Decorating the Tree

We had a great time decorating the tree! One of our family traditions is to wear funny hats when we decorate the tree. This year we decided to make them!

 

 Iyla LOVED the tree topper angel! She held it like a baby and rocked it! Soo cute!!

 While Jacob went to get an extention cord Iyla decided to get a head start on hanging the lights all by herself!

 Isabella joined in on the fun!

sooooo pretty!!

The town Spaghetti feed

Our litte town has several families in need this Christmas season. And in true small town manner we have all rallied around to make a merry Christmas for some kids who might go without this season. The town hosted a Speghetti Feed and toy drive. We went and broght a toy with us. After we ate your yummy food they had a girl from the town come on stage and sing a few Christmas Carols. When she was done Bella told me she wanted to go up on stage and sing. And she did! I took a video of her. It is really dark for some reason and sideways but you can still hear her.




Here are some photos of the event!

 Bella loved the food!

Iyla kept running off! Typical 2 year old!

 There is my honey!!!

Here are the toys that were brought. There also was a giving tree. I went over to see waht kinds of toys the kids had asked for and what I saw just stunned me. There were hardly any toy requests. Most of the requests were for blankets, socks, lotion, and bath supplies. It broke my heart to see these. My kids really do have so much and I just felt like I could do something to help. I ended up taking quite a few tags and went shopping! I am also making some blankets. I shared this with a few friends and was overwhelmed with the offers of help. One friend opened her wallet and just handed over some money to buy more toys! I am going shopping again soon to gert a few more things. we can't do much and I wish we could do more.

The toys are due by the 15th. Santa is going to come and help pass out the toys on the 19th. The townfolk we so taken by isabella's singing they asked her to be an elf for the day and help Santa pass out the gifts. I think this is going to be an event to remember. She is well taken care of and she knows it. I think it will be nice for her to get a glimpse on how other kids live. We are truly so blessed and it feels really good to be able togive back.

The Snow in Bucoda

Here is a few shots of our little town from our recent snowfall

 This is a shot of the sun coming up in the valley

 This is our holly tree. jacob's parents will love this picture since thy saw this tree before Jacob pruned it!

 these are the ornemental plum trees. Isabella and her friend made birdfeeders to hang in the tree!

 Here is the Main Street in town

 The historical park

 The Scooumchuck river

Bella made a snow angel!!

Making Gingerbread cookies!

The girls helped me make gingerbread cookies and wanted to make a video!

Getting our Christmas tree!

we went to Ames Tree farm the saturday ofter Thanksgiving and cut down our Christmas tree

 we looked for nearly 25 minutes until we found our perfect tree.

 Both girls got a chanceto help cut it down! Iyla thought it was so funny!

Our little cutie pies! They had a blast!!

We got an 11 ft tree! It was a monster! we did cut of a few feet once we got the tree home.

we got it all set up in the living room in front of the picture window. It is so beautiful!!

It Snowed!!!

 The girls made a snowman. They had a blast! we didn't have a corn cob pipe so Bella got a kazoo instead.



Sorry this picture is sideways I can't get it to rotate.

The girls also had me takea video of them playing in the snow! Enjoy!

Halloween Time!

I didn't get a picture of the girls in there costumes but I did get a snapshot of our house all decked out!

Isabella loved going out and sweeping the front walk. It's fun having a yard for our kids to play in

For Halloween Isabella was a teacher fairy. Iyla was Minnie Mouse. They looked really cute and I am way sad I didn't take any pictures. The girls went to grandma's ward halloween party on saturday. On halloween we had the missionaries over for dinner and the girls stayed in and passed out candy. We didn't go trick or treating since halloween was on a Sunday this year. Isabella was just fine with it too. She told me "Sunday is WAY more important the halloween. Sunday is about Jesus!!" I love that she is forming a testimony of her Savior.

Fall time in the Gifford House

I think the theme of this fall is APPLES APPLES APPLES!!! I feel like all I have been doing is processing apples! We have been enjoying it but I am about ready to be done with apples! Check out my Helpful Hint's blog for a fun fall recipe!

 Fall time in our new home is so much fun! we live in a river valley and the view of the ridge with it's changing leaves are so pretty. I would have posted a picture but my camera batteries died and we are waiting for the next paycheck to buy more since they are so expensive!

We are winding down our school year and that has been kind of fun! We are very excited to finally be done with Kindergarten! Our school year runs mid January to October. I really love doing school during summer. There is so much awesome stuff you can do outdoors in summer that is educational and I love not having to plan school around the Holidays! I think it's a win win!!We are planning Bella's Kindergarten Graduation at the moment. If you would like to come please let us know so we can get you an invite! She is getting so smart. She is doing math, writing, she is starting to read, it's amazing to me how fast she is growing up! She was just a tiny baby a second ago.

