Reasons Why I Love My Husband

Let's just give a shout out to my wonderful husband. Jake has been so great this past month, with all the changes of moving and the challenges of a new job, and I just want to acknowledge him for that.

First off, it's the little things that count. Today I had to go home early from work because I've gotten sick, apparently. (It's hard to edit with a headache, go figure) Now we only have one car right now, so this means Jake had to come get me and take me home, which took up his entire lunch break and also a little more so that meant he had to stay late at work. So I felt bad for asking him to come get me, but he didn't complain, he just came to the rescue.

Then he called me on his way home and heard how awful I sounded, so he offered to stop for dinner. And being the awesome husband he is, he stopped at Zupas and got me my favorite tomato basil soup. So good! I felt much better afterwards, no lie. And now we really need groceries, so he went to the store for us so we don't starve. Awah.

And this is silly, but Jake knows that I really don't like cherry flavored candy (left over child-medicine issue) so when he brought some fun-size starbursts home from work, I got totally bummed every time I opened one and saw there were two red ones. So the next day, when he packed me some in my lunch, he opened them all so he could make sure there were no red ones in there. I mean, seriously who thinks of stuff like that. What a sweetheart!

Another thing, if you don't know this about Jake, he is totally an introvert. Like someone mentioned to me that they tried to talk to me after church and we were already gone. He's just like, alright, the chairs in the cultural hall are up, let's go! and we bolt for the door. But Jake also knows that I need social time and I want to make friends here, so he's been making an effort. When it's been a while since we've seen our friends, Jake suggests that we that we do something with them, even though I know he would rather stay home in his jammies and watch some netflix. He also has joined the church ball team and goes each Tuesday night. He gets to play basketball, and I'm happy to know that people in our ward actually know who we are.

Arizona, New Home Sweet Home

Jake and I are finally starting to settle in to our new Arizona home, so I thought I'd give everyone a little update. Most people were pretty surprised we moved to Arizona, which is understandable considering we decided to move and packed up and moved down here all in two weeks time.

Jake and I had decided that our seasonal jobs were basically over and instead of getting more dead-end jobs where we didn't want to stay, we'd move to a new place and try our luck there. Arizona appealed to us because of the warmer weather and it seemed like a natural post-BYU stopping place. So we applied for an apartment in the same complex as some of our friends that moved down here recently and got a little one bedroom apartment down here. It's a little smaller than our place in provo, but the living room is bigger so the space is more usable. We can actually fit both couches in the same room now!

We were a little anxious about moving down here without any firm job prospects, but my parents were really supportive and told us they'd back us up. Honestly it just made sense for Jake's career plan for us to move down here. There's a new assisted living place practically every 20 feet, so lots more job opportunity. And for me, there's about 4 times as many people in Mesa as there was in Provo, so there's bound to be more editing jobs just because of population density.

After about a week of looking, we'd applied to literally hundreds of jobs (and I actually mean literally). We had a couple of interviews pretty soon and then we got hired! Jake is working at an assisted living facility called Osbourne Health and Rehab as an assistant activities director. It's only part time for now, but it's more hours than his Toys R Us job, high pay, and most importantly: it's actually in his field! He's one of the first guys they've hired in his position, I think so I think they're still learning how to incorporate his talents. He's been baking cookies for a bake sale and painting nails on "spa day" so he's certainly learning some new skills! (He assures me his nail-painting skills are fine, but he's never been able to help me with mine without it ending in disaster, so I'm skeptical.)

I interviewed at a couple of places, one I thought I'd really like to work at, and another at an accounting firm as a "correspondence coordinator." I couldn't tell what that meant, but I was qualified so I went into the interview and about halfway through they were asking questions like, "So what made you apply for this job?" "Now that you've learned more about the job, does it still sounds like something you want to do?"So basically we were both wondering what in the world I was doing there.

Luckily I got a job at the first place I interviewed, so we don't have to worry about how sad my life would be at the accounting place. So now I'm a Junior Content Coordinator at Textlinkbrokers.com. I edit articles to post on third party sites to help promote client websites. We do other things too, but I'm not doing those yet, so I'm still a little fuzzy on how they work. For the most part, my job will consist of editing articles like the ones I used to write for my freelance job.

