Baby Harvey's Blessing

Harvey Gene Smith was blessed today. It was so beautiful.

Sacrament meeting in the Naches ward was cancelled due to dangerous roads, but they got permission to bless him anyway, as Captain is leaving for infantry training on Jan 2. Once everyone was there it was decided that we should have our own mini-sacrament meeting. There were 24 people in attendence (3 more came after the sacrament was passed). Leslie led the opening song while I held Harvey. After that he was blessed, then Leslie and I traded places so she could hold the baby, and I led the music. The sacrament was then passed by Steve and Captain. Captain's father blessed it. Afterwards we had a testimony meeting. It was very beautiful and touching. There were at least 9 testimonies bourne, including Leslie, Captain, his parents, Doug Harvey, and my own.

I've had a special week. I spent my first Christmas with my new family, which means becoming a part of other people's traditions and remembering my own. Yesterday I attended a beautiful funeral for Randall Marquis. He was truely an inspiring man, and it made me feel like I need to strive to be better. It also made me feel so grateful for the faithful man I married, who has big dreams and who already makes me dream bigger.

I'm grateful for the gift of the spirit and them time I have to reflect on the things I have been given.

December!

The month is already half over and I'm only now sitting down to blog all our Flynn fun this month.

We found out at the beginning of the month that Western has turned down Steve's request to begin school in Spring rather than January, so now we have no idea what we'll be doing. It'll be fun to see how everything works itself out, but for now its the "maybe we should do this" game. Steve is looking for a new job, since we'll be here awhile longer.

We went up to the mountains on the 6th to go get our Christmas tree. No snow! It felt weird, like we were going too early. It looks very lovely sitting on the table in our room- we picked a short one as we are quite limited on space.

You can't tell from the picture very well, but we have an ornament with a picture of the 2 of us, celebrating our first Christmas together. We decided on our honeymoon that we would collect Christmas ornaments to commemerate special trips and occasions. Unfortunately we seem to have packed up and hidden the one we bought in Victoria when we made that desicion in the first place! Oh, well, there is always next year... and the ones after that.

Speaking of ornaments, this year I joined my mom and her girlfriends in their annual ornament exchange. I made some cute felt poinsettias and figgy puddings and received some really lovely ones (and ideas!) in exchange.

In other craft news, I've been busy this month sewing new stockings for Steve and I. He designed them both (with lots of input, of course) and I sewed them up. I just finished this afternoon. Steve's is Santa, and mine is a snowman. Santa's hat has a real jingle-bell, and my snowflakes are beaded and there is a row of little bells along the bottom of the cuff. We had a lot of fun with these, and we are very excited to hang them for years to come.

We both enjoyed my work Christmas party last week. I was (foolishly) quite concerned about what to wear, but Steve surprised me with a beautiful red sweater and a pretty pin and some earrings, and made me feel beautiful.

Yesterday I threw a baby shower for my friend Leslie. I forgot to get any pictures, but we had a good time. I made an ice cream cake. Leslie requested one when we were teenagers for her wedding cake- I was a little late, but at least I made her the cake. We played Nursery Rhyme Jeopardy and guess which flavor of baby food was in the jars, and she took home so lovely gifts. It was a lot of fun to spend time with her and friends and family. And of course, baby Harvey is the most fun of all- he gets cuter every day.

We are looking forward to a busy week of cookie and candy making, followed by Christmas!!! We hope you are all enjoying the season as much as we are.

Crafty Season

Belated Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been crafting a bit lately, I think its just that time of year. I made my friend Leslie a baby-sling for her new little one, but I forgot to take any pictures of it. Also, I made it much too big for her so I'll be stealing it back and making her a smaller one. We had a combined baby shower for 2 of the gals at work that are expecting soon, I made each of them a blanket with a cute flannel print on one side and soft satin on the other.





I have also been playing around with my Knifty Knitter lately. I've always had a desire to knit/crochet/etc... but I've never been patient enough with it. The Knifty Knitter speeds up the process a lot, and I'm really enjoying it it.





Steve has really wanted a knit hat for awhile, so I made a striped one with a pom pom top on it. The other hat I gave to Abbey, my brother Ben's girlfriend. It looked so cute on her I told her she had to keep it. Now for some new yarn colors!!

Christmas Preview

Steve and I had a lot of fun on Saturday taking pictures for our Christmas cards. Since I am home today praying I don't have a kidney stone I figured I would finish our cards and post a little preview up here, especially since I haven't posted any pictures lately.

It is so much fun having a husband I can be silly with. He takes such good care of me. Yesterday he made me my favorite cookies- oatmeal with cranberries, pecans, and white chocolate chips. Delicious! I wish I had more time to bake for him, although I don't really want the time to come by way of sick days... I'll be content for now.

