Yesterday I realized that a new year is almost upon us and I haven’t even thought of goals that I want to strive for.  So last night, I sat up thinking about what I wanted to do and wrote them in my journal.  This year to change it up though, not only did I write what I wanted to accomplish, I also wrote out a plan HOW I was going to accomplish my goal.  So each of my goals has a structure like this:

What: the goal I want to accomplish

Why: why this is important to me in my life for 2009

How: what are the specific steps I am going to take to accomplish these goals

I have been thinking about what I wrote down and other things I want to do for a while today.  While I was thinking about my goals and reading through my Google Reader, I read this post from Ali Edwards (a crafty/scrapbooking site I stumbled upon one day while blog hopping) and thought she had a great idea to focus her year on one word.  So I thought about the goals I had already thought about, and what I wanted to accomplish this year and decided that I too would choose a word.

So for 2009, I am going to focus on growth.

In my life right now I feel a little bit like I’m in a rut.  Everyday is the same thing and nothing is changing or will be changing anytime soon.  So I want to remind myself each day that no matter what is going on, I can continue to grow in so many different ways.  I can grow spiritually, I can grow my talents, I can grow my muscles, Bryan and I can grow closer together and so much more.  And more than that, I can set goals and plans to help me to remember that I can continue to grow everyday.

Today LeBron James (a basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers) is celebrating his birthday and turns 24.

There are two things that make me me say “hmmm” about that sentence: 1. I know it’s LeBron James’ birthday. 2. LeBron James is younger than me.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  The Phelps family sure did.  I always love Christmas.  It means that I get to spend lots of time with my family and play games and eat lots of yummy food!  Bryan and I decided to have a small Christmas this year.  We got each other clothes, dvds and games (all of our favorite things).  But Bryan did surprise me with one super exciting present — a letter press poster of the Salt Lake Temple made entirely out of letters.

He’s the link to the guy that made the poster. Bryan is so wonderful.  He always surprises me with amazing wonderful things.  He’s great.  For Valentine’s day, we both had decided that we would buy a nice thing together and not buy each other presents but he still surprised me with a strand of pearls and some earrings.  He’s wonderful.  Recently we got some old disposable cameras developed and found some pictures from the night that we got engaged.  It was so funny and great to remember what a wonderful time we had that night and it began our wonderful marriage and I’m so glad that he asked me.  It was 4 years ago tomorrow.  Wow.  I can’t believe how fast time flies.

Okay… I’ll tell you the great story.

A few days before Christmas, Bryan and I went shopping with my mom and dad.  We then parted ways with my parents and Bryan asked if I wanted to go out to dinner.  I was hungry so I agreed.  We were by the Mall in Orem so he suggested that we go to Olive Garden (one of his family and his favorite restaurants, but I have never been).  So we drove down to Olive Garden and ate and then began walking back out to the car. He told me he liked walking with me and asked if we could go on a walk.  I told him I didn’t want to because it was cold.  He asked again and I again I whined a little bit because it was cold.  He then suggested that we just take only a very little walk.  I gave in because I could tell that he really wanted to go on a walk.  So we started walking.  Where?  I had no idea.  We started to walk towards Zupas and I didn’t know what they served there and I asked him why were were going there and what they served. (I was very full and didn’t want any more food) He laughed at me and told me that we weren’t going there and continued to walk past the door. Connected to Zupas was another store, but I was so preoccupied with Zupas that I didn’t even pay any attention to the other store and we stopped in front of it’s doors.  “Can we go in here,” he said.  Finally, I turned and looked in the window of the store we were in front of…Wilson Diamonds.  I’m sure I turned about 12 shades of pink… I didn’t really know what to say. We walked in to the store and continued from there….  We didn’t buy any that night, be he said he would go back later and get one of the 4 I had picked out.

So I knew that I was getting a ring, and I knew that it was my Christmas present…  So Christmas came and I didn’t even think that he had the ring yet and I was pretty sure he hadn’t talked to my dad yet… So I wasn’t expecting it that day. He gave me another present that night inside a Wilson Diamonds bag.  So I knew he had the ring.  So I decided to give him a little bit of a bad time.  I bugged him about if he had the ring and if he had talked to my dad and after doing that for a while, I decided to just be patient and not say anything else about it.  I was trying to be nice.

