If we did send cards...

We didn't send out Christmas cards this year. If we did, it probably would have looked similar to what's above because that was the only decent photo of us for the year.

Since most Christmas cards show how adorable everyone is and how the children have grown, we decided to spare you the sight of seeing how much weight we have gained over the past year. 

Thank you to all of our wonderful friends and family who have sent us beautiful cards filled with an update on your life. We love knowing all of the exciting things going on.

Here's our quick update:

Jake is still loving insurance and staying busy with it. He saves the majority of the people who contact him $ on their insurance, so please spread the word.

I've been working as a teller at Chase bank since July and it's wonderful. I work about 30 hours a week and I feel like I have a life outside of my job.

My job at chase has been a huge blessing because the health insurance is wonderful. We are looking forward to trying invitro one last time this year and are grateful that it will be affordable with our new insurance. 

We are grateful for our Savior, whose humble beginnings remind us that life is sometimes difficult but that miracles happen every day. Hoping you and your family have a wonderful holiday.

Love, Kris & Jake 

Recent activities

Any of you who follow me on instagram get more updates than I am sure you want to see on my projects. But, for those of you who don't all you need to know is that my life is kind of like a boring old woman- I go to work and I sew and eat and sleep and watch netflix and hulu.

But you can go to Sisterview.com to see some of my recent projects.  I'm trying to post finished projects on that blog and help it eventually grow my Etsy shop (as soon as I get things organized to promote it more.).

In the mean time, here's a recent project that hasn't been posted on Sisterview. It's a ruffle backdrop made for a friend and, although the ruffles are super tedious, I love how it turned out and I might be crazy enough to do another one again soon.

This project also made me now have a desire to get a serger one day too.  I borrowed the serger from our stake and now I want one. It doesn't help that it happened to be a Bernina serger either. :) 

Sisters weekend

Back in July, we had a short sister's weekend to celebrate Jennifer's birthday. It was the first time that the girls have had a weekend getaway without kids and it was wonderful. 

Unfortunately, we weren't able to have all of the girls there, but at least it was a start to doing it again in the future. Because Jennifer loves to sew, we decided to bring our machines and work on some projects. It was a blast doing that, joking around and going to some quilt shops too. 

We stayed at a Residence Inn in Sandy, UT and it was the perfect size for our projects too. My trunk was full from bringing machines and tables from Logan, but it was totally worth it.




Kelly was able to join us for dinner one night, and we were so glad that she brought baby Caleb along so we could all get some snuggles in. Mom also treated us to pedicures (and a manicure for herself), which was very kind.



I am so blessed to have so many amazing women in my life. They impress me with their talents and skills and their kindness.



Oh and food was involved too. Because who doesn't love food?



On Saturday, we also were able to go to the Utah Valley Modern Quilt Guild that Jennifer and I go to once a month. It was beautiful weather so we did it outside that day.








I can't wait to have another girls weekend with the amazing women in my family. They have all taught me so many wonderful things.

Beach trip 2013

I love the summer time and am so sad to see it coming to an end.  To remind myself of how wonderful it is, I'm sharing some pics of our annual trip to Newport Beach, CA. 

We love going to Balboa Island.


We were at the beach house the same time as my brother, Matt and his family and had such a blast playing with them.

Grandpa's house holds so many fun memories. It's such an awesome opportunity that he provided for us to go there. I miss you Grandpa!

Original Pizza- our favorite pizza place.




I could do this all day every day.






Shopping at fashion island- I love this store.

Love seeing some pretty things. 

I think we need this sign for the beach house. It truly is my happy place. 

real

Here's a real life update. Warning: there may be plenty of deep emotional and also petty things in this post. And run on sentences.

I turned 30 at the end of May and I'm still trying to accept it. It was a long day but fun because Emily and her kids showed up on my doorstep in the morning to surprise me. She and Jennifer and my mom had put together a gift of 30 things and each had a little note on it that made my day. They are so kind and I felt so loved. Then, in the evening Jake pulled off a small surprise party with some friends that overwhelmed me and made me feel so loved.

I quit my job the first week of June. It wasn't planned and we weren't well prepared for it. I just physically could not go in any more and deal with the drama. I couldn't deal with being told "even if you are working hard it doesn't mean you are accomplishing anything" and just had to get out.

I'm still unemployed and really hope I can find a good job soon.  And I know that decisions have consequences... like the fact that we may not be able to afford our annual trip to Newport Beach next week.

But, I have been so much happier. I have been able to finish some things that I haven't touched for months and have started exercising and eating better. I clean my house now, fold and put the laundry away on the very same day I do it and don't wake up every morning dreading my work day. I'm feeling more balance in life.

I've been thinking a lot over the past few months how much our lives change and that sometimes the nature of those changes cause us to drift apart from people we love. Or to pull back.  At the beginning of this year I pulled back a lot, especially with friends who have children or who are expecting them soon. I am so incredibly happy for them and admire them, but I don't know how many social events I can go to where all I hear is talk about labor and nursing and experiences while being pregnant.
I'm trying to become more engaged and to focus on how exciting those feelings and experiences are for those I love and get over myself.

