New Years Party

Mark and I were boring this year for New Years.

We rented a couple red box movies and got chips and dip and sat around.

Pretty sad especially since my parents through a party for the grandkids and had them all sleep over.

Scott on the other hand had a great time.

He hung out with his cousins and grandparents.

Mom said he was a wonderful boy and had a great time.

He especially loved the blow horn that he brought home and some how lost after a day.

I don't know what could have happened to it.

So nice to know that our boy is partying it up on New Years while mom and dad stay home and fall asleep early.

My dad got this great shot of the kids in their party hats and blowing their horns.

Jump Place

With it being Christmas break Scott has become quite bored.

So I was so relieved when Shae invited us to the "Jump Place" as Scott calls it.

I was thinking he would have gotten over whelmed at the loud noise or all the people.

But no.

He had such a great time jumping.

Especially jumping into the pit of foam blocks.

Hears Mckinley and her cousin sho just so happens to be the niece of Scott's school teacher, Mrs. Jan.

She was so sweet and kind to Scott.

It was well worth the ten bucks for two hours of energy release.

The Most Perfect Gift

Normally, I have a nice long list of things I want for Christmas.

But when I'm pregnant I don't want for much of anything for myself.

But Mark refused to let that stop him.

He totally rose to the challenge this year and came up with the perfect gift for this miserable pregnant lady.

He took me to the Melting Pot.

I've always wanted to go there but it is so expensive.

It was so fun to be there with my love and the food was so good.

Thanks hun, you won bonus points this year.

For the record, Mark also always has a nice long list every year.

This year he got a spin bike.

So we were both spoiled this year.

Christmas: Ellis Style

This year we stayed home for Christmas.

We were so excited to just concentrate on Scott.

Life will soon be very different for this boy and we wanted this day to be very special for him.

He fell asleep in our room that night.

I get so excited Christmas morning, I always have.

Waiting is one of the greatest tortures in life.

Scott is his fathers son and wanted to get enough sleep before starting the big day.

But when he finally awoke he was very excited.

We went out and checked the cookies and carrots.

It turns out that Santa had come and eaten some of his cookies and the reindeer had even eaten the carrots. 

Then we once again went over the true meaning of Christmas.

He was able to tell us the whole story almost.

Then it was time to open gifts.

We were pretty excited for Scott to see all that Santa had brought.

He was greeted by a big huge shark.

Then he saw his dino slippers, Santa had pulled through with one request.

Then he opened up his stocking and found the hermit crab he wanted.

This boy was happy to say the least.

As for Mark and I, we decided to give him a bunch of sports things.

He enjoys throwing a ball around and kicking balls but he doesn't really know the rules to any games.

I decided it was time to learn.

So he got an adjustable basket ball hoop for his door, and a real soccer ball since we hope to sign him up for a city soccer team this summer.

He even got a t ball set from his friends Jaeley and Brayden.

He and Mark got matching USU baseball hats in hopes of going to some kinda game this year.

And of course he got a whole lot of candy.

This kid is spoiled.

Later on that day we had Mark's parents and two brothers over for Christmas dinner.

I got to make my first traditional Christmas meal.

I had so much fun planning and preparing the meal.

I was rather pleased at myself for having it all ready at the right time.

And I think it all tasted so very good too.

It was a wonderful day!

McEvoy Christmas Party

It is the in-laws turn for Christmas this year so the McEvoy's got to celebrate early.

We had a delicious dinner followed by our families traditions.

The grandkids got to act out the nativity story.

There are a lot of grandkids but not quite enough for the full cast that live close by.

Scott Got to play the roll of all three wise men.

I honestly didn't think he would really listen to what he was supposed to do, he comes to Grandma's house and all he wants to do is play.

But he did listen and he did play his part.

I was very proud of my wise boy.

After the nativity story we opened up gifts.

It was so much fun.

More fun then when I was a kid.

Scott just got into everything this year and opening presents was no exception.

He was even excited to watch Mark and me open presents.

Even early Christmas can be a Merry Christmas. 

Friends Christmas Party

We had such a great time getting together for Halloween that we all decided to get together again for Christmas and even got a few out of towners able to come.

Shae rented out her church building for us, we all brought food, and we had the best time.

Gosh I miss these girls and the kids played like no time had passed at all.

Oh what a night!

Down Town

Last year was Scott's first time meeting Santa and it wasn't a great first impression.

This year Scott really understood who Santa was and, more importantly, what Santa does.

He's been talking about Santa a lot even before Thanksgiving.

We told him how we go to visit Santa and how you can ask him for a gift of whatever you want.

He came up with his list pretty early on and has stuck to it: a hermit crab figurine and dinosaur slippers.

