January 2009

I LOVE Picasa and their SUPER FAST & EASY COLLAGES. Here is our January in one big picture.

Day 31-Temple Night

Bryan and I went to the TEMPLE tonight. We set it as a goal this year to attend the temple at least once a month. I'm glad we were able to meet our goal this month even if it was one of the very last sessions on the last day of the month. Sometimes it's hard for me to get to the temple. It seems like something ALWAYS comes up making it inconvenient to get there, but after I go I always feel so good and I come away wondering why I don't make more of an effort to get there more often.

Day 30-Art Night

Tonight was ART NIGHT at Tate's Preschool. He (and Bryan) had a blast of course. I think that I may have been the only party pooper. I don't know what exactly it is about paint and kids, but I guess I don't enjoy the COMBINATION because of the mess. In fact I've never actually realized how much I really DISLIKE paint until tonight-especially with it all over little hands, elbows, shirts, and you name it.

Day 29-Sandy Picnic

Tate and I had a splendid PICNIC at the park with Kristy (Bryan's Sister) and her 3 kids today. It was fun getting together and chatting with Kristy, and Tate adored running around with his cousins and getting dirty in the sand. Speaking of sand... Tate, Savannah, and Melanie got it in their eyes on separate occasions while at the park today. What a coincidence? I promise we really were watching them! Thankfully we had water bottles of which we rinsed their eyes out with...

Marry ME Grandma Bloomfield!

Tate (Mr. Flirt) has been trying to figure out who he is going to marry for quite some time now. First he wanted to marry me and I told him he couldn't because I was already married. Then he decided that he wanted to marry Grandma Stradling and I told him he couldn't because she was already married. He went through several more people with the same answer from me each time. Well, tonight Tate had this great big smile on his face when he asked me, "If someone's husband dies then can they get married again?" Not knowing where he was going with this one, I said "yes". Tate was all SMILEY when he told me, "Guess what Mom, I figured it out. I'm going to marry Grandma Bloomfield!!!!!!!!" As soon as I told him the heartbreaking news of him not being able to marry Grandma Bloomfield because she is related to him... He burst into tears crying uncontrollably. I felt so bad for him. He was somewhat comforted when I told him that God would let him marry someone just as special as Grandma Bloomfield! And then he asked, "BUT WHO MOM?"

Day 28-Freezer Cookies

One of the TRADEMARKS of our family is that we ALWAYS have Chocolate Chip Cookies in our Freezer. Everyone who comes to our house knows that it is their RIGHT to be able to ask us for a frozen COOKIE. For one of the first times in 5 years or so I have been out of cookies for the past month. Can you believe it? Well, I have good news... I made 56 fresh cookies today, and I will be placing them in the freezer very shortly!

Day 27-My Kitchen

For my picture today, I've chosen to post a BEAUTIFUL picture of me working BAREFOOT in my messy kitchen. I want my Project 365 to be the best representation of reality possible even if it is a little embarrassing. Oh, and just to clarify things... the reality is the messy kitchen, not necessarily me cleaning it!

Day 26-Kindergarten Registration Day

Today was Kindergarten REGISTRATION DAY for Tate. I woke up at 6:20 AM and arrived at his school by 6:50 AM only to discover that there were already 5 dedicated parents in line ahead of me to register their kids. Parents came in great numbers and the line was extremely long by the time they opened the office doors at 7:30 AM. My preference was to get Tate in the AM Kindergarten class and even though I was only 5th in line, children with siblings already at the school were given the first slots so to speak, so the AM class was completely filled by the time I arrived. I ended up enrolling Tate in the Afternoon class (with the possible chance of still being able to get in the AM class-Tate is 2nd on a waiting list in case someone changes their mind about AM Kindergarten), and I am really just grateful to have gotten him registered at all. So as of next school year, I'm going to have a KINDERGARTNER!

Day 25-Thomas' Farewell Talk

Today was my youngest brother Thomas' farewell talk in church. The whole family was able to be there, so that was great. It was a little crazy sitting all together in Sacrament Meeting. The kids got pretty loud but I figure that that is expected when young cousins get together. It was fun though! Thomas' talk was excellent. He spoke about Music and Conversion and he shared some great personal stories. We were able to get a few snapshots of the family after Sacrament Meeting. The lighting wasn't that great and we couldn't seem to get one of everyone looking, but oh well:)

We ended up catching the last 7 minutes or so of Sunday School and I'm so glad that we did because I feel as though the topic was one that I REALLY NEEDED to hear. Thank you Sister Driggs! {Lately I've been struggling with wanting things my way... I want a baby now-we've been trying for over 4 years! I haven't been wanting to accept God's timing any more. I'm tired of waiting and I don't want to be patient, I just want things my way}. One of the first things I remember her saying when we walked in the room was how we try to have God do things our way. And basically she stated that our lives are in God's hands. She told the story of her losing a young baby and how as hard as it was for her, looking back on it she realizes that it was all in God's plan. Things happen for a reason and God ultimately knows what is best for us. We just have to trust him. After the lesson I was reminded again that I need to have more faith in Jesus Christ and in his plan. It's just so hard for me sometimes because I'm stubborn.

