Man of the Year

The last few days I have been reminded of what a wonderful man I married.  He truly is amazing.  I haven't been feeling the best and he has been taking care of Taylor, doing dishes, doing laundry, letting me sleep. And he even came home a few hours early last night after making a run to the store for me. WOW! And he is the best dad. Here are a few pictures of him doing what he does best.  Loving and spending time with Taylor!

 Taylor and Brian w/ Taylor on BiliBed                        
Taylor and Brian while Brian is studying for school

 Taylor and Brian on Brian's first day of school              
 Taylor's first time in a real pool at Seven Peaks

 Taylor and Dad waiting to get on the hayride at the Castle Valley Pageant. This was before we had a crazy rainstorm. But the rain died down right before the show started and their was a beautiful double rainbow.

Our First Home

We never thought in our wildest dreams that this year we would be moving into our first home.  In February, we had a string of many blessings that allowed us to get into a home.  So we jumped on the bandwagon and started our home search.  We had a few bumps/disappointments along the way.  But we are so grateful those houses didn't work out.  Because we found our home. 

We put our offer in at the end of March and didn't hear back until June 16th that the house we ours.  The whole three months we waited we didn't look at a single house.  We just knew it was our house. But there we were hoping to get the 8,000 dollar tax credit so time was of the essence.  We had to close in 10 days. AHHHH!!!  But we did it.

Anyone who has bought a house and applied for a loan knows about all the paperwork. Well, we had to get a new loan officer last minute, with only one working car, a 9 month old, and a scanner that just wasn't cutting it, I did alot of running a stroller around town to the nearest UPS store to scan and email all the important paperwork. And there was always more paperwork they needed and more trips to the UPS store.  But we got all the paperwork in and are now glad to have that process behind us.  

After they excepted our offer, we went by to see our house and discovered our backyard had grown into a jungle.  Needless to say, I was concerned and was wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.  Luckily, some nice neighbors had been nice enough to mow the front yard.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I am sure I am not the only one who feels like they are neglecting their child while trying to settle into a home.  But we seemed to really enjoy being in this box as long as he was close to Mom.

This Saturday from 1pm-4pm

Come and browse my catalogs and wrapped gifts. And while you are looking have something hot to drink and some goodies. I have gifts for women, men, and teens. Please, stop by and see our home. Get in the holiday spirit! If you come you get a 10% off and 20% off if you bring a friend. And you can combine this with some awesome sales on outgoing inventory.

Mary Kay Open House

Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 1:00pm

1137 E 360 S Provo, UT 84606

www.marykay.com/raverett

Happy Birthday, President Uchtdorf!

Here is the shortened version of my testimony that I wrote for Facebook. It was a request to share our testimonies for President Uchtdorf's birthday.  And I wanted to post it here as well.

 President Uchtdorf, I love you and know you are a prophet of God.  I know that God speaks to prophets today. And that he loves all his children. I know that we lived in heaven before we were born and our children of Heavenly parents. On becoming a new parent recently, I know how much you love your children and I know our Heavenly Father and Savior loves us infinitely and perfectly.  The Atonement is the greatest gift we have been given and encompasses all the pain, sin, and sickness in the world.  With this knowledge I have found happiness and peace even admidst the trials.  I know that gospel was restored throught the Prophet Joseph Smith. I do not look at him as my God but as a mighty, humble instrument in the hands of God.  I know God answers prayers. His glory is in our happiness, success, and salvation from the evils of the world, and ultimately to return to live with him forever.  I know that we will be resurrected and  have perfect bodies of flesh and bones after this life. I know that we can be with our families forever. And I say all of this, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Giving Challenge

Day Two of the 30 Day Giving Challenge and this really is a challenge.  I guess, I am extremely self absorbed!!!  I did go to the mall and found the perfect book for someone. Too bad that they were already on my Christmas list.  Ok, it's ten o'clock at night so I still have time.  What can I do to give something to someone?  I can think of something. This will be fun.  I can get off the computer and stay off until tomorrow. So I will let you know tomorrow what I ended up doing.

