It's the most wonderful time of the year!

This December was great! This was the first Christmas I can remember not having school and finals stressing me for the first half-AMAZING! I love being done with school!! Unfortunately I'm waiting on pictures from a friend of Christmas tree hunting and gingerbread houses, so these will have to do for now...

Each Christmas we get the old gang together for a Christmas party- normally we go out to eat but since Denise had her gallbladder removed she didn't feel up to it, so we did Red Iguana takeout instead...Mmmm...highly recommended it!

Our last Christmas together was December 2007, the last one we were all on different continents! Jess-Europe, Nise-Australia, Me-North America (most exciting of all), and Summer-South America. It was fun!
Somehow my neighbor managed to get us tickets to the Motab Christmas concert with David Archuleta... It was fun! It was absolutely packed! They said that even some people with tickets didn't get seated!
And of course it isn't Christmas without a visit to Temple Square to see the lights! It's amazing how many lights they have there- I always wonder how many lights there are and how much it cost's between man power and electricity!

Merry Christmas to all!

Night!

and after Thanksgiving comes...

Black Friday!!

The after Thanksgiving Day sales are definitely a family tradition, its like a game. Each year we wake up around 3, strategize who is going where and when. Provide reinforcements for the stores when they open, and keep each other company while waiting in line!

This year we drove to St. George Thanksgiving day for my little brothers soccer tournament. While we were eating dinner at del taco we noticed the line begining to form at Best Buy, so Chaz decided he wanted a lap top and jumped in line at 8:00...we couldn't let him wait in line alone so Gabi and I joined in, until 10 when Gabi went to Wal-mart with my mom and I left at 11:30 to help out...after that however I returned for the next 5 hours of waiting in the freezing cold...and yes, that is a person sleeping on the ground by us! And yet after hours of freezing I didn't end up getting anything...but Chaz did get his laptop!

I'm a fan of groupon and all of the other similar websites that have popped up lately. I discovered a coupon for a 30 min boat ride on the Provo River. They built it up talking about all of the lights and Santa Clause coming to visit on a canoe. I decided it sounded fun so I got the tickets. We got there and discovered it was a very homemade boat ride... our guide moved the boat along the river on a rope and the lights were scattered on one side of the river because the city wouldn't let them decorate the other half! Hahaha- it was pretty pitiful, but still fun!

Halloween Fun

Happy Late Halloween!

Chaci and the boys flew in on Halloween day so that they could be here to Welcome Chaz Home from his mission in Texas. Tanzen and I evidently have similar taste in style...

Tosh and I had a Halloween party at our house... it was fun!

Lenny and I dug through my mom's costume closet and I ended up in

her old cheer leading outfit, Lenny as a football player, very original I know!

The whole gang! We got quite the assortment of costumes!

Fall pictures...now that fall is over!

My Social Work friends Sarah, Jerilyn and I decided we wanted to go for a picnic up in the mountains and enjoy the fall leaves...of course we couldn't resist taking about a thousand pictures....

After we ran out of places to take pictures we went up to this is the place monument and took some more!

Ya, this didn't work out as well as we hoped... I was wanting Sarah to put Jer's face in my hand in the first picture...that would be cool! Hahaha

That night Lenny and I went on a hike to the living room which has a awesome view of the valley... gorgeous! To bad the picture didn't turn out!

Faith, Hope and Charity

Restoring Honor: Faith, Hope and Charity

So I have been planning on visiting my sister in Phily sometime in August, than when I learned about the 8-28 Rally I planned my trip so that I could do both! I have to say it was absolutely amazing-a day that I will always remember. It bothers me how many people have extremely strong opinions about this rally when they have absolutely no idea what the rally really was all about. If you do your research, if you listen to what the speakers have to say rather than just the media that doesn't get anything right, than you can form your own opinion. I trust that it will be different than what the media portrays- how really can anyone dispute the theme of this rally- Faith, Hope and Charity.