I can't believe how much was lifted off my shoulders when I quit my job. And how much weight has come crashing down again as I realize that we aren't prepared to live off of one income just yet. And how much that crushes me in thinking that if we can't even live off of one income, we are soo much further than being able to afford more fertility treatments or adoption.

I have wonderful, kind and caring friends. I know we are where we are supposed to be because of the incredible friendships we have found.  I love that all of our weeknights are often filled because of plans with friends. I love that I have now been able to have sewing days with 4 different friends since I have been unemployed and it has been so much fun. I posted two things I have been sewing on Sisterview today.

My husband is wonderful and takes on so many burdens that I, with my protections learned from the Columbine shooting of being able to ignore so many things, don't focus on.

I love going to garage sales and thrift stores. It is so much fun. We have had two friends come with us this summer and were also able to go with my brothers and parents in Colorado, which makes it even more fun.

I've been accomplishing so much more and yet, have so much that I am behind on. If you don't believe me, just go here to see how many weeds I need to pull in my garden.

I've been listening to Brené  Brown's book, Daring Greatly and it is great. If you have never seen her TED talk, you should.  She talks about shame and vulnerability; and I'm feeling extra vulnerable because I'm unemployed and trying to start to eat gluten free to see if it will help with our infertility issues.

Hopefully, in the near future I will have a job that I can start after we get back from our trip to the beach (I have my fingers crossed.) I have an interview tomorrow so say a little prayer for me!

Life is real and raw and hard and wonderful and in the midst of it, we have those around us who are living real lives too who help get us through. I am so thankful for that.

dedication to Pantone 2013

Remember some finds I posted about the other day?  I have a second finish to show you. 

Hop on over to Sisterview to see my finished table.

Wordless Wednesday

junk

I consider myself a junker- meaning I love finding used treasures.  I think it comes from my parents- my Dad is able to see the potential in everything and they had 8 children so they had to make things work as they could. Dad is the garage sale pro and finds so many amazing things and many of my siblings love it just as much as I do.

I'm glad that Jake sees the potential in so many things also. Honestly, our house has furniture because we believe in the power of paint!  Our couches and my mirrored coffee table (which I got for $50) are the only pieces of furniture we have purchased new. Everything else we have found at yard sales. 

$1 for this sewing table which has now been painted to a bright emerald green. Will be used as an entry table.

It also made me happy when Jake woke up on Saturday morning and reminded me that it was typically a good garage sale weekend and we went. The best part is that we were able to find my friend Whitney at our first stop and spent the rest of the time following each other to sales.  

                                   

Here are some kitchen stools we found at a sale that we recovered that afternoon. My kitchen table and chairs are not my favorite, but at least these stools help us add more so we can invite more friends over and fit around the table together. 

  
                                   

Amazing chairs for the lawn- 6 for $15 found Saturday

 We have already got some great use out of our outdoor chairs since Jake built a little firepit for the back yard. If you ever want to roast s'mores this summer, please come join us!!                                                                                           
Do you want to know the best part?  We are taking a short trip to Colorado soon to find even more junk- at garage sales. And the bonus is that I get to go with my parents, who are pros. And Paris Street Market- which is amazing. And I'll get to be there for my nephew's baptism and see 2 brothers and 1 sister and their families.  Yes, we planned a vacation around junk and we love it.

5 years

We celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary today.  It's hard to believe that 5 years ago we were dressed in white in the temple together. 5 years ago our face hurt from smiling in all the pictures and we were able to see so many wonderful friends and family.

August marks 4 years of our struggle with infertility.  This past year has been really hard for us, but I have come to realize that I will be happy sharing my life with Jake, even if no children come to us.  He is kind, gentle, generous, hard-working and patient. He teaches me so much.

 The last few times we have been at Jake's parents house, I've asked him to take me on a scooter ride.  Jake asked me out after a scooter ride together and it's a fun way to remember how funny every love story is. 

 

I love this guy and can't wait to spend many more years with him. 

Beautiful world

If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen my pictures. But lately I have been amazed at the beauty all around me.


It really is amazing to me how God created every shade of color when he created the earth. And that he considered his children, who are much smaller than the mountains and the sea but whom he values most.

He also gave us each a chance to find our way in life. I'm grateful that he led me to find my wonderful husband and that both God and my husband help me as I continue to find my way in life.

Recent randomness

I'm losing my mind. Two examples to prove my case:

-Last week I took the garbage out for our Thursday garbage day- on Thursday night.

-The week before that I spent 20 minutes putting my contacts in and one eye would go blurry every time I put the contact in. After freaking out that I was going blind, I decided to take them out and when I did I realized that I had put both contacts into one eye- hence the blurriness.

Continuing on with other randomness:

-crunchy Cheetos have been tasting delicious to me the past few days.

-we didn't dye Easter eggs but we still can't go without our egg salad sandwiches.

-I want to be at the beach so bad right now- in spite of my never beach ready body.

