Stuffs

My wife is the best. I want to say that. And I love her. I want to say that too. We have fun. It's been a while since we have updated on our recent hap's so here it goes in picture dump form:

Callie's first snow

So pretty!

Us in our Sunday best!

Croquet with our friend Veera, and some super fun girls from the ward.

Janet rocking traditional Indian clothing at her parents house.

Manly men doing manly things.

The restaurant from our first official date! *It has changed from our original date, but still does bbq

We even got in the same booth!

Savvy is so cute!!!

Ready for church

Janet loves cows.

Janet made green eggs and oatmeal for St. Patties!

She also got me an Easter basket!

 Okay, now here are a ton of pictures from our trip to visit Brian and Mandy in VA. It was so awesome!!! We love to see them and their kids!!! I'm so happy to have some family close.

Bedtime stories

Even though Hayden doesn't look happy here, the kids ended up loving the hammock!

They like sitting on the slackline best

Milaya's 2nd soccer game ever. She did awesome even though they didn't win.

Dying eggs

I am cornholio!

Janet trying on a hat at Yorktown beach. She should have gotten it!

The water was freezing!

Hayden playing with his shadow.

We got to spend some time with Janet's parents and our niece Brenna the weekend after VA.

 

 

Janet slacks!

So do the elders!

The end.

Sourthern Living

So, we live in the south. I wouldn't say we are in the deep south, but North Carolina is definitely southern. When I lived in Missouri some people said that was the south. Well it isn't just for the record. Anyway. Here are the Pros and Cons of our Southern Lifestyle:

Pros:

• It is warmer here and snows way less than most places.
• I can wear sweats to Wal-Mart and feel dressed up.
• People here are SO nice and friendly.
• I love the way people talk.
• I love saying ya'll, it makes much more sense.
• I love the trees! Especially in the fall.
• I love the red clay dirt. 
• The rich and poor live all together (for the most part). There aren't too many neighborhoods where we live, just random houses all thrown wherever they land. You can have a huge fancy home right next to a trailer.Ok I admit, I am kind of a socialist. But not really, I just like how everyone is mixed together.

Cons:

• I swear everyone here smokes. I am so used to having cigarettes blown in my face it doesn't even faze me.
• REBEL FLAGS! I HATE with a capital H rebel flags. People say it represents Southern Pride but really it doesn't. It is a symbol of racism and it makes me cringe and my skin crawl. Literally, I hate it. Ok done venting.
• Racism in general. It is something I have seen everywhere I have lived but it is pretty strong here in some parts and in some ways. 
• Junky houses. There are so many houses here with just junk everywhere. Some houses and lawns are so covered you can't hardly see anything else.  
• Mullets. This is a pro and a con because they disgust and please me at the same time. 

And there you have it. I am sure I will have more to add at some point. 

Chim Chim Charoo

I tried uploading this on Facebook but it is being difficult. This just happened at our house:

Finally!!!

We finally finished our first cosmetic house project other than painting the front room: our bathroom! Our bathroom was really quite ugly when we moved in... had three types of wallpaper, and a horrible vinyl floor (none of the patterns matched), the shower was missing a door, etc. Here is what it looked like:

Well bit by bit Janet took over the demolition of the bathroom - starting by tearing off the wallpaper. She would tear whenever she had a free minute... often while using the facilities. One day she started to tear up the vinyl. It turns out there was an oak floor underneath it. Janet and I talked for a while trying to decide what to do, and finally decided on re-staining the floor to a darker color (Janet really likes dark wood) and not doing tile. Her parents came out to visit for Christmas, and Janet's dad was dying to do some good old fashioned house work. First we blew fiberglass insulation into the attic on Christmas Eve, then we started on the bathroom Christmas day. We finished getting the remnants of the wallpaper off, and started to spackle, then sand, then spackle, then sand for probably two days. Janet picked a beautiful light blue to paint the walls, and we got that knocked out pretty quick. We quickly got the fixtures up that we wanted (towel rods, robe hooks, curtain rods, etc) then we started sanding the floor. We sanded for what seemed forever, and finally got to a point that we thought we could stain it at. We stained the entire floor, and decided that it wasn't smooth enough. It's hard to tell in this picture, but some parts were very inconsistent.

I sanded the heck out of that floor. And between staining, and each coat of polyurethane there is a lot more sanding and waiting. But after about a month I got the floor finished, put up the baseboards, Janet picked out a cabinet to hang on the wall for extra storage, and she helped me sand and paint the sink cabinet, we picked out a new faucet, got new knobs and handles, and even bought a new air vent register diffuser thing. Here are some more pictures of the process, and of the final product:

We think it looks amazing, and are super happy with it!

Oh, and here is a funny and I think super cute picture of Janet on Valentines day. I love her!

P.S. - she probably won't be too happy with me for posting this pic.

Valentine!