5 More Things... For Fun

Angie asked me to write some things that are more specifically about me, and since it is a slow day at work today, I thought I would.

I was the "Little Red-Headed Girl" in my high school's production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown." I was no longer attending that school at the time, but I was dating "Linus." I wore a short denim dress and leggings, making me look very pregnant. No wonder Charlie Brown blushed everytime he looked at me!

When I was 17 I testified in front of the House of Representatives as a proponant of the "Bully Bill" in behalf of the PTSA. I mostly spoke about my own experiences in the public school system. The bill was eventually passed into law, and the legislative process became very real to me.

My first car was a 1980 Datsun V210. I bought it from a guy living in a storage shed, and I'm pretty sure I was the first person to take it out of Yakima. It was so small that I could park in the cart return at Fred Meyer. It lacked power steering, so I developed really strong arms. The transmission died in 2004 when I towed in improperly to Utah. U-haul took the blame for not telling me I did it wrong and gave me some money. That was nice of them, I had to sell my car to the junk yard for $50.

I once sued JoAnn Fabrics (don't hate me, Angie!) for discrimination. I only accepted the money for lost wages, although I was pressured to try and get more out of them. I just wanted them to change their policies, though.

I've seen every Harry Potter movie on opening day, most of them at midnight. I've also dressed up for most of them. The same goes for the last 3 Star Wars, and the Lord of the Rings series. I love movie lines. People are silly and excited, everyone plays games and eats pizzas together. The weirder you are, the cooler they think you are, because they are all weird too. Its lovely. I actually enjoyed the movie lines more than most of the movies!

Did I surprise anyone? Am I the same girl you thought I was before you started reading?

Tag You're It!

We've been tagged by Keith & Stacy! Here are 5 things you may not know about us....

1. Steve and I wake up every (weekday) morning at 5:00. My family has scripture study and we join them. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Steve leaves for work with my Dad as soon as we finish reading. I try to stay awake those mornings to get things done, but I'm not very good at it yet.

2. Steve was recently accepted to Western Washington University in Bellingham! He was chosen from among more than 900 applicants to fill the 315 spaces they have open for the January term! Now we just need to figure out how to pay for it... and where to live... and get jobs... But we're excited!!

3. I basically had to talk Steve into giving me the time of day. I called him first, I asked him on the first several dates, etc. I invited him to go with me to the Harry Potter premiere with me on July 11th of last year, revealing my nerdy-likes to dress up side, but he didn't even consider it a date until a few months ago! Thankfully he became my home teacher and was forced to call me up once in a while, so our little family could have a chance to start.

4. Steve and I have matching freckles- a little loner freckle above our kneecaps. They are on different legs but that just means if I stand facing him they line up.

5. Steve has more than 90 harmonicas! Okay, I'm exaggerating, but he seriously has a ton of them. Whenever I find another one and exclaim my surprise at the need for so many (I mean, seriously, he can only play one at a time!) he gets a little defensive and reminds me he needs one for each key. I think he is trying for one for each piano key myself..... In other words, my husband is a fantastic harmonica player.

I'll tag.... Kat & Ryan!

Here are the rules: List the person who tagged you. Mention the rules on your blog. Share 5 things others probably don't know about you. Tag fellow bloggers. Enjoy!

Journaling

My Grandpa is writing his life story.

He tells me stories with names of 4th grade teachers that are full of details, like types of automobiles and facial expressions. I have been trying for a week to remember some experiences from middle school after realizing I couldn't remember my science teacher's name, and that was certainly a lot less than 70 years ago!

I need to be a better history keeper. I once made a timeline of my life, and I've decided it is something I need to continue and to elaborate on. First I need to find the one I made!

Another goal this week is to get started on my wedding album. I'm afraid those memories will too soon be filed into the part of my brain that sucks details into a black hole only to be pulled out with patience and tender caresses.

I'm so happy that Keith and Stacy came to visit this weekend. They fill my heart with joy and make my life seem to come into focus and realize things are so much simpler. I don't know how they do it, I only know its a feeling that only comes from being with family.

Ward Halloween Party

Last night was the annual Yakima 3rd Ward Halloween party. This year is was co-labeled "Apple Festival." That just means they made Apple Cider.

Steve and I dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Cat in the Hat. I made our one-piece sleeper pajamas.

We also decorated our trunk for the "Trunk or Treat." It rocked. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but we connected a black light back there and had jack-o lanterns and all. We rock, its true.

Irony

I really love my job. And I'm not just saying that because it is Friday, I really love it here. The people are soooo nice, and fun, and the patients all seem so much nicer overall than I'm used to, its just a happy clinic! I've never really worked with pediatrics before, and I was nervous about it, but kids lift your spirits in a way that adults can't.

