2 Years

It dawned on me today that 2 years ago, this past weekend, we decided to take a HUGE leap of faith and basically turn our entire world upside down, praying all along, that we were making the right choice.

It was right after General Conference in April 2011.  One of those experiences that you knew every message was exactly what you needed to hear.  And, looking back now, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to pick out just what it was that inspired us.  But, it did, and we acted on it, and that's what matters.

For a more detailed re-cap, click here: Part One.  And, somehow, in the last 10 months, since we've moved into our house, I've failed to document Part Two, other than through our daily activities and the change of scenery in the pictures.  So, I guess you could say Part Two would have included Brian's job change and our move up to Orange County, CA.

Now, the Cliff's Notes Version: We decided to move from Colorado to California.

I've been thinking about how much we have grown as a family and I have grown as a person during this time.  Of course, most of those things are slipping my mind as I'm typing, but, I know they exist, even the ones I can't think of right now.

When we first decided to move, I was excited and scared and trusting all at the same time.  I didn't think it was possible to feel all those emotions simultaneously, but, trust me, I did.  We both did.  And, for the first time in our marriage, I felt 100% certain that we needed to do this.

Not too long after we bought our house in Colorado, Brian and I both knew we weren't going to stay.  We didn't know if that meant just that house, or Denver, or, what.  We just knew we needed to be there to learn something (didn't know what at the time), and, when we had learned it, we would know it would be time to move.

Some of the things I learned while living in Denver--
1. Brian is my best friend and strongest advocate for happiness. (I was pretty much an emotional basket case while we lived there--probably still am!)

2. My patriarchal blessing can provide comfort and peace in ways I didn't ever notice before. (Working at J8 was a tremendous blessing for me.  What started out as a little part-time job to occupy my time became a haven of peace and friendships that I will cherish forever.)

3. It is possible to live in a house with imperfections. (the kitchen wall that blocked all views of the front room, where the kids played.  Didn't think about that one when we bought sans kids!)

4. You don't really need 4-wheel drive to drive in Denver snow. (I convinced Brian that I needed an SUV, not a van, to drive safely in Colorado weather.  5 1/2 years of Denver and I used the 4-wheel drive once.  But, I got my Pilot, and still love it, to this day!)

5. Basements are awesome!  (No, really, they are!  Especially unfinished ones with little kids! 1400 sq. feet to ride bikes, climb on the play cube, run, etc.  all heated during a freezing winter storm!)

6. Even terribly awful plane flights eventually come to an end.  (Amongst many exciting trips, I'll highlight the most memorable--2 year old Morgan, newly potty-trained, got diarrhea on a COMPLETELY FULL flight, while newborn Sadie-7 weeks?, screamed for most of the flight because of her ears--remember how her fluid didn't drain? click here)

7. Colorado snow is a million gazillion times better than Utah snow!  (Yes, it's still snow, but, usually, Colorado snow melted quickly and we had many beautiful winter days of 60+ degree weather.)

8. The Lord is always there.  You just need to be humble enough to talk to Him.


Some of the things I learned after we left Denver--
1. While life wasn't always everything we had hoped it would be, we had some fun family memories from our time in Colorado.  For starters, it will always hold a special place in our heart because that's where all 3 kids were born!

2. If you trust in the Lord, it will all work out.  Not necessarily the way you thought, but, it will all work out. I'm comforted by the quote, "Sometimes good things fall apart so that better ones can fall into place."

3. I am truly blessed!  Yes, I'll be the first to admit that the last 2 years haven't been perfect.  There have been lots of struggles, frustrations, and even doubts that we made the right choice.  But, those thoughts are quickly brushed aside with an overwhelming feeling of peace that we had faith and obeyed.  And, I know there will be more struggles in the future.  But, despite everything that has and may come, I know that my Heavenly Father loves me!

4. A lot can happen in 2 short years!  To think that Carson wasn't even born when we started this adventure just blows my mind!  I can't imagine our little family today without him in it!


5. An INCREDIBLE job is hard to come by.  Sure, there's lots of great jobs, but, we were both blessed to have the best working experiences ever while in Denver.

6.  If you do the right thing, it will always work out in the end.  (Thanks, Mom, for always reminding me of this.)

Currently, we have NO intentions of relocating, locally, or otherwise.  But, I am so thankful for this experience, which has taught me to truly trust not only in the Lord, but also in his timing.  I don't know what the future holds, but, I do know one thing.  If we stay His course, it will be great.  

100% Boy

 Look at this kid.  We love every last bit of him.  Even if he does make a huge mess while eating!

Christmas Adventures

We had lots of fun participating in a couple of Christmas activities this past weekend.

We started off the weekend decorating gingerbread cookies with our great friends, the Whettens.  The activity definitely didn't go as planned, when we looked over and saw Andrew frosting his hand, not the cookies!  Yummy!  But, the kids had lots of fun and the Whettens have the perfect BIG kitchen to make a mess like that!

