i ♥ my new camera

So, I got a new camera for Christmas!!! My hubby gave me the nicest note with my gift that said he was so grateful to me for helping him get through school and that this was a graduation/Christmas gift to me!! The note was very sweet and one of the best parts of getting the gift. I almost died of SHOCK on Christmas morning when I opened it up. (I kind of started crying!) It is a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and I am SO excited to get back to taking great pictures. I have two books coming from the library on how to use my camera and I am going to take a class at MHCC next quarter. (since I work there and get free tuition!) I have been reading the manual and taking billions of pictures. These are a few I just wanted to post because I like them. I hope by next year to be knocking your socks off with my amazing photography skills!!! THANKS DANNY!! I love you!

What will you give for CHRISTmas?

Deathly Hallows

Dh Preview One - Click here for funny video clips

Ok, so here I go again! Here is a short new look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I. It will be in theaters November 19, 2010. (That's only 348 days!) This preview will also be available on the Half-Blood Prince DVD that is being released on Tuesday! I'm so happy that they are splitting the last film into two parts. It just gives me one more movie before Harry Potter comes to an end!

Gratitude

I am feeling very grateful tonight and seeing that Thanksgiving is in one week I thought it would be appropriate to share some of the things I am grateful for.

I was just watching the latest Mormon Message about Thanksgiving and it helped me to remember that all of my blessing come from our Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What would my life be like without the gospel? I don't care to know. I am by no means a perfect latter-day saint .There is always room for improvement and I hope that I continue to be better and strive to be more like my Savior. I do know that the Church is true, that Jesus Christ lives and that he loves each and every one of us, we have a living prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson, and that the Book of Mormon is an inspired work of scripture that has so much to teach us.

I am so grateful for my husband. He is a wonderful man. We love all the same things. We are two peas in a pod. He makes me smile. He would do anything for me. He is kind to others. He is my BEST FRIEND in the whole world. I don't like being apart from him. He IS my other half. I love him.

I am grateful for my family. We are always there for one another. We understand each other. There is rarely drama in our family. I am so grateful for loving parents who are dedicated to the gospel. Parents who are a wonderful example to me and who I strive to be like. Parents who continually love me and would do anything for me. I am grateful for my brother and sister. They made the path for me. A path full of right choices and high standards. I know that they are there for me whenever I need them. They are wonderful parents and such great examples to me. I am grateful for their spouses who have been just like a brother and sister to me. They are kind and generous people and I love them. Last, but by no means least, I am so grateful for my nieces and nephews. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! They are my children and I love them more than I can even describe. I would die for them! They have brought me so much joy over the last 11 years. They are all amazing and unique individuals and I am so lucky to be a part of their lives. I love my family.

I have so many wonderful friends. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by amazing women who I can call my friends. I have friends that are old and friends that are new and they are all so important to me. I can't even begin to talk about all my wonderful friends, but you know who you are :) I am grateful that my friends love me despite my imperfections. It is so wonderful to have someone to talk to about the good, the bad and the ugly. I love my friends.

I am grateful for my job. I have learned so much over the past 3 1/2 years. I have grown so much as a person because of my job. I have had the chance to teach at least 100 children and work closely with their families. They have taught me about patience, unconditional love, kindness, charity, hard work, tolerance, dedication and long suffering. It is not an easy job. Sometimes I get frustrated, but I know this what I should be doing right now and I am and will be a better person because of it. I love my job and I am so grateful that I can teach some of God's precious children.

Those are my top five. There are so many more things I am grateful for, but right now those are the things that stand out to me as being the most important. I'm so grateful for this festive time of year and the wonderful feelings it evokes. I hope everyone can take some time to reflect on what they are grateful for.

PS- I am grateful for Harry Potter :)

Deck the halls

Tonight we ate Sweet's Raspberry Sticks, drank hot cocoa, watched Skipping Christmas and decked our halls.

This IS the most wonderful time of the year. It is full of music, lights, gifts, parties, baking, hot chocolate, snuggling up to watch Christmas movies, my birthday, family and friends and the celebration of our Savior's birth.

I love the spirit that Christmas brings. It is truly wonderful.

P.S. Don't miss my Halloween post below!

Boo....I scare you!

We had a perfect Halloween.

Costumes.

Smiles.

Food.

Door bells.

Candy.

It must be fall because I bought pumpkins today! I was so sick yesterday and was going to cancel our outing to Sauvie Island, but it was such a beautiful day that I made myself feel well enough to go. We go to The Pumpkin Patch at Sauvie Island every year to pick pumpkins and buy wonderful fresh produce. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth. You would never know that you are minutes away from Portland. We took the hayride out to the pumpkin fields and found our perfect little pumpkins. One of these years I really want to get the hugest pumpkin I can find, but not this year. We also picked up some acorn squash, fresh golden delicious apples, our favorite Ryan's apple cider, boysenberry syrup and some decorative gourds. I just love sitting in the pumpkin field and enjoying the scenery. It is so peaceful and beautiful. I can't wait to make some apple crisp and my favorite stuffed acorn squash. I LOVE fall and I am so excited for the heat to go away and to enjoy the cool crisp autumn air. I will miss my lazy days of summer, but it is so nice to live somewhere that we can really enjoy all four seasons.