Christmas 2008 Wrap Up. 2008 IS ALMOST OVER!

So, 2008 is finally coming to a close. I don't know about anyone else, but I am ecstatic for this year to end. It's hasn't been the greatest one. Christmas this year was a good one-we've been blessed beyond measure, and love the spirit of service that comes with this time of year. Though I had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year, I did unexpectedly perform a Christmas service and was glad I did-you'll have to ask me about it sometime. So, here's our little 2008 wrap up. I've included our ten things we're grateful for this year at the bottom for those of you that didn't get our Christmas letter.

In November Jer took Misha with him on a much-needed visit to see his family. It was our niec Sophie's birthday while they were there, and I know that they had a blast seeing all of his family. Here's Misha with her Grandma Brown enjoying some birthday cake.
Misha made out like a bandit this year as usual. Thank you to everyone who sent her gifts-we had a hard time devising things to get her this year. Here she is opening a few presents.

I finally got the thing I've wanted for a couple of years now. It makes me happy.:)
Jerry got great gifts too-he's just not pictured here.:)

So, here's our grateful list (in no particular order). We hope all of you had a fantastic Christmas and that 2009 goes better for all of us.

10) Misha finally began walking in June!

9) Jerry finished precepting early in October for his EMT-Intermediate.

8) Hayley got a full-time job with the National Institutes of Health as a Respiratory Therapist-therefore no longer having to work night shifts! (Though, she does miss her co-workers at National Naval Hospital across the street.)

7) Misha has finally begun using WORDS to tell us what she wants. (Sometimes)

6) Hayley and Misha came out (mostly) unscathed after being hit as pedestrians by a truck at the beginning of April.

5) Finally being financially independent (though, maybe it’s our parents that are more grateful for that).

4) NOT having our car stolen, though, the catalytic converter was…

3) Jerry and Hayley BOTH having Thanksgiving and Christmas days off work.

2) Having two wonderful friends (Pam Harmon and Melinda Cole) who have been willing to watch Misha when Jerry and Hayley are both at work. (They are AMAZING.)

1) Our wonderful friends and family who have helped us through the difficult moments.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! (AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR-WE'RE STARTING OURS IN THE BAHAMAS FOR OUR 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!)

So, as you can see, we finally can kind-of get Misha's hair in a full ponytail. Sort of.

Thanks to the "Better Mothering Club" (Aka: Melinda Cole and Lis Nelson) for getting my cute daughter prepared for Halloween this year. She was this cute little flower fairy. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what she's supposed to be. Jerry found her at the Cole's house (we both worked!) helping Toddums hand out candy. I wish we had pictures of that! In fact, it was my original intent to get a picture of her helping to hand out candy, but by the time we all got home, there was no one out anymore.

This last picture is for my mom. She had some hopes for me that I think were a bit dashed. Perhaps this will give her greater hopes for her granddaughter.

The oh-so exciting things that happen in Boise.

So here's a little run down of my trip to Boise, ID. My very best friend, Collette, was gracious enough to put me up. It was her youngest sister that got married. So, here we go.


I went to see...

(Congrats Matt & Jill!!)

I drove a brand new...

(Oh my holy sweetness, Batman. This was a TON of fun to drive!!!)


I froze in...

(Yes, that's right-it's snow. And it was 35 degrees outside! I was all too happy to return to D.C.'s 80 degree weather!)


I helped build...

(This was the dance floor canopy. And a pain in the butt to make look like this. I actually left just as we were starting to put the lights on...I missed all the fun with the tulle. And yes, there was work that had to be done before the lights even went on.)


I made...

(I even mixed that periwinkle blue color myself! And I bet you all thought I wasn't one bit crafty.)

I danced with...

(Such a gentleman! Thanks Mitchell! I still can't believe that he's almost 16 and 6'3".)

I helped decorate...

(HAHAHA! It was fun.)


I felt loved by...

(My other two sisters Collette and Kelly. I love you two so much! Thank you for always being who you are with me-it means more than you will ever know.)


I played with...

(This cute thing is just a few months younger than Misha and literally weighs half what she does. She's so tiny and so adorable. The complete opposite of my little one-just like her mother and I are so opposite. Love you Co!)


I felt like I once again belonged to...(LOVE these two people with all my heart. "Oh! I win!")


I glimpsed...

(I had a very short 40 minute layover in SLC. It broke my heart to be there and have to leave and not see anyone. My heart ached to see all of you, and the tears literally fell from my eyes as the wheels left the tarmac. A few minutes into the air I looked out and saw this peak. I'd know it anywhere. Mt. Timpanogos...)


All in all it was a really good trip. Even if I came home with a bad cold, I had so much fun being there. It was a trip I desperately needed, and this family means more to me than they even know. I love you Sotto fam!!!

