Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas 2013!

I have not posted on my blog in quite a while. Life has been a wee bit hectic for our family, in a good way. I have a job that I have been working since the week before Thanksgiving and it has turned life a little on it's head in the Valenta household! But we did manage to get a Christmas picture taken and a letter written -- YAY for small victories!


Merry Christmas from the Valenta’s!



Ahhh, it is that time of year again to send Christmas greetings to our family and friends! We love this time of year, even with all the hustle and bustle, as we can pause to remember all we have been blessed with and what is truly important in our lives. It is our hope that each of us can reflect a little longer on the real reason for celebration this time of year, our Savior Jesus Christ.

As you can tell from the above picture we have a few less people around the house these days!

·         Tim and Lisa still call Arizona home. They made a trip back to Kentucky in late May and we had such fun seeing sights and catching up and even making a silent movie while they were here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xKEEjiTIMzI#at=24

·         Andrew (26) lives here in Nicholasville and continues to have a busy work schedule so we don’t get to see him as often as we’d like but he was able to get away and go to Cumberland Falls with us when Tim and Lisa were visiting. It was great to have almost the whole family together, with the exception of Jordan who was away at school.

·         Jordan (23) was at school at BYU-Idaho and then transferred to BYU-Provo. He is working hard in his studies and is wanting to go to medical school. He’s still deciding exactly what field of study he wants to pursue but is volunteering at clinics for flu shots and working on getting his EMT certification and doing well.

·         Jacob (20 soon) moved out of the house in May and is sharing an apartment with 2 other guys. He does stop home every now and then and doesn’t even bring his laundry with him so that’s a good sign…we think! He is working and in his spare time he is pursuing his computer programming interests.

·         Abigail (16) is a junior in high school and she continues to love playing volleyball. She has played for 4 years on her school team. It’s been a big year for her as she got her driving permit and officially hit the dating age! She is now counting the days till she can get her license (…mom and dad, not so much!) She is also involved in the drama club where their next production is The Wizard of Oz!

·         Annah (14) is in 8th grade and looking forward to high school next year. She is also in the drama club and becoming a pretty good Spanish speaker! She likes to play piano and learn new songs. Right now her dad is teaching her how to play a piano piece that he wrote and she is learning it really well. I have trouble telling which one of them is playing the song when I am in another room!

·         Tim and I are ever grateful for the blessings and miracles we see all around us everyday. Tim is approaching his 5 year mark since his throat cancer treatment ended and he has had nothing but great reports! We are thankful for the tender mercies that we have seen along the way. There are no shortages of blessings in our lives for sure!

We do hope that this Christmas season will fill your heart with love and find you focused on the things that matter most in life. May we each remember that “If, in the end, you have not chosen Jesus Christ it will not matter what you have chosen.” ~ Neal A. Maxwell.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!




Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Free Fall

This morning I dropped the girls off to school and was headed to do some errands. Just a few stops in town and I would be home again. As I sat waiting at a stop light it occurred to me that even the traffic lights were sporting fall colors...green, yellow and red! It made me smile as the breeze blew in my window that was partially down so I could feel the cool of the morning air. Further into my journey across town I watched the trees sway in that same cool breeze and as they swayed it began to rain the most glorious rain of free falling leaves! Oh how I do love the fall!

My budding photographer, Annah, took this incredible picture of a heart-shaped leaf! <3
This is my favorite picture!







 "Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."
William Cullen Bryant


Friday, November 1, 2013

Hello Fall and Goodbye Cow

The cool of the fall air is one of my favorite things. I also love the color changes that happen before my eyes as greens give way to flashes of red, hints of yellow and muted orange. I love the wardrobe changes that take me from capris and light weight shirts to jeans and fuzzy socks.  I savor the first cup of hot chocolate of the season ~ a steamy mug warming my hands as marshmellows melt away. The cool weather and the ever inching closer chances for snow make me happy. :)




Our entry way table sums up my love of fall....

And with fall coming on I am hoping that this guy finds another parking place for his mug...like in a barn somewhere where he can't peer in my window each time he walks by!

