Lola and I are on a little vacation in Oregon, hanging out with two of the must adorable pups and two sweet kitties. Lola did really well on the flight, thank goodness, though she did fuss a little. The people around us were very compassionate.
The weather has been a welcome change from the Phoenix heat. It's nice to have some moisture and cool temps!
I get to take the pups on adventures, and Lola and I welcome the outdoorsiness.
Patrick is still in Utah, working hard to get the shop ready to move to Phoenix. We can't wait to be together as a family again!
I tried SOOOOO hard to get a cute picture of Lola after church on her first day going to nursery. Every single picture had some sort of a blur in it...the little stinker was so excited and happy and just kept running around the kitchen like a little chicken. It was pretty cute. I resorted to a video, which turned out quite adorable.
And here she is the next morning. If there is anything around that can be climbed, she's on it. Subsequently, she has several bumps and red spots on her head.
This stage of development has been a lot of fun to witness. I want to start practicing homeschooling by having an educational activity planned every day. Nothing big, just something to challenge her mind and encourage her creativity. I would also like to find some sort of a play-thing for the backyard that would provide a good climbing set-up. Lola naps and sleeps so well when she can run around like crazy, so anything to facilitate that would be great!
Yesterday we spent the evening with my brothers and their families. My nephews and nieces adore Lola, and they keep her very active. She slept like a champ last night!
We love this sweet girl. I'm trying to intentionally slow down to really cherish this time in her life. :)
We had a great Christmas! It was fun to spend Christmas Eve in Prescott Valley with almost all of the family. We honored our family tradition and feasted on homemade gyoza, had a book exchange among the little cousins, the family gift exchange, and a talent show. My grandpa Mecham was there, and my mom's sister, Barbara, joined us as well. The only one missing from the family was Philip, which was a bummer. It was a fun day with the family.
Our little girl arrived on August 3rd after 30 hours of labor...what an entrance! She weighed 7 lb 6.5 oz and was 20 inches long. At her 2 month checkup she weighed 10 lb 11 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. She's growing well and so quickly! She has been a delightful baby, and we feel so blessed and privileged to be her parents.
Just so you're aware, we are still fully intact and doing well.
Patrick started his own business in the middle of July. He is focusing mainly on British motorcycle repair and custom work. He, of course, is also doing anything needed on any kinds of motorcycles, as well as vehicle repair. He has remained busy from the very start! I love how happy Patrick is as his own boss. :) My friends really enjoy having a good connection to get their vehicles in working order, too.
In August, I was promoted to Assistant Manager at Thaifoon. The last few months have FLOWN by!!! It has been very rewarding and full of opportunities for growth. I'm learning a lot and having fun doing it.
We signed another 12-month lease at our apartment in September, so we'll be here for awhile.
The kitties are also doing well. We haven't had any kitties climbing in swamp coolers, sneaking out in the rain, etc., so it's been quiet for the most part. They are getting along better and better, and keeping us entertained with their playing. Lunch is infatuated with dumping water out of their bowl. It doesn't matter what kind of container we use, she insists that the kitchen floor be wet. Mopping it up with her fur didn't do anything... She's adorable, though, so I forgive her.
In Febraury, my parents, my sis, and her boyfriend came to visit us for a weekend. It was nice to have family visit.
My Mom and Dad hanging out on our couch just after arriving.
Par for the Mecham Course, we ate a lot. We had Indian food one night, my dad filled my fridge with groceries, we snacked, I introduced my mom and sis to Costa Vida, we all ate at Thaifoon, etc. Soooo much food.
On Friday and Saturday that weekend, we girls went up to Ogden to Time Out For Women. Patrick's mom was able to attend the event as well, and we stayed the night at her house. It always amazes me how hard it is to be away from Patrick overnight. Even when it's just one little night. What can I say? I love snuggling with him!
Time Out For Women was amazing. I know I got a lot out of it, and I hope everyone else did to.
