The most important Christmas gift

Well one thing you should know about me is that I wasn't allowed to wrap gifts when I was younger. Not because my mother was afraid I would tell the reciever what they were getting, 

but because I was horrible at wrapping. 

Even when I was in high school and ok even as an adult. 

Finally I think I am decent enough to wrap my children's gift. 

This year though I wrapped the most important gift I will ever wrap. 

I carefully wrapped the gift and used heavy duty shipping tape to insure that this wrapped gift 

will stand the test of time. 

I wanted beautiful paper and a beautiful tag (although I'm sure the tag will go missing as soon as its under the tree).

Even with a missing tag this gift will be one that everyone will know who it is for. 

So who is this gift for? 

Why is it the most important gift?

Here is my present…

The first thing my two year old noticed about the box was the hole. 

He peeked inside… "all gone!" He shouted.

I told him it is all gone until we fill it. 

This special carefully wrapped box is empty yet it the most important present under the tree.

You see my mom started a tradition in our family of having a present like this under the tree and 

each Christmas we write on a sticky note what we are

giving the Savior for His birthday.

Some years we gave him multiple things, some years my mom had to beg us to write just one thing.

We always gave Him something. 

I remember one year writing I will try not to hit Garett or Lauren for a week. 

Apparently that was a really hard thing to do. 

We always did realistic gifts. 

That was key to the success of giving a gift to Jesus every year. 

To do this tradition simply write what you plan to give to Jesus on His birthday. 

You can choose to write your name on it or not.

On Christmas Day you can read them and ponder how well you "gave" your gift.

Or you can choose to have a smaller hole and keep the gifts to yourselves but write down in 

your journals how well the gift was completed. 

I preferred to read them and not have our names on them. 

(Although it can be obvious whose was whose)

Some examples of gifts:

Visiting lonely elderly

Having a family over for dinner

Changing a habit

Making a habit

Give a physical gift to someone

Be nicer to someone at school/work

Have meaningful conversation with a stranger and get to know them

There are many gifts to give the Savior. 

He isn't here in the flesh at this time on the Earth.

He needs us to do His work. 

So this year i decided it is time for us to have our own gift to Jesus 

under our tree. 

I don't think this is a tradition you can start too early or late. 

If my 2 year old can wonder and ask about an "empty box" then I'm sure your children, spouse, room mates, ect. can wonder about it too. 

I have read many things about Christmas as pertaining how to keep the true meaning of the season. 

I very much enjoyed this blog post here about Mr. Claus 

It is how we are choosing to present Santa. 

I believe that Santa should not take over Christmas but should be used as a tool

in teaching our children about giving. Of course my little man is going to get excited over gifts 

rather than the little baby Jesus. However as he gets older he can understand the true meaning.

It is up to Adam and I to make sure we live our lives in such a way that he can know baby Jesus

is so much more than just a little baby. 

 But for now I will let him wonder about the box that we fill with papers. 

I am grateful for my Savior. I hope when people see me they know I have been touched by 

His light. I hope to share that light with others. 

I know he died for me, I know he died for you. 

But He also lives for me, He also lives for you! 

He may not walk among us but I believe someday He will come again. 

I plan on growing, learning, and becoming more like Him.

I challenge you to do some kind of variation of this tradition. It has helped us stay focused on Christ. 

I love my Savior very much and want to wish 

Him a happy birthday! 

Merry Christmas!

Friendsgiving

One thing that I love to do but have a hard time doing in an apartment is 

having people over.

I absolutely love parties. 

But how do you do this in an apartment with no backyard?

Well, luckily I live across the street from my church and had a crazy idea.

What about a friends-giving?

Here is what I did,

I told my friends lets get together and eat. 

Everybody brought something and we ate… and ate… and had a ton of leftovers!

I kept decorating simple and thanks to all my wonderful friends it was able to happen. 

Here are a few snap shots.

I had everyone write down what they were grateful for and clip it onto a string.

thank you pinterest for simple decorating tips 

all the fancy decor was brought by my friend Christin (she is pro at decorating)

Lots of people came. For privacy reasons I won't blast all their pictures on the blog. 

But I promise people came! We had a great feast and a great time. 

I think this will become a new tradition. 