Anyway. All Christmas break we had been trying to go out to dinner and up to see the lights on Temple Square but our plans were always changed for one reason or another.  Finally on Dec. 30, 2005, we decided we were going and nothing could change our mind.

We went to dinner at Sizzlers and at dinner I decided to give him a bad time again about not getting my Christmas present yet and not talking to my dad yet.  He had two numbers for my dad and he asked me which would be best to get a hold of him… Then we went up to Temple Square. We walked around and enjoyed the lights and talked and had a good time.

Then he wanted me to get up on this circle platform thing to take my picture.  I didn’t want my picture taken though, but I agreed…just for him. So I was standing up there and he came up with me and gave me a hug.  He told me he loved me and was so excited about this next year and everything that it would bring. Then told me he had something for me. Then kissed me.  (At this point I had a little bit of an idea about what was going on…but still wasn’t sure because for all I knew he hadn’t talked to my dad or so I thought) So I asked him if the kiss was what he had for me and he got down on one knee…  I started to cry and yell at him, “what are you doing?  What are you doing? Stand up.” Then he asked me to marry him.  And the rest is history.

He’s pretty amazing with surprises.

It’s a month later, but one last post about my busy Thanksgiving weekend.  I don’t think I ever posted about everything that happened, but to recap, we had a wedding the Saturday before Thanksgiving for my sis, Melanie.  Then on Tuesday before Thanksgiving we had a wedding reception for my brother, Rob and Ali who were married at the end of July.  Then we had Thanksgiving, a Christmas party and ended the busy time with Mel’s reception.  My family had a lot to do in the weeks leading up to all our fun times and one of the things that I did to help in the cause was to design the wedding invitations for both Melanie and Rob and I wanted to share both of them with you.

I thought they turned out pretty good!  Rob and Ali’s invite was a 6×4 inch invite printed on photo paper.  Then we slipped them into elegant black envelopes.  Melanie’s invites were 10×4 inches, the picture of Mel and Tyler on the right hand side folded over the invite to leave 2 inches of swirls on the side and made the invite a final size of 6×4 and we slipped them into beautifully textured white envelopes.

Rob and Ali

Mel and Tyler

So there we go. If you ever need any wedding invites designed, let me know… I’d be glad to help.

Alright, as many of you know Bryan and I have been trying to get pregnant for a while now (see this post to read more).  We went to a doctor and it seemed like things were going well, but as life goes, things changed.  For the past few months Bryan and I have been trying to coordinate schedules with the doctor to go in again on a specific day of my cycle to make sure things are going well and for the last 3 months we haven’t been able to go in because of weird things with the office (Oct: my doctor was out of town the week I needed her. Nov: the nurse didn’t call me back in time to get me a new prescription of clomid. Dec: the doctor is out of town the week that I need her.)  So okay, the first two times it was just a stange mistake that we missed each other, but 3 strikes and that’s the end.

So I need your help:  Do any of you know a good, reliable doctor that can help us sort out our fertility problems?

If you do, please leave a comment and let me know.  Names, phone numbers, office location — whatever information you have I’m more than happy for your help.

I also want to thank all of your for your wonderful comments in my first post about the problems we’ve been having getting pregnant.  I appreciate so much the love and support you have shown me during this time.  Some days seem so good.  I feel good about things and know that the Lord will bless Bryan and I with a baby when the time is right and I have so much faith in his plan.  But other days I become so frustrated and feel like I’m not doing anything productive with my life and not fulfilling my calling to be a mother.  On dark days like those, I am so thankful to know that I have such wonderful friends and family that I can turn to, and talk to about how I feel.

Thank you again.

None of you thought that I was actually done with posting about all the craziness that happened over Thanksgiving, did you?  I’m not.  Here’s some more fun!

