Let’s get it started

Hey everyone! I know I’ve been ridiculously MIA for 6 months or so, but it’s been quite the year. I cannot tell you how happy I am that it is finally 2012. To be honest, I’m not even sure how to write this post summing it all up. I think I’ll start with this one word: phoenix.

Not long ago, I saw a jewelry giveaway on a blog that offered to inscribe your “word” for 2012 on a piece of jewelry. That really made me stop and think. I realized that if I could choose the direction my life would take for 365 days, I would find empowerment.

I know I said I’d sum up 2011…I’m getting there.  Where I am now has everything to do with where I was then.

That brings me to my word. Phoenix. No, I’m not talking about a city in Arizona. A phoenix is a mythical bird that goes up in flames once it has reached the end of its lifespan.  It is then reborn as a young phoenix from its own ashes.

I’ve really come to connect with this concept.  Sometimes your whole life has to be lit on fire for a new and better you to emerge from the flames. Just the image of flames now brings peace to my heart. Kinda weird, I know.

2011 was the year of the figurative fire that turned my whole life upside down. So much of it was personal or involved other people.  That’s another reason I quit blogging. When it gets too personal then it’s no longer appropriate for the general public. Then when it involves other people, they should be the only people to tell their story.  Either way, I didn’t really have time to record a life that didn’t really mirror what was actually going on…

I want to be very clear: I am ok. JT is ok. The twins are ok. No one is dying. No one is crazy…at least crazy enough to be committed. ;)  I really do think that I’ve become a better person because of it all though.

So here comes 2012! I’ve set my sights on a million different goals. I want to be a better person, wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor, and christian. I want to do a better job of keeping the house clean. I want to become an amazing cook.  I want to craft til my fingers turn blue. I want to throw myself into music. I want to make the days more fun for my kids. I want to be a fitness enthusiast.

In short, I want to do it all. I know I can.  But I also know I can’t do it all at once.  Little by little I can become the woman I want to be when I’m 95.

To make a long story short, 2012 is a year of progress and I’m really excited to be back into blogging!

My apologies

I'm so sorry that we've been off the radar lately! Things have been crazy busy around here. We moved this weekend and are still trying to settle into our new house. Pure insanity. We wouldn't have been able to make it without the help of JT's parents. BIG TIME life savers. Thank you!

In addition to that, we also:

*had JT's birthday (woohoo!)
*attended Anderson's birthday dinner
*attended Zach's birthday party
*attended Colin's baby blessing
*took the twins to the dentist (yikes. Delilah bit him twice before I realized what was happening)
*took the twins for a surgery consultation at Primary Children's Hospital...only Delilah needs it now

So it'll be a bit before we're in the full swing of normal around here. Oh wait, JT is on the hunt for a specific box. Off I go again!

The fence

This is a picture of our house. That big white thing is the fence that JT made for me. He built it. By himself. Just for me.

Our street is super busy. There are businesses at the other end and their employees/customers speed down our street all day. It terrified the living daylight out of me. Porter had already made his run for the street. It got to the point where I refused to go outside without JT. 

While I was in California for all that time, JT went to Home Depot and bought massive amounts of wood. He spent days working on this fence and I had neighbors teasing me about my surprise the entire time I was gone! 

This fence is so special to me because not only does it show concern for the welfare of our children, it shows love for me. He knew I was worried and he wanted to lift that burden off of my shoulders. He loves me and he chose to give me that gift.

Now it is nearing the end of July and we will be moving a city away. We cannot take the fence and we cannot leave it for the next family. We must sell it.

My heart is breaking at the thought of parting with something that JT poured so much love into. I WANT to keep it, but the truth is that we no longer NEED it. 

The new house JT is moving us to is a show of love in itself. The yard is already fenced in. There is no busy street. There a million other young mothers in the neighborhood. We are next to his work and will see him for lunch. We are walking distance from everything. He can leave me with the car. We are closer to family. 

Everything he does is out of love for us, and especially me. So leaving the fence behind isn't the end of the world. I'll shed a tear or two, take a picture, and hold JT's hand as we step into a new phase of life.

Love in Bloom

This is entry #3 in the series!
JT surprised me with these beauties when he got home from work yesterday. What a lucky girl I am!

Get the point?

6 years on the beach

When we were in California for all of May, JT and I hit our 6 year anniversary of our first date! Yay!
We “accidentally” arranged for a beach getaway in honor of the occasion…a.k.a. we forgot and it ended up being a happy coincidence. So where did we go?

JT and I stayed at The Laguna Beach Inn. It was so nice! We booked a cozy room with a giant jacuzzi bathtub in it!!! I was in heaven. Not to mention, the flowers, view, and pool area were super beautiful. I loved being able to stand out on the deck and see the beach.

We enjoyed relaxing in the room (thank you Mike & Bonnie for watching the twins!) and having nothing to do.  It feels like it’s been so long since we had nothing to take care of or anywhere to be. I was nice to just remember what it was like to be a couple again.

We went down to the beach for a nice long stroll…only to realize that we were in a series of private beaches that were all divided by sea cliffs! Since we weren’t up for rock climbing and swimming, we kept climbing back up the stairs to try and find a new beach. I think we finally ended up giving in on the 4th attempt (our calves may have been burning) and decided that we would climb/swim if we had to. ;)

I loved having the opportunity to just walk hand in hand with my hubby down a beach again. It was gorgeous and the sunset was amazing. It brought back all our good memories from the past 6 years. Our second date happened at the beach where JT set up a little blanket under the stars and popped Pirates of the Caribbean into the portable DVD player. We’ve been going back ever since. He even planned to propose to me there…but good ‘ol Utah and school got in the way. Anyways, what I’m trying to convey is the incredible breath of fresh air it breathed into our lives and into our marriage. Is it time to buy a summer beach house yet??? ;)

For dinner we decided to hop into our car and head off to our old home! San Clemente.
We lived in an apartment complex called Whispering Winds at the top of a street/huge hill called Calle Del Cerro. You can see the ocean from the top of that hill. We spent the first 5 months of our marriage in that city. *sigh* Our days were care free and spent walking down the beach that was 5 minutes from our home. Our favorite place to eat was a tiny little Italian Restaurant. I do not remember the name because I never bothered to learn it even while we lived there. But the food is really good!!! It was fun to sit at the table, hold hands, and smile at the familiarity of it all.

The next morning we decided to go to brunch and were told to head down to an old hotel and ride the elevator to the top. We were SO glad we did!!!!! You’ll see why…

Amazing right?! It’s called the rooftop and the view blew us away. We had fun listening to their mix of mid 90s music (no, we don’t want no scrub…hee hee) and enjoying the breeze. Their huevos rancheros has only ever been topped by yours truly! ;) But seriously, if you’re ever in Laguna Beach, ask for direction to The Rooftop. You’ll love it!

After brunch we took another walk down the beach where we found an outcropping of rocks to settle in on. We enjoyed just quietly sitting together while watching the surf. It was honestly the best 6 year anniversary we’ve ever had!!! :)

We will definitely be back.

Enjoying the weather

About 2 weeks ago, the weather here in Provo was PERFECT. We decided to take advantage of it by eating our dinner outside. The twins had so much fun! I was also very pleased to see them eating their pasta salad. Although, like their father, they seem to be shying away from tomatoes. We'll have to work on that one.