Update

Wow, life is happening so fast, I swear it was just August and now we are at the end of November! My little boy is going to be 4 on Monday, and it seems like he was a baby yesterday. It has been such a crazy year for us as many of you know...and I have to say I am grateful that this year is almost over. However, as crazy as it was I am grateful for all that has happened and all that we have gone through. It has brought many blessings upon us, and I know that many times our blessings come with the trials.

The holiday season is my favorite time of year. From the day after Halloween until New Years, I am listening to Christmas music, and it is the start of the holiday season. I have loved this time of the year for as long as I can remember, it seems there is just something different during this time. I feel especially grateful this year for all my blessings. So I just wanted to take a moment and express some of the things I am grateful for.

1. I am grateful for my Savior, and his love for me and my family. I am grateful for my testimony and understanding of His atonement, and how that applies to my daily life. I am grateful that he has been there to carry me, and encourage me, comfort and me and my family this past year.

2. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It is what keeps me grounded and anchored when the rest of the world and even sometimes my own life is in chaos. It is where I can turn for peace and comfort and calm. I am grateful for my testimony in and knowledge that is is the true gospel, and for my understanding of how that applies to me.

3. I am grateful for an amazing husband. Who is patient, loving, understanding and kind, and above all who makes me laugh everyday. He is my best friend and is always there for me, and I am grateful for his being a worthy priesthood holder and such a good example to our boys. I love being married to him, and though some may think our life a little crazy, I wouldn't change a thing. It is so much more fun this way don't you think?

4. MY KIDS. How I love them! They may drive me to the brink of insanity sometimes, but it is all worth it. I wish I could just freeze time for a little bit, and not have them grow up right now. I love this phase of their lives, and especially love seeing them together. They are the best of friends and the greatest of brothers, and I truly hope and pray everyday that this bond they share now never changes. I feel so blessed to have been given these two sweet and crazy little boys to raise. Like most moms, feel though they are the ones I feel sometimes who do the teaching, it is amazing the simple things your children can remind you of, that sometimes you have forgotten.

5. My family, (extended Mom, Dad, brother sister aunts grandparents etc.) I love my family all of them. I truly feel blessed to have such a great family. I have wonderful parents, and grandparents who I am very close with and our always there for me and my kids. I am lucky to have siblings, (and now a new sister with nellie) who are my friends and I enjoy to spend time with and hangout with, and who love my kids. I married into an amazing family and gained two sisters who I love. (If Marilia ever moved back to brasil, I don't know what I would do, I think i would have to sink into a depression) And wonderful in-laws, who treat me as their daughter, and I can always count on. (Teresea please come home soon, we miss you! I MISS YOU). And last but not least my aunts and cousins. Who are truly more like Moms and Sisters. I thought everyone had the type of relationship I have with my aunts, but I have come to realize that they are truly unique. I call my aunts and talk to them often, and seek their advice, and they call me and see how life is. It is great it is like I have 3 other moms I can go to. I love them all and am grateful for all these family members who have supported me and loved me.

Okay well that is a way too long of post, but I just had to express some of the things I am so grateful for. I am going to truly try to get back on the blogging express. I am hoping that our lives will calm down and it will be easier to do.

Yes we are sitll alive.

Okay, well it has been almost three months since I last posted, where did the time go? This is just a quick note to say that yes we are still alive, and yes for those wondering we are still moving to California. Right now we have been living between Utah and California, well mostly the kids and I. Ze has pretty much been there since the end of May. It has been harder than I thought it would not having a house for a while and imposing on relatives. However, I am so grateful to wonderful parents on both our sides for letting us impose on them. Hopefully by the end of this month our lives will have settled down and we will be a little more settled as a family. We have had so much going on these past few months, the best thing being, my little brother was married on July 31! So that will be next post, and I will try to do it soon. Maybe even later today who knows, just for you Ashley there will be pictures.

We are moving, again, and yes it is really going to happen.

