Happy New Years!

Here we are. December 31st, 2012. Last day of this whirlwind of a year. It has had it's fill of ups and downs, but overall has turned out alright. Here's a quick recap of our year.

• Chloe had surgery on a Dermoid cyst on her left eye at the beginning of the year. It's healed really nicely and hopefully as grows the scar will fade.
• I turned 24 at the end of January and have been dreading turning 25 all year. I will officially be a quarter of a century old in a month. (OLD!)
• Shavik got a job for the Clallam County Road Department and bought a house. We moved in March.
• Shavik and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary in August. Nothing special, just another year.
• Chloe turned started preschool in September and shortly after turned 4. She is learning so much and loves going on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She has recently learned how to write her name and has written it everywhere!
• Shavik turned 26 in November and got a deer the week before. He really enjoys hunting and I have already signed up to get my hunting license this year!
• We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family and really enjoyed it. The following Saturday we were able to spend it with Shaviks.
• And of course the fillers are Chad had 3 different brain surgery's, mom and dad moved to Cheney and Chelsey moved to go to school in Ellensburg. (And we miss them everyday!)

And that leaves us here. End of a year. I want to take a minute to share all the things I am thankful for. My family. It's very strong and I cant believe how much this year has changed us. And for the better. I am thankful that we have a happy home and that Shavik has a good job that right now I can be home with Chloe and we can still afford all the thing we need. Very grateful for him and how hard he works for us. I am extra thankful for my mom. She's my hero and I know that where I get my strength from. Her. She is what keeps this family together and I respect everything that she is.

I hope that the new year brings happiness to you all. I am very lucky for such wonderful family and friends. And of course, that little ginger that lights up my life. Happy New Year to you all and may the next one be better than this year. Lots of Love!

Amy
(Here are some pictures to recap our year!)

January- Home from Chloe's Surgery

February- Snow! She loves snow!

March- Our new home!

Our little model!

July- Family pictures!

July- Shavik and I at a friends wedding.

September- Chloes first day of preschool.

September- Chloes 4th Birthday.

October- Chloe and Shavik playing.

Thanksgiving.

November- Thanksgiving with my family.

Time

I've been looking back at my moms blog from when she first started til today. And all the inbetween. Chloe when she was alot littler. Makes me wish I had thought about doing this years ago. So many memories I wish that I had documented more than just memory. She has grown so fast over the last 4 years and some of those I don't remember. I am glad though that there are a few that my mom did document and I am very grateful for tat. But here I now...nothing can stop me! I'm determined to succeed.

On another note, Shavik came home tonight with Chinese. I have been craving it for weeks and he suprised me with it. Something I love about him. He's very thoughtful with that kind of stuff.

We also got fortune cookies. Shav and I have a tradition. We like to pick each others cookies to open. We believe it gives our fortunes a better chance at coming true.

Mines the top and Shaviks the bottom. (Chloe just eats our cookies!)

New oppurtunity you say? I sure hope so!

Shavik also came home tonight with a massage coupon and an appt set up in a week for me. Even got a sitter for Chloe. (Again, thoughtful.) Very excited about a little me time. So, chinese food and a massage just for me. Very happy girl, yes I am.

A few things I love...

Okay. Last post for my first day of blogging.

Get to know me better. Or things you might not know about me. Or maybe just even learning one new thing about me today. Here's a list of all the things I love (or at least that I can think of.) but not in any order.

1. My red-head. Shes the light of my life and the one thing that keeps me sane.
2. My family. Its huge. So huge that it would take far to long to count everyone. Extended family included. I need to keep in better contact with them and hopefully this blog helps.
3. Shavik. He's wonderful and very thoughtful. He enjoys hunting, fishing, being with me and Chloe (Chlo the most cause she's so darn cute and fun!) and spending time with his grandma.
4. Friends. I have a handful of close ones I see regularly and that's all I need.
5. Reading. I LOVE reading. My favorite other is Emily Giffen. She wrote the book Something Borrowed that recently got turned into a movie. (Yes, I also own the movie.)
6. Writing. I've never done anything with the fact that I enjoy it but I do.
7. Cooking. I truly find this one of my most favorite things to do. I love trying new recipes and making my own.
8. Baking. ^ same as above. ^
9. Photography. Not necessarily taking pictures although its always something I have wanted to try. But looking at them. I have lots of people close to me that do it and I love sharing those things with them.
10. Wine. All kinds. I'm not a wine snob, but I do enjoy trying them. Luckily all my girlfriends do to. :)
11. Music. Country, oldies, and especially Christmas.
12. Christmas time. It's my favorite time of year. My whole families. I love it. If it could be Christmas everyday, that would be amazing.
13. Shoes. I have a shoe obsession. Recently more with boots and I would love to expand my collection but that requires money...so a job would be nice.
14. Blogging. I am greatly enjoying this and have spent a great part of my day reading other people blog and ideas on how to make mine a great one.
15. My dog. I suppose I should have put him up higher on my list but again, this is not in any particular order. He is a chocolate lab/Chesapeake retriever mix and he is huge. But a big baby and just wants to be loved on.
16. Grey's Anatomy. It's my favorite show, I constantly refer to episodes of that movie in my everyday life, and I use quotes from it daily. (refer to my blog description.) I have watched all the season at least 5 times. I actually just started them over again yesterday. So this would be 6.
17. Life. I love my life. Everything isn't perfect and in now way do I have everything. But I have what I need, and right now, that's enough for me.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. I think I'm going to watch Brave with my daughter. If you haven't seen it yet, go watch it. Oh, and when you finish, tell me your favorite part. Without fail after every movie, Chloe asks what our favorite part it. So share it with me so I can share it with her!

Love you all :)

Chloe

So Chloe has started writing her name. (We are SUPER proud!) It first started on her chalkboard and she would write her C's backwards. So we taught her how to draw two dots, one on top of the other, and to start from the top one to connect the two.

This is what she did.

Shes a bright little 4 year old. Not sure what the average age to do this is, but I feel like I have a BRILLIANT daughter.

We wanted to see how well she could do with a pencil, because kids need more dexterity to write with a pencil. So we gave her a pencil and some paper and asked her to try. This is what she did.

Yes, Brilliant I say. :)

A new journey

After months of deliberating (and family saying I need to keep in touch better) I've decided to start this. A blog. I have been reading my moms alot lately and I found alot of inspiration in her sharing of some of the delicate parts of her life. And, alot of that has to do with me and my siblings.

I have spent the last few months trying to find what I want to do with my life (other than be a mother to my beautiful daughter) and I've hit a huge roadblock. Not only have I been unsuccessful in my job search, I also have had a hard time finding things that I could love. I have ideas, and I've tried all different avenues in the job market and have come up empty handed.

I want to share all aspects of my life on here. Family, friends, food, and things I enjoy doing. (Hope you all can appreciate that!) This is also the way I am going to update my family on the happenings in my life. (Yes, this is for you Lori since I still refuse to create a new FB!)

Hope you all enjoy this!
Amy