Conference weekend

We had a good time this conference. My mom and dad came up for a few days away, and it was fun, even from the beginning. Our first hilarious moment happened when they arrived very late Friday night. They brought along a queen size mattress with it's own automatic air pump....when it's charged.:) Needless to say-we took an hour pumping that thing up by hand (or I should say foot) with the pump that came with my exercise ball. Once in a while we got a boost from the automatic pump. It was amusing to say the least.
Misha had lots of fun playing with Oma and Opa. She really preferred Oma (sorry Dad!), but she finally warmed up and was willing to ride horsey on whom became affectionately known as the glue horse.;)
She also had lots of fun horsing around with daddy. Those two are like peas in a pod, and I just love watching them together.
The conference talks were inspiring. It always amazes me how the older I get, the less long conference seems. I get so much out of it, and really feel how important the gospel is. My favorite talk was by...well, I don't remember-there were so many good ones! Elder Holland was wonderful, and I enjoyed so many others. I hope everyone else got something out of it too!

Ah, updates.

It's finally the fall. The weather is turning perfect, and soon the leaves will begin to change. So, things are a changin' and we're likin' it a lot. First off, here's a little Misha update. She is starting to feed herself!

It's frustrating trying to keep her clean, but one must forge on! We're working really hard on being more patient and just letting her learn it herself. And...guess what....

That's right, she's ambidextrous. Hopefully she keeps this skill-it's so rare these days.

So, what's the cutest thing in the whole wide world?

Kids in footy pajamas. I love footy pajamas, and I love Misha in them. She's just so darn cute.

And, she's pretty cute in new Sunday dresses too. Her hair (as you may or may not be able to tell) is long enough for a half pony tail. We just got this dress, and I just love it! I need to find her a little sweater to go over it so she can continue to wear it through these upcoming cooler months. And so, I hope you all enjoy a few picture updates. Things with Jerry and I are going well-we're forging ahead and looking forward to a fun 5 day anniversary celebration coming up in January...we're looking into going to the Carribean. If anyone's heard of some good deals, let us know!

Fun at the Fair!

This week was the Jefferson County Fair. We decided to go so that Misha could have some first experiences with seeing all the animals and the awesome lights and sounds that accompany all fairs. All in all, I think she had a blast.

She saw bunnies and roosters...ducks and chicks...

(What you don't get to see is 5 seconds after this picture was taken, she was attempting to suck on the cage...yeah-that's right, my kid licked the cage. Gross.) She wasn't a huge fan of the horses and cows...there was an adorable 2 month old cow walking around, and she refused to touch it. It was sad-it would've made for a great kodak moment.

She and Jer had some fun trying on the weird random light-up things that get sold at all fairs and serve absolutely no purpose...I realize all these things about fairs now, but I'm sure that I didn't when I was much younger and most likely coveted all said useless objects...

Jer also took her on her very first carousel ride. She didn't scream-so maybe there's some hope for Jer that when she gets older she'll be more of a daredevil than I am and accompany him on all the rides I hate.
We got to spend the evening with some friends from the ward, Sandy and Lauren Crowther. Our many thanks for their always enjoyable and entertaining company, and for holding Misha for a few minutes while Jer and I hit a couple of the rides. We love you guys!

All in all it was fun, and I'm sure we'll be returning next year.

25!

So, I finally turned 25. Much as I may have liked a big deal to be made, it was kind of nice to have a quiet birthday this year. I got to sleep in (thanks Bear!), went to the store and purchased some desired things, and had dinner at...
It was tres delish. The sweet waitress, without even being asked, brought out this...
Jer actually ate the cake (well, most of it anyway), and I had that delicious real whipped cream on the plate.

I was very blessed with wonderful presents this year. My sweet husband got me the best present of all-something I begged my parents for for YEARS. (Ever since my 8th grade shop class!)
That's right--he got me a router.:) My hubby really does know me so well! I'm uber stoked to pull it out and use it, which hopefully will happen tomorrow. (And my many thanks to my parents who gave me money to buy router bits!) For those of you who don't know what a router is-it's a tool used to put detailed borders on wood. (Some routers-called plunge routers-will actually carve them into a piece of wood as well.) I love to wood work, though I haven't done it in years, so I'm really excited to get started. I actually already had a project I needed to do, so I'm super excited to get started on it. I'll post pictures of it when I'm done.

My many thanks to those of you who sent your well wishes and love. It was a spectacular birthday!

Growing Healthy and Strong

So, there's no harm in starting a good workout regimen too early in life, wouldn't you say? We try to stay healthy and workout-Misha should too. Already learning that good body image it would seem.

