Nothing much

Well, I finally blogged about the holidays but now I need to catch up on a few other little things before the semester gets going. I was very pleased with last semester; I only had three classes but two of them I thought were very hard, chemistry and anatomy & physiology. However, I ended up getting a 4.0!!! I spent a few nights crying over lab reports and often felt like I didn't study enough and I get the WORST test anxiety, so to achieve straight A's was pretty awesome! So now spring semester starts in a week and it will be harder with four classes, two of them being microbiology and another semester of anatomy & physiology. I will also be taking the TEAS test again, which is needed to apply for the dental hygiene program, and getting my application ready for March 1st (I think). The kids went back to school/preschool on the 5th. It was a long week but they seem to be back in their routine. Other than that, we have just been enjoying our time together, playing in the snow, and I've been reading for enjoyment again (one week and that will change). Here are a couple pictures of the kids in the snow. Oh...and Caleb lost his first tooth! We were so excited!

The Holidays

The boys and I spent the majority of the holidays in Worland. We enjoyed a fun christmas eve at grandma and papa's house and a quiet christmas day with just the five of us. Jessica and Fernando planned a surprise visit over new year's. We went bowling as a family on the 30th and had a lot of fun. We also ate lots of food and rang in the new year together.

Christmas Fun

In between studying and working the kids and I managed to make a little time for some fun holiday activities. We baked and decorated christmas cookies and we put together a few christmas crafts. We went to our first Sheridan 2nd ward dinner on the 16th. It was really fun! They had a chili cook-off and gingerbread house decorating contest. I made white chicken chili and won the chili with the most beans award! I got quite a laugh out of that but thought it was fitting because the chili did have nine cans of beans! We are so glad to be done with school for a couple weeks, especially me, and are looking forward to spending the holidays in Worland.

Here are the boys in front of our little tree.

Decorating cookies. They had a great time!

Caleb making a christmas card for our friends.

Caleb at the ward dinner with Santa (thanks Melissa for the picture!).

I found these holiday hand puppet crafts at Walmart and they turned out so cute!

This is my favorite picture! I gathered most of the crafts and other things Caleb and Ethan did at preschool and school throughout the month of December. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had! And this wasn't even all of it!

A Wonderful Quote

My family put together a "Love Chain" for me and the boys for Christmas. It was wonderful to see all of the fun "chains" and how each person decorated their's. Of course all of them were wonderful and had some really great messages, but my sister Jacque put a quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley that really touched me, so I would like to share it.

"Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God, of infinite capacity. Believe that you can do it-whatever it is that you set your heart on. Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been dark with portent." Gordon B. Hinckley
President Hinckley's words, no matter what they were, always touched me. He was a remarkable President! Thank you, Jacque...and the rest of my family! You are the best family ever!

The Nativity

Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) is one of my favorite christmas songs, so I have been anxious to pull out the christmas cd's and listen to it. Tonight I was talking to my sister about the video it goes with and she directed me to You Tube. I was ecstatic to find it and want to share it with you. It is such a beautiful reminder to us all of what the christmas season is for. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Fun

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving

Well I had a few minutes between class and work, so what better way to spend it than updating my blog! Plus, I need to blog about Thanksgiving before Christmas gets here or I'll be way behind! :)
We went to Worland for Thanksgiving. We showed up on Tuesday night and surprised my mom and dad, they weren't expecting us until wednesday afternoon. It was a pretty low-key week. We just hung out at my parent's, spent some time with Sara & her family, and then my brother and his boys came on friday and saturday. On saturday Sara, Kirstie, Amanda, & I escaped to Billings to do a little shopping. When I say a little I mean it. There were a lot of people and there is never enough time, or money, to do everything in one day. It was fun though.
Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Caleb filling his plate.
Ethan enjoying some good eats.
My mom serving up some delicious pie.
Me, Sara, and mom.
The coat pile! I love the coat pile, although it was mild because there were only 15 of us there.
Kirstie, Jason, & Dad enjoying post Thanksgiving reubens. Mmmm delicious!
Here is most of us getting ready for Worland's day-after-thanksgiving lighted parade.
Me, Caleb & Ethan before church (everyone's happy ;))