Closing The Book On 2009...

I can't believe that we are hours away from ringing in a new year and a new decade. Surreal.

I'd be lying if I told you that I haven't been looking forward to politely ushering out '09. It was a hard year for us. However, as I've been reflecting on the year these last few days, I have realized that while our lows were very low and challenging.... many of our highs were just as extreme.

Here's a recap of the highs and lows:

We'll start with the lows and the many reasons I felt that my model of 2009 was a real lemon...


I collected a couple of these souveniors this year. stitches, surgeries, miscellaneous procedures and hospital visits and all I got was a stupid bracelet.

We learned on Valentine's Day that my Dad would need open heart surgery with a quintuple bypass. It was a very shocking, unexpected and scary time for our family. Luckily, he came through the ordeal like a champ!

Oops, I did it again. I tripped over my own feet and ended up with stitches in this same spot for the 3rd (yes, third) time in my life. But I did get an "awesome bracelet" and a fresh new scar out of it.


I turned 34 and although I did have an amazing birthday, I'm pretty sure that all of the Western Hemisphere can hear my biological clock ticking and chiming. It felt particularly magnified this year and I hated it.


Desperately trying to one-up me and make me feel better, my Dad also tripped and fell, shattering most of the bones on one side of his face and requiring yet another surgery in which he recieved a lot of cool harware (and his second awesome bracelet of the year). Another terrifying and sad time for our family. Luckily, he has recovered amazingly from both of his big surgeries.

Our family has also had to deal with the pain of addiction and recovery this year as well as loss and heartache. It is painful to see loved ones struggle and hurt and there has seemed to be a lot of that this year.

As hard as we've tried, CJ and I haven't had any success with this concept these last 3 years and it has led to an excruciating year of countless doctors, specialists, procedures, drugs, homeopathy, tears, anger, sadness, pee sticks, reasearch, bad news, sleepless nights, heartache, more tears and loads of emptiness.

After even all of that... there continues to be an amazing and charming bedroom in our home that is glaringly and unsettlingly (is that even a word?!) empty. We pray that 2010 will fill this room and the void that we feel. (Remember the difference a year makes? I sure hope so)

Okay enough of that....

How about some HIGHS?


We took an amazing cruise to kickoff the year and celebrate our anniversary with some of my family. Other than dropping and breaking our camera two days in... it was fantastic and a perfect January/February escape.


We caught several Jazz games this year. It's always a favorite date night....


... especially when your favorite apostle sits right in front of you.


I got to see Wicked again when it came to SLC, this time with some of my favorite girls. Definately a highlight.


CJ & I have been lucky enough to be able to spend lots of time doing amazing things with our youth this year. They do so much to strengthen our testimonies and they fill such a void in our lives. Our ward youth conference in Moab, was just one of the many highlights. We would look at each other at night and giggle that we were at youth conference...only we were the leaders and the ones supposedly in charge this time around. Amusing to say the least!

I've also been lucky enough to create some amazing and lifelong friendships along the way. I love the ladies that I get to serve with and my Wednesday nights this year have certainly been full of highlights. It kind of feels like Girls Night Out every week.

CJ got a chance to sit in another "Eagle's Nest" this year. Something he looked forward to for months! I love that guy. (and congratulations to my awesome nephew Cayden)

The annual trip to Swiss Days with my mom, sisters and nieces did not disappoint this year. Per usual, the scones might have been the best part.


Truly one of the highlights of my year was being vandalized like this. Some *anonymous* teenage girls sidewalk chalked our driveway, sidewalk and porch with all kinds of nice words and messages. It happened to be on a morning that I really needed it and they will probably never know how much it meant to me. An answer to a prayer I hadn't even uttered.



I also got to enjoy lots of time with my girlfriends... something that I'm so glad we've continued to do over the years, whether it's getting pedi's, having dinner...



...sneaking in a Saturday morning breakfast without husbands or kiddos



OR... of course the annual Christmas Party. I always feel loved and blessed when I am with these ladies. I love my girlfriends so much. BFFs for sure.

By far the greatest highlight of our year was our incredible 3 week vacation in September. It was a bit of a bandaid to give some heartaches time to heal, but it worked and it was amazing. We saw and experienced amazing things and places. A trip that as I look back, almost feels like a dream because it was so perfect. It was just what we needed...time away, with just the two of us to clear our heads and re-focus our lives and desires.

And we've done just that as this up and down year has come to an end...

2010 seems full of promise,

hope and lots of joy

for the C*K*J's

Happy New Year!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas...

Christmas Eve has always been one of my most favorite nights of the year. It's a night that's full of anticipation, magic and many amazing family traditions. It's always been a night that we all looked forward to and spent together as a family and is usually much more fun and exciting than Christmas Day itself.

As we've gotten older and our family has grown and changed, so have our traditions. Christmas Eve no longer involves the sibling gift exchange... we stopped drawing names and exchanging formal gifts several years ago. It no longer involves the one gift (usually pajamas) that my mom would let us open before shooing us off to bed. We don't watch the original "Miracle on 34th Street" like we did every Christmas Eve for my first 15 or so years of life. And this was the first time in all of my thirtysomething years that Christmas Eve didn't involve the annual performance of the nativity pageant. It was a little shocking at first to imagine a Christmas Eve without the traditional donning of towels, bathrobes, and tinsel halos, but alas there are only a handful left in our family that are even under 18 and the grandkids finally protested enough and won. Until they all start having enough kids of their own to re-populate the pageant...it's been officially retired.