At the risk of sounding crazy, I swear to you this cow does this all. the. time. He will be walking down the field, either with a group of his cow friends or just by himself, and will stop and turn his head to look at me! I am not even kidding! The girls thought I was was crazy when I told them about it months ago but they have since witnessed this white faced cow doing exactly what I said -- stopping to look at me in the window each time he walks by! And Tim has seen it too so I now know I am NOT crazy but I think that cow is!!! :) I think he is stalking me. Or maybe he thinks I am stalking him. Maybe he thinks, "why does this lady stop and stare at me everytime I walk by?" Hahaha...whether it's him or me, it's *really* odd! 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Fabulous 14!

Happy Birthday, Annah!

Fourteen years ago today Annah made her way into the world and into our hearts. It's hard for us to believe that in what seems like a few short years, she has blossomed into a lovely young woman.

 Annah ~ 3 months old




 5 months old


 Annah asleep after eating yogurt


 In Nauvoo at age 2. This was Annah's grandmother's favorite picture of her.


Fortunately, her make up skills have greatly improved! :)


Canada 2007 ~ 8 years old


Halloween 2009 ~ 10 years old


With Ronald McDonald ~ Age 11

Basketball anyone? ~ Age 12

Learning a little self-defence... Age 12


 Summer 2013 ~ Age 13


Fall 2013 ~ about to turn 14

I love this picture! :)


Happy Birthday, sweet Annah. Thank you for being such a blessingin our lives!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Big Dreams

Annah keeps a small white board in her room that she likes to write on. The latest thing she has is a list of places that she wants to go. I like the list. It made me smile. :)

It reads:

Places I want to go: (not in order)
  1. Paris, France
  2. Alesund, Norway
  3. Portefino, Italy
  4. Taiwan -Sky Lantern Festival
  5. Oregon -Thor's Well
  6. Rome, Italy
  7. Australia
  8. Pamukkale, Turkey
  9. Blue Caves - Zakynthos, Greece
  10. New York City
  11. Czech Republic
  12. Santorini
  13. Barcalona, Italy
  14. London, England
  15. Venice, Italy
  16. Amsterdam, Netherlands
I looked up some of the places on her list and I understand why they are on her list. Oh how I hope she will take me along!

The girl has dreams and I do love a girl with dreams! :)

Jordan also has some dreams and they are starting to be realized. He was attending BYU-Idaho and then transferred to BYU-Provo. A few weeks ago an envelope arrived in the mail for him. 




Yup, he got his diploma from BYU-Idaho! It is the first step on his path into medical school to fulfill his dream! :) 

Ah yes, dreams are good. I have a few dreams of my own tucked away in the back of my mind and I have, on more than one occasion, practiced my own rendition of the famous "I have a dream" speech. Mine goes something like this:

"I have a dream that one day my children will learn that peace and harmony in the home can be narrowed down to the small acts of kindness and appreciation shown one to another....especially to their mother. 

I have a dream that their kindness might be made manifest by the smallest of actions. May I suggest a simple place to start? How about just bringing the cups you take up to your room back down to the kitchen?"

Six cups from Annah's room alone!

Ahh, I love a girl with a dream!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Buddy System



A few days ago I posted the cartoon on Facebook. It made me laugh and think of Tim, that is why I posted it. 

Recently Tim has been frustrated by his lack of socks. Well, he actually has a LOT of socks but apparently they have forgotten the buddy system on their field trips. :) One day when he was holding up all the socks that he didn't have matches for I got to laughing so hard tears were running down my face! I counted them -- 12 single socks!!! What's up with that??? BWHAHAHAHA! 

This is a picture of only 9 of the single socks! 
I couldn't get 12 in the picture --I was zoomed out as far as I could be already!

I guess we know what Tim is getting for his birthday that is coming soon! ;) 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

My Smiling Peppers

In November of 2008 I was chatting on the phone with my Arizona friend, Patty, and I was making stuffed peppers. I cut to top off a green pepper and to my amazement the pepper was smiling! Here it is in all its glory....
I know....pretty cool, right? :)


Well, a few days ago I was cutting up some peppers that a friend had given me so I could freeze them. Such pretty colors -- red, yellow, green! 
   

As I was cutting the tops of these peppers, imagine my surprise when I found yet another "smiling pepper"! 

 It doesn't take much in life to make me happy! I consider myself one lucky girl to experience not just one smiling pepper, but TWO! ;)