Christmas Card 2008

I guess I better post this before the end of the year. I'm pretty proud of my cards because, although they aren't perfect, I created them entirely myself (the design, the layout, everything). It would have been even better but I also created Christmas cards for my sister (and took her pictures and edited them). I spent so much time working on hers, I didn't have a lot of time to do mine and send them out. I was pretty excited when I found out how to make the background look distressed, but it's hard to tell online. I still have a lot of learning to do, but I'm definitely getting better. I am also adding our Christmas letter for those of you who didn't get one.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Our 5x7 card

Our 4x6 card

Cherie's 5x7 card

Cherie's 4x6 card

Dear Family and Friends,

We were sitting in church the week after Thanksgiving and heard two wonderful talks given about the blessings we enjoy every day in our lives. We also had the privilege of hearing Elder M. Russell Ballard talk because his great-grandchild was being blessed in our ward that day. I remember sitting there and being overwhelmed, almost to tears, by the gratitude I felt in my heart for the blessings in MY life.

Time seemed like it had passed in a whirlwind this last year. We were expecting our first child, we were both working (Eric as a Credit Analyst for Merrill Lynch and I as the Marketing Manager for Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center), and Eric was diligently studying every free waking minute (or so it seemed) for his CFA certification. Shortly after Eric passed the first level of the CFA and on my birthday, June 24th, we had a special surprise package that was born two-and-a-half weeks early. For the next two months I felt like I was in a fog as I tried to conquer the challenge of being a mom for the first time, battling full-body rashes, bacterial infections, mood swings, feelings of inadequacy, dangerous lack of sleep, jaundice, viral infections, colds, misperscribed medication and more (I thought being a nanny for five kids would have given me an extra edge but, boy, was I wrong). We had waited for our little angel, Alexander Eric, for quite awhile and while pregnant, I couldn’t wait for the day he would finally make his appearance. When he did finally come, I didn’t have the time to sit and reflect what that meant to us in our lives. I think it all finally hit me when things started to calm down, I started to get the hang of being a mom, and I was reminded of all our blessings with the wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Of course, Alex was the greatest blessing we received this last year. Everyone kept telling me that “you can’t understand the love for a child until after you are a parent” and it is so true. I have such a great appreciation now for all that our parents did (and do!) for us and we are grateful to have grown up in good families with parents who obviously love us very much. It astounds me of just what a miracle he is and how much joy he brings into our lives. I can’t wait to grow our family and increase this joy in the years to come. We love him so much. I am also so grateful for my sweet husband, Eric, who does so much to be a good husband, father, brother, son, and priesthood holder. He has such a good spirit; I don’t know what I did to deserve him. We are privileged to be able to live close to family and live by good neighbors who have a genuine interest in our well-being. We are thankful for friends who have been friends with us through the good times and bad. We are grateful for a comfortable home that we have been able to put our heart into and make our own. We are grateful that Eric has been able to provide for our family and that I have been able to stay home and raise our son. We are grateful for the gospel in our lives – I can truly say that living the gospel is the greatest source of our happiness. We are so blessed with this direction – without it we would be lost. We are grateful for a Savior, whose birth we celebrate at this time, for we are so imperfect.

We don’t know what to expect this coming year. Bank of America has bought out Eric’s company and they plan to make 35,000 layoffs in the near future. We are entering a new government and the economy is obviously shaky. Despite all this uncertainty, we are still grateful for the things that matter most: family, friends, and the gospel. We look forward to the future with hope and optimism and leave our prayers with you for a wonderful new year.

Wishing You an Old Fashioned Christmas Filled with the Spirit of Christ,

Eric, Angie, and Baby Alex McFarland

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party 2008

On December the 6th we had our Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Our friends, family, and coworkers gathered in the ugliest Christmas sweaters they could find for a chance to win the coveted Ugliest Christmas Sweater trophy.

We had an awesome time. About 40 people showed up and we played games, awarded prizes and enjoyed delicious fondue. This will definitely be an annual tradition, although we might have to start holding it in a church or something because we were pretty much full to capacity.

