Mr. & Mrs. Jerrick Gober

My little brother Jerrick married his sweetheart Sierra back in December. They are adorable together, and have some great adventures. We absolutely love her and I'm happy to have her as my sister!

The decor was beautiful. A winter wonderland that was warm and cozy. Sierra was breathtaking. I cried when I saw the look on my brother's face as his bride walked down the isle. I was teary eyed the entire ceremony. 

 

 

The food was delicious, I was craving more for days. The toast by the best man was perfect and one I will never forget. It was a total party and we danced the night away. All eyes were on Jackson throughout the night as he busted out dance moves I didn't even know he had.

 

I've never seen men fight over the garter toss like they did at the wedding! It was hysterical and I caught the bouquet!

 

Jerrick & Sierra had a sparkler send off, it was magical.

After the wedding & reception Rusty, Ashleigh, Jackson and I headed back to our hotel room. It was close to midnight so we stopped for some snacks to take back with us. I had been struggling with pneumonia and was so thankful I was able to keep from coughing during the ceremony,  dance and really enjoy myself all night. I was ready to crash when we got to the hotel but Rusty and the kids wanted to continue the festivities!

They hit the pool for over an hour. I just relaxed in the hot tub. 

I over did it, I was up coughing the entire night but it sure was a fantastic day. The next morning we met my mom down in the lobby for a delicious breakfast before Rusty and the kids got in one more swim.

Ashleigh at 14

How old are you? 14


What is your favorite color? Purple


What is your favorite animal? Unicorn


What is your favorite food? Sushi


What do you want to be when you grow up? Actress


What is your favorite book? Micheal Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 (by Richard Paul Evens)


What is your favorite song? "I don't really have a favorite song, I like lots of songs"


What is your favorite TV show? Glee


What was your biggest accomplishment this last year? I made the school play


What is your favorite season? Summer Why? "Summer is great, there is no school & get to go swimming"


Where would you most like to go for a vacation? Hawaii

What is your favorite thing to do? "Make out with boys. Haha Just kidding. Hanging out with friends"

Where do you like to go for dinner? Simply Sushi

Who is your best friend? Kylee


Click here to see her answers from last year.

Goodbye 2011...Hello 2012

2011 was a great year. I hope that every year just keeps getting better.  My personal theme for the year was forgiveness and I am proud to say that I was actually able to forgive a certain person after struggling with it for years. This year has been very eye opening for me. I've watched countless documentaries and researched all sorts of topics and it has really broadened my horizons. 


Jackson is doing great in both school and karate. He is still very much a mamma's boy although refuses to even hold hands with me in public. Ashleigh is quite the fashionista and is beautiful beyond her years. I am thankful that she is so trustworthy and I've enjoyed watching her first teenage year unfold. Probably the biggest change of the year was Russell moving out to Utah with us which has been great. We have tons of fun together.


2012 is a leap year. This will be my theme. My goal is to "leap" into this new year wholeheartedly; mind, body and soul, to better myself and the world around me. I'm not making any new year's resolutions... at least I'm not calling it that. Rather, just continuing to change my life for the better.


Don't get me wrong; I by no means, have a bad life. In fact, I am very blessed. My family and I have a great life but I am on the quest for something more. Something within. Enlightenment, if you will. I have a bucket list of things I've been wanting to do. Some things I have (slowly) started but others, for some reason, never have. What is holding me back? Fear of the unknown,  fear of failure, the worry of what people might think, the untrue belief that a single person cannot make a difference?


This is a personal leap but I do want to leap outward as well. I want to leap into bigger and better ways to pay it forward. I donate clothing and household items throughout the year to various organizations. I can give stuff with no problems. Yet, I am embarrassed to admit, I don't donate myself, my time. Why have I never donated blood? Why have I never volunteered a local soup kitchen, homeless shelter or animal shelter? I have wanted to for years but never have. What's stopping me? ...only myself.


I will continue to leap into better health. I will leap into enriching my family & my relationships. I will leap down the path to my own personal enlightenment.

...and it will be amazing.

Christmas

 

"And the angel said to them,

 “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy

 that will be for all the people.

 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,

 who is Christ the Lord."  -Luke 2:10-11

 

 

On Christmas eve, Mom, Rusty and I stopped at my Aunt Glory & Uncle Don's to drop off gifts and visit for a bit before heading to a wonderful candlelight service together at our church. The kids were at their Dad's for Christmas Eve this year and it was so hard to wait until 2 P.M. on Christmas to see them.

I was so anxious for Christmas this year, for days I felt like a little kid and it couldn't get here fast enough. I had some pretty big Christmas secrets I was able to pull off. Without being able to get out and shop, I must admit I am very grateful for online shopping!

We had a house full of family and more food than we could possibly eat. While we didn't have a white Christmas is was warm and cozy inside with the fireplace lit, twinkling lights & yummy scented candles. It was a casual lazy day enjoying each other's company. 