We had a great Thanksgiving Dinner with Bryan’s family in Pleasant Grove.  The food was so yummy and then after dinner we played an exciting game of Scatergories.  I LOVE that game.  It is always so much fun to hear what people come up with.  Kevin couldn’t quite grasp the concept of no adjectives …  it was so much fun!  After talking and having fun with the Phelps fam, we headed to Lehi to catch the tail end of my mom’s family’s party.  The Walkers’ (my mom’s family) have grown to be quite a bunch. There are 9 kids and all are married with kids too now, so when we all get together (like we did this year) we have to rent out a church for there to be enough room.  Its better that way too though because then the 9,000 (or less) little kids can find places to run around.  So we made it back to the Walker party just in time for the beginning of the Christmas party.  Don’t worry, my family’s not crazy, they know it wasn’t Christmas, but everyone was together then and wouldn’t be for Christmas.  Santa Claus was able to visit us this year.  It was pretty great.  My cute little cousin Abby wasn’t quite sure of Santa but warmed up to him eventually.  My uncle Craig made a great Santa.  There are more fun pictures on my aunt Kelly’s blog and my cousin Heather’s blog.  I didn’t get my camera out enough that day at all.

I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving.  It is my favorite holiday.  I love just getting together with family to enjoy delicious food and talk and be together enjoying the things we are most thankful for.  I wanted to share my absolute favorite Thanksgiving memory.

It was the Thanksgiving in 1998.  A few years before then, my Grandma McCracken had a few strokes and her health was failing.  She was at a point where my grandpa couldn’t take care of her by himself anymore.  My parents decided it would be best to move her to a rest home in American Fork, and to have my grandpa come and live with us.  We took my grandpa to the rest home to see my grandma almost everyday and the time that we were able to spend with him at our house and with her at the rest home were so wonderful.  They were great experiences that are so dear and sweet to me.  Anyway, so in 1998 my grandma had been getting quite a bit sicker.  She had had a couple of more strokes and was at a point where she would not even recognize who we were.  Right before Thanksgiving she got so bad that it was almost like she was in a coma.  My Aunt Rosemary came to stay with us to spend a little more time with my Grandma, we didn’t think she would last much longer.

The day before Thanksgiving we went to the rest home to visit my grandma.  I sat next to her bed with a small white bear that played the song, “Let me be Your Sweetheart.” I sat it up next to her hand and pushed the button to make it play.  As the song played, for the first time in a week or so, my grandma lifted her hand and reached out to the bear.  She touched it as she listened to the song and touched my hand. I remember how wonderful it felt to know that she knew we were there.

The next morning I was sitting in the living room and heard the phone ring, then I remember that my dad walked to the top of the stairs and looked down to us in the living room and said, “Grandma McCracken just passed away.” I don’t remember the specifics of the rest of the day, but I distinctly remember the peace and the joy I felt through the whole day.  We had a quiet dinner that day with just my immediate family and my grandpa, but as we ate we all knew that my grandma was there with us, celebrating.  It was that Thanksgiving, in 1998 that I truly gained a testimony of the Plan of Salvation - that day, that experience and the peace that I felt knowing that my grandma was happy and was in a better place.  I knew and understood that our lives are not over after we die and that families are forever.  I know that she was with us that day.

Now each year as Thanksgiving comes closer I always think of my Grandma McCracken and I am always thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that I could be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  That day could have been such a dark day for my family, but because of the truth of the Gospel it was a day of celebration and a reminder of the love that our Savior has for us.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I wasn’t really in the mood to go out and fight the crowds on Black Friday (I think people get CRAZY about saving a couple of bucks and it’s just not worth it, but that’s only my opinion), so instead Bryan and I went shopping somewhere we thought wouldn’t be quite as insane: the car dealership.  We have been looking for a new car for a while now (my 98 Corolla was not in good shape) and thought we’d just see what we could find.  While we were there we found it…my perfect car.  Since Bryan was the last one of us to get a new car it was my turn and we found just what I always wanted a cute little car that got good gas mileage (I HATE filling up the gas).  It is a Honda Civic.  At first we were looking at the silver and gray cars, but then, hidden in the used car section was a beautiful atomic blue Honda Civic.  It was beautiful.  We took it for a test drive and I was in love.  Normally, when we test drive a car, I don’t do the driving, but Bryan decided that if we were going to get it, I had to drive it before we left.  So we went to the Mt. View parking lot and I drove it and was more in love than ever.  It was so smooth and so quite.  It is perfect.  Now, it’s great because I feel like I am safe when I drive, whereas in my old Corolla (even though I loved it dearly) I was pretty sure it was going to explode at any second.  The one thing that I can’t say that I love about the car is  that it beeps at me when I am in the passenger seat and not wearing my seat belt.  Now, I wear my seat belt and know that it will keep me safe, but I do not like inanimate objects telling me what to do (or laws that require me to wear my seat belt, but that is a soap box for a different post).  Anyway.  Here it is my beautiful, new car!