Iyla is having fun being two. She LOVES being two and everything that goes with it! Tantrums, climbing on everything, getting into everything, learning to color (especially on the walls!!! grrrrr) and just being cute! I love my girls so much!

As far as my pregnancy is going, I am 24 weeks at the moment and things are going pretty good. Jacob and Bella felt the baby kicking the other day for the first time and that was pretty exciting. My morning sickness has not been getting any better so the DR. put me on Raglan and it is helping. I hate taking meds but I hate throwing up more! So I guess I am just going to have deal with it and be grateful it's working!

Well, that's all for now! Type ya later!!

Here is some pictures of our living room in our new house. There are not the best pictures but I did my best. I hope  you like them!

Pictures and Stories!!!

First off I would like to announce that we have decided to get the Internet again. It was getting a little difficult for us to survive without it. We were very unaware how Internet based our society is. It was getting harder and harder to do anything from bill paying to communication without the Internet. So we gave in and got it. But we still refuse to get TV!!! It has been so nice this election season to honestly say I have not see one single attack ad or smear campaign ad!! I am rather enjoying it!!

We have had so much fun lately and I thought I would share some of them with you. In Tenino there is a 50's style diner. The food is great and the owner LOVES Hot rods!! Every Friday in the summer he has a car show and Isabella just happens to absolutely adore hot rods! Go figure!! we went to the end of summer show and Bella was taken with this car and it's "flame job" as she called it. I think she got that phrase from the Disney/Pixar movie "Cars"!!

We have a small garden this year since we got into the house so late but we did give it our best shot! Or Zucchini plant was a big disappointment, or so I thought. I went out there the other day and this is what I found...

 I was shocked!! That plant has been it the ground for months and not a hint of anything. I hope it gets a chance to get a little bigger! We will just have to wait and see!!


We have a cloths line. I have always wanted to get one and now that we have a house I got Jacob to put one up for me! This is a picture of Iyla's diapers drying in the sunshine. The blue ones and the red ones are diapers I made myself!

The girls are growing like weeds and loving life as always! Isabella taught Iyla a new trick! I get tongues wiggled at me several times a day now! So of course I HAD to get a picture of it!

More to come soon! (I promise!!!)

A few Pictures of the Kitchen!

Here are a few before and after shots of the kitchen. They are not the final official ones but they show just how different a little elbow grease and some paint can make!!

Before

After

Jacob also installed a bar for the girls to sit at. I love it because I can keep the dining room and the dining room table clear and clean during to day!

I hope to have more pictures taken soon so you can see what else we have been working on!!

Losing a friend…

Loss is part of the cycle of life. I know that eventually everyone I know will pass away and so will I. Hopefully that day won’t come for some time yet for me but it seems that for many of the people I know the time is now. In the past 6 years I have lost several friends, All of whom are my age and all in very different circumstances; some by illness, some intentional, and some by horrible accident. All have been sudden and very devastating.  I have had many opportunities to think on my own mortality, to take stock on what I am doing in my life and what I can do to improve my relationships with my family and friends. I can honestly say I love everyone I know. I might not get along with everyone every second of the day but I do love them. I really hope that I am the kind of friend and family member the Lord wants me to be.

It is so hard to lose a friend especially at my age. I am only 28 for goodness sake and I have attended more funerals these past few years then weddings. It is so heart breaking. This past week I think was one of the harder losses for me. I was sitting and flipping through the paper and happened on the obituaries and there as big as anything was a picture of a very good friend from high School. This person had died suddenly of a heart condition. I was stunned, I was sad, and as I read I got a little angry. They ran the obituary the same day as the memorial service and by the time I had a chance to read the paper the time of the service had pasted and I missed it. It didn’t even get a chance to say good bye or mourn with the family or any of my other friends that would have been there. 

One thing that has helped me to deal with all of this loss is my testimony in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. Knowing who I am where I came from and where I am going after this life is such a comfort.  Also I hope those I love know how I feel about them. One of my friends who passed last month I distinctly remember the last time I talked to them I told them I loved them and gave them a hug. So I guess what I trying to say is tell people how you feel about them because, trust me on this, you never know when it will be the last time you see them in this life.

Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy... We're Having A GIRL!!!

We found out the gender of the baby! We are having a

GIRL!!!!!

We are so excited!!!

A Birthday, a Memory, a Water heater, and a Huge Book!

(I FINALLY HAVE PICTURES!!!)

