Christmas on the Farm

Christmas was pure delightful homecookin', great company, freezin' tractor takin' pictures, silly Santa, and "Family Fued" fun! This year we drove 16 hours from Utah to South Dakota to spend the holidays with my step-mom's family. Growing up, I'd spend parts of the summer and some Christmas's with them and it's been so fun being back. The Olson's opened their hearts and homes to my brother Daniel and I when we joined their family, and it feels the same this time around as well. I've felt the closest to this set of Grandparents more than my "blood" related ones, just because of the time I spent with them.

Grandma and Grandpa Olson are celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow, but we honored them yesterday when we all got together. There were 48 people and 5 dogs all in Grandpa and Grandmas house and it was so fun. Some of the things that remind me of them are the smell of coffee, cowboy boots, and their simple, genuine love toward each other.

We took pictures of all the grandkids and greatgrandkids by the big John Deere combine tractor. My fingers were so cold that I had a hard time snapping shots by the end. Jaxon was so excited that Santa came to give each kid a present. Talon got John Deere fruit snacks and Jaxon got a puzzle set. The night before Christmas they opened up their John Deere sweatshirts and sweatpants I bought at Gabes for crazy cheap. I thought they would be perfect for this years Christmas on the farm. My dad put together a family fued game that we all enjoyed. All the laughter and love is what made our Christmas so special.



P.S. For Christmas Doug gave me a love letter and 10 coupons of service and has let me sleep in everyday. I gave lots of babysitting so he could go pheasant hunting twice a day everyday here and also 8 days during deer hunting during the bow and rifle season in WV. So far he hasn't got any pheasants but has shot a whole bunch...he's still hoping for something tomorrow.


P.S.S. The boys had a fun time bouncing or should I say launching each other on the air mattresses.

Missing You!

Well. today Amber left Idaho to go back to be with her family. At the last minute Jax spoke up about wanting to go with her. So we quickly packed his stuff and sent them on their way to Utah.
So now here I sit not sure what to do with myself other than miss my wife and kids! I miss you Amber!
Its amazing how much I miss chasing little ones, feeding/playing with and so forth. Life is beautiful with a family!

3 Celebrations for our 3 year old!!! And 29 year old!!!

Jaxon and Doug's birthday are back to back, so their celebrations usually occur together.


Jaxon turned 3 and was blessed to celebrate 3 times. The first was a few days before his birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Mac, Jen, and Kim (east coast McArthurs, except Kate). We made his favorite food macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. His passion is DINOSAURS so we cut the grilled cheese into dinosuars, invited dinosaur guests, attempted a dinosaur cupcake cake (turned out pretty scary), and made dinosaur sounds all night long. Kim brought us some new Free Range Studio shirts, so of course we had to take a picture.

The next celebration occured on Doug's birthday, when we celebrated with all of my family in Utah. Jeannie made this adorable Dinosaur cake and I gave Jaxon his Dinosaur quilt I'd been working on till the wee hours of the morning. (I only slept a half an hour before we flew to Utah). It still isn't finished as I need to do the actual quilting on it, but at least he can use it during our trip. When we asked Jax how old he was, he showed us on his hand three fingers and accidentally touched the cake. So we got a fingerlickin good 3.I love watching Doug read cards from me. There's something so pure about his reactions. This time I scored a smile, some laughter, and even a tear! Babe I sure love you!



The final celebration occured when we drove to Idaho to be with the rest of the McArthur family. Corrie spoiled Doug with an amazing mexican feast, which included yummy tomales, 2 pies, and 1 cake. Doug was thrilled about celebrating with all his brothers. He loved going jack rabbit hunting with them, playing some football playstation, talking knives and guns, and just being together.

Thanksgiving...so thankful that

my in-laws came to my house to celebrate. Doug's parents and three sisters joined us for yummy food, sleep overs, midnight conversations, shopping, and Twilight. We enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner in our garage/turned playroom so we could all fit at the table together...I know kind of ghetto but it was super fun! We each wrote something we were thankful for about each person there and that I must say was pretty special to read. We had half the McArthur clan with us while the other half gathered in Idaho. Doug and his dad enjoyed hunting together and after 3 days of freezing weather, Doug shot 1 deer with his "cowboy" pistol which he was very proud of, 1 deer with his rifle, and tag teamed another deer with his dad. All of these deer were bucks, 1 really old buck with no antlers and no teeth and 2 young bucks. While Doug did try to convince me that hanging dead deer off our back deck wouldn't freak out our neighbors, I argued that that deer go straight to the butcher!!! Doug's mom is thrilled to have so much meat in her freezer.

Beauty, Ballroom, and a Birthday!!!

