FOR THOSE WHO INQUIRED...

This is a sample of the ornanments that I made. I used three different scrapbook papers, but this one turned out to be my favorite.

ENJOY!

Our first Christmas!

It's so hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone. Yesterday was so nice- we just woke up whenever we wanted, had our quiet little Christmas morning, and then joined the Heywood family for the rest of the day. Richard and I read Luke 2 before we opened any gifts, just to help us keep in mind what we are actually celebrating. It was a nice little tradition to start- we'll see if we can keep that up when we have kids who are can't wait to start opening their gifts!

Here's what we found Christmas morning:

The big box on the right is a memory

foam mattress topper that Richard got us.

We slept on it last night... LOVE IT! It is so

comfy! Highly recommended!

Our stockings

The happy couple!

Richard's basketball! He's wanted one for a while!

AND ANNOUNCING......

We're having a baby! YAY!!!!!!! We are soooo excited! Right now it's about the size of a bean (that's what we call it, our little bean), but we are so excited for it to grow and finally come out to meet us sometime in July. The due date is July 31. So far, I have been feeling wonderful, not sick at all, so I'm hoping I can keep it up! What a blessing our new little addition will be for our family!

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

Can you believe this Arizona weather? It waits two extra months to cool down, and then we freeze! At least, I freeze! I love the rain, but I prefer it in the summer when it's warm rain. Cold and wet, anyone? No thank you! Anyway, I am grateful for the moisture. We definitely need it.

Some friends of ours (thanks Mark and Kristen!) gave us a gorgeous tree that we finally got time to decorate. We didn't have much to put on it, so I decided to make some ornaments. They turned out very cute, and we bought a package of glass balls and some ribbon. I think it turned out great. Here is an up-close view.

I love this time of year! All the lights and colors are so pretty, and I'm just in this crafty mood. It's so easy to just be busy at this time of year, but I love when things finally calm down and I can just look at the tree and think about the true meaning of Christmas.

This is what my kitchen table has looked like all month. Finally I finished some projects, so the ModPodge can be put away! Merry Christmas everybody!

Thanksgiving in Utah

Whoa! Have I been slacking or what? Every time I look at my blog to get to everyone else's blogs, I feel like such a slacker. So, let's catch up. For Thanksgiving, Richard and I went up to my sister Valora's house in Kaysville, UT. Tyler (little bro) also came up from BYU, and we had a great Thanksgiving meal, for which I prepared the gravy. Yes, I was very proud of myself. We had a great 4 or 5 days there, and were able to stay for the blessing of Marybelle Olson, my sister Marilla's new baby. Marilla and Valora live right around the corner from each other, but Marilla's in-laws were in town, so that's why we didn't do Thanksgiving with them. Anyway, it was so great to see them and also my brothers Tyler and Justin. I have actually seen them quite a few times this year, because of the wedding and then the funeral, but it's always so fun to hang out with the family. I wish we lived closer together. I also wish I had taken pictures while up there. I brought my camera, but I don't think it even made it out of the car. Sad, but true. My brothers-in-law were looking forward to playing basketball with Richard, (he talks big) and they went on Thanksgiving morning. It turns out my husband isn't all talk! Go team Heywood!