My dad and Kosette's boyfriend, Matt, went skiing on Friday and toured around Salt Lake City on Saturday. Patrick unfortunately had to work during both days.
On Sunday, Patrick and I spent some time with my parents, and we went to the library so my dad could take some architectural photographs. I love watching my dad look at awesome architecture. It's when I see the passion for what he does for a living, rather than the day-to-day lethargy that we all kind of develop towards our careers. My dad is a great architect.
The view from the top of the Salt Lake City Public Library.
I've lived in Utah for almost 8 years, and I finally got a library card. :)
My parents at the top of the library. It was a bright and windy day!
These little books are hung in the shape of a head in the library. It made me think of the tv show, Reading Rainbow that I watched allllll the time as a kid. And then the song was stuck in my head for the remainder of the day.
There you go...now it can be stuck in your head all day. :)
Kosette and Matt (sitting in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G...)
The last night we were together, my sis and her boyfriend made a vegetarian feast for us. I think they thought we were feeding 10 more people. I had leftovers for a week! It was a great meal, though. I really enjoyed sitting around the dinner table and just enjoying conversation and time together as a family.
Thanks, Mom, Dad, Kosette, and Matt for visiting and staying with us. I'm so grateful for a wonderful family!!!
Patrick and I just returned from a much needed vacation to Phoenix, where most of my family lives. It was almost 5 days of beautiful sunny weather and fun times spent with family (and quality do-nothing time).
We flew in on Thursday and did a whole bunch of nothing. We watched movies and spent the day with my mom, Philip, and my dad when he got home from work.
On Friday, we went shopping with my mom and Philip and got the ingredients for the amazing feast that Patrick and I prepared with the help of the fam. We made shrimp summer rolls as an appetizer, and Patrick made a pork dumpling soup that was absolutely delicious. We ate entirely too much that night! :)
Saturday, we went to the open house for the new water treatment plant where Jeremiah is the Superintendent. It's a really nice facility. We went with my dad and my grandparents, Grandpa Jones and Verla. It's so strange to see my grandpa aging. He's 90 years old now, but when I think of Grandpa Jones, I think of an ornery old fart who is a gruff teddy bear, full of life. In my mind, my grandpas will always be around, since they always have been. I've had 7 grandmas, so it really is strange to see my grandpas getting oooolllldddd.
After the open house, we went on a double-date with my brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Ashlee. We went bowling and ate pizza. I was bowling left-handed quite a bit to be nice to my right arm (old injury from July), and still bowled mostly over 100. Not too shabby! Patrick and Jonathan were the star bowlers of the night, and Ashlee consistently kicked my butt, too.
That night, we hung out with Jeremiah and his kids, then stayed up way too late talking with Jeremiah and Christy. They were sweet enough to stay up past their normal bedtime to hang out with us. Unfortunately, their daughter got sick that night, so they didn't get much sleep.
Sunday was more family time. Jonathan's family came over to my parents' house for dinner, and it is always fun to spend time with them. Grandpa Mecham came over, too. I'm glad we got to see him on this trip. My mom's friend, Susan, came over for dinner, too, and she let Patrick take her Harley for a ride. I loved the grin on his face when he came back in the house. I could tell he needed and appreciated that little bit of therapy.
Today, we spent the morning hanging out at my parents' house. We spent some good time sitting on the porch swing soaking in the sun. It felt so amazing to have some warmth, knowing we'd be coming back to nasty freezing temperatures in a matter of hours. We also had sushi for lunch. My dad met us at the restaurant, and we ate again, entirely too much. It was so good!
My friend, Jenny, picked us up and took us to the airport. I try to visit her when we go down to Phoenix, so even though it was a short visit, it was entertaining and quite nice. That girl can talk!
And it was 28˚ when we arrived in Salt Lake City. Yuck.
We're contemplating moving down to Phoenix. Year round motorcycle and softball weather is very appealing.
