For Alyssa

My sister-in-law Alyssa sent me the link to the tutorial for the Kindle case she made as a gift. I was determined to make my own. I used scrap fabric I had at home and bought some batting for 50% off today at Joann's. Total cost of this case.....$3.99.

And about 3 hours of work.

I'm not exactly a good quilter (ha ha- that's putting it nicely) or even a great sewer, so please don't look too closely. However, I did see a quote at Joann's today that stuck with me.

"Sewing is not a talent. It is a SKILL that can be LEARNED."

True, they were trying to get you to sign up for their classes, and I'm not sure I totally agree with it. After all, I do have some sister-in-laws that do all these amazing projects. You ladies are my inspiration. My natural talent may not lie in sewing, but I have the will to try, try, and try again. Practice makes perfect, right?

What I wish for

Last night at our Relief Society Meeting, we were asked to write down one thing we would do with a million dollars, and then someone would draw it for Pictionary. Since I was at church, my first temptation was to look saintly and write "pay my tithing". I resisted the urge, however, and instead wrote "hire a personal trainer". Gotta love the post-baby body.

What I should have written is my true wish-- I would hire someone to potty-train my kids for me.

We are in the midst of it with Kyle and though I am not going to discuss the gory details, let's just say I detest it with every fiber of my being. And he's actually doing pretty well!

3 Months

I think we may have turned a corner here.

Drew is three months old today. In the past few weeks he has finally become happy during awake time. He is much less gassy. He sleeps, if not well, at least better than before. Usually he will sleep for 45 minutes instead of the 20 we were getting before. And, though he still wakes at night, he isn't hungry and will usually sleep at least 4-6 hours before waking.

I'm starting to feel like I can handle life again.

It helps that he is adorable (not that I'm biased) and that he greets me each time he sees me with a huge smile, cooing, and much kicking and waving of arms. I know he's glad to see me.

And I'm glad to see him.

Temple Lights

We went out to the Mesa Temple Lights tonight and had a great time. Here is a picture of Emma enjoying the purple lights. Doesn't she look purplely?

Christmas is Over Already?!?

I don't know about anyone else, but for me it seems like the entire holiday season just flew by! Christmas is already over and we're preparing for the new year. Here are some of the highlights leading up to and after Christmas:

We made a gingerbread house (severely trying Marcus' patience with the frosting bag)

Emma sang and I played piano for our ward's Christmas sacrament meeting program.

Drew sat around looking cute.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with a nice dinner and a sibling gift exchange.

We took our first hallway photo on Christmas morning.

Santa came while everyone was sleeping.

Can you guess what he brought?

Some other favorite gifts.

Grandpa Bob and Corrie are here to visit, so we exchanged gifts with them.

Marcus turned 31. The kids had to help open the presents and blow out the candles. We also went out for a nice dinner at Logan's Roadhouse grill, and even got to meet up with Grandma Lark and Aunt Chelsea.

Now it's on to New Year's Eve (which I highly doubt I will be able to stay awake for) and the start of a new year. We hope your Christmas was merry and bright too!

Christmas Tastes Great

For Family Home Evening, we decorated Christmas cookies. I actually practiced some restraint and let the kids do most of the decorating, including dropping globs of icing in the center (Kyle) or gently scraping the icing until it filled in all the parts of the cookie (Emma). I managed not to freak out too much, except for when Emma put the icing knife in her mouth

I don't particularly enjoy doing this. I used to, as a kid. But now that I realize how much work it takes to get the dough roll-out perfect, cut and bake the cookies, wait for them to cool, mix the icing colors, and decorate them, somehow it's not as fun anymore! But they do taste great, and the kids have a great time.

Thanks, Mom, for all the years of doing this for us, so I can now carry on the tradition with my kids. Sending a virtual cookie your way:

Can You Guess What We Did Today?

That's right! It was Christmas Card Photo Day. We, I think wisely, opted for individual pictures of the kids this year instead of trying to get a decent shot of all three. Watch your mailboxes for the finished product....

Drew is also two months old today!

Already I almost can't remember when Drew wasn't a part of our family. Things are still hard for me-- I still don't feel like I have a handle on things, but there are more good days than bad. We're getting decent stretches of sleep at night, Drew is starting to have longer stretches of happy time when he's awake, and you have to admit, he is pretty darn cute.

(I know the block says one, and he is 2 months- it is just a favorite toy that made it into the photos- so don't be confused.)

How can you see a face like this and not feel happy yourself? When I count my blessings, one of the things on my list is definitely "happy baby smiles".