Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas. Here is Sophie getting her present early on Christmas Eve.

She's so smart! She unwrapped her present by herself and out popped some toys!

Christmas Eve at Jeff & Michelle's

Spencer putting e-books on their computer for Kayla. Kayla got an Amazon Kindle for Christmas.

The little girls acting out the Nativity scene.

Spencer knows me so well. He thought he would be funny and spell my name wrong on my present. Does anyone else get a little offended when someone spells your name wrong? He makes me laugh.

Spencer got me an Amazon Kindle! I love it.

On Christmas day we went to my Mom's and she gave each of us a hand-made quilt by her! I was so excited when I opened this. We've been asking for a quilt from her for years it seems. She's so talented and has the cutest taste in fabric.

Merry Christmas!

Surprise iMac

Spencer has been wanting an iMac for so long. I convinced him to wait until after Christmas with no real good reasoning other than that they are expensive and I didn't feel like spending the money right now. (Secretly, I've been wanting one too so I can learn all of the Adobe programs) If we aren't getting one after Christmas then we probably won't get one for a LONG time, Spencer thought, because Terri's so stubborn. I invited him on a surprise date for Thursday, December 15th to celebrate his last final of the semester. I'd been telling him lately that I just wanted to get hot chocolate and drive around looking at people's lights for a date night so he figured that's what we were doing, or going to Temple Square. As we drove downtown, he was trying to be nice and say things like "I thought you already got your feel for the lights at Temple Square this year" because he REALLY didn't want to go. I smiled and said "maybe that's what we're doing, and maybe not"

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We arrived at The Gateway and wandered through a few stores. We stopped at Starbucks and rewarded ourselves each to a Frappuccino.

We then headed to the Mac store. As we approached the store, Spencer said "Oh, I'll show you the Mac I want!" and I turned to him and said something like "We're taking it home tonight."The smile on his face was priceless. The whole time we were in the store, he kept saying "I don't believe you" or "You're lying to me". How could this be real?! This picture doesn't describe it very well. He was embarrassed I was taking a picture because he didn't want to look like a tourist.

And there is the beauty that I am now typing on.

Best surprise date....EVER!

Christmas Decorations

I absolutely love this time of year. Spencer points out to me how much I love Christmas lights, and Christmas music all the time. Tonight he came home to me dancing and singing along to blaring Christmas music. I took these pictures minutes before he got home...sorry...no pictures of me dancing though!

This nativity set came straight from Grandma Frandsen's trip to Israel this year.

Went to Temple Square with my sisters-in-law last weekend but my camera died right when we got there. Fun Fact: Learned that the big dipper is on the temple because it points to the North Star and the North Star is always constant. Awesome.

Chocolate Gold Coins

These babies sit in a giant bowl right in front of me...all day long!

Can you say...tempting?

Reflections

I have been bad at updating this month. Thanksgiving went by in a flash and now it's December. I usually don't share personal things on my blog but here it goes.

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The past week and a half or so, something has changed inside of me. I've had some time to really reflect on my life because of a blog I ran into...www.nieniedialogues.com. Stephanie was featured on KSL and that is how I found it. If you haven't read it, I would suggest you read from August 2008-present, which is what I've been doing. Her blog is beautiful and not only am I stalking her personal life on her blog (sorry Stephanie) but her life is a beautiful story of faith & hardship. She has an incredible testimony of the gospel and is an example to all. She also inspires me. She has the cutest taste in vintage things! Which I love, but can't ever seem to get my hands on because my wallet is constantly glued shut if you know what I mean. (It's my fault though)

A little background on Stephanie; 3 years ago, her and her husband were in a small plane crash. Both were injured and her husband Christian who she calls Mr. Nielson in her blog, broke his back & Stephanie was burned on 80% of her body but they both survived. They have 4 little kids and live in Provo, UT. She has been through so much, I just can't even comprehend. She will have a wonderful reunion with Christ after this life because of her incredible faith & testimony and she will be healed. I know it because of the gospel.

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The other night I was in our basement with the usual "Spencer on the couch doing homework" and he caught me staring off into the distance. "What are you thinking about?" he asked. Tears started to well up in my eyes and I said "Nothing." The truth was, that I was thinking about my life. I have found myself sorry for challenges I have been through & feeling a "poor me" attitude the past little while. After I read about Stephanie I was certainly reminded of how blessed I am.

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Right now is the time to be grateful to be alive and to cherish every little thing in life. I am trying to not let stupid things bother me; like Spencer leaving his plate of chicken bones in the basement for days because he devoured every piece of meat that was on that thing, or Sophie eating her dinner and putting her messy lips on our bed because she wants to see us. I am trying to be grateful for life and remember that we have a purpose on earth. I desire to live a fulfilling life. I want to be a wife who kisses her husband when he gets home from work everyday because we love each other. Someday I want to be a Mother & remember that when I am a Mother, the dishes can wait because my children will remember me playing with them instead. I want to have a strong testimony of the gospel to teach my children and be an example to others. Those things in life must not be missed. How do I know that? Because Stephanie almost lost everything dear to her, but God preserved her life for a reason and almost that very same reason is why we are here too.