, I'm a little bit glad we stopped to take the picture. But I never said that.

baby, it's cold outside

who: reese
what: in her new winter hat
when: thur dec 10
where: the family room couch
why: gettin' all gussied up to go see the lights at temple square. in 5 degree weather.

3 years ago i was living here

with him..

some days, i really miss hawaii.

while everyone else was frantically shopping on black friday

I was polar strolling (yes. you read that right. it's a totally made up sport that i have invented. as of right. now.)  in the solitude of the mountains near our cabin.

Some of the other faces of whom were there.....

Mr. T-Rev

the Russ-man

the be-ootiful Cami

and my hunk-o-munk, Deek.

along with {most of} the rest of the N clan.

Yup. I scored the deal of the century on Black Friday. Let the Holidays begin!

she's 3 months

Some things I'm loving about 3 month old Reese:

-She's finally discovered her voice.  She babbles and coos and squeals in delight all day long. It's so fun to have a "conversation" with her.

-She's still as smiley and happy as can be. Unless it's tummy time. And then it sounds like she's trying to yell at me.

-Her bald spot is awful. At night, when we put her down for bed she'll rub her head back and forth for up to an hour. Maybe she has an itch? Who knows.

-She loves all things soft and snuggly. I have to prop her on her side in the corner of her crib when she naps to help her flat spot go away. She'll sometimes rock herself so she's flat on her back and then smash her face into the bumper. If there's a blanket anywhere near her face she'll try as hard as she can do the same thing. Safe? Probably not. But she loves it.

-She definitely knows who Mommy and Daddy are and greets us with a big happy grin whenever she sees us.

Mommy and Reese hangin' on the playmat:

A week or so ago my angel of a sister in law volunteered to watch Reese while Deek and I went to his company party. Not only was this awesome of her because we were gone 7 hours, but because she has her own little Eliza who is 5 weeks younger than Reese. She snapped some pretty great pictures of the two. Here's one of my favorites:

                         

Total mugshot. Eliza looks totally guilty of something, and Reese looks like she could beat you up. Love the matching mohawks. Love, love, love it. Thanks again Katie!