I like my job, it's editing and all the wonderfulness that I've missed so much. They told me I got the highest editing score on their test, so they're glad to have me on board. This is the lovely photo the entire company was emailed earlier this week:

The caption said: Kelsey Webb has joined the Marketing Fulfillment department as its newest Jr. Content Coordinator. In April 2013 Kelsey received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. While enrolled at BYU she worked on the student journal as an editor and most recently was employed as a freelance guest blogger at Boostability.

So I'm having a grand ole' time editing and reading articles and learning the ropes. The only drawbacks so far is that since I'm new they put me in an available cubicle, and I'm kind of by myself away from the rest of my team, so I feel a little lonely. That's really not that big of a deal, the main issue is that they use AP style and are strong against the Oxford comma. *Cue weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth* THE HORRORS! Needless to say it's going to take a little time for me to let go of my editing style in order to let the house style take over.

Other than that, we've been to a new ward a couple of times and it seems like a "Nearly dead and newly parented" to paraphrase an old saying. Most people seem over 60 or under 30 with 2-3 young kids. There aren't enough young men to pass the sacrament and such.

We're still working on unpacking, so I can't post pictures yet because I can't find the camera charger. Harley seems to be adjusting okay to the new place. There's lots of new windows to look out, and since we're on the second floor there's tree top birds to look at. We have venetian blinds on the windows so she just forces her way through them and sits in the window.

Sometimes you wish prayers stayed unanswered

So, if you know me you know I've been working as a graphic designer. My first job out of college, a real salary position, and with a publishing company. Everyone I'd talked to about it thought it sounded pretty glamorous and asked how fun it was. And although I know that it sounded pretty awesome, everyone could tell I was a little weird about it. It was pretty stressful, honestly. I didn't go to school to be a designer, and I just felt a little off-balance not being able to do as good of a job as I wanted. Even when I stayed late, worked a 50 hour week, I still felt behind. It probably took me a lot longer than the other designers to do anything, because I was still trying to learn how to use photoshop.

It was really frustrating to me, because feeling inadequate at my job is a feeling I've never had to deal with before. When I came home everyday I was pretty stressed, had a bad headache, and wasn't getting lot of sleep. I even gained 15 pounds, which is a huge issue for me, because I'd just spent months and months getting rid of those; now I have to start over. So knowing that this job was just something I thought I would try for a while, I was just trying to tough it out. On bad days I'd text Jake and half-jokingly ask him if I could just quit, and just not go back. I was pressuring him to look for jobs out of state because that way I'd have a good excuse to leave.

A friend of ours is applying to med schools and asked me if I could look over his application essays. When doing that I was surprised to realize how much I missed editing. Words are a million times more fun for me than pictures. But who can turn down a job in this economy? I didn't know if we should move somewhere else, or if we should stay here where I had a job and we already have a place to live and everything. When things were safe and secure here, I couldn't justify taking off on an unstable adventure. I was so stressed out by my job, but I hadn't been there long and thought I should just keep working and figure it out. But I was praying that Jake would find something far away, or something else would happen so I could leave my job without feeling guilt for leaving them in a lurch. Then this week, I was let go. They were concerned about all the same things I was stressing about, and figured it was time to find someone that could actually do the job.

Sure I was upset at first, being fired isn't exactly a picnic. But Heavenly Father knew what was best, and helped me make the decision. And the headache and pit in my stomach that have been there all month are gone. The past couple of days I've found myself stressing about a deadline coming up or wondering what I should do for ideas, and then I remember that I don't have to worry about it anymore. I'm a little sad to leave Cedar Fort, they're a nice company, but honestly I hated that job. I look forward to finding a real editing job and getting back to what I love, not to mention something I'm actually good at.

The Comeback Kid

I've been so terrible about posting stuff on my blog, and since it's the closest thing to a journal that I have I really should be doing it more often. So in an effort to do that, I'm going to start using Plinky.com again to give me prompts of things to post about and then at least I can post about those if I can't think of anything else to write. Sounds good right? Right. I knew you'd agree.

The Zone: Designing

Tell us about your favorite way to get lost in a simple activity — running, chopping vegetables, folding laundry, whatever. What’s it like when you’re in “the zone”?

