Updated pictures of Aine

Here are some update pictures of Aine. She will be turning a year old later this month. Faith and I are greatful to have such a sweet little girl in our family.

Christmas Morning & Grandma's Waffles

Every year growing up one of my family's Christmas traditions was to go to Grandma Durfee's for waffles topped with strawberrys and whipped cream. This year was the first that Spencer and I were able to go together.

It was fun to see Warren and Anna and their family this year.

Aine soaked up all the attention she could get from the cousins.

Unwrapping Christmas Gifts

We hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We had fun with Aine's first Christmas. It was a big change for us to now have Aine and to have Santa visit our home. It took her a little while to warm up to the whole Christmas morning.As you can probably tell from these pictures, she was pretty sleepy when we first started. But she was so excited to find new and exciting gifts under each wrapping. So much that she couldn't care less about the rest of the gifts under the tree. She just wanted to play with the ones she had discovered. Who can blame her? I started to hide the unwrapped gifts behind my back so we could move onto the next one, but she was too smart for that. Oh well.
By the time she figured out that there were fun things to find if she would unwrap the gifts she was down to her last few. She got a lot of books for Christmas and I'm happy to say that they are her favorites. She will play with a toy for a couple of minutes and get bored of them, but a book she can flip through again and again. She just never gets tired of them and I couldn't be more thrilled.
This unwrapping was my favorite! We started it for her and it was enough that she could look in to see what was inside. She didn't care about unwrapping it anymore than that. She could get the toy to talk and sing right as it was. We had to finish it for her. Heehee!

Becoming a Part of the Ward

Woo, that was fast! We moved into our new duplex and our new ward two weeks ago today. They read our names into the ward on Sunday and we got a call from a member of the bishopric that he wanted to meet with us. Whoa! When Spencer told me yesterday, I thought, cool they want to come and meet us because we are new and all. Um... not so fast! That was only a secondary reason for stopping by. They wanted to talk to me... So, he came over last night and he extended a calling to me. Apparently, there have been a few people in the ward who already were clamoring to get my help in different callings, but the bishopric knew exactly which calling they wanted to give to me. How long have they known? Wow, I never felt so needed. It makes me wonder if there is just not enough help in the ward or it's just because I'm Charity's sister. *Shrug*

So, I know you are all sitting anxiously on the edge of your seats to know what my next new adventure will be and I have thought about waiting until after the official business. But, I won't... :) The official title is "Assistant Ward Choir Director", I think. Brother Cook seemed a little confused about the title, but I will be helping our ward choir director and maybe sometime helping to play the piano in ward choir practice. (That part freaks me out) But all in all it sound similar to the calling I had with the Young Women in our Kaysville ward... I just don't have to do it by myself. Yeah!

I love music, especially music that helps me feel so good, so I'm excited. But I can't help but wonder if Heavenly Father is trying to prepare me to be a ward choir director... and that freaks me out too. But hey, we all know that the way callings work, huh? And at least I still get to go to all my meetings. I think I have totally scored with this one!

Getting Ready for Christmas Day

So, remember how it wasn't feeling at all like Christmas? Well, it is only a day away and I think I'm starting to feel it. I mean how can I resist with a happy baby like Aine in front of a Christmas tree? Spencer and I sat down and watched "Meet the Robinsons" (thank you Catie!) while I rapped gifts tonight. I reaffirmed that I am no good at wrapping gifts, especially odd shaped ones. But most of them were for Aine, so I figured she wouldn't care much.

I'm hoping that she will have more fun just tearing the wrapping paper apart. Anyways, wrapping and just being able to spend some down time with Spencer and Aine has really helped my holiday spirits. I think, especially with this being Aine's first Christmas, that having her has really changed what Christmas is for me.

Now, I'm excited for her to see all the new experiences that Christmas brings. I'm excited for her to see the magic that comes this time of year and to feel it again in my heart. I know, it's cheesy, but that's exactly why this time of year has always been my favorite. It can be cheesy and it's okay.

I think, if I had it my way this year, I would be spending Christmas day with Aine and Spencer at home. Sorry Grandparents, I know that's selfish of me. It's just that with work and then all the stuff going on after work, I'm missing the one on one time with Spencer and Aine. It breaks my heart. I would just love to spend the day with them. I would be soaking in every minute I get to just be with them. Especially when I don't have to worry about anything else but enjoying their company. They truly are the very best gifts I have this Christmas!

P.S. Don't tell Spencer I put this picture up. Let's just see how long it takes him to realize it's on here and then kill me out of embarrassment. I think he thought I was just going to delete this when I was done, but I think its funny.

Picture Update

I know that we have been terrible about updating our blog and especially with pictures, but I will blame it on our camera's memory card. It's been on the blitz... it thinks it needs to be reformated, but when it is reformated the camera doesn't recognize that it is there. Any ideas? These were a couple taken on the internal memory. We went to visit Grandpa and Grandma Linton since we won't be able to see them on Christmas. Enjoy!

Christmas Time? Really?

I have to admit, that although Christmas time is my absolute favorite for the year, it just doesn't feel like Christmas this year. This fact makes me really sad. Maybe it is that the weather is warmer and we haven't had a good Christmas season snow yet. Or maybe it is that we have decided to wait on putting up our decorations until after the big move. I don't know for sure... but it makes me really depressed. The Christmas season has always been the time of year where I get a real "happy boost" that carries me through the rest of the winter and year. Any ideas on making this season feel more like Christmas?