I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year Celebration! We spent ours in Coalville, Utah....well the majority of the time we did anyway! :) We enjoyed spending time with our families and know they enjoyed having us there as well. I am hoping not to make this post too long but there is a few things I would just lloovvee to share with you guys!
For Christmas this year...... for my mom and older sister Kristina, I decided to go a little DIY on them. I made my mom a chalkboard menu board and my sister a chalkboard calender! Let me just tell you guys....it was sooo fun......time consuming......but fun!
I started with a piece of wood.....that seriously took me awhile to find! We had to go to a few hardware stores around good ol' Sidney until I found the perfect one! I sanded it and then stained it. I stained it because my mom finally after about 20 years got her brand new kitchen! It is absolutely gorgeous and I wish I had pictures to show you. But alas I do not, but we will be visiting again soon and I shall remember! So anywho.....this stain color is almost identical to her cabinets! All I had to work with was a close up cell phone picture of the cabinets and Bam! It was a match!
After I stained it I taped off what would be the days of the week plus a spot for notes and a spot for a shopping list. Then I painted with primer.
I then painted with chalkboard paint......annnddd....here is where I screwed up! So I used a little foam brush to paint in which I had to do what seemed like fifty coats. Then a little light bulb went off in my head........ and when I say light bulb I mean my husband and his smartness..... saying "hey! Lets use a roller" Duh! But unfortunately it was a little too late and the paint had already bled through underneath the tape.
But.......another light bulb went off.....and this time it was my own smartness......and I decided to use scrapbook paper mod-podged on to create the dividers! It turned out awesome!
Plus come to find out.....because I failed to think about it before I put the paper on.....my mother's accent colors in her kitchen are...du du du......Yellow and Red!
For Kristina's it was a little easier because I used the roller and had to do only two coats. And I decided to stick with the scrapbook paper idea on hers as well.
And I was told by a little bird....aka...Kassidy.....that her accent color in her house is Red!
Ok so how I gave them their gifts......I made these gigantic gift tags made from my cricut with a little hint of what they were getting..... I tied them to chalk wrapped in wrapping paper!
I am not really sure what they thought when they opened these! lol!
When they opened them I said something like... "hmm chalk?? What could you possibly use that for?"
I have no pictures of their reactions when they received these beauties because
A: I was so excited I pretty much threw the camera and ran to the other side of the house yelling "I CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER!" and
B: because.....I'm not really sure...... I just felt like I needed a "B" but bottom line! I was too excited!
I also made some DIY body/facial scrub! I don't know I was just in the DIY mood....
So I am not going to go into what I got everybody for Christmas nor what I got for Christmas because I just think that is kind of rude! But I do have to share a couple things I got that have to do with my sweet baby Kaizen because they created a smile on my face.....and some tears snuck in as well!
So Josh called up his mom and asked her if she would make this.....
He gave her his ideas and over the phone they came up with this! His mom did such an amazing job and I really will treasure it forever! I love it so much!
So I have to tell you.....normally Christmas I guess what Josh is giving me or he just gives it to me early because he is too excited to wait. This year.....neither happened! I did not get it early and my guesses were not even close!
I am so thankful for my husband. He cares so much about me and though he is still having a hard time himself, he remains strong and is always there for me when I just want to cry and cry and cry. He knows I hurt and he always comforts me and talks to me.....or rather lets me talk to him..... whenever I need to.
He got me this ring from Morgan Jewelers.....it is Kaizen's birthstone! I have been actually looking for a ring or a necklace or something that has Kaizen's birthstone but could not find anything. I didn't even think he knew I was looking but he found it! It is beautiful and I never leave the house without it!
We also had a few parties! Every year Josh's family has a Christmas Eve party and it is always so fun! It was in the evening so we got to go visit my grandma in the morning/early afternoon.....
The brothers-in-law felt they needed to have a little arm wrestling challenge. You know being a new cop and all he had to show Josh up....lol jk Jake we love you and seriously you are awesome! We couldn't really determine a winner because Jake was already pretty worn out because he arm wrestled my dad right before.
I am kicking myself because I didn't get to the camera in time but it was intense! My dad and Jake were going at it! Jake put up a really tough fight as my dad drug him across the carpet! haha!
We had a great time just visiting, eating, and just spending time together!
I do have to show you what my Aunt Tammy gave me for Christmas....
I love this necklace and also never leave the house without it! I am not sure if you can read it but the back says "Our Angel Kaizen"
So after visiting at my Grandma's house we ventured over to Cody and Michelle Downard's house for the Christmas Eve party....
