2014 - Year in Review

2014 has hands-down been the most eventful year of my life so far. This year has definitely been exciting, full of changes and big adjustments. It's been a wonderful, difficult adventure of a year. So it's not all that surprising that I've only blogged twice in the past 365 days. Sad, but not surprising. However, I know I'll regret it if I don't record this big year so here are a few of the highlights.

Aaron graduated from BYU in April. I can honestly say I was way more excited about his graduation than I ever was about my own.  He worked so hard for his degree and I am so proud of him.  It was a great day to celebrate all of his hard work and sacrifices.  

Just a few days after Aaron's graduation, we moved out to the Bay Area.  It was so hard to say goodbye to our family and friends but we were excited for a new adventure.  I was eight months pregnant at the time and so we were lucky to have Aaron's parents help us move.  Not only did they drive our moving van, help with Hannah, and basically unload all of our stuff, but they made our trip so much fun.  

As soon as we made it to California, Aaron started his new job as a process engineer at Valero Energy Corporation.

After Trish and Sid left, we had about a month of down time until my due date.  To keep me from going crazy, we kept busy putting our new apartment together, along with going to Six Flags a few times, and celebrating Aaron's birthday and Mother's Day.  Our wonderful new ward even threw me a baby shower.  I loved this last little bit of one-on-one time with Hannah but at the same time, I was extremely uncomfortable and very ready to get this baby out.

On June 5 at 12:05 a.m. our sweet Hazel made her big debut.  She was 9 pounds and 21 inches long of precious, perfect, chubby baby.  She filled a gap in our family that we didn't know was there.  It was so fun to see how much Hannah loved her immediately and their meeting was one of the most sacred experiences of my life.  My mom came out a few days before Hazel was born and she took care of all of us for about a week.  Having her there was such a blessing to me.  She made me feel so loved and helped me gain confidence in being a mother of two by giving me lots of pep talks before she left.  We all had so much fun together.

The first few months after Hazel was born were honestly pretty rough.  Physically, my recovery was so good, but Aaron had some work emergencies at the end of June and had to work 12 hour night shifts and then go on several business trips.  I was overwhelmed with having a needy newborn, Hannah acting out for attention, being in a new place away from family, missing Aaron, and dealing with post-partum depression.  I'm so grateful for the wonderful friends who brought me dinner, sent texts, or came to check on me.  I'm also thankful for the power of prayer that got me through some dark times.  Despite it being hard, I loved learning to be a mother of two.  I remember cheering out loud the first time I got both of my girls in the car by myself, and again the first time I took them to the grocery store or to the park.  It was also a time that brought our family closer as we learned how to be a family of four.

In July, our families came out to visit and for Hazel's baby blessing.  It was awesome to have everyone here (minus my brother-in-law Dave, but he came to visit in August).  We had so much fun showing them our new life here as well as just getting some good quality time with them.

My sister, Heidi, and her two girls stayed a couple of extra days while Aaron went on another business trip.  It was seriously such a blast.  Our days were filled with with swimming and playing princess and after our kids went to bed, Heidi and I stayed up laughing, crying, watching movies, playing nertz, eating treats, and all other things awesome sisters do.  

In August, we experienced our first California earthquake - a 6.1!  Aaron and I woke up to pretty violent shaking.  I ran for Hazel and Aaron ran to Hannah and we met underneath our table.  It was such a scary feeling to have the ground moving beneath us and I am in no hurry to have that happen ever again.  But it was good to get one under our belts and showed us some of our home's safety hazards.

In September, Valero asked Aaron to go recruiting at BYU's career fair, so the girls and I tagged along for a little vacation to Utah!  We all got the flu which was super lame, but some of the highlights included: going to Silver Fork Lodge for sourdough pancakes, Hazel laughing for the first time, attending the Ogden temple re-dedication, going to my friend Melinda's bridal shower, seeing the Stevensons, and being able to go to the General Women's Meeting with my mom and sister, Amanda.  Oh, and I chopped all my hair off.  It was time...

The next month, we had a visit from our good friend, Emily.  We had a blast at Six Flags, going to the temple, and meeting up with our friend Bryce.  We loved it!

Toward the end of October, I was also able to fly to Utah for one of my best friend's wedding.  It was so good to be with friends and celebrate our lovely Melinda.  It was a short trip and just Hazel and me this time, but I'm so glad we got to go!  While we were gone, Aaron and Hannah went to the ward trunk-or-treat and Aaron won best costume as a mad scientist.

On Halloween, Hannah refused to dress up so instead of trick-or-treating, we went out for Krispy Kremes and saw all the pumpkins at Dr. G's Pumpkinitis, which was incredible.  Hazel looked adorable as a ladybug. 

We stayed in California for Thanksgiving and had a blast with Ben and Alicia.  I have to say though, I've never been so thankful for my parents for cooking Thanksgiving dinner for me for so many years.  It's a lot harder than it looks.  I'm pretty proud of us for cooking a turkey.