This year we decided to have some dress-up fun in a new kind of way as we introduced the First Annual Holiday/Ugly Sweater Christmas Eve Party...



It seems that dressing in ridiculous sweaters and silly ornamentations rather than bathrobes and turbins was a hit with everyone, both young and old... I suspect that we have a new traditon in the making!

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Of course, some traditions hold strong... like the much looked forward to White Elephant Gift Exchange...

Some of the hot items this year included:

The dancing chicken (there was also a dancing pig)

The EZ Plunge (courtesy of CJ)

Brake Pads (a little yucky, but really funny)

(Both of the above were a huge hit with the little girls who thought they were: a mini jumping trampoline toy and huge bandaids for owies, respectively)

My favorite gift of the night though, were these little skeleton statue fingurine thingies (mr & mrs.) that Tasha was lucky enough to score... What the What?!?

(they were courtesy of Grandma, of course. My mom always comes up with the best white elephant gifts)

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And with the start of this new sweater tradition, there were prizes and titles to be awarded...

Who would "CRUSH" the competition???

The votes were tallied and the envelope was opened!

The clear-cut winner was my always proper and put together Dad, who (with the help of my mom, I'm sure) pinned wooden ornaments all over his low cut v-neck sweater and topped it off with chains and beads. I love that guy!

Big Bro Duane came in 2nd with his tight little yellow cardigan ensemble and my cute niece Cassidy rounded out the top 3 with her snowman adorned vest. (she had de-junked it a bit before I had a chance to snap this picture... see below for the original look)

We finished out the night by gathering together to watch this and take a few minutes to reflect upon our Savior, His birth and what it means to each of us. It was the perfect way to put everything in perspective and send us all away with the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts.

I don't think that anyone even missed the nativity pageant this year.

Thanks Mom and Dad for another year of amazing family memories!

The difference a year makes...

Can you believe that this was on my Christmas list last year?

As I remembered that this morning, I couldn't help but laugh...

...and then I cringed a little.

The difference a year makes.

Here's hoping Santa & I both do a little better this year!

Merry Christmas from the C*K*J's....

I'm ready...

The last of my grocery shopping... done!

All my gifts: wrapped!

And best of all: my awesome mom (and dad and big sis) showed up at my house last night with a whole tin of my favorite holiday treats...

Yes, I am ready indeed!

it's days like this...

...that make me want to curl up and hibernate at home all winter long.

Or at the very least all day long.

I can't believe how much it is snowing. It hasn't let up all day. It's the perfect sunday afternoon in December to snuggle up at home with the christmas lights twinkling and all of my favorite holiday songs playing in the background. CJ will get his scheduled Sunday afternoon nap and I will enjoy my scheduled Sunday afternoon solitude. Then maybe I can talk him into lighting a fire to warm us up as we savor our hot chocolate and cinnamon toast just like I used to enjoy every Sunday night as a child. See, I really do love traditions.

I hope your Sunday is warm, dry, cozy and lovely.

i heart sugar cookies (and traditions)

This month seems to be all about the JOY that comes from friends, family and traditions. This weekend we celebrated another amazing tradition. From the time I can remember (and I think since the beginning of time), my grandma would have all the grandkids over for the annual Christmas Cookie Bake and Slumber Party. It was one of those nights that we looked forward to all year. Since my mom started having grandkids of her own, she has carried the torch. It continues to be one of our most favorite family traditions, even though there are far more BIG kids than little kids nowadays. Thankfully, this is a tradition for all ages!!

Lots of happy pictures of VERY happy memories...

The tables are set, the cookies are baked, the frosting is whipped and the sprinkles are ready...

My amazing mom bakes between 300-400 cookies for this event!! Can you believe that?!? That's what she gets for having such a huge posterity.

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Cute little Trey posing by Grandma's beautiful Filipino Christmas Tree.

His Daddy caught him under the mistletoe and took full advantage!

Me and two of my favorite boys!!

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And it's time for the mess making to begin...

Cute Cassidy with a handful of sprinkles

Jeremy, getting serious.


Tasha, Cayden and Colby


Alex and Megan

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It's so fun, because now that most of them are getting older, they bring spouses and a whole new generation of little ones to enjoy this fun tradition...

Amy & Kevin

Crystal & Clint

Briana & little Mae (who wanted NOTHING to do with my camera)

Tyler, Chauntelle & Riley. (even new baby Payton came... although she stayed clear of the mess and commotion)

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Grandma helps the little kids make their handprint sugar cookies...

And Grandpa helps with the frosting and decorating...

And at Grandma's house, no one gets in trouble for licking their knife, especially not Riley!!

*****

Not only does she bake cookies for the grandkids, but she lets us in on the action too!

I love this party...

and so do the really BIG kids!

Things have definately gotten more creative and interesting with my older nieces and nephews...

...like Colby's speedo wearing Barney colored gingerbread man?!?

What the what?!?

Some of the cookies were pretty like this

and some were just loaded like this, but all of them were YUMMY...

...thanks to them!!!!

Mom, thank you for all the work you do to make this party happen. You are the BEST mom and grandma in the whole wide world. (and thanks for letting us come, even though we're all grown up)

I love you!!

*****

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{and what would a family party be without a picture like this...}

Me and my Tasha Gurl!