AMAZING...

We're home!!!

As I am having a very hard time getting my days and nights adjusted and I have hundreds of pictures to go through....I thought that I would just post a few to get started until I have the time (and energy) to better document this incredible trip.

Riding a camel at the Pyramids...AWESOME!

The great Spinx with one of the Pyramids of Giza in the background...FASCINATING

Watching the sunrise from the top of Mt Sinai... MAGESTIC!


The Treasury in Petra! UNBELIEVABLE!

Watching another beautiful sunrise...this time from the shore of the Sea of Galilee....BREATHTAKING & a little SURREAL

Just outside the Garden of Gethsemane with the Old City in the background and 3 of my favorite people by my side....ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

The Garden Tomb ---the most BEAUTIFUL place I've ever been.

For anyone who was ever thought about going to the Holy Land and maybe been a little unsure...YOU HAVE TO GO! It was such an amazing trip! I am so thankful that we were able to go and also very thankful to be back to the comforts of home and our own bed!

Much more journaling to come....

Happy, Happy Birthday...

This post is actually about a week early, but I'm not sure that I'll have any time to post next week!

IN CELEBRATION OF ANOTHER YEAR!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BRO...35..whoa!

So you know that I am the youngest of eight kids....yep, that's alot....but Robb and I are the closest in age and have always been especially close. I started looking through all our old pictures trying to find some funny ones to post in honor of his special day and I just couldn't help but to smile. From the time we were little, we always got along, he was always so protective of me and about as nice as any older brother could ever be, even when we were teenagers. These are a few pictures of my favorite pictures...

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Robbie---I hope that your birthday is fantastic and that the year ahead is your best yet!

Thanks for always being there for me!

I LOVE YOU!

where the heck I've been...

Well... there is no doubt that I have not been a regular blogger this past month. We have been busier than we would care to be and I haven't felt creative enough to share about the daily projects of home remodeling, punching the clock & church responsibilities! I figured it's about time to do a little updating...

Most of you (all 4 of you who may be reading my blog) know that we bought a house at the first of the year that we are remodeling with the hopes of being able to live in it at some point in our lives. Needless to say it has been a slow & grueling process. For those of you who watch as many home improvements shows as we do....this is the part of the episode where they show the owners (looking a little stressed), who say...

"We are definately behind schedule and over budget!"

(It sure looks easier on TV when they do it in 30 minutes)

We had hoped to be a little further along then we are right now, seeing how our lease is up next month and we are sick of paying both rent and mortgage payments every month. Alas, it is what it is. We have ended up doing a little more than we originally planned....mostly because of the argument "Well, we already have it torn apart...we might as well update the all of the plumbing and electrical and replace the hardwood floors with the ones we really want and along with new windows, it needs a new furnace and we need to add central air (no thanks, mr. swamp cooler) and how about we add all new recessed lighting and as long as we have it all ripped out, lets replace all the door casings and baseboards and what the heck...we might as well just add a swimming pool and maybe a bowling alley downstairs while we're at it!" (okay, okay... I was just kidding about the swimming pool and bowling alley)

...but, all joking aside, it truly has been a never ending project. It has felt like we take 2 steps forward and 3 steps back! Man, have we learned A LOT. Our families have been such a huge help and Chris is a freaking rockstar! If he doesn't know how to do something...he'll figure it out! He seriously isn't afraid of ANY project, (sometimes it's even a little frustrating...he's taken on a lot to his already busy schedule).

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So...after all that rambling nonsense...we aren't even close to being finished (clearly, you can tell that, right) ...

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Nevertheless... I thought that I'd post a few pictures to document the process.

You'll have to stay tuned for the un-veiling of the final results!

(Something I, too, am excited to finally see!)

Home Sweet Home

The Living Room...

New windows, harwood floors, baseboards, shutters and final paint still to come!

The Dining Room...

New windows, harwood floors, light fixtures, paint & baseboards still to come...

The Kitchen...

Well...pretty much everything still to come! Travertine floors, new cabinets, appliances, countertops and lighting.

The Master Bedroom and Bathroom...

We are changing the layout of the master closet and master bath and we are still in a giant mess. But the finished project is sure to be worth it!

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Well...

That's just a little, teeny, tiny sampling...man, oh man is there more where that came from! I'm so glad that we could see the potential and charm of this great house! We really fell in love with it, almost before we could even think about how much work it would be to get it back in tip-top shape!

Give us a few more weeks (or months) and we'll be ready to have you all over!

