Merry Christmas 2019!

Last year, I printed off a few Christmas cards to mail out to family and close friends, but this year I have been trying to keep things simple since I've been working, pregnant, and we were moving at the end of November. So, I'm going to write a Christmas letter and post a family picture right here on my blog for anyone to see.

2019 was a great year for us! It was busy and a little exhausting, but that's life. Whose life isn't busy and exhausting?

This year we started one of our goals of making travel more of a priority, and went on some really fun trips! In March, we went on a roadtrip with some of our friends to San Diego (my first time going to California) and had the best time at Old Town, the San Diego zoo, watching the sunset and sea lions at the beach, and eating delicious sea food. California never really appealed to me, but now I definitely want to go back!

We also finally had the chance to go back to Washington state where Ryan and I both met while on our missions. We took as much time off as we possibly could from our jobs and did another long drive. We stopped in Oregon on the way to see Multnomah Falls, Portland, Tillamook, and Cannon Beach/Haystack Rock. Oregon was a beautiful state to drive through. Our trip to Washington was spent visiting people we love and miss and going to our old stomping grounds. We stopped in Montesano, Elma, McCleary, Olympia, University Place, Tacoma, Belfair, Silverdale, Chehalis, and Winlock.

When we got back from that trip, we immediately jumped into celebrating Rose's FIRST birthday! We feel like the luckiest parents in the whole wide world to have this sweet girl in our life. And she is the luckiest little girl in the world to have SO many family members and friends who love and adore her. Our tiny living room was completely full of people who wanted to celebrate her first year of living.

Over the summer, we spent a few days camping near Goblin Valley in Southern Utah with Ryan's family. The weather was surprisingly nice and we had a great time playing hide and seek in the park.

In July, we went to a Vorkink family reunion in Mt. Carmel Junction near Zion National Park. We stayed right across the street from the Thunderbird Restaurant, home of the ho-made pies. And we thought that was funny, so we had to try the pie and it really was delicious! We also hiked through the Zion Narrows (my first time) and it was way more fun than I expected hiking through a river would be! We also went sledding on some sand dunes.

In October, there were some AWESOME deals on flights to Austin, Texas and I hadn't been home in more than two years, so I snatched them up and flew with Rose to Texas to stay with my family for a visit. I thoroughly enjoyed having breakfast made for me every morning by my dad, getting to spend time with my mom, a day trip to Waco to see the famous Magnolia, and eating some foods I've missed (Chuy's and coconut ice cream from my favorite Thai place).

On Halloween, we announced that we are expecting baby #2 (in April 2020) and a month later we found out baby #2 is going to be another girl!

Around Thanksgiving, we decided to move into an apartment that is unfortunately not as cool as the historic house we had been living in, but has a lot of perks that make up for that like a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, a WAY bigger kitchen, and an extra bedroom. It's a much better fit for our growing family, and we are happy to be in our new home.

In between all of that, Ryan has been going to school at UVU and working at the Tire shop at Sam's Club, while I have been staying home with Rose during the day and working part-time at a Residential Treatment Center for youth 3 nights a week. Rose has been growing like a weed and learning how to do all sorts of things. She knows a good amount of sign language and has even started to use her words as well just recently. It's not fair, because adults don't really learn or accomplish that much year to year, while babies just learn all sorts of new things and grow a TON! Rose is a whole different person than she was last Christmas. It's a blast getting to watch her grow, I wish I had the words to share it with you. Just know that in my totally unbiased opinion, that Rose is the coolest, smartest, sweetest, and funniest 18 month old in the whole wide world. ;)

It's been a great year and we are so blessed!

And just know that we have had our struggles and downsides to the year too, but I want to look back on all the good and happy things that happened this year, so please don't look at this and let it get you down.

Merry Christmas! Love, the Vorkink's

The Spirit of Christmas

My very favorite time of the year is Christmas time. At a time of year when everything gets kind of gloomy and cold and the stress of everything that needs to be done by the end of the year hits, we also start to see Christmas lights popping up along the streets. It's a time of hot chocolate, family time, fireplaces, thinking about your loved ones and trying to find the perfect gift to bring a smile to their faces. It is also a time when people's minds are drawn increasingly more to the birth of the Savior and what He did for the world.

