Foggiare la Diva

I love this girl!

Mia Sorella Meravigliosa

Alright so here is the deal...I drew my sister Tanna's name this year for Christmas. It is a little harder to do service for her because she is in Colorado, so I thought that I could share with everyone why she inspires me. I will add pictures, tell stories, post songs, etc. just so everyone can understand why she is one of my very best friends. I have been so blessed with incredible siblings, each one affecting my life in a different way. Tanna is someone I have always depended on. She has been there for me through every hard time whether my hard time was with myself or being caused by someone else. She has never given up on me or thought it better to "leave me alone". She is persistent and has given me the best of advice. So lets hear it for a month of Tanna...my wonderful sister.

Il mio Elenco di Desiderio di Natale

I thought it would be fun to start off this season with my Christmas Wish List. Feel free to post yours as well. I do want to preface though that I am not expecting it all, I just thought it would be fun to see what people want. I love the Holidays and especially the Thanksgiving build-up to Christmas.

Who doesn't want boots this year?

I have found about ten different owl rings and all of them are so so cute.

I need a vintage mirror for our house! Please Santa!

Hudson Jeans, you can get them at Urban Blues for looads cheaper!

Big Splurge for the season...My own camera for documenting our life because the big camera doesn't fit very well in...anything! Ha!

I did want to say that the exciting part of the season for me isn't about what I get from Santa. In fact, I had to really think hard to come up with some ideas. I tell Blake anytime I see something cute that it is what I want for Christmas, but by the time I leave the store I have already forgotten what I told him. I think the best part about Christmas is that we get to cut a tree, have people over for Hot Cocoa, go to parties, and be with the people we love. This year all the Jones' will be home for Christmas, except for Nat and her family. Pray for them to decide to come. Ahh, it would be so so awesome! I love Christmas so much. The most fabulous part about Christmas is the traditions that people have. I thought it would be fun to write mine and then hear all about yours.

The Jones family is so large we have to draw names, not unusual, but instead of buying each other gifts we do a service for each other. Example, my Dad, who has artificial knees and shoulders would wake up at five every morning it snowed and shovel my brother's huge driveway. Things like that. We had so much fun trying to think of what would really be a service for the person we draw. Then on Christmas Eve we all get together for a big dinner and Christmas program. Of course the program consists of the kids acting the Nativity while my Dad reads the Christmas Story and then all the kids go to watch a movie while the adults stand and talk about the person that did the service for them. Youngest to oldest, each one stands and expresses how the individual reminds them of the Savior and motivates them to be better. There is never a dry eye. I am excited for Blake to be a part of the Spirit that we feel during the program. I am bummed I am missing yet another Bishop Breakfast. I guess a lot of Blake's family comes far and wide to be at his home so I will be sad to miss it, but I think we will try and Skype so we can see Brooke and Mike with Kashton in Oklahoma and the whole Bishop crew here in Utah. I love the holidays and the fun it is. I also love to wrap presents so if you need some help...Call me! I am grateful for traditions and the blessings they are in our lives. They strengthen us as a whole family and as individuals. The love bonds us throughout the whole year and I love that. I pray that the Spirit felt through Thanksgiving and into the New Year will be one so strong it will enable happiness throughout 2010. Love you all. Good luck on Friday!

dieci cose che adoro proprio ora

Ten things I absolutely adore right now:

1.Kissing

2.Vintage skirts...I want them all.
3. Yes I love owls. If I was to say I was obsessed with one thing it would be owls. Why?
4. Zooey Deschanel...I fell in love with her during ELF, but have you seen her style? So chic.
5. Yellow and Gray home decor. Delish.
6. Tall boots with jeans. I don't know if will ever get old?
7. The music of Frank Sinatra, he seriously does something for me.
8. The Fall, especially at Liberty Park.
9. Audrey Hepburn's pet deer...what is not to adore.
10. DIY Cake Plates. The cutest and best gift EVER!

un tempo per il ringraziamento

I can't believe the time. It is almost Thanksgiving. I still have to post Halloween pictures. Holy cow! Today is my nephew Kashton's birthday, so a birthday blog shout out to baby! Well Mamie said that I need to post more and I told her frankly my life is the same. I love Blake, he loves me and we are loving our lives. But I decided that sometimes blogs are just so you can remember the smaller things in life so one day your kids can read it and say, "Gee Mom, you guys were boring." At least they will know that though my life is boring, I am grateful for it and the blessings I receive continually.

