Coke and Mintoes

So I should be doing homework right now but I had to share this-
James and I were talking about what we are going to do about our car situation tomorrow. I asked him I was going to get to class at 1pm while he is working and he has the car.
He thinks for a minute (or maybe he was sleeping) and then he replies, " The answer is simple. Here's what you do. You take a couple of bottle of Coke and some Mintoes and you stand by the side of the road with the Coke bottles lined up just so. Then you put the Mintoes inside of the Coke bottles and a bunch of Coke will go everywhere and someone will feel sorry enough for you to offer to give you a ride. The plan is seriously flawless."
I sat there and all I could do was say, Oh goodness.....

I think I may have a very sleep deprived husband on my hands.. BUT he did clean the entire messy home while I was gone at the Relief Society Christmas Program. I guess he really does see what I need done. :)

Finals week! Here we come! You shall be conquered!

The Spirit of Christmas

What shall we give?

What shall we give to the babe in the manger,
What shall we offer the child in the stall?
Incense and spices and gold we've got plenty-
Are these the gifts for the king of us all?

What shall we give to the boy in the temple,
What shall we offer the man by the sea?
Palms at his feet and hosannas uprising;
Are these for him who will carry the tree?

What shall we give to the lamb who was offered,
Rising the third day and shedding his love?
Tears for his mercy we'll weep at the manger,
Bathing the infant come down from above.

Enjoy what I am enjoying too :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages

Tonight at mutual we worked on Divine Nature #3. We wrote letters to people that we wanted to serve for the next too weeks in the spirit of Christmas. We talked about the different traditions that the girls have that have to do with service- the things they do with friends and family at Christmas time. Some of the stories were way cool to hear and a lot of fun to share. 

In closing tonight I tried to express to the girls how wonderfully blessed they are to know that they are loved daughters of Heavenly Father and it because of His Son that we are able to celebrate life and learn how to return to live with Them again. 

I am now lying in my bed thinking about how crazy it is that the year has only a few days left. As I look back on the past year, I am trying to think of the times that I spent an extra few minutes to just pass on the Spirit of Christmas by servicing someone else- regardless of the month that we were in. 

I am also thinking about how many people have served me, and how grateful I am to have friends and family who love me and care for me and for James so much. 

Christmas is my favorite time of year- so I am resolved to take it with me throughout every month of every year. Why wait until Christmas to make the effort to love and help other people. 

I love nights like this where I can ponder and just think about the way my life is going, about the different things going on or the things that I would like to have going on in my life right now. 

I hope you can take a night every now and them and think about what gift you would give Christ if He were here this Christmas. Ponder where you are in life and where you want to be. Give thanks for the blessings that have been given to you- both good and bad. 

I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and hope you are able to find the Spirit of Christmas and take it with you into each month this next year. 

If you have any fun traditions- I would so love to hear :) I always love a good story. 

with love- Ness

Hunting in Morenci

James recently went to Morenci to go hunting with his buddy James. I tagged along to visit my friend Noell- his wife- and their baby Aubree.
James Hughes took James Mertz bear hunting for the first time. They had a great time! While Noell and I loved to the time to visit and catch up. We also did a little project for Aubree's room.

I think James looks hot in army clothes :) --my james of course, no worries Noell 

Our Aubree project. 

We love our good friends and jump at any chance we get to see them.

Photo Shoot- Glam style

So while we were at Thanksgiving, I was taking pictures of Camri, when some of my other cousins came up and asked if I would take their pictures. Of course I said yes, and the next thing I knew, I was laughing and smiling at these cute 4 years olds glammin' up the camera. 

See for yourself! 

There's been a change in plans....

James and I have been through quite the up and down week! Thank goodness for blogging and be able to clear my head. For my readers- welcome to my brain, I won't be offended if you think I am crazy after this, I promise. For my future generations who will read this when it is printed in a book and passed on, please know that it is because of weeks like this that James and I somehow fall more in love than ever before and that I feel my Savior's more strongly than ever. I know that I am not asked to do more than I can handle and I know that if I turn to Him and rely in Him, He will help us make the right decisions.

So you've read about Crayola. Well she got fixed! I just don't know if she is mine anymore (she legally belongs to my dad) because Braden is getting his license pretty soon. I have now done about 24 hours worth of car shopping I think and let me tell you I hate it! If anyone has any good advice about picking out a car- please fill me in!!! How is it that I can choose something that I will be using everyday, that doesn't cost 20 bucks like a pair of tennis shoes? How is it that I choose a reliable vehicle that I can trust? How is it that I can find out I like something in a matter of minutes, have the deal work out, and then have no return policy?!
So there's the car situation.

Here's the change in plans.
All the way back to Thanksgiving.

James and I had originally planned on driving to Colorado to be with his family for Thanksgiving.

The weather had other plans in store. 

Enter: huge blizzard warnings. 

Enter: roads closed through the pass.

The ending? We can't go to Colorado. 

