Our Family...according to Carson

Here is what our family looks like, through the eyes of my Wall-e obsessed three year old.

Christmas Day

We stayed home in Utah this year for Christmas. On Christmas Eve we had our traditional homemade Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner and then we sat down and watched The Polar Express together as a family. After the movie Carson put some chocolate chip cookies and a big tall glass of milk out on the kitchen table for Santa. Then it was off to bed! Carson had such a hard time falling asleep because he was so excited for Santa to come. Jeff had to go in and lay by him on his bed to get him to calm down! The next morning Carson came running into our room and asked if Santa had come. We all went out to the living room to see what Santa had left.

It was fun to be home and start our own traditions. Christmas is definitely more fun with two children. Santa left Carson a Wall-e and Eve and Jonas got a toy gumball machine with roll around balls. Jeff got stuff for his model railroad and some books and I got a tripod for my camera. We had a nice Christmas dinner with Jeff's sisters and nephews. And now, mostly for Grandma's sake, here are some pictures!

'Twas the Weekend before Christmas...

...and after a flurry and scurry around town for those last minute gifts, we took a break and went to Thanksgiving Point to see the lights and Santa's Reindeer. We finished the evening by dropping off some moving boxes to the Snedakers and playing their Wii....ah, I think I want to add a Wii to my Christmas list, although I am sure Santa will have to wait for my tax return. We spent Sunday evening in Park City at Larry & VJ's. We had dinner and opened Christmas presents. I think Carson was confused and thought it was really Christmas.

Carson's Faith

Today we have had a huge snowstorm hit us. Jeff called me when he got off of work and I told him that the roads were horrible and to be careful. After I got off the phone with him I told Carson that we needed to say a prayer to make sure Daddy got home safe. When my prayer was over Carson said, "Now I'm going to say a prayer, Mommy." So he knelt down by his bed and said this:

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day, Jesus Christ, bless us to be good. Please bless Daddy to come home safe and angels help him.

Then he closed the prayer and turned to me and said, "Mommy, I know Daddy is going to be safe because I prayed for him." The faith of a child! It was so sweet.

2 hours 40 minutes later Jeff made it home safe. He managed to avoid the over 80 car accidents that were reported out on I-15. Thank you Carson for your prayer and your faith!

Vacuum Woes

So my vacuum hasn't been working very well lately. I was sure something was clogging it up so about a week ago we took the hose off and ran water through it in the bathtub. A few dirt clods came out but nothing dramatic enough to make it loose so much suction. After reassembling the vacuum it still wasn't working very well...I just wrote it off as being a cheap $100 Walmart vacuum. Tonight, after trying to vacuum up some food Carson spilled on the floor, Jeff got sick of our poorly working vacuum and tore into it. Here is what he found lodged in it...

Apparently, the water we ran through the hose wasn't strong enough to dislodge two large paintbrushes! Now I am pretty sure that neither Jeff or I would think our vacuum could suck these up, but the question is who? I have my ideas....

Great-Grandpa's Hats

The boys got out Grandpa Carson's old hats and had fun playing!

Dear Santa,

We are so thankful that you did your shopping early this year and already have this...
loaded up in your sleigh for our little boy. We can only imagine how heartbroken he would have been if you had waited to purchase these, because they were sold out everywhere we went shopping today! Thank you so much for your foresight, we know that Carson will be such a happy little boy on Christmas morning.

Thank You,

Jeff and Sara

Tithing

We're home from church today. Carson woke up with a goobery, swollen, pink eye...and diarrhea. So Jeff has gone to Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School and I will be headed to Relief Society later...

So in order to redeem myself from my church absence, I want to tell you a little story about tithing.

Going through my budget this week I came to a horrifying discovery: we would NOT have enough money to cover rent IF we paid our tithing this week. I was a little miffed that I had somehow mismanaged our budget. I knew that skipping our weekly tithing check WAS NOT an option. However, I must say that the matter did weigh heavily on my mind all week. There was also the issue of needing groceries, gas, and other essentials to running a family. However, my resolve to pay tithing stayed strong and as the week unfolded so did the blessings. Unexpected sales of Scentsy products that I had in my inventory (instant $$$); two gallons of milk from a dear friend; unexpected money from my awesome mother; a Scentsy party booked, which will translate into more $$ in the future...