Evan and Janae all cute in their matching sweaters

The "Puppet Charades" game
(isn't Eric's sweater great? It's a womens and it made him look like he had moobs)

The "Draw on Your Head" game


Lisa and Doug

Ashley and Garan

Melissa and Ben

The "Santa's Beard" game

The "Doughnut" Game (click play to view the fun)

The Beautiful Fondue layout

(thanks to everyone who contributed!)

Tiffany and Jeremy

(ok, so it's not a sweater but don't you just LOVE Jeremy's vest?)

The coveted trophy

Festival of Trees

Some people attend the Nutcraker, others drive around and view all the Christmas lights, our family's annual tradition is the Festival of Trees. Every year since I can remember we all take an afternoon off, gather together, and enjoy beautiful displays, scruptious homemade treats, and adorable crafts. I love being able to support a good cause (all proceeds from the event benefit Primary Children's Hospital) and get ideas for our Christmas tree (someday, anyway). What are your family's favorite Christmas traditions?

Things I Am Thankful For

I have so many wonderful things to be thankful for in my life. I owe it all to my Heavenly Father. Here is a list of just a few of them. I'm sure I will keep adding to the list and it might even become a permanent part of my blog on the side.

• The way Baby now responds to my kisses with kisses because he will someday pull away




• My bright sunny yellow walls that make even the grayest winter days seem bareable
  



• That I blindly chose who to spend eternity with and hit the jackpot

• For a Faith that gives me hope for the future without taking away the joy in the present



• For a brother who loved me enough to die for me

• For inspiring Christmas music (when else is it socially acceptable to listen to Perry Como?)



• For my snuggle buggly down comforter that makes it feel like I'm sleeping in the clouds
  



• For soft cheeks, tiny fingers, and ticklish toes
  
  
  
• My large family that grows increasingly larger each year
  

• For Mothers
  
  
• For knowing that at the end of the day if I don't accomplish everything on my list, my family still loves me and having more time to spend with them because of it

• For the ability to make mistakes

• For the power to create life

• For reconnecting with old friends




• Making Memories
  
  


• The warm embrace of someone who loves me as much as I love them



• For summer barbeques, fall walks, winter skiing, and spring picnics



• For contagious laughter

Family Fall Pictures

Make sure you turn off the website music before viewing the video by scrolling to the bottom of the site and hitting the pause button on the playlist.

Last Beautiful Fall Day

Daddy and I spent a wonderful day at Temple Square and The Gateway on Saturday. We knew that it would probably be the last beautiful fall day and we wanted to see the autumn colors one last time. We walked around the grounds, played with Baby on the lawn by the reflecting pool (where Mommy and Daddy met four years ago), ate ice cream at the Brigham Young Park and finished up the day with some Banana Republic pants for Dad and a book for Baby.

Baby poses with his great, great, great,

great, great grandfather, Hyrum Smith

It was Baby's first time to Temple Square and we had fun telling him about the temple and the gospel. I hate that winter is almost here although it will be nice to go skiing again (I went last year when I was five months pregnant and it didn't really work well). Sigh. I guess I just have to look forward to the holidays, cuddling up with a glass of hot chocolate and a good book, and mid-winter vacations to sunny destinations.

Sit, Stay, Roll Over!

Our little performing monkey perfected another trick! On Halloween, he decided he wanted to roll over. I had never taught him how to do it before and he had never tried before. However, I was getting him ready to go see Daddy at work and he rolled over. I was lucky enough to catch it all on video. This is the first couple of times he did it and by the end of the day he was rolling all the way over on to his stomach. Now he justs needs to figure out how to get his hand our from under him. He is growing so fast!

These pics were just too cute I had to share!

Halloween for the Adults

We went out with some of our best friends for some good ol' fashioned Halloween fun. We went on the Halloween "Heebie Creepie" which is a haunted version of the Heber Creeper. It turned out to be a little more for kids but we had a lot of fun anyway. It's too bad that our friends informed us that they found out they're moving to Arizona in two weeks. We will miss them a lot but I guess now we have somewhere to go on vacation in the winter! We moved away and came back and stayed friends with them so who knows what will happen? Anyway, we wish them the best of luck.