Thanks for the great visit, my wonderful family!!! I love you all, and I love seeing how much your kids have grown.
Today is our 2 year anniversary. In some ways, it has gone so incredibly fast! In other ways, it seems like it's been 5 years. :) We spent the day working at our jobs, doing side jobs, working on Mary Kay, making banana bread, doing laundry, and the night is still young. It hasn't been the most romantic day, yet it has been full of love and gratitude. How I love hearing my hubby tell me how much he loves me and that I make his heart beat kind of funny!
Here is our list of the top 10 things we've experienced, learned, etc. in the past 2 years of marriage:
1. "They" were right...LOVE DOES CONQUER ALL!!! 2. When God is involved, life is so much easier, and love is so much better. 3. Having 3 kitties really is like having 2 kids. Sometimes 1...sometimes 4. Depends on the day. 4. Sometimes the littlest things make the biggest difference. 5. Patrick makes the BEST biscuits and gravy. Ever. 6. If you need something fixed, something heavy picked up, or a wise-crack, just call Patrick. 7. Alison can communicate with ducks via fart. And she gets Patrick. Both very rare skills. 8. We love Redbox. 9. Dreams keep you moving. We both have big dreams, and truly support each other in reaching those dreams. 10. Two years is just the beginning. We're looking forward to the rest of our lives and eternity together.
We want to thank our family and friends for their support over the last almost 3 years of knowing each other. Through thick and thin, your support has helped us to grow, and for that we are grateful!
We've had some great in-depth conversations about Christmas in our home lately.
Patrick has fond memories of Christmas as a young child, when the simplest things captured his imagination.
I have fond memories of delivering boxes of little presents, a turkey, other fun food items including baked goods my mom helped us make, leaving them on the doorstep of a family that needed a little extra something, knocking on their door on Christmas Eve, and running away before we could be discovered.
Christmas has its own unique memories and feelings for every individual, and quite often, as adults, the commercial gift-giving aspect of Christmas can taint what this holiday is all about. It begins with all of the stores setting up their Christmas displays in the middle of November, if not earlier, and continues on through Christmas Day with the frustrating traffic and business at stores, the impatience of other shoppers, the list of presents to give that cost more than the allotted budget, thousands of commercials telling us to buy-buy-buy, etc. Christmas can easily become a huge list of wants presented to Santa accompanied by the expectations of society, the media, our social network, and our family. The simple need of feeling and expressing pure love to everyone we encounter is often overlooked, or overshadowed by the superficial flurry.
As a young couple planning on starting a family very soon, we have discussed what we would like Christmas to be all about in our home. Our hope is to make sure that the Spirit of Christ is greater than the Spirit of Christmas. Simplicity and Service will be our focus.
I've heard some great ideas over the last month from other families and my own in how to refocus Christmas.
My parents have expressed that they would like their children and grandchildren to come up with some act of service and love to do for someone this season and to write them a letter expressing what we did and how we feel about the experience. I love this idea, although it can be a challenge to choose what we want to do. :)
An older couple from church shared that this year they aren't giving gifts to their children or grandchildren, and aren't accepting gifts from them either. As a family, they are going to pick names from and Angel Tree, find gifts for those individuals who are in need, and give as a family to someone else.
A guy who eats at the restaurant where I work has 2 little boys, and he and his wife have taught their boys that Santa isn't a person; Santa is the Spirit of Giving. So, the boys can make a list of 3 things that they want, and they broke it down into categories that I can't remember. I think it was something along the lines of a necessity, something bigger that they really want, and something educational. They also make sure they participate in volunteering at a homeless shelter, donating food to the food banks, and anything else like that. He did say that in theory it sounds simple and easy, but in practice, it can be a challenge. Especially when the grandparents want to spoil the kids rotten. :)
Patrick and I talked about limiting the number of gifts that our kids can ask for as well. I think of the first Harry Potter movie where on Dudley's birthday, he gets upset that he has one less gift than the huge number of gifts he received the previous birthday, so his parents tell him they'll get him 2 more gifts that day. Frivolity. At its worst. And I'm pretty sure we all laughed and thought, "what a spoiled little shit!" Yet, for just about everyone, it's easy to have that same attitude without even realizing it. You can say, "Nuh-uhhh!" but chances are, you probably enable that attitude in someone else, too. :)
My ex-husband was alllll about getting a lot of gifts. I'd end up buying a lot of little gifts for him so he would feel good about unwrapping a lot of presents. Why did I enable that attitude??
