Garden Harvest

We harvested the last of what was in our garden just before the snow came. We pulled out all the tomatoes, even the green ones to let ripen on the kitchen counter and we decided to pull the carrots too. We had planted some multicolored carrots and had pulled a few as the season went on. Jamie thought it was a wast of space but I love planting carrots. Ever since I was a kid harvesting carrots in my parents garden I couldn't wait to see what would come out of the ground when I pulled on the carrot top. Jamie seemed to enjoy it too and I think carrots will now be a staple crop at our home. I think the best part of the harvest was pulling out this beauty. This is ONE carrot! Crazy!

All the carrots after they were washed. I thought they were really pretty.

Just out of the garden

The harvest just after picking.

Matthew was intrigued by the carrots and wanted to help. We had him put them in the pan after the picture. He will learn to garden just like his parents.

Surprise! Happy 34th Birthday Jamie!

For Jamie's 34th birthday I surprised him by painting his old beat up truck. I worked extra on Saturday nights for a month in order to pay for it. The truck was orriginally orange and Jamie liked the color, it was just very faded and rusted. I had them take out the dings, I got a few fender flairs to cover some of the rust spots so when the come through the paint they don't show and I got a seat cover to hide the ripped up seat. All in all I think it turned out pretty good. Jamie has mixed feelings about it. He says he kind of liked the character of the beat up old truck. He also feels like now he can't use it as his firewood truck because he doesn't want to waste this nice new paint job using it on firewood. He likes the fact that I worked so hard to do something sweet for him. It was a long time in the making. I knew he had been looking into getting it painted but I knew he couldn't afford to do it and probably decided he would rather spend his money on other things. Well, I thought I would give him a treat. Happy birthday Jamie!

I showed up at Jake and Amber's house in the Truck. I had told him I was borrowing it for the Angel tree at work. He was a little suspicious but acted surprised.

Jamie checking out the truck for the first time.

When I first drove up he jumped out of the car and walked over to she what happened to the truck. He said he saw the fender flares and light bouncing off of his formerly dull truck and knew something was up.

Haloween 2010 Lion Tales

Daddy bought this costume last year before Matthew was born. It was labeled 18 months but Jamie said "well, he can wear it as a jacket, it will just be a little big". Well, I saved it for this year. It was a little snug but he looked really cute. We went to my office a couple days before Halloween for our work Halloween party and spend the evening at my sister Amy's house on Halloween. We only went to 3 houses to trick or treat just for the experience. He didn't really get it but we got some fun video.

The daddy's with our little Lion, Cat, and Monster.

We are lazy, no dressing up for Mommy and Daddy.

There was face painting at my work party. I had to get this face. He hated getting it painted. I was a mean mommy and made him sit through it.

Cousin Fun

Sage came over a few weeks ago so her mommy and daddy could go out on a date. After she got over being a little afraid of being without her parents she and Matthew had a great time together. They had dinner together then had fun in the tub. She is so much more subdued than Matthew. He is so rowdy in the tub and he was scaring her so I had to put him in his tub seat so that he wouldn't knock her over in the water. All in all they had a fun time together. It's so nice to have cousins Matthew's same age.

Sage liked the shampoo bottles most.

When babies yell in the bathroom it makes it about 10 times louder. Needless to say it hurt my ears.

I love those baby blues.

What a cute cousin.

I love Sage's face in this picture.

They both ate great. I think they wanted to out each each other.

Baby's First Haircut

Daddy said Matthew couldn't get his hair cut until he turned a year old. Just after his birthday I took him down to get his mop chopped. It was getting in his eyes and looking really ragged so I convinced Daddy and we got it cut. He was a pretty good boy for it as long as he had something to distract him. I saved a little in a baggie so I can remember his little locks.

What I was doing 10 years ago.

October 25th 2010 marked the 10 year anniversary of my entering the Missionary Training Center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This was an amazing time in my life that I will never forget. As I reflect upon that time ten years ago I think about how my youngest brother is now serving as a missionary in the Kennewick Washington mission. He is doing a wonderful job. I remember that 1 1/2 years of my life as difficult and wonderful, exhausting and strengthening, full of trials and extremely testimony building, full of homesickness and love, tears of sorrow and joy, and ultimatly life changing for the better. I grew to be a stronger person. One that KNOWS that Jesus is the Christ and that we are God's children. A person that would't change her religion to save her life because she knows that it is what will save her soul. A person who is more patient and loving towards all because of the experiences with companions, investigators and every day people on the street. A person who now looks upon all people as children of God and see's their eternal potential. A person who is more outgoing and friendly because she knows that is how you touch people's lives in a meaningful way. A person who is more carful about what she is saying with her actions. A person who wants more than anything to have a happy eternal family, one that lives the priciples of the gospel with steadfastness and determination. A person who knows who she is and why she is here. I am so thankful for the missionary program. I am thankful for the missionaries who taught my mother, therefore teaching me the gospel. I am thankful for the missionaries that found my husband and truly brought about his conversion to the gospel. Overall, without missionaries for the LDS church my life would be drastically different. I hope again at some point in my life to become a formal missionary again. In the mean time, I will continue to be a missionary in my every day life to bring the joy of this gospel to all of my friends and family.

Happy 1st Birthday Matthew!

We had a great party at Discovery Park in Pleasant Grove today for Matthew's first birthday. He was a little overwhelmed by all the people but we all had fun.
Party Guests:
Great Grandma Anderson
Nana Anderson
Mommy and Daddy
Uncle Jake, Aunt Amber, Jared, and Zach
Uncle Seth, Aunt Meagan, and Sage
Uncle Dave, Aunt Jackie, Sam, Ben, Jacob, and Eden
Babysitter and friends Lylian and Julio
Friends Erin and Wayne Carbajal, Aliea, and Jaxon
Friends Michelle and Mark Hiles, Cooper, and Madison
Friends Josephine Peters, Stephania, and Mellania

Daddy and Matthew. What a perfect day for a party!

We had dinner. Pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, and fresh tomatoes from the garden.

The spread. So many people brought gifts. They were so generous. The cake was made by Daddy and frosted by me.

There were so many toys he didn't know which one to look at.

Daddy got a big tractor for Matthew. I think Daddy likes it more than Matthew does.

He didn't like the had at all.

Blowing out the candles. He was very interested in the fire.

He was more interested in looking at and playing with the cake than eating it.

Pretty much all of it ended up on the ground instead of in his mouth.

At the end of the party we carved pumpkins. Here are Amber (my sister in law) and Josephine (a friend and mother of a patient I used to work with).

Dave (my brother in law) really went to town on his pumpkin. Erin told me that this was Wayne's first time carving a pumpkin.

It is hard to believe that one year ago Matthew came into our lives. I had been waiting for that day for so long. I remember the feelings I had when I first held him. How could I be blessed with such a perfect child of God. This first year has been hard but incredibly rewarding. I couldn't ask for a better child. He makes me want to be a better person in order to give him the best life possible. I pray that there are many many more birthdays to come and that all of them are as happy as that first day I held him in my arms.