Christmas 2008

I think Sam + Lily really liked their teddy bears from Grandma and Papa...





There wasn't room for us at the inn at first... we had to go on a journey at John's parents' house to find where we could enter in.



The whole crew on Christmas morning.


The best surprise gift under the tree? Sam's mission call!! He'd waited for two days to open it with us and we didn't even expect it! He leaves March 10th for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana mission!



An action shot of Johnny using his new gift- the Wovel. Part shovel, part wheel= total back saver.



We had a great Christmas this year and definitely spoiled each other a lot! It will be fun next year to have the focus shift to the next generation, though! (This year we sneaked a few gifts in for the Cub- we just couldn't help it!) My favorite gift was an external flash for my Nikon. I'm already loving the difference I can see in my indoor shots!!

Merry Christmas to my folks!

Merry Christmas! Before my dad left for the UAE, I arranged for Bethany to take our family portrait. It was our early Christmas gift for them! So I hope they (and you) enjoy it!

Perhaps the cutest thing I have ever seen...

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.


Long, but worth every second! Seen on c'est jolie.

The Catch-Up post

I have been a horrible blogger recently (and by recently, I mean the last several months!) and to make it up to you, here is a HUGE catch-up post!

-Practiced my photog skillz on Sam for his mission pictures (this was one of the "fun" ones)



-Saw Twilight on opening weekend with Casey (and again this week with Cat)



-Cheered on the Utes as they beat BYU (again!) for a perfect season (again!)



-Made pies from scratch for Thanksgiving (my first time!) and watched John's cousin Joe play with fire (a Bailey family tradition)





-Hung out with Sam and Lily (Sam was home sick from school with me for a few days) playing of lots of Lego Star Wars on the Wii




-Was a narrator for the Primary's nativity play (I played the mom and Paul Clayton was the dad)





-Took our Christmas card photos at night, in front of the Christmas tree, by ourselves- seriously challenging my photography skills to get the lighting and settings right plus the added inconvenience of using a timer! (I hope Santa brings me that remote I've been wanting!)




Other activities without photo proof that kept me insanely busy:

-Making almost a hundred Christmas cards by hand. Silly, silly me.

-Participating in the Relief Society's Christmas Program which was a serious production of "The Ten Virgins." It was insane, road-show type involvement for both me and Cat. We had solos, speaking parts, costumes, and ACTING to do involving hours of rehearsals. The best part? Guess who was cast as a vain, insecure and unprepared virgin? Oh, yes, me, the large pregnant one. Hilarious.

-Participating in the ward choir's Christmas Program (are you sensing a theme here??) in which we learned a 40 minute Cantata written by a lady in our ward. Again, very involved with rehearsals and solos plus challenging music to learn. Amazingly, we it turned out great and it was very nice but whew, I was worried about our ability to pull it off!

And of course, just regular things that everyone deals with this time of year- Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating, wrapping presents, attending parties, etc.
And then there's the fun stuff about inheriting a large house for a while- shoveling, figuring out which light switches do what, plugging in the eaveswarmers, etc. etc.

I feel overwhelmed by the simultaneous feelings of having a mountain of stuff to do yet never "doing" anything (blog worthy, let's just say it.)

That all being said, I am looking forward to having a wonderful, peaceful Christmas. Because half of my family won't be here this year, I am finding myself with a lot of free time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It will be nice to spend it leisurely with just John, and then with his family for a while, instead of juggling both families all day.

Stuff that I want (but you could get it, too!)

I'm entering to win a bunch of fun scrapbooking stuff over at Jessica Turner's blog. Click on the button to check it out for yourself!



And good ole TAMN at Seriously, So Blessed is having a huge giveaway. I like free stuff.

Check out Design Mom for the 12 (actually 13!) days of Christmas giveaways!

And for the fellas that read this blog, check out the cool (CHEAP) t shirts over at Threadless. They have a bunch that are only five bucks! (found via Want Not)

Link love

Did you see Nicole's wasted shoot over at A Little Sussy? Kate (my wonderfully talented SIL) did all the hair and makeup for it! It's so funny to see the skills of photography and styling used to make people look, um, not their best, instead of as gorgeous as possible!


I am loving Seriously, So Blessed recently. It's a satirical blog written from a Mormon point of view. Hilarious. This author has totally nailed every silly part of Mormon culture. TAMN (which stands for Tiffany Amber Megan Nicole) has a perfect husband, perfect body and is expecting perfect twins. She loves Twilight, Bunco, and Diet Coke and thinks that being 21 equals old maid status. Check it out for a good laugh!!


Did you hear the news about Richard and Cat? Head over to their blog to check it out!

This is what we do at work ...

This is the group of top notch developers I work with :)

Click on the pic to see the awesome video.





- JohnnyT

Tribute to Elder Wirthlin

A great leader of my church passed away last night. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin was a gentle example of kindness, service and devotion to Heavenly Father. He will be missed by many, including me.

Elder Wirthlin left a legacy of hard work as an example to all of us. He woke early every day to study the scriptures, prepare his schedule and plan the most efficient use of his time. He said, "There is old proverb, which says, 'An inch of gold will not buy an inch of time.' We must put a sufficiently high value on time. It is valuable and should not be wasted."

His last conference address, Come What May, and Love It was full of great spiritual wisdom and advice about enduring life's challenges and seeking for joy. It advice that I need to remember. Here is a quote from that talk:

Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.

Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief. We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others.

Elder Wirthlin also encouraged us to "learn to laugh" which is one of life's best cures for sorrow and disappointment. He truly enjoyed life- after playing football for the University of Utah, Elder Wirthlin remained a die-hard Ute fan for life!

Elder Wirthlin was not only a great leader to millions, he was a devoted family patriarch. Many of my good friends are related to this wonderful man, to some of them he was first and foremost their beloved "Granddad." (My friend, Dave, wrote poignantly today about Elder Wirthlin's love of family.)

I know that Elder Wirthlin is enjoying a happy reunion with his beloved wife and his family even as I write this. So I don't mourn his loss, I celebrate his life and that he has earned his great reward!

I hope you can gain some spiritual hope today from learning a bit about this great man.


photo: Deseret News