Christmas Everyday

I have already been pumped for Christmas; cashing in alot of the deals out there.  I have made free photo books from Picaboo and Kodak and picked up a box of 234 Pampers diapers for FREE by redeeming my Swagbucks.  I have gotten $69 dollars worth of gift certificates for $26 through City Deals, a few great deals at Screamin' Deals. I downloaded the new Taylor Swift CD  from Amazon for only 3.99 and am loving it!  I signed up for HauteLook  and got a $10 credit. I got a SMASHBOX lipstick pallette for $5.95 shipped.  And much more! I will try to post the deals to my blog, in case, anyone is interested.  I'm trying to stay under our Christmas Budget of $500.  That is for our one year old, my husband, and I.  We will make this stretch and have a nice Christmas.

How do you make your money stretch for the holidays?

 Happy Shopping!  ONLY 53 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

30 Day Giving Challenge

In November, I have decide to participate in the  30 Day Giving Challenge, we need to try to reach out and give in some way or another everyday. Today is the first of November and I feel like I have failed. But I have made up my mind to get my husband what he really wants for Christmas this year. And he will be totally surprised. 

He is never surprised on Christmas.  But I want this year to be different. And to be doubly sure that we have the funds to cover it I went out and passed out invites to my Mary Kay Open House.  I love my husband he does so much for me.  I know he appreciates all the "little" things I do; but I want to do this big thing and see my husband's face light up like it did when he was a little boy (:

Thanks, My Blessed Life!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Holidays are so much fun with kids. I think Halloween is going to be Taylor's favorite holiday. But only time will tell.  He can scarf down a Fun Size Milky Way with the best of them!  So, so much for keeping all his candy to myself.  Monday night we had our annual family Halloween Party where we carve pumpkins. I forgot my camera so I will have to snag some pics from my mother-in-law.  Taylor sure makes a cute sea otter! But here is a picture of him in a pile of pumpkins contemplating the meaning of life:) or the meaning of purreed sweet peas!

The Sweetest Moments of Being a Mom

What a beautiful thing is a woman who finds joy in motherhood?  I know having children isn't something to take for granted. We tried to have a baby for a year and a half. And through testing I didn't think it would happen naturally.  But miracles happen! Taylor is our miracle baby and he was totally natural; no fertility drugs.  He actually was concieved the month after I went off of Clomid. Yes, I did run the risk of twins or triplets. But that's what you do when your body is messed up and you want a baby.  I follow a few blogs and I love this one for the pictures. Her husband is an aspiring photographer and takes the sweetest pictures of his little family. Enjoy!

HE SAID MAMA

Ok, so I am like two weeks late posting this but Taylor said MAMA and now that is all he will say. When he went on a ride on Saturday night and I went to the General Relief Society Meeting for my church; when I got back and I was walking through the door, he kept saying "MAMA, MAMA, MAMA!"  As a parent these moments are priceless.  Since last night, Taylor has been more cuddly than normal, he must not be feeling well, but I sure need those extra hugs.  Love it!

Adoption: It's About Love

I think Adoption is such a hard and selfless thing to do for a child.  I thought this video was so beautiful.   Children are such a blessing.  Adoption is an option! Pass this on, it might change someone's life.

GLORIOUS FOOD!

My friend was telling me how she was getting her feet pampered. We all deserve some pampering now and again. And I would not mind it if someone cooked a delicious meal for me. Because after reading this post, I might be too hungry to cook. haha!http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/4001

SOME DANCE MOVES TO PRATICE

Grateful for such an easy going son

I am grateful for such an easygoing son.  He helps me chillax when I am all bent out of shape over something silly or something huge for that matter.  He doesn't complain when we are stuck in the dr's office for an hour and a half.  He just keeps on climbing and exploring; and is fine as long as I will sit on the floor and play with him.  Taylor is starting to interact with other babies, which is a ball to watch. And will let complete strangers(to him) hold him without batting an eye.  Of course, there are those times(bedtime) when all he wants is mom and it is time to go home. And I can't blame him. We have our routine. I will nurse him, lay him on my shoulder, put the blanket around him as he nestles in, lay him down, read scriptures to him, and say prayers with him through the bars of the crib.  And than all is right with the world and he can sleep.