Thank you friends!

To all my friends...

Believe it or not …

I used to be on time.

I used to invite people over all the time.

I used to make it to every event I said I would go to.

I used to be excellent at keeping a clean house.

I used to be good at keeping in touch.

I used to be good at giving gifts.

I used to be good at birthday cards, Christmas cards, and thank you notes.

I used to be fast at getting out the door.

What happened? 

I became a Mom of two babies.

After having Thayne I noticed my punctuality going down hill, also friend hang out time.

I also noticed I didn't make it to every event I wanted to go to.

I had a hard time cleaning, writing, thinking, remembering, and getting ready.

Apparently I thought I would make it even more interesting by adding another child. 

Now I am even worse at all those things mentioned above. I thought there could be nothing worse than a baby teething for 2 years straight but there is! Two teething babies! 

For my friends that somehow have managed to stick with me even through my new flakiness. 

Thank you! I'm sorry I didn't send you a present or a card… ever. 

For my friends who don't know me any other way then how I am now. 

WOW you are amazing! 

After becoming a mom I finally can empathize with all the mothers I was friends with before I became one myself. 

A friend shared a blog post with me about "the blur" the blogger describes "the blur" as the time when the kids are little, you don't know how you survive or function on zero sleep, energy, or sanity. 

Somehow moms make it out. 

I don't know how long my "blur" will last, but I do know there is a time and season for everything.

And right now my season is to be flaky, forgetful, and slow. 

If you can manage sticking it out and being my friend through this time I promise there will be a time

when I will be good at everything I once was. Be patient with moms. It's not easy hearing crying babies all day, and night, and day, and night, and day, and night. Mess after mess. 

Diaper after diaper. Feeding after feeding. 

Sometimes I just have to break down and cry to myself. 

Here is the house in its real current state...

(This is a pot in the bathroom I still don't know how this got here) 

I love my little darlings and I love my friends. 

However these guys are my world and I have focused so much time on them that I don't have much time for much else. In fact both babies are screaming right now. 

Be patient with mothers this holiday season. Help them out. Ya no one wants to hear screaming kids at the grocery store but we all still have to eat. 

Be slow to judge, someday you will find yourself yelling, crying, and forgetting too. 

These are reasons my poor little blog is getting about one entry a month. I made a goal to be better next year. I have so much I want to write and say but it is not my season to write every week. 

Thanks for your patience and love towards me during this time.

Learning from the YouTube

Do you ever just find yourself watching the YouTube to find that one funny video your friend wanted to show you? Then next thing you know hours have gone by? (Please say yes) well hopefully among watching the YouTube to laugh or watch "what does the fox say?" You watch a few videos that are actually educational. I swear Adam passed his organic chemistry class from watching chemistry videos. I'm a total visual learner and have learned a lot of great hair dos from the YouTube. However recently I got really brave... What about cutting my own hair? Scary right? 

I watched this video here and tried it out. 

I want to figure out how to layer the back of my hair better. But for a hair cut that is super quick you can't beat this one. It was a little tricky because my hair is so thick. But I want to find a way to make my hair have a more "choppy" look. If you find any tutorials on that let me know! I feel much braver after cutting my hair… oh you probably want to see what it looks like...

you can kinda see the layers on here my hair is just so thick and straight its ridiculous. I might even go short. You probably can't even tell I cut like 3 inches off.

Have you ever cut your own hair? Saves time and money. However I'm in desperate need of a color and I hate doing that on my own.

P.S. Vet school journey is going again we are waiting to hear back from the schools. Midwestern (in Arizona) has shown some interest in Adam. We are seeing what happens next.

October catch up post...

Don't you hate it when bloggers do a catch up post because they got behind?... Hopefully you don't because that's what you are about to get.

First item of castle of hassell... 

We bought a bed. A fancy memory foam KING size mattress. I haven't slept this good in years... I mean years. So lately we have been very very busy building a bed frame for our new bed. When I say we I mean Adam and our friend Taylor. Taylor and Christin were/are nice enough to let us build this bad boy in their garage. Its been there for weeks now and they still like us. That is definitely one of the hard things about living in an apartment, not able to build in a garage.

