1 Year Down, Eternity to Go

Today is the 1st anniversary of our Temple Sealing. Scott and I will be going to the Temple tonight to do sealings for the dead to celebrate! It's amazing how time flies. Our little family has grown so much in the past year and I cannot forget how blessed we are to have the gospel in our lives and for what it does for us each and every day. We will be together FOREVER, a fact that keeps me going through the tough times.

I haven't been on here for a long time, and I regret that. I was reading in my cousin's blog yesterday (Meg!) and she talked about how she does this because she sucks at writing in a journal. I, too, am guilty of poor journal writing, and as many journals as I have purchased with the promise to write in them at least once a week, I think I've written enough times to fill maybe HALF of a 100-page journal. It's so much easier to type than it is to write. I can type at least 80 wpm, and I'm pretty sure that I can only write about 25. Anyway, hopefully I will keep at this and get you all updated with what's going on in our lives, and at the same time keep a dutiful record of my life and the life of my family.

We have recently moved to North Salt Lake to some brand new apartments. Rent is cheaper, we'll be able to save a lot more a month, and there is NO ROOMMATE!! As long as Scott and I have been married, we have never lived alone. Isn't that crazy? We've always been with someone else. It's so nice to be able to walk around nake---I mean, nevermind... :) Like I was saying, it's great to have a place all to ourselves. We are about 2 minutes from my in-laws, which is great. It's nice to have family so close!

Adam is getting so big, I can't even keep up with it. How amazing it is to watch a child grow. I find it strange that I'm a mother a lot of the time. I'm only 21, in the prime of my life, and I've got a little family where most others my age are in college, hanging with friends until 2am, enjoying being young. I'm in bed by 10 most nights, if not earlier. I don't have time for friends really. My time is consumed by working every once in a while, cleaning, laundry, and anything else ADAM related you could think of. Sometimes I sit and think about where I would be if I didn't get married 2 years ago, if there was no Adam or Scott, if I stayed in college and graduated... but then I think about the blessings I would be missing out on right now if there was no Scott or Adam, no eternal family, no temple visits (which keep me sane, honestly). I don't think I would change anything.

Fun at the Zoo

Adam and I went to the Zoo today! We went with my friend Bekah Shupe and her son Zakkary who is 5 months younger than Adam. We had a blast! Adam's favorite were the elephants and the zebras. Here are some pictures from Adam's first visit to the Zoo!

The Penguins!

Zakk is at the top looking at the camera. Adam decided he didn't want to be in the shot with the giant rats. Zakk is the same size as Adam is and he's 5 months younger!

The giraffe. There were 4 total: 2 females inside and the 2 males were outside.

Adam thought it would be a good idea to put his hand in Zakk's mouth

The boys in front of the Mountain Lion enclosure. You can't see them, but they're back in their little caves. They didn't feel like sunbathing for us.

Here he's pointing at the Zebras. Once he saw them move he pointed and cooed at them. It was so darling! It was so awesome to watch him discover.

Here we are in front of the Zebras

The elephants were the first animal we saw and Adam was amazed. He kept pointing and grunting at them. We watched the elephant show.

Here we are sitting on the Tigers. The only real Tiger we saw was also in his little cave and we could only get a shot of his rather large foot.

Yay for the Zoo! Did you know it's only around $60 to get a family pass for the year? We might do it. I love the zoo and Adam really enjoyed himself too.

UGH I am so bad at this!

I am terrible. I can't believe that it's MARCH and I still haven't posted any CHRISTMAS pictures yet! *sigh* And unfortunately I can't do it right now either, but I promise you that it will be done no LATER than tonight. But until I can get pictures loaded I will do an update.

