Decorating the house.

On Friday Mike and I were emailing back and forth at work about what to do that night. It was date night and it was a chance to be together. We enjoy those moments even more since he is gone almost all day Sunday, Tuesday, Thursdays. We talked about bringing out the Christmas stuff on Saturday. It is exhausting to do that. I didn't really want to spend a whole Saturday putting things up and out. So we decided to jump on it Friday night. Bryan and Michelle came over for chile and hot dogs. Bryan then helped Mike get the boxes from the attic down. The festivities had begun!

The tree went up quickly and the decorations for the tree as well but it was late and we couldn't finish it in one night. Bryan and Michelle left late and we sat all alone amongst the boxes bushed!

We got up the next morning and proceeded to finish the tree. I opened more boxes and to my great surprise I found a whole new bunch of wreaths to put out. They all look wonderful and I was thrilled for last years after Christmas clearances. Mom loved wreaths and I have come to as well so I try to put them everywhere in my house. Mike never says anything to me if I want to buy something he just says... is there anything else you wanted to get as well? I love that about him.

Mike left to go help Devin take his stuff down and then they came back to put our empty boxes back up in the attic. At some point Bryan had brought over Glenn Beck's Christmas DVD thinking we would like to watch it so we popped that into the machine. We laughed as we watched it. It was pretty funny and brought back some of my own memories as a kid with my family. His DVD is divided up into 2 sections. Part 1 is funny stories about growing up and part 2 is about the reason for Christmas. He kind of reminds me of a preacher on TV when he got going but hey, he was driving home a great message.

He talks about a Christmas sweater his mom gave him. How he careless threw it on the floor and perhaps stepped on it. It was the last Christmas gift his Mom gave him because she died after that. But he talked about the Savior and his Atonement and do we do the same thing with the gift He gave to us? It touched my heart as I reflected on my life and how I am need to change my life in so many ways.. so I can one day stand in front of the Savior and not be ashamed that I threw his precious gift, He worked so hard to make happen for me, down on the ground only to be casually walked around.

I always acknowledge the many things we have been blessed with as a family and I know they come from ONE Source. I think I shall make my New Years Resolution to pick up the gift of the Atonement next year. To learn about it, to understand what that means for me.

I think I understand better this statement by Pres. Hinckley " There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection."

Pres. Hinckley also said "Everything we do is done in the name of Christ. ....We worship Christ; we believe in Christ; we accept him. And he's our savior; he's our redeemer. He's the Son of God; he's the great creator; he's the word made flesh as spoken of by John. He's the savior of the world, Jesus Christ, the Son of God."

The only thing I have left to say is BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!

Thank you Barber/Meyer Clans!

Last night we were treated to a wonderful sound outside our door. I could hear them all the way in my bedroom. As soon as I heard the sound I sprang to my feet (and for those who know me... that isn't easy some days!) and ran to the front door. Mike had the door open and there stood the whole Barber/Meyer Clan singing Christmas Carols. You all sounds amazing and brought tears to my eyes. I love the fact that you come and sing at our door. I often think of the times when the boys got their mission calls and we heard Called to Serve each time.

Thank you for making my night brighter and my Christmas Season extra special! I love you all!

Back to the old grind!

So today was back to work. Back to getting up early and wondering just what to wear. What to take to eat for lunch if I got the chance to eat lunch. Wishing that I had another week to stay home. Dreading the drive into work with everyone else.

I woke up with Mike and beat my alarm clock by 15 mins. I got out of bed and headed into the shower. I was actually ok going back to work. I hadn't looked at anything work related for 10 glorious days. I had move into a new office and my stuff hadn't even been unpacked yet. The day started off with a bang and just got busier. I have really some big things I need to do like hire new testers and schedule the schools for Jan.

I am still adjusting to the working world. I have pondered on what I would like to do for the next 15 or so years. I don't think it is testing though. I have decided I need to go back to school. I think I will pursue that in a year. I am still figuring out what I want to be. But I am pretty sure it will be in the health field. Perhaps be a nurse or do PT or something like that. I'm excited about the future and the many things it should have in store for Mike and I.

So here is to the women who work and to the women who stay home. I admire you and your lives. I am pretty sure there is not just one way to make it through this world and I know the only way to do it right is to listen carefully and follow the Lords will.

On a side note- it's the Christmas Season already. Black Friday came and went. I went and had a pedicure on black Friday. The lady making my toes and feet look great asked me how long I had been out shopping. I said I haven't. This is the first place I came. I called Mike to ask him about some deals I had seen and he said... Be careful at Walmart they have mobs running up and down the aisles. I said no running here. He told me about some guy getting trampled. That happens every year I thought. Then I heard on the news the story. I felt so bad for this young man and his family. How sad is it that people push and shove for "things." They aren't even things you get to take with you when you die. The real shocker is how mad the people where when they were told the store was closing because someone had died. They screamed at the employees and kept on shopping. Has life become that cheap? Do people really value "things" more then they do life? That just makes me sad. The world has changed since I was a kid or even a newly married young person. I shall say a prayer for the family of Jdimytai Damour. Come on people lets be kind to one another!

Thanksgiving

Today has been a productive day. The house is pretty clean, I have gone through all the ads from the newspaper and determined that I wont be getting up early for any of the big sale items. Long gone are the days of free stuff at the doors.

