funny thing happened on the way to...

i dont know what it is about january that i just dont get along well with. it has to be my least favorite month of the year. for real. january rolls around and i swear, the whole month, everything makes me cry, which shouldn't happen, because i'm generally a happy relaxed-ish type person, and i have ever so many blessings. typically, i think its just that it is such a GRAY month. no sun, snow everywhere, freezing cold days, DIRTY snow everywhere, and what seems to be no hope of spring. this year has been the opposite though, no snow to speak of until yesterday, blue skies and strange 50+ degree days. so maybe my GRAY theory has been de-bunked. but seriously, even the silliest things bring tears, like the rice not being done in time for dinner on sunday, or a commercial about fallen soldier's families. i was watching my favorite show Parenthood yesterday, and Zeek took the family to see his mom for her birthday, he tells her that everyday, whether he was angry, frustrated, happy, sad or otherwise, he told his children, every one of them, that he loved them. he wanted it to be clear to them. and i started bawling. for pete's sake! oh, here's a good one, my sister Marilee had a beautiful baby girl 2 weeks ago. Pres and i went to visit them, mostly so i could snuggle little baby Brielle, and the moment i sat down with her in my arms, i started crying. not uncontrollably, just a few tears, and a choked up throat, but crying, none the less. babies are such little miracles, and it's no secret, i cant wait to have one of my own, but crying? really? the other day, i was reading my neice Haley's blog, she mentioned something about a strand of pearls her Grandma had given her, and i started thinking about the jewelry i have that was my grandma Hurst's, grandmother Cowan's and great aunt Beth's. it made me miss those that have passed, and feel thankful for knowing and loving them, and for the love they showed me. and you guessed it, i cried. this happens to me every january. like clockwork. someone shares a heartfelt testimony in church, boom, i'm cryin. i hear a story about a sick young mother, or a child with a rare disease, and my heart is wrenched, and the inevitable tears come. i listen to Preston reading me stories from James Herriot's memoirs, and feel thankful for such an amazing husband, that i have to hold back the tears. i guess january makes me sentimental, and when i'm sentimental, i get teary. poor Preston for having to deal with a weepy wife for an entire month. i cant get over how much i love that man.

Christmas at the mall...

this whole thing where the mall opens up at 8 am and closes at 11 pm is more than slightly ridiculous. i'm here to give testimony to the fact that NO ONE shops that early. OR that late. the place is dead! minus all the employees that got out of bed 2 hours early for big fat nothing, and those crazy mall stalkers....i mean mall walkers.... ha...haha...nevermind.... i open every morning, and while i usually LOVE my work hours, (M-F, 9am-3pm) Christmas changes that. i have to leave home a few minutes before 7 to get here at 7:45, and for someone that usually sleeps til at least 7:30 every morning, that is a difficult feat to manage. for reals. mall hours stink.

on the bright side, they haven't diminished my Christmas Spirit. and i'm ever so excited for Christmas to FINALLY get here. even though it is much more fun to watch kids open Christmas presents, i am very excited to watch Preston's reaction to a few of the things Santa left under our tree. such as this little gem, ala AMAZON (the most amazing website. EVER.)

yes. it is indeed a picture bible. and yes, the pictures are, indeed, ALL made of Lego.

my favorite.

so, its November 17th, and we all know what that means! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESTON! i dont care what anyone says, Preston is the best husband in the world. here's why:

- this man once slept on the floor, next to the couch i was dying with a kidney stone on, and woke up every 2 hours to make sure i took my pain meds on time. not to mention, cleaned up a few puke buckets AND a projectile vomit incident. i still feel bad about that one...

-he has made it a goal to offer me a foot rub every night, and he really does. plus, he's really good at foot rubs.

-he washes the dishes almost every night, in fact, its hard to beat him to it actually.

-he loves to garden, and takes care of our lawn like a champ.

-he's such a hard worker, it makes me feel lazy sometimes.

-when we go food storage shopping, he writes the date we purchased the food on, and how much we paid for it on each box, so we know when a good deal is really a great deal.

-he is always willing to make dinner when i've had a long day of regular work, plus hair do's. or if i'm just feeling lazy.

-he's so shy and doesn't realize how handsome he really is.

-he laughs so easily, all i have to do is say "OOOH! Sank you Hunnee!" in Asian voice, and he's giggling up a storm.

-his laugh would melt the hardest of hearts, and his smile melts mine every time.

o geeze, i could go on and on, but, you get the idea, i really love my Preston. he's the greatest ever. and i hope i can make him as happy as he makes me. Pres, i love you. you're my favorite.

make no mistake...

