What's your new years Resolution?

Do YOU make a resolutions list?

I have been thinking a lot about that as this year ends and a new one starts, and I think I should make a list this year, to improve my self, my family and my situation. But a long with that I am more curious if anyone else does this, or has intentions of doing it, but hasn't yet?

So just for fun, (and you know it will be) post one or two or a few of your new years resolutions that you have for the upcoming year....

Here are a few of mine to get you going...

1. Find a good exercise routine
2. Find time to meditate each day
3. Finish our basement and backyard
4. Positive thinking about self and others

Update: Christmas and other stuff

We had a good christmas, we didn't take any pictures that day, not a single one! I just didn't think about it really. I was just enjoying the holiday with all our family. But it was a good day, busy but good...

We got up around 9am and opened presents on christmas morning. After presents we had a yummy breakfast, and then headed over to Kory's parents house. We were the first ones there, we visited with them for a while, and then left to go to my parents house for christmas with them.
This year was special because my mom made everyone in our family something homemade for christmas.
All of the grand daughters got Care bears ( inspired by kory's sister kelli) and younger grandsons got dinosoars (which they thought were the COOLEST thing ever). And then she made each of her kids a Sudoku quilt! And if you know my mom, that just fits her perfectly, because she loves Sudoku.
The older grandsons got blankets that you can use as a blanket or pillow. They were cute, she did a good job on them and despite ALL the boys growth spurts and facial hair this year, they still thought they were cool.

She did such a good job on all the gifts! I wish I would have taken pictures...oh well!

What we are up to now:

Kory and I both worked really hard on our basement yesterday cleaning up all the concrete demolition from when Kory and his dad moved our drain a month ago. It took our entire Saturday, but we got it all cleaned up and organized, now we can start ripping out the other half of our basement. YEAH! Just in time for 2009. Any volunteers?

We are also Dog sitting for our friends the Flygares while they are in Louisiana. Their dog is so much different then our little tiny pup. He seems ginormous to me, and our little Zoe just about has a heart attack if he comes up to her to try to smell her. I don't blame her though, he could fit her whole body in his mouth. But they are both getting used to each other, and learning from each other. It has been fun to have this goofy, slobbery, frizby throwing pup around this week. We have been puppy sitting for 6 days now, and have 2 more days to go. He sure does miss Jess and Sky though, as do we.

On that note, I have the flu today. I got it last night right before we went to bed. I was up all night by the toilet until about 5 am. I am feeling a little better today, but I have the flu leg cramps, and I am feeling super dehydrated, and could really go for some apple juice, but we don't have any, and Kory is at church.

Today is the 1 year anniversary of us closing on our house! We have made so many good friends in this neighborhood, and have really enjoyed living here. It has been a lot of work, and we still have a lot of our stuff in boxes, but we really do love our little green house. We are hoping that next year we will be able to finish the basement, and the yard, by the summer... here's to 2009!

Sorry this post was just a bunch of writing and no pictures, and all over the place really, but it's my blog and I can do whatever I want.

The polar express

One of my many many brother in-laws and all of his children do this awesome polar express train ride at their houses each year. It is really fun and they do an awesome job with making sure that the true meaning of Christmas is emphasized. This year I took my family with me on the ride because Kory had to go on a business trip, and many of the Anderson family members didn't go. (for a variety of different reasons) So we thought it would be a good year to let my nieces and nephews come to it with us. We ended up sharing a train with Kory's parents and his sister Shauna and her kids, and I was so glad because we had so many kids on the train, which made it that much more enjoyable and all the kids had the TIME of their lives! So thanks Mike and all his family for really going all out each Christmas and sacrificing so much of your time and resources to spread Christmas cheer to those around you. We sure are lucky to have you in our family!

Waiting to ride the train

Loading the train
the lightsHinkley and SantaMaddyAislynnNicolas (he was a good sport, but what he really wanted was to join lynus who was standing on a bench watching the toy train set go around and around)
MaggieLynus (couldn't keep his eyes off the train even for a minute)Jacob (he wanted the train)
Andy Bob and maida (I was so sad it turned out blurry)

It all came and went so quickly

I have contemplated this blog entry for many weeks now. And I have gone back and forth about it, thinking to myself that this experience is not something you share on your blog. But I have changed my mind and feel this is something I need to share. By writing this, I am not asking for sympathy by any means. Because that is not why I have decided to share this. A part of me is sharing this because the news of this experience just didn't spread like we had hoped it would, and because of that I have had to tell a lot of people in person which for those who know me know it always ends up in tears or rather starts in tears, and I just can't do it anymore. It is just too hard. So please be respectful of what I have written, and know that this is a part of the healing process for me.