The turkey is in the oven, the stuffing is made and over to Devin and Kathy's to warm up. The Sweet Potato Souffle is cooked and it will just need to be warmed up. The Pumpkin and Key Lime Pies were bought yesterday. The garage was cleaned out, Mike paid the bills and 2 loads of dishes done! 1 load of laundry is done with 2 more to go. Wow... it only 1:30. Not bad at all.

While today has been a busy day I have not gone without thinking about my family and friends and how much you all mean to me. Robby and Brittany are in Ca with her family and I am glad they arrived safe and sound. We will miss them but are happy they get to enjoy the time with her family and getting away from Rexburg.

Thanksgiving Day always gives me a chance to reflect on past Thanksgivings. I remember one time as a child we were painting the living room I believe (it was huge). We didn't have a big sit down fancy dinner but rather we sat on painting stools and chairs draped with drop clothes. I think that was the best tasting Thanksgiving dinner I have ever had. I use to think it was because I was probably so hungry that it tasted so good. But thinking about it today I have come to the conclusion that it was most likely because it wasn't a big production and we just hung out as a family with paint specs all over us. I remember lots of chatting and laughing going on that day. I often think about the huge dinners we had as a family. I miss hearing my parents voices and laughter and even though we try to do "Mom's Stuffing" it will never be as good as her was although I am told it comes in as a close second. She made amazing rolls which I have tried to make but they only turned out once. Those were the days and I wish that I had the time to learn from my Mom how to do all those things she did. I wonder if they need a roll maker in heaven?

When we moved to Florida we would get together with many friends who also had small children. We had more food then we knew what to do with it. Those were very fun times and it provided us with a family when we couldn't go home. Nothing like 4 or 5 families squeezed into one home. Living in Florida you never know if you will have a warm summer day or a cold breezy day. Today happens to be a bit on the cool side but it isn't too bad.

We still get together with family and friends. That is what Thanksgiving is all about. Sharing time together and making memories. Each person bring a unique perspective to the dinner. Maybe that is how it was with the Pilgrims and Indians. Each sharing a part of their heritage and life with each other. After all that is how we gather amazing recipes?

Well I hope you all have a wonderful day with your family and friends. I shall be thinking about you.

Regrouping the home!

So one of my goals while off this week and next is to really clean my house. I know sounds fun doesn't it! But I am really tired of clutter and junk laying around. Mike and I are going to get serious about food storage and that means clearing the decks! I decided it costs a lot of money do get organized. And the fact that when you clean one room it always means precleaning or post cleaning of other rooms because you need to put things back in their spots. It's a vicious circle for sure.

I was pondering today that perhaps I should buy one more closed cabinet to fit all the junk in. I thought about it and decided that all the junk wouldn't fit into one cabinet but maybe 2 would. Na not even 2 would do it. I was talking to Mike and I told him he needed to build me floor to ceiling cabinet/bookcases. His response back to me was "when did you want this done?" I told him this week or next would fit in great with my plans. He just laughed and said it wasn't going to happen.

These are the times I miss my dad. He could whip up for me anything and everything I needed. In fact it would not only look good it would last forever and withstand any hurricane force winds that came into town. But alas that isn't an option.

Right now I am also painting our piano room and then hopefully the room across the hall way to match. I figured a simple tan would look great and went to buy the paint. I went to Walmart (to buy their amazing Kilz paint) and there was no one around to mix it. I even had someone called but they never showed up. It was like the only people in the store where shoppers. I then drove over to Home Dept and had to wait for someone to come to mix it there. (Seriously where are all the paint people in the town of Tallahassee? Is there a strike going on somewhere?) Well back to my walls. I pick a color just lighter then my bedroom and bathroom. Simple enough right. I get one coat on and hate it. I get 2 coats on and am luke warm to it. Can a tan/brown/taupe color really be this hard to figure out? I wish it had a little more brown in it but not in a dark way. Less pink as well. Hummmmm I need to learn to trust my instinct and not let the paint people tell me what they think and rely on what I know and think and go with my color. So in the mean time I sit here with one wall almost painted smelling the fumes. It's too cold to open the window so hopefully it will just fade away or I'm not going to care what gets done.

We are also working on getting our pantry shelves more stable for the up and coming building of our food storage but for now I have to figure out what to do with all the small appliances I have sitting on the floor. Throw them out you might say, but I do use them every now and then. I thought well put them in the garage but that would require me to dejunk and clean that part of the house first. The cycle is never ending. I hear my mother loud and clear saying to me- "If you would put things back where they belong you wouldn't have a messy house." How right she is. But for now I pay the price of not doing that. UGH!

Shopping would be so much easier than cleaning but after this is all done it will feel so great and be much more rewarding than shopping. I sure hope I can remember where I put thing once they are moved to their new home. Awe the joys of getting older! Wish me luck or better yet come on over and give me a hand. Perhaps I will share some of my great junk with you!

Copy Cats???

So I have decided like everyone else on the planet to join the blogging world. Does this mean I'm a copy cat? Or does it mean I have seen the value in keeping my family and friends closer to me? I like the second thought better. Thanks to my wonderful daughter Alyse who started this ball rolling I shall follow along.

I have many things to be thankful for and realize that everything comes from one person. My Father in Heaven. I thank Him for ever breath I breath and every good and hard thing that I have experienced in my life.

So my life thus far...... has been amazing and will continue to be amazing. Come along for the ride.