2009

Life 2009 | Pixar Play Parade

I am finally getting some scrapbooking done. It has really been fun to plan out some pages. In the excitement of planning our December Disneyland Trip – I felt the need to go back and start scrapbooking our big family trip to Southern California in 2009. Yes, I never got around to completing those pages. So now, I am!

Pixar Play Parade | March 27, 2009
Much of our week was spent as individual families, but today all of the Sorensen Family watched the Pixar Parade together. It was so fun to watch JJ & Beth, as the Pixar characters are some of their favorites!

Here’s the layout I did:

I used the Project Mouse Collection by Britt-ish Designs & Sahlin Studio.

Life 365 | Week 1

Monday, December 28, 2009

Beth has really been enjoying her new dress-up dresses and its the first thing she does when she wakes up in the morning. Right now her favorite is her snow white dress. She discovered that if she stands by the heater her dress flares up and she gets the whole big dress effect – so much fun!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

We got a light snow fall today and it was just nice to sit inside watching movies, reading and playing on the computer and Wii. The kids are still enjoying all their new toys and we even had a nap!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Today was a fun day. We woke up to a lot more snow and we just had to go play in it. The kids got to wear their new coats and boots and we went into our little yard and built our “Frosty”, threw a few snow balls, and made snow angels.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

I loved these photos of my kids from yesterday’s snow play. Love it when my kids are so happy. We didn’t do anything today. Joey ended up working from home today and I got to sleep in. It was so nice. We just played on computers, played a little Wii, the kids played with their new toys, and we had a nice Spaghetti and Meatballs Dinner. Joey and I stayed up until after midnight – bringing in the new year with The Lord in the Rings.

Friday, January 1, 2010

We spent a lot of the day playing Wii with the kids and Joey went to Salt Lake City to do his podcast and spend some time with Pete. Just a low-key day at home for me and the kids.

Here are some of my goals for this year:
Family Goals: Family Home Evening Lessons/activities every Monday, Scriptures/Prayers every day, bring back chores, and Continue our Movie Nights on Sundays

Couple Goals: Have more time together as just us – a date at least once a month, attend the temple once a month

Personal Goals: Lose some weight – just take better care of myself, streamline my design/blog process so that I am being more efficient, and organizing my household tasks/schedule so that I’m accomplishing everything that I should during the week.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Another low-key day with just playing and relaxing. We did go out for dinner at IHOP and spent some more time as a family playing the Wii.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Joey and I have spent a lot of time this week trying to complete our end-of-the-year tradition of watching all of The Lord of the Rings. We didn’t quite make it and we are still on the Return of the King, but I have really enjoyed the time with Joey watching one of our favorite movies of all time. The kids watched a little bit with us tonight but its still a bit too scary for them and a lot that they don’t understand, so we have been watching it after they go to bed. I can’t wait until they’ve grown up more and they can get in on our tradition!

Today’s funny Beth comment:
We were watching Return of the King and explaining a bit about the movie. I told Beth that Gandalf’s horse was named Shadowfax and she simply stated, “Wow…cool name!“

And here is my weekly layout:

I used my AspirationZ & Digital 365 Kits to create this layout!

Project 365 | Week 52

Monday, December 21, 2009

Beth had her special Christmas program at Center Stage today. Joey and I got to watch her sing, dance, and we even got to see what they were learning in Karate. She had so fun and she did her part very well. They had a special visitor at the end of their performance and Santa came to visit!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

It was JJ’s last day of school today and we did the final preparations for Christmas. I started doing a bit of cleaning and then we got to babysit Baby Mallory while Uncle Cody and Aunt Becki did some shopping. The kids LOVED having a baby in the house!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

I didn’t get an advent calendar done/bought this year and I couldn’t figure out something to do to help the kids countdown the days. Then last week JJ brought home a countdown chain and it was perfect. Of course, we had to make one for Beth too. We got a little behind this week in taking a chain off because of all the activities, so the kids got to take 3 chains off tonight and that was just awesome.

