The Real Meaning of Christmas

I saw this on a friend's blog and had to share! It is such a good reminder of what the Christmas season and life in general is all about.  It is told through the simplistic and pure eyes of a child.  Enjoy!! And Merry Christmas!!

4 years of Marital Bliss!

This post is a little late, but Rusty and I just celebrated our 4th Anniversary!! It really doesn't seem like it's been that long. 

When I look back on the last four years, I can't help but feel incredibly blessed!! Rusty and I have been through A LOT this past year and are stronger because of it.  He is truly the one I lean on and is my rock. 

I love his goofy sense of humor.
I love his tender heart. 
I love it when he talks like "TAZ" because it just makes me laugh!!
I love what a hard worker he is.  Ask anyone and they will tell you that he is highly dependable and will 
   always do a good job!
I love how he thinks that I am beautiful, especially when I look in the mirror and see only a fat, infertile blob!
   He keeps me going :)
I love that he ALWAYS says, "I love you" at the end of EVERY phone call.
I love that he STILL opens every door for me!
I love that he ALWAYS says goodbye to me and gives me a kiss every morning before he leaves
I love that he works hard to make sure I am taken care of.  He truly wants the best for us both and that is so
   endearing to me.
I love how he is with his nephews and niece.  They LOVE him, well Maggie is a little more selective, but
   warming up to him.  But the nephews just can't get enough of "Uncle."

I could go on and on about all the things I love about him.  The funny thing is that the longer we're are married, the longer my list gets!! I love you Rusty Tuckett!!! :)

A Fro?!

That's right!! This white girl has an afro do!! :) It is 100% ALL NATURAL!!! No wig or ratting here! :) I simply put it in rag curls last night, then got up and brushed my hair :) Gotta love it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!! =]

I WON!!!!

I can't say "I NEVER win anything" because that just wouldn't be true.  I have a won a FEW things throughout my life, but VERY few.  Well, lady luck has smiled on me again and I won the giveaway for a REVERSIBLE CANDY CADDY from Thoughts In Vinyl.  It is a KILLER blog with WAY CUTE craft ideas and kits.  The kits include EVERYTHING you need to make this fun, festive, decor items.  The best part? They are pretty inexpensive and she has WONDERFUL sales so check 'em out! :)

Here's a pic of my FABULOUS prize that I can't wait to use!!

I can use this side now

And this side later :) How clever is that?!

Cute Crafty Giveaway

Checkout this way cool giveaway on Thoughts In Vinyl.  They are giving away this cute reversible candy caddy! Check it out!! :)

LOTS of projects and a visit with my Mom

Up here in "potato country" (aka Idaho) we are lucky enough to be one of the last school districts that gets what we call "spud harvest" (aka a 2 week vacation!!!)  During my 2 weeks off this year my mom was able to come visit me, which was WAY FUN!!! :)  During her stay we worked on a TON of different projects for Christmas gifts with a few miscellaneous projects thrown in here and there.  So be prepared to see A LOT of pictures :)  If you want to know how to do any of these fabulous crafts just let me know and I'd be HAPPY TO SHARE!!!! =]

This is a fun and festive burlap Halloween wreath I made. SUPER EASY!!!

Next, we made these plates for my mom to give to the ladies she visit teaches and I made them for the Young Women to use at mutual and give away with some goodies on them :) Another SUPER EASY craft!  We made 8 of these all together.

We also made these plates for Christmas to give to our visiting teaching ladies :) Don't you wish I visit taught you?! Ha ha just kidding ;)  We made 8 of these as well.

We made these flowers to give as Christmas presents to my sisters and cousins.  Way fun and EASY!! (are you noticing a pattern yet? Yes, we like EASY crafts! he he ) I don't even know how many of these we made. TONS!! :)

These are boards you hang on the wall to hold any pictures, notes, and momentos you want.  And guess what, they are  . . . SUPER EASY!!  We made about 8 of these all together.