Unfortunately, I am also finding that Christmas can be a serious cause of contention. I'm not just talking about the bad drivers... or traffic, or the hordes of people flooding the stores and maybe not treating retail workers as nice as they should (my husband, who works at Sam's Club, is well aware of this sad side of Christmastime.)

No, what I'm talking about is the contention that comes between spouses in a marriage at Christmastime.

Maybe Ryan and I just have more opinions than the average couple. Or maybe we just like to disagree over everything. (It's quite possible) But I highly doubt that we are the only ones.

For us, a big bone of contention for the last THREE years has been over a real Christmas tree. I never had a real Christmas tree growing up (except, funny story, I actually did have a real Christmas tree twice growing up, and the reason I don't remember that is going to be another story I'll tell later.) Ryan ALWAYS had a real tree. And to him, it isn't right unless you have a real tree. THIS is not the contention part, because I didn't mind getting a real tree. However, the contention started our first Christmas together because we didn't make enough money to buy a tree or any other decorations. I was devastated because I LOVE Christmas and I LOVE Christmas decorations. I was willing to look for a used fake tree but Ryan told me if we couldn't have a real tree, then we couldn't have a tree at all. *cue contention* haha luckily, we had family members who were so kind and so good at lighting the world that they cut down two trees when they went as a family and brought us one, along with a bunch of ornaments, lights, and other Christmas decorations.

Another source of contention for us was the tree stand itself. Ryan doesn't believe in plastic tree stands. So we had to buy a metal stand. However, the tree that we had our first year didn't fit in the tree stand so he had to cut up a two by four piece of wood and screw it to the tree trunk in order to get it to stand up. Two years later and we were still using this tree stand and every year I dread the night that the tree gets put up because Ryan has to cut up a two by four and screw it to the tree, despite everything going wrong (Poor Ryan is a magnet for everything going wrong) there are normally a few swear words said and this year the tree was put back in the corner, wrapped up in the rope and not in a tree stand because Ryan couldn't get it to work. This year I was smart enough to think "There is no way EVERY single person that buys a real Christmas tree has to nail two by fours to the trunk to get it to fit in the stand. And after some google searching, I realized there are SMALLER tree stands. However, the cheap ones are plastic, so that caused some contention, but Ryan, in a huge show of love for me, came home from home depot with a cheap, smaller tree stand and our tree is up, and hopefully every year from now on, it will be up quickly and easily. We'll hold onto our metal tree stand and one day when we aren't poor college students we will buy a gigantic Christmas tree and use this metal stand and all will be right in Ryan's Christmas tree world.

It's not so bad now though, huh? 

This story is funny to me now that our tree us up, but I was just a little bit grumpy and impatient while waiting for it. In that grumpy period, I heard a few other stories similar to mine.

In my parents situation, the opposite happened. My Mom grew up with real Christmas Trees, but my Dad HATES them. And if you know my Dad, he almost never gets angry. He's one of the most patient, happy, and optimistic people I know. According to my mom (while telling the story), the two things that really get him worked up are: fixing the garbage disposal and real Christmas trees. (I would also like to add to this that he also gets pretty upset when new furniture/house appliances are ruined. Since gum was banned from our lives for years and years after one kid left a chewed up piece of gum on the carpet and my dad sat in it.) I don't remember ever having a real Christmas tree, and the reason is because the last time we had one I was probably 4 or 5 and we had just moved into a brand new house. My parents picked out a tree, set it up and got it all decorated. My mom had even made a green tree skirt to go underneath. At some point in the middle of the night the tree fell over, and ornaments and tree needles were all over the place and the water spilled on the carpet. My dad woke up to see what the noise was and was so frustrated with the tree that he took the entire thing and threw it onto the front porch, lights and all, and found a giant green stain on the brand new carpet where the water had spilled onto the new green tree skirt. He spent all night cleaning the carpet and vacuuming up needles and then went to bed around 4:30 am, only to be woken up by my brothers arguing over whether the garage door was called a garage or a garage door. And my mom woke up to a Christmas tree on the front porch. So, that's why we never had a real Christmas tree growing up.

