Winter the Owl

For Christmas I got E this owl. It was a microwaveable owl that warmed up. She was so excited! I hesitated purchasing it because she has SO many owls, and she already had a microwaveable elephant, but instead I got it for her and it was her favorite Christmas gift. Fast forward to a few nights later and E wants to warm up her owl before bed. I put it in the microwave for 1 minute and I go sit on the couch. 30 second later I hear her screaming, not play screaming, terrified screaming. She had opened the microwave and her owl had caught on fire! The flames were huge!! I screamed and Jakob ran into the kitchen as I grabbed the owl and threw it in the sink putting out the flames.

E was devastated. I can only imagine how her heart broke as her favorite owl caught fire. It was scary. So after the tears stopped we discussed our options. We determined that we would try to find a new one. (We also determined that the entire owl was not supposed to go into the microwave, just the removable insert that warmed up. Oops!) So the hunt was on. Since the tag melted I had no way of knowing the brand and Google was not helping at all. I found a snowy owl on Amazon, but E didn't like it. So I went to three different stores on a quest for the owl. No luck. E was so sad. I told her this might have been the outcome but she was really disappointed. So I decided to try and fix her.

I went to two stores to get the fabric I needed then I cut away the burnt pieces and trimmed down the burnt "feathers" on the wings. I un-stuffed her and threw her in the wash to get rid of the smoke smell. We re-stuffed her with fresh batting and she came to life again! It was a bit of trial and error but I am really happy with how it came out! 

E came home from school and I told her I had a surprise for her. I gave her her owl and she sat there holding it for a good five minutes. That right there made all of the effort worth it! I am so grateful for the talents I have acquired so that I was able to do this for her. It wasn't complicated, but after talking to a few other Mama's I realized that most of them would have simply thrown the owl away and it would have been a sad story, that may have turned funny down the road. I am grateful that I was able to fix E's owl and make her happy. It's the little things. You are so loved sweet girl!

2019 Resolutions

Things have slowed down and it's time again for some resolutions. I was actually really proud of myself last year. While I didn't accomplish everything I thought I would I did make huge strides to becoming the kind of person I want to be. I feel like 2018 was a great year. A year where we hit a stride of "we got this." (And I'm sure this year will rock our worlds.) Was is easy? No, some days kicked my butt. However, I feel like there is a give and a take and that we are learning to find a balance that works for us in the moment. Sometimes it is more give than take and that is okay too. So with that in mind, here are my resolutions for 2019.

1. Continue to improve my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I feel like I took quite a bit of time to dedicate to my spiritual self. I read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover which was awesome. I have never done that before and I am also in the habit of reading EVERY DAY. Guys, this is a first for me. We started reading scriptures as a family every night as part of the new Church curriculum and I am seeing so many blessing because of it! This year I would like to attend the temple more. It has been three years since I've attended. The last time was a year after Daddy passed away. We keep making excuses and I have decided to make it a priority. 
2. Continue to work on my mental health. This is something I do not talk about often. I always thought that I was immune to depression, that I had my crap together and that if I ignored it, it would be fine, when obviously that is the complete opposite of what I should do. Last year I really worked hard on keeping my mind clear on figuring out my triggers. If I would have an anxiety attack I would stop and immediately figure out what is causing it and fix it. Some days I was be anxious because my house was a mess, or a friendship wasn't what I wanted it to be, or the anxiety would mix with depression and I would feel totally alone. I realized that I am in control and that by doing simple things, I can solve most of my problems. Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes you need medication and help. I get that, but for me I have found a way to balance. If I feel alone... I make a play date, or if I feel cluttered... I clean, I try not to let my emotions swallow me up. While this seems like a basic concept it took me awhile to figure out and now that I have, I have more energy to focus on things I WANT to do vs worrying about all these things I felt were "out of my control." My resolution is to carry on. To figure out what is important and cut the rest out. To not do anything I don't want or HAVE to do. 
3. Magnify my calling. I started a new calling this year as primary chorister. It is my dream calling but it has brought on a string of challenges. I am trying to find the right balance which is an ever developing thing but I also want to teach the 99 but find the 1 as well. In our primary we have several "ones" and I want to try my hardest to let them know how much I love them and help them to have a testimony. It is tricky but I don't only want to "do" my calling I want to "magnify."
4. Make childhood magical. I think I really nailed this one last year, but this year I want to make it magical but simplify. Not everything has to be huge. Going to Vegas was fun this summer, but it wasn't the trip that made it, it was the people. My favorite summer memories are of swimming and the beach and buying ice cream cones and eating them outside while they melted. Somethings are big but other moments were small and I want to focus more on that. 
5. Date my husband more. By the end of the day or the week Jakob and I are usually swimming with so many to-do's or we just want to relax or we feel the kids need extra love and attention. while those are all wonderful things, I also feel like we need to take a minute to focus on each other. We need more dates and they don't have to be black tie gala's but sometimes small things are more fun. I love spending time together.

2018 Highlights

Every year I think time can not fly by any faster and then in another blink...poof! 2018 was awesome! We did a bit of traveling, had lots of family and friends visit and we worked on some projects.

1. First project was evicting the squirrels from our attic. What a pain in the butt that was. Not all projects are glamorous, some are just down right necessary. This was one of those projects.

