Merry Christmas!!!

Here is our Christmas card for 2011, yes it is digital, but we are very sincere when we say that we wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

As you can see, we have had quite the eventful year! 

From buying a house, to taking fabulously fun trips, and adding a couple new additions to our family, we have managed to make 2011 a year to remember. 

May your holidays be merry and bright! 

And just in case you are in need of some Christmas Cheer:

Nesting

One thing that has kept me away from blogging, besides all the fun events we have had going on, is the nesting craze that has been going on in my house as of late. I guess the realization that in just a few months there will be a baby here, and projects will be a little trickier to complete has spurred me into action. 

First completed project:

Kitchen Chair Redo

BEFORE

AFTER

Some of you may remember I got these quite a few months ago..... Like end of June. I finally finished them at the beginning of November and I LOVE them. They are so cheerful! Now I just need to keep Nemo's sharp claws away!

My next completed project: REORGANIZE THE ENTIRE HOUSE

But really. I went through almost every drawer and room and set things right. Junk drawers are no more...well they don't look junky at least. We finally got a legit desk (we have been using our card table) from Walmart in our office/gym/whatever room. I set up a filing system for our important papers. Cleaned out the closets. And got one room ready to start baby decorating. Brad even went out with his Dad over Thanksgiving Break and got some shelving in our garage. I don't think I have ever felt so organized in my life! And it is fabulous to know right where every item is.... a luxury I will enjoy fully before little hands and feet start moving things around :)

Final completed project is for this little guy: 

PROJECT KITTY TOWER

We bought him a dinky little cat scratch post at HEB for $15 when we first got him. It was great while he was little, but over the last few months it became clear that it was not going to last much longer. So instead of spending lots and lots of $$$$ I decided to look online for DIY cat perches/posts and found this:

http://amby.com/cat_site/cattree.html

So I made some adjustments and Brad and I went out and got some materials and came up with this:

Not too shabby right? I refused to get some huge ugly carpet tower, so instead we used sisal rope and cute upholstery fabric. Best part is, we probably saved $60+ by making this ourselves, it isn't a TOTAL eyesore like most cat towers, AND Nemo loves it (and not our couches/Christmas tree/bed/etc).

So that is all the completed projects, but in the next couple weeks I am hoping to finish painting the baby room AND knitting some fun Christmas stockings. I will keep you posted with pics when they are completed.

A San Antonio Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year Brad and I stayed put and the Morgans came to visit us for a warm San Antonio Thanksgiving. Brad's parents and little sister Kim arrived the Saturday before Thanksgiving - leaving us an entire week to have some fun!

We played lots of games, did some puzzles building, saw some good movies, visited Gruene and New Braunfels, hit up the Riverwalk and the Alamo, and of course, had a delicious Thanksgiving FEAST.

This was my first time making any part of the Thanksgiving Feast, and with the help of my lovely mother-in-law it was a delicious success!

Thanks for the fun week family! Can't wait to see you again!

Disneyland 2011

Halloween weekend Brad and I were lucky enough to join my family in DISNEYLAND. For anyone who doesn't know - I LOVE Disneyland. It is one of my favorite places EVER, and I got to go with my favorite people EVER. Win Win. The only thing that could have made the weekend better was if Taylor and Stasi could have made it, but sometimes things like law school keep you from going to Disneyland. :(

Just to show you how happy a place Disneyland can be here are a bazillion pictures from the trip:

Baby's first trip to Disneyland!! I am about 26 weeks pregnant
 in this picture.

The Kiddos

Brad's favorite part of the trip: Getting pictures with princesses!

Bring on the RIDES!

In case you can't tell, they both got soaked by
Grizzly Rapids

TIP: Don't ride teacups with Adam if you don't want to
get sick.

So Excited for Woody's Roundup!

GAME FACE

And my favorite picture of the trip:

Just looking at these pictures make me all giddy again! If you still aren't convinced that Disneyland is one of the happiest places ever.... then you need to reconnect with your inner child.... and go to Disneyland.... and take me with you.

Welcome Home Elder!

Hello blogging world! It's been a while. I apologize for not keeping you up to date on our eventful lives, and the last few months have been pretty eventful. So here we go!

The first event that happened in October was the return of Elder Zachary Morris. I was lucky enough to be able to fly home for the special event (thanks Mom and Dad!) 

Some of you may be wondering who those 4 studly men are standing with me. Why those are my dear brothers (and my darling niece and nephew) together again for the first time in over 2 years! It was so fun to see my family again, and to see how much Zach has matured over the last couple of years. It was clear to tell that he came to understand what it means to lose himself in the service of others. 

For anyone who may not know, Zach spent the last two years serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To learn more about missionaries and what they do go here.

Some other highlights of the weekend:

Seeing Adam, Whit and kids, I honestly had not seen them for about a year, and let me just say they are awesome, and my niece and nephew are pretty darn adorable.

Jake-a-mus had his eagle scout court of honor  - go Jake! AND the cake my mom made for the event getting stolen. Out of the chapel. Who steals someone's cake out of a church building? It made for a little freak-out at the time, but we all laugh about it now.

Singing with my lovely cousin Sara in sacrament meeting. She has a beautiful voice and it was fun to be able to sing with her for our family.

Life is Good

So I wrote this at the beginning of October, and for some reason never posted it. It is a different post then I normally write, but one I think is worth posting.

I am cuddled up on my couch reading my favorite magazine while outside there is a nice little rainstorm watering our lawn. I look up from my magazine to watch my kitten play with a piece of wadded up tape and across the room my husband is typing away on his laptop. It's at this moment that I realize life is good. Real good. I feel almost overwhelmed by how blessed I am. I live in a nice home, have a wonderful husband, a cute kitten, a healthy baby on the way, and the list could going on and on.

It's not like I don't have my struggles, because I do. I was rear-ended last week in a car that never seems to work properly, after hours of cleaning my house still looks messy, and the list could go on and on. As I think back to everything that has happened since last October,  I realize that it has been the most challenging year of my life. But life isn't meant to be perfect. It's the imperfections and the trials that cause us to grow and become stronger people. The imperfections help us to appreciate the good things in life. 

Even after looking back at the trials and struggles of the last year I can't help but think that life is good. Real good. I am grateful for the good times and the bad, because both play a big role in making my life as good as it is today.