The Best of Times in 2010-Watch and Enjoy :)

So I put together a video of all the good times this year. Now that it's almost a new year...it's time to make some goals again. I will post those later but for now just enjoy some photos of my great adventures this year. The songs I picked, I felt went right along with how life is. If today was your last day, how would you spend it? This is me here and now and I'm going to let my light shine...and it's my time...nothing is impossible :)  I compiled photos that I absolutely love from this year. Some of them aren't edited or in the best light but so what? A picture is worth a thousand words anyways and 2010 has been a great year for me! They aren't in order either... which makes it fun because this whole year has been a blast!

Hope 2010 was a great year for all of you too! And have a happy New Year! :)

He is the Reason For the Season!

So our downstairs is finally almost all done and we actually were able to cook Christmas Eve dinner at our house! We had our traditional chicken enchiladas and it was so good. I spent most of the morning prepping dinner and making some holiday treats. I had to stop half way through because my allergies were killing me but I still made some of the goodies. We had Christmas Eve dinner with the Maynard family and then watched the movie Elf. "Buddy the Elf what's your favorite color" is one of my favorite lines of the entire movie! Since I was sneezing and my eyes were watering I decided to go to bed as soon as the movie was over. We of course did our tradition of all the kids sleeping in one room (this of course will probably change once we are all married but since we aren't it's still tradition). It's fun all being in one room but for the past few days I have had on average maybe 4 hours of sleep. Crazy I know! I think it's the weather mixed with my sinuses but it's not fun. Santa came and we were excited with what he brought us. Bret was especially thrilled that he got Star Wars legos....just what he asked for. Chad got a new phone and Jeri and I got some Cutco supplies for our kitchen. Mom got a nice warm jacket for when she is out watching Bret's soccer and basketball practices. We got a lot of other fun things like books to read, gift cards, jackets, shirts etc... but we still kept in mind the true meaning of Christmas. We went to dinner at Tricia's house and had a great time eating dinner and skyping with the family in Hawaii. I love Skype... I think it's one of the best things ever! All and all it was a great Christmas filled with fun and laughter.


I have to say that one of my favorite things about Christmas is the example my little brother is to me. He is only eight and has the heart of Gold. Every year for probably the past 4 years he has wrapped up gifts from things that he thinks are special around the house. This year I got some books on tape and a little figure of his that he wanted to share with me. He doesn't have to go out and buy presents. The gifts he gives have true value and meaning to him and by far are the best gifts ever!


Let us not forget though the true meaning of Christmas. Today in Relief Society we had a great lesson on Christ. We read different scriptures from the Old Testament, New Testament, Pearl of Great Price, Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. No matter when the scriptures we were reading were written, they all talked of Christ and his teachings. Christ came to Earth and died for each and every one of us. He was a teacher, a healer, a friend, and an example. Aren't we the same? I'm not saying I'm perfect like He was, no one is. It's something we get better at each and every day but I can be a teacher, a healer, a friend and an example as well. I think that sometimes we forget the true meaning of Christmas and only think about all the gifts we want or get. But the best gift of all is our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!! :)

So now that the house is almost done (will post pictures soon...maybe even tomorrow!) we could actually put some decorations up!! 

Our stockings hung with care :)

The cutest flower arrangement ever!! 

Our beautiful tree.. decorated by Bret mostly... LOVE it! 

And of course our nativity set :) 

Remember the real reason of the season! Yesterday I spent probably a good hour moving boxes in the garage to get to our Christmas stuff. Now that construction is mostly done I wanted the house to feel more Christmasy (is that even a word?lol) Bret was so excited to do the tree but we had to wait until my Mom got home so she could help put it together (yes we do fake trees lol) But I'm so happy our stockings are up and it's beginning to look like Christmas inside! (I did our lights outside weeks ago since that was all I could do). I'm so ready for Christmas now. Good thing since tomorrow is Christmas Eve! He is the Reason for the Season. Merry Christmas all!! :)

Life isn't so bad when it's raining...

Rain.Rain.Rain. That is all I have experienced the past 5 days and I’m starting to get tired of it. Don’t get me wrong, I love rain and our trees, grass and plants need it but constant rain for almost a week is a little tiring. I need sunshine. I don’t think I could ever live in Seattle (no offense to those who do) because I need sunshine. Last night I got maybe 4 hours of sleep because it was pouring outside. As I was laying there trying to sleep, I just replayed what has been going on in my life the past few weeks. 

