Fourth Anniversary

We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary on December 19th. We hadn't made big plans for the day, because we were going to wait and really celebrate by spending a night at the Anniversary Inn in Logan during our Christmas break. Justin was sweet and majorly surprised me. On the night of the 18th I was helping with the Relief Society dinner.

He hurried home from work and stopped at Albertsons to pick up a bouquet of flowers. After looking at the price of them, he decided he could make his own for a much lower cost. He got a dozen roses and another simple bouquet of daisies (my favorite) and other flowers. He threw in a vase and 'Ta-Da!' This is what he came up with. I think they are beautiful and I would have never known if he hadn't told me that he arranged them himself.

He also cut out these letters and strung them together for a 'Happy Anniversary' sign, which I lovingly hung on our Christmas tree. His original plan was to get this all put together before I got home and then set them out the next morning to surprise me when I woke up. I cam home sooner than he thought from the dinner and therefore got the surprise that night. I truly loved it and I truly love him!

The second part of our Anniversary we celebrated at the Anniversary Inn in the Pirates Paradise room. It was awesome. We have never spent a night in a hotel room together since our honeymoon because it has never fit into our budget. This was 100% worth the cost. We both agree that our favorite part of Christmas break was that night. Four years has brought a lot of growth and wonderful memories. I am so grateful we are married and look forward to the future.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Baby Jesus

I made these little crafts for our Relief Society Christmas dinner. When I saw them back in October, I knew that I needed to make them for the sisters in our ward. Originally the plan was to do 25. That got bumped to 75 when we changed the structure of our activity. While it was very time intensive, it was 100% worth it.

One thing that kept me going with a positive attitude while making them was thinking of my Grandma. I had asked her at Thanksgiving if her ward was doing a Relief Society Christmas dinner. She had said, "No, they say everyone is too busy during that month." I felt very badly about this. See, my grandma is not too busy during that month in fact she would have loved to have added that to her things to do. She is a care giver for my Grandfather right now and other than that she doesn't have a lot going on in her days. I then realized that while I felt the same way as those other sisters about being 'too busy,' there are many older sisters who aren't too busy. They need that opportunity to socialize and get out of the house. Relief Society meetings are important to have and  make time for.

 I wanted the sisters in our ward to feel the 'true' spirit of Christmas and thought these embodied it. Everyone loved them and we actually could have used more than the 75. How grateful I am for our Savior, for the season we celebrate his birth, and for my fellow Relief Society Sisters.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

2012 New Years Resolutions

This year will be the first year I have actually met my New Years Resolutions. Does this mean I am awesome? Or maybe it means as a dear friend pointed out- I just learned how to set realistic goals. Either way, I am excited! What to plan for next year? What are you thinking of for resolutions?

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Visting Teaching

My visiting teachers came over today. They brought some adorable Christmas gifts and I just wanted to share one thing I have learned about visiting teaching this year. Every time my visiting teachers come over, when they leave I always have a more peaceful feeling for the day. Like wise when I do my visiting teaching. I hadn't necessarily noticed this in the past, but it has really come to my attention since moving to Troutdale. I am grateful to have visiting teachers and to be one. There truly is a power in it.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

25 Weeks and Counting

 

This is how I look at 25 weeks. I was super excited to find this maternity dress at Old Navy a couple of weeks ago. It was the right price, long enough, and super comfy! I can hardly take it off on Sundays, I love it so much.

 

Justin felt her move the first time on November 25th. She is getting more powerful with her movements everyday. I have gained 12lbs so far. I started feeling even better this week than I have since before I was pregnant. Together, we are doing great. I am not looking forward to the glucose test at the next doctors appointment though. I just hope I can keep that orange drink down. Ready for Christmas and then March to get here.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Shooting Saturday

Over the weekend we headed out to Corbett to shoot guns with Clayton. He is a student in Justin's Sunday School Class. It was for his 13th birthday. He is a fun kid and he kept exclaiming, "This is the best birthday party ever!"

We had a blast (no pun intended,LOL) as we shot a variety of 22 fire arms for an hour and a half.

This one was my favorite. It is actually Justin's gun, but I had never shot it before.

 

It was one of the best birthday parties I had ever been too as well. :)

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Practicing

I know that we are all told, "Practice makes Perfect," but I just wanted to reiterate this saying tonight. At Valentines day I totally kaboshed a batch of cinnamon rolls. It was super frustrating! Hoping that I could find success one day at making them, I tried again last night. These ones turned out wonderful!

Then today, I made a Christmas pillow case for a friend. This is about the 15th pillowcase I have made in the last year. I was very pleased with how nice it turned out. Is it because I am a fabulous sewer? No, more because I have put in the time to learn how to create a nice finished pillow case product.

I just wanted to share my successes this week and remind myself it just takes time to reach them. I am still working hard to be better at many things so I will keep on practicing!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard