Terrifying

Well hello again everyone. Hope everything is going well for all of you so far this month. We had our ward Christmas party Saturday, and it was fun. We had a soup cookoff (no mine didn't win) a talent show, and of course Santa Clause. Emma seemed pretty excited to see Santa, so I thought that it would be fun for her to go and sit on his lap. I wish I had a camera to capture the look of sheer terror on her face. She did not like Santa AT ALL! I have never really seen her so upset by something before. Well, I guess we can call it a bust for this year. At least Emma is enjoying the other aspects of Christmas. Candy, cookies, lights, snow, and Harry Connick Jr's Christmas cd. That is all I can ask for I guess.

I just finished typing up our Christmas letter, and for the majority of whom read this often will get one. We just got a new camera, and I am trying to figure out how to delay the camera so we can all be in the picture. It won't be hard, and I like playing around with stuff. I made sugar cookies, wafer cookies, and fudge yesterday. I felt like I was in the kitchen forever. It doesn't help either when it gets dark at 4:30 p.m. I also wrapped Christmas presents so I can get them shipped to Idaho and Arizona before the big rush hits the post office.

We did finally get our first snow. It was last Thursday, and it was fun to have for the 20 minutes it snowed. The weather is interesting here. Here is an example. On Thursday morning it was raining, then it snowed, then it rained, and then it was freezing rain. I guess freezing rain is the big ticket item here. More than snow. Michigan had a horrible ice storm this weekend, and so did part of Missouri. I need to stock up on some items such as a window scraper thingy for our car. I didn't think I would need one since we have a garage, but when I was at Enrichment it hit me that I may come out of Enrichment with my car frozen over. So that would be a good investment. I also need to get a battery powered heater for our home. I guess they had a couple of serious power outages here because of the storms last year. So I guess I should be prepared. That is the Mormons motto is it not! Ha ha.

Well enjoy the Holidays! I know that we are.

Tis' The Season

Merry Christmas! I wonder if you all heard the Christmas devotional on Sunday. Hearing the prophet speak about Christmas made me very excited for the Holiday. One of the church buildings in our area held a Creches and Carols event this last weekend. For those of you who don't know what a Creche is, it is a manger. They had a room full of porcelain Creches, a room dedicated to Modern, African, Asian, and any other manger you could think of. It was wonderful! They also had people performing in the chapel as you walked through the church. They had a children's room as well where children could make crafts. I volunteered on Friday night to be a Hostess, and greet people as they came in. It really made me excited for the holiday season. I am in the Christmas spirit, but I am having a hard time finding the energy to do the things I would like to and need to. I love to bake, and shop, and wrap, and get Christmas cards ready. I find that as the weeks go on, I have less and less energy. I need that energy though, because I keep stuffing my face with sugar cookies! Yum!

I have also decided that I think I will avoid Walmart, and the mall on the weekends. I went to Walmart on Saturday to pick a couple of things up, and I could barely get throught the doors. I couldn't believe it! I am glad that I am a stay at home mother now, so that I can go during the week to avoid crowds. I am excited about the gifts I have bought though. I hope Ashlyn, Addison, Tyler, and Janae all enjoy theirs. By the way, they will be sent soon.

The weather here is cold. I also keep forgetting to put on a coat or jacket before I leave the house. I always open the door, feel the cold air kick me in the face and then I remember. I guess I keep forgetting that I don't live in Arizona anymore. The weather has a nice briskness to it, and although it is cloudy and rainy there hasn't been any snow. I have heard though that snow here is not very common. People have told me that it maybe sticks a couple times throughout the winter season. Sunday was very cold, and it made me want to go back to Arizona.

Well, we miss all of you back in Arizona, and I hope that your Holiday season is going well also. Hopefully we might see you come summertime. Don't forget to send us Christmas cards.

Finally getting settled

Well hello again everyone,

I just thought that I would start off by saying, "I hate moving." I keep telling Cameron over and over again that I will never move again pregnant. I can't lift anything, and now that the Braxton Hicks have started, I am even more limited sometimes. Who knows when those things are going to kick in. I have also never been so tired in my life.

We arrived in St. Louis on November 13th, and it was a beautiful fall day. We had the movers come in on Wednesday, and trying to get Emma to stay out of the way was hard. We had to take shifts with who was going to tell movers where to put things, and who was going to watch Emma. We finally got everything in, and I did get Emma's room pretty much settled before we went to bed that night. Thankfully, she slept well.

Cameron's parents came the next day to help us unpack. We did get a lot done on the first day. We did get a lot done over the course of the weekend, but we also played. On Friday, we went to the St. Louis Zoo, which is free. If was very chilly that day, but I have to admit, I saw more animals in an hour than I ever have at almost any other zoo. Here is a picutre.

We also went to a place called http://www.magichouse.org/. It was really fun. I think I had just about as much fun as Emma did. Here is another picture.

Rod and Loa left really early on Monday morning. We were all sad to have them go, and I have already been homesick. Everything is going great, and I almost have everything the way that I want it just in time for the Holidays.

Thanksgiving was great! We were invited to Nick and Allison's for dinner. It was wonderful! The food was good and so was the company. I am grateful that we have such wonderful friends. I was still homesick for family, especially my own but we will hopefully see family soon. We are going to play host to the missionaries for Christmas. There are two sets of missionaries in our area, so I will have four hungry Elders. I swear they look younger and younger every time I see them. And I know that is because I get older and older as days go by. Well, we love everyone, and I will post soon.

Literally, a day in the life.....

Okay, while I am waiting for Cameron to find out about his job, I thought that I would shed some light on our oh so exciting lives. On a day to day basis, I generally have nothing to talk about. I thought that I would let you all in on how a typical day in the Owen's house operates.

8:00-8:30 a.m.-Emma generally wakes up at about this time yelling "Maaaammmaaa." Que for me to get up.

8:30-10:00 a.m.-Emma makes a mess eating her cereal, and we have now watched 1 episode of Saved By the Bell, and The Price is Right. I know, I know, we watch too much t.v. Either that, or Emma watches a Baby Einstein (which I now can't stomach anymore), all the while I have read 7 or 8 books, played with our flannel board (which Emma LOVES), or let her bounce on the bed.

10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.-This is generally the time frame that we shower and attempt to do laundry or clean, eat lunch, hose down Emma after she eats lunch, pack her bag for day care, and get out the door.

12:30-10:45 p.m.-Work, oh lovely, lovely work. Enough said.

10:45 p.m.-12:00 a.m.- Sit and relax a little, and then go to bed.

So you see, days and days go by before anything exciting happens. I am sure everyone has a life like this to some extent, and I am also sure that it starts to get on your nerves sometimes. There are days that I feel like tearing my hair out. I guess I will have a change to my routine come early March, and it will be wonderful.

I am not sure that I have said anything, but I will find out what kind of parasite I have in my stomach on the 17th of October. I am excited, and I am hoping that the baby cooperates with the doctors. I am also hoping that if it is a boy, it is very obvious. I don't want to prepare for a girl and then be surprised later on. Hey, I know people who have had that happen. Hopefully I will also be able to get some of those ultrasound pics up on the blog for you all to view.

One last thing. I just thought that I would let everyone know that I love that new t.v. show Life. It is really good. It hasn't received the best ratings, but I think you should all watch an episode and tell me what you think.

Well on a final note, I hope that you enjoy the picture of Missouri, and get used to the idea that that may be our home soon. Thanks.