I can totally get in the zone when I'm working on a design. I put my earphones in, turn on some music and zoom in on my photo and get to work. I love to listen to my "classic music" channel on Pandora. It's not really that classical, more like instrumental versions of songs (like what 2cellos does). But the important thing is that it's not too distracting but provides some soothing ambient sound that distracts my subconscious from trying to write my grocery list. The next thing I know it's been two and a half hours.

I've been using a website lately that tells me when it's been twenty minutes so I can give my eyes a rest so I don't get such bad headaches, and I can't believe how soon it goes off every time!

Relief Society Lesson about Loving Life and Learning

Enriching our lives

Topic assigned: We are women who “love live and learning”

What gives you fulfillment in your life? Not just what is fun, or what relaxes you, but when you are done, you think wow I feel good about myself and my life.

Hobbies

President Monson said, “Reading is one of the true pleasures of life. In our age of mass culture, when so much that we encounter is abridged, adulterated, shredded, and boiled down, it is mind–easing and mind–inspiring to sit down privately with a congenial book”. 

“No matter where we live, how old we are, or what our circumstances may be, we can always learn new things that will enrich our lives by making them more interesting and useful” (Relief Society Magazine, July 1967).

Hobbies can aid in spiritual development. Worthy music, dance, art, and writing are among the creative activities that can enrich the soul. A good hobby can dispel heartache and give zest to life.  Through the years, one of President Hinckley’s hobbies has been his home. As a young father, he learned how to build. He acquired the skills necessary to remodel a house and make needed repairs. And more important, he has built and maintained the trust of his wife and their children. Together they have established—and are still adding to—wonderful memories with their children and grandchildren, who know that they are part of “a chosen generation … called … out of darkness into [the] marvellous light” of the Lord. From the Hinckleys’ parental example, we can learn a great lesson. Love at home comes when companions cultivate their commitment to keep the commandments of God. Elder Nelson 1997

President Uctdorf October 2008: your happiness your heritage

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us.  The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.” 

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.

Luke 2:40, 46, 52

Embracing a broader meaning of education

D&C 88:40­­

The meaning of education is often assumed to be somehow related to “going to school” or learning as an external experience, related only to acquiring knowledge or skills helpful toward work productivity in society. All too often, when a woman makes the conscious effort to become “educated,” she perceives her alternatives as the following: (1) to seek fulfillment outside her home, (2) to sacrifice her education in order to raise a family, or (3) to try to balance career and family in some “superwoman” fashion. But I submit that the education of a woman is much broader, comprehensive, and perhaps more personal. Let us begin by considering the term “education.” Education is seen here, in its most idealistic sense, as an unveiling of the natural thirst of the mind and soul, and subsequently their replenishment, refreshment, and expansion. Considered in its broadest sense, education may occur at school, at home, with family, at church, or even with an enlightening thought in a moment of solitude. Education is more than learning. It is a complex interactive teaching and learning process.

While serving a mission in Colombia, South America, I met a humble sister who truly exemplified this principle. I knew her as Hermana Cabrera. Her tiny two-room home had no heat or electricity. She shared her only water source, a pump in the plaza, with five or six other families. She lived alone with her young son and daughter on the barest subsistence. She had attended school as a girl only long enough to learn to read. But her “educated” influence of refinement was evident all around her—in the hand-crocheted tablecloth on the rough wooden table; in the pictures of flowers and loved ones on her walls; in her constant, searching questions and study of the gospel; in the refined, dignified, mature demeanor of her children.

The potential lies within each of us to become educated as we have described, and to educate our posterity, that the human condition may be enriched and improved. The way is open for you and me to step onto a path of progression toward excellence. Education can be pursued by all of us, wherever we may be. Indeed, we have only to open our minds and hearts, drinking in the fulfillment and exhilaration that flows from the expansion of our souls.

Activity: Ideas about how to enrich our lives more than just the classroom

Knowledge is so accessible: how do we can we use it?

“We live in a world where knowledge is developing at an ever-accelerating rate. Drink deeply from this ever-springing well of wisdom and human experience” (Gordon B. Hinckley

Curiosity

“Sometimes I think this is what makes the difference between a good student and a poor one. Just a little curiosity. If you have it, cultivate it—hold fast to it. Never let it go. If you do not have it—get it. It is just that simple. The rewards for intellectual curiosity are many. The world will always be your pumpkin, full of magic, full of wonder. You will be interesting to your friends, to your husband, and a joy to your children. You will have perpetual youth.” - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

President Hinckley’s love of learning is catalyzed by curiosity. He grasps every opportunity to learn from others. On one occasion, I heard him quiz a local security officer for nearly an hour regarding crime control in a major city. I have heard him converse with building contractors, reporters, and those who specialize in the arts, architecture, business, government, law, medicine, and other disciplines. He knows their vocabularies, their challenges, and their strengths.

