Evelyn's Blessing

I love baby blessings.

It was such chaos the weekend of the blessing (for several reasons ;-)

but it ended up being a fantastic day. Thanks to all who took the time to come.

Phyllis said it well when she told Joyce that only she could pull off putting a room in chaos into a Sacrament meeting in 10 minutes! The food was fantastic!!

(My cute sister-in-law and niece did a beautiful violin number)

A few shots...

We were glad Dan and Addie could make it

Here is the after-party at midnight hanging out with Dallen. Hal wanted proof to Marilee that they finished getting the floors in (just barely) to the new sunroom.

So how in the world did I escape getting any shots of me and my sisters-in-law and nieces? There were almost 40 of us there!

Do you guys have any other pictures?

I'll have to find my memory card of Christmas pictures but I love my inlaws. Some of my favorite people -- they can get me laughing harder than ever (even in the middle of crises).

Quotable quotes:

"That brazen hussy!"

"Oh man, and this is only the first day of the new year? We'd better drink to that!"

Pretty darn cute

Ok, confession time, the Christmas cards ended up being a printing nightmare, and then I was still somehow 20 short (still trying to figure that one out) so keep checking your mailbox!

I was so sad we didn't get a good family photo to send out, though.

So I packed the girls up--after I sent out cards--and finally got some cute shots of them together.

2 out of the 4 of us isn't bad??

(Especially when they're the two cute ones)

These two are so cute together...

It hurts to have hair!

My babies have hair, lots of it. The funniest part is that Evie pulls and screams, which makes her clench, pull, and then scream harder. A vicious cycle! It's terribly funny to watch and yet you feel so bad! Here is our kiddo in action:

We've been filling our time with:

Killer Jenga games-

this was our favorite (courtesy of the Hills)

Bounce, bounce, and more bounce houses with cousins and friends!



Yes, this is how we caught Kya sleeping. So did she fall out or is she just that angelic and fell asleep while praying??


First time ice-skating! She did great!
Her motto:
"When the going gets tough,
Kya gets DANG tough!"

Not complete without princess tea parties!

Today was a GREAT day! I was genuinely, truly, absolutely excited when I saw the temperature was back up to 19 degrees!! WAHOOOOO!!! We've landed in the coldest winter in 18 years. At least we're out of the single digits!

Here is our girls' band.

ROCK ON!

But more realistically, here is what's really been filling up every last second of my time

What is one tenth of

one hundredth of

one thousandth?

or

Are there unique solutions for VC firms to survive in a "2 and 20" world?

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Will Dubai actually peel off assets or how will they survive?

.

Did you know that the most "wildly popular class" right now at Stanford Business School is "Work & Family" - teaching techniques for two incredibly bright people to juggle success, careers, family, etc.

For example: highly educated women who leave the labor force for two yrs earn an average of 18% less than if they had continued working.

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Meanwhile top companies have hired Shawn Achor (teaches "Positive Psychology" at Harvard) aka "Dr. Happy" to help moost morale because employees were so emotionally drained. (Sound familiar with any of you or your companies right now???)

Stat:

Teams whose managers had positive attitudes had less turnover, fewer sick days, and higher productivity. -Michelle Conlin

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agh! I could go on and on (my old Cali book club babes will just roll their eyes and laugh at my "geekiness") - but someone in the next room is crying for attention.

G'night!

ps - zhu zhu pets are in stock at shopko.com right now

Once and a while...

...I'm touched by a message that crosses my path.

Today, these two crossed my path and I enjoyed thinking about it so I'm passing it along.

(you'll have to pause the side music)

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This first video reminds me of Devin's presentations. If we could grab every teen/tween and tell them how wonderful they are, we could change lives.

With the world screaming so loud in their ears,

if only they could hear this message enough to stand tall amidst it all.

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If He who made them loves them so fully,

then how is it the world can say they're not good enough?

I liked this last one. You have to at least watch the first half and see how it makes you want to jump up and help serve become more like Christ.

Isn't it amazing how music can be so powerful?

LOOOVE it!!

Happy Friday!!

I Heart...

Are you IN?!

I came across this challenge and I loved the idea! So for the month of November (currently on day 4) we are doing random acts of kindness where she challenges you to follow through on thoughts and seek out ways to give and then record it. Not limited to financial ways, but any ways - she says to think of your talents.

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We have been on the receiving end of SO MUCH kindness and generosity over the last 6 months that I can't possibly describe how much I've been touched. We felt like it was time to start paying it back.

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Here are others' talents:

Do you know someone hit with a tragedy?

Click Here to learn more about Ryan's Lions

I love the idea of Ryan's Lions and passing compassion forward.

The idea is to continue passing the lion on, once you feel strong enough, to those who need the comfort, love, or empathy through their trials or tragedies. When words are hard...

I heart my Toms Shoes! (My sister ROCKS)

(except mine have a cool orange triangle)

I love people that blog their talents!!

Sites like http://www.shesaved.com/ (coupon tips - I actually bought a new Wii for $125 using her tips)

or I loved OhBrooke's blogging tips on changing your blog's fonts around!

I heart creative and crafty people! I wish I had time to list all the ideas I love!

What do you heart?

(We are doing a "Favorite Things" party next month and I love hearing about everyone's favorite tips or personal items!)

So seriously, what do you love???