And so it begins....

2011. What will you bring, my friend?

I love the start of a new year. I love the quiet of January after the joyful roar of the holidays. I love the new list of goals on which to reflect and refocus.

However, I also love the chance to look back and see just how much we actually do accomplish in a year. So, here it is:

2010 in Review

January: We celebrated a late Christmas/combined birthday for all of Marty's brothers.We loved being able to see everyone together and watch the kids play.

February: Interior work on our house seemed never ending. I took a trip to North Carolina with Dorothy to get away from the chaos. She had her first trip to the ER with a fever of 105 while we were away. She also started to walk.

March: Dorothy and I returned to Massachusetts to find my sweet husband had managed to get our occupancy permit. We came home from the airport, picked up our bed, and spent our first night in our new home. Dorothy turned one while we got settled into our little patch of Heaven.

April: Marty and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. I also turned another year older and wiser. We spent April vacation painting our hearts out and nesting in preparation for our second born.

May: Lucy arrived right on schedule. Grandma Heaps came to help us adjust to life as 4, and the rest of the month was spent getting to know our sweet new baby girl.

June: Grandpa Heaps made a trip to see us and meet Lucy. He constructed a beautiful deck for the back of our house almost over night. I hosted a baby shower for my friend having her first girl. We celebrated the close of another school year for Marty and got our hands dirty out in the garden.

July: We soaked up the summer sun down in North Carolina with trips to the farmer's market, swimming in the pool, eating lots of Pelican's shaved ice, and wonderful time with family.

August: We sweat through the month putting up tomatoes, grape juice, peaches, and more. A few trips for icecream sundaes made the days seem cool and sweet:)

September: Marty began a new school year at the high school. The girls and I got back into the groove of school year life by going to story time at the library, making playdates with friends, and continuing to put up the harvest. Our apple picking trip was a great way to ring in the fall.

October: We made a quick trip to Pennsylvania to can up applesauce and see family. We celebrated 10 years of the Boston Temple by doing service, letting our girls walk around the grounds, and speaking to the youth. We visited the beautiful Walden Pond and loved the crisp fall air. Our first pumpkin pie got our tastebuds excited for more of the fall.

November: Marty became scout master of our ward, and we started trying to get to know the program. We made a trip to the cannery and visited with old friends from my hometown. Our first Thanksgiving in our new home left our hearts overflowing with gratitude, and we began preparations for the Christmas season.

December: We listened to the song "Frosty the Snowman" more times than I care to remember. We had fun picking out and making presents for friends and cousins. We bravely switched the girls into mostly cloth diapers, and took part in a few musical numbers to celebrate the season. Christmas was magical, and we ended the year with a wonderful visit from my mom, dad, and little brother.

And here we are again in January! Here is to another year of excitement, joy, trials, and blessings. Here is to another year to grow and learn. Happy New Year!

What we can learn from the Grinch

Yes, we can learn the true meaning of Christmas. But I think the Grinch has a lot more to teach us. Dorothy has been watching the Dr. Seuss cartoon version a lot lately while I have been slaving away over my sewing machine making cloth diapers for the big Lucy switch (did I mention that my friend Jessica inspired me to further reduce my carbon footprint?--but that is another blog entirely).

Anywhew...The Grinch. He needs to come up with a plan to ruin Christmas, and he does. "I'll make a quick Santa Claus hat and a coat" he says. Then the Grinch just happens to find some material lying around his cave in the mountains, freehand cuts a snug fitting jacket and hat pattern, and sews it all together, well, quickly.

What next, you ask? Well he needs a reindeer for his sled, "but since reindeer are scare, there were none to be found. Did that stop the old Grinch? No, he just said, 'if I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!'" This guy is good. I want him around for next Halloween.

I think the most impressive thing about the Grinch is his self-esteem. He decides that even though scooting down a chimney may be "a rather tight fit" he can do it. If the real Santa can then he can too, dang it! He never doubts himself, and he gets the job done. NOw, if only he could channel all this talent toward a better objective than ruining Christmas for the Whos.

Well, with visions of the Provident Living Grinch in your heads, I will leave you all to have a merry Christmas. May you all have time with your families and to reflect on our Savior, Jesus Christ.

1. Family coming to town
2. Time with my hubby and girls
3. Jesus Christ

Dress Up, Turkey, and Decking the Halls

Oh, December. Nice to see you again. You snuck up on us this year, but we are looking forward to cozy nights inside around our glowing tree.

Our Thanksgiving this year was wonderfully simple and delicious. We decided to break the trend of doing Thanksgiving with all of Marty's family and just had a day at home with the four of us. It was especially touching to sit in our own home with our beautiful girls and truly give thanks for all the incredible blessings our Heavenly Father has given us. I so often feel that I do not deserve all that we have. With all of the quiet time in preparing the food and taking naps there was a lot of time for reflection and meditation. I went to bed that evening with my heart overflowing with thanks. There was so much more to savor that day than food, and that is how I hope it will always be.