When I was a kid, I remember asking Santa for a pink bike with a white basket and ribbons hanging off the handle bars. I was actually pissed that the bike I did get was purple, and I can't even remember if it had a basket or ribbons. So silly.
I heard a story years ago about a family that would open their presents Christmas morning, and each of the children would choose one of their brand new presents to give to a family in need. They would wrap them back up and deliver a box full of presents to a family with kids that wouldn't otherwise get much. I love that idea!
So, this year, we may or may not get a tree, and we probably won't exchange presents as a couple. We'll focus on giving to others, especially giving our love, time, service, and anything else that we can give.
26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.
What a beautiful reminder. :)
I am so grateful for the comfortable life that Patrick and I are able to live. We have most of our needs met, and we try to be aware of our many blessings and that the origin of our blessings is unquestionably our Heavenly Father. Without Him, we would have nothing; be nothing. Fortunately, He is a loving god, and everything about us is evidence of that.
I hope you all have a special Christmas and that you feel the Spirit of Christ, not just this month, but hopefully daily. Life is beautiful, and there's plenty of wonder and goodness to go all around!
I had wonderful conversations with family members today, and got to spend some time with Patrick's mom on Saturday. I love times in life when I can bond with family and share growing experiences with them. What a blessing our family is to us!
I just wanted to share my sister-in-law with the other readers of this blog. She's freaking amazing in so many ways. She just posted some great thoughts on her family blog, Outnumbered 4 to 2. You should check them out. :)
Somehow, I lucked out and I have the greatest siblings ever. Jeremiah and Jonathan have married remarkable women who are the greatest moms ever. They both have the most adorable families ever.
My parents did a great job raising us. I know they're not always happy with our choices, but I hope they go to sleep at night knowing that they taught us well. As one of my favorite authors, Kahlil Gibran said in his book, The Prophet:
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children. And he said: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of to- morrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your chil- dren as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
It has been far too long since I last posted something on here...
Patrick's dad, Ken, and his wife, Paula, came into town for Patrick's sister, Lissy, and her husband, Dan's going away festivities. Wow, that was one CONFUSING sentence! Lissy and Dan went to Mexico for the Peace Corps. Ken and Paula make it out to Utah once or twice a year, so they came out for the party. They stayed with us for over a week while Patrick did some work on their RV. It was absolutely wonderful to spend that much time with them! I am so blessed to have amazing in-laws!! So, needless to say, I didn't do ANY blogging during that time. I pretty much sat around, ate the bountious amounts of food that Ken cooked for us, and listened to Paula do the dishes. This was a daily routine. And I loved it. :) I miss them already.
So, I guess we're back to normal life. I've been fighting a cold. Patrick is selling his little beater (anyone want an old Corolla that runs well???) and getting an old Jeep Grand Cherokee that we can use to go 4-wheeling and camping. Yeah! The weather is finally warming up a bit, and I can't wait to start planting flowers, tomatoes, and anything else that suits my fancy. Patrick can't wait to ride his motorcycle without getting all decked out in his leather.
We're both caught up on LOST. That's pretty cool, because now we can watch it together and talk about it without blowing anything cool that happened. :) Silly, I know, but it's still an update.
We had a lovely Christmas Day. Patrick brought me with him to the shop where he works so he could finish making his mom's present. He hand-made a trough bird feeder that will be mounted under her kitchen window so she can watch the birds come eat. Ever little fold, bend, twist, etc. was done by Patrick. He's so talented! It was fun to watch him weld and grind his creation.