Then, on Saturday night, we went to visit Santa.  Our closest Bass Pro Shop is pretty far, so we found a house that my mom remembers taking us to as children (www.christmasonknobhill.com).  This cute couple decorates their yard each Christmas and every night (except Wednesdays, Santa bowls) Santa sits on a chair in the driveway to greet the children.

Here's our little bunch on Santa's lap:

Carson's first visit to Santa!

We met Grammy and Grandpa, who brought Baby Jack (he's no longer a baby, but he's not just "Jack"--what do we call him now??).  Jack was super tired, so he just went along with sitting on a stranger's lap.  He did give his classic, "I see you're trying to give me something, but I won't touch it" look when Santa tried to give him a candy cane.  He didn't even reach out his hand, so Santa gave up.  Oh well, maybe next year.

And, just for Alie, here are a few pictures of Christmas puke joy, complete with a flying pig.  There were so many lights and so many moving decorations, I couldn't get a clear picture!

Merry Christmas from California!

A Little Bit of Everything

On occasion, Morgan still takes "sleeping naps."  Oh, those are fabulous days!  This day, in particular, she was determined to not fall asleep (hence, no blanket or pillow).  

We've been learning about Pilgrims and Indians (Native Americans, to be correct) in Morgan's history packet for school this month.  One of the activities we did was to make a edible tepee.  We cut a tortilla in half, "glued" it with peanut butter, and stuck pretzels out of the top to resemble the real sticks used.

Oops!  Forgot to rotate this one.  This little guy fell asleep on our bed yesterday morning and slept for 3 hours!  There's something about sleeping in mommy's bed (even if I'm not in it) that helps him sleep better.

Sorry for the bad lighting.  Here's Sadie Bug, complete with disheveled hair.

Morgan opted out of a trip to the aquarium yesterday, just so she could stay in her footsie pajamas all day long!  She still wasn't dressed when Grammy Tammy came home at 3:00!

Imagination

Maybe you won't enjoy (i.e. laugh at) these as much as Brian and I did, but here are some of Morgan's latest writing "gems".  

Free Cake Tub Bath Ladybug Pie:

The Letter T (Morgan is convinced that Sadie will only learn her letters if she teaches them.  So, on random days, she decides to teach Sadie a letter.)

We Finally Made It!

So, my Dad has been BBQing for a few years now (I think at least 3 or 4), and we've been the only kids/grandkids that haven't participated.  I mean at all.  We've been the recipients of many fabulous meals, but never experienced the whole competition/catering thing until last weekend.  And, lucky for us, it was just around the corner from our house, so we didn't even have to "travel" to get there!  We all had lots of fun, but it sure is a lot of work!

Brian took the kids for a ride in the wagon:

Carson took a LONG nap on Grandma's bed in the trailer. I kept checking on him, since we didn't have a baby monitor, but he just slept and slept!  I think he was out for close to 3 hours!

Here's the whole setup, complete with flying pigs and awards from previous competitions.  Their team name is When Pigs Fly  (www.whenpigsflycatering.com)

Even though the judges didn't agree, we (the family) all thought Dad's ribs were AMAZING!  I mean, like, we all wanted to eat several! Here's Brian, snacking on another rib!

Grandpa got a turn to take all the kids for a ride in the wagon, too.  When we put Jack in, he was screaming/crying, but just a quick ride in the wagon and he was happy as can be!

Here's Alie and Tyler with Jack and Carson.  I think it's so funny how when I got the camera out, Jack immediately turned and smiled.  Like he knew what to do or something?

What a fun day!

Something's Missing...

Morgan lost her first tooth on Friday night.  Her adult tooth is starting to come in just behind it, so the dentist recommended we encourage Morgan to wiggle the baby tooth loose.  She's been pretty reluctant to wiggle it, but it started to loosen on its own. 

Friday, with her baby tooth hanging by just a little thread, Grandma sent Morgan out to pick an apple off the tree.  Morgan brought an apple in, but wasn't so sure about biting into it.  So, just as she was about to take a bite, her tooth just popped out!  

To celebrate, she picked where we went for dinner!  (Actually, she succumbed to peer pressure and we went to Olive Garden for Daddy!)  Sadie wanted to lose a tooth too, so she tried and tried to wiggle her teeth all the way to dinner, with no luck.  Maybe in a few years...

Later, the tooth fairy came along to leave a surprise for Morgan!

Morgan's favorite part about her missing tooth: she can fit her finger in the tooth spot!

Boy, Time Flies!!

I can't believe our little guy is already 3 weeks old!!  How easily we forget what life was like before. I can't imagine our life without this precious baby!  

Carson spends most of his time sleeping.  (That is, after all, what newborns do best!)  Aside from his fussy time around dinner (perfect timing, right?), he's mostly tolerant of his big sisters and their never ending affection.  

