the MOTHAH load.

"It's Christmas time and time for a carol..." oh wait! yeah, that was a WHILE back, wasn't it?
oh well.
I'm posting pictures NOW. And, for most of you, you won't care. And, that's okay, because I don't care about a lot of your Christmas family pictures either. :) hA! There I said it!

But, because we have a darling sibling in North Carolina who wasn't a part of this year's festivities, AND our family loves to see pictures of themselves---here we go!

These are NOT in reverse order of when they happened... so, you will literally be REWINDING when you see them.

Enjoy.

The annual Snyder family Christmas picture.

Matilda in my my mom's new craft room. She was gutsy and painted the walls LIME green
and I helped her make these darling pillows. Pretty fun, eh?

hanging at the Snyder home.

Notice Matilda's big konk on her forehead. The day before she lost her balance and tipped right into the molding of the laundry room door. I, of course, was terrified, thought I should rush her to the E.R., b/c it created a HUGE goose-egg right away and turned purple within 30 seconds... but, I had my mom come home from a meeting and she helped me check it out. We have a feeling that the incident was the first of many bonks. Sad day. What a dolly!

hanging with friends. we love adam and ashley. too bad I look like I just woke up.

Tillie chillin' in the SIT UP position. Good girl. And, playing with Aunty Becca.

Baby Shower for Rachy Roo! (who has now given birth to a darling little COHEN!!!)
Look at this crazy bunch of girls, all of whom I love so much!
These group shots seem to change a bunch over the years?! :)

chillin with the snyder family at winger's (a utah county stand-by). I HATE that sign in the back.
It makes me gag every time I read it.

got to chill with our favorite washitonians...chris-face and kem-sters! holla!

aaron and I went on a "real" date by ourselves and this was the decor at the restaurant.
Don't worry the lovely stetson featured below has REAL SHADES on.
Truly, the dark sunglasses are REAL. Glued on. Looking awesome.

My reaction to the awesome portrait. Perhaps i can commission the artist to do a rendering of me!!? Aaron looks drugged in this shot, but, I assure you, he is on a NATURAL high from the beautiful painting.

Christmas at the Wood's!!
The senior portrait is in loving memory of our favorite missionary who is currently in North Carolina.
HOLLA to TYLER! I love that someone brought that out.

Caden showcasing his new monster beanie that yours truly made. All the little cousins got one.

our attempt to get a group shot. Lydia and Matilda's hats had a bow and puckered lips...
you know, to make them a bit more feminine.

Matilda didn't really care about the presents this year. But, she did, however, LOVE the wrapping paper.

Gotta love Klinton's reaction to his "creeper seat". Now, if that isn't sheer joy, I don't know what is.

Playing with the goods.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. These two played GREAT together! Max and Matilda... about 10 months apart,
but they look so similar in these pictures! Too cute. How fun to have such darling cousins!

The Wood house at night! Good job capturing this, Aaron.

Grandpa Wood's birthday is on Christmas Eve. Look how excited he is to blow out his candles!

Random Christmas shots we love.

Mr. Adam featured below. Yes, ladies, he is single. :)

Caden and I whoopin' it up at Ping Pong. I acted like I was a champion, but I'm not THAT great.

Tillie Mae with Grandma Petty. We sure do love that lady!

More of the darling duo...

Grandma Wood and the kiddos.

***Okay, you made it through all the Christmas fun. Good work.
You deserve some sort of prize. Look at how grateful Matilda is.

The end.

i had a dream...

This morning I woke up sweating because of my dream. I dreamt (is that even a word?) that I was in a scary part of Chicago where hundreds of dogs come out of hiding in the night. For some reason I was by myself and didn't know about this creepy place.

Anyway, a Great Dane---(capitalized for extra emphasis on the dog breed. you see, I had a run-in, literally, with this type of dog. for the record, HE hit me. the dent on the side of our car will prove it. it was a day i'll never forget. maybe, if you're lucky, i'll give more details later).

ANYWAY, so this Great Dane jumps on my back! Like, paws on my shoulders, heavy, feel like I'm gonna die situation. So, knowing that dogs attack when there is fear (actually, I don't know that, but it seemed right in my dream), I acted like I liked the dog and it was playing with me. I kept saying, "Good dog! You are so funny!" but inside I was terrified.

Fast forward to a random series of events (which always seems to happen in dreams), the dog walked around with two paws on my shoulders (like it was dancing backwards with me), and I finally escaped, crying and sweating.

this is like me and the dog, but I was facing the opposite direction. And, interesting to note, this was JUST LIKE the dog I hit. My dad didn't believe me that there was such a thing as a BLACK AND WHITE SPOTTED GREAT DANE. He kept saying that I must have hit a Dalmation!! Finally I proved to him that the miniture HORSE I had hit, was indeed, a Great DANE! Goodness. I don't know many breed of dogs, but I knew this one!

