Giving thanks..

I thought I would post about the things I'm thankful for since Luke's "6 month" letter will be posted on or the day after Thanksgiving this month :)

I know when people talk about the things they are thankful for, it seems to get repetitive. Every year I say I am thankful for the same things. But, looking back at my blog, I haven't ever posted about the things I am most thankful for. So even if it's all the same, since I've never written it down, I think it's important :)

1. My wonderful husband. Drew is the most understanding, caring, hard working man I know. I honestly think he is one of the only people who gets me, and who is there for me no matter what. When I say this, I truly mean it, I believe he is the ONLY person who could put up with me. So I'm thankful that we found each other, otherwise I would probably be alone my whole life. :) I'm thankful for his humor and spontaneity. They get me through the day when times are hard. He is also such a wonderful daddy. Luke lights up when he gets home from work. It makes me happy to see them bonding, because I love them more than anything else and they're my best friends.

2. My little man. Having Luke in my life is like two extremes. It's the best thing I could ever imagine, and the hardest thing. But even when it's hard, all he has to do is smile and I remember that it's all worth it. I am so thankful, not only that he came to our family, but that he came when he did. I need him in my life right now to be my best friend through the day as I adjust to our new home. I am lucky to be his mommy.

3. My family. I am so blessed to have grown up in the home I did, surrounded by 7 of my favorite people. Though I am an independent person, I contribute a lot of who I am to my parents and brothers. My parents have been there for me through everything. Never once have I felt I couldn't go to them, and never once have I left a conversation or troubling time with them without peace. I owe them everything, and will never be able to re-pay them for what they've given me. (Not only money :) but everything else too..) My brothers are such strong individuals, and I love them each for something different. It was sad to not have a sister at times, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Which leads me to number 4...

4. My sisters-in-law. On my side of the family, and Drew's side. Not having sisters growing up was one thing, but having them now is a necessity. It's nice to have strong women in my life that can relate to certain things that brothers cant. I'm thankful that my brothers were lucky enough to find the wives they found. I'm also thankful that when I was lucky enough to marry Drew, I got 4 new sisters. Because of sisters-in-law, I have cute nieces and nephews who I am thankful for as well. :)



5. My in-laws. Although it is sad for me to not live closer to my parents, I am SO blessed to live close to Drew's. They also are willing to do anything to help us, and make us happy. Not only do they help us now, but they helped shape the man my husband is today. And, I think they did a pretty good job! I couldn't ask for better in-laws, and love them so much.



6. My grandparents. I was lucky enough to grow up in the same town as 6 out of 7 of my grandparents. Yes, I have 7. And though I didn't live close to my Grandma "Hawaii" I always felt just as close to her, and loved her just as much. Now I am blessed to live closer to her as well. All of my grandparents are such great people and great examples to me. They have taught me valuable life lessons and I know how lucky I am to have known all of them so well. Also, I am thankful for my extended family. I have lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins whom I have been blessed to know so well and love so much!

7. Good health. Because there have been times in my past where I was not considered, "in good health," I know what a blessing it is to be blessed with it. Many people are not so lucky to be healthy, or to have loved ones be healthy, so I hope I don't take my good health for granted while I have it!

8. The basics. Food, shelter, water, Drew's job, etc. They may seem like little things but I can't forget to mention them because really, what would I have without them? I don't want to know....

9. My religion. I have a strong testimony of what I believe in and am thankful to know the things that I know. My religion has shaped the person that I am and has given me the strong beliefs that I have. I don't think I would have a lot of the previous things if it weren't for my church.


10. My friends. I have always been blessed with great friends and am thankful for all of the people I have been close with through the years. Growing up I was surrounded by so many people that made good choices, so it was easy for me to as well. Through college and now that I am married, I made different friends who are also strong and amazing. Like my family, my friends have helped to shape the person I am. Not to mention all the crazy and fun memories I have with each and every one of them. (There are FAR too many good friends to picture here, so sorry if you aren't pictured..you are still considered a great friend. :))

Geez, I have so much to be thankful for! Whenever I am sad or feel like something isn't right, I just need to read this list. I am overwhelmed with joy and love for all the great things and people in my life. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! P.S...sorry for all the wedding pics. It's an album I knew I could find most the people in :)

The mac to my cheese...

