BAD + GOOD...ALL AT ONCE

February 23, 2010....The last day of my last blog entry. That is pretty bad, even for me. Most of you don't know, but I teach the 16-18 year old girls at church and this Sunday's lesson is....JOURNALS! Yup, something I'm not very good at doing. I was doing ok with the blog, which I consider somewhat as a journal, but I haven't been doing very well have I? In my lesson it doesn't say anything about online journal options, and I think when we are talking about underage girls, that's probably a good thing, but I did want to bring up the option of a personal blog as a journal. For them I would stress the importance of keeping it totally private from anyone, but I thought I would get input from all you online bloggers about your thoughts and ideas about blogging or journaling and how it has been a blessing in your life.

I'm definitely grateful...even though I haven't shown it in the last couple of months...for blogs and how not only we can reconnect with people but how we can use it to look back on our day, week, or month and remember things in greater detail than we would normally if we hadn't written our thoughts and feelings down. I don't like making commitments that I don't think I will keep, but I need to make a commitment to myself to be better at writing in my journal and on my blog.

BERKLEY IS WALKING!

Today I had the chance to stop by the house with the girls I nanny, and before Matt went to work, I decided we needed to practice walking with Berkley. After a couple of the usual tries, (Berkley walking by holding on to our finger, and then sitting down when we let go) she took a couple of steps! After that, she just took off! She was SO excited with herself! Ahhh...she is absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen! We love her so much! I'm so grateful Matt and I both were there to experience this milestone with her! She is 13 months and 4 days old.

This video was taken about 5 minutes after her first steps...ENJOY!

BERKLEY'S 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

January 19th was Berkley's birthday and we had a birthday party for her on the 23rd of January. (I know, I'm a little late on the blogging.) It was SO much fun! We had lots of family and friends come for the occasion and Berkley loved it! We had cupcakes, tootsie pops, gum balls, jello, fruit, flowers, balloons, and streamers. I may have gone a TEENSY bit overboard on decorations, but it was so fun. Everyone that came was so generous giving Berkley such cute and fun gifts! She loves ALL of them. I still can't believe we have a 1 year old! She is an amazing, beautiful and wonderful little girl and we love her more than anything!

OUR FRIEND TY

I guess this is more of a therapeutic blog entry for me. But I feel like I need to do something, while I am just sitting here at home thinking about my friend and brother Tyler.

I got a call from my mom on Friday night and I knew something was wrong when we started talking, and prepared myself for the worst. But nothing had prepared me for what she told me. My friend Tyler Graham had passed away earlier that day.

Ever since we have lived in Stayton, Oregon (1995) our lives have been intertwined with the Graham family. We all started out as friends and it grew from there into a family relationship. Tyler has always been like a little brother to me. He was so easy to like and love. If you saw Ty smile, there was no way that you couldn't smile. It was so infectious! He had the BIGGEST heart in the world. And had more love for animals than anyone I have ever met...I remember his baby skunk (that wasn't very nice), his ferret, his chinchilla, his 2 or 3 pugs, and probably a whole bunch more that I never had the pleasure of meeting.

Ty was one of a kind, and everyone who knew him knows what I mean. There just wasn't anyone like him. He always put a smile on your face and made you feel so good about yourself.

I have a lot of great memories of Ty, but ones that I will treasure the most came right after I came home from my mission. Him and Brolin were preparing to go on missions and I was trying to adjust back into everyday life. Many mornings we would meet and go out on the Graham's trampoline and have a morning scripture study. It was so fun telling them experiences I had and share with them my testimony of the Gospel and vice versa. Ty and Brolin really helped me to adjust back to normal life and I will be forever grateful for those times that we spent together laughing and just enjoying each others company. I'm so grateful that I have memories to look back on and remember Ty. He will be sorely missed by myself and so many other people.

Thank you Ty for always being yourself, and not being afraid to stand up for what you believe. Thank you for your testimony of the Gospel that brought the Spirit into so many people's lives. I love you and miss you so much!

http://tylermemorial.blogspot.com/ (here's a blog for Ty)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BERKLEY!!!

We have had nothing but 12 months of pure AWESOMENESS! I am SO incredibly grateful for my beautiful daughter Berkley and how much joy she has brought into our lives. She continues to surprise me each day with how smart she is and how sweet she is. It has been truly amazing to watch her grow and learn. I love everything about her! She makes us laugh on a daily basis, and she is loved by everyone around her. So Happy 1st Birthday Berkley! We love you so much!

Here is a look back at the last 12 months! Enjoy!

MY NEW LOVE...

So...I've always loved photography, but have recently decided to do it on a more professionsl level. Now...I have A LOT (A LOT) to learn, but I've been reading, practicing and will sometime in the near future shadow another photographer and learn a good deal more from her. I'm hoping to someday be able to do it full time and help contibute more to my family's income as well as do something that I love! I wanted to thank everyone who has encourgaged me and helped me. I did make a blog, so feel free to check it out once in a while...and if you know anyone who wants pictures taken...I don't charge very much! Lately I've just been doing couples and portraits, but am hoping to get better at family pictures. I just need a few willing subjects to practice on. :) Here's a link to my blog, but it is also over in the "blogs we dig" column.

http://valoryjeanphotography.blogspot.com/

PLEASE READ THIS FRIENDS!

Hey Everyone! Well I've been messing around with our blog layout and probably doing stuff I shouldn't with it...and in the process I lost nearly ALL of the blog of our friends and family. I have about 10 or so that I saved...So I need you to put your blog addresses in the comments for me so I can re-add them to our list! Thanks so much!!!

RUB-A-DUB-DUB

CHRISTMAS VACATION

Our Christmas vacation was anything but uneventful. We had an amazing time with our family! Right when we got there...within a span of about 20 minutes...we found out that my step-brother, Gregg, and his fiance, Morgan were going to have a baby...AND...they were getting married the next day. Putting together a small reception in the course of about 24 hours is a little tiring, but so much fun! Everything turned out great and everyone was really happy. The next day was Christmas Eve and we got some last minute shopping done and did a little cooking. Christmas day was pretty relaxed. I was able to take some pictures of Gregg and Morgan, which was so much fun. While we were there I also took pictures of Paul and Andrea. I've found that I really enjoy photography and hope to get a lot better at it.

We had an amazing time together. It's hard living so far away from family, but it really makes you enjoy and cherish the time that you do have together. I'm definitely grateful that we were able to go to California and spend time with our family. Of course I took some pictures while we were there...here are some.

Dad and Patty on the porch

Berkley and Lila in their Christmas dresses!

Abue and her girls

Dad and Oso

Gregg and Morgan

Gregg and Morgan

Paul and Andrea

Paul and Andrea

Berkley and her Auntie Andrea

The girls and their horses

Berkley and a doll that she just adored!

Berkley's first time around horses

Lila and the Berk in the field

Wedding cake and cookies

Gregg and Morgan right before the wedding ceremony

Tubby time!

OUR LITTLE PIGGY

Have you ever wished you had a 3rd hand? 2 hands not enough? Perhaps you have delightful cookie in your left hand, a tasty cracker in your right, but there are pieces of food still on the table. How can you control this problem? Well our child has figured out how to handle this situation. She is so smart...