Why?

What horror stories you ask? Well, I am sure you have heard of the child predators out there that like to find pictures of children and sell them to other predators. Also, my brother who works in the computer world showed me how easy it was to find out where I lived. Especially since I have everyones name on the blog, and where I live. Also, if you search your name on the internet, your blog pops up! I couldn't believe it! It does creep me out that my girls names and pictures are online, and if someone wanted to find them it wouldn't be that hard.

I too HATE going private! I have avoided it. I hate logging in to see others blogs, and I know less people will come and visit me. BUT, I also hate the idea of putting the girls out there with their names.

That's why I am going private soon.

Thoughts?

Going Private

I am making my blog private. I am not happy about it, but I have heard enough horror stories to change my mind. I hate logging in to see other's blogs, and I know that less people will come and visit me when I make mine private, but the main reason for doing this blog is for my journaling purposes anyway. If you would like an invite please email me. lov2dezign@yahoo.com

And PLEASE still come and see me!

Take the good with the bad

I woke up Saturday morning, started making breakfast, and all of a sudden I couldn't see. I knew what that meant...I had a HUGE migraine coming on. Before I had ever had a migraine, and people would tell me they had one and couldn't function I would think, "Yeah right, it's a headache! Get over it!" Boy do I feel bad now! These things are killer! I had to keep my eyes closed, my head was throbbing, and I felt so nauseous. I felt like I had the flu. Anyway, I was out for the day. Thank goodness Chad took care of the girls and everything for me.

Then that night Taylor was up all night, and coming down with a cold. So, here I sit with a very sick Taylor, while Chad and Katelyn are at church. It has been a long weekend, and hopefully Taylor gets better before Wednesday, when we head for St George.

On a wonderful note...Friday was a great day! Chad sent me flowers in the morning...that feeling of someone knocking on the door and handing YOU roses never gets old! Then that night we went to see the play "The Scarlet Pimpernel" and went out to our favorite Sushi place! At least Friday went perfect!

One more Halloween note...my sister in law had this AWESOME decorating idea! She gets those cheap $1 frames from Michaels, modge podges them with cute Halloween paper and puts in pictures of the kids in their costumes from years past. I thought the idea was brilliant and made some frames for myself. They look cute around the house and they are cheap!

More Projects

I found this chair at DI for $10 and saw its potential for the girls room. Here's the before: (I forgot to take a picture before I primed it-just imagine it a honey color)

And here's the after: The picture isn't that great but I LOVE the cushion! Thanks to my friend Kim who came over and showed me how to do it. I am thinking I might want to learn to sew (I never thought I would say that!) But I get excited thinking about all of the decorating I could do and money I would save if I sewed.

Here's what our mantle looks like for Halloween. I love how my glitter pumpkins turned out!

And here's my spooky Halloween tree. The picture doesn't do it justice. I just found some branches outside and spray painted them black. Then I made a paper chain with Halloween paper and ornaments.

Buddy Walk

Last weekend we had the opportunity to attend the Buddy Walk event in honor of my cousin Jen's sweet baby Addison and other people with Down Syndrome. Byron and Hayley came with us, as well as a whole bunch of my extended family. I wish I got a group shot of all of us there! There was a great turnout and it was so much fun! They had a huge carnival set up with tons of games and fun stuff for the kids. I couldn't believe that we only paid $6 each to go towards the charity and got lunch, cotton candy, prizes, games and entertainment for it! We then went on a walk with everyone who attended and that was a cool site to see! I am so glad that we went and we will be attending every year! Jen's family and little Addison have had a very tough, but blessed year! Addison sure does have a strong spirit and we are lucky that she joined our family!

Butterflies

For Taylor's birthday we gave her a butterfly kit (you get 5 caterpillars in the mail and watch them become butterflies). We gave Katelyn one for her 2nd birthday and she absolutely loved them! We actually saw one come out of its cocoon and Katelyn was fascinated. This is the best birthday gift. When the butterflies first come out they can't fly, so they sat on the girls' fingers. It is amazing and fun to watch the process, and to watch the girls enjoy them!

Babies in the zoo

A lot of the animals in the zoo had babies recently, so the girls were excited to go. It was so neat to see a newborn elephant, giraffe and tigers. The girls loved watching the babies and it was a fun family day. They also loved the dippin dots!

One year, and counting!

This weekend, a year ago was when Chad and I first met. I can't believe it has been a year, but it also feels like we have known eachother A LOT longer than that. Looking back at pictures from right before I met Chad I take myself back....