We shall start on Scott's Birthday, which was February 3rd. He turned 22 (woohoo!), which isn't all that special a year I suppose, but I decided to put together something extra special for him because he certainly deserves it. We originally wanted to do a bed and breakfast thing for Valentine's Day weekend, and so I thought, "Hmmm, it's the beginning of January, I should probably just go ahead and reserve our weekend because I'm sure things will fill up quick." HA. Understatement. I called the first week of January to book 2 days at Anniversary Inn for Valentine's Day. They had been completely booked since NOVEMBER for that weekend. November?!? And I thought I was thinking ahead. Apparently not. So, I decided that we'll just do dinner that night (I booked a reservation that same day) and we would do the bed and breakfast weekend for Scott's Birthday. I found Castle Creek Inn in Sandy, which was very reasonably priced and simply gorgeous. Jetted tub and separate shower stall, king-sized bed, 42" flat screen TV and leather couch... yeah. It was so wonderful. Scott's birthday fell on a Tuesday, which was perfect because he has Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off. My parents watched Adam for us, we packed our bags (full of all sorts of romantic things) and were off. It was far enough away to feel like we were getting "away" but close enough just in case something went wrong with Adam or anything else for that matter. We had a wonderful first night, had a gourmet breakfast the next morning, and headed back up to our room to watch movies and lounge about the rest of the day. Scott gets a phonecall. It's work. "We just wanted to let you know that as of today you are no longer employed with Verizon Wireless." *click* That puts a damper on things just a bit... The rest of the story involves a trip to West Valley, getting dragged out by my hair by the security guards (haha, not really), and lots and lots of tears. Good thing my wonderful husband is able to keep a smile on my face. We went back to our room and attempted to salvage the rest of our trip. It was mostly successful.

Thankfully, I was able to keep my job at Tuck Landscaping and move to full time. I also got insurance squared away so we are ok there. Scott has been diligently looking for a new job. It's hard to be kicked out on the curb like that when you've worked for a company for over 2 years. All we have to do now is move forward, trust in our Heavenly Father, and continue our lives as a family. I believe that as long as we continue doing the things we are supposed to, our lives will be blessed and we will get through this tough time.

In the mean time, I am thoroughly enjoying my son. Adam is the light of my life. He is getting sooo close to his first birthday! 2 months away. I can't even believe it. He's the most amazing crawler you will ever see in your life. He can crawl faster than I can run, and I'm not exaggerating! He has 4 teeth, two on the top and two on the bottom. He is so close to walking and he wants it so bad! He'll stand up by himself for a minute and then realize that he has no where else to go but down. And he's so steady! What an exciting time to be a mother. He plays pattycake with me, gives me cheesy grins, lots of hugs, and no matter what he's gotten into I can never stay mad at him for longer than a second. He's just about grown out of all his clothes (he's into 18 months now, and he's not even a year old yet!) so it's just about time to go shopping. He still has NO hair except on the sides of his head. We're pretty sure he'll be a dirty blonde. *sigh* There is so much to talk about when it comes to him. I am definitely the epidomy of a proud mother. More boasting, I'm sure, will come when I post his Christmas pictures and others. MANY others. I swear my mother-in-law takes a hundred each time he's over. That's ok Jenny, I LOVE IT!

I think that's enough of an update for now. Again, I promise PROMISE those pictures will be up later tonight. Love to you all!

Em

My New Year's Resolution

SO: I know that it's almost the end of January and you're supposed to make resolutions at the beginning of this month, but this is something that I've wanted for almost 2 years now, and I'm just now finding the courage and the willpower to do it!





I am determined to get back into my Wedding Dress by my Anniversary, which is April 28th. When Scott and I got married, it was a small ceremony just at a wardhouse near my parents' house. We didn't really do pictures and none of the ones that we did do turned out very well. So I want my Bridals done. I never got to get all dolled up before my wedding day and have those beautiful timeless pictures taken that every other bride gets. And since Scott and I were sealed later in the temple, there were no pictures on the temple grounds of us, which I also would like to have. How do I plan to lose 25 lbs and 3 dress sizes by APRIL?

That's right, I have joined the Curves Revolution! This program is absolutely amazing! You go to your local Curves gym, scan your little card which keeps track of you and your workout, and you spend 30 minutes... wait, what was that? 30 MINUTES?? Yeah, that's all the time you need to take. No more spending hours at the gym, wandering around not really knowing what to work out on, how long on each machine, to get the best results. Curves is specially designed around women and the trouble spots that WOMEN have. The belly, the love handles, the upper arms, etc. You go around the circuit twice, stretch afterwards, and you're done. It's the best 45 minutes (that includes my stretching time) of my day. I firmly believe I will reach my goal and fit back into that dress by my anniversary. I am determined!

