Christmas Miracles

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, and my favorite is to hear about wonderful stories of helping those in need. This Christmas we did our tradition of the 12 days of Christmas to a neighbor in need of some love. We also donated items to giving tress and other charities that help children. I even started a book drive to donate new books to children in need and I have loved being on the end of helping. As a child I was blessed with people who did this for our family, and so it is always nice when we can lend a hand too. Well, this Christmas season I was on the receiving end of someone helping me. With this book drive, I also had the stress of making sure all my inventory from Usborne Books & More was bought and paid for. I thought I would receive tons of donations and it would be easy to donate all my books to United Way Every Day Learners. After receiving 3 generous donations, I finally felt a little better but wished I could help more children with giving books for Christmas. As I sat feeling a little sad for myself, I received a phone call. A phone call that took all that stress away and made me cry because of the love I felt from a stranger. Someone had anonymously donated enough money to pay for every single book I had, and I was told that I could donate all my books! Whoever that wonderful stranger is, thank you so much! I will forever remember your kindness!

Donating my books!

This is at the United Way building in Provo :)

We got to Washington on Wednesday and are having a blast. We’ve loved being spoiled by Carter’s Great-grandma with amazing food and her all to ourselves (for a couple of hours). Luckily we have snow tires, because we hit lots of snow and ice on our adventure to Washington. In Idaho they closed the roads just after we drove by, because of sheets of ice covering the road and many people getting into accidents. We went 5mph for a good 45min to an hour. Then the pass to Washington had lots of snow on the roads, SO FUN (ha)! Once we got to my parent house however, nothing…. It felt like fall again when we got out of the car.  Tri-cities has always been pretty mild in the winter.

Thursday we had our annual Christmas Eve lunch/ dinner and every year it has snowed (that we’ve gone) but no such luck this time. It was great to see my sisters get here safely and Carter was excited to see his cousin Carmen. While eating dinner a gift appeared at the table for my mom and dad to open. As soon as my dad saw what was inside he smiled and cheered! It took my mom a little while to figure it out, but the card said… 10 little fingers, 10 little toes, 2 little eyes and 1 little nose. Put them together and what do you get? A baby due in MAY! That’s right ladies and gents, we are having a BABY! What a HUGE miracle we are yet again able to witness.

The Cool Big Bro <3

After lunch we visited Santa at the mall and some of us went shopping for some last minute gifts. Once everyone was home again, our evening was filled with talking about the miracle of Christmas, opening our Christmas Eve gifts (PJS), and watching a Christmas movie. I must say we stayed up a little too late after putting the kiddos down, and playing Santa at 1 am was a little hard lol. We got it done though and snuggled in our beds awaiting the exciting Christmas morning.

Christmas was very enjoyable! It took us forever to open all the gifts, because the tree was buried in gifts. It was so fun watching Carmen and Carter react to the gifts they tried so hard to open, and I was sitting in anticipation for Jason to open his big gift. Once all the gifts were opened, we got ready for our great Christmas breakfast feast. We had delicious food and got to veg and play games the rest of the day. It was pretty wonderful.

The Tree on Christmas morning!

Carter with his gift from Grandma and Grandpa

My cute boy opening gifts

The two wonderful people who made all this possible 

My cute niece on Christmas day.

The day after Christmas, we went for a hike in 28 degree weather! It was awesome lol. We actually had a lot of fun even with kiddos who walked with short little legs and begged to be snuggled and warm. It was so nice to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. Especially after a day of vegging :) I have loved being surrounded by my family and able to visit with them each night. The best part is, we still have a whole week of this left! I just hope it doesn’t go too fast! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

My little cutie hiking

It was cold!

He loved walking with Dyelan and Kira

Well, we ended up getting snow! It wasn't on Christmas Eve, but a couple days later we got a little dusting. Carter loved building a snowman with his favorite aunt. He was so sad when it fell over later, and every time we go outside he mentions his melted snow man with a sad face. He loves playing in the snow, too bad I didn't enjoy it as much. We still have lots of time for adventures while we are here, so stayed tuned, happy reading!