Anyways, the point of this post is not to focus on the contention at Christmas time but what I have done to fight it away and focus on the real point of the season.

I was having the hardest time for the first few weeks of December because nothing seemed to be going the way I wanted it to go and I kept blaming Ryan for having to work long hours at work (when really I should be blaming Sam's Club. Sam's club is a ruiner of Christmas Spirit. Just sayin'.) I was annoyed about our Christmas tree, and I was bummed that we didn't end up getting to decorate the tree as a family. I was sad that all of our plans with friends kept falling through and I was grumpy about how little time Ryan and I had together between our two jobs and his finals.

I finally had to kneel down to pray for help taking this frustration away from me. I desperately wanted December to be a time for our family to make memories, for us to focus on the Savior, and for Rose to begin to learn what Christmas is really all about but I just couldn't shake the gloomy air I felt over everything. I kept crying (thanks pregnancy hormones) and I just needed help feeling grateful. The change wasn't immediate but a quote I read that really has been helping me is this one:

"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." - President Russell M. Nelson

I was focusing too much on what I thought Christmas should look like. They weren't bad things, I wasn't trying to make Christmas a commercial affair or anything, but even magical family time and decorating Christmas trees together isn't what Christmas is all about. The most important thing that we should be focusing on at Christmas time is the Savior and what we have because of Him. I was still focusing on what wasn't happening for me and not on all the blessings that I do have. And I was putting the blame on Ryan even though what we don't have is just as much out of his control as it is out of mine. I realized that I needed to start showing appreciation for how hard Ryan is working for Rose and I and how much he loves us that he is willing to work such long hours at work even though he is dead tired all the time. I needed to show appreciation for the circumstances that allow me to work at night so that I can be home during the day with Rose so that she still gets to be with a parent during this season and even though we aren't at a place where Ryan can go to all the Christmas events with us, Rose and I were still able to walk down to Pioneer park to see the lights turn on and a firework show few weeks ago. And Ryan is home long enough most nights before I go to work that the three of us can read a short scripture about the Savior's life and hang an ornament on the tree together. It's not the picture perfect Christmas season I dream of, but all in all I can see how blessed we really are and I hope that one day when we aren't so exhausted and stretched thin, that we will still be able to be reminded to make sure our focus is on Christ first and everything else second.

Photos of Rose

I'm so behind on writing on my blog. Rose and I went to Texas for a week, we did all sorts of fun things for Fall like going to a pumpkin patch and driving the Alpine Loop and trick or treating on Center Street for Halloween, we moved, and today was Thanksgiving. I'm afraid I won't ever catch up, so here is a post where I at least just share all of my favorite photos of Rose from the last few months. Feel free to look through or not. This is more for me and my grandma's scrapbooks than for anything else. :)

The photo above this is funny, because she thought she was doing the same thing I was doing in this picture. 

Rose at 18 Months

I know I've said this before, but I love getting to watch Rose grow! It is amazing to watch the miracle of her life as she learns and grows and becomes more of her own person. She hit her 18 month mark about a week ago and I just can't believe how much she's learned in the short amount of time that she's been alive.



What do you want to know about Rose at 18 months?

She's sassy. Very sassy. She knows what she wants and she is very good at letting you know if you have met her expectations or not. Lately she has developed this incredibly impressive scowl that just cracks me up. I probably shouldn't encourage her, but the amount of grumpiness that teeny tiny body contains sometimes is just hilarious to me.

She just barely started walking in the last month. She took her sweet time, but she has mastered the art of walking...well, I don't know if I would say mastered, but she is very good at getting around on two feet these days. She's also very good at falling down. But along those lines, she doesn't let that stop her and keeps getting up. Some of the obstacles life offers are just a little too much for a new walker. Like little dips in the floor, toys scattered everywhere, and the legs of your parents sitting down on the floor. It's easy to trip.