I love our Christmas stockings. They were all made by my Aunt LaRae and it has been a family tradition. Mine of course is the oldest since I have had it for as long as I can remember and its so neat that Aunt LaRae has kept making them as our family has grown! My brothers and sisters still have theirs and have them for their children too!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Today I did a cleaning of the house and it took all day. The kids were just so excited that it was Christmas Eve! The day was just way too long for them. But finally I finished cleaning and it was evening. Dad came home and we started our evening by having Pancakes and eggs for dinner! Then the kids got to open up 1 gift – their new Pjs! They loved them and was so excited to get into them. They had baths and jumped into their pjs. We watched JOY TO THE WORLD – a little 1/2 hour film by the church that talked about Jesus and his birth with music from the Tabernacle Choir. It was then time for Bed. I was so surprised how fast they went to sleep!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Day finally arrived and it was truly a wonderful day. The kids let us sleep in until 8:30 and it was amazing! Santa found us and brought the kids a Leapster 2 and some games for each of them. We have only had 1 Leapster and now we have 2 so they each can play at the same time. So great! They also got candy, play dough, and new toothbrushes.

Before opening presents, we had some breakfast and watched A KING IS BORN – the classic animated film that I watched every Christmas Eve growing up. I think it was wonderful to help the kids remember what Christmas is about and it was nice to do that before opening presents. The kids loved all their gifts and it was so awesome to hear how grateful they were for every present. Beth just kept saying, “Oh, I love it so much – thank you mommy.” Beth got a My Little Pony House with a pony, long-sleeved shirts and pants, Disney Princess Sticker/Coloring Book, Snowglobe, puzzle, Snow Boots, Winter Coat, and 4 amazing Princess Dresses. JJ got a Thomas the Train Set, Spiderman Legos, Bubbles, new shoes, winter coat, and snow boots. And the most amazing surprise of all was our last present. Joey surprised us with a WII! I had no idea, but he had been doing some extra contract work so he could save up and buy us one. It is so awesome. I have really been wanting to have one and now we do!

We spent the rest of Christmas playing with all of our new toys and just enjoying each other. I had a ham in the crockpot cooking all night so by noon it was done and we had a Funeral potatoes with our ham. SO GOOD!

Saturday, December 26, 2009
We spent all day in our pajamas playing with our new toys today, especially the Wii. It was so fun to watch our kids enjoy it and its something we can do together as a family. Right now the only thing we have that the kids can do is bowling, and they love it. They each have it down pretty good and its so fun to see them play. Beth already has a classic move of rolling the ball and ending with her legs crossed and the remote in the air! So cute!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Unfortunately, we ended the Christmas week having colds. All of us just didn’t feel too well today so we stayed home from church and just relaxed. For Family Movie Night we watched our new movie that Santa brought us – UP. We had seen it in the theater and loved it and now we have it in our movie collection!

And here is my weekly layout:
I used my Christmas Wrap & Digital 365 Kits to create this layout!

Project 365 | Week 51

Monday, December 14, 2009

Today was wrapping day. Most of my shopping was done today and we began wrapping presents. I have started a little tradition with wrapping that my mom did with my brothers (after I was married and gone from home). She would pick a wrapping paper for each child and then would wrap all their gifts in that paper and then she wouldn’t have to do any to/from labels/writing/tags. I thought it was really fun and so last year was the first year I did it and I’m continuing it this year! The kids like it too!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

I have new visiting teachers and they came over to visit this morning. It was really wonderful to sit and visit with these wonderful women and just share a little bit of our lives with each other. They brought their children with them and Beth got to spend a few minutes playing with 3 girls about her age. She was in heaven! They left us with some yummy cinnamon rolls!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I mailed the majority of my Christmas Cards today! I have done Christmas Cards every year since Joey and I have been married. It’s a wonderful tradition and I’m always so happy to have them done! I did about 80 cards this year and just need a few more addresses before I send the final ones out. I was so excited about how my cards turned out this year. The pictures that Maria took for us were amazing and I feel so blessed to have been able to get such great photos of my family! Along with getting the cards mailed out, I finished my Christmas/Grocery shopping today as well and it felt very good to have that all done.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Today was baking day. I did a little bit of treat making yesterday, but the majority was done today. This was my counter full of supplies before I started cooking. I made Peanut Clusters, Turtle Pretzels, and some Cake (Tree) Pops.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Today was Christmas Parties at both JJ and Beth’s schools. We packaged up our treats to give out to neighbors/friends and teachers as well. The kids both had a wonderful time at their parties and came home very excited and loaded with some fun treats/treasures.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