Its important to note that the money we received this week was in no way related to our bank account..

So this morning I went to write out the tithing check and double check our bank account and budget. That's when I found out that we would still have an unexpected $75 left in our account. I know you are thinking that maybe I had figured wrong before, but I hadn't. Earlier this week I had carefully done the math multiple times and no matter what I did, it DID NOT work out. I did not add anything new into the equation when I figured it this morning!! But we paid our tithing and it DID work out. A miracle, yes, because something that was impossible became possible, as we showed forth our faith and put our trust in the Lord that he would provide for us.

Malachi 3:10

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

The Army Crawl

Jonas prefers to roll around and pull himself to what he wants. This is a new experience for me as Carson just took off and crawled at six months...hopefully Jonas will be up on his knees in the next month.

Feeling Christmasy

Its starting to feel like Christmas around here!

The Nativity is out...
The tree is FINALLY up (and in the corner wedged on two sides with the couches!)

And we're finally relaxin'...

Oh and the best part, I already have presents under my tree!

Merry Christmas!

The Curse of the Christmas Tree

Wow, it has been a horrible year for Christmas Trees...for us anyway! Argh, I am beginning to think that this apartment is cursed. Don't laugh, I am serious.

The story begins on Thanksgiving Day. We decided to go up into the hills above Rexburg and cut a Christmas Tree. This isn't something we normally do because we have a beautiful fake tree that we snagged a few years back for only $11. But we thought it would be fun to take the boys up for a ride and pick out a tree. Well, we picked out our tree, hauled it down here and then the nightmare began!

We spent over 3 hours Sunday night trying to get the thing to stand up and work right. Finally, it was working and we decorated it...note here that I only used half of my ornaments as it was a really weak tree and could barely hold up a glass bulb. No kidding, we had to pick out the most flimsy tree in the mountains. We were almost done when Carson walked over to put the last bulb on it. As he was walking away the poor tree had had enough and the weight of that last bulb made it fall over. It took the next hour to convince Carson that he hadn't made the tree fall over...it really traumatized him--poor guy! Jeff stood the tree back up and we called it a night and decided we'd try again in the morning.

The next morning while Carson was still asleep and I was rocking Jonas in the back room, I heard a crash from the living room and knew that my poor little tree had fallen once again. By this time I was so frustrated, that after I picked up all the ornaments again, I took the tree down and put it out on the balcony. I immediately got my prized fake tree out.

We put up the fake tree last night and decorated it again. Finally, it seemed like things were back to normal and we had our Christmas tree up. Ha, ha! I came out to the living room this morning and saw the Christmas tree leaning forward. Then, with a crash it fell over! WHAT IS GOING ON!! That tree has NEVER fallen over, even with Carson tugging on it as a toddler. I looked underneath it and one of the plastic legs had snapped.

Now I know you're thinking that maybe I am overloading it with decorations, but I am not. Most of the stuff is glass bulbs that hardly weigh anything. So, I am going to let the poor tree lean against the corner the rest of the day while I decide what to do next.

Seriously, I've never ever had this much problem with trying to get a Christmas tree up. Must be this apartment...or Utah...or maybe we cut down the first tree on some ancient Indian burial ground. Either way something is amiss...

What is so wrong with wanting a Christmas Tree that stands there and looks pretty and doesn't feel the constant need to fall over??

Busy, Busy....but so Thankful!

So, I haven't been the greatest at posting everyday. I do have a good reason though...I've been trying to close three Scentsy parties this last week! Here's a little look at what we've been doing:

• I went to go see Twilight Friday with Kris and Tina and then again on Saturday with Jeff for date night. I must say, I liked it a whole lot better the second time around and I don't think Jeff minded that I dragged him along! I'll be going to see it again on Friday, when I am in Idaho, with my mom and Molli. Can somebody say addiction...


• Jeff has been getting tons of overtime and even had to work last Saturday. I won't complain because we desperately need it and it is such a blessing!
  
