Fellowship Interviews: Colorado

Colorado

Here is my mood board in the event we end up moving to Colorado! I'm sure our rental will not look like this, but at least this is how my minds eye would decorated if I could!

What do you think?

Colorado Fellowship home by jazmin-gibbons featuring painted mirrors

We find out where we move on April 10th! EEKKK!

Jazmin

Fellowship Interviews: Philadelphia

Philly? 

So, Steve has been interviewing for fellowships, and so far the front runner is Philadelphia. Of course, if it was our choice, we would stick with Dallas, but the more and more he interviews, the more he realizes that things are very competitive and it's almost mandatory for him to go out of his zone of training, and learn new things. 

So, while I hate the idea of moving for JUST ONE YEAR Seriously? I have had to wrap my head around the fact that it may happen, and that it may actually be good for our family in the long run, as he is likely to get a better permanent job after that fellowship. 

As far as our decision and what we should do, it is up to the MATCH, but I try to be positive and get excited about each prospect. 

So, while looking at rental homes in Philly (to get an idea of budget) we have found a ton of row homes with brick walls, and not much square footage. But, I always like to sort of imagine how I would decorate such a different style of home in the event that we move. We will probably sale most of our stuff, except for our beds and tv. But we may need to go to IKEA to get a mini couch, as most of the rentals are no more than 800 square feet on our budget... Yeah.... 

So, here is my Row Home/ Decor Style! 

What do you think? Kinda cool huh? 

I love that the rental homes in the North East have such awesome architecture and charm! If only they didn't rent for so dang much! 

I'm going to create a style board for Denver too! This is really fun!

Jazmin

It's a Puppy Party!

Un Cumpleanos muy Perro!

So, we finally threw Olivia her birthday party, and this years theme was puppies! She and I LOVE our Riley Bear (our dog) and we just wanted to have a celebration that allowed us to celebrate all the canines in the world! We honored them with the decor and details. 

Here are some pictures of her party. And can I just mention, that I didn't even think of taking pictures of the table all set and pretty because I was STRESSED?! Yeah, even days before the shindig, I was really questioning why I was even throwing her a party. I stopped throwing Matthew a party and instead we do a fun activity just for him. Last year we went to the Perot Museum, and it was super fun and most importantly, EASY! This may be the last party I throw at home. But to make things fair, she loved it so much and declared it to be the BEST PARTY she has ever had! 

So, it was worth it!

Here are some poor lit pictures of her party. 

Puppies everyone! I bought a ballon set for $15 dollars at party city and I cut up a ton of tissue paper, and a plastic table cover to create the fringe garland and tassels. I didn't really want to spend money because it adds up quick, so I did as much as I could from what I had on hand. 

Party City had this puppy theme, and I ran with it. 

With some of my craft supplies, we created "puppy id tags" for everyone! They just stamped their name on some round tags and tied them like a necklace with twine. 

The food was easy. I got water bottles and labeled them "puppy bowl water" and served "pup-corn", "fetch sticks (pretzel rods with chocolate and sprinkles) "papples" (apples), and "pupperoni pizza" 

The cake was a cheap cake from target, and we just put dollar store dogs on top. I bought the bigger dog at michaels since Olivia wanted to keep a nice one as a memory.

Another thing I found, were these dollar dog ear headbands. I got those at Oriental Trading, and Olivia loves them! She has always liked dressing up as animals way more than a princess dress!

I love that a lot of her school friends and church friends made it! She was sooo happy!

Olivia got some awesome presents, but the stuff she loves the most, is handwritten cards and pictures that her friends give her. She puts them in a 'treasure box' that she keeps in her room. :) 

She got a lot of nail polish! We will need to have a pedicure night!

Ok, Ok. The party was worth it. Even Riley had fun eating food off the floor. Maybe we will have a little something again next year. And maybe I should start planning it now, to avoid sleepless nights again!

Jazmin

Feliz Cumpleanos Olivia!

Happy Birthday Olivia Bear! 

Olivia is 7. 

Yes, it's crazy. 

Yes, time has flown by. 

Yes, I feel old. 

But, yes. I feel blessed to have a happy,  healthy 7 year old in our home. 

Here is a video of her blowing out her candles yesterday! We started this new tradition of getting breakest donuts for breakfast on your birthday, and this year, Daddy was on the phone singing 'Happy Birthday', because he was on his way out to Denver for fellowship interviews. That's why, I sing so delayed, because I was trying to match the Steve's rhythm on the phone, but it didn't really work.