We got up early to finish up projects today. I started with running to the post office to pick up a package and then I spent the rest of the afternoon wrapping some gifts, making cookie layer bars, oreo pie and Red Velvet Cookies for our Christmas party tonight. We left home at about 5pm and headed to Salt Lake City where we walked in the cold to Temple Square to see the beautiful lights. It was pretty cold and we didn’t stay too long, catching the trax to get back to our car. Then we headed to Centerville for our Friend Christmas Party. It was so great being with our friends and eating great food and visiting. The kids were SO SO good and they just played downstairs with the other kids and let us visit. It was a very good time!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Today was our Christmas program at church and I had the opportunity to sing in the Ward Choir. Christmas music is so wonderful and it was a great experience to be a part of that today. After church it was a nice Sunday with just being together, having a nap, and continuing our tradition of our Family Movie Night. Tonight we watched The Muppets Christmas Carol – one of our family’s favorite movie traditions at Christmas. A great way to end the week!

Project 365 | Week 50

Monday, December 7, 2009

I bought a Gingerbread House Kit and tonight for our Family Home Evening activity we put it together. Even with the kit – it was a bit hard to do. The Frosting just wasn’t quite the right consistency or something and it didn’t want to stick very well. So we didn’t try to do anything very fancy – but we still had a good time. Actually the drippy frosting turned out to be pretty good icicles when it finally hardened!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Lots of snow this week. Other than the fact that I have to occasionally drive in it – it has been really fun to have. I love the peaceful feeling of snow. Orderville got like 19 inches of snow in a day and so I know my parents are so grateful. They really needed the moisture!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Last night was a difficult one. JJ had a hard time sleeping since his cough was so terrible and he had a fever which made us all worried that a seizure might happen. So JJ stayed home from school today and mostly just rested. The fever finally went away and it was definitely a relief. Beth had a bit of a cold too so she skipped school too and we just had a day of Christmas movies and resting.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Although JJ felt lots better than yesterday – he still has a pretty bad cough so we decided to keep him home one more day. Today I was reminded how important it is to scrapbook. I have been so into the design part that I have not put actual scrapbooking as a priority. I have all the photos and thanks to this Project 365 project I have a lot of journaling – but I have slacked off on the actual layouts. My kids got out the very few albums that I have today and just was so excited to see the pictures. My poor Bethie complained about how few photos she actually had of her in books. I really need to remedy this. This year my goal was to find balance in my life – between designing, scrapping, family time, etc. and I just didn’t accomplish it. I think I’m just going to have to try again next year.

Friday, December 11, 2009

JJ & Beth were so excited today because they each got to have PAJAMA PARTY at school! They got to wear their cute pjs, eat snacks and watch movies in their classes. JJ was so excited to be able to have hot chocolate and watch the Polar Express!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

We woke up today to find a nice big leak in the roof of our bathroom with water everywhere. Not a great thing to start the day with. It was warmer weather and the snow started to melt, plus it rained a lot today and just made things worse. It seems as if our trailer is falling apart and it is not good news. So today we just hung out at home. Bethie drew a picture of me with the Magna Doodle. Apparently I’m a fairy because I have wings and a magic wand 🙂 It was actually one of Beth’s best pictures so far!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I had the opportunity to participate with my Church ward in our Stake’s Annual Christmas Fireside. This is the 3rd year I have participated and it has been a wonderful tradition. We were told tonight that this stake has put this on every year since 1978. Each Ward choir prepares a song to sing and with 11 wards in our stake – that’s a lot of great Christmas music! So each ward sings their song and then after everyone is through, the whole congregation joins in singing a couple of pieces from Handel’s Messiah. They have a small orchestra and some soloists that come and help with that part of the program as well. Very fun times!