• Last Thursday for playdate Tiffany and I took the boys to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. Carson had tons of fun and even got to go on a pony ride. The matching shirts were a coincidence not planned.


• Here's some pictures of my boys rough housing on the floor Sunday evening...so thankful for my handsome men.

I am thankful for two things tonight...

• On Monday Jeff snapped his glasses in two at work, completely ruining them. I was way sad because I loved his frames. We were able to get him new glasses made tonight at LensCrafters, which was a blessing because we didn't have to wait a few weeks like most other places would have made us.
• Our laptop. Our desktop computer fried about three weeks ago so I've been so thankful that we had the foresight to purchase a laptop when I was Student Teaching. Tonight we bought an external hard drive case. We are taking the hard drive out of the desk top and putting it into the case. We are hoping to hook it up to the laptop and be able to transfer all of our information over. I am PRAYING it works, because ALL of my pictures were on that computer and I'll lose so much, especially all of Carson's baby pictures, if it doesn't work.

This is what I am thankful for today...




The UPS guy delivered my Warmer/Scent of the Month Kit today! It is for the December warmer and Scent of the month. Warmer pictured is Cyprus (also available in cream...Malta). The scent is Home and Hearth. I am so thankful for Scentsy and the extra income we've been able to get.

Weekend in Idaho

Okay, so I've slacked the past few days on posting what I'm thankful for, but we were up in Idaho visiting so I have a good excuse. So let me catch up...

We left early Saturday morning and made it up to Firth by 9 am. We spent Saturday running around visiting family and friends. We were able to drop in on Anthony & Alisha and visit for awhile. Carson was so excited to see Peter and Andrew!

We also visited with Jeff's family and had dinner at Ryan & Maria's (thank you guys, it was yummy!)

On Sunday we spent the day with my mom celebrating her birthday. Here is her cake, can you guess how old she is....

...She's 52, but we didn't have a 2 so my step dad improvised adding on an extra 1.

When we left my mom's house we also took with us my old bed....half of a bunk bed set that Candi and I shared when we were little. I know it is old fashioned looking (it was bought in the early 90's when my mom and step dad married) but it was free, so I can't complain at all. I think we are eventually going to buy Carson and Jonas a bunk bed set, but for now this will work and give Carson some much needed room to sleep! So thankful!

Hmm, looking at this picture of Carson's room is a little unsettling as the bookshelves look like they are hung too high! Ugh, I violated one of the most fundamental interior design rules...NOT hanging anything in the top 1/4 to 1/3 of your wall. It always drives me crazy when I see things hung higher than they should be!

One more thing to be thankful for...our truck. After Jeff totaled his truck a year and a half ago, we were able to get such a good deal on this truck. We are thankful that found a reliable, fairly new truck, that isn't breaking the bank. The truck turned over 70,000 miles on the way back to Utah. We've only put 8,000 miles on the truck since we got it. It has low miles for the year.

I have so much to be thankful for today...

• Jeff was able to put gas in the truck today for $1.93/gallon! Hurray, we can afford to drive the truck again!


• We got a gift certificate from Jacobsen's for a FREE turkey.


• Jeff got two hours of overtime


• My husband is now bravely wrestling two very tired and VERY cranky boys to sleep...and giving me a break from one of those difficult days of motherhood! (I was able to snap a picture when he walked out here!)


• We are headed up to Idaho this weekend to see family; it's been two months since we've been there.


• And the wonderful smell of Pumpkin Roll is coming from my Scentsy warmer, I can't get enough of that scent lately!

Another blessing for today....my wonderful husband. I had a Scentsy party tonight up in Layton and when I got home the boys were fed and sleeping in their room; the kitchen was clean including dishes; laundry was going; and Jeff was exhausted, asleep on the couch. I am so thankful for such an amazing, thoughtful husband, who doesn't just "watch the kids" but puts his whole heart into making our family work.

Today I was able to fill up my car for $23.25! Gas is only $1.99 here...I can't remember the last time I saw the price for gas with a 1 in the front...it looked weird! What a blessing it is that gas prices are coming down.

