Thoughts on 2012...

Thirty minutes remain in 2012 and I'm thrilled to have this year behind us. This year has been the most emotionally draining year we've ever experienced. We experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. My dad passed away in January after a tough fight with pancreatic cancer. In June we welcomed our sweet daughter, Kennedy Marie, into the world after a traumatic emergency c-section. We sold our first home and have yet to find a new place to call home. I quit my job and became a stay-at-home mom. The Mr. started a new job after seven years with his last company. We were also baptized this year and through our faith in Christ we've been able to keep moving forward, even when at times, it seemed impossible. Our motto this year has been, "We can do hard things". Because in the reality of it, things have been tough, but this is only a small sliver of time in the scheme of things. We've been praying that 2013 is a calmer year with less trying moments and more enjoyable moments spent as a family. With all of that being said, we can't imagine our lives without our sweet daughter. She has brought light back into our lives and we truly believe she was added to our family at the perfect time. Cheers to a beautiful New Year!

Last belly picture-early June.

Kennedy Marie

06/15/12-12:27pm

7lbs, 8oz-19.75in

 

Our sweet girl in her faux fur!

 

September Iowa trip for Dad's memorial.

 

 

Visiting Daddy in the hospital (while he had pneumonia)-December.   

 

P.S. I didn't post once in 2012! I think that's symbolic of the crazy year we experienced!

 

 

I'm back!

Hey! It's me the one who hasn't blogged since December! How can this be? I don't even know where to start! Here we go, in March I graduated from the University of Washington with my BA! Soon after I started searching for jobs and was offered three, turned two down and decided to take the easy route and work at Nordstrom. Before starting at Nordstrom we took a quick trip to Las Vegas and enjoyed a few days soaking in the sun, dining out and shopping. Well, turns out Nordstrom wasn't exactly what I was looking for, (the discount was the only bonus part of the job) so I quit. I worked there April through May and in June I returned to being a stay at home housewife! :) For my 25th birthday we decided to take a quick jaunt down to Los Angeles at the end of May. We shopped, dined, and visited with Mickey Mouse! During mid-June you could find me walking across stage collecting my diploma, and the week after jumping on a jet-plane and traveling to the Midwest! Brendan, my parents and I flew into Minnesota and drove to Iowa for a small family reunion. On our last day of our trip we had some time to kill, so we decided to spend a few hours at the Mall of America. This was Brendan's first experience with the Mall of America and he definitely couldn't believe how large the mall really was! At the end of June Nordstrom called and asked me to come back to work the Anniversary sale (I couldn't turn them down because the thought of having a discount during the sale made me giddy!) So I have a couple more days there and then I'll be starting a new part-time position at the place I worked before I went back to school. I'm quite excited to be working three days a week, never working nights or weekends (I really don't know how people can stand nights & weekends working retail!!!) I almost forgot to mention that we celebrated our five year wedding anniversary on July 8th! Time flies when you're having fun! Anyways, I think that's about it for now, hopefully my next post isn't seven months from now!

Iowa (Enjoying my new DSLR!)

Brendan and I at my graduation!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Talan!

Uncle BJ and I love you more than we could have ever imagined!

We hope you have a fantastic birthday!

{Thankful}

On this Tuesday morning I find myself being thankful for the many blessings in my life. I'm warm and cozy in my humble abode, watching my snow blanketed yard glisten from the rising sun. My supportive husband left our home hours ago, having to endure the treacherous road conditions, so he could get to work. The dogs are snuggled up, enjoying my company as I type away. My mind is relaxed from the break from the intellectual overload that I won't experience today at school; thoughts have switched from statistics and psychology to Christmas trees and snow angels. This is the start to a very good day.

{Our little abode covered in snow!}

{Conversing with the Mr.}

Yesterday I was stuck at home without my beloved car! There was some warranty work that needed to be done (hmm...like "chrome" interior door handles that were peeling) so I was stuck at home. I decided to clean, even though the house was already clean. When I went into our newly invented media/chill room I noticed the flower pot to a little plant was missing from the coffee table. I decided I would text Brendan to see if he knew where it went.

Me: Where did you put that little flower pot? (Man, I'm sassy!)

Him: In the shed.

Me: What?! Did you forget to fill it up and bring it back to the house? (I still needed to officially plant the cutie palm, but needed soil to do so.)

Him: Yeah, I got scared in there, it was dark.

Me: LOL!! That was too cute!

Him: Sorry, I will get it tonight.

So he tried to fill up the planter with soil from the shed but got scared during the process because it was dark in the shed!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I hope you're able to fit in an extra long bike ride today!

Love, Big Pal

P.S. I'm actually making cupcakes for tonight; can you believe it?!?

{A Little of This, A Little of That}

I've decided that I'm just not a reliable blog poster! I have all of these great ideas running through my mind, but they just aren't getting documented! Well lets see, I'm still having issues with uploading pictures, so this will be another word heavy post! Let me start with what I'm best at, bulleted lists!

*After this week is over I only have two weeks left of summer quarter! I'm so excited for a break!

*After summer quarter is complete, I have two more quarters before I FINALLY have my bachelor's degree!

*I have been getting ready for a garage sale. It feels so good to clean out the house!

*I really can't believe that it's August! Before we know it we'll be celebrating Christmas!

*I have over three weeks off from school before fall quarter starts! I really don't know what I'll do with all that time! (Probably drive my family crazy!!)

Well, that's all I have for now. Hopefully I'll be back sooner rather than later!

Ta-Ta