Here is the latest on the bed. Adam and Taylor feel 215% more manly by working on this. We should finish this week. More details on that. 

Adam also applied to vet school this week so we are praying that all goes well in that field. This will be his last year applying if he doesn't get in we will have to move on to plan c... D? Maybe Plan V. More to come on that. 

Today... Thayne, Josy, and I went on a walk. Thayne found this praying mantis and had to have him on his arm our whole walk. 

Josy today decided to feed upon the words of the apostles by eating aunt Lauren's conference notes.

Thayne also had me working on a sewing project today. It's in the process I'll also have to show you when it's all done. It's a sweater blanket from all our high school sweats.

What do you think?

Adam and I got to go to conference this weekend. Our first time together ever. So awesome. I know you can feel the spirit at home when you listen, but the feeling when the prophet enters the room is indescribable. I was so touched by each talk and learned much. Now I need to change my ways and act on all the promptings I got.

I also did a cheap update in the kids room... Christmas lights. Thayne loves them. And it makes the room look bigger. Have you ever used Christmas lights for anything other than Christmas in the house?

So totally random post. Lots of projects going on lots to write about later. Glad you can see our life in the process. These past few months have brought a lot of craziness. Things are definitely in fast forward. 

Dear Satan

Dear Satan,

I am sorry to inform you that you did not win this week. Maybe you did with other souls but not mine. You might have thought you had me when I became frustrated at my finances. Or possibly when I became upset because Thayne wouldn't listen to a word I said and threw  more tantrums than I can count. You might have thought that for sure this would be the week you would win me over, when I swore at Thayne. You must have thought that I wouldn't want to change and try again.

Patting yourself on the back thinking you could lead me down a dark path. You must have thought for sure I wouldn't be attending church. "Thayne can't sit still what is the point of even going?" "No one even cares if you are there" "Alyse is so tired she wont go" "Giving up on everything is much easier" These must have been phrases running through that cunning mind of yours this week. Little did you know that I am strong. Stronger than I even know. How? How can this be? Is that what you are wondering? Because God gives me chances. He gives me nights and days so that I may try again. He gives me people who love me and accept me no matter what. He gave His Son to die for me that I can become clean again and try again.

So this will be a huge set back for you but I am going to have a better week. I can only become stronger. You had me fooled all week long that I was worthless and doing everything wrong. "How could I change?" Was constantly in my mind. Well I can change and I will. I may have tripped and fallen, but I can still run. This week your negative thoughts are not invited. I will be too busy being happy and feeling worth while. 

Sincerely,

Alyse

Bathroom travel kit

I should have done this post ages ago... However life keeps happening and somehow I've been super busy. Today though I'm wearing my red skinnies, kids are asleep, and I am listening to the sound of the rain.

On our wedding day a few years ago (4? Really?!?!) 

We received a lot of wonderful gifts. All of which we felt so grateful for and have cherished and loved. I want to share about one in particular that we use every trip we take. EVERY TRIP. 

We call it the "bathroom bag"

This handy bag is ready to go whenever we are for an adventure. The beauty of it is I don't have to gather every little bathroom item as we decide to head out of town. I always keep it well stocked. The lady who gave it to us used to have a business selling these but as far as my research lead me she doesn't sell them anymore. We have adapted it to our needs and have changed what is in the bag so much that I feel comfortable listing everything that is inside it without feeling like I'm taking away from her. 

This list looks totally ghetto. But my printer and my computer are not speaking to each other so a picture and not a scan is what we get. Hopefully I can repair their relationship. While we travel with our babies I also add in baby bathroom stuff... Nail clippers, teething gel, baby soap, ect. This is a list of just everything that stays in the bag at all times. Right before we leave we add toothbrushes, glasses, toothpaste, and razors. Perfume if we are feeling real good. Haha. This bag has been a lifesaver and simplifies my life while traveling. And I love traveling. I add items as necessary for longer trips. 

As you can tell it doesn't take up too much room and it says a ton of headache especially when we plan a last minute trip. Most of the items I got in the travel section of the toiletries at the store. I bought some reusable travel size bottles for my favorite shampoo and conditioner.  It stores under my bathroom cabinet perfectly. Do you have a bag like this? What are your musts?