New Beautiful Car

From the Side

Pretty exciting. It was a little sad though, because I did already get a scratch on it, but the dealership where we bought it was great and filled it in for us.

Just before Thanksgiving my little sister Melanie got married.  It was a beautiful, crisp fall day and everything turned out beautiful.  She and Tyler were married in the Bountiful Utah Temple.  It was wonderful to go and share that with my little sister.  She was beautiful and I am so happy for her and Tyler.  We had a lot of family that was able to join us at the temple too and that is always fun and such a great reminder that our families are forever and extend much beyond this life.  The Lord has blessed us with so much.  It also is always such a blessing to go to the Temple and hear again the covenants that Bryan and I made when we were sealed.

Here are some pictures from the afternoon.  (Not the professional pictures by all means, you can see some of those on Mel’s blog, but just some fun ones we took with my camera.

I love this picture of Mel

My Family

The Whole Walker Gang

Happy Couple

McFamily Kids

Our Cousin did the Flowers - So Beautiful

She decided to split the day up.  So when she got married, we just had the wedding and the luncheon.  The reception was a week later (and that way none of the wedding stuff got in the way of the BYU/Utah game).

So over the Thanksgiving break we did Mel’s wedding, my brother’s Rob’s reception, Thanksgiving, a Christmas party and then Mel’s reception.  It was a crazy busy holiday.  But so much fun and so much family!  It was great times.  More coming soon.

Okay.  So if you read my blog through a feed reader, you might have seen the post about how I was turning evil.

I am not actually turning evil (I know many of you were confused), and I don’t have some strange fungus or disease on my tounge.

This is what happened, the night before I dyed my hair a pretty dark color.  I blew it dry and went to bed.  The next morning, I woke up, got in the bath tub, got ready and bushed my teeth.  As I spit the toothpaste into the sink it was black and I was FREAKED OUT!  I thought, “What in the world?”  So I opened my mouth and my whole mouth was black.  I realized that much of it could be brushed out with my tooth brush, but it wasn’t all going away.  My first thought was that I hadn’t rinsed my hair out enough and when I got in the tub that morning, I must have gotten some tub water in my mouth and it had dye on it (silly, I know).

As I thought about my theory more, it made less and less sense (I like to think I would have noticed my bath water being dark colored because of my hair dye).  So I decided it was not a good thing and I needed to wake Bryan.  So I went to wake him up.

A little background first: Bryan is not a morning person.  It normally takes at least 10 minutes from the first time I wake Bryan up to the time he gets out of bed.

So I go in the room and sit next to him, “Bryan, I need you to look at this.”  “What” he replies. “This”  And I stick out my tounge.  I have never seen him sit up so quickly in my life.

We talked about it for a few minutes and he said to give it a little time and if it didn’t go away we would go to a doctor.  So I went downstairs to eat breakfast.  While I was getting breakfast, Bryan used his handy iPhone and googled “Black Tounge” and discovered my problem for me.

Turns out, Pepto Bismal will sometimes do that to your mouth.  There is some chemical in it that when mixed with the chemicals in your mouth and left to sit (like over night while you sleep) they will turn black.  I had forgotten that I had taken Pepto the night before.

So there you have it. Strange, but true.  Watch out for Pepto and make sure to at least rinse your mouth out with some water if you take it before bed.

So just a second ago it was the end of October and I was thinking about posting some pictures about Teddy’s super funny costume from Halloween and now all of the sudden, it’s December and it seems a little silly to post pictures about Teddy all the way from Halloween.  Oh well, I’m doing it anyway.

Also, just to forewarn you…  This is the first of many posts.  A LOT has happened in the last couple of weeks and I just have to share it all!  You’re excited; admit it.