Christmas Day

Christmas Eve

Grandma sitting on Santa's lap.

Rick and Christie on Santa's lap.

Every Christmas Eve we gather for dinner at my Grandma's house and Santa will drop by to give gifts to the grandchildren. This year we were able to sit on Santa's lap together.

Another tradition from my family is that we get a new ornament every year that we open on Christmas Eve. The ornament usually has to do with something that happened the past year. This year our ornament was a cap, gown, and diploma to celebrate Rick graduating from ASU.

Merry Christmas

Rick and Christie’s Top 10 Highlights for 2007
(In no particular order!)

1. Rick’s Hand Surgery: To start the year off, Rick had hand surgery to remove a piece of metal from his knuckle. We are still unsure on how this piece of metal came to be in his finger but we think it is from an incident involving a hammer and primer of a bullet that happened 17 years ago. Needless to say, his hand is now metal-free.

2. New Callings: This year both of us were blessed to receive new callings in our ward. Along with being the Weblos leader, Rick has been called to teach Elder’s Quorum as well. He has found that there really isn’t much of a difference between teaching the two groups. Christie has been called to the Relief Society Presidency as the Counselor over Enrichment. The past year has been full of both blessings and pain (mostly blessings) as she learns all about this wonderful program.

3. Rick’s Graduation from ASU: This May Rick graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. We were so grateful to celebrate such a great accomplishment with friends and family! Congratulations Rick!

4. Las Vegas Trip: We spent our family vacation in Las Vegas! We had a great time wandering through all of the casinos and taking in the sites. The best part of the trip was going to see Mystere.

5. Applying to Dental School: We’re not sure we can call this a “highlight” but it has definitely been an experience! Rick reapplied to dental school this year and we are now waiting to hear back. He was fortunate enough to have a couple of interviews so hopefully we’ll hear something soon. Unfortunately this whole experience involves a lot of waiting (definitely not a fun way to develop patience).

6. Weddings: We have been blessed with new in-laws on both sides of the families. Christie’s brother Jeff married Camille Packer in July of this year and Rick’s brother Steven married Amanda Terrill in August. We loved being able to celebrate these great events with family and friends. Congratulations to both!

7. Going to the Beach: After three long years of marriage to a girl from San Diego, Rick FINALLY was able to make it to the beach for the first (and second) time this summer. Of course he loved it and is looking forward to going again.

8. Christie Knee Surgery: Again, not sure if we can call this a “highlight” but it was a big part of our summer and fall. Christie had surgery on her knee in August and got to go through the fun experience of physical therapy and recovery. Rick got to play chauffer, gofer, cook, maid, etc. Rick’s happiest day this year was when Christie could finally drive again!

9. Clarksville Trip: This fall Christie had the opportunity to attend training for work in Clarksville, TN. Trane has one of their factories there and so she had the pleasure of meeting people she talks to often as well as learning more about how a commercial air conditioner is built.

10. Starting a Blog: That is right, we jumped on the blog bandwagon and are trying to keep it going. We have had so much fun keeping up with family and friends through their blogs that we started our own. Feel free to stop by through the year to see what we are up to and to leave us a note: http://rickfarnsworthfamily.blogspot.com/.

We hope everyone has a great holiday season. We love you all!
Love, Rick and Christie Farnsworth

Happy Birthday Rex!

It is Rex's 3rd Birthday on Saturday, Dec. 22nd, so we threw him a little birthday party last night to celebrate. He loved the cake, sweets and fire, every little boys dream.

Getting a little help from Mom to blow out the candles.

Cars!

It's Elmo!

Back to the best part, cake!

Silly Animals

We had so much fun playing with the "animals". Rick and Rex tried racing....

Ella decided to get in on the action and took a ride on the tiger.

Emily and Ella playing dolls.

One, two, three ....

Temple Lights

We had so much fun going to look at the Temple Lights on Monday night. It was a great night to meet with old friends and get into the spirit of Christmas.

Heidi and Jeremy Musseman

Emily and Todd Glenn

Rick and Christie Farnsworth

This was Rick's favorite part, playing with Alyson.