Well everyone, I have to begin yet another blog with an apology; I am SO sorry that I have not blogged in such a long time! I have still not gotten a thumb drive and for good reason too (I will explain shortly)! Things have remained crazy as I suspect they will for some time! I will do my best to update you all without boring you to tears. So sit back and relax, this is going to be a long one!

                Last time I blogged I told you about my last Dr. appointment. It seems crazy to me that was weeks and weeks ago! In that time Iyla turned 2! We had her party a bit early to make it easier for everyone who came to our house warming.

 Here are a few pictures of her party! 

 

 As a tradition in our home, all 2 year old kids get a clown cake. I think it turned out great!

Iyla was the birthday Princess!!

 Bella and some of her fiends ham it up for the camera!

Her actual birthday was kind of low key although she did have birthday pancakes! I made pancakes with sprinkles on them and put a candle on top of the small stack and we sang “Happy Birthday” to her.

Thinking back on the last year of her life it’s hard to imagine we have fit so much life into one year. A year ago we were in the middle of her burn crisis. We were balancing trips to the burn unit with my physical therapy and dr. visits plus dealing with the loss of our baby. If you would have told me then that a year later we would be expecting again, have bought a home and Iyla’s hand would be perfectly healed I would have thought you were nuts! It’s amazing to me how you go through trials in your life and at the time things seem so bad and you can’t even comprehend getting blessings for your righteous efforts. During that time I remember turning to the Lord more then I ever had in my life. My husband and I were completely united and that time in our lives was one of love, understanding, service and compassion. Even though we were going through our own personal “hell” we never turned our back on our Heavenly Father or each other. The phrase being blessed in your trials is so true. I can testify of that! I remember while I was sitting in the ER with Iyla, I was thanking my Heavenly Father the burns were not worse, that Bella was not in the room when the accident happened, and that we lived so close to a hospital, and on and on. In the following weeks for some reason I didn’t think about how bad things were, my thought kept returning to my blessings.  I think that is one of the main reasons I stayed so sane while my world was so hard. Coming out of that it is amazing how much closer I am to my children, my Husband, and most of all, my Heavenly Father.

 sorry the picture is sideways but oh well!

An interesting thing that has happened these few weeks is our water heater broke! It was kind of sudden too. I took a shower and about 2 hours later went to wash dishes there was no hot water. I thought that was pretty odd so I waited another 3 hours and tried again to get hot water. I let the tap run for 5 minutes (feeling guilty the whole time that I was wasting water!!) and no hot water! I was pretty mad. We went to the home depot store and looked into getting a new water heater. They are not too expensive, priced at around $250 to $500 but it’s the instillation that gets ya! It’s another $500 plus just to get the thing installed!!! I was flabbergasted!! The salesman asked us what had happened and he suggested that maybe we could just replace the water heater elements and that just might fix the problem. He gave us a plumbers repair kit (containing 2 elements [4500 watts] and temp gauge replacement panels)  and an element wrench with a can of WD-40. We went to the book section and got the plumbing book with picture directions and a full list of all equipment needed. We went over to the electrical section and got a connectivity tester (especially made for water heaters) and a voltage tester. We were pretty impressed with ourselves that we got everything we needed with only one trip to the hardware store! And what’s more, our total at checkout was only $77! We drove home feeling pretty pleased with ourselves! Once we got home we read the directions a few more times to make sure we really knew what we were doing and we started. First we turned off all the power from the power box and then we tested the connectivity of each element and sure enough they were both broken. Then we tested the main wires to make doubly sure there was no electricity going to the water heater. We then hooked up the hose to the bottom of the water heater to drain it. After we got it emptied we used that element wrench and took out the old elements. By this point we were getting pretty excited that this would be a quick fix; and then we tried to put in the new elements. They were too small! We looked at the old elements and noticed they were 5500 watts and the ones we bought were 4500. We called the home depot store again and they told us that they did not carry that kind of element and to try Olympia Supply and see if they had it. So the next day we went and returned the elements kit to the store and went to Olympia Supply, this time with the old element in hand to show them what we needed. They didn’t have them in stock either but they said they would order them but it would take a week for them to get there!! That was not what I wanted to hear but I didn’t’ see any other choice so we waited the week for them to come in. In the mean time I got very good at boiling water to wash dishes and we went to my mom’s house to take showers. The one thing that was most frustrating was not getting the diapers as clean as I wanted them. It’s not the best idea to wash diapers in cold water! So I had to wash them 4 times before they smelled halfway decent!