In the mean time...I think we need a vacation!

My Heart Is Full...

Because I have not been able to stop thinking about how remarkable this is since watching it, I must share it...

http://www.eastvalleyproductions.com/blog.cfm?postID=31

This amazing video will absolutely touch your heart and bring tears to your eyes. It is part of an incredible project that was recently on exhibit at the Mesa Temple Visitor Center. I hope that you will take the time to watch it. It is well worth the 5 minutes and you will likely want to watch it again and again. It is so incredibly beautiful and moving. The images are stunning and the music will take your breath away. A very dear friend of mine, Freddie Ashby is the singer. He has recorded several songs for EFY (among other things over the years) and he has a voice that instantly invites the Spirit. There is a version of this same song that he recorded for EFY that is available on I-tunes and I highly recommend it as your next download.

If you want more information on this project, check out...

http://reflectionsofchrist.org

Chris and I are now less than 3 weeks away from our once in a lifetime trip to the Holy Land and as I watched this video, I could not stop the tears from streaming down my face. The timing was perfect to really touch me. I hope you will take the time to watch and I hope it stregthens and uplifts you as it did me!

(Here is a review and some more info on the exhibit at the Mesa Temple.)

http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2008/01/reflections-on-christ-powerful.html

Happy Birthday Big Brother Chris!

Those are some pretty BIG muscles you have (and some pretty sweet shorts)!

By the look on Robb & I's face that water must have been pretty dang cold!

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I hope your day is great and the year ahead is your best yet!!!

Love you!

(I know it's been forever since I posted, and I promise a better update soon!)

Hooray...

THEY WON'T REALLY STAY THAT WAY...

I was going through a bunch of pictures on my computer yesterday and came across so many pictures of me and my niece Tasha taking "self portraits" of ourselves making funny faces...most of them cross eyed. This girl is one of the true lights and joys of my life and has kept me laughing during even some of the most difficult times in my life. We have so dang much fun together! As you can see, occasionally we have gotten others to join in the antics, but usually it's just us laughing, making funny faces and taking pictures of ourselves! I couldn't help smiling as I was going through all these pictures! I LOVE MY NIECES AND NEPHEWS!!!!

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It looks like Mom's good old warning...

"Don't cross your eyes or they'll get stuck that way"

is nothing more than urban legend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks for a fun night honey! I love you!

Doing My Part...

WHAT USED TO LOOK LIKE THIS....

NOW LOOKS LIKE THIS...

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After some inspiration from friends like Sari, Rachel & others as well as features on the Today Show and other news programs, I have been trying to do my part in the "Go GREEN" movement. I purchased these great bags about 2 months ago for $1.99 each at Pier One (you can find them all over in various sizes and for various price points, some even fold up teeny tiny and fit in your purse!) They are awesome! I keep them in my car and use them each time I go to the store (any store...grocery store, Target, Ross, Deseret Book). It is so great to politely decline a plastic bag for the use of one of my much cuter, bigger, more efficient re-usable bags! Each bag will fit about 2 1/2 times more than a regular plastic bag, they can be washed in the washing machine and most grocery stores now offer a 5 cent discount per reusable bag! That adds up fast and pretty soon... your bags are paid for! (see the facts, below)

Okay...you all know that I am by no means a crazy tree hugging environmentalist, however, as socially responsible adults...we could all do our part, right?

Here are some interesting facts that I found about plastic bags...

Consumption

• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions (yes, billions)end up as litter each year.
• It only takes 4 grocery trips for an average family to accumulate 60 plastic shopping bags.
• According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually, most of which eventually end up in landfills. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)

Impact

• Plastic bags suffocate, disable and kill thousands of marine mammals and sea birds worldwide each year. When the animal dies and decays, the plastic bag is free again to repeat the deadly cycle.
• Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
• As part of Clean Up Australia Day, in one day nearly 500,000 plastic bags were collected.
  Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent in Africa that a cottage industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags. According to the BBC, one group harvests 30,000 per month.
• According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone "from being rare in the late 80s and early 90s to being almost everywhere from Spitsbergen 78° North [latitude] to Falklands 51° South [latitude].
• Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups, according to the nonprofit Center for Marine Conservation.
  

Each high quality reusable shopping bag used has the potential to eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic bags over its lifetime.

Renew...Reuse...Recycle!

Synchronized Swimming for Talent Show

Maybe we'll take our show on the road! :)