We decided to make this year a bit more special then last year which was going to Harmens Grocery Store and visiting with Santa in front of the canned goods.

This year Scott and I met Mark in downtown SLC and went to City Creek.

The set up they have for Santa is incredible.

Scott was very shy and I almost thought he was going to turn to me and cry but the Santa was very kind and patient and welcoming.

Mark and I stood back and saw him become such a big boy, going over to him and let him place him on his lap.

He answered all Santa's questions and looked at him in the eyes.

It was wonderful to see.

Scott posed for the camera and we got this perfect picture.

I wish I would have thought about taking his coat and stuff off but oh well, he's got a cute coat. 

After Santa we went over to the food court for dinner.

The best thing about the food court is that we get to bribe Scott to eat with the dinosaur park.

This is the happiest place on earth to this boy.

It is nearly impossible to get a picture of him that isn't blurry, he can't contain his excitement and can't get to each dinosaur fast enough.

Mark and I loved seeing him so happy.

After dinner and play time we headed over to Temple Square.

I don't know what I would do if I couldn't plan on seeing the lights at Temple Square each year.

Scott loves it too.

This is my favorite place.

I love all the white lights by the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

One of my favorite places to do family pictures, the corner of the Tabernacle and old church house.

And what's a trip to Temple Square without the Temple picture.

This is the day right before Mark's and my anniversary and it made it extra special.

So glad it wasn't this cold six years ago.

I love this Temple, I love my boys and I love that I get to be with them forever.

Scott's Excitement

Scott is really getting so excited for the baby to come.

We have been getting his room ready and I've brought out the old toys that Scott stopped playing with a long time ago.

Well it's true what they say, distance has made his love for the toys grow stronger.

He cant get enough of them.

I tell him that he used to play with them when he was little and the baby will want to play with them too.

He tells me how he can't wait to play with them with baby.

I'm looking forward to that too.

And here's Scott showing his support.

He loves to put his softness in his shirt and tell me he's having a baby softness.

Then he pulls it out and I try to show him how we treat babies.

Kinda scary when he starts banging softness against his head or throws him on the ground.

But he is getting so excited to have a baby brother.

Mission Completion

As I've mentioned earlier, I've had a lot of projects going on.

I've been really wanting to start on babies room but haven't been able to because I feel like I need to finish decorating Scott's room before I start something new.

I've also wanted to tie up some of the undone things around the house.

Here's just some of the things I've done.

While working on the corner hutch this past summer my up stairs neighbors were getting ready to move.

We took charge of the whole house at that point and needed to find new renters for the upstairs.

So we showed the house to a few people while their furishings were still there so we could have it rented imediately after they moved.

While showing it I saw their dresser.

I commented to them later what a beautiful piece it was.

They started complaining about it and said they don't want to take it with them to their new house.

I told them I wanted it.

So they sold it to me for $30.

What a steal right?!

Mark didn't think so.

He agreed with them that it was total crap.

I reminded Mark that I stood by him buying used bikes and fixing them and turning around to make a profit.

He still didn't like the thing but relented.

It took me a while to get started on it.

I really just wanted to find out if we were having a boy or a girl.

If it was a girl I wanted to pain the dresser and the mirror portion cream and antique it similar to the corner hutch.

Yes, I had my hopes up.

But we found out it was a boy and I started exploring other options.

After exploring all the options on pinterest I came up with the perfect solution.

I would paint it charcoal grey.

Scott was still using the changing table with drawers for his clothes and that had to go in with the baby.

Scott would use the dresser and eventually, when we moved and got a bigger tv we would use it for an entertainment system.

We are storing the mirror portion at my mom's till, heaven willing we have a girl, at which time we would abandon the tv idea and go back to plan A.

I also redid the picture board which is hanging above the dresser.

My mom found this head board at a consignment shop for $10.

I've been wanting a headboard for Scott's room ever since he went to a big bed.

It's hard to pass up $10 no matter how ugly it is.

Besides I knew I could work some magic on it.

So once again I went back to pinterest for ideas, how did I ever craft before pinterest?

I got a few tips on how to make it more modern and got the idea of doing the inside a different color.

In case you can't tell the color scheme in his room is grey, lime green and teal.

I added some decorative board on the sides to make it look more substantial and then a thicker board on the top also.

Since this picture was taken I have also redone the lamp shade to be teal also.

I also painted the book shelf.

Like the dresser and the head board it is painted charcoal grey but I decided to do the inside lime green to be similar to the head board.

I also made the curtains, I love them. 

And here is the topper.

I have been working on this quilt for a year.

I love argyle!

I could have machine sewn the quilting and been done within a day or so.

but I really wanted the hand sewn look.