The snowman looked like a mouse

Carter with his snow man

The finished product. He loved it!

isn't he the cutest?

Yeah... my husband is cool ha ha

The Most Wonderful Time of Year

So, I am pretty sure December never started yet here it is December 18^th. Life has been super crazy and wonderful at the same time. I hope I can make it to Christmas!

Carter helping with the tree

Our cute family after decorating the house

Putting the star on

The first highlight of December, was my fantastic booth I told you all about. Well… first I had a scare with my inventory not getting to me in time and so I borrowed another consultants stuff. Then I worked like crazy making signs, thinking of prize drawings I could do, promotions I could give to make a little extra, and trying to be excited more than stressed about the whole thing. Well, the day of the boutique finally came, I packed up my car and away I went to Eagle Mountain (45 min drive for me). I got to the high school, found my spot for my sisters and I, and started setting up all my fun stuff. When my sisters got there we were so happy that all the work we did was over. Well… 5:00 comes around, then 6:00, I think I sold 3 books around 7 ish to other people who had booths, and NO ONE came. 8:00 and time to pack up. I was so bummed. I guess that happens in life sometime. Here is the BEST part, I missed my ward party, and Carter seeing Santa and not freaking out for the first time in his life. Grrr… maybe someday I’ll actually have a successful event :P

I missed our Christmas party with this sweet boy :(

On a happier note, my cousin came home from his mission! He gave a wonderful homecoming talk that lasted 30 min but felt like 3, and I was able to see so many family members again. We were missing each other after spending Thanksgiving with each other in close quarters. There was a luncheon afterwards and we had to leave a little early. We didn’t want to have to get a sub for our primary class AGAIN so we snuck out early to be with them. I can’t believe we will have all new kiddos next year. We have just started to get really close with our cute 6 year olds.

Monday we had a big FHE at our house and made gingerbread houses! I love having a house that we can share with everyone! Although I think we might need to get a bigger table. We had a delicious dinner together though with Carter his best friend Taylor and sweet little Carmen running around. I am pretty sure none of those little kiddos ate very well. After dinner we worked on our awesome creations, and I got to hold my 3 month old niece for a long time, I loved it! Every one left around 10pm and I was sad to see them go. I love being so close to my siblings and their families, it’s going to be tough when we all start going our separate ways.

Making Gingerbread houses

The rest of the crew

The boys watched a movie <3

You might be wondering if I every figured out my book situation… well I did. I decided to do a book drive and take donations to buy children in need new books instead of used ones. I thought it was going to be awesome and everyone would love to chip in a few bucks to help out. It has been a week and guess what?! I’ve only received 1 donation, I’m feeling a little discouraged. It is so funny how hard times teach us so much. I only have 30 days ( now like 15) to pay for the inventory I took out $500 and was actually so excited to have the experience of helping an organization during the holidays by giving them my books. Well, when Monday comes I might just be giving them 2 books. I have learned all the things that I will do better for my next book drive though.

We also went to Temple Square with some wonderful friends, to see the Christmas lights and visit with them. We had such a good time, even though Temple Square was crazy busy and it was super cold. Thank goodness for hot chocolate! 

All of us together

How beautiful!

Carter and his little buddy Jace

Have you ever heard of neighbor gifts? Well this was my other stress besides coming up with $500 to pay for the books I borrowed. I didn’t even think of getting anything for my neighbors (you wouldn’t want to ever live by me), but this girl made fudge, and chocolate covered peanut butter balls for our wonderful neighbors who really do mean a lot to us. I am so happy we moved into this neighborhood, although at first I wasn’t so sure. We have met some incredible people and learned so much from their service to us. I am happy I was able to show my appreciation somehow and I got it done just before Christmas.

We recently put Carter in a toddler bed, and it has gone quite well.  Although the first night was as if we had a new born again. Just about every hour he came running in our room crying or wanting help lying back down. I can’t believe my little boy is not in a crib anymore! He finally figured out how to climb out and so we had to change it. When I look at pictures now I get kind of sad too. He’s not a baby anymore and that’s for sure, now if we can just get down the potty training…. Ugh.