This year for Valentines Day, I wanted to keep things simple. Last year Jon and I tried to go to Olive Garden after work but it was so busy so we ended up going to Jason's Deli instead. This year I suggested we avoid the crowds and eat dinner at home. It was a wonderful day. My goal was to give Jon surprises throughout the day. I placed a picture frame in his bookbag, hoping he wouldn't find it until he got to school. I thought it would be good for his desk. But the stinker found it before he left because he was looking for something for me in his book bag. Oh well. I also left him a card and some personalized conversation hearts on the table for breakfast. After Jon left, I found a secret clue on the table. He is so creative! I got stressed when I couldn't figure it out right away but I did a pretty good job. After work we met up at the secret location. Jon was playing his guitar and had written Jon and Janet Forever in sidewalk chalk. I was looking down at him from a bridge, it was really cool. We took a walk and then traced our bodies in sidewalk chalk, just like we did on our first date. Then we headed home for candlelight fondue and gifts. Jon gave me scissors....I guess I said I wanted new ones a while back. It was definitely a random surprise. He told me it was just a joke and I had another present waiting after dinner. That one was much more romantic...but I won't say what he got me. ;) I gave Jon a blog book of our first year and a coupon book of things I will do for him like cooking dinner and shining his shoes. It was a really good relaxing day. Jon is so good to me and knows me so well. He is the best!

A gift for Jon

My secret mission from Jon

I snuck this on the table while Jon was showering. (The hearts are the kind you can write your own messages on).

The man, I am bummed hit is blurry.

Love Him!

Jon had written this for me to see from the bridge (aka the meet up point).

We always trace ourselves.

Fondue from home=delicious!

bad picture- but a book I made for Jon that has our first year blog entries. Also a coupon book I made for him.

Candlelight Fondue!

 

Scissors!

I hope you were able to spend time with your loved ones this year!

Prayers ARE Answered

Just in case there was any doubt, God does hear and answer our prayers. I go through phases in my life where I doubt that He does, but then he ALWAYS reassures me. Ever since I have moved here, I have been dying to have a friend here. Jon is my best friend but I have always been the girl with a big group of friends. I feel like you can never have too many friends. We have some friends at church that we love but they have five kids so we don't get to spend a lot of time with them. Same goes for the rest of our church friends. We are basically the only childless ones...That and almost everyone at church lives nearby family so they spend all of their time with them. Not complaining, just explaining the situation. :)

Anywho, we live next door to some awesome peeps who are close to our age and they have a daughter who is five. They have been so nice and friendly from the get-go. We have always wanted to share the gospel with them, especially more recently. We have been praying and praying for this. We even invited them to a bonfire we had at our home with some church friends but they didn't come. A few weeks ago the elders challenged us to pray for an opportunity to share our testimonies. We prayed and prayed and our week deadline came and went.

Well to make a long story short the other set of elders (we had two sets of elders for a while) came last night and did a really special thing with us. They prayed with us and for our neighbors, friends, and family members. We told them of our desires to share the gospel. Well today after work, my neighbor approached me and asked who "those guys" were. She assumed they were Jon's coworkers. We got talking about our church and her church. She was really excited that we feed the elders and asked if she could too. She was amazed by their service and wanted to support them.

As soon as I finished talking to her I raced to call Jon, then the Elders and set up an appointment for early next week, and then called my mom. I was SO happy I couldn't stop smiling. I invited her to come over when they come again so that she can meet them. Then, she invited us to their church's pancake dinner tonight so Jon and I went to that. It was really fun.


It felt so amazing sharing the gospel. I always cringe when the elders challenge us because I want to share the gospel but it is so hard for me to do at times. I felt the spirit really strongly and as I opened my mouth the words literally just came. All I want is for this family to know how much the Savior loves them and how much happiness He has in store for them. And I am feeling more and more like I have a friend here, which is really great too.

P.S. Today is Jon's sister Katie's birthday and my nephew Xander's birthday! We love them both so much!

Happy Birthday 21st Birthday to the happiest girl I know!

Happy 2nd Birthday Xander! His faces are the best!

Random

I have been getting all sorts of age comments as of late. The other day someone walked by my office and asked if I was the new intern. What?! I guess she had never seen me before (even though I have worked here for a year and a half) and I look young. To give her credit though, I am rarely in my office as I travel around a lot for my job. And my facility is pretty large. But still.

Also there was the blood drive recently where they asked if I was over age 19. I don't mind it at all but it sure cracks me up. And it makes for a great story, especially for my coworker who thinks I am a baby.

Jon made up a sauce for Hawaiian Haystacks. It is the bomb. That man can cook. We were out of Cream of Celery one day so BAM, he just made up his own. And it is WAY better. YUM!

I am so beyond ready for summer. I miss the heat and humidity. Plus I am missing my garden-such a granny thing to say but true.

My job rocks. I love it. I work with the cutest children and families. It is tough sometimes but I love it. It is my basically my dream job, aside from motherhood of course.

Jon is in the process of applying for Grad school. I have to admit that I am jealous, as I was accepted and ready to go to grad school when I moved out here, but decided to postpone it when we got engaged. I am dying to go back but I feel like it is more important for him to go first, since he will be the provider when we have kiddos. I dread the long hours he will be away though.

And there you have it. The random thoughts of my head as I procrastinate more important things.