My mom decided to redo the downstairs. ALL of it. New kitchen, new floors, new paint...etc. It all looks amazing but it’s been three weeks and they are still not done. It’s starting to take a toll on both of us. We can’t stand living in this mess and I feel like the workers are just taking their sweet time. They really are doing a great job it just feels like they are slow. I get that they have other houses or projects they are doing but come on... I want a house for Christmas. I can’t even set up my tree yet :( but I’m going to today.... whether they are finished or not. Christmas is only 3 days away! It was nice to get out of the house and go down to Anaheim for a few days and see the Thompson extended family. I loved playing with little Collin and talking with Brady (who by the way is the most polite little boy ever!! So cute!) I loved talking with Lydia and Alyssa too about what rides they love. I’m glad I got to hang out with Drew and Taylor practically the whole time (hope they weren’t tired of me lol) and seeing Paula, Alan, Bryce and Lynae. It was great seeing my cousins and their cute families and also seeing my aunt and uncle. It was a great break and even though it rained all day Friday it was still fun. It was a good break from the construction. Unfortunately, my mom hasn’t had that opportunity yet :( That’s why I decided Bret and I will be setting up the tree and hopefully finding our box with the stockings so we can at least have that. 

Let’s just say, the rain has kind of put a damper on my mood lately but I feel as though this will be a good day today. Well every day is a good day if you really make it one. Yesterday I was stressed out and sad when Emily told me she sent a package but it was delivered to the wrong house. I was mad that the mailman...the one we have ALL the time didn’t catch my name and put it in our box. Turns out he did after all. Guess if we checked our mailbox more often we would’ve known that. I got one of the greatest gifts ever. Thank you Emily!! See...life isn’t so bad when it’s raining after all....good things still happen. So even though it’s STILL raining...it will be a good day, because I’m making it a good one. Love you all and sorry if this is random...just had to write down my thoughts for the moment. Maybe later I will post pictures or something! :)

The end of facebook and the beginning of something new :)

Starting January 1, 2011 I will be deleting my facebook account. For anyone who would like to stay in contact with me, you can reach me here on the blog or at noey04_kt@hotmail.com or of course on my phone (and no I’m not writing that on here).  Sure a blog is not as easy as a facebook page where you can what everybody is up to every few hours but I think I might actually like this blog thing once I get the hang of it. Sure blogs may be going out of style and so what if they are. It’s still a place I can share moments of my life with friends and family. 

It will be hard once I actually delete my account of facebook but those days are so over. Some have asked why I have decided to end my account and I don’t really have a specific answer. I just feel like it’s the right thing to do and so I’m acting upon it. Some think I may not be able to stick it out since I’m on facebook all the time but I’m determined. In order to help with the transition of no facebook I created this blog. 

Well enough about all the info on facebook and blah blah blah... really, I want to write for a moment now about my blog. I created a blog a while ago (like 2 years ago) but I was in Nursing school and never got around to really figuring it out and getting the hang of it. I think it will be better this time around, or at least I hope so. As you can see the title of my blog is “Life is an Adventure Worth Taking”. Honestly it was hard to come up with a title for the blog. A lot of my friends have just their names as their title and while I think it fits their blogs perfectly in a really cute way, I just couldn’t see that with mine. So I sat here thinking, man what should I name it. 

As I was contemplating different blog titles my mind drifted (which it does often lol) and I started thinking about where I’m headed next. Now that nursing school is done, and boards are out of the way all there is left is to get a job. Yep, I’m sending out applications like crazy but I have a feeling I won’t hear anything until after the holidays so I just have to be patient. Anyways, I was just thinking about my life and all the ups and downs and all the wonderful people I have met or that have been by my side through it all and I thought, this is definitely worth it. Everyday is a new adventure for all of us and you know what, it’s all worth it. Every single mistake, happy moment, tears shed, love.....all of it is worth it. 

So I wish all of you the joy in the journey through life. Every single moment is worth it and the ups and downs are just a part of the adventure and it is all worth it. I hope some of you visit my blog. If not, it’s alright, facebook is a bigger thing in people’s lives right now but deleting mine is just the start of a new adventure. It’s something I need to do and I’m happy about it. Those of you who read my blog will still see some of my quotes that I post on facebook a lot and once our kitchen is redone I will start sharing some recipes with you all as well. 

Just remember, Life is an Adventure Worth Taking so take it and enjoy the ride! :)

PS...eventually this is going to be a private blog but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet. So far now, everyone can see but I’m warning you...going private very soon.