ladies and gentlemen, i would like to introduce you to...

the smallest snail i've ever seen.

really, have you ever seen one so small?

i found the he/she smallest snail coming home from voting this past week. i had to put my keys next to the he/she smallest snail so that you would be able to see just how small the he/she smallest snail really was. i wanted to bring it home forever to watch it grow. would it grow to a normal size or would it remain in its itty bitty tiny form? i decided against the decision of adoption due to the fact that our beta fish "chuck norris" is lucky to get his one meal a day on a regular basis.

serving and inspiring others, people...

that's what it's aaaaallllll about.

(kinda like the hokey pokie;-)

when i was in the 6th and 8th grades i was "going out" with michael asche. the poor chap had "gone out" with me more times than he could count on one hand. i always had this habbit of getting together and breaking up, over and over again with the same person. poor sean had to go through it too! thanks for hangin' in there my love!!! anyways, the last time we "went out" in the 8th grade i told my friend to tell him to break up with me because i was too much of a coward to tell him myself.

i thought of that story today...

have you ever seen an avocado peeled so fabulously?

me either!

i was so proud of my peeling abilities. i've peeled an uncountable amount of avocados in my day, but have never had the ultimate satisfaction of not smooshing the tender green meat.
pure bliss i tell you.

seriously, so blessed!

our 11.18.08 event just went platinum ya'll!!!!

our link is officially featured in the "good works and integrity" section of the seriously so blessed blog, viewed by thousands of lds readers (scroll down the left hand side and you'll see our pretty little green digital flier, made by ms. nikki shields). pray that people will click and register to attend. the donation is up to $10 per person for everyone that registers and comes!!! it doesn't cost a dime, just two hours of your time!

to make sure your attendance counts, register at http://www.complete-wealth.com/

location: Sandy, Utah

South Towne Expo Center

date: 11.18.08

time: 7-9pm

18 years and older please

lies no more

me around 2 years old

i used to be a liar. as a kid i would lie to not get in trouble. as a teenager i would lie to get away with things (sorry p-rents). as a young adult i would lie to avoid hurting someone else or to manipulate a situation to my benefit. it was exhausting! i am POSITIVE that everyone has told a lie at one time or another.

two years ago i made my new year's resolution to "be honest." i wasn't telling the big whoppers anymore, but i found myself using little white lies without even realizing i was doing it. i have found that i disappoint people more often and have made certain family members distant, but i really enjoy not having to worry about what i say and do. i always know that my integrity is strong. now, i am not saying that i have not made errors in judgment or assumptions b/c the good guy above surely knows the answer to that question. i am thinking of a recent situation where i assumed something would not be a big deal and didn't think to mention it. well, apparently it was a big deal. i'm still working on perfection, aren't you? i don't mean that in an "i want to be perfect way." perfection is a funny idea isn't it? give it up, if you haven't already! life is so much better without it:-) and without the lying too.

it snowed ALL day yesterday

our new snow boots

(thanks grandma C)

isn't the snow beautiful? i love the snow when no one has walked on it yet. it's so peaceful. have you ever noticed how quiet it is when the snow is falling? it's like time stops. the snow is so special to me. i remember living with my mom in elementary school and waking up every morning and turning around in bed to pull the drapes open, hoping it had snowed during the night. i always wished for snow on my birthday. i remember one birthday (dec. 2 ya'll) waking up to a fresh blanket of snow. it was one of the best birthday presents i "ever did get!"
i built a snowman for brennan. this snow was puuuuuuuurrrrrrrfect for making snowmen (and snowballs, hehe).
i thought it would be so cute to make one just brennan's size and put him next to it...this is what brennan thought about that idea...
this was pretty much how the entire snow day went. i have about 50 pictures of brennan doing this:

lots of pouty faces and crying, but well worth it. doens't he look like a little dough boy!? i was imagining the mom on "a christmas story" bundling up the little brother to go to school, but i just couldn't help myself. lol.

a few updates...

we are happily back in our sink for baths

and we are getting closer to crawling every day!!! good luck to all of you who placed bets (i have all of the cookie making materials ready to send a batch straight to the lucky winner!)

until then...

2 first time things

"i looked out the window and what did i see....

...snowflakes falling right on top of me!!!"

another first time thing we saw this morning, president elect obama

iiiiiiiiiiii vOted!

mom, what are you doing?
i totally matched the voting booth, but not on purpose

they gave me a fancy sticker!

this may be my most exciting day this week! i have never voted before this morning. it was fabulous! i had such a wonderful feeling of civic pride. i have been walking around all day with my chin held high, wearing my "i voted" sticker. have you been doing the same thing?

