Christmas eve singing around the piano. Dave is a talented piano player. Mark and I on our flutes? Not so much.

She likes black bean hummus a lot. But if you give her her own bowl of it, it gets messy.

Our attempt to get a picture on Christmas Sunday before church.

We have done lots more, like sledding, sleeping, eating, eating, skiing, working and playing.
Love the holidays. Love 'em!

Winds of change

Mark and I had been hoping for a change, just something, in our lives. It came unexpectedly, not in a way we were thinking it would come...me getting a job. I'm working full time for an awesome company, Steals Network that has 3 websites:

BabySteals.com
Kidsteals.com
(you'll have to refresh this page or it will show you an old item)
Scrapbooksteals.com

I am doing the customer service for Kidsteals. I'm still getting used to things, but get to work mostly from home, which is SO nice.

It has really changed things around our house, so busy and things are different every day with both Mark and I working mainly from home, but also needing to go into the office sometimes. It was not an easy decision for me to make, but see it as the best thing for our family right now.

Already I appreciate my time with Siri and Mark's hard work so much more.

And if you know us, you know there is always time for fun. Mark went snowboarding today and Siri and I went to the Library. She freaks out when I make her leave, so I'm usually running out while she wails in my arms. Last week we ventured out to check the mail and visit the neighbors in the freeeeezing cold.

We went swimming at Cottonwood Heights and went to Temple Square for a concert and to stroll the lights.

Today Siri had her 15 month appt which included 4 shots. It was basically a crying fest, but she is happy and snug in her bed now.

I hope you all are doing great, enjoying family, giving of your time and talents, and eating good food. This is a beautiful time of year and I am thankful for it.

.Ode to a Snu.

Okay, so it's been several months now since I have actually posted something of my own (thanks Ali for keeping this thing going) and I also read/heard somewhere that blogging is "cheaper than therapy" so here goes. (But I was kind of hoping to lie on the couch instead of here at the table...)

Short and sweet version: Siri saved the day.

Long-winded, verbose, possibly therapeutic version:

I was kind of having an off day - you know, one of those days where you simply are there, you simply exist - and so I wasn't feeling too high on myself. Top that with a sub-par personal performance and another week without a "W" in our b-ball rec league and the day was looking rather bleak. After the game, Ali went to watch the Biggest Loser with her sister, Liz, and so it was just me and the Nu (one of Siri's innumerable nicknames, which never make any sense but are sure fun to say). After we cleaned up a bit and got everything ready for bedtime, I started reading some books to her. We had to of read about six books (or maybe two books three times) when, out of nowhere, Siri turns around to face me, pulls out her bink, leans into me and gives me a kiss. Twice. It was one of the sweetest things she has ever done and it completely changed the entire day around. So cool.

There have been other times when Siri will do something for me because she knows or, at least can sense, that something is amiss with me and she wants to help. I couldn't believe how insightful this experience was. It's definitely times like this that reaffirm the eternal love of our Creator and demonstrates how close He really is to each of us every day.

So here is a tribute to the Nu. Thanks for taking care of me.