Snow, more snow, and some sunshine :)

So, I was hoping that we would be done with snow, but it happened again.  It also got super cold.  We took Elizabeth out in it and Eric pulled her in her sled to the mail box.  We thought she was not liking it at all because of how cold it was so we were just going to go back inside.  Well, Elizabeth didn't like that idea at all! She kept trying to sign "more" which was hard to understand since she had mittens on.  I tried to bear the cold a little bit longer by pulling her around in the sled some more until the driveway was shoveled.

Yeah, it was cold.  Her poor little cheeks were so pink because of the cold, but she insisted.  Don't worry though, we really didn't stay out all that long.  I'm her mother, and if you know me at all, you know I don't tolerate the cold very well.   About a week ago Elizabeth discovered frozen berries.  It all started when I was making our morning green smoothie and gave her a piece of a frozen raspberry to try.  She went crazy on them after that and kept demanding "more".  Here are a couple of cute pictures from one of her berry binges:

I love her face in the second one.  She has become quite the poser for pictures, she knows that when a camera is out that it is time to up the cute factor.  I wonder where she gets that from? lol!  (Random fact about me:  When I was little I was not camera shy like I am now, in fact, I used to be a camera hog.... So, yes, she gets it from me.)

   Elizabeth has also been enjoying vacuuming quite often as well, which makes me wonder why they don't make these children's vacuum's actually clean a little.  She was vacuuming the other night for like 15 minutes.  Every time I get the vacuum out I get hers out so that she can vacuum with me :)  She likes it for a little while, but prefers to do the vacuuming on her own schedule.

We also got a little potty for Elizabeth from one of Eric's coworkers.  Its quite the contraption! It has a spot for wipes and a toilet paper roll.  What a lucky girl.  As of now she hasn't really gotten the idea of what she is supposed to do in her potty, but when she is ready and understands I think she will make it known.  At least that is what I'm hoping.  Sometimes I just catch her in the bathroom decorating her potty with toilet paper. 

She is so funny! 

Eric and I last Thursday night got to go to the play at Post Falls High School.  It was 7 brides for 7 brothers.  If you have not seen the movie it is hilarious, go rent it, or buy it (it is worth owning.)  The play was great and they did such an amazing job.   Hannah watched Elizabeth for us at our house and did such a great job.  It is really nice to have family close by that can help out or just be there if I need dinner with more people besides Elizabeth and myself. 
Eric and I have been working on doing a "no spend month".  That means that we aren't buying anything besides necessities for the next month. (not including money that we still have from Christmas and valentines day to spend :)  When we go to classes at the gym it costs $1.75 each class, so we decided that we would skip those for the next month.  I said that the membership is a need though.  I really have to have that time to work up a sweat.  It is my stress relief.  Lately I have been doing a workout system similar to body for life in that I do one day of legs, a day of cardio, day of arms, day of cardio, etc...  It has actually been going really well.  I'm finding I push myself harder when I am not in the classes.  I have come to love the stationary bike too, which is something I never EVER thought would happen.  Which has led me to the conclusion that once Eric and I have a little financial reserve, I really would like to get spinning certified.  I also decided something else.  I really want to go back to school!  It is funny how when I was in school I never wanted to read and study, but now that I have found a passion (thanks to Elizabeth) that I love spending time reading about.  I would love to get a degree in holistic health and nutrition.  I feel like there is so much interesting stuff out there that can solve so many of our society's diseases, simply by changing a persons diet.  However, I have found that sometimes family and friends might not want my new found passion wisdom.  I want to help people enjoy long, healthy, vibrant lives.  I think it would be best for me to do this and have people who want my advice come to me for help, rather than me try to help anyone who tells me about their health woe's just to complain or vent, and then feel like that is them asking for help.  I do however need to find someone who has a similar passion as me so that I can talk about all these interesting things with someone I won't bore to death. 
   I have been reading a book recently called "Eat to Live", it is so amazing and I am super excited to continue learning this approach that this doctor takes in healing people of diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol.  I read an article from the Ensign today with Eric called "The Best is Yet to be." by Elder Jefferey R. Holland.  It is a great article about looking ahead in life and realizing that faith always points us to the future.  It is always important to remember that the past is in the past.  I have a hard time with that sometimes.  But it makes sense that when we look forward and focus on our goals and what we want out of our lives today and tomorrow, that we will be happier and more on the path that we really ultimately want to be on. 
  I found out about a cafe in Spokane called "One World Cafe" It has a great business system.  They use organic produce and even have their own garden that they use to make food.  It is run by donation, so, you pick your portion size, you decide how much you will pay, and then enjoy your meal.  You can even volunteer in the kitchen for one hour and receive a meal voucher to eat for free.  It is a really cool system and it was started by a place in Salt Lake City actually.  I would really like to go there with Eric sometime soon.  They have a Groupon today for $14 and you only pay $7.  Utah friends, look up the "one world everybody eats" cafe.  It is a really awesome thing! 
Anyway, that's all that is new with us lately!  Have a great week!!!
Love the Foutz family!