Looking back on the year...

At the beginning of 2011 I had no idea where we would be at the end of this year, and now that we are here I can hardly believe how much has changed. We have had many ups and downs, and while it would be easy to focus on the downs, I want to remember the ups from this year:

-We survived one of Syracuse's snowiest winters on record! Syracuse winters are dark and a really hard time of year, but we came through it in one piece and now we have bragging rights! :)

-Greg was accepted for an internship with the DIA in Washington, DC! This internship eventually turned into a full time job that has been a huge blessing for our family. Greg works so hard at what he does, and it is so wonderful to see him enjoying what he does.

-We have had the chance to explore the sights that DC has to offer, and I find myself in awe of this area. There is so much history here! While there are many things that I do not prefer about this area, the age and history of this place fascinates me.

-We have made some great friends since moving here. When you live so far from family, friends almost become family and I am grateful for that.

-Greg was offered a chance to deploy to Afghanistan for 6 months this Spring/Summer. It will be a tough time for our family, but it will put us in a place financially where we don't have to stress so much, and that will be a wonderful thing.

-I became a certified personal trainer! I am still in the learning curve process, and I suspect I will be for a while, but it's good. Sometimes I doubt my abilities and knowledge but that's when I have to stop and ask God for help in this endeavor. I want to do something that will allow me to help out a bit financially for our family, so I can't give up even though it's been a challenge. With time I am sure things will get easier.

-We experienced several of Mother Nature's wonders through earthquakes, floods, tornado's, and heat waves. The positive spin I am taking on this is that we now can empathize with others who experience these things. We can be a support to others now!

-We have had the chance to have a couple visitors out here, and that is always so fun. That's a hint for more of you to come!! :)

When I look back on the year, I feel like this has been a real growing year for our family. There has been a lot of growing pains in that process, but we made it through the year. At times, it is so hard to understand why God has chosen to give us the challenges that he has, but those are the times when I have to stop and remember to stop questioning and start learning how to grow from them. I am slowly learning that.

I have so many things I want to change for the new year, as most people do, so I am looking forward to this year! I am looking forward to the chance to become a better daughter of God, a better wife, a better mom, a better daughter, sister, and friend.

Here is to a wonderful 2012!

A beautiful December day

It's December 14th and it is in the 50's. That is just crazy to me. It has yet to snow here and it is still bearable to be outside longer than 10 minutes. The summers here may be awful, but the falls are simply amazing.

The kids are pretty bundled in these pictures since it was before 9 when they were outside and it was a bit chilly, but they both were tearing their hats and gloves off though a few minutes into running and playing outside.

I tend to be a bit of a hermit in the winter, but I was reading a list of things to do with busy toddlers and one of the things was to get outside at least once a day regardless of the weather. This is something I am really going to work on this winter because fresh air really does a body good. :)

The Grinch

Deagan has a love/hate relationship with the Grinch. He has been slightly obsessed with him for a couple of years now. So much so that he started praying about the Grinch when he first started saying prayers out loud :).

But Deagan is also terrified of him. We have been watching "The 25 Days of Christmas" on ABC family this past month and when a preview came on for the "real" Grinch he freaked out and could not sleep that night. I guess he can handle the cartoon grinch a lot more than the real one!

The fascination continues despite his fear, and he pretends to be him at least once a day. It might just be his way to deal with his fear?

This is Deagan from today pretending to be the Grinch. He's just so funny sometimes. :)

Lights at the DC Temple

Christmas season is in full bloom, and we have been taking advantage of as many Holiday things as we can. Last night we drove through horrible rush our traffic to go see the Christmas lights turn on at the DC Temple. The temple may not be that far away in miles, but it is always quite the trip to get there when you hit traffic. It was worth the headache in my opinion though.

They really go all out on the temple grounds, so it is so beautiful. I love this time of year!

Its hard taking a picture of yourself with a phone camera; hence the blurriness. But I like both of our smiles in this one :)

The temple glows doesn't it??

They had a tree for every stake in the Temple district.  Here is our stake's tree!

"Cheese!"

Love this view!

Family Pictures 2011

We have a friend who is a fabulous photographer who offered to take our pictures this year.  It is so great to have friends who have these talents :)

It is crazy to look at past family pictures and to see how fast our family is changing.  

I love this little family God has blessed me with :)