Things are well for us. We've been looking into moving, though not far, and we think we might have found a good place. We're pretty excited about things in the future. Work goes well for both Jer and I, and he's now thankfully back to 24 hr. shifts, so he works "less". At least he's gone from home less. We hope all is still well with all our family and friends. Oh, and if we do indeed move into this new place, there's a TON more room for people to come and visit!

I kinda want some memories.

I like this idea-and I want to see how you all remember me-good or bad. And if anyone wants to leave one for Jer, I'll be sure he gets it.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

First "beach" trip!

Okay, so it's not really the ocean beach. But, it is a beach nonetheless. It's actually a lake at Greenbriar State Park in Boonsboro, MD. This is actually a lake I have visited before, in my youth. In two years of the 6 I went to girls camp, we went to Greenbriar-actually quite nice if you were lucky enough to end up on "high" ground when the torrential downpour reared it's ugly head. One of the adults that was with us took a few of us girls "polar bearing" early in the mornings before we had to get up for camp. Being there brought back many fond memories of chilly water, blaring Shania Twain's "I Feel Like a Woman" (and I still love to blare it), and Brother Vinny. Brother Vinny, I thought of you often while we were there, and I miss you dearly.

Misha actually enjoyed the water quite a bit, and she even managed not to eat any sand, though she did play happily in it. Here's some viewing enjoyment, and a great excuse to go, "How CUTE is SHE!!!!"

It's about time!

So, here's the first video of her walking. It's about time! I love that she's walking and am not sad one bit that she is growing up and getting closer to being able to hold on a normal conversation with me. I find Jer hilarious-I love that he talks to her like you hear people on tv talk to babies. ("Come get Mr. Froggggggyyyyy...") And you'll understand this when you get to the end, but wow, leg cramps...they can be a real pain. But, we're so proud of her (not that we really TAUGHT her to do this) and are so excited that she's growing up. We can't wait to see who she turns out to be!

So, it's been a while.

So, apparently I'm really busy at work! I haven't posted in almost a month-shame on me. But things are going well there-I haven't met one person I don't like in my department, which is wonderful, and I'm starting to get the hang of things...I think. Things are steadily moving on, albeit slowly. Not much has changed with us. I'm working full time for the first time in my entire life, and I think I'm handling it pretty well. We've had some sad news of late that very dear friends of ours are moving out of the area...and you guessed it!, to UTAH! We have lost many friends to that state, and I know that I'll get on onslaught of family telling us we just need to join them. Alas, our place is still here. But we sadly have already said goodbye to the Cutshaw family-while they may not know it, they mean a whole lot to us, and we were sad to say goodbye. We will also be losing our dear friends the McBrides at the end of July. Some of you may know of whom I speak, others may not. The McBrides were our "replacement" Hart family. We've become so close with them, I even consider LaVarr more like a brother than our Bishop-heck, I pretty much call him LaVarr all the time. While no one can truly replace the Harts (you know we love you guys too much to ever truly replace you), we will consider the separation from them just as hard as we did having to leave the Harts. But, we still have a little over a month, so while I've already shed a lot of tears about them leaving, we still get them a little while longer. Now, on to funner things (yes, funner is a word in my vocabulary) and less depressing topics.


Much to our great joy and pride, our daughter, it seems, is going to become quite the avid rock climber. She has begun climbing all over everything. She's got an impressive amount of upper body strength, and so I'm pretty sure we'll be enrolling her in beginner rock climbing courses just as soon as she finally takes some steps without holding onto anything. She climbs onto the couch by using us as her hand holds and hoists herself right on up. It's fairly entertaining. Now, if only she'd just walk all on her own...

The Big 1!

Here's me at about 5 or 6 am, one year ago...after already being in labor for, oh...let's see...8 or nine hours. (SO glad I'm not pregnant anymore.)

That's right folks-Misha will officially turn one tonight at 8:11pm EDT. I can hardly believe I'm mother to a toddler. Heck, I can still hardly believe I'm a mother. Anyway-we celebrated Sunday since my sister and niece were in town. We had a couple of close friends from Southern Maryland over as well, and had a blast celebrating and watching Misha down her first piece of cake independently.

You obviously see Jer here in the movie-the little girl next to him is the daughter of two of our close friends, Jeff and Katie. You'd be surprised-she's only 3, and I swear the tallest one I've ever seen. My dad's voice is the distinguishable deep one in the background-he's actually standing just out of view. Clearly I'm the one filming. After we sang to her, we put a disposable table cloth over the chair and what not, stripped her down to her diaper, and let her go to town. You can actually see she was a bit anxious to get her chance in the video.

And yes...the cake was good enough to lick the plate. I love McKay's cakes...