Anyways, we spent the rest of the day/evening at my parents house. We had dinner and we were able to have some great family time. My brother Aaron recently had my Dad's old mission slides transfered to JPEG's so we spent quite a bit of time viewing my Dad's mission pics and he shared about each one. It was a fun time!

Day 24-Scout Camp Out

{I'm starting to notice a pattern of Tate being in the majority of the pictures for my Project 365-that's okay with me though, he's a cutie}

Bryan and Tate went camping last night with the scouts in our ward. They camped at Peralta and hiked all the way to the saddle today. It was a 5 mile hike there and back and Bryan said that Tate hiked about half of it. The rest of the time Bryan carried him on his shoulders. Supposedly they had lots of fun. I had to laugh when Bryan told me that they had smores before going to bed, for breakfast, and then again for lunch! BOYS!!!

As much as I missed them, I had a ton of fun without them :) Last night I hung out with a friend in our ward. We went to Panda Express and then to Fry's where we loaded up on candy. Then we went back to her house and stuffed our faces with it while watching "Just Like Heaven". It was way too much fun!

Today was awesome as well. I woke up early (go figure), took a shower with no interruptions, went shopping a bit, scrapbooked a little, and took a 2 hour nap. Now that doesn't happen very often (I honestly can't remember the last time I've taken a nap). So yea, it was a great lazy day for me!

Day 23-Speeding down the Hills

Tate & I went to Freestone Park today-after Lunch and before Visiting Teaching. We brought his little "car bike thingy" and he went riding at top speed down the hills! When we moved last year, I had debated getting rid of this little bike, but I'm so glad we kept it because it's just perfect for the hills. He had a blast as you can see from the picture... We will definitely be doing this again.

Day 22-New Clothes for ME

Today was a GREAT day! I was fortunate enough to aquire over 10+ hand me down skirts, and some really cute jackets from my AWESOME relatives. I'm quite thrilled to have some new-ish clothes to wear.

Project 365 - First 3 Weeks

Day 21-Tate's Haircut

This morning I gave Tate a haircut. I cut it really short and it turned out okay, so I'm happy! Now that he's 4 1/2, Tate is getting pretty good at holding still for me. I remember that cutting his hair when he was a baby was always challenging. It could be due to the fact that I learned to cut hair on him:) I would typically turn on Baby Einstein and I would rarely be done before the movie was over. Usually he would watch it a couple times through before I finished. Thank goodness I'm speeding up a bit now. It still takes me a long time but at least I'm making progress.

Family Proclamation Page 6

Yeah, I finally finished page 6! That has been on my to do list for quite some time now... I'm excited to move on!

Day 20-My Ancestors Memory Game

I spent the day today crafting! It was my ideal day... Just like Tate would be playing the wii all day everyday if he could-I would love to be making cute things 24/7. Anyways, if this Ancestor Memory Game looks familiar to you, it's because it is. HERE is my old one. It's okay (Just not very sturdy and cutsie). I found THIS tutorial and just knew that I "had" to redo my game. I LOVE the results! It was fun and easy to make, just a little time consuming but totally worth it.

Day 19-Playing the Wii

Since there was no school for Tate today... We all got to sleep in, until 8:00. Yeah! Tate did his chores as quick as possible so that he could play the wii. That's basically how it is now days. Tate is completely obsessed with Mario Galaxy and it's what he wants to be doing constantly. I figured since it's a holiday I'd let him play a little more than usual. I am going to have to come up with some kind of time chart for him though. Seriously this kid would spend the entire day playing "Mario" if I let him.

Day 18-Making Tamales

We went over to Kristy & Jon's new house tonight (it is very beautiful & I was happy to finally get to see it). Bryan's Grandma was there, along with his parents (Keith & Dianna) and 3 of his sisters (Stacy, Sarah, and Natalie). Jon showed us how to make tamales. It was really fun getting to try assembling a few myself.