I am so thankful that today Kris got us tickets to go see Twilight on Friday the 21st. We're going to the 6:30 showing and I am sooooo excited.

Today I am thankful that Jeff was able to get a little bit of overtime. Each extra half hour or hour blesses our lives so much!

Thanksgiving Challenge

Last week for FHE Jeff printed out this Turkey and had us list all of the things we are thankful for on it. We have hung it on the back of our front door to remind us everyday. I've been pondering the last week about gratitude and blessings. I've decided that I want to challenge myself to post one item I am thankful for each day until Thanksgiving. That's a lot of blogging, I know, but I want to make a concerted effort to notice those small, profound blessings we are sent each day.

But today I want to start off with a big blessing...the Savior.

I am thankful for Christ...for everything He is and has done...His atonement, His example, His love! I am thankful for all of the tender mercies He extends to me everyday, and the blessings He extends to me in the eternities. I am thankful for his sacrifice for me...that I can live forever with my family.

Giveaway Winner

The winner of my Scentsy giveaway is....

Krysta!

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who entered and left comments! Now I'd like to answer some of your questions or concerns...

TOP SELLING SCENTS: Some of my top selling scents are: Skinny Dippin', Pumpkin Roll, Lucky in Love, and Clean Breeze. It has been fun to see exactly how different my customers tastes in scents are. I have sold quite a few scents that I absolutely don't like, but everyone else loves. Guess everyone has a different nose!

TOP SELLING WARMERS: My top seller is the Raised Dot Turquoise (which I also love and have in my living room).

It is followed by Pressed Penny, a warmer that I don't particularly favor, but others love. Like I said, everyone has different tastes!Scentsy is safe for young children. That is one of its major selling points! There is no open flame, so no potential problem for burns and fire. Also, it is not emitting lead and soot into the air like traditional candles do. The wax is heated to just above body temperature so if children do get into the wax, they won't get burned. If you are afraid your child will pull the warmer over, you can always try a plug-in warmer that is made to go in upper plug-ins that are found in kitchens and bathrooms. As of yet, I haven't had a problem with Carson getting into my warmer...he just knows its off limits. We'll see what happens when Jonas starts crawling!

Hope this helps! Thank you all again for your entries...I wish I could give everyone somthing. You can learn more about Scentsy at www.scentsy.com/sbirch

Salt Lake Snow

We are getting our first taste of a "lake generated storm"--a storm that has come off of the Salt Lake. We've gotten about 4 inches of really wet snow. Carson could hardly contain his excitement to get outside and PLAY!

Hope you all had a good Election Night! It was interesting to see history made, but I do have some doubts about the new President-Elect. It'll be intriguing to watch the direction the nation goes now.

You can still enter the Scentsy Giveaway until Friday. I will announce the winner on Saturday and post some answers to your questions about Scentsy. Its been so exciting to see your comments.

Halloween Weekend

Batman, a dragon, and a giraffe getting ready to hit the streets... my little monkey....

and my fire-breathing dragon!

Whew! What a busy, busy weekend! Grandma and Grandpa Larsen came to visit Friday morning and we had such a fun weekend with them. On Friday we all went to Cabella's and looked around. Then we drove around Lehi looking for a truck shop for my step-dad so he could look at a trailer they had for sale. Then it was back to our apartment to get ready for some Trick-or-Treating!

Saturday we went to the Train Show at the fairgrounds in SLC. We even got some FREE train passes to ride on the Heber Creeper! After the train show it was off to the hobby shop so the guys could look for train and airplane parts. Next Mom took me grocery shopping while the guys went out to SLC Airport 2. Then we were treated to an evening out at The Cheesecake Factory...yummy!

After dinner Grandma and Grandpa left to go home and we headed to Lehi to go swimming for Chandler's birthday. We all had so much fun and can't wait to go again.

The boys playing in the shower when it was time to get out.

Photo Tag

I was tagged so here are the rules: You have to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder in your pictures folder. Then give a brief description before you tag a few others. Here is the picture: Carson on our balcony last Fall...gotta love those sun glasses.

I tag: Alisha, Megan, Maria, and Stephanie. I look forward to seeing your pictures!