I have to admit that I also loved carrying on the traditions that I remember so well. I woke up in the morning to fry the bacon for my mom's (passed down from her mom's) stuffing recipe. As I cooked down the celery and onions in the drippings and added spices, all the feelings of warm Thanksgiving mornings under my parent's wings came into my mind. I love how intricately smells are connected to memory. I have also loved all these days after of turkey leftovers. Now that is one bird that knows how to feed the masses.

Aside from the holidays, life has just felt particularly sweet lately. I have been feeling over the last month or two like I can finally manage to take care of my children AND my housework--not just one or the other on any given day. I've also felt like the whole Mary/Martha complex is in balance right now. I have been finding more ways to be spiritual everyday while still being able to maintain our home. I suppose I should really say that I have been more willing, so the Lord has helped me find better ways to balance all the details of motherhood that you slowly discover. And again, I am left to feel like I don't deserve all that I have.

But enough of my thoughts, here is the real bread and butter: pictures of the girls!

Dorothy is very into dressing up lately. I am very into capturing every silly moment to make her embarrassed when she is older.

The Goose just keeps getting more beautiful and wonderful with every day. How can your heart just keep getting bigger with every baby? Mine feels so full of love it is likely to burst some days.

Did I mention that Dorothy is into dressing up?...even when it hinders her ability to walk.

We have a great new family in our ward with kids right around the same ages. Bastian and Lucy are only a week apart, so we have fun watching them hit milestones together. Oh, how I love kissing those sweet baby ears that stick out at ever such a cute angle from Lucy's head!

And we went ahead and put out our Christmas decorations already. I was feeling the Christmas spirit and was amazingly able to pass it on to my sweet husband who insisted that decorations are for December only. What's a few extra days? And just look at how much joy this girl gets from her "snow snow."

1. Kristi's quick and safe delivery of baby Sienna.

2. Preparing for a new season.

3. A date with my hubby to Harry Potter.

I knew someone could say it better...

After my thoughts the other day, I found this quotation:

"The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things of life."
~Robert Louis Stevenson

Thank you, Robert Louis Stevenson. I needed that.

1. The Conference issue of the Ensign
2. Finishing the Book of Mormon as a Family
3. A peaceful and Calm heart

Helen Keller once said...

something along the lines of: "I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but my duty is to accomplish humble tasks as if they were noble and great."

I was thinking about this quotation the other day and feeling very much like my life consists of a long string of humble tasks that I try ever-so-hard to feel are noble and great.

However, I then had an "ah-ha!" moment, and a glorious lightbulb shone. My duty is to take care of my family and raise my children in righteousness. What more noble and great tasks could there be? If I am able to accomplish these two things, then I truly will feel that I have lived a life of greatness. So bring on the sinks full of dirty dishes, the sad cries of Dot at 2am, the goat milking, the endless vacuuming-up after a toddler--I'm ready for greatness!

Keeping Busy

We have been BUSY bees this fall,
but it has been a wonderful sort of busy.

This weekend we celebrated the 10 year anniversary
of the dedication of this beautiful building:

We have a lot of sweet memories at the Boston Temple
including our marriage in 2008.
Marty and I were lucky enough to speak at a Youth Devotional
and we loved having the girls on the grounds.
Dorothy was especially enchanted by the Temple.


We also took a family trip to Walden Pond to get some fresh air
(much needed after a sick and rainy week at home).

I love coming to visit Walden.
I'm hoping to make it a fall family tradition.

Dorothy hanging out with Auntie Eva--
my little bohemian child. Not surprising.

Apple picking with Aubrey, Char, and the mini Char.

Finishing up some fruit bars on a warm fall day.

Lots of walks when the weather cooperates.

And can you guess what one of the favorite
forms of entertainment has been at our house?
Who knew pumpkins were so versatile.

1. The Temple
2. Healthy Children
3. No School on Columbus Day!

The Weekend

What a busy and marvelous weekend!

We packed up Friday evening and drove to PA

to spend the weekend with my sister, Eva, doing THIS:

87 quarts of applesauce to enjoy until next fall.

We are full of fall fruit goodness.

We are also full spiritually from a wonderful

General Conference.

It was hard to catch everything with the kiddos

and making sure the applesauce got done,

so I look forward to listening to and reading

the talks again.

But it really was a wonderful conference.

I loved all the focus on

following the Prophet,

using our free agency for good,

improving and understanding our own faith,

and being grateful.

Oh, how wonderful to feel so FULL!

1. more food storage

2. inspiring words

3. some cool weather--finally!