Trunk or Treat and other Halloween Fun

This past Friday was our ward's annual Trunk or Treat. Baby was a dragon so Daddy was the Knight and I was the maiden in distress. I thought about making Baby's costume but I found this really cute one at Old Navy and if I made one, I probably would have spent more on the material alone. Plus, I'm not that good of a seemstress and I want this costume to last for our other babies. I guess I felt a little guilty because I went all out on decorating our car for the event instead. It was supposed to be a big dragon, but it kind of turned out to look more like a bat or a monster because our car is black. Regardless, everyone thought our car was the "coolest." Some of the little kids did not even want to put their hand in it because it was too scary (I'm glad I didn't go with my first idea to put a body bag in the trunk!) Baby played his part beautifully by keeping his tongue out the whole night. Anyway, we had a great time although I think the whole to do was more for us than for Baby!

We also had to make an appearance at my old work's annual Monster Mash. It's a great free event where kids can dress up, ice skate for free, and play fun games. It was fun to see some old coworkers and they all loved Baby's cute costume. I went with my sister and her two kids. We got to spend som time with my other sister, who took over my old position.

Aunt One and Cousins

Aunt Two and Cousins

When else do I get to wear a tiara?

Roarrrrrr! Fun with CousinsSleepy Little Dragon

Our Pumkin Handiwork

Another Milestone . . .

For the past week or two, Baby has been very fussy while I try to feed him. I knew that he probably wasn't getting the nurishment he wanted so I started giving him a bottle once a day with a little bit of rice cereal in it. I wanted to wait until his 4 month appointment to ask the doctor if I could start him on baby food. The Doc gave me the go ahead since it seems like he is going through a big growth spurt right now and he is old enough to handle it. I'm supposed to start with rice cereal in a bowl until he gets the hang of the spoon and then move on the orange and yellow vegetables. This video is the first time I have ever given him food with a spoon. I must say - he actually did a pretty good job. He doesn't really spit it back out but he doesn't get the concept of swallowing it either so it just sort of sits in his mouth. I don't think he got any of it in his stomach but we'll just have to keep on practicing. Anyway, it's pretty cute to watch.

4 Month Check Up

Today Baby had his 4 month appointment. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up! The Doc said he was doing great developmentally and that he looked very healthy. He has leaned out a bit - which is good because Mommy was worried about it. At his two week appointment he was 8.31 lbs (37%) and 20.28 in. (34%); at his two month appointment he was 12.76 lbs (75%) and 23.03 in (53%); and at this appointment he was 15.7 lbs (68%) and 25.83 in (82%). He's a little more chunkier than average but that's okay because he's a lot taller than average and he keeps getting progressively taller. If this keeps up, he might be off the charts for height! Looks like we're going to have a big boy - maybe even bigger than Daddy's 6'1"!

He did it again!!!!

Once again, Daddy proved to me that he is the best husband in the whole world! Last Friday he brought me breakfast in bed (German Pancakes - my favorite) BEFORE HE HAD TO GO TO WORK!!! I really don't want to rub it in about how wonderful he is, but I definitely have to record these events so that our boys will know how to treat their wives when the time comes. It definitely should have been the other way around - me bringing him breakfast in bed - since I just stay home with the baby. He makes it very hard sometimes to treat him as well as he treats me. Of course, not to be outdone, I had to bring him breakfast in bed the next day. Mine wasn't as elaborate and he didn't have his glasses on or his contacts in (he's as blind as a bat!) and he said, "Oh! My favorite! You made French Toast!" The funny thing was is that it was not French Toast - just eggs over easy on toast! Sometimes I actually think he's blinder than a bat! Anyway, I keep telling him he has to stop being so perfect because only the good die young, right?

In other news, we bought Baby a jumper. Mom and Dad even had fun with it while testing it for about five minutes before we put him in it. He absolutely loves it (for about 20 minutes at a time anyway). It's so cute to see him jumping up and down and cooing. Hopefully the novelty will not wear off for a couple of months. I was waiting until Christmas to get him one, but he was ready for one now and I think it will help him develop his little legs. That and it will give Mommy a place to put him when she's trying to make dinner or fold the laundry (other than his bouncer which he is starting to get a little sick of). Below are some pictures of him in his "megatoy" (why didn't they have toys like that when I was a kid?)