We head out to Washington to spend Christmas with my parents on Tuesday! I can hardly wait! My favorite thing about Christmas isn’t the gifts or the traditions, but that I get to spend so much time with my family, and Carter gets to love on his grandparents. I have also noticed that as I get older, that is the stressful stuff. I have been thinking about the birth of our savior a ton lately, and can’t stop feeling of the incredible love our Heavenly Father has for us to sacrifice his son. The savior’s life a testament to the love of our Heavenly Father as well as an older brother. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and remember the true reason for the season. Happy Reading!

Many Blessings to be Thankful For

Do you have any fun Thanksgiving traditions that you can’t get enough of? I do. For Thanksgiving every year, we have about a million people at my Grandma’s house. You get to grab a spot on the floor and call it your room for the weekend ha ha. It is wonderful to be surrounded by so many people you love. So… what did we do for Thanksgiving this year? We went to my Grandma’s house and it seemed as if our extended family doubled over night.  We had so many people missing too, our family is huge!

Everyone in Grandma's living room

Our adventures started Wednesday afternoon when we decided to take the long journey (6.5 hours) to Nyssa Oregon. We were a little worried with the rumors of a major storm passing through the area we were going. My little sister rode with us and Carter loved having her there, so much so that he didn’t really even take a nap. We listened to The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and rocked out to some tunes. Carter was even joining in on some of it. There was a little snow, but nothing what we thought it was going to be like. We had lots of fun.

When we got to Nyssa, we ate a delicious dinner and stayed up until none of the adults could keep their eyes open. Luckily we didn’t quite have to pick a spot on the floor, but we were in the piano room. It doesn’t have a door, and we had some cute little boys giggling, eating, and not sleeping right next to us. It didn’t really help that Carter was coughing up a storm all night too. It was awesome when we woke up on the floor (the air mattress leaked all its air out) taco style in the middle of the night. I will always remember the crazy Thanksgiving at grandma’s house 2015 J

How the house looked every night. I loved visiting with everyone!

Thanksgiving day we made preparations for the incredible feast, the men watched football, and I didn’t see Carter hardly at all. He was in heaven with all of his second cousins, running around. I loved watching him play. I was so excited when it finally came time to eat, but I was not excited for what happens after everyone eats dinner… the kids go straight for the pie! This time I saved a little bit of room so I at least got one piece lol. Actually this year we had a plethora of pies. I think the final count was 35! We stayed at grandma’s house until 10pm and headed to my uncles house who lives like 100 ft away lol. We got our own room and this time, we actually slept yay! It was so nice of my little brother to give up his bed, and my uncle to have us there. We were happy campers.

Us before going to bed in a bed! ha ha, we were happy

Have you ever gone black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving? It’s really not black Friday, more like black Thursday but I can say I have. My sister saw a deal she couldn’t pass up and Jason has never been to black Friday before and so I agreed to go. NEVER AGAIN! It was insane to see so many people and how rude and crazy they get. I thought we were safe being in Ontario Oregon, but now I know to think twice when someone asks me to go. We were herded like animals through the store and so many people were cranky. Not the best way to spend your day being thankful if you ask me. 

Our thoughts on Black Thursday shopping (we didn't take Carter)

The rest of the weekend consisted of a super nice hike/walk, the boys going shooting, visiting with cousins that are getting way too old and recently got married, bowling, eating lunch at Goodwood, and enjoying the wonderful blessing of a giant family. I love everything about the family I have been given, and am so thankful for the bonds that we share. Yeah… Ballantynes are pretty much the BEST!

Us on our walk 

Well, we made it home safe. Now it’s time to get into the craziness of Christmas! It should be good for my book business though, I ordered inventory for my booth and we’ll see how it goes. I also have major plans to spend lots of time with my big bro before him and his cute family move to Washington in February.  I can’t wait! Happy reading!

