Finally a Breather

Whew! It's been quite a week and life is just going to keep speeding by. We ended up spending Thanksgiving at the McKinnon house this year. We sure missed the Wood's, but between Erick's and my work schedules the trip to Boise just wasn't feasible. We hope to get to see you guys around Christmas time.

Black Friday was a fun and very long day. Sportsman's opened at 6am and it was busy! I started work at 5:30 am and left at 5pm. Then it was off to play games with the McKinnon family. I think I provided most of the entertainment since I was so tired. :D

Erick surprised me by getting us a Christmas tree while he was out getting me some powerade and soda today. (I think I've got the flu because I just can't keep anything down and we had nothing on hand that would work to keep me hydrated.) So we got that decorated today along with a few other things put up in the living room. I'll post pics as soon as I get my camera from Mom's house.

Not sure when my other day off this week is. It was supposed to be tomorrow, but I'm covering for a coworker and my boss didn't know which other day I could get off. If there isn't one then I'll be grateful for the overtime and for the next week when I can have 2 days off. :D

I hope ya'll had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Sending our love.

Reflection

At the end of a busy and productive day I love to plop down in my chair, take a deep breath, and reflect back on the day. I don't get much time to myself, but there are a few minutes at the end of everyday when I can relax and think about my day and contemplate the next. This small habit I've started has helped me see how much I have in my life and has truly brought joy and peace in my heart.

It's become my favorite part of the day.

Being Grateful

Seeing as though Thanksgiving is less than a week away I've been contemplating everything in my life and I came up with a list of things I'm thankful for.

Things I'm Thankful For:

- Erick being able to get OT at work right now

-Having food in my pantry

- Being able to pay all of our bills somehow even though it didn't look like we'd make it this month

-The fact that both Erick and I still have stable jobs in this ever weakening economy.

-A good babysitter since I have to work and leave Myelle with someone

-A warm place to live that is inexpensive

-Prayer

and most of all

Family

These are another gift I'm really excited to work on and finish. Erick is cutting and sanding the boards today and hopefully I'll be able to paint them tomorrow. It's going to be fun decorating them.

Just trying out this signature thing.

Christmas: One Down..

I'm super excited for Christmas this year! Last night I made these for my little brother Wesley. They were super easy and I did it while watching a movie. I'm thinking I might make a pair for Myelle also.

I've got a bunch of other projects in the works and I'll post pics when I can. Some I won't be able to post until after Christmas because they are for people that read this blog. ,

A Clean and Organized Home

Isn't it so nice when you get your house completely clean? Even if it only lasts a short while it brings some kind of peace knowing that everything is clean and in order. Our house can get pretty untidy in a hurry, but I'm trying to keep up and I love nothing more than the feeling of it being clean. And I know that a tidy home is one where the spirit can dwell more easily.

One of my goals this month is to be more organized, which when working FT can be quite a challenge but is absolutely necessary. I've started by making a list of things that need to get done everyday. It's short since I don't have much time, but it includes washing the dishes, one batch of laundry, and tidying up 5 min in a room of my choice (usually the Living Room since it's the most lived in).

I just started doing this yesterday, but already I feel more energy and not so overwhelmed. I also have a big sense of relief and a little bit of accomplishment (because I'm not usually organized with my housework). The biggest thing I noticed....with the dishes done up and the kitchen clean I actually want to be in there cooking dinner and baking treats (which I love to do BTW). :D Funny how that works.

My next step in becoming more organized.....Coming Soon. LOL Pretty much I'm open to suggestions. Do you have a great way you keep organized?

Singing

Singing is a new thing that Myelle has picked up recently and it's the cutest thing. All day long she'll sing her own tune or tunes from other places she's heard. I can't always understand the words, but it's fun to have her sweet little voice ringing throughout the house. However, if you look at her while she's singing she immediately gives you "the look." I have yet to catch it on camera, but I can't wait until I do.

One of her favorite songs right now? "I Lub You" from Barney. LOL

John McCain

I just want to say briefly how impressed I was with John McCain's concession speech. Very classy and graceful. Even if I don't like him very much I really gained alot of respect for him tonight.

Election Day

Happy Election Day!

Today I exercised my right as a US citizen and voted. Hopefully you all get the chance to go out and vote also. My vote may not count for much, but I feel that I'm doing all I can. "If you don't vote...you can't complain...Right?" :D

TAGGED 2

WHAT IS YOUR HUSBAND'S NAME? Erick McKay
HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN MARRIED? 3 Years 7 months
HOW LONG DID YOU DATE? Officially 3 weeks before we were engaged, but were really good friends for 3 months before that and then engaged 10 months.
HOW OLD IS HE? 26
WHO IS TALLER? Erick by about an inch
WHO CAN SING BEST? Not sure we're about equally matched.
WHO IS SMARTER? I catch on to stuff faster, but he knows alot more
WHO DOES LAUNDRY? I wash and dry and he folds. :D
WHO PAYS BILLS? Me, but he's trying to learn
WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? He does
WHO MOWS THE LAWN? We don't have a lawn anymore, but when we did he did mostly, but occasionally I would.
WHO COOKS DINNER? Mostly me. He has to when I work late.
WHO'S THE FIRST TO ADMIT THEY ARE WRONG? Me. I can be wrong alot.
WHO KISSED WHO FIRST? He kissed me first. I didn't object. LOL
WHO WEARS THE PANTS? we share them, I wear one leg and he wears the other. <-----Yeah that.

I tag Mom and Ainslie.

TAGGED

Jessica tagged me a couple of times. On the first one I'm supposed to post my 4th pic of my 4th picture album and explain it.

LOL I forgot I took this picture. This is Myelle helping Daddy stack the firewood at our old house. This was back in May I think. She sure had a blast. :D

Now I tag Ainslie, Mom, Rachel and anyone else that reads this.

We're Off To See the Wizard

Here's Myelle on Halloween. She was Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. (Too bad she wouldn't take her pacifier out) She was just too cute! And she had a blast Trick or Treating with the girls. And she is not happy when we tell her she can't have any more candy for now. LOL

Back from Boise

A short trip, a very long drive, but a great time had by all! We drove to Boise Friday night with Brett and Brianna (Not sure if they'll ever do that again. ;) ) and went to Sizzler with Darren when we got there. Yum! I love their salad bar.

After that it was back to the hotel to watch scary movies. :D We had to...it was Halloween. House on Haunted Hill and Return to House on Haunted Hill were our picks for the evening and we stayed up until 3am watching them. LOL

Saturday was fantastic weather for the races and Keeley and both the Firth boys' and girls' teams did fantastic!! Keeley took 3rd and broke 20 min. YAY! Congrats Kee! We're so proud of you! The girls' team took 2nd and the boys' team took 1st. And I am proud to announce that I am not the only one that cried (because we're so proud of her) while Keeley was racing! Brett and Brianna did too. Well so did Mom, but she's the mom so it's okay. :D

Afterwards we ate out as a family and then went and visited Chris and Jen for awhile. Watched the last quarter of the BYU vs. CSU game. GO BYU!! They pulled off a win even though we didn't think they would. :) We're looking forward to going to Jen's house for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.

Hope ya'll had a fantastic weekend!