Daddy did a really good Elephant impression and it scared Baby - I was lucky enough to catch it on film.


Baby in his jumparoo

A beautiful fall day at Draper Park

Daily Reflections

So nothing new or great has really happened lately. I've been spending a lot of time outdoors enjoying the nice weather while I can and I've also been trying to learn photoshop better (the picture below is a small example of my growth) so I haven't had much time to blog. I was called to be a Relief Society teacher - that's what I get for volunteering to teach at the retirement center in our ward! At least I'm not back in primary again and I can get to know the sisters of the ward better. I also am starting to get to know more people in the ward since I've been up to going to activities more often since I'm not pregnant/sick anymore. I really love our neighborhood and ward! We have a lot of couples around our age with young children so we have a lot in common.


Baby is getting bigger everyday! He is using his hands so much better and is starting to want to play. He barely starting giggling the other day and it is the cutest thing! He is really tickelish on his bare tummy. I will have to have Eric help me record it so I can post it on the site.


Daddy has given up on studying for the GMAT. He has missed the deadline for most of the schools he wants to attend (ivy league) and we really don't want to pursue graduate school right now anyway. Daddy would rather wait until he's finished with the CFA so it was just a backup plan in case something happened with his job. We think he'll either get to keep his job, though, or he can get a new one. It's nice to be able to spend time with him again after work. Especially since he'll start putting in 20 hrs. a week of studying time for the CFA from January to June.


I have a lot of fun things going on in the next little while that I'm looking forward to. This weekend is the Little Witches Weekend at Gardner Village, we're going on a date with one of Daddy's collegues and wife, and we're having a couple from the ward over for dinner on Sunday. Next week is the Monster Mash at Cottonwood Heights and our Ward Trunk or Treat activity with the women of the ward heading to Garner Village afterwards. Then of course the week after that is Halloween and my sister's 40th (can you believe it!) birthday. I'll have to think up something really fun for her. Anyway, I should have a lot more exciting things to post in the next little while. Oh yeah, Daddy and I are going to have our sister take fall family pictures of us soon too. Hopefully they'll turn out.

General Conference

This past weekend is one that I always look forward to: General Conference. My Dad always made us watch all four sessions of conference and so I have grown to love this semiannual tradition. I can't understand how many Mormons view General Conference weekend as a chance to take a vacation. I love being able to hang out in my "comfies," eat junk food, and throw all my cares and responsibilities out the window. This is when we get to hear from the Apostles and Prophet of the Lord!

All of the talks were excellent and it's hard to pick a "favorite," but there were a few that really struck me. One was from an Area Seventy named Eduardo Gavarret from Peru. He explained the importance of reactivating members. Living back in Utah, I always kind of view my "missionary opportunities" as limited. Everyone here has probably already heard about the "Mormons" and have made their decision on whether or not to pursue it. However, I forgot that there are many people who once had a testimony who have gotten lost. These are the people I need to focus on.

I also loved Brother Joseph B. Wirthlins advice to "Come What May and Love it." It is so easy to get downtrodden and depressed but we need to have a positive outlook on life and be thankful for all our blessings.

Jeffery R. Holland's talk on Angels was beautiful and seemed truly inspired from High.

Last of all, of course it is always wonderful to hear our modern Prophet and President Monson is such a great storyteller. It had been cloudy all weekend and during his Sunday morning talk about his calling to be the Prophet, the sun broke through the clouds. I'd like to think it was God's way of letting us know that his Mantel rests upon this wonderful man. He continued in that speech to talk about the importance of reveling in the present. He talked about how quickly children grow and how important it is to enjoy them while we can. Being a new mother this really struck a chord with me.

I always hate it when Conference is over - I just want it to go on and on. I can't wait until the talks are published in the Ensign and we are able to study them throughout the year in Releif Society.