Simplify and Enjoy

I've been thinking a lot about goals for the new year. What do I want to happen, where do I want to be, what do I want to accomplish?? I've written down my list and I really am going to work on them every day. I usually get discouraged when setting goals, because I feel like I'm setting my self up for disappointment. But I read a really, really simple statement recently and it finally hit me. In the October 2008 New Era and then again in the Brand New Year celebration video, Sister Elaine S. Dalton challenged the Youth to do 3 things. One of which was reading the Book of Mormon for 5 minutes per day, and then she said "If you miss a day, just start again." I don't know why, after all these years, that had never clicked. I always had the attitude that if I missed a day I hadn't met my goal and it was over. Duh! Just start again. So even though I've made a really good list of things to work on this year....and for life....I know that I'll slip up and it's ok because I can start again. After re-reading my list and thinking about the goals that I've set, I've also come to the conclusion that there are many areas of my life that I just need to simplify. I have a tendency to make things harder and more time consuming than they need to be. So at the top of my list I am writing the words "Simplify" and "EnJOY".

Santa's Visit

Santa dropped by our house before we headed down to Grammy and Grampy's. Bailee was so funny going downstairs to see what he brought. It was so cute when she saw her kitchen. "Ahhhhhhh For me?? A Kitchen?" She was super fun to watch going through her stocking and opening her other presents. All she had been asking for was a 'tea party like Kinley's', so Luke and I pulled through on that one. We saved it for last, and she couldn't have been more pleased. It was hard to get her to leave her fun new toys to head out to Nevada.

Esplin Family Christmas Party

We went to the Esplin Family Christmas party on the 22nd of January. It was actually the first one that I've been too. As is the case at all Esplin family events....the food was great, the company was better, and the entertainment is hard to beat.

First up....a round of "The 12 Days of Christmas, Hawaiian Style". Bailee got to hold the "Big Fat Pig" sign. I had never heard this version before...

Bailee and Luke also participated in the re-enactment of the Nativity. Bailee was an Angel...


Bailee said to me..."Mom, that is the biggest magic wand I've ever seen!"
...and Luke was one of the Wisemen. I didn't get a shot of him ridding in on the camel.

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Holidays and such

I've been a slacker blogger lately, I know.

We had a crazy week with the Holidays and Mom and Dad B. coming home. It's been kind of a whirlwind, but its calming down.

Christmas was wonderful. We went down to Hiko and spent a few days with my family. Too bad it was snowy and cold there too. Bailee got to ride her horse, Black Beauty, ride the four wheeler and her favorite...feed the animals. She loved to go out with Grampy and feed and collect the eggs. One time he didn't wait for her, boy was he in trouble.

Santa visited Bailee before we headed down to Nevada, and brought her a cute kitchen. And the desire of her heart....a tea 'party' like McKinley's. She was so excited, I guess she didn't notice that it didn't have princess' on it. She played with it for an hour or so while we got ready and packed, and was really sad to leave. Grammy and Grampy gave her some play food to go along with it, and since we've been home she has really been having a great time cooking up some meals and treats.

We came home to a house stuffed full of people. Normally, this wouldn't bother me... but my family was passing around some kind of bug and I was sick on the way home. Not so much fun being pregnant sick and sick sick. It was like a mob trying to get down the stairs to take a shower before saying hello to anyone. I'm sorry, I was really glad to see you all.

Now everyone is gone and it's quiet around here. We've taken down the Christmas decorations and are coming to some sort of order. I have a lot to do and no inclination to do it. I do have a lot of pictures to share, but as is customary, I left my camera at my moms. So it'll have to wait another week or so.

Dreams

While I was pregnant with Bailee, most nights, I'd dream of being in high school again. It was different though because we were all married and had our kids around. Weird, I know. So with this pregnancy the dreams have returned but still more different. It actually makes me miss everyone so much. I wake up wondering about those I haven't heard from or about in years, and even those who I have seen occasionally. I've been naturally reflecting on some of the things we did and some of my favorite memories.

I have a lot. We had so much fun, and it was simple. I laugh now at a particular evening when I thought the world had ended, following and argument with someone. Or all of the times Thera, Mandi and I would rush to R-Place during lunch to get milk shakes and chicken fingers....but that's not why we really went. And on the days the certain 'bus' wasn't coming through we'd spend lunch time watching our favorite scene from "10 things I hate about you." You know, the one where Heath Ledger serenades Julia stiles on the bleachers. I think my favorite times though were our 'parties'. We would just get together, usually after ball games, and play games or watch movies, wwf on the trampoline--whatever. It was so fun. And sometimes I wish that we could have that again, only different. Like the dreams, this time would include the additions to our families.

We get to hang out with Luke's friends and I love it. They remind me of my own, but it makes me homesick. So maybe sometime it'll work out for us all to get together again sometime.