Best worst day ever!

So the other day I was having a bad morning. Pax had been up all night, the dishes were piling up and I just wasnt feeling like being awake yet. Jon left for work, kissing me and "i love you-ing" me. He knew I was having a bad day, because lets face it, husbands usually know when the wives are having a bad morning. Anyway, about 30 minutes later, Jon walked through the door (scared the heck out of me, btw) with a brown box and my caffeinated drink of choice. Inside that brown box was the most amazing thing I have ever seen: donuts. And not just any regular old donut. GIANT donuts. Hmmm, so delicious and fresh. My husband sure knows the way to my heart :) 

My 2011 Theme

EMBRACE

Ive decided to have a theme this year. After much thought and consideration, Ive decided that my word for 2011 is EMBRACE. 

When I have a trial, Im going to embrace it. Take the good that I can from it and let the Lord strengthen me.

When I have a rough day with Pax, Im going to embrace the precious moments I have with him. He will be grown up before I know it.

When I have an opportunity to serve, and likewise someone to serve me, I will embrace it.

When Im not dealt the life Ive necessarily asked for, I will embrace every tiny ounce out of that beautiful life that I can because MILLIONS of people have it impossibly harder, or "not-so-perfect" as I do.

I will embrace the many talents and gifts the Lord has given me, and use those talents to strengthen and beautify my home and family.

I will embrace the gospel, my church callings and my faith so that my testimony will increase.

I will embrace the many wonderful blessings the Lord has given me, and I will embrace the blessings to come. 

2011, lets make it a good one!

Carlson Family Photo Shoot

For the first time in A LONG TIME, all the kids were home at my parents for Christmas. You know what that means... we finally updated the family portrait in the hall at my folks house in good 'ole Queen Creek, AZ! Here are a few (a lot) of the pictures:

mom and dad with the 3 grand babies

Im not sure who gets along better, me and Rach or Jon and Michael??? So grateful to have such amazing siblings!

I was raised by parents who love each other. Im glad for the example of affection they have set.  

All the ladies. Love my sisters!

Me and my mom, aka, my best friend!

Pax fell asleep half way thru the photo session. Jon pulled the car seat out and buckled him in off to the side.

tough men (HA!)

Ok, these pictures crack me up! So glad we have a house full of colorful personalities and sense of humors

Me and my Hunny

I just think this pic is cool. Thanks Brady, they turned out great!

Our Anniversary

 Well, its been 3 whole, amazing years. On Tuesday (January 25), Jon and I celebrated the anniversary of our marriage. We went to the Museum of Art at BYU and looked at the Carl Bloch exhibit which was amazing, as well as a once in a life time thing. His original pieces, including his alter paintings, were on display. Its the first time the pieces have been in the United States and will probably be the last time. If you live nearby, I definitely recommend going to see it. Its free to get in, so you have no excuse :)

Anyway, we went to the MOA then to dinner and finally finished with a movie. Shelly watched Pax at her apartment and it was SO NICE to have an evening without the babe.

I love this man. I love him more every day. In fact, I like him more every day too. I can honestly say there hasnt ever been a day that I didnt like him. He gives me a reason to be grateful every single day. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have a marriage with so much joy and fulfillment. I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me so abundantly in sending Jon to be my eternal companion.   

Jon, I love you. You make me feel like I can conquer the world. I honestly know that together, we can do anything and overcome any obstacle or challenge. We have had an unbelievably hard year but we made it through, and all the while, supported and strengthened each other. Thank you for loving me the way you do. You are my other half. You are my soul mate. You are my best friend. 

I dont need expensive cars or a big house. I dont need designer jeans, high-end furniture or extravagant trips around the world. I dont need ANYTHING as long as I have you by my side. 

 Im excited for our future. I cant wait to have more babies with you, to raise a family with you, to become grandparents with you... I used to want adventure. I used to dream of traveling and doing extraordinary things. But you are my adventure. Everyday with you extraordinary. I am so madly, insanely and indescribably in love with you. Happy anniversary babe. Thank you for making me the luckiest girl in the whole world!