How sad that I won't be able to stay here very long... We are (hopefully) moving to Bellingham in January, assuming Steve's admission letter arrives soon. Sigh...

Halloween Baking

Steve and I had a lot of fun last night baking Halloween goodies. We made brownies and cut them to look like bats and coffins before frosting them. We also melted chocolate in some molds and made little ghosts, pumpkins, and witches. Steve is SO talented when it comes to writing with frosting, it blew my mind! Perfect little R.I.P.'s on each coffin. He is amazing.

On a side note, I had my hair chopped off on Monday, so here is my new 'do! It is a lot easier to take care of this way, even though I hate to follow the pattern of women who get married and then immediately chop all their hair off. It is a weird pattern. It will grow back fast, though.

Day in the Park

Steve and I got to baby-sit today. We went to the park and the leaves were so lovely and the boys were having so much fun that I just had to post this fun picture. The Cate boys are a lot of fun, and we are glad we got to play with them. We also went to Kid's Castle and McDonalds, we made cookies and watched some movies. It was a fun-filled day!

What to Do at Work When There Isn't Any

I now work for a clinic in Yakima as a Medical Assistant. I love it. The only problem is.. what do you do when the phone calls are answered, the patients are taken care of, and even the doctors have left for the day? I guess you blog!

When I was hired, I was offered the job on a per diem basis to find out if this was a good fit or not. Unfortunatly, the Human Resources department forgot to tell the clinic that I accepted the position, so they also had someone else start working here on a per diem basis while I was completing my training. So, there are 2 of us here to to the job of only one person. It works out well when people are out sick, but on days like today with only one person out sick and all 3 doctors not in the office it just means lots of waiting for patients to call with questions you hope you can answer without needing the doctor here.

I'll tell you what else you do- you read the wikipedia article of the day, text your husband, read Google News, and you look up the recipe that comes closest to Starbuck's Pumpkin Loaf.

General Conference

I love General Conference weekend!! Not only is great to listen to the speakers and feel the spirit, but it is the most relaxing time of the year, in my book. I can sit down in front of the television and listen to the speakers while I sort through my pictures that I've been neglecting, I can sew or cross-stitch, and I can meditate on the things of the spirit. Steve made us some amazing nachos between sessions, and I am sitting here very full and very happy.
Conference weekend is also about family. My family has often gotten together to have Sunday dinners, but conference weekend always feels special when we have those dinners. I'm excited that Cory and his family have come down and we'll see them. Unfortunately, we weren't thinking ahead and we are both working tonight, so Steve will miss the Priesthood session, but I am grateful that we have a worldwide church with recorded messages that we can re-watch, re-listen to, and re-read.
I hope everyone is enjoying Conference weekend like we are!!

Record 7% Drop

I'm musing. It is interesting to read that the Dow Jones had a history making record drop of 777.68 points today. My 401k has dropped over $800 since May. Life is changing all around us. Today I was excited gas was down to $3.42 at Costco, but it took more than 30 dollars for half of a tank's worth. I just started a new job and I've been really excited to think I'll finally be able to really pay off debt and stop living paycheck to paycheck. But for how long?

Speaking of jobs, I'm very frustrated by Domino's. Last night they made me stay late and shorted me $20. When I came home my husband was already asleep and this morning he had to work again at 5 am. Tonight I was looking forward to being with him but we found out he has to close. I asked him to wake me up when he gets home, probably between 12:30 and 1 am, but brief half-asleep hellos just aren't the same. I miss him already, but look forward to the weekend we can spend together.

First Time Fun

Well, the first day of a new job is as good as any to start a blog, I suppose, so here I go.

I started working for Medical Associates of Yakima today, and I'm very excited. A little nervous too, of course. This will triple our income! What a welcome realization. Steve and I both deliver pizzas for Domino's, as well, and Steve is working with my dad in the mornings. Work, work, work, all day long!

Steve got hurt at work today. He got nailed in the cheek by a dough tray and has quite a lump. He is going to end up with a shiner, for sure. Good thing he has naturally rosy cheeks.

Otherwise, I think we are enjoying being in Yakima for now. We both received church callings yesterday. Steve will be teaching Sunday School for the 14 & 15 year olds, and I am assisting in the nursery. Amazing how much more well-behaved 3 year olds are than 14 & 15 year olds!

We are still waiting on Steve's acceptance letter from Western Washington University, but we'll keep you posted on that. Hopefully we'll be moving to Bellingham in January and he will start classes winter semester and I'll be starting another new job!

No more new news around here, but I suppose that is enough for now. Until next time!