Drew is an advisor for DECA at his school, and was able to go to Washington D.C. for 4 days with the group. While he was gone, I went to Heber. It was Luke's first plane ride, and my first time flying with a baby (of course) but it was a lot of fun and we had a great time. We were able to see most of the fam and most of my girl friends at a friend's bridal shower. It was great! I will post pics of that next time, but right now I just need to blog about this guy....

Being apart for more than a day's worth of work hours makes me realize how much I love him! Not to be all mushy and annoying, but I miss him so much when we're apart. And I know Luke does too. He smiles soo big at his daddy when they are reunited :)

He is the mac to my cheese. The PB to my J. The chips to my salsa.

I love him. :)

Happy Harvest!

On Sunday, we went over to the in-laws for "craft night." :) Drew's mom has decided it's a monthly activity now, and I'm happy she decided that! We give her a hard time, but we really do enjoy it. Here are the crafts for this month! Super easy, and fun. I think they turned out pretty cute. Now if we were just moved into our new house already, I might have somewhere to put them!
This is actually Lori's, but mine is the same. Her pic was just better...(it's just the blocks, not the tile behind them...)

And I think this one is really cute. We just have to outline the letters so you can see the "H" and the "F"...It says Thankful.

In this month of giving thanks, I have to say, I am super thankful to live so close to atleast one of our families. I have awesome inlaws that are willing to help us out whenever we need it, and feed us atleast once a month! It's fun to live so close to be able to do things like "craft night" and "fast Sunday meals." Luke will be blessed to get to spend lots of time with one set of grand parents. I just hope we continue to see my family monthly as well!

Halloween and a House :)

October went by sooo fast. I swear the time flies by when you have someone to take care of besides yourself. No wonder my parents always say we grew up so fast. November in Las Vegas is a completely different world than November in Heber or Cedar. It's still in the 80's the majority of days and I sometimes get dressed in my fall/winter clothes, then have to go change mid-day because I'm sooo hot! Craziness, I tell you.


In high school, Drew started a halloween carnival at his school. It was for families as well as the students and it was always really successful. Well this year, Drew's students in his event planning class were in charge of a school halloween carnival. They spent around $600 for their booths, food, and haunted house decorations. They were hoping to atleast break even so they could start saving money for the years to come. With Drew's help with creativity and awesome teaching skills, they tripled what they spent, making about $2600 total! When the ticket taker came and told Drew and I that he had made $600 in the first half hour, we were soo excited! Yes, his students should be praised for all their hard work, but because Drew was "in charge..." it seems like his victory mostly. :) The haunted house was actually REALLY scary. We were supposed to dress up, but after running around all day taking care of the finishing touches, Luke was the only one that had time to get dressed. ;) Here are some pics.

Taking a break from his hot elephant head!

In front of "Mr. Burton's tombstone" the kids made.

The Friday before/on halloween in Nevada is "Nevada Day" every year. So, Drew will always have it off! Since Halloween is his favorite holiday, this allows time for parties, wahoo! This year we went to Cedar for our annual Murder Mystery party. I really recommend these to anyone and everyone. They are sooo fun! this was our 4th year doing one, and they are always such a blast. The theme this year was "haunted house employees," so each of us had to dress up as an employee in a haunted house. (i.e. clown, vampire, mummy) I was Frankenstein's bride, and Drew was a serial killer. We did it in Drew's dad's barn, so it made it extra scary. Everyone did awesome on their costumes and really got into it. Can't wait for next year's!

Drew and I at the end of the party, after ALLL our make up was warn off :(

We should have taken pics at the beginning, but pretty good costumes eh?

We are almost finished with the "buying a house" process. Pretty scary but sooo exciting! We will be closing Thanksgiving weekend hopefully, and moving in shortly after. Pics to come!