Happy

I just want to put this out there. Jesse has been working 12-15 hour days, six days a week. On Sunday he gave a beautiful sacrament talk, taught during both hours after that, then went to visit a family in our ward. Tonight he worked 10 hours, and instead of going home and catching up on his writing and sleep, he met me at our cousin's house to help me watch 5 kids. He's peacefully snoring next to me now, and I could not be prouder. Life is not perfect, but I'm sure grateful for what I have.

Little House in the Big Woods

As promised, here are some pictures of our new house (just renting.)

Here is our kitchen:

 Hey! A laundry room!

 the office:

bathroom 

living room:

More recent projects and stuff: this is what I'm working on for above the couch. It still needs tweaking.

 It felt so good to unpack all my cookbook friends.

 doing a little Valentine's decorating:

 We had a bunch of snow through which Jud prances.

I really needed somewhere to put my earrings (other than the Ziplock bag they were in), so I attached some lace to a thrift store frame, et voila! Yes, Pinterest buddies, I know.

 Until a few weeks ago, our TV was sitting on the floor. I picked up a TV cabinet on Craigslist and am having fun putting real-lady-things on it. I was feeling crafty and spray-painted a glass vase white. I like the way it turned out.



So there you are. Someday I'll post pictures of the outside and our bedroom, etc., but today is not that day. My next project is going to be making curtains for the living room. I've never sewed anything in my life, but Cousin Kelly is graciously teaching me.

Weekend in Oklahoma

Last weekend Jesse and I flew down to Oklahoma to see our nephew Connor baptized. It was a real pleasure to watch this little guy make new steps in his life. We love the Singer family so much.

 After a little front yard baseball, we got to go to Connor-bonnor's birthday party at Hey-Day, which is kinda like Chuck-e-Cheez, bu way better...

 Jesse is such a good influence.

 As Connor's starting cub scouts, Jesse thought he needed a Swiss Army Knife. Kid delight. I think his mother's quote was, "sutures in our futures."

 They had a really cool ropes course above the arcade. They strapped us in and we monkeyed around.

 We also got to go to Connor's basketball game, in which he was a total stud and stole the ball and scored a basket. This is not when he scored the basket. But he looks really cool.

 This is when he scored the basket.

 OK, the good stuff.

 Jamie couldn't believe her baby's so old.

 And then we all went back to the Singers' for some Kinect Michael Jackson action.

We miss these guys and so wish they lived closer.

Christmas, as promised

This Christmas was our favorite so far. For the first time, we woke up in our own house and opened presents by ourselves. It was magical. Among the highlights in the gift department: superhero glasses for Jesse, a beautiful pitcher for me, nice bath towels, a gift certificate for a mani-pedi (yeah, for me), glass cannisters for our kitchen counter, and other nice stuff. Yes, this is me in the morning.

So every year, mom made a cinnamon roll braid for Christmas breakfast, and I swear, every year she'd apologize for it not rising properly (even though it was always good). Mom, turns out the secret to a light and fluffy braid is to buy the damn dough.

Jud and Molly had a nice Christmas and got a rope-duck that lasted aproximately 4 days.

 I surprised Jesse with adoption papers. Planning on turning those in this spring.

 Our windowsill caroler with the sunrise behind her.

 We found lots of Jesse's old mission stuff in the move, so I put together a memory shadow box for him.

Then we spent the evening with family. A really nice Christmas.

Still Alive

Hi friends. We're still alive. Just lost a little (lot of) sail-wind there for a while. Jesse and I had a really nice Christmas, pictures coming soon. In fact, upcoming posts include pictures of our new house (we moved!), Christmas, and our trip this coming weekend to Oklahoma for our nephew's baptism.

I have to say, it's been a tough couple months for the Thorsons. Even so, we've been made aware of some people who've had it a lot tougher. So glad to report that we have each other and our health. And our dogs--they're important. Blogging friends: thanks for all the distraction you provide. I love knowing what's going on with friends afar. Family: we miss you. English countryside: I absolutely ache to go on a walk with you.

We should play the lottery…

The average couple has a 20% chance of getting pregnant in any month of trying.

With our In Vitro procedure, we had a 78% chance of being pregnant right now.

But we're not.

Once again, we have defied the odds. We will try again, but it has been hard. We are so grateful for the amazing people we have pulling for us. We're sorry that we don't get to tell you that your prayers did the trick, but we are still in this fight. We get to try again in January--until then, we get to enjoy Christmas and get into our own place.

Tomorrow's the big day. To be honest, between the holiday weekend and some trouble I've had getting a hold of the lab, it might be a couple days before we know our results. Also, if we take a few days to process before we shout out "yay!" or..."nay," don't be surprised.

What is everyone doing for Thanksgiving? You know how some families have traditions on Turkey Day? Like going around the table and saying what they're thankful for or playing football in the mud? We don't really do those things in the Galbraith/Burnett family, but we have our own traditions. Although the meal is hosted by different branches of the family each year, there are some things that never change. Always the table is beautiful and tasteful. Aunt Ginny's might be a little fancier and Aunt Susie's a little more intimate, but the men wear slacks and button-down shirts and the women wear skirts or nice trousers. There are hors d'oeuvres around the coffee table, and we eat in the evening (we aren't an afternoon meal family). Everyone brings something--a pie and something else. All Burnetts make good pie.  All of them. Doesn't matter who's making the apple and who's making the pumpkin and who's making the pecan.  The pecan pie always has dots of whipped cream piped around the edge of the pie with a pecan stuck in the middle of each whorl. And after the meal, when the food has set in, the cousins usually go back for more pie, and the board games might come out.

Aunt Susie's

See?

Scategories

Cousin Sarah, Aunt Susie, Aunt Ginny

A previous Thanksgiving at Aunt Ginny's



Feeding Austin pie on the table. See? We know how to loosen up. (Note the pecan pies.)


Maybe this sounds stuffy to some who might miss comfy clothes and football in the background, but not me. This is my family's big get together of the year, and I wish I could see my Aunt Ginny's beautiful table and my cousin's little girl whom I've yet to meet. Maybe next year.

We are looking forward to spending time with some of our favorite extended family of Jesse's though. Grandma Thorson flew in a couple days ago, and she's always a hoot. And we can't wait to see Jen and Carston from far away in Montana. And the rest of the gang, of course.

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?