2. We got a bit of snow the beginning of the year. These two could not get enough of it!

 3. Best of friends! It has been so wonderful seeing how close Sprout and E have become. He adores her and he now calls her Mama, which is fitting because when she is home she takes care of him most of the time. It is such a sweet relationship that I hope carries on forever!

4. Sprout's first Valentines. 

5. SIX years old! Looking back at these pictures she just seems so baby faced to me. Gosh darn it she is growing much too fast!

6. My Little Pony birthday.

7. For Spring Break we decided to take E to Disneyland for the first time. Aunt Dallas treated her to the Bippity Boppity Boutique and it was SO stinking cute!!

We had the BEST time in Disneyland! We ran until our legs fell off and Dallas and I hit every single ride accept for Peter Pan. Such a magical day with such wonderful friends!

8. First St. Patricks Day. So lucky to have you!

 9. Easter Bunny!

 

 Technically this wasn't Sprout's first Easter since he was born on Good Friday, but being two days old we didn't get the best pictures of him so I decided that he required another mini shoot. Some Bunny loves you!!

10. Oma came or Spring break and it was SUPER cold!! We love having Oma come and visit!

11. Sprout turned ONE!!!

12. Mother's Day

13. Not only did Janet gift us their van she drove it 12 hours by herself to deliver it! We we were so excited to be rejoining the two car family club and Utti has been such an amazing van for us! Thank you so much to Chad and Janet!!! Janet also spent 24 hours here in KC and we had a blast!! I so love having SIL's!! 

14. E had her first Sweet Shop and she did such a great job! 

15. Last day of school!! I was an emotional basket case! All done with Preschool!

Last day of Kinder!

16. We had a busy summer. The day after school let out we flew out to Vegas. We spent the week with Margot and Georgie at Mom and Dad's we had such a fun time exploring and swimming!

17. Mom and Dad went to FL with Margot and Georgie for a family reunion. We had such a great time chilling in Vegas and playing with friends! 

18. Mom and Dad came back from FL and Sprout and I went to Canada to see my Mama for her birthday. We were also supposed to see my G-pa but he passed away before we could make it up there. While it was hard not to be there I now see it was for the best. We had a great week in Canada. 

19. I came back from Canada and E wanted to cut her hair. I was hesitant, but we did it!! It was shorter than I expected but she is so stinking cute!! 

20. Mom and I drove out to CA to see the cousins. This was an up to date Great-Grandchild photo for a whole 24 hours. Leanne had her baby the next day. We had such a great day on the beach with family!

21. We flew back to KC with Mom Tobler so she could watch the kids, and I drove out to Colorado with my YW for High Adventure. It was amazing to be with these girls and out camping! I love the great out doors!!

22. I came back home and we spent a few more days with Mom Tobler. I can't even being to say how grateful I am to have Mom's help!! We had such a great summer together!!

 23. Canada Day!

24. The Fourth of July!

25. Oma came down for three weeks!!! Celebrating Jakob's 31st!!

26. While Oma was here we decided to work on the front of our house! And boy did we work. We were outside for 3-4 hours each morning getting things done before the sun came around to the front of the house. We re did the landscape, and pulled out bushes, grass and ripped out all the mulch. We then planted a new bush, and redid the mulch. Then we painted the house. Painting took FOREVER but I am amazed at what a difference it makes! Mama and I have so much fun working on projects! Thank you for all of the help Mama!!!! I sure do love you!

27. Duke turned 5!!

28. Jakob and I went to our first Chiefs game courtesy of one of his co-workers! 50 yard line, third row! It was amazing!

29. First Day of school!!

30. We celebrated Duke's birthday in September. It was dinosaur themed!

31. T. Swift with the ladies! It was such an amazing night! We had a blast!

32. Renn Fair with the Jacobs. I thin we may take Duke and E next year! So fun!

33. I will never get tired of these Kansas Sunflowers!

34. David Richards flew out to do a shooting course with Jakob. We had such a wonderful time with him!!

35. Family pictures. this one is our personal favorite!

 36. Fall fun!

37. This year for Halloween Duke picked Dinosaurs! I loved how our Jurassic Park family turned out!! 

And of course E the owl. I love how happy she is in this picture!

38. I went on my first ever girls trip to Vegas! It was so nice to see Missy and to go to the Rodeo! 

39. Went spent "Friends" giving with the Valantine's and it was awesome! 

40. Last year in my 20's! Yikes!

41. Snow fun!!

42. Matching sweaters sent from Oma!! I love these so freaking much!!

43. This year I was in charge of the ward Christmas Brunch. the theme was He is the Light and I was so pleased with how it turned out! London, Laura and Megan were the PERFECT team to help my execute my vision. So glad that it's done!

44. Matching Christmas Jammies!

 45. Our first Nutcracker experience and E's dress that she stitched almost entirely on her own!!

 

46. Santa Picture

47. Christmas Sunday.

48. Christmas Eve with the Atkinsons and it was amazing!! We had such a wonderful evening!

49. New Years Eve! 

And that's a wrap on 2018! We had a great year and we are looking forward to all the excitement that 2019 has in store for us! It's going to be one busy year!