A Failure at Blogging

Oh goodness, it has almost been 2 whole months and I haven’t posted anything! I do have a million excuses, but we can save those for later. There is so much to catch you up on!

Jason

Jason is still loving his job. In fact it is a frequent topic that pops up in our conversations a lot. He has recently started a new job though, and I think it is worse than the one he has lol. He has become very interested in Real Estate, and thought it would be fun to start his own property management business. He hasn’t quite started yet, but we have gotten our feet a little wet. We have two properties we are maintaining for someone we know, and maybe someday (if it were up to Jason) we will have our own company.

HI!

Jason is still crazed with sports and decided that our Halloween costumes would be sport related. We ended up being football players and I was a ref. While we were on a double date once, we even pulled up a game and watched it during dinner! He has indoctrinated our son to watch college football every chance he gets. When we go to friend’s houses now, he even asks if we can watch football. Oh Jason what have you done?! Good thing I still love him, even if he is crazy.

Carter

Carter is the sweetest boy you will ever meet. He is always giving hugs and giving people complements. I love it when he tells people he loves them, and he always gets so excited to see friends. When he’s super sleepy however, it’s a different story. There have been many nights we have sat together and cried simply because he wanted to do what HE WANTS to do. Oh silly boy, I love him.

My little monkey <3

He is still super obsessed with cars and trucks or ANYTHING with wheels! Every time we go to the store, he asks if we can find cars or he’ll just take the liberty of finding them himself. He is so good when we go places, it is so hard not to buy him ANOTHER car.

Carter with his fave aunt. We rented a puppy!

His new thing is that he LOVES suckers! Everywhere we go (Walmart, the doctor’s office, the park, the post office, ANYWHERE) someone will offer him a sucker! People will say he is just so cute and hand him a sucker. Somehow he got it in his head that if we go to Home Depot (his favorite place) then someone WILL give him a sucker. Sure enough, if we go he WILL end up with a one in his mouth or one hiding in my purse.

My sweet boy playing with play dough. Yes he has no pants ha ha

Clarissa

What’s new with me? Well, I have almost completed the class that I signed up for in March! I know, so sad right. I have 1 year to complete it and I have taken my sweet time. The tests were easy, but the papers (8 of them might I add) are what kills! Especially when things are over your head.

My book business has been getting a little busier. It must be the time of year, but I have had several successful parties and an open house just last week. My next adventure is doing a booth at a high school fundraiser event, and hopefully I can become a better sales lady. That is a skill I am still lacking.

My first open house! It was fun :)

My cancer is still GONE, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have to see the doctor…. Carter has been so good, because at least 2 days a week, I will have some kind of doctor’s appointment. He is actually pretty patient and his daddy got him into watching movies at the doctor’s office, so he doesn’t mind it at all. For a little while every time we got into the car he would ask if we are going to the doctor. Don’t worry though, I am in good health as long as I am in check all the time. Not having a tiny itty bity pituitary gland actually creates really big problems. Oh well, at least I have the cutest boy in the entire world! Happy reading!

My little Family

A Place Called Canby

I am sad to say goodbye to summer. I love the weather, being outside, and especially having adventures and new experiences with my sweet little boy. Now it gets dark at 7:30, the evening requires a hoodie, and clouds have been a frequent visitor in the sky. In a place called Canby, however the weather is wet and a hoodie is required at all hours of the day (at least for me). It’s a beautiful place with so many trees you almost think you are in New York, and a sweet little family that we had the opportunity to visit. This past week was spent our time in Canby, and it was wonderful!

Last year we had made plans to visit some old friends, but with my health we had to cancel our plans. Well, we decided to make it up to them this year, and come for a five day visit! There was lots of time spent in the car, but also lots of time laughing, sharing precious moment with our children, and wishing we could stay just a little bit longer.

Tuesday we left after Jason got off work. Not the ideal time to go on a 12 hour journey, but luckily we have a wonderful grandma who is always willing to put up with us. We got to Nyssa Oregon at midnight and welcomed bed time when we got there.