In August, at Byron and Hayley's wedding, I had reached my lowest point. I looked around me and wondered (doubted) if I would ever find someone and truly be happy. As I was holding Taylor (who was crying), I was watching all the happy couples on the dance floor, and couldn't help but cry. I never thought I would be at that point. It was hard.

Then my friend talked me into going to a Singles Conference in San Francisco, and I talked Jene into going. I didn't have huge expectations, and when I arrived there my doubts were confirmed. I wondered why I signed up to be a part of such a huge meat market! But we still had fun. I met Chad while speed dating (wahoo!) the first night. There were no sparks, and we only talked for a few minutes. I met other guys throughout the weekend, but for some reason I kept running into Chad and his friend Mark. We ran into eachother a final time at the airport when we were heading home. Chad said, "It was nice meeting you and I will see you again." I thought, "Yeah right! You live in another state buddy!" Well, long story short Chad pursued me, and came to see me every month. I also came up here to see him every month. It was a lot of fun, but I was so afraid. Spiritually I knew it was right, and I knew Chad was right. I was just trying to keep up!

We got married in April and life has been good. There has been a lot of adjusting on both of our parts, but our family just fits together perfectly. Chad, the girls, and I just fit...like we were always together. When I was single I made a list of my "perfect man"-it was much different than the one I made as a teenager. My sister pointed out to me that Chad perfectly fit the description...and he did. Chad is my perfect mate. I know that he is here to love me, stretch me to my full potential, support me, make me laugh and make me feel beautiful by just being me. I am most grateful for the way that Chad accepts me and loves me for who I am. I have never felt that love before and I feel so blessed to be able to feel it in this life.

Thanks Babe for all that you do and for a fun and crazy year! Here's to MANY more!

Our Singing Girl

Taylor just had her 2 year check up-a little late I know. Here are her stats:

25 lbs (the same Katelyn weighed at 1 year!!)

33" tall

These videos I took today. Taylor is ALWAYS singing, dancing, reading and talking to herself. Her vocabulary amazes me. She is now obsessed with colors and knows how to say them all. She can correctly identify 3 of them. She has so much spunk and loves to be the center of attention. She makes us smile and laugh all day long. And along with her giant personality comes lots of sass! She is LOUD and lets you know when she doesn't like something. She can handle her own with Katelyn and is often the instigator.

Preschool

Today was Katelyn's first day of Preschool. Here she is with her partner in crime and cousin Morgan. She is going 5 days a week and I am so excited! I think it will be great for her and me! She is so excited and loves the school.

Here are two more Halloween decor items I made...I love how the "Boo" plates turned out

New Dining Set

We got this table and chairs in St George and love it! It has a marble top, so it is VERY kid friendly and easy to wipe off. The chairs wipe right off too! We got this whole set for $670!

I can't wait to see it in a new house:)

When we were in St George, we went to Chad's family's property in Overton and cleared out the house. We came home with a couple antiques that I am excited to reupholster and fix up. With those, the rocking chair for the girls and Halloween decor I have my plate full of projects! Love it! Now, if only the girls will cooperate and give me some time to do them:)

Here's my first Halloween project-I love modge podge! You can't tell how cute the paper is that I used because of the glare, but I love how they turned out. The girls love playing with them too. Now off to my other decorations!

St. George

For Labor Day weekend, we drove down to St. George for some family fun! The girls of course had a blast playing with all of their cousins, and it was fun to leave town for a couple of days. We went swimming, ate a TON of food and went to an awesome park with fun water stuff.

We also enjoyed the Labor Day sales and did some furniture shopping. I will post some pics later. We are so blessed to have Chad's family condos down there!

Projects

We have been doing fun stuff lately, I just haven't brought my camera! Here are a few pictures:

Last week we drove out to Chris and Melanie's in Daybreak for the day. It was fun to hang out with Melanie, and we both have two girls close to the same age. I have enjoyed getting to know my long lost cousin and his wife. Melanie and I both graduated in Interior Design and have a lot in common, so it has been good for me to hang out with her. There are few people here who I feel close to, and feel like I can be myself with..she is one of them. A couple days later we went out there again for dinner. Thanks guys for letting us come and play!

Chad's sisters, our friend Leslie and I took the kids to Liberty Park and Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake. The kids loved to look at the birds and the bird show. Katelyn wasn't cooperating and refused to get in the picture:(

On another note...I have the creative juices flowing and am in some serious need to doing something design related. Since we haven't settled in a new house yet, I can't really decorate a house, so I decided to work on Halloween decorations! I am doing several things and am excited to see how they turn out. Also, I got an awesome childrens rocking chair at DI for $10! I am going to repaint it, and redo the seat cushion. I found the most adorable shabby chic fabric and am excited to see the result! It feels good to get creative!