Brigham Young had little formal education, but he was constantly trying to learn new things and had a thirst for knowledge.

Importance of Education

Learning is important for Job skills given the continued change of today’s technology.

Learning to love learning equips us for an ever- changing and unpredictable future. Knowing how to learn prepares us to discern and act upon opportunities that others may not readily recognize. I am confident we will pass the test of learning what to do when we do not know what to do or how to proceed.

Importance of Education for Women

True to the Faith: Education

Our education is essential for future children

“Too great care cannot be taken in educating our young ladies. Great responsibilities will devolve upon them. To their hands will be mainly committed the formation of the moral and intellectual character of the young. Let the women of our country be made intelligent, and their children will certainly be the same. The proper education of a man decides his welfare; but the interests of a whole family are secured by the correct education of a woman” (George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, sel. Jerreld L. Newquist [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 2:138).

“Parents, work at the matter of creating an atmosphere in your homes. Let your children be exposed to great minds, great ideas, everlasting truth, and those things which will build and motivate for good….Begin early in exposing children to books….It takes time, yes, much of it. It takes self discipline. It takes organizing and budgeting the minutes and hours of the day. But it will never be a bore as you watch young minds come to know characters, expressions, and ideas” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, June 1985 Ensign).

Activity: How can we use what we learned in school directly in our homes and families?

Managing a home and family requires expertise in numerous areas including but not limited to:

·       Personal financial management, Time and resource management, Child development and training, Home and yard beautification, Cleaning and organizing, Nutrition, Cooking and meal planning

Don’t put off enriching your mind

When Elder Nelson told people how long his education took, how long a doctor’s education took, everyone says yuck!

“Preparation for your career is not too long if you know what you want to do with your life. How old will you be thirteen years from now if you don’t pursue your education? Just as old, whether or not you become what you want to be! So my counsel then—and now—is to continue your education wherever you are, whatever your interest and opportunity, however you determine you can best serve your family and society.”

Livelong learning

D&C 130:18-19

2Nephi 28:30

May I respectfully suggest an addition to this well-known motto that is too long to put on the sign but important for us to remember regardless of which university or college we attend: “Enter to learn to love learning and serving; go forth to continue learning and serving.” Bednar 2010

“We are in the school [of mortality] and keep learning, and we do not expect to cease learning while we live on earth; and when we pass through the veil, we expect still to continue to learn and increase our fund of information. That may appear a strange idea to some; but it is for the plain and simple reason that we are not capacitated to receive all knowledge at once. We must therefore receive a little here and a little there.”  Brigham Young

“The acquisition of knowledge is a lifelong, sacred activity, pleasing to our Father in Heaven and favored by His servants.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Apr. 09 Ensign)

“The Lord and His Church have always encouraged education to increase our ability to serve Him and our Heavenly Father’s children. For each of us, whatever our talents, He has service for us to give. And to do it well always involves learning, not once or for a limited time, but continually.” Eyring 2002

How can we devote more time to studying and learning? For example, do we take advantage of the moments we spend waiting?

Enhances spiritual learning

D&C 93:36

D&C 109:7

“Secular knowledge and spiritual knowledge can complement each other. Because God created the earth and the things that inhabit it, studying geology, physics and biology teaches us more about the greatness of our Creator. Authors and poets can write with heavenly inspiration, so reading their work can give us insight into the nature of our souls and what it means to be human. Sometimes listening to a piece of music can help us feel God's love. Both secular knowledge and spiritual knowledge benefit from dialogue. Both require observation, work, and practice. So although we sometimes think of secular and spiritual as opposites or even as contradictory, a true knowledge of God and the world He created shows us that understanding one helps to understand the other.” Mormon.org

As a people, we rightfully place high priority on secular learning and vocational development. We want and we must excel in scholarship and craftsmanship. I commend you for striving diligently to gain an education and become an expert in your field. I invite you to also become experts in the doctrines of the gospel. uchtdorf

Leaders of this Church have repeatedly emphasized the importance of education. It is a vital component of wisdom. Not long after the pioneers began construction of their temple in Illinois, they established the University of the City of Nauvoo. The First Presidency proclaimed that this university “will enable us to teach our children wisdom, to instruct them in all the knowledge and learning, in the arts, sciences, and learned professions.” Elder Nelson

Because of our sacred regard for each human intellect, we consider the obtaining of an education to be a religious responsibility. Yet opportunities and abilities differ. I believe that in the pursuit of education, individual desire is more influential than institution, and personal faith more forceful than faculty.