She also has started to become more verbal. She can say Mommy and Daddy perfectly. She also loves her shoes ("soos") and her socks ("saw!"). Her dad thinks it's hilarious because every time she sees her shoes she says "Oh Soo!" but sometimes it sounds a little bit less like shoe and a little bit more like... something else.

She can point to several different parts of her body when asked to. Eyes, nose, ears, mouth, teeth, hair, belly button (her personal favorite), hands, and feet. It's one of her favorite games to play.

She is also great at playing my favorite game of "Rose, go find your _____ (elephant, book, cup, shoes, blanket, etc.) Normally, the objects are in a different room, and she will happily wander off, and sometimes bring back what I asked for, but sometimes she gets distracted and stays busy for a few minutes and I get to sit back and relax while I wait for her. This game can last forever. She'll grab every single one of her stuffed animals if she's feeling up to it and with the amount of stuffed animals she has, that version of the game takes a nice long time. :)

She loves to explore, experiment with opening and closing doors, put clothes on, and pretend to answer the phone like Mom. Her favorite part of the day is when Daddy comes home. Her favorite food is anything sweet and sugary. And when she's feeling sad, she prefers to cuddle with her Mama.

She's exhausting and she keeps me on my toes, but I love watching her and spending every day with her. I'm so grateful that I get to be her mom, to teach her, to love her, and to be her best friend. I hope she always knows how much I love her, despite my imperfections as a mother.

One of my favorite parts of the day is going into her room to get her from her crib. On the days that I feel particularly like the worst mom ever, I can walk into her room and look forward to the guaranteed grin that she always has waiting for me. How lucky am I to be loved and adored by such a sweet and perfect little being?

Here We Go Again

I announced the big news on Halloween that we are pregnant again with baby number 2. We are mostly excited, with only a little bit of anxiety and nervousness mixed in there, like healthy parents.

Here are the pictures we used to announce this baby:

If you can't tell, we are dressed up as Roger and Anita from 101 Dalmations. Rose is a dalmation, and we are pretending that baby number two is another addition to our "litter." 

This baby is due April 17, 2020 which is my birthday, so he/she will most likely be arriving a week sooner on April 10. Because I love birthdays, and I do not plan on sharing mine with any of my children if I can help it. And also, can you think of a more miserable way to spend a birthday? The miracle of life is a beautiful thing, but not the most fun.

Speaking of that. Here are some morning sickness tips for any expecting mothers or women who plan on getting pregnant eventually. While pregnant with Rose, I had the WORST morning sickness. I was nauseous all day, every day and I threw up a TON. (tmi?) This time around I don't know if it's different or if I have done a better job of managing it. But here are the things that have helped me the most.

1) Have protein first thing every morning. I have an egg on toast, every day. For some reason, it helps with the nausea.

2) Never let yourself get hungry! That's how it gets you! This one is tough because morning sickness makes pretty much all food unappealing, but if you power through and snack throughout the day, you'll feel better.

3) Don't drink water right after eating. And just do the best you can. I don't know if everyone struggles with this, but water is really hard for me to drink when I'm dealing with morning sickness. I know that pregnant women are supposed to drink a boatload of water every day to help the baby grow, but just drink what you can throughout the day. I keep a water bottle by me throughout the day so that when I DO feel like drinking water, it's already right there.

4) I take a unisom sleep tab pill and half a vitamin b6 before I go to sleep at night, which has helped me the last two pregnancies to not throw up as often. But there are other medicine options as well and I would definitely ask your doctor about them. This literally saved me when I was pregnant with Rose. I couldn't keep anything down before I got medicine.

5) Take your prenatal vitamins right before you go to bed. That way if they do make you feel nauseous, like they typically do, you will hopefully be asleep before that kicks in and it won't have any affect on you.

6) Take it slow. Don't feel bad if you are not doing as much as you think you should be. You are growing a human being for goodness sakes! And don't let anyone make you feel like you aren't doing enough because morning sickness is the worst thing ever! (maybe not the worst thing ever, but it's not a walk in the park.) If I had to choose between delivering a baby and having morning sickness, I would much rather just give birth.