I loved the atmosphere of the rally- it was so positive. It was an extremely hot day, but I was constantly getting goosebumps from the uplifting words spoken. If you look at the crowd there are no posters- but there were tons of flags everywhere, it was very patriotic. There were also tons of these shirts- the theme of the rally was Restoring Honor: Faith, Hope and Charity. They talked about why each trait is important and highlighted a member of the community who displays each trait- Jon Huntsman received the award for Charity. Each talk was uplifting and inspired me to develop these traits.

I have always loved city's and crowds, I think its energizing! They estimated a crowd of 500 thousand people! The energy there was amazing! Everyone was happy and talked with each other- people came from across the country to show their support for our troops and our country. It was organized very well, they had plenty of free water for everyone, they followed each rule with exactness. After the march everything was cleaned up, you wouldn't think that hundreds of thousands of people were there. My mom and sister were in DC in October, right after another rally took place. They said that it was a mess- there was garbage and rude signs everywhere- they were also not given the strict rules and guidelines that they made Glenn follow, they were very disrespectful of the monuments and things that were so respected by our crowd.

This picture was taken of Palin, they said she was praying for 10 min before she gave her speech. They opened and closed the rally with a prayer. They talked about the founders creating the country under God and the importance of us turning back to God. Not once did they say anything against our Government, instead they blessed them in their prayers.

Exactly 47 years earlier at this same sight Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous I had a dream speech. In another section of the Mall his speech was blasted, what a cool experience to be in a crowd of this size honoring him on the anniversary of his speech. They talked about him and all that he accomplished, his niece gave personal insight about that day, he was such a strong amazing man!
After the rally Chaci and I literally ran to make it to the capital on time. Chaci contacted Rob Bishops office for me to get us tickets! It was fun getting to tour the capitol. Our guide was great! Chaci also got us tickets to Fords Theater- it was interesting to learn more about President Lincoln and what he stood for- while in the theater where he died for what he believed in. I loved this quote! It was so much fun being there with Chaci, I am so lucky to have her. It was nice to spend time with just her. Though I felt bad we had to do so much running around when she was feeling so sick- she said she is going to be sick anyway, she may as well be sick in DC. Thanks for everything Chac! It was so much fun!

It's a Miracle!

Wow- what a crazy past few months it has been. It is absolutely crazy how time consuming, exhausting and depressing job searching is! Once I got back from my trip to Phily I decided I should start looking. One of my friends was going to the LDS career workshop and invited me to go. To be honest I really did not want to go in the slightest! But I decided if I was serious about finding a job I may as well. So I went, and it wasn't half bad. At the workshop I sat next to a lady named Jyl who after talking to her told me her brother in law worked for LDS Family Services in the adoption unit. She contacted him for me and gave me his contact info. I e-mailed him and didn't hear much back from him.

In the mean time I interviewed with a couple different agencies. One of them is a place I used to work for out in Tooele. They are a residential treatment center that deals with troubled teenaged girls. I was really excited to find out they were hiring and the possibility of working for them. However I quickly got discouraged after my interview where I was told that they are mainly wanting LCSW's, but would consider a CSW (which is what I am- after 2 years of experience you become a LCSW) if they felt it was a good fit. She also said that they normally get 15 applicants and this year had well over 50 people apply- so there's the job market for you! During my interview she specifically addressed my being young and how I would deal with parents, many of whom are therapist's themselves. So needless to say I pretty much gave up on the idea of working with them!

A week or two later I got a random phone call from Jyl from my career workshop. She said her brother in law wanted to let me know that there was a job opening in the adoption department for LDS family services in SLC. As I called the contact I found out that it was unfortunately only part time, and full time work is through a completely different department. If you are hired for full time they can send you where ever they need you- and it's never utah because everyone wants to live in utah! I was disappointed but decided that I would still try for the job and if I got it I would find another part time job- money is money!

On Tuesday I interviewed with LDS Family Services. At the interview she asked how I knew the man who had referred me, after I told her my story she said that he was the head honcho of the department and over a bunch of different offices! Hahaha- I was surprised! she told me they would let me know by Friday if I got the job. A few hours later I got a call from the residential center in Tooele asking for a 2nd interview and saying that I should be honored because I was one of two CSW's they were considering! I was honored and very excited! The interview went well and they told me they would let me know beginning of next week.