Well, the week passed and we went to pick up the new elements and got them home and they didn’t fit either!!! I could have smashed a hole in the wall I was so mad!! At that moment I noticed a small sticker that said the element was a special size 1 3/8 inch diameter. I love how we don’t notice the small details on our quest to rush a job!! I didn’t know what to do next so I did what I should have done when this whole water heater thing began, I said a prayer. After my prayer I put the girls down for their naps and went to rest on the couch. I couldn’t get my mind to turn off. I had the idea to try calling a few plumbing supply stores. I didn’t think it would work that well because it was Labor Day and I was convinced they would all be closed but I have decided a long time ago to stop doubting the prompting I receive and just give it a try. So I got the phone book out and wrote down a few numbers and gave them a call. And as I suspected they were all closed.  Then I got the idea to try another hardware store. I turned the phone book to the hardware section and staring me in the face was the number to the local Ace Hardware in Tenino. I thought it was an even longer shot then calling the plumbing supply stores but again, I was at least going to give it a shot. I called explained to the guy on the phone that we were looking for a special water heater element and about all of the hassle we had gone through. He told me that they were ordering that day and if I brought in the element they would be able to order the right one. Jacob came home from work and I told him what I had discovered and he took the element to the store in town. About 30 mins later he came home again… WITH THE ELEMENTS WE NEEDED!!!!!!!! Apparently they carried them in stock! We quickly installed them, and they fit perfectly!! We filled the water heater with water and crossed our fingers that the elements were the only thing wrong with the water heater. About 3 hours later we tested the water and… HOT WATER!! We were so excited!

I will never again take hot water for granted. I have learned that hot water is a luxury. You can live without it. Life is a bit harder but you don’t need it to live. This experience has helped me really analyze what truly is a need and what is a want. Who knew being a homeowner could boost my testimony so much.

Let’s see, oh I joined my Ward’s Relief Society Book Club.  They are reading Jesus the Christ by Elder James E. Talmage. They are taking the year to read it but since we moved into the ward just a few months ago they are way ahead of my but I am determined to catch up with them. Right now I am in chapter 10 and the next meeting is Oct. 14^th and we should have read up to chapter 37! So I figure if I read a chapter a day (giving 3 days to chapter 27 [that chapter is a monster!]) I will hopefully be caught up. For those of you who have never read this book let me tell you it is NOT easy reading. Talmage is famous for being wordy and having an amazing vocabulary. Next to the book I have an unabridged dictionary of the English language written back in the 60’s. It weighs at least 15 pounds and has words in it I have never heard of! But is has been an invaluable tool in trying to understand this book. I am just loving all of the insight I am gaining in the life of Jesus, the Savior of Mankind. I read it out to Jacob at bed time. He doesn’t mind and it seems to help me understand what I am reading better if I read it out loud. It is nice to read it with Jacob. We have a chance to have some great spiritual conversations. I just love sharing my testimony of Christ every night to my husband. At first I was pretty skeptical about trying to read this book but it is turning out to be am amazing experience for Jacob and I and I feel like we are getting even closer.

Our house , is a very very very fine house!

We had our house warming this weekend. It was fun and I really enjoied showing off all of our hard work to our friends.( I am sorry to say yet again I have no pictures to share. I do have a plan to fix that, I'll tell you in a minute.) We also had a small party for Iyla's upcoming 2nd birthday. She loved her presents and has had fun sharing them with her sister.

For some unknown reason to us every time we tell people in our new ward we bought a house in Bucoda we get the same responses, "oh... why did you buy a house there" or "Bucoda huh? okkkkk" And then when they come over we get hear EVERY TIME " WOW what a nice home you have" in the most surprised voice you have ever heard! I have bordered on amusement and offense. The people we have met in town are very nice and friendly. Yes, there are a lot of mobile homes in town and no stoplights with only 2 places of business but the people are hardworking and we happen to like it a lot. I have begun to wonder if we look like poor white trash that everyone assumes that we live in squalor or just because we live in a tiny town that is not on most maps. And I have also wondered why Bucoda has such a bad reputation.I just don't understand it!!!

We have worked hard for our whole married life to be able to own a home and when we found this house we just knew it would be a great place to raise our family. We are vastly contented with our situation and would not change anything (except maybe a better paying job!!)

We investigated wither or not we would get the internet in our home. We found out that neither Qwest or Comcast are available in our area and the only phone/ internet company is in Tenino. They have quite the monopoly on the market and can charge whatever they please and they do! We can't see spending over 75 dollars a month for a basic phone without any features and internet so we have made the painful decision not to get the internet. But I do want to continue with my blog so I have come up with a plan. I am getting a thumb drive and write my blogs and download pictures on it and when we go to the Library on Wednesdays I can stick them all online. So I hope to have a few every week. that way I can have pictures again so you can see what has been going on with us. I hope it works out well and I can try to keep this blog updated better.