-I have hit a wall with sewing. I want to do it so much but when I sit down to start working on something it takes so long to prep it that I never actually get to the sewing part.

-We have watched the first 3 Harry Potter movies since Saturday night which basically means we have to finish the rest of them now. (no complaints here).

-Saturday night I almost bought a cute navy blue & white polka dot dress. It was marked wrong at $20 so I decided to get it and have a cute dress for church. When they told me it was $40, I didn't get it because I was mad they didn't honor the $20 price. But I kind of still want it...

-We tried a new restaurant in town for lunch on Friday (huHot) and went back on Monday night with friends.  We may or may not have plans to go back this Friday with some other friends also. Let's just hope they don't recognize us.

Organization

This week is my week of organizing. Remember how I'm working on balance this year, Kristen?

Over the weekend I organized my craft room and today I organized my sewing patterns into it's very own binder.

 
Not long ago I went to Staples with some of my rewards and a bunch of the Martha Stewart office stuff was on clearance.  I wish I would have bought more, but I grabbed the items I could justify at the time- including this cute red binder.

I printed some pages on cardstock as my dividers and used these cute Smash tabs to make my dividers.

 

The goal for this week was to take a room a day and organize it, but that hasn't happened so far.
Although I did start working on a family "command" area where we can keep the things we need. Currently we have a calendar with the monthly events, as well as baskets for our "dump" area so we can at least keep things contained. (so far only Jake has one and I can't find  good baskets for this area anywhere in Logan).  The plan is that by at least designating it as your area to empty our pockets or put whatever you need that it will help other areas stay tidy. We will see...
 
Still to come- a family organization binder and a better picture without the night-time shadows. :)

 Since my kitchen cabinets end right to the left of this and I am out of cabinet space, I would really like to find a cool hutch/shelf I can put in this area and use for all of my pretty dishes. But for now, I'm going to utilize it as I can until that happens. And adjust when necessary.

Catch up

It seems my entire life right now is a big game of catch up. Behind on everything and the only thing that gets me through each week is having a weekend to clean up and breathe again.
I can't even believe how fast the weeks go by. Working 65-70 hours a week is intense.
I'm still working on balance and have set specific goals for the last few weeks but haven't accomplished all of them each week. I'm still plugging away, though.

Right now I'm waiting at the airport for a quick trip to Colorado. My oldest brother was surprised by his wife with a family trip to CO for the weekend and invited anyone who wanted to join to come as well. We were able to make it possible for me to fly there and I'm super excited, although I'm sure it will be a whirlwind of a weekend.
That means no catch up for me this weekend but at least I'll be enjoying some wonderful family time.

peptalk

I was going to write a post about how I lied in my last post about balance and that I've been doing awful this week.  But then I saw this video and it made me smile.


 Make the world awesome. Apparently the embed thing is cutting of my videos so go here to watch it.

Here are some other encouraging things I have found lately, courtesy of my sister Jennifer.


Go here.

I'm not a mom. And unfortunately I know I may never be. But I still like this post and think it applies to me.  Like moments when husband & I laugh so hard we cry.

Balance 2013 No. 1

I started the first weeks with more balance then I have had in a while.

Physically: I am eating healthier, especially more fruits and veggies. This freezing cold, however has sucked away all of my motivation to exercise. I really haven't been exercising and I really have no excuse except that I hate the cold and love my bed. And there is the minor detail of starting something new that takes up an additional 30 hours of my week but it's all about balance, right?

Emotionally: I haven't been doing well at going to bed when I should the last few nights and as a result of this, I am emotionally drained.

The resolutionary challenge is helping me find balance by keeping track of things I am grateful for. I've been asking Jake what he is grateful for every night also and writing it down. It will be fun to look back on, although I'm pretty sure heaters and warm houses are on there many times.

I started the year out reading for 15 min a day and sewing for at least 15 minutes a day. I haven't been doing it lately but have still been getting some sewing in most days. It's sad how out of balance I am already. But at least I've improved in some areas.

CO Shopping

I posted some pictures of my CO shopping treasures on sisterview.com. 

 

It was such a wonderful vacation and was good for my soul.

Happy Birthday my love.

Today is Jake's 27th birthday.  We celebrated with friends last night hosting a Rock Band party (per the birthday boy's request).


 
Jake is one amazing (and handsome) man.  This year I have been more grateful every day for having him by my side. He has so many wonderful qualities that help compliment me and I am so thankful for that.
 
Jake is a good sport, a wonderful listener, great at researching things, reliable, kind, funny and so much more. I love getting him laughing really hard because it makes me happy.
 
He is helpful with nieces and nephews and is even obliging. (This is the "I don't really want to, but I'll smile for your picture" look).
Jake shows interest in my activities and encourages me in so many ways. He also helps balance me out and makes me think about so many things. Jake is selfless and gives so much to so many, so when he tells me he wants to do something, I jump on the opportunity as much as possible.

 
Happy Birthday, Jake! Thank you for being the wonderful man, friend, husband, son, uncle, brother that you are.