Christmas 2008

Just a few pics from Christmas 2008. The big hits were: Max - Legos, Legos, Legos. Sami - Easy Bake Oven, Karaokee Machine. Josi- Ball Pit, Elmo. We had tons of fun!

Josi's Bodyslam

Josi has picked up really quick on the whole wrestling thing. Check out her fearsome bodyslam moves!

I love Jeff

 

Can I just say how much I love Jeffery Robert Hurst? Jeff is super-man. Jeff is smart. Jeff works hard. Jeff naturally knows what to do in every situation. Jeff has true instincts. Jeff is good at balancing his time. Jeff is wise. Jeff is capable and talented. Jeff is good at everything he tries (sometimes that drives me crazy - there's nothing he stinks at). Jeff is kind.
This winter just before Christmas Jeff took "his girls" out to lunch downtown. We passed by a homeless man on the sidewalk and Jeff just reached in his pocket, pulled out some money and handed it to him without stopping. After lunch while we were in the car Sami said out of the blue "Thank you Daddy for giving that man a dollar." I remember another time when we were first married and we were coming out of Walmart. Jeff was wearing his favorite sweatshirt - it was black and soft and he just loved it. A man approached us in the parking lot asking for help - we honestly had no cash on us. It was winter time and Jeff didn't even hesitate - he took off his favorite sweatshirt and handed it to the man. I have tried over the years to replace that sweatshirt but even Jeff comments that none of them feel like that one did. Thank you honey for being so kind and giving and strong and wise. I love more today than yesterday but not as much as tommarrow!

E I E I O

 

We had a fabulous Christmas. I think we have all recovered. Being back to normal feels too good! You know that Michael McLean song "I cry the day I take the tree down" well I couldn't feel more differently. The day after Christmas I started to feel like I was suffocating in my own house. There was just so much stuff EVERYWHERE. So it all came down early this year. One of our fun family traditions is that I make us all matching pajama pants that we open on Christmas Eve and wear all day long on Christmas. Here is our annual picture on the stairs that we so cruelly make the kids pose for before they can run down and open presents. This year we have farm pants commemorating Josi's first song. She came home from Nursery singing "Moo - Moo EIO." It is just adorable.

You might say I'm a dreamer...

Okay, so I have to share something - It's more of a reminder to myself as well as some info you might all enjoy.

So, I have dreams. Not just normal dreams, but often Heavenly Father speaks to me in my dreams. Some of you have read about the dream I had that helped me find our toyroom. I had a dream just before Jeff was called into the Bishopric...I decided I need to keep a dream journal as a family reminder of the Lord's hand in our life. Anyway, about a year ago I had a very vivid dream...

We were looking for a new house. Every house that Jeff and I walked into seemed to be the same - there was tons of hardwood and really high ceilings and big open kitchens. We went into home after home and they were all the same, they were all beautiful,but I just couldn't get excited about any of them.

Then we walked through another house. It was older and very quirky. The ceilings were lower, it was smaller, I remember that in the middle of the living room wall there were two steps up into another bedroom. It was just weird! But I was getting all excited and feeling like "this is the house!" Then we walked through the small kitchen and opened a door where we stepped down into this great storage room. It was dark and had really low ceilings but it was like a mini grocery store. There were several freezers and lots of shelves and you could walk in there and find all the ingredients to make almost anything you'd want. Jeff and I knew that was the house for us!

I can still to this day remember all the little details about this dream. I know that I am supposed to do whatever I can to create a safe haven for my family. Whenever I am tempted to yearn for a bigger, newer, more beautiful home (mainly a bigger kitchen) I remember my dream and how excited I was over that weird little house simply becasue it had everything I needed to take care of my family.

Jeff and I have been working on making that dream a reality. In recent years we have expaned our pantry. We have our 12 month supply of staples packed away in the kids' closets and under their beds. What we don't have is our 3 months supply of food we eat everyday. Somehow I have to re-create that weird little room with shelves and freezers that held everything we needed. We will have to be very creative to find the space and money to make this happen but I know it's what my family needs to do.

I wanted to share with all of you food-storage focused friends that I found a coupon for $100 off of those Shelf Reliance food rotations shelves. We have one and I just love it! go to www.pinchingyourpennies.com and scroll down to the bottom for the coupon.

Sami's Song

Sami is really enjoying her piano class. She especially enjoys composing her own songs. Her is her latest composition.

What color crayon are you?

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?