The Bishopric!

While we were in Donnelly (and on my birthday even) Adam got a phone call from a member of the stake presidency asking if he could meet with us. That got Adam's heart rate up a little! On Wednesday we went in for an interview and they asked Adam if he would accept a calling to be the 1st Counselor in the Bishopric of one of the singles wards here in town. He graciously accepted!

I tried to capture the moment after church, and this is what I got.

Over and over and over. (For everyones sake I only posted a few.)

We're getting closer...but still a little angry.

Ah...there he is....the newest member of the the Moscow University 1st Ward.

I know he will be great. Adam has a way of making people feel welcome and included. All his old buddies from the singles ward were excited to have him back. I'm a little sad to lose him though. I have a calling in our other ward, so we won't be able to go to church together. It'll work out! I am very grateful for him and for the righteous influence he is in my life!

My Birthday in Donnelly

For my birthday this year we decided to go to Donnelly. Brandon had invited us up because it was the winter carnival in McCall. We were excited to go check it out.

The Cahoon's came with us. On Friday morning Hailey and I did a little cross country skiing while the boys studied. I hope that everyone noticed the sweet jumpsuit I am wearing. I don't have any ski clothes! This kept me really warm!! (Thanks for the awesome hats, April!)

That afternoon we met Adam's sister, Erika, and her husband for lunch and some snow sculptures.

They were amazing and reminded me of the sand castle competition in Galveston...only it was really cold and everything was ice.

I really liked this whale.

I thought this was a clever one. We couldn't resist taking our turn in the bathroom!

Apparently, there is a monster in the Payette.

This one was my favorite. They had Native American music playing and everything.

The waterfall was the best part of it.

Good old Idaho

The sculptures were so detailed. I loved it!

Adam puts out a lot of moisture when he breathes. This is all the frozen condensation on his mustache.

Erika bought this adorable hat. I almost bought one, but was not quite confident enough to wear it...yet. Next time!

On the morning of my birthday me, Adam, and Brett went snow shoeing. It was my first time. I had a lot of fun.

Here the boys are heading out on the lake.

It was so foggy we could hardly see in front of us. When it cleared a little, we saw two foxes playing in the snow. We tried to get closer to them, but they ran away. If you make this picture bigger, you can see one of them...barely.

We went to Chapals for lunch...just so I could get the world's worst picture of me taken! Happy Birthday to me!

Round Two at the carnival. Saturday was much more clear in McCall. Here we are in front of the Wild Things sculpture.

We had to do one more couple picture!

That night we went back to the cabin and Hailey and her friend Tierney make me this amazing cake. Teirney makes her own fondant. That is what the flowers are made of. It is much tastier than store bought fondant.

Adam told me that I had to make a wish... so I wished that he would be called into a Bishopric. Wish granted. Next time I'll wish for a baby!

My Quiet Book

My friend, Hailey, and I decided to undertake the crafting task of a quiet book. We were inspired by our friend, Erika's, amazing quiet book. This one only took me about 4 months to finish! Today was the day. I owe most of the creativity in here to Hailey. I just copied her ideas. We did most of it together and therefore have almost identical books.

I got the whole thing done except sewing all of the pages together and then to the cover and realized that it was too thick for my machine to sew through. I searched Moscow for someone who could help and finally found a store with an industrial sewing machine. I'm SO glad it's done and I think I love it a little more than I should... Now I just need some kids to go with it!

The Front Cover

Title Page

Humpty Dumpty

There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
(This is to practice lacing and tying)

Mary Mary Quite Contrary
(The flowers are buttons that come off and are reversible)

The Itsy Bitsy Spider
(I took this to my preschool and this was most of their favorite. The spider moves up and down and the clouds lift up to show the sun.)

Fish Alive
(The fish just go back and forth)

Little Jack Horner
(Those are plums in the picture below. They fit on the kids thumbs.)

The Wise Old Owl

Star Light, Star Bright
(I told the preschoolers they could make a wish on this page and they all did...and thought it was cool!)

The Moon and a New Camera Lens

Adam and I were headed home the other night and we noticed how amazing the moon looked. For Christmas Adam got me a new lens for my camera which takes good night shots so we thought we'd try it out. Here are a few of my favorites! I thought they looked very heavenly!

New Years in Idaho

We came home from Texas a few days early so we could spend some of the holidays with Adam's family. We had a really good time. This was probably my first really "white" holiday that I can remember.

On New Years Eve we went to Albion to visit Adam's grand parents. It was good to spend time with them. I had only met them for a few minutes at our reception. Here we are at their house. I really liked this old tractor.

Here is the view down the street from their house. It is an adorable little town.

Erika and Grandma Bell

Adam and Grandpa Bell.

When we got back to Boise we were both so tired that we decided not to stay up and ring in the new year. Lame, I know...but we were really tired!

We spent the last couple of days up in Placerville. For Christmas Adam gave me a new lens for my camera. It is supposed to take good night pictures, so we tried it out. Not bad!

It looks like a forest fire behind me...its not! It is the neighbors house with it's porch lights on. I guess the lens works! Thanks, Adam!

This is the most snow I've ever been in! There was about 3 feet or so. It was beautiful.

We went on a walk with Vic and Deej one morning. It is so peaceful with all that snow everywhere.

I might have accidentally pushed Adam into the snow. Okay... it was no accident, but he pushed me in first...camera and all.

Aww!

It was the weirdest thing. On our way home, we saw a camel. Who knew they could live in the snow?

Not quite as romantic as spaghetti...

I had my first go at cross country skiing. I think I could really get into it! It took me a little while to get the hang of things.

Adam looked like an 80's rocker. I loved it! We stayed on the road for a while, and then made our own trail through the 3 feet of snow. I loved it...except for the falling down. Apparently, I don't have my balance just right on the little down hills. Luckily snow doesn't hurt!

We left Sunday morning to come back to Moscow. We went to church in an adorable little town called Garden Valley. Adam took this amazing shot. It really is beautiful there. We've decided that in the end we want to end up somewhere really warm or in Garden Valley!

I'm a little sad to be done with the holidays. We had so much fun being with our families and friends. I hope everyone else had a safe and fun vacation as well! Happy New Year!