Gingerbread Houses

We got together with our Farnsworth family on Dec. 9th to make gingerbread houses. It was lots of fun to see what everyone came up with. We also had a great time munching and talking.

Counting My Blessings

This past week I have been especially grateful for those that fulfill their callings. We had an Enrichment night last Thursday and even though a member of the committee could not attend, she still helped immensely by doing the decorations the night before. They were gorgeous. Her family made these paper snowflakes by hand and then hung them from the ceiling in the cultural hall. They added so much to the night. Also the woman in charge of the food had a family emergency that night but still managed to get the food there on time even though she wasn't able to stay as well. It is such a blessing when others fulfill their callings because then my life is a lot less stressful. Anyway I am grateful for the hard work everyone puts in to make the night go smoothly and I am grateful I am blessed with such a wonderful committee.

Here Comes Santa Claus...

For our Ward Christmas Party this year, Rick played Santa Claus for the kids. He did such a good job that one little boy in our ward decided that he was the "real" Santa Claus. I just wanted to share how cute he looked, what a hot Santa!

Thanksgiving in San Diego

This year we spent our Thanksgiving weekend in San Diego. We had such a great time! Wednesday night we drove to LA to watch the "So You Think You Can Dance" show at the Nokia Theater. We went with Jeff, Camille and Caitlan. It was such a blast! It was so much fun to see our favorite dances and dancers again. I can't wait for the next season. On Thursday we slept in and then went about making Thanksgiving dinner. Jeff, Camille, Cait, and Brett went to play soccer and somehow ended up in the pool (well Camille managed to stay dry). After dinner we settled in for the ASU v. USC football game. Needless to say it was a sad day for ASU fans. Hopefully they will do better against the U of A. Friday and Saturday were all about soccer. For as long as I can remember Thanksgiving weekend has always meant lots of soccer and this year wasn't any different. We attended two of Cait's games on Friday and then one more on Saturday. Her team did ok, but it was fun to watch her play again. Saturday, after her last game, we went to lunch at PF Changs and then went to see "Enchanted", which was pretty cute. Once we got home it was time to watch the BYU v. Utah football game. After a rough start, my Cougars pulled it off and beat Utah 17-10. They are now ranked 19th in the BCS. Go Cougars! Sunday meant it was time to drive back home again. It was a short trip but we had a great time spending time and visiting with my family. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Counting My Blessings

I decided to try to take my sister-in-law's example and Elder Eyring's advice. In his talk in the October Conference he said, "Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done." So every Sunday I am going try to remember some of the blessings that I have been given.

The blessing I have been thinking about the most today is my wonderful husband. For some reason I tend to get migraines, especially on Sundays. Unfortunately, I had one this morning, and instead of complaining my husband has learned how to take care of me, and is so sweet about it. He gets my medicine, a warm washcloth for my head and takes care to keep the lights and sound as low as possible. He also doesn't complain when we are a few minutes late for church because I get up late and take longer to get ready. I love that he tries so hard to make me feel better. He does so much for me but today I am grateful for how well he takes care of me. He has been the biggest blessing in my life and I am so grateful to have him as my husband.

Happy Birthday Rick!

Rick turned 28 on Saturday and we spent the whole day celebrating! (Of course, if I hear "It's my birthday, I can do what I want!" one more time I might scream). We went to Costco in the morning to get his new "baby", that would be the TV. The afternoon and evening we spent at the AZ State Fair. We went to the petting zoo and looked at the different exhibits, with plenty of fair food along the way, then watched the Demolition Derby. The Demolition Derby being the main reason we were there. There is nothing like watching cars crash into each other, catch fire, and flip over to bring pure joy to my husband's eyes. Needless to say we had a great time.

Happy Birthday Honey!

Trane in Clarksville

At the end of October I had the opportunity to go to Clarksville, TN to visit one of our factories and for some training on our equipment. I went with one of my co-workers, April Meador, and we had an interesting time. We flew into Nashville, TN picked up our rental car, as well as a GPS unit, and were on our way. Neither of us had been to Tennessee before so this was a new experience. Luckily with the help of a map and directions from Mapquest we were able to find our way. Unfortunately the GPS system was no help. It kept telling us to turn when there was no where to turn (I promise it wasn't user error either). We made it to Clarksville ok, and went exploring. I loved how green Tennessee was, and the brick buildings were gorgeous. For the next two days we had training in the office there and it was interesting to see how the factory works, how the air conditioning units are built, and to meet a few of the people that we talk to often on the phone. The only downside to the trip was that it rained the whole time we were there and the time difference really threw me off. Otherwise, I had a great time!

