Snow

Now that I've got a Facebook pager for my blog, maybe I'll be better about keeping up on it! 

We had the worst storm of the season for our area (meaning neighborhood) two nights ago. Before this one, the most snow we got was maybe 2" deep. This last storm was probably around 5". 

Thankfully we didn't lose power and I didn't have to go anywhere, so I didn't have to deal with icy roads! That means I got to enjoy the snow once again!

It's weird to live in a place that gets snow, but it's nice, too. I can't wait for more seasons!

 

The start of the snowstorm

1:30am - no flash, still light. (The car had been brushed off once by that point.)

The street. 

After the walk was shoveled. 

Snow is actually really pretty, and I'm glad I get to live in it for now. 

Smashing Good Time: a thumb update

It's been almost a week since I smashed my thumb! And boy has it been an interesting week with a half useless thumb. 

The third day after the smash, Jason took his Dremel tool and cut a small hole in the nail to drain the blood pooled under the nail. It felt so much better after that!

I'm still hoping I don't lose it, but only time will tell what will happen. 

From Friday. 

Monday night

At the time of posting. 

Car door vs. Courtney's thumb

WARNING: Pictures are not for the faint of heart. Or at least not for people who can't stand really bad bruises. 

So, Tuesday I had a relief society meeting. It was after a couple of long days with E filled with crying from both of us. The meeting was fun, and besides being afraid to drive in the dark Virginian roads, I made it home safe. 

I gather all of my things and get out of the car. Then I closed the door. Now, I honestly don't remember where my hand was exactly or why. The only thing I can think is that I had my right hand leaning against the car as support because I was close to the grass and there's a few inch difference between the grass and the driveway. The ground is higher than the driveway. 

Next thing I know is that my hand is stuck in the door. Bad mistake? Besides leaning against the car, I tried to wiggle freely hand free when my brain was trying to tell me to just unlock it and pull my hand out. 

Our car is a manual lock. We don't have a key fob. So I have to physically unlock the door with my left hand, open it with my left, and then pull my right hand out and relock it and close the door. 

When my thumb was stuck, it was just the tip. And it didn't hurt like you would think. It just felt like a bunch of pressure. Now it hurts like the dickens. 

Anyways, so I run into the house, take off one boot and then go to find J so he can help me take care of it. He touches it to make sure it's not broken. He didn't think it was. The nail hurts too much for me to know if the tip is broken or not. 

I ice it, but didn't get much sleep. So, now it's a day and a half later, still swollen, black and purple and hurts like heck whenever it gets touched. 

Moral of the story, don't get in a fight or careless with car doors. 

Night of. 

The next morning

Ombré 

24 hours

Today. 

A move, a 4 month old, Christmas, and a resolution

So, things are pretty hectic around here still. After almost 4 weeks at temporary housing, we finally closed on our house! And I learned to be careful who you believe. We were told the seller was grumpy, but when we met them, they were actually a really nice couple who had lived in the house for 50 years! So we closed Dec. 23rd, and our stuff arrived on Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas to us!

On the 22nd of December, E turned 4 months! I can't believe she's grown so much, and she has just made leaps and bounds in what she's able to do since we moved into the house!

Christmas was very small, yet very big this year. haha I say small, because we didn't decorate, get a tree, wrap presents or do any of our traditional Christmas things. I say big, because we have so many boxes, it's a little ridiculous! So for the past 2+ weeks it's been Christmas while we figure out what is in what box and find places to put things.

My resolution last year was to be happier. I don't know if I can honestly gage and say I was a lot happier. The year started out really rough, and being happy was hard. But after finding out I was pregnant, turning in my resignation, and feeling the relief of not having work anymore, I definitely was much happier. So, I will say it was a partial success.

This year, my resolution is to become a little better. That means a lot of different things. I need to be better at disconnecting from the web. I need to be a better, more attentive mom and wife. I need to be better at personal scripture study and prayers. I want to improve my art and writing capabilities. So in that one goal, there are many little goals. Hopefully I'll accomplish it!

Hopefully this week I'll do a 2014 year in review post, like so many people have done. I really like to look back. But we'll see what with all the boxes to go through and organize!

And now get ready for picture overload!

Sitting up with some support (in the temp housing)

One of the cloudy days we've had

I love her expressions!

Ready to go outside 

First time outside at the park near our house

My first real fall!

Wondering what Mom is doing.

The view from the front of our church building

Our church building, less than a mile from Mount Vernon!

I so wanted this for her when I saw it! She's still too little though.

A really old building. Possibly part of the George Washington Distillery and Gristmill. :D

How most of our house still looks!

First Christmas!

First Christmas present, and first time being in it! She's a fan.

My little bunny

Signing for the house. It was cold!

From our front porch swing: Our stuff arrived!

Our side yard (South side)

Braving the outdoors

Getting so big!

Welcome to Virginia

Yesterday, Thanksgiving day, was spent traveling from Arizona to Virginia. 

The first part of the flight was pretty good. We took off. E was content as soon as she was eating. She was awake for a little while and then she slept for an hour or a little more. That gave mommy some quiet time to play games and draw. It was nice that there were a few other mothers on board with children. 

The second leg, from Nashville to DC was less nice. E didn't really want to eat on the ascent, so that might have affected her ears. Plus she was tired, so that didn't help. She cried for most of the hour fifteen flight, which didn't help mom's headache and tiredness. 

We survived the flying, and J came to pick us up. I had a breakdown as J was trying to find us because I had a screaming baby in a stroller, two large pieces of luggage, and a pounding headache. But again, we survived! We went to our extended stay hotel/apartment thing and tried to go to sleep. 

Key word: tried. 

I slept maybe 9:30 to 11:30 until baby woke up. Then we were awake until about 2:30 when baby woke up again. Then 6:30 wake up and again at 9:30. 

After working 5 nights, J had a hard time sleeping, too. 

I am so glad we are back with daddy, but I am sad that I had to leave family in Arizona. 

It's onto new adventures! 

Waiting for take off

The second leg was pretty much empty with only 32 people on the whole plane. (The first leg was pretty packed.)

Three months

Yesterday E turned 3 months! It's hard to believe she's been a part of our family for that long, and it seems so short! 

E can sit up by herself when she has a support behind her. Plus she can hold herself up for like 3 seconds on her very own. She holds her head up like no ones business! She is happy when she is upright, and loves being in a walker… for about 15 minutes. 

She coos and smiles a lot, especially right after she wakes up! She was getting close to sleeping through the night in her crib, but then the packers came. (I'll post about that soon.) 

She still hates tummy time, but will occasionally be okay with it. 

She was blessed by J on November 2 in a beautiful dress. She had some beautiful blessings. She started crying halfway through, though. (She hates to lay down, which I think is why she cried.)

Now on to the pictures!! 

Somewhat happy during tummy time. 

Family picture!!

Sitting up with just the boppy for support. 

Some of E's best faces during family pictures. 

Hanging out in the walker at my parents' house. 

Her beautiful big eyes!!

I love her so very much!!

It's Ali's Birthday!!!

I'm helping out again this year on Ali's blog Our Happily Ever After for her birthday week of giveaways!

You can win a custom portrait (family or pet) created digitally by yours truly! So go head on over and check it out!