4 nielson's:

claire, ollie, jane, & gigs

i am still promoting the fundraising event 11.18.08 for the nielson family. if you are just reading about this family for the first time you can read on in my blog to hear about their story. these amazing faces have two parents who were severely burned in a private plane crash mid-august. their medical bills, after insurance, are climbing into the multi-millions, with no sight in end. if you live in the salt lake area you can help! you can attend the event i'm promoting in sandy, utah on 11.18.08 from 7-9pm absolutely FREE!!! $5 will be donated just because you were there! to make sure your attendance counts, register for the event (listed as salt lake city, utah) at www.complete-wealth.com.

leave a comment if you're coming!

are you voting today?

i hope so!

i'm watching one of the presidential candidates cast their vote right now, and it has me feeling so patriotic. he's not even the candidate i'm voting for! it just makes me feel so excited to be an american. i can't wait for brennan to wake up from his morning nap so we can go to our assigned precinct to cast my VOTE!
hurrah for america

introducing...

meet & greet monday!!!

that's right folks, a new genre of my blog. be looking forward to mondays b.c they will bring a new person for you to get to know. if you would like to apply to be featured in the following week's "meet & greet" just leave me a comment for consideration and tune in each monday night!

(inspired by none other than ms. stephanie nielson herself).

family and friends, meet & greet mr. sean d. gibson

full name: sean david gibson
age: 27.1
birth place: orem, utah
resides: utah
happy place: me anywhere with em and brennan (awwwww)
favorite color: blue, just blue...i don't have shades of blue
disney movie you love: sword in the stone
what tool would you be: anything but an allen wrench, i hate them. i'd be an electric drill.
why? b/c it's useful to screw in everything you want me to screw in
languages: english, spanish
family background: sister natalie, brother landon, sister ashlie
sport: basketball
one word to describe you: i hate these things honey
that's five words dear, nevermind.

tune in next monday for an aussie from down unda'!

are you a lovely lurker? we LOVE you

we love our lurkers, but...

we just wanna know who's been here??? leave a comment folks;-)

p.s. this pic is of US at ann marie's disco party. the massive disco ball was brennan's favorite part (should have posted a pic with the ball in it...)

i saw my first christmas commercial today. it was the hallmark card commercial, where if you buy 3 cards you can buy their two snowmen for $9.99 or something like that. i've always thought it's funny how they market their yearly item, "buy 3 of our things, and you CAN buy 2 more!"

here we go folks, the commercial christmas season is upon us. by the way, i've decided to make most of my gifts this year. it makes christmas feel much more exciting! need ideas? i'll be posting some soon...

it rained yesterday...

so we opened our door and sat around watching the rain drops puddle

that got old, so brennan played with some leaves
that got old, so he tried to reach for some more leaves
doesn't he look different today? i love the way he changes everyday.
he got so excited when he thought there was another baby sitting right beside him, lol

have you ever heard of the story about the camel and his owner? well, there was this camel and his owner in the desert. as they were walking a sandstorm started, so the owner put up his tent and went inside, leaving his camel to stand outside the tent. the camel asked his owner (yes, this is a fantasy story b.c the camel talks), "owner, may i please just put my nose inside your tent, so i can breathe air without sand?" the owner felt badly for his camel and agreed. then the camel asked soon after, "owner, may i please just put my head in so that my eyes won't get sand in them?" the owner felt badly and agreed. then the camel asked soon after, "owner may i please put my neck in so the sand won't sting me on my neck?" the owner felt badly and agreed. finally the camel had inched his way in little by little, leaving no room for the owner. little by little the owner was talked into giving up his warm tent...i thought of that story today...

mint & choc are M-A-D-E for eachother

these mint chocolate chips were on sale saturday, aren't they a pretty green!?

so i bought them, not knowing what i would make...
and then i thought...MINT and CHOC are

M-A-D-E for eachother
sean thought so too
(he said we were made for eachother too, awwwww)
they were declicious!!! i think they'll be great for christmas goodies as well, wrapped up in some red paper with a big red bow.


em's choc choc mint chip cookies:
1c butter
1 1/2c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2c flour
2/3c cocoa
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1c milk choc chips, 1/2c white choc chips, 1/2c mint choc chips
cream butter, sugar, and eggs. add vanilla. slowly stir in cocoa. add flower, baking soda, & salt. add choc, white, & mint chips.
bake 350* for 10 min.

6:40am daylight savings time

thank you brennan, you slept until 6:40am daylight savings time. does this mean you could have been sleeping until 7:40am standard time? i love you nonetheless. i found this picture of you sleeping from when you were just a few weeks old. you are so adorable, all curled up. you still love sleeping on your side. dad and i think you are the cutest baby ever born.