With Love...

February is the month of love, especially at the Chambers home. Well, every month is for newly weds, right? But February is special.

The obvious reason #1 is Valentine's Day. Tom is my one and only Valentine. Ever. Precious, huh? I think so. He's the best Valentine.

I wanted to do lots of nifty crafties to decorate, but I only got to a few. I found a great template online for paper flowers and made a few of those. I never got around to making exactly what I had envisioned for them, but these are my practice ones.



Next year I want to do more of the newspaper and maybe stain them a reddish color. Wouldn't that be pretty? We'll see what happens.

My next projects were my Love and Kisses blocks. My mom and I went and roamed the craft store until we found them. She only attempted the love one though. This picture is before they are completely finished. And, I'll admit, I still don't have them completely finished. It's a work in progress.





The #2 reason for the special month of love is (and it is not number 2 in importance, just on this particular list) OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY! I can hardly believe that Tom and I have been married for over a year now. It's amazing.

And Tom sure did spoil me...



He gave me a Kindle Fire and along with it, he wrote a little diddy about how he wants to forever Kindle the Fire of our love. Mushy stuff. But I love it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012 has finally arrived! With new years come new resolutions. Resolutions to improve our attitudes and talents, cultivate better habits, etc.
Here are some of ours:

Tom - (1)Get in better shape. (2)Survive another year. (3)Increase musical talents -piano, guitar, harmonica, ukulele, and recorder. (4)Attend the temple once a month.

Tasha - (1)Be better at looking at the bright side of things. (2)Improve talents -piano, crafts, cooking. (3)Focus on being more confident. (4)Get flexible enough to do the splits. (5)Be more physically active. (6)Use time wisely.

What did you resolve to do this year?

2011 was a great year for us.

It was the year we got married. It was our first year together. It was the year we almost bought a house, then a duplex, but then backed out of both.

It was the year I got my first job. It was the year of my first move. It was the year of my wisdom teeth removal and lots of other dental work. It was the year I graduated college (kind of. if an associates in general studies counts). It was the year I really learned how to cook, clean, and keep up a home. It was the year that I got my dream camera.

It was the year that he bought a motorcycle, another motorcycle, a truck, and a trailor. It was the year he got Mono and Strep at the same time. It was the year he first lived all alone (a month before we got married in our apartment). It was the year he got a considerable raise. It was the year he completed his freshman year at ISU and decided to continue next fall at BYU-Idaho. It was the year he was the Sunday School President and the Ward Mission Leader.

It was a good year.

Bring it on 2012! Can you top that??

Merry Christmas!

Merry merry Christmas to all! -Yes it has past, but it is still December you know.-
This year was our first Christmas. So precious!
With it being the first, I was determined to do things my way. Well, our way. Which turns out to be my way because Tom said, "Honestly, I couldn't care less what colors are on our tree. I trust you." More or less anyway that is what he said. I had the most difficult time trying to decide how I wanted our tree decorated. Red and gold? Red and white? Blue? Purple? I was seriously stressing about it. But one day, I was on Pinterest and I found some cute DIY ornaments that I wanted to try. I told my mom about it and she was all in for the project too! We had a lot of fun with the whole thing.

If you know my mom at all, she is not super crafty. Don't get that confused with creative though! She certainly is that, but she doesn't care to spend too much time with little craft projects. So I made sure to document this occasion.


They turned out pretty fantastic if I do say so myself. With the exception of one... But luckily this great camera that I have still made it look pretty good. So I'll just let you believe that.


We found our tree on Black Friday at Big Lots of all places. I was hesitant at first, but by the time we got it home and all set up, I was very very pleased with our purchase. I'm so excited to incorporate the pinecones and holly berries -yes, just like the song that will now be stuck in my head.-


Can you see the cuties? I love them. They make our tree unique too.



Christmas was spent with my mom this year. We had a lot of fun both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. She made a lovely dinner on the 24th of Crepes! I adore breakfast for dinner. Nothing is better with crepes than strawberries and whipped cream. But did you know that they also double as a wonderfully moisturizing face mask? My sister enlightened us.


We opened one present that night, then went our way. Christmas morning I was up bright and early with one thing on my mind: Cinnamon Rolls. Tom's family always had a tradition of cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk on Christmas morning. I loved the idea and wanted to try my hand at making them from scratch. They turned out pretty good for a first attempt, thanks to a great recipie from my sister-in-law. And even better, they were a complete surprise for Tom! But I still can't believe he slept through all the clanging pans and other such ruckus from our kitchen.


And so, after opening our presents -mostly empty boxes... we didn't have our mothers around to tell us we couldn't open our presents yet. oops.- we had chocolate milk in our matching Christmas cups and cinnamon rolls. Yum yum.

Many wonderful Christmas memories were made this year, our first year, that we will never forget. The toys and the clothes and the other gifts are all great, but nothing compares to the time spent with family. (Cue photos.)











And beyond family, there is nothing greater than the reason for the season, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger..." Luke 2:7

We got a Christmas card from our Bishopric that had a wonderful quote from President Monson:
"As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always."

May you all have the Spirit of Christmas through the coming year.
Merry Christmas!
From: The Chambers.