I have really struggled the past couple of months with many things, especially through our financial hardships. It’s been really hard to hang on and have faith and trust Heavenly Father that we’ll make it through. It has just been taking its toll on me and this week it hit extra hard. I have been really wanting to move and get out of the trailer before anymore problems come up. I’ve been wanting SO MUCH to just leave and start over. I have been praying for an answer and just not feeling like I was getting one. I’ve cried, I’ve yelled, I’ve worried, I’ve stressed. I’ve talked things out so much with Joey and I just wanted to get out of where I am right now. I’ve been on a constant search of a new home. Well tonight everything came out. I cried and worried and talked everything through with Joey again and suddenly the answer the came. Heavenly Father finally was able to get through to me and I realized that all the stress/confusion that I have been feeling WAS my answer. In the scriptures it says that when you are seeking an answer to prayer – if what you are praying for is not right then you will feel “a stupor of thought.” I guess I always thought of that as maybe feeling nothing. But I now know that it can also be confusion and not being able to focus on things. When the spirit finally got through to me tonight – and I realized that the answer was to WAIT – not move yet – everything immediately got better. We are not in the current financial situation to try and move with deposits/rent money and moving costs and all that. But its going to be okay. I’m finally finding peace and it really really really feels good. Sure, I still want to move and get out of here – but its not right yet and I know that we will know when the time is right. I know that Heavenly Father is there and that he hears me and he loves me, even when it takes me a long time to actually hear him.

Project 365 | Week 49

Monday, November 30, 2009

For Family Home Evening tonight we put up our Christmas tree. It’s just a small 4 1/2 foot tall artificial tree, but it works nicely in our little trailer. We put it up on a storage bucket and it works great. I love blue and silver together and so once again we used the same decorations we have had for years for our blue/white/silver tree. The kids had so much fun putting the ornaments on too. And for the first time in 5 years, I put out my Precious Moments Nativity. The kids were young and I was afraid they would break them and I haven’t really had a place to put it so I haven’t put it out. But this year, it worked great under the tree on the storage box and the kids seem to stay away from it – and so it’s there. I’m so glad – I have missed it and it really reminds me of the real reason for Christmas. For the FHE lesson we talked about the 2nd Article of Faith and started memorizing it. I’m so proud of my kids for getting the 1st one down!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

I can’t believe it is December 1st already and the weather has really started to feel like winter is coming! Beth has even broke out her heavier coat, gloves and hat! She thinks it is time for it snow! 🙂

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Another one of those special moments where the kids were playing so good together and even sharing the chair as they watched a movie before bed. I so love it when they are good to one another!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

My kids are definitely ready for Christmas to be here already and the season is just starting. I know they are dreaming of lots of presents, but I hope I can instill in them the real reason for Christmas.

Tonight Joey and I went to see The Blind Side and it was an amazing story. I loved the movie and I loved being with my hubby.

Friday, December 4, 2009

The kids wrote their very first letters to Santa today. I helped them spell the words but they each wrote it all by themselves. So cute!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

My beautiful new niece was born today. Cody and Becki did really well! Mallory Marie Sorensen was born at 5:16pm and weighed 5 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches tall. She is so tiny, so sweet and has us all wrapped around her little finger already. I was able to spend a few minutes with Cody and Becki this afternoon before she was born (running some errands for them and taking Cody some lunch) and then later after the kids were in bed I was able to go over to the hospital and hold little Mallory. I can’t wait for my kids to meet their new little cousin! And yes Mallory – you have made me baby hungry tonight!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The kids and I were able to go over to the hospital tonight so that the kids could meet Mallory. They loved being able to hold her and give her kisses. Uncle Cody and Aunt Becki have been so wonderful to JJ & Beth. They are definitely their favorite Aunt/Uncle right now and so this was an extra special time that we got to spend with them at the hospital. I knew Beth would be so excited about her new cousin, but I was very pleasantly surprised to see JJ’s reaction. He was so cute with Mallory and I can really tell that these 2 want a new baby in the family. 🙂