Facelift

 Our front door has faced many years of bad weather. The poor thing was dry, warped, and definitely needed some help. Our landlord said she would pay for the facelift if I could find something to do with it. It is a great old door with cool glass and an awesome peephole. After patching it up a little, power sanding the entire thing (NEVER do this indoors...it was a terrible idea) I covered it in 3 coats of stain and 2 more coats of sealant. And here's the final product.

 I made this wreath out of split peas. Easy, yes, but I wouldn't recommend it. I had to glue on each pea one by one...It took forever!

Reflection

Sometimes I leave church feeling so uplifted I find myself saying, "THAT is why I go to church every week!" Last Sunday a returned missionary spoke and he gave a wonderful talk about Christ. He gave a beautiful analogy about becoming more Christlike...

Once there was a blacksmith who was teaching a young apprentice the tricks of his trade. The apprentice watched as the blacksmith placed the metal coin in the fire, pounded it with a hammer, placed it in cold water, and then examined what had become of the coin. The blacksmith would then place the coin back in the fire until it turned a brilliant red, pull it out only to beat it with his hammer once more, place it in the cold water, and hold it close to his face to examine it again. Back into the fire the metal would go and the process would continue: fire, hammer, water, examination. The apprentice finally asked, "Why do you keep repeating the same process again and again?" The blacksmith replied, "I will continue this process until the coin is perfect." The young apprentice then asked, "How do you know when its perfect." The blacksmith answered, "When I can see my reflection in the coin." Sometimes we feel like we have been burned, beaten, or drowned...sometimes all at once. But it is important to remember that Jesus Christ is the blacksmith and we are being perfected. And one day, He will see His reflection in the coin.

I have found myself noticing the hand of Christ in many different things this week. I know that as we are focused on the light of Christ we are able to see His reflection in the world around us. I snapped a picture of something that reminded me of heaven. The sun was just setting in the west and the very top of the east mountain was shining bright. When the rest of the world was in darkness, the peak of the mountain shone brighter than ever. I hope to live my life so that others may see the reflection of Christ in my countenance and that I may shine bright when the rest of the world is in darkness.

Happy New Year

After all of the Christmas hype, I find New Years to be somewhat of a bore. This is Conner and I trying to find some cheap entertainment with Nic and Heather. Maybe next year, we'll have to plan a fun party.

After we exhausted all of our options at my parents house, we went to Doug and Jami's for what turned into a crazy night!...Not really, cream soda is about as crazy as it got. But it was fun playing games and watching the ball drop in New York City.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Years Day we went rock climbing for the first time together. Nic and Heather were begging us to join them and we finally gave in. We were glad we did...It was tons of fun!

Another Makeover

I found this little beauty on KSL and I couldn't resist. No, I am not having a baby, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared, right? I love how the tray table flips over the back...it is a true antique (or at least I like to think so).

I had my friend, Lindsey, take the back to her dad and have him cut out a star to personalize it a little more. Then I primed it and decided to paint it red.

And this is the final product after I antiqued and sealed it. Now I just need to find a place to store it.

Its a Baby Shower!

I was lucky enough to throw Emma a baby shower while she was in town for the holidays. It was a fabulous turnout and so good to see everyone. I love getting together with my friends and I can't wait to see that baby in a couple months. Congratulations Emma!

Christmas

Christmas was filled with family parties galore! The Nielsens have their party on Christmas Eve and this year we all decided to wear our pajamas. It was lots of fun with delicious food, Christmas songs, a nativity scene, a rousing game of bingo, a nut-in-the-trifle contest (I won five dollars for finding the nut!) and watching old family movies.

Thanks to Craig and Jerrie for a wonderful evening.

Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Mary took her job very seriously...it was so cute.

Grandma and Grandpa Egbert held their annual party at Aunt Jan's house. More good food, music, a Christmas program, and plenty of time to catch up with the family.

Each year grandpa has all of the returned missionaries sing Silent Night in the language they spoke while they served in various places around the world.

My dad and his brother both served in the Netherlands so they sang in Dutch.

English...Garrett joined the bunch this year after returning home from Washington.

A little nativity by Aunt Jill's grandkids.

And the famous Grammy party! She truly is a magnificent woman.

She bore testimony of the Savior and that He lives, she shared with us what she is most grateful for (including her 16 grandchildren), and she gave us our annual paper bag full of presents. The Grammy party is my favorite party of the year. I love Gram and I love spending time with my favorite cousins.

Passing out maracas to sing Feliz Navidad...

Christmas morning we were so excited to see what Santa brought. Somehow I found time to pull back my hair and put my Santa earrings on, but we jumped out of bed at 7am and rushed out to the Christmas tree.

Our stockings were stuffed!

After all our presents were opened, Conner handed me a note from Santa saying there was one more gift hiding in the other room...

Drill bits and a power sander! Just what I needed for my projects! I think I teared up.



Conner was made Scoutmaster so he needed a new sleeping bag for his campouts.

We headed to my parents next. Marissa gave my mom a lime juicer and made a cute poster to go with it.

Jon and Jenny sent gifts from Omaha...

My mom gave us new pajama pants to wear Christmas morning.

Christmas Day we went to a movie with my whole family. It was a fabulous day.

Ugly Sweater Party

We attended a neighborhood Ugly Sweater Christmas Party and Conner's sweater was a hit! My mom made a fabulous ugly sweater...the reindeer antlers really light up! (Theres a battery pack hidden inside) We also went home with some great white elephant gifts. I'm wearing mine, and Conner is holding the waffle maker we stole from someone else. It makes waffles in the shape of roses...why would anyone want to get rid of that? Its brand new and makes delicious waffles. (We already tried it out) Can't wait for Christmas!