College Bound

Chelsea got her acceptance to BYU-Idaho last night! It was late and via email, and she still needs to fill out a form for her track assignment, but I know she was relieved to finally know without a doubt where she'll be heading!

 

Chelsea has decided to pursue teaching, either in the English/Humanities area or Spanish. For those of you who are familiar with her, or her relationship with her dad who taught Spanish for 11 years, that should be no surprise. I am so proud of her and look forward to witnessing the things she'll accomplish. Congratulations, Chelsea! We love you! BYU-I is lucky to get you!

Fresh.

My brother, Mike, was in college when my oldest was toddling around. One of the rights of an uncle is to teach his nieces and nephews new words. At the time, one of these words Mike used quite often was FRESH. As in, "Hey, did you see my new stereo?" "Fresh." Or, "Hey, we finally saw Jurassic Park." "Fresh." Or, "Watch me do a cartwheel." "Fresh." Mike was really good at cartwheels.

Okay, I made the cartwheel thing up. But you get the idea.

So one day he was visiting and he turned to my 3 year old and said, "Hey, tell your mom what you think of her."
Chelsea stuck her little thumb out and said, "Fresh."
She was pretty dang proud of herself. And so was her uncle. It was adorable. For a few years if Mike asked my kids, "Hey, what do you think of your Uncle Mike?" The kids would grin and stick out their thumbs and say, "Fresh." It was way better than teaching them swear words. *coughUncleDougcough*

So anyway, I thought of that as I revamped this blog. I tweaked the title. I had to. I realized the reason why I was leaving this blog behind in my priorities over the last year. Things have gotten hard. We've been roughed up some by the words and actions of others and have struggled to know how to proceed, let alone continue with the pressures and opportunities of everyday life. My glass half full was clouded and I wasn't sure how to translate that onto a positive thinking blog. When you believe in the addage, "What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?" and then are hit with a barrage of events proving people do otherwise, it's bitter. It's un-inspiring. It dampens the spirit of those who are only trying.

I'm still hopeful. I'm just more careful. I'm sure some of you are saying, "Duh, Krista." And I know. But there are all kinds of lessons to be learned, many different ways to lose innocence. I'm fortunate to be surrounded by friends and loved ones who stand by our family. I'm still trying to come out of these particular lessons stronger. I think a little differently now, but I'm still the one who is determined to say, "It will be okay. We'll figure it out."

Oh geez, I'm Frodo's Sam. LOTR-nerd alert.


So, bear with me as I figure things out with this blog. I still want it to be a place to share happy events, family news, and life from my perspective. I hope you'll still be able to read, enjoy, and stick your thumb out. New background, new outlook.

As Mike would say, "Fresh."

Christmas Pictures! Finally.

Well, so far my plans to devote more attention to this once thriving blog have fizzled, BUT I finally found the camera (okay, I finally went downstairs and retrieved the camera from the computer desk) and brought it up here to my office/laundry room, where I hang with my laptop. So, I'm going to post some pictures of the holidays. Okay, go.

This is lovely.

It's Christmas Eve!

Christmas Jammies.

Brodie making himself comfortable.

Magic.

Merry Christmas! Are you ready?

Where's Chelsea?

No sleeping in on Christmas morning. No.

Ready!

Nothing like a cute pair of boots to help you wake up.

We had a very fun, low-key holiday. I actually wasn't wishing for school to start back up when it was over!

2011. Fear Not.

So many bloggers are posting lists to say goodbye to 2010. I knew I wanted to do something to celebrate and mark the new year, and I found a list I really liked. I borrowed it from Michael Hyatt.

2011. Fear not.

1. If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be? Drama, romance, adventure, comedy, tragedy, or a combination?
   • A comedic drama. Too many weird, unbelievable things happened alongside the really cool things. We were struggling and then laughing. I'm grateful for the laughter. It was like M.A.S.H.
2. What were the two or three major themes that kept recurring? These can be single words or phrases.
   • Discovering potential. This seemed to touch each one of our family members this year.
   • Time, the spending and passing of it.
   • Overcoming lost innocence. That sounds a little mellow-dramatic, but where I used to think most people tried to see the best of everyone, I now know differently. I'm still going to try seeing the best. I'll just be more wary.
3. What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of? These can be in any area of your life—spiritual, relational, vocational, physical, etc. Be as specific as possible.
   • My second book was accepted by Covenant Communications. Woohoo!
   • I drove to Provo, UT for a writers conference and navigated around all by myself.
   • I submitted one more book and have another just about ready to go.
   • My kids all seem to be in a pretty good place. Praying we continue in that somewhat steady course.
4. What disappointments or regrets did you experience this past year?
   • I had to turn down attending the Storymakers writing conference AND presenting at the Whitney Awards Gala. But it was for a really great reason!
   • The release date on my first novel was pushed back, possibly to 2012. That wasn't very fun.
5. What was missing from last year as you look back? Look at each major area of your life. Don’t focus now on having to do anything about it.
   • More organization in my daily routine. Writing, homemaking, family, personal study.
   • More time spent with my youngest, teaching and developing her sense of self.
   • Date night with my husband. It's just not going to happen regularly while he is both school principal AND our ward bishop.
   • NEW writing! It was all revision and editing.
6. What were the major life-lessons you learned this past year? Boil this down to a few short, pithy statements.
   • Fear not. Isaiah 41:10, 13
   • "The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
   • Dare to dream. Then work.