Spiritual Education

God will help us learn

D&C 88:78-80

Because vast amounts of information are so readily available and sophisticated technologies make possible widespread and even global collaboration, we may be prone to put our “trust in the arm of flesh” (2 Nephi 4:34; see also 28:31) as we grapple with complex challenges and problems. We perhaps might be inclined to rely primarily upon our individual and collective capacity to reason, to innovate, to plan, and to execute. Certainly we must use our God-given abilities to the fullest, employ our best efforts, and exercise appropriate judgment as we encounter the opportunities of life. But our mortal best is never enough. Bednar 2010

“My knowledge is, if you will follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, every man and woman will be put in possession of the Holy Ghost. … They will know things that are, that will be, and that have been. They will understand things in heaven, things on the earth, and things under the earth, things of time, and things of eternity, according to their several callings and capacities.”

How can we better recognize opportunities to learn that the Lord has provided for us?

The church provides ways for us to learn through its programs

“Sunday School, priesthood, Relief Society, Young Women, Primary, seminary, and institute classes may be held in dedicated buildings, under a tree, or in a home. But each class is part of a plan for lifelong gospel learning. We can have great expectations for the power of those learning hours!

Daughters in my Kingdom quote

Learning is a natural result of spiritual conversion

Learning to love learning is central to the gospel of Jesus Christ, is vital to our ongoing spiritual and personal development, and is an absolute necessity in the world in which we do now and will yet live, serve, and work. (bednar 2010)

Conversion brings a drive to learn. From the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in the time of Joseph Smith to our own day, you can see evidence of this. Joseph Smith, as a very young man, translated the Book of Mormon from plates inscribed with a language no one on earth understood. He did it by a divine gift of revelation from God. But he later hired a tutor to teach him and other leaders of the Church ancient languages. Joseph Smith had essentially no formal schooling, yet the effect of the gospel of Jesus Christ on him was to make him want to learn more so that he could be more useful to God and to God’s children. Eyring 2002

“Not only does the religion of Jesus Christ make the people acquainted with the things of God, and develop within them moral excellence and purity, but it holds out every encouragement and inducement possible, for them to increase in knowledge and intelligence, in every branch of mechanism, or in the arts and sciences, for all wisdom, and all the arts and sciences in the world are from God, and are designed for the good of his people.” Brigham Young

Spiritual learning should come first

A hierarchy of importance exists among the things you and I can learn. Indeed, all learning is not equally important. The Apostle Paul taught this truth in his second epistle to Timothy as he warned that in the latter days many people would be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Bednar 2010

Some facts are helpful or interesting to know. Some knowledge is useful to learn and apply. But gospel truths are essential for us to understand and live if we are to become what our Heavenly Father yearns for us to become. The type of learning I am attempting to describe is not merely the accumulation of data and facts and frameworks; rather, it is acquiring and applying knowledge for righteousness. Bednar 2010

“We will have to make some hard choices of how we use our time. … But remember, you are interested in education, not just for mortal life but for eternal life. When you see that reality clearly with spiritual sight, you will put spiritual learning first and yet not slight the secular learning …” (Pres. Henry B. Eyring, Liahona and Ensign, August 2009).

 It is clear that putting spiritual learning first does not relieve us from learning secular things. On the contrary, it gives our secular learning purpose and motivates us to work harder at it.

Why does conversion to the gospel often result in an increased desire for education? 

It would enhance the learning of any woman to include the scriptures as part of her quest for education, as our own prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, admonished: “Study the scriptures. Thus you may gain strength through the understanding of eternal things. … We want our sisters to be scholars of the scriptures as well as our men.” 

Merry Christmas, and a look at 2012 from the Webb family

Merry Christmas from the Webb Family!