She got a lot of toys (THANK YOU EVERYONE!..she really needed some news ones to freshen up the exploring), and some fabulously cute clothes from my mom.
After she was done mashing cake all over creation, I took her upstairs for a quick bath and then she opened her presents.
She was highly entertained, as were we all. So, how old is she?

That's right, one.

Oh, and here's a picture of her and my niece after the party Saturday night.
All in all, I think she's had a pretty great first birthday, minus the shots she had to get at the doctor's today. Here's to many more birthdays! I love you, Misha, and Happy Birthday!

30 Years

Is how long my parents have been married. Can you believe that?!?! I can't-and sometimes I don't think they can either. But, they've made a major milestone, and in a world that is ever increasing in divorce rates, I'm really happy for and proud of them. My sister and I planned a surprise anniversary party, and despite the both of us at separate times coming close to blowing the surprise, we totally duped them. It was a blast, and it was so wonderful to have so many come, and to have so many write them very heartfelt letters that we had bound into a book as a gift. I truly love my parents-they are two of the smartest, most generous and charitable people that I know. They've taught me so much in how to make a marriage work. I don't think I can honestly remember ever hearing them yell at one another...that's not to say that they've never been unhappy with the other, just they were very good about not hanging their dirty laundry out to dry. It's something I respect, and wish so much that I was better at. They're a testament that if you're willing to work at your marriage, be forgiving, and love unconditionally, that it really can work. They've given me so much in my life, and I respect them more than I can possibly say. So Mom and Dad-here's to 30 more!

Napping...

Is not something my child wakes up well from.

Well, all, it's my last weekend before starting a "real" job. It's going to be a hectic week and a half or so. But I'm praying I make it. I'm uber stoked about it. I hope everyone is well! Perhaps I'll be posting a picture of me looking very similar to this in about a week.

Firsts

Being captured giving kisses....

Staring into her first fire....
Well, this isn't really a first, but it is a first on "film"...here she is trying to crawl in a dress....

Upgrades

So, thanks to our refund this year, we were able to go out and purchase some much needed improvements to our house (and still save some!). I realized some of you haven't even seen what our "house" (Okay, it's a duplex) looked like, so here it is with a lawn much in need of mowing after all the rain we've been getting. The first thing we got was a desk. (Courtesy of Ikea-that place is a MAZE.)

Oh so needed! Although I shouldn't complain about our last one-it was free courtesy of North Fork Fire Department (we miss you guys!)...but they were getting rid of it for a reason.
Next we got Misha a crib. (Courtesy of Overstock.com) She's really close to outgrowing her pack-n-play, so we upgraded to a crib that converts from crib to toddler bed to day bed to head and foot board for a twin size bed. GOOD investment...I'm thinking if we have another kid, it'll get one of these from the get go. Our next upgrade was our patio furniture...(courtesy of HomeDepot.com)
again, the original was free...and I finally feel like I'm starting to make my house my own, instead of free stuff from other people. While I liked the old, the flower print and PVC piping just weren't doing it for me.
Although they did glide quite nicely. We added to the patio furniture with a new "fire pit". (Courtesy of HomeDepot.com as well..You can even see a bit of the old desk there to the left.)
Obviously this isn't a pit, but it's awesome, and it will allow me to stare into some flames and not think about anything...it's one of my favorite things to do, and it seriously relaxes me to sit in front of a fire...I suppose I truly am a pyro at heart. Back at Christmas time we began our new furniture collection with a new tv stand (Courtesy of WalMart...it was previously sitting on a broken coffee table with a sheet over it),
and a movie case (Courtesy of WalMart as well...the contents of which were previously on an open book case).
Obviously these were needed because Misha had begun crawling and getting into things...so we needed things that were enclosed. And I think by now everyone realizes how much I really like dark furniture. So these are our wonderful improvements...our next save up is for a flat screen...but that may be a while in coming.
For those of you who haven't heard the good news.................no, I'm not pregnant if that's what you're thinking. I was previously employed at an agency called OMV Medical Inc. as a Respiratory Therapist. I was working at National Naval Medical Center on an "as needed" basis. I am proud and very happy to say that I upgraded my job as well and am now a full time Respiratory Therapist at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health. It's literally across the street from Navy, I just make a right turn instead of a left. I'm really excited about it...I'll have much more of an opportunity to be a therapist rather than a tech who dispenses nebs and pushes buttons on a ventilator. It's a very prestigious place to work, and I'm really stoked to be working with some people that seem really awesome (one of them being the girl that trained me during my clinical hours at Navy, and called to tell me they had positions open at NIH....THANK YOU NIKKI!). All in all things are looking up. As soon as I'm over this sinus infection I have, I'm pretty sure our April showers are turning into May flowers.