Friday comes and LDS Family Services called and offered me a job! I was so excited- but didn't know what to do because if I could get a full time job with benefits I would take it- the nice thing is that I would really be happy with either job. I asked for a few days to think about it, so that I could hear back from the other agency. Next Wednesday comes along and so I called them to see where they were at. They told me that 50% of their students funding was in jeopardy so they were put on a hiring freeze! She told me that despite my age I was one of their top candidates for the job! Dang! Kind of stinks to hear, but I guess as far as not getting the job that is the best reason for it!

So I was excited to accept the job with LDS Family Services. I think it will be great, though there is so so so much to learn! There are tons of laws and regulations so a very high learning curve. Here I will be working with both the birth mothers to help them decide whether they want to keep their child or place it for adoption. As well as working with parents who are looking towards adoption. When I met with them on Friday I was told I was going to start primarily with the birth mothers which I am very excited about! I think it will be a great job and learning experience! I feel so blessed!

Thanks for everyone's support in keeping an ear out for jobs! Especially my uncle who seems to know everyone in the field! Love you all!!

My Boys!

So I vowed I wouldn't do this but I can't help it- I love my nephews! It was so much fun getting to know them better on their own turf and without competing with all my family for their attention! I just love them to death...so here goes, sorry- believe it or not I tried my hardest to keep this short! So introducing Tanzen and Makett and their favorite things...

Tanzen

Makett

They LOVE the park! They were a bit confused with what they were supposed to do on this one, but after they figured it out they loved it! It's amazing how much entertainment they get going down the same slide over and over again! They are perfectly content to pick up sticks or rocks and play with them for ever!

They have some awesome out door parks in Phily that feel very secluded because of the think trees, though they are packed with kids running in all directions!

Who knew boxes make such great cars!

I don't think Ketty wanted to stand on the giant chess piece...

This is when twins are such great entertainment! They were trying out their new Halloween costumes (which it is adorable when they run in by the way- they wiggle around with all the padding) and some how they end up in a wressling match-Tanny is winning for now but I have no doubt that Ketty gets his own revenge!

They love kisses! Ketty smacks his lips when he wants a kiss- I hope he keeps that habit for when he turns 16! Before he goes to bed he has to kiss you over his crib and through the bars- its so cute to turn to leave and hear smacking lips behind you!

Tanzen is excited to be an older brother! He is really good to play with the babies at the please touch museum. Chaci just found out she is having a girl!! SO EXCITED!
They love reading stories- They will point to an object in the book and say it over and over again until you acknowledge it is there...slide, slide, slide, slide, ruff ruff, ruff ruff!!

They LOVE trains!!! They can play with them all day long- it's amazing how many trains they point out as we are driving in the car, or the things they can make into trains or train tracks (food, blocks etc..)

They love being silly!! Thanks for a great time Tanny and Ketty!

I love you!

Phily Fun!!

I have been promising my sister that I would come visit her in Phily pretty much since she first moved there 3 years ago while her husband Brandon was in residency for Radiation Oncology! I was supposed to go last year after I graduated from BYU-Idaho but it didn't work out. So this year I figured I would plan a trip to visit her after I finished all my school stuff and before I started on the job hunt- It came at the perfect time! It was so much fun seeing them and getting to know my cute nephews without any other competition!

Chaci and I dressed my nephews up in the Thai boxing shorts I brought back from Thailand for them, it was so cute! Though they were quite confused why we were taking off their shirts in the park!

The famous Rocky steps outside the Philadelphia art

museum- see that speck at the top? That's me!

Outside the Rodin's art museum...

I love this statue! One of my favorites!

We went on a walking tour of the city- this is the oldest street in the US, and people still live on it!

The Liberty Bell

This park was full of giant game pieces

I love watching my nephews run- here you can see the BINGO pieces in the background, its amazing they don't fall down!

Playing at the "Please Touch Museum"-a perfect place for kids! This was the Alice in Wonderland section

Visiting the Phily Aquarium... its really cool!

I love this picture! The funny part is that 10 seconds later they were both on the ground and Ketty had a bloody nose- poor guy!

Thanks for being a great tour guide Chaci! It was great!