Don't get me wrong, I love being with my family during the holidays and we ended up having a great time!

I just wanted to get out of Arizona! and spend time with James' family- 

we miss them! 

So you've heard the saying, when a door closes, find a window? Or something along those lines, well 

James and I decided to invite his Dad's brother and sister and grandpa to come

to a second Thanksgiving dinner with us and James's sister and husband. 

I am SO glad we stayed for that one reason! 

We had a such a great time with his aunt and uncle (grandpa couldn't make it). 

It was so nice to be able to hear them reminisce about their childhood, and their favorite parts of visiting

family. I am such a sucker for old stories. Not to mention, some pretty darn good food was made. I also tried a new recipe for rolls and made a yummy apple pie. 

This Thanksgiving helped to remind me that family is so great. I am so blessed to be part of

 two families that love the Lord and love each other. I am blessed to have married a man who wants

to make those things a priority in life, and cares enough about me to 

help me to do better every single day. 

Isn't it great that we have a whole day to remind us of the things that make us who we are, the 

people that bring us great joy, and the blessings that are being poured upon us

everyday. 

So here is a look at our thanksgiving day.  

All in all- I fell so blessed to be who I am, in the place I am, with what I have, and the purpose that is in store for me. This is what I thank the Lord for everyday.

Dear sweet Crayola

My dear Car Crayola,
How sweet you have been to me these past 5 years. How reliable and fun you have been to me. How handi you have come. How many memories you hold.
My dear Crayola, the time has come that you must now pass....I have put many band aides on you and even some complete replacements, a few enhancements, and sadly a lot of my dad's money. (Thanks dad!)
You have taught me a ton and helped through some pretty tight spots. I will always remember you as my first car. The car that I learned to drive stick shift with. The car the people looked at me funny when I told them you took Diesel. The car that no one could ever start. The car that went fast. The car that I will always remember....And don't worry, you can never be replaced.
Sadly, you broke on me. You gave it your all until you could not go anymore. You tried to make it a safe spot but half way through the turn the smoke and brokeness got in the way. I know you wanted to keep going, I could hear you still trying, and thankfully no one ran into me when you had to pushed off the road.
I hope you will always remember me Crayola. I hope you maybe find a new owner to take car of you and love you like I did. I hope you can take car of someone like you took car of me.
I hope I find a good, new car, just like you.
Good bye Crayola.....

Holidays smell SO good!

Thanksgiving and Christmas are seriously just around the corner and I am so excited! This years James and i will be traveling to Colorado for Thanksgiving. I think it will be fun to see the traditions that

James grew up with and to spend some fun time with his family. Last year, we were with my family and 

it was filled with babies and a lot of people! We had such a great experience though- there were three baby blessings and so many people that we love. What a great way to 

spend Thanksgiving, and what a great reminder of what Thanksgiving is all about.

This year, I am looking forward to making great memories with my other family :) It'll be fun to have some different weather too- maybe even some snow! 

Lately, James and I have been so busy with school and work, 

that we have had little time to think of the upcoming breaks or vacations, but we have had the amazingly fun

chance to have Rex and Amy and their little boy Adam live with us for the

month of November. Rex has been doing a rotation at the VA here in Tucson

and we had the extra room, so they came to live here! It has been so fun to have a little one around 

all the time and to be able to spend time getting to know Rex and Amy better. (Rex is my mom's brother fyi)

I think one part that James has really enjoyed has been the amazing meals that Amy has made for dinner! 

Check our Favorite Recipes page for some of the ones that we love that she has made.

It has also made me realize that I work too much! I want to be home cooking 

dinner and trying these yummy recipes out....How many years til we're done with school again?

The other things that are going on around here-

We just had Young Women's in Excellence for our ward it turned out GREAT! I am so glad that 

I am able to work with these wonderful girls and to be able to see them 

create and grow and gain a testimony or the love their Savior has for them. Check out the Personal Progress page for more about that night.

well a few days later and Thanksgiving has already come and gone...see next post :) 

Apartment 65-103- Welcome :)

Colorado Trip

after spending the hot months of june and july we decided we had to get to some place cooler. thankfully james' sister becky was having a reception in colorado. james and i took off work, packed up the car, loaded lucy into the car and started to drive toward the cooler parts of the earth: montrose, co.
have i ever mentioned how i love it up there? no?...ok, well i love it up there! this trip was kind of bumpy for me because i was feeling oh so not good. i don't know what i had but it made me sick and tired and i felt nasty. no i am not pregnant but i sure think i fooled my in-laws ;)
the reception turned out lovely! becky made such a beautiful bride. and tyler made a handsome groom. i am so glad that they close to us now so we can hang out and stay good friends.
i played with my camera at their reception. here are some favs:

while we were in colorado, we also went to the park and to a cute little town called glendwood springs. it was fun to be able to just relax and spend time with family. james' family is wonderful and i am so glad i can have the last name mertz :)