This guy...... I just love him! :) Such a wonderful man!
Getting ready for the dice game
The kids played a little game afterwards...
and got to choose from tons and tons of prizes!
The adults also played a little game....
Try to get the toilet paper on the scrub brush....first the girls had the brush then they boys did....
Winners: Riley and Holly and me and Josh!
Then.....Santa came.....
Josh got to sit on Santa's lap this year....
Cody and Michelle's house is absolutely beautiful! It was yet another great Christmas Eve party! :)
On Christmas we got to watch each other open our gifts.....Look at this kid.....
Jack was so excited for what Santa brought him!
Baby KZ also got a gift.....
I made this chalkboard sign for his grave so that anyone can leave a message.... :)
I got to spend a little time with three of my very best friends! I love getting together with them.....each time is an adventure! We started off at Brittnee's house then ended up at Carissa's! We had such an awesome time reminiscing on past memories and just being crazy! I love them so much and whether they know it or not...they always make my day brighter! Even if two of us are in different states now, we can still get together.....maybe not as easily as before.....and laugh like we never stopped! I love them all so very much!
For the New Year's Eve Celebration, Jake, Josh, Kassidy, and I first went and worked out at the gym (starting the year off right) then we went over to my mom's and had a little Wii bowling tournament and a little Just Dance 3 dance off....
Out of courtesy of others.....and myself....I will not post that video! :)
Josh, myself, and my dad stayed up.....playing Hay Day on our ipads and kind of sort of watched a little New Years Eve stuff on T.V.!
It was a fun celebration! On New Years we went to my Grandma Pentz's for a celebration and played games and ate (obviously) It was a lot of fun.......too fun to take pictures!
Remember last January I posted a Resolutions post? Well I want to see how well I fulfilled those goals.....I will write last years goals followed by how well I achieved them....
1. Be the best mom I can be!...Kaizen is my world...and I want nothing more than for him to grow up knowing his mommy loved him and took good care of him.
O this goal......it was fulfilled! Kaizen may not have stayed long but he did grow up.... to be 11 months old and I know that he knew I loved him and I know he was happy I was chosen to be his mom. I love him with ALL of my heart....I know this because it feels broke now that we are....temporarily.....separated. I took wonderful care of him and I was fully....fully prepared to spend the rest of my life doing so....God had different plans though....he was needed somewhere else. This last year may have been pretty dang tough towards the end but because he was here most of that year.....it was the best year of my life!
Guys.....this goal was also fulfilled! After the first three days of reading, it became habit and now I feel so weird if I don't read! I am so happy I made this a goal because you don't know how many times as I read..... my prayers, my questions and wonders were answered!
Again.....fulfilled! Josh and I kneel down to pray every single night at the end of our bed. When Kaizen was here we would kneel down at his bed and hold his hands and pray. I loved it....I miss it!
I am not so sure this was fulfilled. I still get bothered by little things. I would like to think it's not my fault.....after all God is the one that gave me sensitive heart. :)
5 .Eat healthy!... I have a problem with either not eating at all....and when I do eat, its not very healthy. I need to work on this because I want Kaizen to be getting the proper nutrients he needs through my breast milk...this goes along with resolution number one. :)
So unfortunately Kaizen didn't get to breastfeed for very long due to some complications but when he was I would like to think I ate pretty healthy. But there were a few months towards the end of the year I pretty much didn't eat anything! But that has been since fixed since about end of November where I now have a personal trainer that I work with twice a week and she gives me really good pointers on what to eat and what not to eat! So I have been doing pretty good with that.
I like to think this goal was fulfilled. I did a pretty good job at the wife thing this year but maybe Josh will have to get on here and do a post and who knows....the story might change. :) I say there is ALWAYS room for improvement in every marriage.
This was fulfilled guys!! We got a desk, some filing cabinets, and Voila no more clutter! Things became organized....and the scary part about it is that it is actually fun now to do paperwork....I know.....Yuck!
Again did a pretty good job. :)
So now it is a new year and unfortunately I cannot be like some and just throw the past year behind me and move on. Mostly because although that September month and months afterwards are so very very hard......I never want to forget this last year. I never want to forget the year that I got to spend some of my time here with an angel, with a baby that was so perfect, perfect beyond measure, with a little miracle that changed my life so much! I never want to forget that little thing that I helped create! He is mine....he is Josh's for eternity!
With this next year though.....I hope to find more healing, I hope to do more service, I hope to be a good person and love as He loves us!
Thank you for reading and sharing with me this life.... I wish you all peace, love, healing, and happiness this year!
I hope you enjoy these quotes that I found.....
