Happy Birthday to You!

Grandma Arave! We love you and wish you the best birthday ever! Thank you for all you do!

Check this out!

This has got to be my new favorite store. One of my friends raved about it on her blog and even posted pictures... and I just had to do it too! Thanks Megan for introducing me to the Sunflower Farmer's Market!

So let me tell you that I got all of this for under $25.00! Here's a list (and most of it is oragnic too)...
- 1 head of green cabbage
- 3 Grapefruits
- 1 mango
- 5lb bag of russet potatoes
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 2lb Roma Tomatoes
- 2 Red Onions
- Bananas
- 2 bunches of Green Onions
- 3 Avocados
- 2lb Apples
- Celery
- 3lb Carrots
- Bag of Sundried Tomatoes
- 2 Bell Peppers
- 32oz mushrooms
It probably doesn't seem like too much, but I think that it was such a steal of a deal! Check online here to see if there is a store close to you! LOVE IT!!!

Oh! And who couldn't love an add on of Abi? :) Happy Saturday to you!

It's a TIE!

Okay, I just had to post this. Lately, I have been wondering the traditions or rules that we have as a family because we have been studying what rules are and how the govern life and families in particular. So yesterday, Abi was playing with Dan's tie when he was getting her out of her car seat and I wondered to myself, why do men wear ties? What is so special about them?
This morning, I got my answer.... and in the text of my class none the less! Talk about the law of attraction right there people! My professor was teaching about rules and how sometimes we have rules that are more tradition and members of the family might not understand them. Anyway, here is the history behind why gentlemen wear ties! Enjoy!
In 1660, in celebration of its hard-fought victory over Turkey, a crack regiment from Croatia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) visited Paris. There, the soldiers were presented as glorious heroes to Louis XIV, a monarch well-known for his eye toward personal adornment. It so happened that the officers of this regiment were wearing brightly colored silk handkerchiefs around their necks. These colorful neck cloths, which probably descended from the Roman fascalia worn by orators to warm the vocal chords, struck the fancy of the king, and he soon made them an insignia of royalty as he created a regiment of Royal Cravattes.

It wasn't long before this new style crossed the channel to England. Soon no gentleman considered himself well-dressed without sporting some sort of cloth around his neck--the more decorative, the better. So, a fashion was born and the resulting cultural "rule" established. It has become a custom, and for many families a "rule": "All men in this family must wear a colorful piece of cloth around their necks. It has meaning." The meaning might be that one is conforming to the norm, joining in, trying hard to not stand out, showing reverence for custom and tradition, and so forth. But it actually makes little practical sense to wear a cloth around your neck, right? And to explain these rules and their "whys" is sometimes difficult when speaking to the ten-year-old who has taken the more practical, sane approach and simply wants to know why this particular piece of cloth is so important.

Marriage Preparation

On to the next subject... Marriage preparation. Did you know that people who have marriage preparation before they get married (like a class on temples or a professional counselor between you and your fiance or reading books on intamacy (NOT TOGETHER)) are 40% more likely to succeed in their marriage?

I totally didn't know that until my class. I think that it makes perfect rational sense though!

There are normative and non normative events in everyone’s lives. Normative are those things that you can predict (marriage, having children, etc) non-normative things are those that you cannot predict (death, break ups, etc). Marriage is combining two different ideologies into one. There are many different perspectives and opinions towards things that you and your future spouse are going to have to learn and come to agreements on. Marriage preparation not only helps couples learn to communicate, but it can also help one see if they have a mature or immature love and if they are in it for the right reasons.
Some of the benefits of intentional marriae preparation:

• Will help ease some of the myths about marriage and itimacy
• Help the couple realize the commitments and covenants they will make with eachother and God
• Help them determine – The Right Place, Right Time, Right Person, Right Relationship
• Help them to either grow together or learn that they have an immature love that won’t gorw

Some of the premarital individual, couple, and contextual factors that predict marital success or trouble are the following:

• Finances
• Power Struggles
• Age differences
• Education
• Parental approval
• Friends approval

So with all this information said, I know that most of our readers are married... and probably realize that some couseling would be good every once in a while :) However, what was the hardest thing for you to learn when you were first married? For Dan and I, we had a hard time learning finances because we grew up in two totally different financial worlds. We had to figure out who does the budgeting? Who spends the money? Who earns the money? What are our monetary priorities? I tell you, it was hard enough having all those new expenses as a married couple. We talke d a lot about things before we were married, but it was still hard to learn.
What kinds of advice would you give to those who are engaged or newly married?

Photos of the week

Can you not just love this thing? Oh man, she is just too cute!

Thank you Merrills!!!

the elder one...

Josh... sometimes, this is a complicated word for me.

We really struggled to get along all growing up. I don't know when or what changed, but I am sure glad that it did. I have thoroughly enjoyed our good relationship the past couple of years and I just wanted to thank you for that! For the next years to come, I hope that we can continue to build our friendship and that someday, the things that I am still nervous to bring up with you, I can find confidence in our strong relationship and we can discuss things open minded.

I am so grateful you are in my life and that I have you for a good example. Even when you think that your advice went in one ear and out the other, I have remembered it all. In fact, most of your advice has helped me make right choices in life. Thank you for making righteous choices in your life. I knew growing up that whenever I needed direction, I could look to you because you were on track. For these things, I will always be grateful.

Happy Birthday to the best older brother I could have... EVER!

Valentine's Hate or Love?... Definitely feelin' the love this year!