I thought its just a few lines, nothing complicated, it shouldn't take too long right?!

No, as usual I underestimated the time and the annoyance of it all.

I put it off a lot.

Having it finished brings so much joy to my heart.

I've also been working on a few things around the house.

I repainted this table before at the same time as the corner hutch.

But it has taken me forever to hang things on the wall.

All over my house we have had bare walls.

I've had the frames out in front of the wall where I've thought of putting them but just couldn't make up my mind.

The walls in the front room are still bare but in the main part of the house the decor has finally moved up ward.

 After working so hard everywhere else I finally thought it was time to move into the babies room.

I am doing it navy blue, light greyish blue, and red with a nautical theme.

Yes, I got this idea from pinterest.

And finally, I've started on the wall quilt for the baby.

If you remember from Scott's nursery I made an animal alphabet quilt for the wall.

Someday I hope to have a playroom to up all the quilts on the walls that I will have for my grandchildren.

They can have the quilts that belong to them after I die maybe.

I'm excited to see how this one looks.

I'll post the finished pics later.

It wont be finished till after the baby comes probably but that's fine.

Completing one project just means I get to start another. 

Third Trimester

I'm on the final stretch now and wow, I'm really starting to feel it.

Feel the baby more, feel the strain more, and feel the pressure of the next step.

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone.

The holidays have really helped with that.

Try not to stay busy over the holidays and you will find yourself busy avoiding it.

I have been so busy that I've actually been able to sleep OK; I mean not completely as good as before I was pregnant but so much better then I did while prego with Scott.

Since I have been through this before and have something to compare it to I have realized that my pregnancies aren't that bad.

I still don't love it but I am spared many of the annoyances that other women go through, so I am grateful.

I haven't been able to concentrate on decorating the babies room like I was with Scott.

Scott got pretty much all of me since before he was born.

Having number two means that this little baby has had to share me even now.

It's sad in a way but at the same time he will have more people around him to love him.

And with Scott going to school this little guy will get more one on one time with mom then most second children get.

I look forward to that.

Few things better then snuggling with a baby.

Well there is definitely no hiding my belly now, I am poking out for all the world to see.

I get big everywhere, not just in my belly, and although I know it happens I still get sad about it.

But, again, I've been through this with Scott and I lost it (slowly) after Scott so when I get hard on myself I try to remember "This too shall pass."

Here I am at 32 weeks.

I don't get ready much anymore and have turned into a real home body.

Winter, pregnancy and a very busy craft schedule will do that to ya.

I'll have to post soon all the projects I've been working on.

These next 8 weeks are just going to sail by with how busy we've been keeping.

8 WEEKS!

Crap!

I've got to get moving.

Christmas Time is Here!

Being in Young Womens is by far my most favorite calling.

I love hanging out with the girls and teaching them.

I love feeling the spirit with them and being blessed by there amazing spirits.

I love spending Sundays with them and going to activities on Wednesdays with them.

This past activity we got to go to a live nativity.

I didn't even know these things existed.

It was so much fun... and very cold.

But the spirit was so strong there that it didn't even matter.

Being pregnant over Christmas has unexpectedly been somewhat spiritual.

I guess ever since I became a mother Christmas has changed for me.

Seeing the scene below breaks my heart.

Giving birth in such a circumstance as this makes me feel spoiled.

But I start to wonder about Mary, wanting the very best for her son, knowing who he was.

I think of Joseph, wanting to provide the very best for the son of God.

I think of the spirit that must have surrounded them, knowing the spirit that overwhelms me holding my baby for the first time.

I just love this season and I love activities that make me remember the true meaning of it all.

Merry Christmas!

Remembering Christmas Past

I love putting out my Christmas decor.

Decorating the tree is something I look forward to every year.

But while doing it I can't help but think of Christmases gone by.

The top left is Eddies ornament, I painted that for his first Christmas with us and now that he's not with us it's kinda hard coming across it.

This is my way of keeping him with us.

The top right is a very old ornament but brand new to me.

It has been on my Grandma's tree for decades and now it is mine.

Every time a bell rings and angel gets it's wings.

This year I rang it for her.

The bottom left is the ornament that Mark and I bought together right after we were married.

This remains one of my favorite memories and love seeing it every year.

The bottom right is the ornament that my mother gave us after we were married.

I thought it so ugly at the time (sorry mom).

But now it is so precious to me.

I wrap it up so carefully every year after Christmas because it is so fragile.

Taking it out each year and finding it still safe and sound makes me happy.

Realizing that Mark and I made it through another year also, safe and sound.

I have no clue how decorating the tree got started but I love that we keep it going still.

Memories are my favorite gift.