On November 24, 2008 at 6 and a half weeks our tiny baby went to heaven, or maybe it went to heaven days before that, or maybe it never came from heaven? Maybe it was just science at this point. I will probably never know in this life.

Did you know how much you were loved little one? Did you know how much you were wanted, dear sweet baby? We will never know, and maybe one day when I go to heaven, I will get to say, thank you, baby for making your journey so short because it taught me so much in my lifetime. What that is, I probably wont know until that day comes. Until then, I will wait

Having a miscarriage is something I assume all women/couples fear both pregnant or not. But especially once you begin the journey of having that special spirit growing miraculously inside of you. Each day you pray for it to thrive and get strong, you take your multivitamin religiously, watch what you eat, and you plan for the future: What do you think he will look like if he's a boy? Do you think it will have your eyes? My nose? What do you think about this name, I want to paint his room this way? Can you believe it is this big already? All these questions and thoughts go through your head and despite the fact that your body is sick and tired, your mind is enlightened and your life finally gains purpose.

Then it is all taken from you in flash, and you find yourself still tired and hurting but alone. Sure you have your friends and family telling you that the sun will come up tomorrow, but really will it? This will only make you that much better of a mom when you DO have a baby, they say, but will it really? They all mean well, and want you to feel loved, but what you really want is for your baby to stay where it is at. You want it to grow strong, healthy and happy, and in nine months you want to hold that precious wrinkly pink ball of joy and look into its eyes and say I love you, dear sweet baby. Thank you for picking me as your mother.

And now I am back to the beginning. A part of me wants to start trying again right away, but the other part of me, wants to close that door forever and give up and say I can’t do it again, I can’t hurt like this ever again. But if one thing life has taught me over my mere 26 years is that through our trials we grow stronger, and when we feel like we can’t go on, that tomorrow will not bring us any joy, we have to remember that this too shall pass. That life is not going to always be how we "planned" or expected, that sometimes we will have to face hard things, things that others do not. But if we stay close to our Savior, he will make us whole again. It is like the last verse of the hymn "I believe in Christ"

"I believe in Christ, he stands supreme! From him I'll gain my fondest dream;
and while I strive through grief and pain, his voice is heard, "Ye shall obtain"
I believe in Christ, so come what may, with him I'll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again, to rule among the sons of men.

I have felt my saviors love for me through all this. I know that he has, and will continue to be by my side through this, and that when the time is right for us, he will say to me "Ye shall obtain".

For now Kory and I are doing OK, I say that because we are, we have a roof over our head, food on our table and many people who love us. We have many things to be thankful for, and know that in time we will find peace again. We are looking forward to the new year, and all the new beginnings it will bring our family. We appreciate every ones prayers and thoughts and kind words of advice that have been offered to us at this time, we wouldn't have been able to get through this with out them.

The Sleepy Fox givaway

My very creative friend Darcie, is having a giveaway, she is giving away on her blog sleepy fox blog a FREE ALLIGATOR. She also has some other pretty stinking cute stuff as well. But if you go to her blog and post a comment she will enter you into her drawing to win her super cute alligator friend...
Isn't he so adorable? So if you are feeling lucky or feeling like this little guy could bring some holiday cheer to someone you know, go enter her drawing! Or better yet go buy one of her other amazing items she has on her blog. Best of luck!

Oh Christmas Tree...Oh Christmas Tree!

So, its been awhile yes? We have been busy and have probably had one of the hardest weeks of our lives the last couple of weeks, but I am not going to post about that, because this week we are moving on and getting on with our lives.

We usually put up our Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving, but because of some events surrounding that holiday, we weren't able to. Instead, I dragged it out of the construction debris in our basement, on Tuesday, then Kory and I put it together that night, (Seriously it only took us 10 minutes) Then finally on Thursday I was able to put most if not all the decorations up on it. (I still have to put up our ornament that represents this year, but I have to make it first :)

In our last apartment I felt like I had LOTS of decorations, but now that we are in our house and the decorations are spread out throughout the house instead of in just the one room we had before, it seems like very little Christmas Cheer at all. But I am not really feeling up to, nor do I want to spend the money on it this year either. Not that i am being bah humbug or anything about it I just didn't realize it, and now Christmas is right around the corner! So we will be more festive next year. I just feel like being simple this year. :)

Anyway here is a picture of our BIG Christmas tree. On a side note, we picked this baby up at home depot in January of this year and scored it for 25 bucks! It was their last display model, and so it didn't have a box, and it did take me a while to figure out how to take it down, but other that that, it was TOTALLY worth it.

Last years Tree, we put it on a end table to make it bigger :)

This years tree

If you are wondering about the big clock in the background, that was CUSTOM made for Kory by Jerome Miles, He did a really good job and it is very awesome.