It's Christmas Time!

I am not sure where in the world this year has gone to, but it is time again for the Christmas season! I love Christmas! I love the Christmas season. I love everything about the Christmas season! It's my favorite time of the year.

So, in the spirit of the season, a Merry Christmas from a couple of cute Santas--my two nieces Elise & Kelsey.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, I'm not sure how in the world it happened, but somehow, it is the end of November, which means that it is the holiday season! I love this time of year. I love the holidays. I love spending time with my family. It is so easy this time of year to get caught up in all the commercialism leading into Christmas. That is a big part of what I love about Thanksgiving. There is no commercialism. It is truly a holiday to enjoy and be with your family and enjoy the feast.

Most days, I find myself focusing far too much on what is difficult in my life and on how my life is hard and it's not fair that I have to work so hard to get by. I love that this one day makes me stop and truly be thankful for what I have.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for a beautiful, warm, comfortable home. I am thankful for a good job that offers security for my family. I am thankful for a dependable car that allows me to get to work each day. I am thankful for a second job that is allowing me the opportunity to try to get my family ahead and possibly turn into a full time job in the future. I am thankful for a mom who gives of her time to help me make that second job successful!

I am thankful to have been blessed enough to be born in our country and be an American with the freedoms and privileges and responsibilities that go along with that right. I am thankful to have been born into a family that taught me right from wrong since birth and that has taught me the gospel. I am thankful for my knowledge of eternal life and the fact that I will be able to be with my family again when our earthly lives are over. I am thankful for the beautiful area that we live in. I am thankful for my New England heritage. I am thankful that I was raised to believe in tradition.

I am sure that if I had more time, I could easily come up with 100's more things that I am thankful for. But for now, I have a bunch of apples that are calling my name--the apple pies didn't get made yesterday, so I have to get them done real quick, before the turkey goes in at 10 am!

So to everyone, I wish you

8 things

8 things....

I saw this on Jen's blog and thought I would join in on the fun! Hope you do too!!!

8 Favorite TV shows
1-Army Wives
2-Wheel of Fortune
3-How I Met Your Mother
4-Amazing Race
5-Law & Order
6-Without a Trace
7-?
8-?

8 Things I did yesterday
1-Work
2-Laundry
3-went grocery shopping
4-fixed dinner
5-did a bit of work from home
6-watched a bit of TV
7-FHE with my family
8-slept!!

8 THings I look forward to
1-Thanksgiving & some time off work!!!!
2-my weekly emails from James
3-Christmas shopping
4-getting my inspections job off the ground
5-regularly getting eggs from the chickens
6-finally finishing my kitchen by getting the tile countertops in
7-Josh's first season playing HS basketball(he made the team today!)
8-The Holidays

8 Favorite Restaurants
1-Olive Garden
2-Old Spaghetti Factory
3-The Melting Pot
4-Babe's Bakery
5-El Mirador
6-can't remember the name of it, but there is this TO DIE FOR seafood place in Hailey, ID that I love to go to whenever I'm there!
7-
8-

8 Things on my wishlist
1-A new car
2-A new digital camera--one that's more up to date & better suited for my insurance inspection job
3-A really terrific photo editing program
4-finally choosing a color to repaint my bedroom
5-more peace of mind
6-a week without Josh arguing
7-more time
8-enough money that I don't have to stress out every month

I have been so bad about posting lately! Life has been so crazy. I've had a change at work and am now working in a different department---actually the same department that I spent 4 years in before going to my last position. So it's a little bit like going home again, but with training on all the things that have changed in the last two years!

Between the new job and the insurance inspections, it seems like I'm running around like crazy all day long! But the inspections often take me to places that I really enjoy. On Saturday, we spent the day in Jackson Hole, Wy. For any of you who have not eve been there, it is just absolutely stunning. I love getting to go there. This weekend, for some reason, it looked like the Teton Mountains were so close!! I don't think I've ever seen that good of a view of the Grand Teton. The wildlife were out in abundance--we saw deer, elk, moose, and bison. It was a great day--I got to combine work with a terrific day with my family.