JaNEWary

There have been a lot of "NEW" things for the Ricks this month.

Jocey played dress up for the first time.

Jocey and I went to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time.

 

Jocey took her barbie swimming in the sink and tub for the first time.

 

And we got our first house! That's why I have been MIA. There is lots to be done before we have to be out of our apartment on February 11th. We got the keys on Jan. 18th and started painting a couple days later once I figured out what color I wanted. I knew I wanted a light gray and so six samples later, we found the perfect match. Silver Spoon is the winner! We have one room down and too many more to go. Not to mention, we still want to tile the dining room.

 

 

We chose the bottom left with the 'S' under it.

 

So if you don't hear from us for a few more weeks, that's why. Bye!

It's Okay to Be Me!

Yesterday, I read a blog post from a girl I went to college with.  It was a great post and I have been thinking a lot about it.  I related to it.  It basically talked about how she wanted to be okay with being herself.  To summarize, she talked about how she was always trying to be this super mom, comparing herself to other women who seemed to be able to do it all.  Not that she (or myself) have anything against these moms but it just wasn't her and it's not me.  And she would get depressed and find herself in a funk.  I have been there.....many times.

Well I've decided to adopt her philosophy.  So here's to a new me, who is okay with being just me. I hope this doesn't come across as me giving up or settling on being just a mediocre mom. And I'm not giving myself permission to be lazy.  That's not it at all.  And that's not the point my friend was making either.  It's just that I will do my best, and my best is good enough.  I want to be a great mom but just because someone else can do more or does things differently, doesn't mean I'm not a great mom.  It just means I'm me.  I will always try to be better and grow.  As long as we are moving in a forward direction, we are on the right path.  This is part of Heavenly Father's plan for us, to progress.  He doesn't expect us to get it all at once, so why should we or do we expect it?  This is so hard to put into words.  Is this even making any sense?

Anyway, here is a quote my friend used in her post that she got from Pinterest.

"Be okay with where you are, even if you know you want to change."

And with her permission, here is a link to her blog post.  I would recommend reading it.  She is better able to put into words, many of my same feelings.  Just click HERE.

And here is another awesome blog post I saw on Facebook.  Click HERE.

Woah, woah, woah! Where did last month go?

We had a couple of busy weeks to finish off 2012. Seriously where did December go? And where did 2012 go? But enough questions, here's what happened the last couple of weeks.

Dave and I celebrated our 5 Year Anniversary. We actually had our big celebration back in September. We went to a Pentatonix concert. Click HERE to see the post. So on our actual anniversary, we headed up to Dave's dad's house to begin our Christmas vacation. We all went out to dinner to Chili's and then Dave and I went and saw the movie Skyfall.

 

I thought we should take a couple of pictures to document our actual anniversary.

 

Next came Christmas Eve. Oh but first here's a picture of Jocelyn's dress she wore the Sunday before (and for Jake and Alissa's wedding). What a cutie!  And Sunday night we went to the Harrison's (Ricks family friends) for goodies and games. Fun was had by all.
 

 

Now back to Christmas Eve. Jocelyn and I got to open a present with our Christmas pjs inside and Jocelyn also got a Christmas book, "The Night Before Christmas." We had a delicious dinner at the McCaffree's. Then we acted out the Nativity story. Jocey got to be baby Jesus. After that we headed back to dad's and we watched "It's a Wonderful Life." I don't think Dave or I had seen the movie all the way through from start to finish. We liked it.

 

 

 

On Christmas day Jocelyn let us all sleep in until 8:30. Then we opened all our presents and then played with said presents. Jocelyn got lots of toys and clothes. Dave and I got clothes, games, pictures, money, movies, and more. We all got spoiled.

 

 

Next up, Jacob (Dave's brother) and Alissa's wedding. We left a couple days after Christmas to head down to southern California. The day before the wedding we visited some of mom Ricks' old stomping grounds like her house and high school. We went bowling at the coolest place I have ever seen. We stayed up way too late multiple nights playing games with family (we stayed with Dave's uncle and aunt).

Jake and Alissa got married in the Newport Beach Temple. It was a beautiful wedding though it decided to rain that day. Luckily, the reception was easily moved inside. We left a couple of days later and got home just in time for New Year's Eve.



Jocelyn got lots of attention from her uncles.

 

For New Year's Eve, we had our traditional party at Grandpa Ricks' house. The McCaffrees were there too. We ate pizza, played lots of games, and then rang in the new year by watching the ball drop in Time Square. Then we went to bed because we were all pooped. We must be getting old.

 

So that's what's been going on with the Ricks. We have been busy but have enjoyed every minute of. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!