make no mistake, mice are NOT as cute in real life as they are in books and movies. pretty sure if i were Cinderella, the mice that made my party dress would have been killed long before they learned to sew. if i were Stewart Little's "mom" he would have been dead LONG before i learned he could talk. or drive a mini car. if Mickey Mouse was in my house before he became well, Mickey Mouse, his little nose would have been snapped in 2 by my peanut butter filled mouse trap LONG before Disneyland opened its magical gates. i can handle spiders. no problem. i can pick up a grass hopper or praying mantis with the best of the boys. i will even voluntarily hold a lizard or garden snake. i grew up with brothers. 4 of 'em. and a shared a room with Marilee, who made me do all the spider killing. but mice are one thing that freaks me right out. when we first moved in to our little cottage in the fields, it only took a day or two to see a mouse run out of our closet, buy some traps, and murder the little sicko. we marked that trap with a little slash mark to keep track of it's kills. that baby snagged 6 or 7 before Christmas, one on new years eve and then laid dormant for about 9 months until October, when the first hints of cold made Mr. Mouse wish for warmth. the Friday before Ecuador, we sat, watching a movie, and from the corner of my eye i saw an intruder, run from our kitchen, around the little corner, and under our TV stand. on my tiptoes, armed with the broom, i watched Preston gently move our TV, then our Wii, then finally the stand, and then i screamed like a 12 year old at a Justin Beiber concert, as the mouse ran right for me and into the kitchen. we couldnt find him. we set traps, and hoped to hear one SNAP soon. we didnt catch him until late afternoon on Saturday. funny thing is, we never see any signs of mice, no little brown gifts, no nests. well, we FINALLY patched the hole we thought they were getting in through, and thought our mouse problems were done until last Friday night. we sat, again, watching a movie, and we both shrieked a little when we saw a teeny, tiny little brown thing run right in to our bedroom. we went in after him, but the wiley little minx outsmarted us and hid rather well under out bed. we moved all of our traps into our bedroom and waited. hoping to hear the beautiful sound of metal against wood. nothing. we saw no sight, heard no sound of him all day Saturday and most of Sunday. we tucked towels along the closet door, and the door, trapping him inside our bedroom, and started to think we had maybe imagined him until Sunday night, he ran right across the door way and under the bed. again. Pres yelled something about getting his pellet gun. he was gonna "kill the little S.O.B." and again, on tiptoe and armed with the broom, (i'm really not much help in these situations...) i watched Preston load his pellet gun, lay on his tummy, and try to scare the creeper out. to no avail. this little fella is a thinker. he knows where to hide. he's not hungry enough to be tempted by our kind offering of peanut butter on a little yellow platter. i want him dead. Pres wants him dead. and he wants us dead. we went to bed. Pres woke up for work, kindly used his head lamp to check for a dead mouse, and found nothing. i woke up for work, checked all our traps, and found, you guessed it, big fat nothing. i came home from work, and again, found nothing. we were invited to dinner at Tommy and Kolbi's house, had a grand old time, swapped a few mouse tales ( pun intended) and came home. i began the routine mouse trap check, and HAPPY DAY we finally caught him. and yes. i did make Preston take him out.

Moral of the story, there's nothing you can do about mice when you live in genola.

i love his face...

us enjoying chocolate pan, coke and fanta in a Pan Store in Quito, Ecuador.

Preston has the best face ever. i love it.

that is all.

up, up, and away!

well, the day has (almost) finally come! we're heading to ECUADOR on Sunday! last night Kolbi, Tess, Kay and I were re-packing a bunch of donations we have collected, and i was blown away at the generosity of others. last week, one of my mom's best friends, Leah, called me and told me that she had 20 blankets, and 25 school kits that she wanted to send with us. my niece Emily organized a young women's project and collected hundreds of outfits, blankets, socks and an entire suitcase full of diapers. we're so happy to be able to deliver them to the orphans! one of Tess's friends donated a bunch of scrapbook paper, and my mom and sisters have all been very generous and donated glue sticks, yarn, paper, paint brushes and other things i cant remember right now. its been amazing to see the outpouring of generosity, and to know that the Lord works in mysterious ways. i cant even begin to thank everyone for all they have done and donated.

i'm SO excited to see Katelyn, and cant wait to play with all the babies and kids! our fun outings will be amazing, i'm sure, but i'm hoping to spend as much time helping as we can- we're so blessed to have this opportunity, and i cant wait to come back and blog all about it. HOORAY for ECUADOR!

peanutbutterm&m's

you should try tracking down a take 5 candy bar in the mall. it is an impossible find. peanut butter mms will have to do. i'm super excited to go to st. george tomorrow. cant wait to chillax and sleep in on a weekday! WOOT! hooray for belated anniversary triperooni's. speaking of awesome vacations, ECUADOR is coming up quick! only 6 weeks away! i'm so excited to see another country, and play with all those babies, and see katelyn, and see what life is like for south american peeps. our passports came a couple days ago, and of course, i look like a freak, but what can you expect when a 16 year old shortie takes a picture of you from down low? you're gonna end up with a doubel chin no matter what, am i right??? am i? anyone? no? okay, i'm just a bit round in the face! i get it! this morning, vadivu helped me make an awesome headband out of a fabric scrap from a pair of slacks. its actually pretty dern cute too. sometimes i really miss watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman in my mom's ice cold basement. but i'm just too lazy to pack my leather bound binder with ALL the episodes over there. still one of the best b-day presents EVER. period. they changed owners at the santaquin conoco, and the burgers are just not the same. sad day. they also water down the soda quite a bit, which sucks, but hey, water is better for me anyway, right?