So, I wake up, yes, sweating (nice visual), and I am vowing to myself never to get a dog and reminding myself why I hate dogs, and then I turn over. Guess who the Great Dane was? Aaron. hA! He must have put his hands on my shoulders, because there they were, outstretched in Mummy fashion.

Good story, right?

I know, lots of times it is hard to listen to other people's dreams---but, good work. Big finish. Moral of the story---?? I am NOT a fan of dogs. Or Great Danes for that matter. And, Aaron? Keep your "PAWS" to yourself. :) jk.

Why have DOGS on the brain as of late? My Uncle Jerry asked me to create this little ditty. He, my uncle, is a HOOT! At Christmas he kept saying about the Honey Ham, "This is some GOOD PIG!" over and over. It was hilarious. Aaron and I still laugh about it.

This is his dog.

I like some dogs. This is one I like.

Bye for now.

P.S. Remember who is 9 months old!?!? She is such a doll. Can't get enough of this girl. I have a BIG post coming soon, where you will die b/c she is getting so old and even more adorable (did we even think that was possible?)

dear blog.

dear blog,

I am sorry for my neglect.
For, that is what I have done, neglected.

But, my time with you is solitary---and the past few weeks have been anything but solitary.

And, there is something else that has come my way. Something that I can't help but invest, fully, my time into.

It is for the greater good.

Introducing...
One of my favorite friends, Jen, told me about this book and how it changed her life. Seriously, she went through her house and got rid of so much and sold a bunch of it in a garage sale---and in turn, earned a pretty penny... not to mention, changed her whole mindset. As I was talking to her, she went into another room, grabbed the book and graciously bestowed it on me.

Am I lucky or what?

And, just like that (insert snapping fingers), it's changed my life too. I started this book before we went away for the holidays, but couldn't help but think about it the entire time I was gone. So, I got my cell phone out and made lists of all the projects I would accomplish when I got back home. And, people, it's been happening! And, I haven't even finished the book yet!

There are little delights found everywhere within the pages. For example, on pages 48 & 49 it says, "Life is a constant change. So when something comes into your life enjoy it, use it well, and when it is time, let it go. It is that simple. Just because you own something, it doesn't mean that you have to keep it forever."

OR

pg. 49 "People hold on to their clutter because they are afraid to let it go--afraid of the emotions they may experience in the process of sorting through some stuff, afraid they will make a mistake and later regret getting rid of something..." (emphasis added for my benefit).

pg.69 "Is your bedroom a dumping ground for all those things you have nowhere else to put?"
(is she spying on me?)

pg.70 "Most people wear about 20 percent of their wardrobe 80 percent of the time. If you doubt me, do this test for a month..."
pg.71, "Make a decision to never, ever buy anything again that isn't quite what you want, because now you know it will just end up in the 80 percent pile and you will have wasted your money. Resolve to buy only clothes that you love and that look great on you..."
pg.72, "If you haven't worn it in the last two or three years, then let it go."

pg.74, "Dedicated hoarders will gladly leave their expensive cars packed outside in all weathers so that their worthless clutter is safe and dry."

ouch!

pg.75 "You know how good it feels when it has been freshly cleaned out. Treat yourself!"

and those are just a FEW of thing pearls of wisdom found!!

Now, if you know me, you know that I am a "pile" and "shove-somewhere-in-a-frenzy-to-make-it-look-like-I'm-on-the-ball" person. Now, mind you, I don't let things get filthy or dirty, I just pick up the stuff, clean and then find somewhere new to put the stuff. Rinse and repeat. It's how my life has gone.

Not anymore, people.

Well, I'm not finished yet---"we've only just begun..." (quick, name that tune. if you REALLY know me and my musical interests, then you'll know who sings this delight).

Anyway, that is what is taking my attention at this present time. I've already made some good progress and I know that a few people will be proud... Aaron (he's running a victory lap RIGHT now), my mom (she's been trying to pound these lessons in my head for years--sorry!), and a few others.

Pictures will be posted promptly on the 12th of never. And, if it happens before then, you can be greatly surprised.

Oh, but you want to see a little photo of the little Miss? Okay. Will do. I gotta appease the masses.

yes, she is almost 9 months, people?! what!? i know. There's a lump in your throat just contemplating it. Yeah, I know, tell me about it.

we're baAa-ck!

wow.
three weeks is a long time to be gone, isn't it?

Ah, but what fun we had. I'm going to have a photo binge for all of you who care to know/see what we did over those few weeks---so, don't you fret.

But in the meantime, I wanted to wish my doll-face-of-a-husband a VeRy hApPy AnNiVeRsArY!

p.s. I have NO idea why my text is going so wonky. So, I will give you the "happs" BEFORE you see the photos.


1st picture: this was one of our engagement pictures.
2nd picture: this was one of the pictures from the actual WEDDING day.
3rd picture: this one was from our boston trip in 2008.
4th picture: this one is from a few weeks ago... Notice that it is okay that Matilda is not staring at the camera showing her darling face. You see, that's okay, since this is a tribute to Aaron and me.