THANK YOU, TAYLOR for being the perfect son for me.  I told him at the DR.'S today that he deserved a treat. But what do you give a 9 month old for a treat?  He has had ice cream, cake, and otter pops! (;  But today he got apple slices; he didn't seem too bummed out!

Scripture (Service) Scavenger Hunt

   Camping at Huntington State Park was super relaxing. There were showers, green grassy areas to play on, and a reservior to swim in. The park even had lifejackets we rented for free, for those who were apprehensive about swimming out to the middle of the lake.


Friday afternoon, my sister-in-law, who just got back from girl's camp, had us moms set up a scripture scavenger hunt for the kids. They were to go to five places and look up a scripture before they went to the next location. All the scriptures were about service. (John 13:34, Galations 6:10, Mosiah 2:17, Mosiah 5:13) All the dads were over a group of two or three kids.
As they were all racing to finish first; we were "acting", that we needed help, to see if they would stop. One of us kept dropping candy; we were carrying for a pinata. I was trying to move chairs and push Taylor in the stroller. Grandma was in the trailer, on the floor, picking up utensils that had fallen out of the drawer. And my other sister-in-law was taking trash to the dumpster and the trash kept falling. As one of the kids said afterward, "Everyone was dropping things!" They all thought this was a little strange but only two out of eleven people stopped to help us. Mind you, the winners weren't the ones who finished first, but the two that stopped to help.
We hoped that this would be a spiritual wake-up call to all of us, to stop from the busyness of our lives, to see those who truly need our help. Afterall, we always feel so much better when we do something good for someone else.

Off Camping

We are off camping for the weekend and hopefully the rain doesn't come with us. We have been having lightening storms and heavy rain off and on for the last two days. And I was wondering how my lawn was going to get watered!!! I guess you get what you ask for. We are going to see the Castle Valley Pageant near Huntington, Utah. They only put it on every two years so it is definently worth it to go check it out. And you should get there early they have activities for a couple of hours, on stage, before the show.

Shopping Savings

Today I went shopping to get a few things for dinner and our camping trip this weekend.

First, I went to Buy Low. I got
Playtex bottle liners 100 ct: 8.99
3 Powerades:68 cents each
20 pears for 1.78
iceberg lettuce 34 cents
6 tomatoes .84
6 oz container of blueberries for 99 cents
My total at BUY LOW was 15.76. By far the playtex bottle liners were the most pricey but since I hardly ever give Taylor a bottle they will last forever.
My second stop was Macey's. I picked up
salsa 1.59
3 Onions 99cents/lb
12 snickers bars 3/98 cents cheaper than a SMALL bag of funsize snickers (this is for my brother in law's birthday pinata)
16 bottles Lawry's marinade(lemon pepper, herb and garlic, teriyaki, and steak and chop)This was a super deal, they were advertised 4/$5 and then there was a coupon on some of them for $2/2 making them 25 CENTS each!!!! WAHOO!!!! They did have to adjust the price because they were ringing up 2/$4
My total for all of that 12.13
A grand total of $27.89

Anyways, it's sad sometimes the things that make your day!(: Hey, easy dinners with marinades I will be happy about that for a long time. I would go get more but I will leave some for the rest of you.

My Prince Charming

My wonderful husband loves life and loves me. He is a kid at heart and that is one of the things that drew me to him. When we were dating, we always had fun just being together without fancy dinners or even a trip the movies. We would much rather cuddle at his house, spend time with the family, and go to BYU basketball games. At Christmas time, Brian dressed up like Santa and I even glued on the "eyebrows". I dressed up as his elf. We went and delivered candy canes and coal to people. I loved it. He is my best friend. And the best dad ever!

P.S. In this picture, we are wearing our matching BYU sweatshirts we got for our wedding. We were on our honeymoon in Park City, Utah. Don't we look cute?

Family Handshake

The reason, I have titled this blog, family handshake, is because that is a favorite memory of mine as a kid. Growing up, we were always consistent at having a nightly family prayer. And after the prayer, we would do our family handshake. We would put the tip of our fingers together, curl them, and move our hands up and down and count the members of our family. Even when someone wasn't there, we would count them. When we had guests, we would have them join our handshake, and we would count them. I hope everyone in our families and everyone who enters our homes will know that they count and are loved.