This is a picture of a board and bow holder and bows I made for my little sis for Christmas (I hope she doesn't see this and spoil the surprise!) =]  And YES I ACTUALLY SEWED!!!!!!! (If you know me then you know that I AM NOT a sewer, but I gave it a whirl and after A LOT of picking out stitches I FINALLY got the hang of it. Kinda =] )

This is a tie blanket and a board I made for a friend of mine.  The board is for her to hang in the baby's room, that is due in November and the blanket is for her.  She LOVES bright green (the pic doesn't do it justice) and zebra so how perfect is that! :)

These are just a few of the frames I made that say "Families Are Forever."  (My mom had hers packed already)

I made SEVERAL of these with various family names of them, but I can't show you those in case the receipients see my blog :) So this is one for my brother and sis-in-law who live in Arizona (I think I'm pretty safe showing you theirs) =]

These are some more frames I made with various sayings on them (oh, by the way, when I say I "made" them I mean that I put in the paper, cut the vinyl and put it on the frame.  Just to clarify) =]

And yet SOME MORE frames!!! I really like the quotes though :) Oh man I did SOOOO many of these!! Adding up ALL the vinyl frames I'd say I did around 20! Yeah it took FOREVER, but it was easy :)

I also made three carseat canopies, but I forgot to take pictures of those.  I'll post those later :) Yep, there was more of my loveley sewing skills at work (or not so lovely in my case!).  I'm learning, but certainly don't have the hang of it yet!! Thank you soooooooooo much Mom for teaching me and being so patient when I messed up! :)

My mom also made 5 tie blankets, 3 quillows (a quilt that folds into a pillow), and a regular blanket.  She was FIERCE on that sewing machine!! :)

All in all we got A LOT done, but boy was it A LOT of work!!! It was soooo fun to have my mom visit and I can't wait to do it again next year!! :)

A little catch up

So over Labor Day weekend Rusty and I went camping with some friends up in a mountain area called Kilgore.  It was a TON of fun nd so relaxing to be up in the mountains away from all worries and cares. Unfortunately, on a 4-wheeler ride I lost my phone (which I took so I could take pictures), so . . . no pictures :(

Last weekend we went and got wood. What that means is that we went into the mountains, found dead trees, chopped them down, cut them up and loaded them up into the trailer.  This is a cord of wood:
It measures 4feet deep by 4feet high, by 8 feet wide.  We loaded 15 cord out of the woods last Saturday! I was exhausted and sore!! 

And guess what we get to go do THIS weekend?

You guessed it . . . Get Wood!!

Yeah!

NOT!!

(oh well, its gotta be done and someone's gotta do it!) 

And on top of all that . . . I got sick! I am FINALLY feeling better and back at work and life in general :)

So life is pretty boring right now, but in about a week my mom (and maybe my lil sis Dee Dee) will be HERE!! Wahooooo!! I LOVE my mama! :]

If I Die Young

"If I die young,

Burry me in satin,

Lay me down in a bed of roses.

Sink me in the river at dawn,

Send me away with the words of a love song.

The sharp knife of a short life."

The words of this song have come to mean so much more to me ove the past few days.  Our small community has been plauged by the death of youth this month.  At the beginning of August we lost a young man who was going to be a freshman this year.  He died in a 4-wheeling accident.  If that wasn't enough, last Sunday in the wee hours of the morning, two high school senior girls were headed back from a rodeo and fell alseep at the wheel.  The car rolled several times and both were killed. 

As I went to the viewing last night (which is the first one I've ever been to) the reality struck me of what it means to be dead.  The girls looked as if they were sleeping, physically, but looking upon them you could tell their spirits had gone out of them and what remained was only the shell of who they are.  I say "are"  because I know that they still exist in the Heavens and doing a great work where they are.  The Lord must have need of these of young souls and a great work for them to do.

I have watched the young women in my ward (the Laurels especially) struggle with this event and as I have thought of what I could say or do to comfort them I have found comfort myself.  I have realized that the Lord truly has a plan for each of us and that there is a reason I am still here.  If the Lord wanted me He could take me, but there is work yet for me to do.  And so it is with each of us.  I have also hard the stark reality put into effect that we are not invinsible.  Life is precious and can be taken away in a split second. 

As I try to understand why this event occurred and why three lives were cut so short I am reminded that

"Life's not the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away." 

Life is precious and I hope I can remeber that and not take my life or the people in it for granted.