...something about my man with a welding mask, working on hot metal....mmmm.....
This is the finished product. Jana might paint it, and she might leave it as raw metal. Either way, there are some cool details. And it only took Patrick a handful of hours to make.
Jana LOVES it. :)
This is Patrick's Grandma Claire, his mom, Jana, and his step-dad, Jerry.
Patrick's sister, Lissy and her husband, Dan. Very cute picture.
This is what we had to drive home in. It was a long and not-so-fun ride home from Brigham City.
After we got home, we decided we should shovel the walks since it was still snowing pretty hard. It's easier to shovel less snow twice than a huge amount once. So, I grabbed our neighbor's shovel, Patrick grabbed ours, and we went to town. I shoveled the neighbor's walk and by their car to be nice, and in front of another neighbor's house. This picture was taken after we were "done."
As you can see, it kept snowing, and there was already a new layer of snow when we walked into the house. When we got up the next morning, you couldn't even tell that we had shoveled anywhere. Our neighbor, Shay was out shoveling the sidewalk, so Patrick got out there and shoveled our walkway again. (And he got all the snow off of my car...what a sweetheart!)
It snowed about 12 inches on Christmas day, on top of a previous 2 weeks of snowing every day. I was gone for most of the two weeks, thank goodness. My body was not meant to live in the snow. By far, this was the whitest Christmas I've ever experienced.
I got back from Denver on Sunday, and Patrick picked me up from the airport. He greeted me with a rose and a CD of love songs by the Rat Pack. He can be such a romantic sweetheart. When we got home, Patrick ran downstairs and started up our new dryer...a Christmas surprise for me. Yeah!!! I am so excited to have a dryer again!
The 22nd was our 1 year Anniversary. We went to a little dinner at Noodles & Co., saw RocknRolla, then came home to enjoy the evening together. It was nice to spend an evening focused on each other and our relationship.
Last night, the 23rd, I finished Christmas shopping, and when I got home, I was super antsy to give Patrick his presents. He had mentioned that he had one more gift for me, besides the dryer. So, I set up his presents on the dining room table, near the little blue Christmas tree I bought to take with me to Denver. He came into the room, and we exchanged gifts.
I got him a Simpsons 2009 calendar, the book 101 Nights of Romance (we need a little spice), a frame for a sweet picture he bought at Speed Week, a jar of pickled herring from Ikea, jam, juices, and soda from Ikea, and I have another gift of the vintage and vehicular nature that isn't quite finished. Also on the list to do as soon as possible is heated gloves so his hands don't freeze while he's riding his Triumph throughout the winter.
Patrick pulled out a 4GB memory card and handed it to me. Funny...my camera is dead... Then he pulled out a box that has a new camera!!!!!!!!! It's a really nice camera. Really, really, really nice. I am so excited to start taking pictures again. Sunday night we watched a movie, and Patrick had stuck the box with the camera with all of our DVDs and VHS. It blended in so well that I didn't even give it a thought. He wanted me to see it and ask about it, but I didn't even give it a look. Turns out, his sister and brother-in-law bought us the dryer for Christmas. They're going to Mexico for the Peace Corp, so they wanted to to do a bigger present to make up for the next couple of years that they won't be here.
What a great Christmas! I know we did presents way early, but we were both too excited to spoil each other. Tonight we're going to make dinner with a bag of Ikea meatballs I bought, and we'll probably rent a movie, read Luke 2, and enjoy a nice quiet Christmas Eve. Christmas morning, we're driving up to Brigham City to spend the day with Patrick's mom and step-dad, sister and brother-in-law, and maybe his step-dad's kids.