Schnepf Farms

Earlier this month we spent a Saturday morning playing around at Schnepf Farm with Todd and Emily! We went to the petting zoo, rode the rides, tried our luck at the corn maze (we got out, not sure if it was the right exit though), played miniture golf, picked out our pumpkins, and bought carmal apple pie. We had a great time!

Crazy Summer

Rick and I have had a crazy summer that boils down to:

Rick attending summer school and working in a reasearch lab at ASU.

Rick has been applying for dental schools.

Christie's Aunt Julie graduating from University of Phoenix. We are so proud of her and her hard work!

Christie hurting her knee. We are not quite sure what happend....

The air conditioning in Christie's car going out (not a good thing to happen in July in Arizona)!

The transmission going out in Rick's truck.

The air conditioning in Rick's truck going out (and of course this happened on the hottest day of the summer, July 4th) and continually having problems, we just got it out of the shop again and hopefully it will now stay out of the shop.

Christie's brother Jeff getting married to Camille Packer. (This also includes Rick going to the beach for the first time since we have been married. We're not sure how come it took 3 years to get him to the beach, but he loved it!)

Christie's cousin being diagnosed with cancer.

Christie and her Aunt Julie going to San Diego to visit her mom and sister for a "Girl's Weekend".

Rick's brother Steven getting married to Amand Terrill.

Going to Christie's brother's reception and open house in Newport Beach and San Diego. (Yes, Rick made it to the beach again!)

The air conditioning going out in Christie's car (yes, again!) and the driver's side window breaking on the same day.

Going to a Diamondbacks vs. Cubs game with Christie's co-workers and their spouses. The game was a lot of fun, getting up the 25 rows to our seats was not so much fun. Diamondbacks won!

Christie going through a week of physical therapy and then having surgery on her knee. (The hurt knee caused quite a long summer! Rick has had to drive her to and from work everyday, and everywhere in between.)

Who knows what else I am forgetting, but needless to say we have been very busy. We really enjoyed all the time we got to spend with family though, and loved seeing everyone again.

Mormon Football Plays

In honor of the beginning of football season...

Quarterback Sneak - Church members quietly leaving during meeting.

Draw Play - What the kids do with the program during Sacrament.

Half-time - Sunday School

Bench warmer - Those members who do not sing, pray, participate, or apparently do anything but just sit and warm the bench.

Backfield-in-Motion - People in the back of the Chapel going to the rest-room or water fountain during the meeting.

Staying in the Pocket - What happens to a lot of tithing that should have been paid three weeks ago.

Two-minute Warning - The point at which the concluding speaker says, "In conclusion, I would like to bear my testimony" and you start to gather up your children and belongings.

Instant Replay - The speaker loses his notes and falls back on repeating what he just said.

Sudden Death - What happens to the attention span of the congregation if the meeting goes into "overtime!".

Trap - You're called on to pray while you're dozing.

End Run - Getting out of church quick, before you have to speak to that long winded gossip.

Halfback Option - The decision of 50% of the congregation to skip Sunday School.

Sacked - Being asked to speak in Sacrament meeting before you can escape.

Blitz - The rush for the parking lot following the closing prayer on Fast Sunday.

Three Years!

We just celebrated our third anniversary on August 14th and it was so nice to take the day to reflect on how grateful I am for the wonderful husband that I have. He is the greatest blessing in my life! Love you honey!

So You Think You Can Dance

I just bought tickets for the So You Think You Can Dance tour! We are going to go watch this show in LA with some of my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. (Does this tell you how addicted I am?) It is still forever away but I am so excited. Go Sabra!

Well it's a start...

I have finally gotten my act together to get this blog started. Please have patience with me as it is definitely a work in progress. Hopefully I'll post some pictures soon!