As I sorted through my thoughts in answering these questions, I came to the conclusion that although 2010 was a trying year, it was also one of tremendous blessings and growth. It is done. I did my best. And honestly, I can't wait to see what this next year will bring. Welcome with open arms, 2011.

What did 2010 teach you?

House Redo After-shots and a Birthday!

First, I'll post a few pictures of the upstairs redo. We have new flooring in the living room, kitchen, dining room, and laundry. I painted the living room a creamy yellow and took the old kitchen color and lightened it up a notch. We really like the changes. The living room was always so dark. Now even when the sun goes down it's warm and sunny. Which is important during our LONG winters. The kitchen is also a bit brighter and we LOVE the new countertops. Okay, enough chit-chat.

Yay!

Now for the birthday boy. Or dog. Brodie will be one year old tomorrow *blows horn*, and we can't get over how much he's grown. So, for those of you who were around when we posted this:

February 14, 2010 Picking up Brodie

I can now post these:

I think both these boys had growth spurts this year!

We love having Brodie in our family. He is totally house-trained now, rings the bell to go outside, nudges us and brings us his stick to play fetch, sits, lies down, jumps up for treat, and will dance with the kids. He is soft and affectionate. We are working on barking at the door and jumping up to people. Not sure we'll master those, but I'm not giving up. His favorite place is still under my writing desk on his pillow. If I close my computer, he is already up and out the door, waiting for me to follow. He loves to travel and has been to the Oregon coast and Rock Springs, WY, where his friend Daisy takes good care of him (they totally roughhouse). He is crazy about snow. He pounces, runs and rolls in the white stuff. Happy Birthday, Brodie! You rock!

Hint Hint

It has been pointed out to me *coughAndycough* that my blog has been lacking. Shame on me! I have already made one New Year's Resolution: TO GIVE MY LITTLE BLOG THE ATTENTION IT LOVES. But I guess SOME PEOPLE can't wait until the New Year. And why should you? After all I have pictures to post and stories to tell and news to share.
Now, if I could just FIND THE TIME. And the usb port for the camera . . . it seems to have drifted off somewhere . . .  a-HA, found it.
Okay, first we have some pictures from the BYU/Wyoming game. It's just me and the girls. The guys had seats elsewhere. It was rainy and fun and worth the trip. Thanks for the tickets, Danny!

 Then, Halloween came and went, and we decided to cram all of our furniture into the dining room for a week.

And THEN, Chelsea had the nerve to turn 18. Oy. And we decided to cram all our furniture into the living room.

 

And because I was cooking and Brandon was entertaining our friends, the Johnstons, we have ABSOLUTELY NO pictures of Thanksgiving! Yay, us! (boo) But we had a great time. We really missed our family, though.
Next post: The "after" photos of our upstairs redo, and Brodie the big black dog!

Kitchen Improvements

Hey, look! It's a new post! Please don't fall over! Sit! Have some water!

Actually, we're having some home improvements done and I wanted to post the pictures. The last 2 days were spent installing new kitchen countertops and a new sink and faucet. There are still a few drippy issues with the pipes and the hot water dispenser isn't working, but we have to wait until Monday. But cosmetically, the kitchen counter re-do is finished! I dug up some "before" pictures, because that's always fun. The floors are next. I've been promised they will be done within in the next 3 weeks! Hooray! More before and after pictures to come!
First, here are some pics before we moved in four years ago (note: I painted the kitchen walls before doing anything else when we moved in. There were stenciled bears and moose. Cute, but not really my style.):

Here is a gorgeous picture of my sis and her hubs when they visited two years ago. See the flaking paint above the sink? We couldn't keep caulk down there. Ugh.

I really love these changes:

I can't wait until the new floors are in! That tiny tile vinyl is OUTTA HERE! And we're getting new stools, too. *happy dance*

Final Days of Summer

The last week before school starts is always a little... well...