It's been snowing for 2 weeks here in Utah. It is most definitely a White Christmas. I love it. I really don't love the snow, but I love how it makes it feel like Christmas. Some years in Phoenix, we'd play outdoor racquetball on Christmas day and it was WARM. That can make it feel less like a wintery snowy holiday. :) So, I feel blessed to be spending the last handful of Christmases in Utah where it really feels different.
One thing we did during Christmas when I was a kid was tons and tons of service projects. We baked for neighbors, did 12 Days of Christmas for older single people at church, dropped off boxes of Christmas goodies, food, and presents to families that needed a little help, and just gave when and where we could. I am so grateful for parents that raised me that way.
This year, my mom and dad asked that instead of giving them a present, we do some sort of service and tell them about it. Yesterday when I was at Barnes & Noble, they were doing a book drive for the Sandy Boys & Girls Club. So, I bought a few books for them to donate. I think donating something like a book is a valuable gift. Reading is such an important part of life, so I was happy to participate in the book drive. Patrick thought it was pretty cool, too. :)
Well, Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy life's blessings, show gratitude, and bless the lives of others. :)
Here are some pictures that my sis-in-law took when we were visiting them the day after Thanksgiving:
Here is my dad with Braedi and Kendall. He is such a cute grandpa, especially when it comes to being a total sweetheart with his granddaughters.
Something about being in the Arizona sun again... That was a great nap!! And thank you, Christy, for the candid shot. :)
We were playing Keep Away with a kick ball, which was fun. The kids loved it until their turn in the middle took too long. Then you had to kick it close enough that they could get it and get out of the middle.
This Thanksgiving we spent with my family in Phoenix. We haven't been down to visit since last Christmas, so this visit was overdue!
Before we left, we desperately needed to get new front tires on my car. Patrick found a pair at the shop where he works and put them on the car. I needed to get them balanced before the long drive, so on Tuesday before Turkey Day, I went to Discount. They balanced one tire, then pulled the other one off and noticed a huge bubble. They wanted to charge us $190 for one pair of new tires, so we left and Patrick put on a new-old tire at the shop. Wednesday morning, he went to Big O Tires and bought 4 new tires for a much better deal. So, YEAH!!!, I have all new tires on my car!! This winter will be so much more pleasant with some traction.
It was so rainy on Wednesday. 2/3 of our trip was in rain. We opted to drive through Vegas to have nicer roads to tolerate the weather. We stopped in Mesquite to eat a $4.99 Prime Rib meal only to find out that the super sweet deal started at 4pm. Well, it was only 2:30pm in Nevada. We still ate pretty good food, though.
We stopped and bought some firecrackers. :) Fun!
We waited patiently through rush hour in Las Vegas. Not fun.
And we pulled in around 11:30pm at my parents' house in Phoenix.
Patrick was starting to feel like he was getting sick at the beginning of the drive, and by the time we got to Phoenix, he was definitely sick. Poor guy had to deal with that during the whole vacation. It stinks to be sick at someone else's house. It's so much nicer to lay on your own couch, use your own toilet, and leave your tissues on your own floor. :) Fortunately, we stayed in my parents' pop-up trailer in the driveway, so we had privacy and space as needed.
My mom made an awesome Thanksgiving meal. We had sweet potatoes, stuffing, peas, mashed potatoes (that my dad makes, and they are awesome), turkey, my mom's heavenly rolls, a big veggie tray with some veggies from their garden, cranberry sauce, pumpkin-cream cheese pie, pecan pie, and a butterscotch pie and chocolate pie that my brother made with silken tofu.
I ate waaaaaaay to much!
Friday, we went to one of my brother's house in Surprise. We ate lunch at his place with my parents, Patrick and me, my brother Jeremiah's family, and my brother Jonathan's family. The grandkids made a couple bottle rockets, and we went to the park to launch them and play. It was a fun day. One of the things I hate the most about living a state away from a majority of the family is missing out on the grandkids growing up. They are so incredibly cute.
