Ur & Whobody

You probably haven't spent much time thinking about pronouns & how useful they are, unless you're in the habit of watching Elmo, who always refers to himself in the third person (which can get kind of annoying after awhile-no offense, Elmo). Around our house, pronouns are all the rage with our 3 year old. And not just any pronouns, mind you. No, Evan has created his own that have proven themselves to be quite useful. They are, respectively, "ur" & "whobody".

ur: a contraction formed by the pronouns we or you and the verb are; "Where ur going, Mommy?"(are you); "Ur going to Target after naptime." (we are)

whobody: pronoun used when you don't know who the person is you are referring to; can be singular or plural. "Whobody going to cut down that tree, Mommy?" "We are going to give that candy to whobody." "Whobody's car is that?"

Go on, try them out. You might find them to be quite helpful! We've certainly caught ourselves starting to use them :).

Extreme Home Makeover

Okay, so maybe our house in Jackson didn't get leveled to be replaced by a four story on our half acre, but it did get a facelift with new windows, paint, & shutters! Thanks to the deacons for approving some much needed home improvement projects on our house (which the church owns and is located right behind the church's property). I had fun picking out the colors and am quite pleased with the results!

Who doesn't love a little before & after?!

Before (taken in the fall when we first moved here):

After (gray paint & new shutters!):

Next week the bathroom is getting a facelift, so I'll be sure to post pics of the transformation!

Another year older

I am one of those people who happens to have a birthday close to the holidays. I have often been pitied by those (ahem, my husband) with coveted spring or summer birthdays, but truthfully I've never minded the fact that my birthday is just a few weeks after Christmas. I can probably attribute this attitude to the fact that my parents always did a great job of still making a big deal of my birthday, so I never felt "cheated" out of attention :) (heaven forbid!).  In fact, my mom still makes a big deal of my birthday by having a shopping & lunch out day with me and my sister while I'm home for the holidays. That tradition has become one of my favorite days of the year!

Thankfully, my husband and boys (with Daddy's help of course) still make me feel cherished on my special day. This morning I was treated to banana pancakes (yum!), and have received a present at every meal!

Today I am 31 years old (safely still in my EARLY thirties) and I cannot adequately express how thankful I am for the blessings in my life. I have an incredible, loving husband, two adorable sons, a wonderful extended family, supportive friends, and an awesome church family. I don't deserve any of these blessings but am so thankful that my heavenly Father has chosen to give me so many wonderful gifts.


Speaking of wonderful gifts, here are two of mine (taken at Nana's house at Christmas):