So my friend Mary told me she wanted to do something fun for her 30th birthday back in September. I told her I would love to plan a party for her, but then never mentioned it again. Then in October, she told a group of friends that it was her dream to ballroom dance with her husband. Those of you who know me, know that I love planning parties and love dancing!!! Therefore, the Surprise Ballroom Birthday idea formulated. With the help of several talented friends and a husband who loved to make his wife smile, it came together beautifully.

This is how the day went.

1. Ambush Make-over of Morgantown (aka, Abby, Amy, Melanie, and I), came to Mary's house to do her hair, make up, nails, perfume, dress, and accessories. The dress I bought her was a bit big, so we had to make some alterations. By the end of the 3 hour extravaganza she was ready for her "dinner" date with her husband looking so gorgeous!
   
2. Ballroom Dancing in Kim's sunroom. The night before Abby, Kim, and I strung white lights on Kim's vaulted ceiling to give it some mood lighting. Several friends brought yummy appetizers and desserts such as Spinach Artichoke Dip, Bruschetta, Pumpkin Cobbler, Tabouleh, etc. We had babysitting in Kim's basement and the adults dressed up for the occasion. Doug and I were the dance instructors. When Mary and Phil arrived, we were all dancing and shouted surprise!!! Then she got to choose from a list of 9 dance styles the ones she wanted to learn. We did the Tango, Cha-Cha, Country 2-step, Merengue, and Swing.

Doug and I had a lot of fun freshening up on our dance skills. We even learned the Argentine Tango from Youtube! Big thank you to Kim for sharing your beautiful home with us, to Phil for keeping it a secret and supporting the whole thing, to Abby for being my dress model, Amy and Melanie for sharing your talents, to all of those who made yummy food, and everyone that came to enjoy the event!

P.S. You can view all the pics taken on Kim's camera on my candidly creative photo site.

My Doug.

Keeping with the gratitude posts this month, I wanted to say how thankful I feel to have my Doug as my best friend, constant and eternal companion, the father of my children, the provider of our family, and as the person I feel is going to help me return to live with my father in heaven again. Even though there are moments when his obsessive passions and creative desires, such as hunting, knife and bow making, cowboy dreamer, gun fanatic, and inability to put a book down or stop a project, tend to pull on my unhappy nerve, I still feel blessed for all the things I love about him. I'm thankful that he is doing well in dental school and learning the skills needed to make him a great dentist. I'm thankful he has the desire to be the sole financial provider for our family so that I can be the kind of mother I want to be for my children in the home. I'm thankful that he has an unwavering testimony of Christ's restored gospel and that he reads the Book of Mormon frequently. I'm thankful that he is obedient, honest, trustworthy, humble, kind, happy, and overall a good person. To emphasize the happy, I love that he is an easy going person and finds joy in the simple things of life. I'm thankful that he is stable and that I know he is always there for me. I'm thankful he loves to play with our kids, nurture them when they don't feel well, teaches them principles such as obedience, gratitude, respect, and selflessness. I'm thankful he does make time for our family and helps with family responsibilities such as dishes, laundry, trash, and my most favorite- getting up with the kids in the morning. I'm so thankful for his words of love and encouragement towards me. I love feeling like I'm the most beautiful person to him and that he loves me through all shapes and sizes, moods that ride the hormone roller coaster, and somehow sees the best I can be even when I'm not functioning at my best. I know he loves me just as I am. Also, I'm so thankful that he loves to dance with me!!! Douglass, thank you for being you and for the way you make me feel loved. Today I''m thankful for my Doug.
This picture is from our date last weekend. We got Indian food take out and ate it at Cheat Lake. On our walk back, we reminisced why we feel in love with each other and came to the same conclusion, "We loved the way we made each other feel so loved and adored!" I hope we always strive to continue to do that throughout this whole life and onto eternity.

In honor of Thanksgiving...

I'm going to post some of the things I'm grateful for. To start off, my cousin Jeannie introduced me to this beautiful picture collage of Christ accompanied with music. Oh, it was breathe taking. The photography is fabulous, the music humbling, and most of all it made me feel close to my Savior. I think about the day when I will see Him again and how ultimately that's what I'm striving for. Though the day to day frequently leaves me forgetful of this, I'm thankful for the moments when my life is put into the eternal perspective. Going to the temple easily does that for me, gospel music and pictures of Christ do it for me, reading my scriptures and saying those heart felt prayers, give me that reminder as well. I truly owe everything I've been blessed with to Jesus Christ. The joy I feel when I think of His eternal plan of happiness, brings me hope knowing that there's nothing but beauty and peace in the life to come, if I but choose HIM daily. To my children, know that Christ can and will lift your burdens when your sad and your heart is aching. Know that He knows how to help you overcome the world and Satan's temptations. Christ's hand is always stretched forth for you to take it. And He will lead you to everlasting joy! To my eternal love, I look forward to the day when I can be the woman you've always dreamed of and stand beside you as we go to meet the man who made the eternal nature of our relationship possible! Today, I'm thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ!