In any event. just mute the video and watch the cute Olivia blow out her birthday candles!

Jazmin

Family Photos: Christmas Cards

Family Photos

This past year was a toughie for our family. 

2013 will not be missed, but I will take the lessons from that year with me! 

But we did get something cool out of our year! We got family photos for the first time in 3 years! And when I see these pictures i feel so lucky. 

I feel grateful for my little family. 

I feel grateful for the health of my kids, for their smile and for their sweet love. 

Grateful for a dedicated husband who finishes what he starts. 

I'm so grateful to have my eyes open to appreciate these fleeting moments.

Lastly,  I'm even grateful for my new 'curves' that I finally grew after many, many years of being way too skinny. 

Just grateful. 

Jazmin

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

SANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, we get just as excited as ELF about Santa!

The kids are growing up. And yet, they are both convinced that Santa is real. And you know what? I can't help but to feel fortunate. 

Their innocence is pure. Matthew who looks like a teenager, truly believes! He is 9 and still BELIEVES! Who hits age 9 and still believes?! I just love it, and I know the time is near when they will figure things out, but for now, we believe in Santa. 

We don't do the mall Santa anymore because that is ridiculous with the long lines and expensive pics. Instead we go to our church's annual Christmas party and the AMAZING Amy Herfurth, who runs a super photo business here in Dallas and also happens to be a member of our church, takes her fancy camera and photo taking skillz and gets pictures of the kids! Win, Win!

Then she emails us a high res photo! SCORE! But I should have dressed the kids better...

Anyway,this year was super cold, and Olivia lacks body fat, so she went to church in a camo footie pj that I got for her last year as it was $2.50 at Target after the Holidays. - Call me big spender! Hehe. She was as happy as could be, even though she didn't wear the usual pink girly get up.

Matthew doesn't want to wear PJ's to the Chritmas party anymore... He is growing after all, so he just put on a blue shirt, that he believed was festive enough. 

And the Santa you see is a good friend of ours, who is truly amazing for donating his time each year to pose with the entire congregation. 

I love my ward family!

Jazmin

Community Nativity

Nativity

Every year our church hosts a Community Nativity and it's free of charge and open to the public. I really love this for several reasons and yes, I will explain my reasons. 

1) It's an awesome way to put Christ back into Christmas. We often get caught up with the hustle of the Holidays and gift buying and elf moving, that we forget or we just don't put enough emphasis on Jesus as the reason for the season. 

2) People can go inside the LDS building and see the set up,  and find that we actually believe in Jesus. This may sound weird, but still to this day, there is a stigma about being "Mormon" and about what we believe in general. We don't worship a different GOD and we believe in the Bible and we are 100% Christian. In fact  the name of our church is 'THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS'. We just get called 'Mormons' because we believe in the Book of Mormon, so it's just a nickname.

3) I LOOOOOVE to see different types of Nativities! I love to see the International ones. Germany, Turkey, Italy are some of my favorite! They are so gorgeous and they are all similar to the Mexican ones or American Nativities. It just solidifies the reality that we are all children of God.

4) My kids actually ask to be taken! Yes, it's a tradition and they love to play eye spy with some of the Nativities. I also like that they can meet people of different faiths, because I'm all up for that! I hate when people are closed minded about my faith, so I want to educate my kids so they can grow to respect and appreciate other religions.

Anyway, here are some of the Nativity pictures. I took a ton, but these sum it up!

Olivia and Matthew posing in the manger of the live Nativity. The live Nativity was not there when we arrived so we took the opportunity to pose :)

 This Nativity event showcases all types of Nativities! They had this chocolate one! How cool is that?!

Our church members donate their time to set up the church. It is so beautiful, and a LOT of work!

One of my favorite Nativities. It changed colors with a light, but this pictures doesn't do it justice. 

 When I say there are a different types of Nativities from all over the world, I mean all types! This one is from Hungary and its inside of a coconut!

I love that Matthew really enjoys coming. You can see him sort of pause to reflect on what he feels and sees. It's truly wonderful to see your child be so spiritual.

This Nativity was tiny! It was all in a ring size box!

Japanese Nativity! So cute!

There are so many! 

Love this painting!

Can't wait to go again next year! If you are in the Dallas area, you should check it out next year!

Jazmin