Many of you know what a roller coaster our lives have been this last year.  We are moving, we are staying, we are moving, staying, anyway you get the picture.  Well, in December when Ze took a job here I thought it was pretty much a done deal and we would never be moving back to California.  So I decorated my room, picked out paint colors for downstairs, and then I dared to unpack the boxes that had been sitting in our garage since the fall when I thought we were moving the last time.  And, as I unpacked them I thought watch Ze come home and tell me "Thanks, for unpacking but we are moving,"  well it wasn't that exact day just two weeks later.  

However, this time it is happening, our house is rented, we are moving out on Tuesday, so the renters can move in on Friday.   All of this happened in the two weeks since Ze told we are moving.  I guess when things are right they are right and everything just falls into place.  I will spend the summer back and forth between here and California, and we won't be moving into our house there until the end of august.  It is bittersweet, but actually I am really happy to be moving back, because it feels so right.  (Actually I have felt we should move there for the last year, I have just been waiting for Ze to feel the same way)  I am so excited to be back in our old ward, and to be around our friends again.  I will miss my family terribly, as will my boys.  Thankfully my mom works for the airlines so we will see them quite often I am sure.  

So for those of you here in Utah, we will miss you!  And for those of you there in California, we can't wait to see you and be there again.

Bedroom cont.

Here are some more pictures with the window treatment up and some odds and ends.  

My awesome dad made the box for my windows, and I LOVE it.  And I really love it because my curtains were on sale at target for $17 each and the wood and materials were only $30!  It came to less than half of everything else I had looked at.  THANKS AGAIN DAD!!!!
And a note out about my sticks in the corner by the T.V. everyone had bets on how long it would take my kids to turn them into weapons, happy to say, it has been a week and so far they haven't touched them!
You probably can't see but in the far corner we have a new nightstand from Ikea.   I wasn't sure I was going to like it so I only bought one to see if we would, but also because I thought I would save money and just paint the one that you can see.  However, Ze LOVED it and wants us to have another one WAHOO!  So any suggestions of what I could put on his, because I need something in that corner, would be great!

Well, after five years of marriage, I finally put up some wedding pictures in our room. I think this is my favorite part, and is defiantly Ze's.  
This is the material I will be making some European pillows out of for my bed.  It finally got here yesterday so, I will post pics with those one when i get them made. All and all I am really happy with our room, I LOVE it.  It has made a total difference in me being more organized, keeping things cleaner and I want to spend any free time I have in it.  I have to say thanks to my husband for painting, it for me, he did most of it. Thank you for being such a wonderful husband(Even did it on a day he had off) And a special thanks to my Dad who built the headboard and window valance.  I love you and am so grateful for all that you did.

Our next major purchase for our room will be a new fan!  One that is less of an eyesore

Bedroom pics

So this is what the room looked like after we painted and moved the bed.  I so wish I had remembered to take before pictures!  Well we got rid of the ugly navy blue curtains, and move our bed to the other wall.  And we finally put together the dresser we had bought in August when we thought we were moving.

This is the AWESOME! headboard my dad built for me!  Isn't he the best Dad ever!  It was even better than I had pictured it would be in my head.  THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

I'm on a MISSION

Okay, so I have decided it is time to decorate our bedroom. In our last house Ze and I did something to every room, painted, added, replaced, etc. EXCEPT, our bedroom. We always said that we would get to it, well we didn't. I was starting to go that direction in this house, but I have decided to STOP and do ours. So this month I am going to be working on doing are bedroom. I will post pictures when I am finished, I am hoping that by putting this in writing I actually do it. So good-bye ugly Navy curtains from the previous owners.

MMMM Frosting

This is the first of a couple posts, (of course all out of order) it has been a busy week here.  

Enjoy! 

Gavin loved the frosting off his aunt's birthday cake. He kept say "mmm yum, I like this." I am loving this stage he is in. If I could keep him here for a little while longer I would. Actually I am loving him and Drake together at these ages. Everyday I love them more and more and am so grateful for them.