Bubbles

Jon bought Pax a bubble machine FOREVER ago. We've been waiting for him to be old enough and for the weather to be warm enough but the other day, Jon got tired of waiting (he tends to do that). So, he busted out the purple, octopus shaped bubble machine and let Pax play with it in the kitchen. At first, Paxton did what he usually does and just kinda watched without cracking any sort of facial expression. Then, Pax fell in love. The pictures speak for themselves.

this kid is so goofy. He makes the funniest faces some times!

love, love LOVE this cute little boy.

Lotta's Christmas Present

The kids in my family have always done a gift exchange at Christmas. Rather than get a gift for every other brother and sister, we each had one that we gifted to. We developed a system so every year its a different sibling and this year, Jon and I had my brother Jayson and his family. He has a little girl, named Lotta, who is almost two and talking up a storm. So, I decided to make her some flash cards to help her learn the alphabet, associate pictures with their names and also to learn spelling once she is old enough. Here is how they turned out:





I was quite pleased with the finished result and I cant wait to get started on a set for Pax!

Paxton

The other day, Jon went into our FAVORITE Thai Food place to pick up some dinner and the owner came out, as she always does, to say hi. With a beaming smile on her face she says to my darling husband "hows sex?". Jon, a little taken back and nervous, says "excuse me?" She replied, "Sex! Youre son, Sexton!" Jon almost died and politely corrected her with "you mean Pax? He is doing great". Haha, gotta love friendly ESL people.

Speaking of Pax, that poor little baby has been so sick since Christmas. Colds were flying around in AZ (and just about everywhere else) and Pax caught it with a vengeance. He got a really bad cough, a runny and congested nose and a DOUBLE EAR INFECTION! Ugh, we literally had to hold him in our arms all day and all night for about 3 days just so he would relax enough to sleep. It made me want to cry every time I looked at his sad little face as he lay miserably in my arms. Thank goodness for an amazing husband. We took turns doing 2-hour shifts at night with him. The worst part about it all is that he lost weight. Again. He weighs 19.5 lbs which puts him below the 5th percentile for weight for a 13month old. He has such a hard time eating food. We have started him on Zantac to see if its an acid reflux problem. We are also trying Singulair with him, which treats asthma. He doesnt sleep well and it might be due to either asthma or acid reflux. Jon and I were hesitant to start him on too many medications but at this point, its time to start trying new things. Cross your fingers that we'll get this all figured out!

The good news is, Pax is still the happy baby he has always been. In fact, he has developed a sense of humor and is now constantly trying to make us laugh with silly faces and goofy games. His big beautiful blue eyes are show-stopping and he is the snuggliest, cuddliest baby you have ever met. We love him so much!

2011: The Year of Improvements

Improvement: taking something good and making it better

Jon and I have made quite a few goals and resolutions for 2011. After I actually wrote them all down, I realized most of them were more for the purpose of improving things that were already good. With that realization in mind, I am looking forward to 2011 and our resolutions for it much more than any previous year.

One of our biggest goals, and definitely our big focus for the time being, is getting out of debt. The prophet and general authorities have said again and again, GET OUT OF DEBT and they are so wise to do so. We have been listening to Dave Ramsey a lot lately and we are so pumped to be debt free. Jon and I have been thinking of things we both can do to bring in a supplemental income so that we can be debt free as soon as possible. It will be rough, and the budget will be tight, but it will be so worth it!

Our Spiritual Goals: Read the Book of Mormon together, regular temple attendance and full be full tithe payers.

Lifestyle Goals: Eat (cook) healthier, eat out WAY LESS, plant a vegetable and herb garden and, of course, exercise more

Lisa's Personal Goals: finish Paxton's 1yr book, write letters to people, improve sewing skills, be in more pictures (I am always the one behind the camera)

Jon's Personal Goals: read more (he's open to any suggestions), learn to play guitar, work on being ambidextrous

Paxton's Personal Goals: learn to walk, sleep through the nigh consistently, EAT MORE so he can GAIN WEIGHT, and keep being adorable!

Look out, 2011! The Halls have plans this year and we intend to make the best of them. We are so excited to see what this new year has in store for us!