Wednesday morning we had a delicious breakfast (Grandma always spoils us with amazing food, and tons of it!) of pumpkin waffles and fresh fruit. We never get our sweet grandmother to ourselves, and so we always cherish the moments we get to have her all to ourselves. We were able to visit, share stories, and marvel at all the things my grandma does to keep busy. Carter loves his great-grandma and was so happy to spend some time with her.

Great Grandma <3

It is so wonderful that he was able to spend some time with her :)

We had a 6 hour drive to Canby after our visit, and were so excited to see our friends the Leders. Carter was especially excited to meet and make new friends. We caught up on 4 years of not seeing each other with pizza and screaming kids in the back ground. It was so nice to see our friends again!

Carter had a milkshake while we were driving. He inhaled it!

Thursday we got up in the morning and made our way to Portland to see the Oregon Zoo. It was pretty cool outside and so the animals were very active. Carter loved walking with his friends and watching the animals play. After a while he was SOOOOO tired, but decided he wanted to be a trooper and refused to get in the stroller.

It was a beautiful day!

A bald eagle!

Carter and his friends :)

They decided to ride some horses...

Carter loved walking... don't know why we brought the stroller

The crew at the zoo :)

I was so excited to call my aunt and uncle who in live Portland, and beg them for a visit. I was so excited to lay out dinner plans at a Chinese restaurant with two people and we love so much! We had a wonderful visit, and were sad to say our goodbyes. Carter was getting a little crazy however and started doing laps around the tables. It was time to leave, but it was so good to have those couple of hours with them!

Our favorite people in Portland Oregon <3

Friday we woke up to rain, and decided it was time to do some shopping! How can you go to Oregon and not shop?! No sales tax is pretty awesome. Once the rain died down, we headed to an apple farm called Bauman’s. There were so many cool things to see and do. Most of the fun sections of the farm were closed, but we had fun playing in a fort, sliding on slides (they were huge), walking through a maze and playing on a playground. We ended our day at the farm with cinnamon doughnuts and fresh pressed apple cider, YUM!

US at the farm

Carter found a tractor!

Carter and daddy rode around on a bike.

I did too!

After our farming adventure, we decided the crazy kiddos needed to chill for a little bit. We headed back to the house and on our way in the crazy Portland traffic, saw an accident. We were the only ones who stopped, and it took a while to write a statement about what we saw. Then it was on home to chill and hang out with our friends. It was good to visit some more, and we had a yummy dinner of homemade peanut butter curry!

Saturday we had a plan for the beach, and decided to add crabbing to the list. We got up early and headed out on a 2 hour drive. Crabbing was pretty cool, and while we were throwing our pots in the water, I spotted my aunt and uncle. Yay! We got to spend more time with them.

Jason excited to throw his pot in the water.

Carter actually held a crab! Good thing its claws were gone!

Us on the dock. Yes I was FREEZING!

My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Allen 

After eating lunch we went to the beach! Not exactly the beach you would picture (beautiful sand, beautiful water, and the hot sun with a small breeze to keep you cool). It was COLD and very windy! I am sure we all got sand in every nook and cranny just by walking to the water. Sand was everywhere! We decided to go into a little more sheltered area, and had a blast building and destroying sand castles.

Here's Carter and I right before hitting the beach.

We ate at a place called Mo's. It was pretty delicious :)

Sunday was a chill day for us. We visited, let the kids play, went for a walk and then busted out some games once the little kiddos were sleeping. We played Rukus and Rummy, both of which we were all pretty competitive. We shared lots of laughs and had fun.

Jason read to Carter and Ben. they loved it!

Monday was a sad day. Carter didn’t want to leave his friends, but we got up early in the morning and headed back home. We tried to make lots of stops, but ended up stopping at Maltinoma Falls, for lunch, and for dinner. !5 hours and a massive poopy blow out later, we made it home! We love being home, but it has been hard to get back into the swing of things. After all having friends to play with all the time and getting no sleep, is pretty awesome. We had a great adventure! Happy reading!

The falls on our way home

Our silly little traveler. He was a trooper :)