7) Not exactly related to morning sickness. But something that I feel is important to share. I am SO grateful that my body is capable of growing healthy babies. I recognize that that is something that many women struggle with and can't do. My heart hurts incredibly for those women, and I wish there was something I could do to help. I also am aware that motherhood and pregnancy are beautiful things and that God knows what He is doing. But I think it is also okay to be frustrated and discouraged by the uncomfortable side effects that come from being pregnant. So, don't get me wrong if you hear me complaining. I am grateful for the blessing that it is, but I'm still going to complain when I throw up in a gross toilet at work because sometimes it's hard to be pregnant, and sometimes it's hard to be a mom and I think that it's okay to feel that way.

Cute little baby legs <3

An Update on our Cute Little Rose

I haven't done one of these in a while.

In the 3 and a half months since Rose's first birthday, she has turned from baby into a spunky toddler. I've said this before and I'll say it again, it is SO fun to watch her grow! I can't believe that I grew this teeny tiny human being in my body, and that in the 15 months since then she has learned how to do so much! She was practically useless when she first got here and now she understands some of what I say to her. I know it's not much but if I say "Go find your elephant!" She can pick the elephant out from all the other animals she has. or if I say do you want to eat? She'll follow me into the kitchen doing sign language for "eat." She knows so many words in sign language it blows me away! And some of them I didn't even realize I was teaching her! For instance, one way to sign "I love you" is to cross your arms over your chest. One day as Ryan was leaving for work I took her arms and crossed them and said "I love you" as he was walking out the door. A few days later I was playing with Rose and I said, "Rose, I love you!" (just verbally, no sign language) and she crossed her arms over her chest, something she had never done before!

Babies are amazing! I feel so blessed to be allowed to be a part of her learning and growing process. I try to teach her little things here and there, but I'm not a perfect mom (not even close) and I'm not very consistent, but Rose just catches on to things and follows my lead. It's amazing and so cool to see.

Rose is very independent. She'll come up to me, lay her head on my shoulder for .3 seconds and then she's up and ready to go play again. She likes to "read" books to herself, or bring them all over to me for me to read to her. She's obsessed with her stuffed animals, and she has recently also taken a liking to any and all soft blankets.

She has taken a while to start standing on her own and she still isn't walking yet. I think she is a bit nervous about it, but she did finally stand up on her own a few weeks ago and she is gaining more and more confidence in her ability to stand every day.

What's funny to me about that is that she won't walk yet, but she LOVES to climb. She started climbing onto the couch months ago, and she will climb up and down and up and down over and over again just because she likes showing off her talents. She also just recently started climbing on top of a cooler that I had in front of a bookshelf to keep her from pulling stuff off the shelf, and now she can just reach even higher. *shakes head* She is forever trying to climb on top of and over anything she can. I found her in the bathtub a few weeks ago *cue panicked mom breathing* there wasn't any water in it but I have started shutting the toilet lids because the last thing I need is her climbing into the toilets and taking a nice "bath."

The only verbal words she has right now are "Mama" which is her name for Ryan. When she's looking for him she says it over and over again. She can also say "Uh oh" and "Wow!"

Her favorite book is "A Little Stuck" and when we say "Stuck!" She does this cute tongue click thing, because that's how she says "stuck".

I think that's pretty much all there is to know about Rose at this stage in her life. I'm sure I'm missing some things, that's the thing about babies is that they really are people with real personalities. I wish I could capture every little thing, but I have a chronic case of Mom brain, so I can't think of anything else to add. I guess all that's left to say is that she is our very favorite little girl in the whole world and we are so lucky to be her parents. <3

"You think I'm the one pulling these books off the shelf?" 

Rose has a love-love relationship with food. Look at that glisten in her eye. 

She has the BEST glare. You can't get the full effect here but Ryan had just cut off her supply of raspberry jam for her grilled cheese sandwich and she was NOT pleased.

Is there anything sweeter than baby hands?

Too many toys to play with, so little time. Got to eat those bananas as fast as humanly possible.