I have never really been a fan of Valentine's (at least in the romantic area) because it never turned out with what I had envisioned. You know the whole secret admirer or the surprise rose delivery from the student council from the guy two seats in front of you that you like, but don't know what his feelings are...I have to say, it never happened to me! So I kept my hopes up, but secretly dispised the day. At least until I got married. Then once my expectations were on the table between Dan and me , I have enjoyed myself completely! Not that I am demanding, but any married woman knows that men just don't read minds (still love you sweetie!). So since I still harbor those scared memories of the past... I have tried this year to put forth some effort into the celebration of the love...as you can tell by my background. I even went as far as to put Valentine's clings on our bathroom mirror.
Dan is so great about Valentine's though. I stole my cousin Tiff's requirement's of something pink, red and completely frivolous and it works with us. One year Dan got me a pink cover for my iPod and then last year he surprised me with red love notes in the snow at our farmhouse in NY. This year I got letters and candy from Loveland, CO and Romance, AR! What a fantastic idea! I love my hubby so much! And I feel like I have been a good girl because I got them early.

So to continue with my resolution to the love holiday... and since the funding is a bit tight this year, we are staying digital for our Valentines hand out... Love us!

Valentine's Ball

Our ward had a Valentiong's Ball last Saturday night! We had a member from our ward teach the Argentine Tango and we just loved it! We invited our friends Chris and Christy to join us for the festivities.

Abi was so good the whole night. She even danced around with us in the backpack on Dan's back. It was such a sonic idea! This is her looking on in disgust at something behind us...

And here is the debut of my new look... I absolutely love my new hair cut! I got nine inches chopped off. I admit that I was quite nervous about it. I think that I felt like I needed to be some model with the long hair. But then over my trip to Colorado, I realized that the whole reasons I was growing out my hair were very unrealistic. For example, I really wanted to accomplish the beautiful curly locks that are so popular; however, I have so much hair that I can't keep curls to stay in longer than thirty minutes tops. So I wanted to grow it out for curls, but never did curls. Needless to say, I feel free and SO me! Yeah! It is so easy to do and saves a whole ton of money on styling products... especially shampoo and conditioner.

Here Christ and Christy show off their dance moves for the camera!

By the end of the night, Abi was the center of attention (of course)!!! However, we now know we have a future dancer as she would sit in her car seat and bounce up and down to the BEAT of the music! We couldn't beleive it! We tried to get it on camera, but the lighting was too dark. I am hoping to encourage and get it to be a habit this week.

Family Traditions

My BYU class mentions the importance of Family Traditions. Traditions are consistently in the making and can range from Huge holiday get togethers to small everyday actions.
Traditions provide strength to a family. It allows them to bond and adhere together. They help create personal and family identity and individuality. They also help us connect with other generations. Traditions have power to change and mold a family into a more functional unit.
Here are some of our traditions as a family:

Quick Draw Gingerbread

During Christmas Break the boys in my family make a gingerbread house using caulking instead of icing. I love watching them erect the gingerbread house. They don’t decorate it normally, but decorate it with candy in creative target structures. We enjoy it during the week and then the day after Christmas we take it shooting. It is fun to try and get certain targets of peach o’s and the front door and the like. We try to shoot the gingerbread house so that the caulking frame is all that is left when we are finished.

More Shrimp Salad Please!

My husband’s family has shrimp salad at all his family get-togethers. This was done because his Grandma Johnson doesn’t cook very much, but she does know how to make shrimp salad. So the family asks her to make the salad because it makes her feel like she contributes to the meal. Since then, it has just become something they always look forward to and they always have.

No Apologies Here

We love playing board games in my family. Our favorite game is Sorry. The game gets played so much that have a running tournament and if you win, you get to write the date and your name on the back of the board. We get pretty competitive and it is definitely not an apologetic game!

Thank-O-Ween

We have a pre-thanksgiving dinner around Halloween. This started because my in-laws came to our house in New York over Halloween and since we wouldn’t make it to their place for Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law made Thanksgiving dinner there. Now around every Halloween, I make a full blown Thanksgiving dinner.

What are some of your family traditions and how have they helped you out in your family life? Have you taken the time to record these traditions for your future posterity?

Happy Fam!

This photo was taken right before Abi proceeded to shove the olive from her thumb into her mouth and pull out the thumb clean! Yikes! We won't mention who got into trouble for that :)

Abigail's cute Sunday dress from Kim...

I just love this photo! I can't beleive how much hair Abi has... and it is starting to curl! Oh we love her to death!

Growing On Up!

Sunday night, on a whim, Dan and I decided that we were going to go cold turkey with Abi's bedtime. Abi's normal sleep routine is bath, food, bed with intensely tight swaddling and a binky. So we changed it up with food before bath and no swaddle and no binky. It was SO hard for us... at least for me. It tugs at my heartstrings when Abi cries; so for three hours of crying I was crying too! We finally had a thought to try having her sleep on her tummy (now that she is over SIDS worries). It worked like a charm. Ten minutes later, she was out. So the next morning when she got fussy...

Oh how nice! Success!!!
Not only is Abi now going to sleep all on her own, she has moved into the solid foods! Yesterday she had carrots and peas. She loves them! As you can tell from the pix!

She is SO happy all the time and we just adore her! She chatters so much we are always having to take her out of sacrament. I just have to keep telling myself that I am grateful it isn't because she is throwing a fit. She is such a joy!