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/

Candidly Creative Photography- what is it?

This is where you go to find pictures I've taken of you!
www.candidlycreativephotography.blogspot.com

I'm trying to get more organized with my photos. Therefore, I decided I needed a place where I can easily download pictures I take of my beautiful friends and family. You know the ones where I say, I'll give you a copy or somehow I'll get it to you. Well, this is where I will post them.

Some of these pictures date back to March 08. They are all in picasa web albums and you should be able to copy them and do what you want with them. If not, let me know and I'll see what I can do. The majority are slide shows, but you can just click on it and it will pop up the album to view all the pics faster if you like.

Also, this is where I will post future photo shoots of your beautiful children, families, etc.

It's not a business sight, just for fun candids and when I get to play photographer for you.

So far, I haven't posted any of the photo shoots I've taken, because those have hundreds of pics. But maybe I'll try to do a gallery of my favorites.

A Momentous Day in American History!

And I was apart of it! Today I reflected back to 5th grade, living in Montgomery, Alabama, learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. and feeling like that happened centuries ago, when in reality it was just over 20 years previous. Then in 6th grade, living in Talladega, Alabama, I was in the minority class as a white American. The African American race was the majority and I remember a select few individuals who reminded me of that. Coming from Hawaii (lived there from Kindergarten through 4th grade), there were so many different cultures merged into the school systems, I had been used to being in the minority class, so I didn't think that this would phase me. But the differences I felt from Hawaii to Alabama was how I was treated as family in Hawaii and as an outsider in Alabama. I remember several black peers feeling anger about racism and how their ancestors were treated. I felt that they in return projected their feelings onto us white folks and belittled us because of what their ancestors went through. It felt like they blamed us. I remember a black girl wanting to fight me because she thought the reason I wouldn't let her copy my paper was because she was black. I felt scared, intimidated, and didn't understand the hatred that some 12 year olds had over something that was in the past. Looking back now, I have a better understanding that children are products of their parents and so on and so on. I felt this then and feel it even more now, RESPECT for all American citizens who learn from the past, yet do all they can to better themselves to be the best person they can become.

Today I felt honored to be apart of this historic day that my children will learn about in their History text books. I admire that Barrack Obama strived to make himself the best American citizen he could become and I pray he will do the same as President. He's stepping into office at a tough time in American History, with 2 wars, a sunken economy, a massive national debt, shady politicians, and let's not forget, Satan doing all he can to win the hearts of us all.

This was the first presidential election I voted in. It was very challenging for me to decide whom to vote for. After researching out both candidates, I prayed and fasted about it. The morning of, I woke up at 6:45am to miss the long lines. As I fell to my knees, I thanked Heavenly Father for sending me to this beautiful nation that supports freedom and was founded upon good honest principles. Knowing that our forefathers dedicated their lives and sacrificed their lives for us to have the right to vote for our leaders, put no doubt in my mind, that I not only should vote, but I should rejoice in this blessing. I still felt undecided, so on my way out the door I asked Jax, "Should I vote for McCain or Obama?" In my heart, I hoped he'd name ______* and he did. That was my answer. I reconized I did have a preference! *I'm choosing to keep my vote to my self. Mostly, because it feels like such a personal decision that the thought of someone judging my choice, feels like it would take away from peace I'm feeling.

In closing, I'd like to say to my children, to always remember that Christ plan involves HOPE! Even when you feel like our nation is going down hill and there's nothing that can be done to prevent it, know that YOU are a blessed individual to have the knowledge of the true and everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ. His gospel teached us to be hopeful for good to conquer evil, to look forward to the day when Christ will reign in righteousness one day, and that we just need to do our best (and I'd add, our part) to be the kind of citizen Christ would be!

Halloween Fun

For Halloween the boys were either a Giraffe or Lion or Gorilla, depending on the event.

Doug and I went to Cheri's "Martha Stewart" style Halloween Party that was dected out with fabulous decor and scrumptiously scary food. We decided to go as Edward and Bella Swan from the Twillight Series. Doug read all 4 books in 2 weeks, and I'm in the middle of the second.


Pumpkin Carving. It was fun to see Jax get into cleaning out the seeds and drawing the face. With my help, he drew the tringle eyes, circle nose, and dinosaur mouth. Once we were done, he said to me, "Wait, it needs a pee pee and bum?" We tested it's "glow" in the bathroom and the boys just loved it.



Ward Party. Jaxon and I went around and played the games, while Talon and Dad observed.



Trick or Treating with friends. The boys were a bit timid at first, but by the end they got the hang of it. Jaxon really liked that each house gave him candy! He's never been exposed to that much candy before. By the end, we found our giraffe up in a tree eating a sucker.



Joyschool at our house. We had a "Where the Wild Things Are" day which included animal walks, tatoos, puzzles, sounds, books, snacks, and of course, animal dress up.