Christmas and Mr & Mrs Phillips Day

Well folks, the time has come for an update. And unfortunately it's going to have to be a quick one seeing as we're in the process of packing up for a trip to Arizona this weekend. (yay!)

We had a great Holiday this year, and enjoyed spending time both with the fams and just the two of us. Here are some photos from Christmas:

First, there was decorating......

Yummy food....

(My first attempt at Strata - DELISH!)
And Holiday parties....

(Taylor wearing my coat haha)
Time with the fam....

(Look how tall Ethan is getting!!! I can't believe it!)
And of course... Silliness!

(This is the creepiest photo of Matt... ever!)

And lastly, a picture after dinner at The Roof for Anniversary numero dos.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you all a happy New Year!!

Our Christmas Shenanagins...

Saturday afternoon I got sent home from work a bit early, so I had an actual afternoon off with the hubbs! ..That wasn't a Sunday!! We were so excited to actually be able to hang out. We decided to take up Steve and Sharifa on their offer to join them for a matinee of A Christmas Carol, which was a lot better than the critics said. We loved it! And afterward, it was still pretty early. We sort of just made up our mind to take a spontaneous trip to Temple Square -and Crown Burger of course. It's tradition! And while it may not have been the best night we could have chosen (due to all the craziness from the MoTab concert going on at the same time as the Jazz vs Lakers game), it was still nice to have some time to spend together. Especially in such an important place to us.

Standing where Matt proposed.

Hey Lisa, check this out! Isn't it rad?? I loved this Nativity.

It was nice and toasty... as you can see!

Hooray for Christmas!!! Less than 2 weeks to go now!

Speechless...

So Monday morning, I was awakened to my vibrating phone. My first thought was "Ah great, is it really time to wake up already?". I reached over to turn off my alarm, but it was ringing instead. I thought that was a bit odd. I looked at the caller ID, and it said Private. So my next thought was "Oh, just another telemarketing agency." (Since Matt left the military all our contact info is everywhere and we have tons of schools trying to recruit us all the time. So we never answer numbers we don't recognize.) But I suddenly had a feeling I needed to answer it. Then it was like someone whispered directly into my brain "It's that attorney...." And I had a shiver of excitement but tried not to get too excited so I didn't sound like a total goob on the phone. (This all happened in the span of about 4 seconds, haha) So I answered. "Hello?" "Is this Sierra?" "Yes it is" "Hi, this is (name of the wonderful attorney I interviewed with a week ago), I'm calling to offer you a job." Silence.... "Really?" "Well, yes if you are still interested! haha" "That's great! When can I start?"

One week after we got such bad news from Matt's former employer (still can not speak their name without choking on it), we get this news. I know it's uber corny, but this is my dream job. I start the Paralegal course in January, and here I am starting as a Paralegal already because this guy has some faith in me and my abilities. We have been hoping and praying for an opportunity directed at Matt, but this effects us both and is such a huge blessing. The Lord truly works in mysterious ways.

Thanks to everyone for all your prayers and well wishes. Matt is still working so hard trying to find a new job, and is constantly searching for ways to keep himself busy. I am so proud of him. It has been a rough week, but one of the greatest for us. I'm so happy that Matt is still going at it, and isn't the type to throw in the towel. Love you, dear!

PS- Don't you love how I titled this "Speechless" then rambled on for ten minutes? :)

I'm done!

After this past week, those 2 words could have a plethora (love that word) of different meanings coming from the two of us. If Matt had said them, they could mean "I'm done working for Les Schwab", since he was laid off Monday, or they could mean "I've found as many new jobs to apply for as I can do for now, so I'm done for the day." Coming from me they could mean "I'm done with this old car" since it broke down the same day Matt lost his job, or "I'm done stressing out". It could have meant "I'm done working 6 days a week, I'm ready to sleep." But instead, I'm happy to announce that when I say "I'm done", it is in reference to my Christmas shopping. Oh, that's right. I'm DONE!!!!

My fab sis-in-law told me it was her goal to be finished by the 1st of December this year so she could focus more on her family and enjoying Christmas, and at first I will admit I bawked a little bit. At first I thought, "You must have been planning for ages already, there's no way I could do that." And then I started thinking, "Well, why couldn't I do it, too? It's not impossible... I'm going to do it." And I did! And now, in light of recent events, I'm so glad I did! Not only financially but for the peace of mind. I may not have finished by the 1st, but I don't think the 3rd is too bad of a record. So thanks Claire, for setting the bar high!

Now I have 21 more days to enjoy this season and spend this time with my great hubbs. He is working his tail off right now trying to find a job, and since he can't sit still (he gets that from his dad), my house is actually clean now! With me working all the time the only day I had to clean or do laundry was Sunday and I hate that. So it's been nice to have another set of hands to help me out, plus we've been able to spend a lot more time together. Which I guess doesn't make sense, because we were pretty much working the same hours before. Funny how things work out. This could easily have turned into the most stressful time in our marriage, but it has turned into one of the happiest. Which is weird, since I'm such a worrying control freak, but it is amazing the comfort you can receive if you're open to it. We both know everything is going to turn out just fine, so for now we're going to try and enjoy this season (and our anniversary, yay!) as much as possible.

I guess all I really wanted to do was to rub in that I am totally prepared for Christmas, and I just wanted to say that I hope everyone takes the time to enjoy this season, and gets to really enjoy it. Hot chocolate for all!