I got a new job as a sales assistant for Hamlet Homes. It is a residential building company. All I do is fold mailers, update my blog, show the model home, and make sure everything is working on faceplant correctly. I love it. I was a nanny but I was getting paid what any 11 year old soon to be beehive would be getting paid. So I decided it was time for some change. I like this company a lot and I finally have a stable company that won't flake out on time and pay. It gets to be very frustrating. I am still looking for some part-time, Monday-Tuesday work so if anyone wants a really amazing house cleaner, professional nanny, or a best friend, I am your girl. Pass the word around. I like to stay busy while Blake works so that I am not always tempting him to take work off early! Ha! I am grateful I have a job and that the Lord continues to bless me with work.

Blake and I start school again in January. I am pleased to announce that I graduate from LDSBC in April and have two more semesters! I had no idea I was so close, but ROCK THE FREAK ON! I was so excited. I changed my major to public relations so i hope I can find something in the near future that wil enable me to get it going. Blake is going to finish up his generals at LDSBC and then onto the U where he will...rule the world in whatever he decides to do. He is in a tough spot right now because what he is doing for his occupation is teaching him more of what he loves about computers and what he wants to study is maybe not so much that. So we will see what he decides to do. The great thing about it is we are young and he has time to figure it out. Hopefully! I am grateful that we both are hard workers and value education. It makes things a little less stressful when you are both on the same page.

Blake gets to go see the NUCCA Chiropractor on Saturday. He suffers from severe tension headaches that apparently have been caused by some sort of stress on the first "unconnected" part of the vertebrae. It is hard for him to get school work done, read, or have the motivation to do lots at night after work. Sometimes he just has to go to bed. It is so sad because it really does make it so hard for him. I am so grateful that we finally have a light at the end of the tunnel though. This doctor is one of not very many in the country. There are only five NUCCA doctors in Utah. Dr. Jack Stockwell, two of his sons, and a two others. If you need to see a NUCCA specialist don't go to Dr. Jack. He is super arrogant, made me cry in his office, and really rude. His son, Joseph is who we will be seeing and he is great. I will keep you posted.

One of my very best friends Anne just moved from California to Utah. We were companions on the mish for one transfer and became instant friends. I could not be more thrilled. She is the cutest thing ever and is so crazy. I love her so so much. She has quite the talent for aesthetics so my hair is looking fabulous. I was able to be her model yesterday for an 80's photo shoot with David Newkirk. His style is crazy and we had a blast. I will try and get some pics of the shoot. I was loving it because it made me realize how much I miss being a model. Anne decided we need to come up with some projects and I was totally down. I am so grateful she is here. I think it is good for both of us.

Blake and I decided that for Christmas we are going to sell our chinchilla and buy a monkey. We have always wanted one and now we can. I am grateful for monkeys.

We got called in our ward to be ward missionaries. We are really excited, especially because the sister missionaries in our ward are super gung-ho! Would that be how to spell that? Hmmm? There is this darling family that lives a few houses away form us. The Gardners. WE LOVE THEM! Rachelle, the mom, wants to be baptized and the sisters are working hard to help er husband Jermaine feel the same way. Not that they make him feel anything, but Rachelle wants their family to be eternal and what better way. My husband exemplified true charity when he chose to go to a lesson with the missionaries instead of having a hot dinner. We got home to cold sweet and sour chicken, but a warm heart after feeling such a string spirit at the Gardner's home. They have Julius, a four year old, spunky, crazy pants that brought out every toy he owned during the lesson we went to last night. And Jezelle. Oh my gosh, you would absolutely die. She has ice blue eyes and the softest carmely skin ever. We are getting to be really good friends with them and I am so excited to have them live so close. Natalie Call understands! We are giving talks in sacrament meeting on the 22nd about missionary work so we are excited to help with the work. Onward ever onward. I am so grateful for missionary work and that even though I live in Utah the land of the LDS, there are still people who want to live the gospel and recognize the need for eternal families in their lives.

I actually lied about the monkey thing. I just don't know what else to write about! Ha Ha! We do have a chinchilla though and he is getting fat, or so Ver thinks. I think he looks healthy. I am grateful for chinchillas and food that makes us healthy.

My family keeps getting bigger, whether it is through marriage or birth I keep getting more people to love and I could not ask for it to be any different. I think about how the Lord has asked us to to love others as ourselves. What an easy thing for us to do when we surround ourselves with family and friends. Or a not so easy thing to do when we surround ourselves with crazy dumb dumbs, but we can still do it with the help of Christ. And when we don't live close to family...we try our hardest to live the principles of the gospel and hope that our efforts won't go unnoticed. I LOVE THE GOSPEL.

Look for continued posts that are sure to tantalize your brain cells and cause your spirit to stir.