Thanksgiving Part 2

Here is part 2 full of FOOD!

Here is one of our tables

Here is the "main" table. Look at that pretty center piece. Aunt Penny brought that

That's the main table. Pretty chairs!

Another pic of the main table. Jesse is keeping Hazel company while we finish up in the kitchen

Look at all those snacks! I'm surprised everyone wasn't full after that

The poor roasted turkey all carved

I think I'm stealing a taste of the fried turkey in this picture... Shhh!!

I made these keishes using the recipe on The Hungry Husband site. Thanks ladies! They were delicious and everyone loved them.

Green beans, Mashed potatoes, and "Butter Beans"

Thanksgiving! Part 1

Thanksgiving was full of family for me, that's for sure. My parents had the whole extended family over (most of them) at their new house. We had about 30 people there all together. We ate, played games, watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (excellent John Candy/Steve Martin movie, check it out), and we enjoyed each other's company. Here are the first set of pictures full of family. The second part will include FOOD!

Devanee and Karli Gelter with the dogs (Lily and Toby I think)

April's girls Emily and Rachel sitting with Jesse

Rachael and Tyler! This is a cute picture of them! Call Rachael if you need pictures done! www.rachaeltyler.com

Dad cutting up the poor fried turkey. We do one every year. I can't really say that it's BETTER than an oven-roasted turkey (we do both), but it certainly is amazing! Ooo, how I love that crispy skin. mmmm-mmmm!

Everyone is saying HELLO!!

My Great-Aunt and Uncle Penny and Dan (Grandma Joy's brother). They did my flowers and bouquet for my wedding! They own an Antiques and Floral shop in Orem (Planted Earth)

Cute Cousin Shauna! She's a twin. Her other half is Stacia

This is my Great-Grandma Hazel. She will be 9...4? this year. I think it's 94 in March. She's Joy's mom. She lives at an assisted living home in Orem and is doing pretty well. We all hope that this isn't the last Thanksgiving we will spend with her.

Kyrsten and Me busting a pose for the mirror/camera!

Jesse

My mom's cousin April. Her mom and Hazel are sisters I think, or maybe not...

Grandma Joy (Mom's Mom) She came up for Thanksgiving and Christmas all the way from Ohio. We all say that she just needs to move back here to Utah. We miss her so much all the time. She just barely went home on January 7th. I love you Grandma!

My dad with Adam and his mom, Frances. She came up for Thanksgiving all the way from Georgia! We haven't seen her for a long time. It was so awesome to see her and spend time with her. I miss her so much!

People just chillin' in the Living Room while food is cooking. We starting eating around 2:30 or 3:00 officially. The time before that was full of snacking.

Christmas Tree Hunting!

I can't believe I haven't written anything for almost 2 months! I'm awful. The holidays were WONDERFUL! Here is blog one of three or FOUR to come. Enjoy the pictures, and I hope that all of you had a happy, safe holiday full of family and good food.

It's a Holland Family tradition to go cut a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Due to schedule problems (*cough* Kyrsten *cough*) we had to do it on Thanksgiving day. Scott was working that morning, so he didn't get to come with us. We go up Morgan Canyon. Here's a picture of Adam and me when we first got out of the car to look for our tree. He's in his little snow suit Grandma Jenny got him!

Cute picture of Adam with Aunt Jesse!

Mom and Dad found their tree! When this thing was all decorated, it was definitely the most beautiful tree they have ever had. It was HUGE and just gorgeous.

Adam and I found our tree! It ended up being way too big for our townhouse so we had to cut almost 3 feet off of it. It was still pretty when I was done with it (and after many ornaments were donated by my mom and Jenny!)


Cute picture of Adam with Aunt Kyrsten!

Just a silly video of our hunt