Happy Birthday Tia FE

Marilia's (my sis in law) birthday was on Sunday, she turned 24!  She came up for dinner and cake.  I was going to make her a cake, but she bought her own.  Hello, you aren't supposed to buy your own cake!  It was a lot of fun.  We love having her here, and the boys LOVE their tia (chi-a) Fe.  I am so grateful to have such a great sister "in-law" and to have such a good relationship with her.   I just love her to death, and love having her around.  I am so grateful for all the help she gives Ze and I with the boys, and for being such a good Aunt to them.   I know she needs to be out there having fun, but I so miss her when she doesn't come up for a couple of days.  WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

One PROUD MAMMA

Well, yesterday was the BIG day.  The boys went skiing for the firs time!!!  And I am sooo proud of them.  They did GREAT!!  Drake really got the hang of it, by the end of the day he was able to stop and turn.  He could follow my Dad all the way down.  Gavin did well too, for his age, and you know Gavin always in his own world.

That morning the first thing Gavin said when he woke up was "Okay let's go skiing, let's go buh bye and ski with buka and bunca"  (Those are his nicknames for my parents).  When we got up there Drake was so excited to go ski on the snow, he said: "Mommy, I am going to go ski on the snow, and I am going to go fast!"  He he is totally my son.  And, there favorite thing to do was to go ski in the trees.  They saw some little kids go and they told my dad and brother that they wanted to ski in the trees too, so they took them to ski in the trees.  One more sign that it is in their blood, and that there is definitely Jones blood in them.  

It was the perfect day to take them, the weather was GREAT!  I was able to get in a couple of runs on my own, and almost DIED!  My legs were on fire, I am so out of shape anyway, and then to add the fact that I haven't skied in forever!!!  My brother talked me into going on my last run, and yeah I knew I shouldn't and I was right I totally fell, just came right out of my ski.  I unfortunately can not blame it on anything but poor skiing on my part.  It had been way too long and I was out of practice.  Don't worry only my ego was hurt, and I was totally annoyed I had to hike up to get my ski that I came out of.  I am so lucky to have such a great family, and I hope my boys end up loving skiing as much as I and my family do.

P.S. Drake felt that everytime he stopped he needed to eat some snow.  I honestly think that is why he learned to stop was just becasue he wanted to eat some snow.  

More...

It was fun with everyone, just missing Cara :(, work so gets in the way.  My mom was so great she followed behind holding everyone's gloves and hats etc.  Ze patiently waited at the bottom of the hill, he said he wanted to see their first time.  I think he might be a little interested after seeing them ski.  I will keep my fingers crossed

I am so grateful to Blake and my Dad for taking the boys and teaching them. They were so patient, and great teachers. It helps that the boys LOVE their Grandpa/Bunca and Uncle Blake.

PRACTICE

Here are the boys "practicing" skiing on Saturday.   I was so excited to take the boys up and was so happy that they were so excited to go and try.  Drake has been begging to go for two weeks, since he watched a ski video with my brother and his friends.  

more practice

Drake did so well, in the house.  My dad told him to turn around in a circle and he did it just perfect.  Most kids will try to cross one ski over the other but he did great, a natural, it must be in his genes.  I had to throw pictures in of Ze helping them put on their skis since this might be the only time.  

Clique Photography

I wanted to let everyone know about our friend Billy's new photography blog, he was the one who took our family pictures this year, and did a GREAT job.  He has decided to branch out from just family and friends, you can see some of his work on his blog.  Good Luck with your new venture.

Click here to his blog for pricing and contact info.

Congratulations!

I just have to post how happy and excited I am for our friends Heather and Rick.  They had their baby girl (who by the pictures is soooooo cute) on Sunday evening.  I am so happy they have waited so long for this, and she is finally here.  They will be great parents, and I am excited because now Heather will have to update her blog more often.   Good Luck these next couple weeks, and a fast recovery to her.