GIMP

Steve and I are trying to learn how to use GIMP, a free-ware program that is sometimes compared with PhotoShop. This is the picture Steve made for me today. He is so talented.

Mormon Helping Hands

This morning Steve and I had the opportunity to be a part of "Mormon Helping Hands!" We wore the yellow shirts and carried buckets with the church logo and felt very much like we were in one of those specials you see between Conference sessions.

The state is having a lot of trouble with flooding this year, and we were asked to come serve in Ellensburg this morning helping residents with the problems this has created. We knocked on doors to see who needed help, and what kind, and we helped them to clean-up. Unfortunately a lot of people who could use some help weren't ready for it and wanted us to come back later in the day, so we had to send other groups to help them after we left, but it was a good experience and I felt good about the service we were able to provide. I have a feeling that the same time of help will be needed again soon, and I hope we'll be able to be more help if it is.

Let's Get Christmas Posting Over With, Shall We?

Allright, enough is enough, I've officially taken too long to post my Christmas pictures. Here are the rest of them, though. For our ward activity we had a "Night in Bethlehem." Steve and I were Mary & Joseph, but unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of us. Here are mom and dad as the tailors, and Grandpa and Grandma as Bethlehem visitors. The decorating was fantastic, but way too much work, if you ask me. We had a good time, though.

We spent Christmas Eve at the Halls. Ben sat down on Steve's lap and we realized we were all wearing red shirts, which, of course, meant photo-op. We had a good time reading the Christmas story, playing games, and trading white elephant gifts.

Santa filled our fun new stockings, and we dressed in our matching 1-piece jammies to be festive.

The Kenningtons also had matched jammies. There is something about a bunch of kids matching that is a lot cuter than 2 adults doing the same things.

Christmas morning brought a beautiful snow storm that we thought was going to prevent us from getting home, but the sun came shining through after lunch and we decided to take a chance- the roads weren't great, but we made it without incident. The snow was perfect packing snow, so Lydia, Charlotte, Steve, and I made a big snowman before we left.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well, and now I can get on with current happenings instead of flashbacks!!

Happy New Year from the Flynns!!

Stacy Likes Blog Updates

I don't think I'll ever have enough time to sit down and type all about our Christmas adventures this year, so I'll just put them in here a piece at a time. I'm actually at work, and as this is the only picture I have access to right now, you are getting the Santa Clause piece today!

My Grandpa used to dress up as Santa Clause, he had his own suit. He gave it to my dad, who has used it numerous times. This year Steve had the opportunity to use the family suit. Santa Claus came to visit shortly after Steve and I "left" a Sunday dinner with our family. Eric Slade and Bennett Smith were happy to visit with him. When Santa left, I took him over to visit the Cate family. Ethan and Preston were SO excited. Ethen gave Santa a flower to take back to Mrs. Clause, and asked for fortune cookies for Christmas.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to sit on Santa's lap and enjoy this beautiful part of the holiday season with my beloved sweetheart.

I am From

I have been a slow blogger because I want to put up our Christmas pictures and couldn't find the camera. Today I found the camera and pictures, but I'm not going to put them up yet, because I'm too tired to make a lot of sense. For the last week, however, I've been reading other people's blogs (strangers, mostly, and I know it is weird). It is kind of addictive, though. Anyhow, one of my favorites is owlhaven.net. If you get bored, check it out. Anyhow, she re-introduced me to the "I am From" poem, and I decided I needed to make my own. Today's post is a little about my childhood, here is my poem.

I am From

I am from books read by the light in the crack of the door, from Skipper dolls with houses of wood and Ninja turtles spinning on their backs like dreidals.
I am from the grey and blue house painted yellow and green while Mom was in California, in the middle of 24th Avenue, between two old ladies who respectively accepted help in the garden and yelled at you for shoveling their snow.
I am from crocuses popping up in the middle of the snowy yard to announce spring had come, the forbidden afternoons in the maple tree with wooden steps that make it cry.
I am from oysters on holiday mornings with Christmas presents wrapped like animals filling the front rooms, from Smiths and Tolsons and Sunday dinners where Andy and I shared our greatest adventures.
I am from those who cry at the pulpit and baby-sitting should be free so they can attend the temple.
From “she has to come to our house this time” and “will you please vacuum and set the table” and watching mom dance with her broom.
I am from Sundays sitting on pews playing games on paper with brothers, singing hymns and shyly, proudly baring testimony. From reading the scriptures and kneeling in prayer and “sometimes Sunday School answers are the best ones”, from families can be together forever.
I am from Utah and Germany, England and Scotland, sour cream enchiladas and mashed potato mountains.
From a grandpa I met through stories of train rides and not waking up the veterans, and the orphanage he was fleeing. From I’m “helping” dad work in his shop.
I am from photos in albums and boxes becoming digital and put on CD’s, from spending New Years Day giving them labels, and this is my favorite, no this one instead, I remember that, and I hope we go back there again.

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.