Day 17-Story Time

Today was a BUSY day! Bryan had to work, so Tate and I went to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory with my good friend Emily and her two kids. After that, we took the kids to the play area at the mall and checked out the AMAZING DEALS at KB Toys. Seriously, everything is between 60-80% off! We didn't get much, but we did get a Leap Frog Bingo Game for $4.79 and I couldn't pass up the electonic Sudoku game for $2.39. Seriously, it would be a great time to stock up on Birthday gifts for the year. We also went to the Children's Place and picked up a few clothes for Tate. He is just growing like a weed!

We got home around 3 PM, just in time to start some beans and rice for dinner. Some ward friends (Justin & Tiffany) had invited us over for fajitas-yum! Oh, I forgot my friend Faith had dropped off her baby Autumn for us to watch, so we brought Autumn with us. We had a really fun evening and like always when we go to a friend's house, we ended up staying till way late-about 10:15PM.

When we got home, Tate insisted that Bryan read some "scripture power stories" to him. So, Bryan being the good Dad that he is, read to Tate and put him to bed.

Long Day. Good Day.

Day 16-Playing with Jack

Tonight we went and hung out at Jonathan & Carrie's house. We had a delicious dinner (steak, potatoes, salad, and garlic bread)-thanks Carrie! Tate enjoyed playing with his cousins, Bryan and Jonathan played the Wii, and Carrie and I played on the computer and talked about our cameras and photoshop. Then I got to hold their awesome parrot named Jack. He is a terrific opera singer and is downright hilarious.

Photoshop Actions and a Visit with Some Friends

I got to spend the majority of the day with one of my very best friends named Faith. She has an adorable baby named Autumn who is almost 5 months old. Tate enjoys when they come over because it's almost like having a baby sister for him.

I snapped a few pictures of them. I don't know what it is about this picture of Tate holding Autumn, but I just adore it! He really wasn't trying to choke her. I guess he just needs a little more practice.

Autumn is a little doll. She's so beautiful!

Tate wanted to push Autumn the whole way to the park. Since he couldn't see over the top of the stroller, he kept pushing her into the grass, and he wasn't afraid to go really fast. We kept having to slow him down.

So now it's really late and I'm still awake playing with some Photoshop Actions that I found. You can download them for free HERE. I think it makes a big difference in the pictures...

Day 15-Fun with Brothers

When I started this project, I told myself that I had the right to cheat a little with the pictures. This picture was actually taken 2 1/2 hours from day 15-shhh.

My brothers James and Thomas come over quite often. I LOVE IT WHEN THEY HANG OUT WITH US!!! Last night we played the game Blokus, drank a yummy milkshake, and watched The Office on Bryan's computer. We always have a great time when they come over!

Day 14-Finished Laundry

I FINALLY finished washing all of our clothes today from our trip to New Mexico. Laundry is definitely one of my least favorite chores. It seems to be never ending and oh so tedious. I guess it's just one of those NECESSARY EVILS!

Family Proclamation Printables for You...

I've had several people ask me lately about my Family Proclamation Scrapbook and how they could get one with their families pictures... This has inspired me to make a template for anyone who wants to memorize the Family Proclamation. I'm realizing more and more each day that these pictures are actually working for us. If you digi scrap you can add photos of your family and then print, if not you could print these scrapbook pages just the way they are and then cut out pics of your family and glue them where they go. The only disclaimer is that you'll have to wait for me to finish the rest. I'm just doing it as we go!

Too Confusing

Okay, I have to say that the whole two blog thing is just too confusing for me. I'm going to have to just combine before I get too far into my 365 day project. So, I'm going to try to transfer what I've done onto this blog...

I apologize in advance if I repeat things that I've already posted about a million times before on this blog. Life with a 4 year old is very repetitive. And since I want to document this for the Project 365, I'm going to be repeating a few things.

Day 13-Tate's Prayer

We went to the park today. While there, Tate let the children take turns riding his quad. He was very nice to all of them except one little boy. Tate told him that he wouldn't let him have a turn on the quad. I stepped in and got after Tate for being unkind. So, Tate let the boy have a turn, but while we were walking home Tate still felt really sorry. He told me that he wanted to repent. I told him that that was a good idea. So immediately, he dropped to his knees in the rocks and right in front of someone's house. He folded his arms and said, "Heavenly Father, please forgive me for not being nice to the boy at the park". I just love the humility that children have. It reminds me of the scripture in Matthew 18:4 "Whosever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven".

Remembering Grandpa Bloomfield

Bryan's Grandpa passed away a week ago today. His funeral was over the weekend in New Mexico. We were furtunate enough to be able to go. Really I was so glad to be there. He was a very wonderful person, I only wish that I would have spent more time with him and gotten to know him even better.

I found some pics on our computer that bring back some great memories that we did have with him...

Here's some pictures from the funeral...