2012 has been a good year for us, and 2013 promises to be even better!

School is still our big thing right now.

Jake officially declared his new major this year: School of Family Life, Human Development Emphasis. He's really enjoyed his classes and he's always coming home with new information about our future kids, or me, or my parents. I'm glad he knows all this stuff, because maybe our kids will turn out alright!

I'm further along in my editing minor, and I've been trying to editing everything that comes through my hands. I've been working on a student journal this year. It's a linguistic studies journal called Schwa. It's nothing big and really no one outside the staff and the people that submitted papers will ever see it, but my name is officially in print, so that's exciting!

Jake and I will be graduating in April 2013 and we're both thrilled to be finally finished! We have no definite plans for after graduating, but we're excited for our next big adventure. 

This year I've finally decided to get my health under control and I've been seeing a specialist. I've been diagnosed with a few things but things are progressing nicely. You can follow along with my weight loss journey over at my other blog. So far I've lost over 25 pounds and gone down a pant size. Jake and I took a spin class together at BYU to help and it was a lot of fun.

We also took a trip up to Kennecot, the copper mine out in the boonies. I had gotten some time off of work (this was during May) and even though I felt sick, we wanted to have some fun so we went! It ended up that I had Bronchitis, so maybe not the best decision, but oh well! 

bathroom pre-construction

We've done some home improvement (surprise Mom and Dad! we didn't want to tell you yet!) and cut the wall open in our bathroom! We've added a medicine cabinet and some recessed shelving.It's really awesome to have some more storage in there and it looks really great. It will look even better when we actually get it finished... I'll post pictures of that when we finally get the molding on the edges. My grandpa's old wood-shop is close by in Mapleton so Jake discovered his wood working skills and I think he had a lot of fun.  

Work

My summer was crazy like it was last year. Youth camps, adult camps, and it all began with Women's Conference. Jake worked all summer at the bakery and got up at 4:30 every morning and rode his bike to work, and then drove the delivery truck in the afternoon. When school finally started it felt like a break!

Jake and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary year! Can you believe it's already been three years?

One of our new weird hobbies is finding "treasures at D.I. This beauty was our addition to the Hjorth Family Party's White elephant exchange:

front: "You think you've absorbed all the awkwardness until you realize she's holding a goat"

back

When my cousin's son opened it up, he told the group he got a statue of "two Indians making love." I can't make this up people. Wouldn't you love to know the story behind that thing? It was so creepy to have it around our house for a month before it was time to take it to the party. Although part of me wonders if the world didn't end on 12/21 because we rescued it from the D.I.

Some of our other D.I. Treasures:

The strange musical burping toy:

The pants of many colors: 

Clowns, A real piece of work, I mean art. 

Charlie Chaplin ceramic mug?

Immortalized m&m candy in resin

And Jake and I took a trip to Paris! Don't we look lovely in front of the Eiffel Tower?

Just kidding! This year I've learned how to use photoshop! I've been cleaning up images for work, but I've downloaded a program for home and I've been practicing a bit too.

Harley is pretty dang cute, and we love her, so here's some photos of her from the year:

cuddling with a piggy from my angry birds

sleeping in daddy's arms

upside down rarrrr!!!

Sunday afternoon cuddle time!

more sleeping! (jake is going to kill me for putting these up)

awah so cute!

loch ness kitty paws!

snug as a bug in a rug!

She's started cuddling with our elbows, it's kinda weird. 

"please stop taking my picture"

Dancing kitty!

attempting a jail break from the laundry basket

you mean I'm not supposed to sit in this basket?

even kitties watch General Conference!

Who's that pretty girl in that mirror there?

What mirror where?

fat cat!

shoe rack? I thought it was a kitty hammock!

I've been doing some crafty projects that I finished just in time for Christmas. I did a photo quilt for Jake's mom. (sorry I can't find the picture right now, but I'll up load it later. It has all their baby photos and not one of them has their hand in front of their face! shocking I know!)
I also made angry birds for all of my nieces and nephews. They turned out so cute!

We were saving toilet paper rolls and tissue boxes for months! But it was worth it!

Well, I think that's about it! We had so much fun with everything else we did this year, but I think I blogged already about all of that, so scroll down so I don't have to re-post about everything. So Merry Christmas (late I know!) and best wishes from the Webbs for 2013!