December was full of so much fun - Aaron's work breakfast with Santa, our ward Christmas party, seeing the lights at Candy Cane Lane, and going to Utah to be with family for Christmas (another post all about that coming later).

2014 was so, so good to us.  I'm so grateful for all of the blessings and miracles we have seen this year.  Here's to a wonderful 2015!

Congratulations if you made it to the end of this eternal post!  And that's why this year my New Year's resolution is to keep up my blog....

Happy Mother's Day

Since becoming a mom myself, I constantly find myself thinking about my own mother – how did she do what she did?  How did she raise six kids that turned out so awesome (if I do say so myself)?  How did she make everything so fun?  How did she teach me how to make good choices and serve others?  It’s been on my mind a lot lately, I think especially since being away from her for the past week.  So for Mother’s Day this year, I wanted to write down a few of the things my mom did and continues to do that have helped me know she loves me and have helped me become the person I am.

She made me feel special.  When I was about seven, a family friend, who was going through a hard time, was staying with our family.  One morning, this person yelled at me over something that wasn’t my fault and my sensitive feelings were pretty hurt.  I remember my mom not only made me feel better in the moment, but later that day checked me out from school and took me out to lunch - just the two of us.  She made me feel so special and loved that I thought my little seven year old heart would burst.

She was consistent.  My mom (and dad) always took us to church, held Family Home Evenings, and made sure we had family scripture study and prayer.  We weren’t perfect at it, but we were consistent.

She taught me right from wrong and helped me learn to fix my mistakes.  When I was really young and playing at a neighbor’s house, I broke a small ornament off of a glass Christmas tree figurine.  I was scared and didn’t know what to do, so I hid the ornament, hoping no one would notice.  When I went home, I told my mom what had happened.  She didn’t yell or reprimand, but instead, explained the process of repentance and how to make things right.  She then went with me back to the neighbor’s house so I could tell them what happened, apologize, and offered to pay for the figurine.

She was an example.  She showed me the importance of things by doing them herself.  When I was in Young Women, she decided to work on personal progress and get her Young Women medallion – for the second time.  I remember her spending hours of a road trip we went on memorizing the Living Christ.  She didn’t have to tell me to do things; rather, she inspired me to do them.

She was supportive.  I can’t remember a single piano recital, tennis match, or symphony concert that my mom wasn’t there for. She helped me with homework, got me through friend problems, and was always there for me.

She valued the roles of wife and mother.  My mom often told me how much she loved being a wife and mother.  She never complained about the workload of taking care of six kids or made me feel like she’d rather be doing something else.  I always knew that she loved being a mom.

She believed in me.  When I was in college and doing my practicum out in the elementary schools, I got really nervous for my lesson observations.  My mom would always call me the night before to run through my lessons with me and give me a pep talk.  Her encouraging words and wise counsel always gave me the comfort and confidence I needed to be successful.

She served (and continues to serve) me.  When I was in my first trimester and was really sick, she had us over for dinner every Sunday and would make whatever I wanted and then send me home with all the leftovers.  She would watch Hannah so I could nap.  More than anything, her encouraging words helped me believe I could survive those awful months.  She’s coming out in three weeks to help me with the new baby and I know everything will be ok if she is there.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!  I wish I could be with you today, but I'll see you in 22 days.  I love you and can’t wait to be with you!

Because of Him

Aaron is taking a final, Hannah is napping, and I should be packing, but instead I'm writing a blog post.  Funny how I haven't blogged in four months (oops) and suddenly have the urge when I have a million other things I should be doing.  I think I just need a little break from boxes and bubble wrap and packing tape.  Plus, yesterday was wonderful and I want to record some things before I forget them.

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays.  I love its message, the newness of Spring. getting all gussied up, and don't even get me started on how passionately I feel towards Reese's Eggs.  This Easter was wonderful.  We had a pretty simple morning of breakfast, Easter baskets,and getting ready for Stake Conference.

After church, we took some family pictures with our neighbors, the Taylors.  Hannah and Avery had the same Easter dress (not planned - their moms just both have very good taste ;)) so we had to get a picture of them too.

  

After a nice long nap, we headed up to South Jordan for a family dinner with the VanOrmans, my mom's side of the family.  I'm so glad I got to see some extended family before we head out to California.  We had so much fun eating, talking, playing games, hunting for Easter goodies, and enjoying the beautiful weather outside. 

We also got to spend some time with Aaron's family and it was great to be with them too!  I'm definitely going to miss living close to both of our families.  We played and took some pictures in the backyard (photo cred goes to Trish), played Spot It, and watched Hannah and Tanner open some Easter gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.  

It was a wonderful day and I know that it is because of Him - because He lived, died, and rose again - that I get to experience a beautiful life.  I am so grateful for my Savior, who helps me through my trials and makes possible all my happiness.  I know that because of Him, I can be a better person tomorrow than I am today, and can be made clean from all of my imperfections.

Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

P.S.  If you haven't seen this, you should watch it.....