After the park, we went back to Jeremiah's, ate dinner, put on a movie for the kids, and we adults played a game. It was so fun to hang out with my brothers and their wives and my parents. We had a riot playing the game.
Saturday, my parents, my brother Philip, Patrick and I went to the cafe where Philip works and ate lunch. It's a vegetarian and vegan place called Chakra 4 Herb & Tea House. I LOVED the food. The herb selection is huge, and it's just a great place with great energy. (That's the hippie in me!)
We spent the evening with Jonathan and Ashlee. We ate dinner over there, played with the kids for a tiny bit, had family prayer with them, then watched The Bucket List and drank mate. I seriously LOVE my family to death!!
After that, we went over to my good friend Jenny's house and spent a couple hours with her, catching up and sharing a ton of laughs.
Sunday, we packed up our stuff, ate my mom's yummy cinnamon rolls, and left Phoenix around 11:30am. Later than we wanted to leave, but it was good to not be rushed.
We drove to Winslow to try to find an old friend of Patrick's. We couldn't find her, which is a bummer, but the drive was beautiful. Then we headed to Flagstaff to get on the 89, which we took to Page, then drove to Kanab, then up the 89 to the 40 or 70...I'm not sure as I was dead asleep. Then over to I-15 and home to SLC!! We rolled in around 2:30am. What a long day. I love my car, but I'm currently quite sick of her. :)
So, that was our trip. Patrick's health is much better, and my body was able to fight off his cold until the drive home. Now I'm congested and dealing with sinus pressure. I wish sharing colds was more difficult. Smooching a sick hubby doesn't help, I'm sure.
I updated our background for this season of Thanksgiving and changed the picture to one that has appropriate colors. I don't love this picture of us, but it'll do. One thing I want to do in the next month or so is to get some pictures taken of us by someone who knows what they are doing. Maybe I'll hit up my sister-in-law while we're in Phoenix for Thanksgiving. She has a knack for photography. Their family blog is full of super cute family and kid pictures. If/When it happens, I'll be sure to post them!
Patrick started a new job last week as a Pool Technician for Captain Chemical. Yeah for new jobs!!! It's a part time job with great pay, so we're exited about it.
The other night, Patrick was telling me that he is thinking about getting a Triumph bike, something newer and more reliable. Keeping in mind that he already has 4 other bikes and a hot rod to build, as well as knowing that he wants to build the hot rod before we start a family, this just frustrated the hell out of me. We had a great conversation about "here and now" things vs. "eternal" things, and I think we finally got on the same page. I'm ready to start a family, damnit! :) I honestly feel that no one is "ready" to start a family, or financially prepared. But, when the time comes, you have to be willing to make that choice to further your purpose in life. There are so many great things in store for us as a family, and I hate putting it off.
So, we're still looking into a Truimph, but Patrick knows that he needs a reliable job with steady income for that to be a possibility. He's also looking into getting a job with benefits. Wow, that would be amazing!
I was looking at Health Insurance online last night, and some companies require a waiting period before you get pregnant. What kind of crap is that??? I hate insurance companies.
Anyway, progress on the homefront...we're on the same page as far as eternal vs. temporal progress, which means we're on the same page on starting a family sometime soon.
I'm working on getting on the "get a Triumph bike" page, but pending a few prerequisites, I'll get there.
I just want a cute little baby Largin. Can you blame me?? Our kids are going to be adorable!!!
On Christmas Eve, my family had a little photo session. The pictures turned out really well.
Grandpa & Grandma Jones
Mom, Dad, their kids & spouses, and all the cute grandkids
I wish Grandpa Mecham was there so we could have pictures of him too...and a picture with all of us and Grandpa & Grandma Jones would have been cool. Oh well...it's nice to have a current picture of my sweet grandpa. He's the best!
Patrick and I need to get some more pictures done of us. I know a few people around here who do photography professionally or as a hobby, so we just need to get it arranged.
There are a TON more of our family pictures, so if you want to see them, check out the album.