This video of the kids first look at what Santa brought, might very well be the only time I have seen Jackson completely speechless!

After the initial shock wore off and the we looked though our stockings,  Jackson said he wanted to give the first gift. He ran over to the tree and handed me the gift from him. I think both kids were just as excited as I was for everyone to open their gifts.

Puppy kisses!

Ashleigh got the boots she really wanted from Rusty

The puppy was 'helping' with the unwrapping

Opening presents is a tough job. Nap time.

Jackson liked wearing Rusty's fedora all the time,
so Ashleigh bought him one of his own

Pillow pet from Grandma

Ashleigh & Rusty putting on the puppy's sweater

Ashleigh wanted a keyboard as much as Jackson wanted a dog. I love her little happy dance at the end of the video.

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread houses

For Rusty and I, this was our first Christmas together. Being sick the entire month was not what I had pictured! So, this year, December wasn't stuffed to the brim with Christmas activities, outings and projects like past years. It was pretty mellow and yet still very enjoyable.


The kids & I did get to the library for enough Christmas stories to read by candlelight, snuggled up on the couch, each night before bed. I wrapped some ribbon around a pine cone ornament and it moved from person to person throughout the month as we did random acts of kindness for each other (make someone's bed, tidy up for someone, etc.). We made count down chains and We also carried on the tradition of making gingerbread houses.

For Rusty and Amorim, it was their first time making gingerbread houses, and they turned out to be naturals.

And for the first time in history, Tanner's house did not collapse!

Tanners method of decorating... throwing nerds at the side of his house and seeing how many would stick! 

Tanner and Amorim had a contest to see who could make the tallest gingerbread house... Tanner won, by a gummy bear.

 

Since we made the gingerbread houses just days before Christmas, we actually ate them this year! They were fresh and delicious the day after Christmas. Yum.

Catch up from December

I love to blog yet the idea of catching up on a month's worth of our lives is a bit overwhelming.

Last month, on a Sunday night, I came down with a slight cough after feeling fine all weekend. I woke up Monday morning with chest pains and difficulty breathing. It was slightly alarming to say the least. After a couple hours at urgent care I found out pneumonia was the culprit. Since I had gotten a pretty bad cold just weeks before, my immune system was still recovering and left the door wide open for new viruses & bacteria. Eww, that sounded gross as I typed it.  I apologize.

Every possible symptom of Pneumonia... I got. Even the 'rare' ones. Lucky me. Ashleigh juiced veggies & fruit we had in the kitchen and it was the most amazing thing I ever tasted after three days of no food. She was my hero. I took all the shoulder  rubs,  neck massages, and foot rubs I could get. My sweetie had flowers delivered and they were absolutely beautiful and surprisingly lasted for weeks!  My Mom was a life saver though the whole thing. She even stopped by to pick up laundry for us (our washer broke a few days before I got sick, go figure).  She helped clean up my kitchen once, which shamefully looked a bit like a hurricane ran though it, she also took the kids and Rusty out Christmas shopping a couple times and more than once she stopped by with some groceries.



I wasn't getting better as fast as I should have. It's been a month now. After four office visits, two chest x-rays, and six different prescriptions... I am almost back to normal. The pneumonia finally subsided but I caught a head cold last week and still have zero energy.

I feel like, after being home for a full month I should have been able to accomplish so much... clean, organize, work on projects. My Mom thinks I'm kidding myself, I've barely had enough energy to get out of bed, shower and chauffeur the kids to school most days.

Being so sick, I am thankful that; I was able to get out for a couple hours to enjoy my family on Thanksgiving, go to Jackson's karate promotion to blue belt (and got his certificate for passing off the first form with nun chucks), and attend (and be a part of) the most exciting event.. my brother's wedding (which will be an entirely different post)!

    

Sadly, Jackson lost a gold fish this month. It's always hard to see your kids sad and hurting but the four of us gave Shark Bait a proper burial in the back yard and Jackson was ok within a day or two.

December was pretty low key. Not a million things going on which can tend to happen around the holidays. My goal was to give my family a good holiday season but also to get better and try my hardest to keep anyone else from getting sick! I used Lysol wipes on everything, and made sure everyone was taking vitamins. Russell did end up getting a mild case of walking pneumonia, poor guy, but luckily he was better quickly! 

Wedding and Christmas posts coming soon, stay tuned.

I'll be back soon...hopefully

Pardon my lack of posting. I have pneumonia and it's reeking havoc on my body. I've had five percsriptions over the last 12 days and I have lost ten pounds (not the best weight loss strategy, I do not recomend it haha). Please send happy thoughts and prayers my way!

I should be decking the halls and shopping for the holidays instead of curled up in bed where my humidifier & inhaler are my best friends.