The girls wanted to watch Carson's "first" (don't tell them it's not really) bath.  Sadie kept saying, "Oh. He's getting cleaned," over and over.

Sadie's turned into our early riser.  While we're usually up before her (Brian at work, me feeding a baby), I usually leave Carson on the bed while I get dressed.  Sadie loves to climb up and cuddle him.  Her favorite is to give him "nose-ies" (i.e. Eskimo kisses).  This morning she said, "Ooh!  His nose is cold, Mom!"

These past several weeks, we've attended Brian's softball games.  His company plays in a city league every summer.  While I can't take credit for the pictures (thanks, Mark!), here's my stud in action!

Here he is waiting for some softball action!

This picture reminds me of my little sisters at my brother's little league games.  They would play in the dirt the whole time, and, every inning (actually half-inning), Debbie Schroeder or my mom would give them each a single M & M (okay, maybe it was a few, but that doesn't sound as good) and back to the dirt they'd go!  I'm sure they came home even more filthy than the players!

We're going on vacation this weekend and then to California after, but the computer won't be coming until September, so be patient and expect lots of posts in a few weeks!

The Past 2 Weeks...

...have been kind of a blur.  Somehow, we've all managed to make it through alive, but, other than that, I don't really recall a whole lot!  Here's a few pictures to enjoy!

This kid has long limbs!  And, with how skinny they are, it's hard to believe he was almost 9 pounds at birth!

Just chillin' in bed.  And, don't be fooled by the round, chubby looking face.

"Look, Mom!  Carson has a hippo on his bum!"

Morgan, the ever-attentive big sister.   This kid's never going to get away with anything--ever!

Daddy with his kiddos!

Sadie Bug Turns 3!

Although we celebrated a couple weeks ago, Sadie's official birthday was Wednesday.  So, we did a few special things for her special day.

Ikea Centennial opened on Wednesday and part of their celebration included a $52.80 gift card (mile high city) if you brought in proof of the same birthday.  So, I decided to be a little adventurous and took all 3 kids down to the madhouse to retrieve Sadie's (okay, some of it will be mine!) gift card.  I've already told her there's an Ikea in California and we will go after we move.  In fact, we only went to the return counter to get the card--didn't actually go into the store part!  It was way too crowded!  But, all in all, it was much better than I expected.  We were directed by the parking staff to a spot in the parking garage and right next to the elevator, so that sped our trip up quite a but!  I guess it was just our lucky day!  However, Sadie started crying when she saw the real moose (Ikea's mascot), so that part wasn't so lucky, trying to maneuver a stroller and 2 kids past, with one of them crying, not wanting to walk past, no matter how quickly.

Sadie has an obsession with popcorn.  Like she'll eat an entire bag by herself obsession.  Even though we would by the Simply Salted kind with no added junk, it started to get a little pricey.  I have a friend that always serves amazing popcorn when she hosts our book clubs (which, I'm going to miss dearly, but that's for another time...) and she said she uses a Stir Crazy popper.  So, Sadie got a Stir Crazy popper.

She wasn't too thrilled when she first opened the box...

...but then we told her what it was and, apparently, she was excited enough to kiss it!

We've already made popcorn several times and she loves to watch it "pop and go crazy!" (official Sadie terminology).


Here are some of her Favorites at age Three:

Song: I Am A Child of God

Food:  Popcorn

Color:  Orange

Number: Six

Book: Disney Animal Stories

Toy:  Play Kitchen

Movie: Cinderella

Person:  Carson

Breakfast:  Blagels

Lunch:  Costco Hot Dog

Dinner:  Macaroni and Cheese

Animal: Lulu (her hippo)

Dear Sadie-Bug,

Oh, what joy you bring to our family!  From your singing, to your silly faces, you've always got a happy smile on your face!  Your favorite thing to help me with is laundry--you love to help with the laundry "choo-choo" train: pulling out the baskets, sorting, pulling the baskets to the washer and loading the washer (but only if the water is running).   Lately, you've started pulling the "what excuse can I make to get out of bed AGAIN?" card, and it's driving us crazy!  But, on the rare occasion you do decide to go to bed and actually sleep, you sleep so well you're usually up before Bunny even wakes up!  You sit patiently on your bed until he "wakes up" and then hurry out to tell me, "Mom!  Bunny waked up!  It's amazing!"   I hope you always have a desire to learn about Jesus.  Every week, after Nursery, when I ask what you learned about, you always say, "Jesus," even if your picture reads, I Am Thankful for Food, or I Can Be Kind To Others.  I treasure all those times I walk into your room, only to see you sitting on your bed with your songbook, listening to your Primary songs.  Your sweet spirit brightens my day.  I love your hugs and kisses and precious prayers.  Thank you for being such a blessing in my life!  I love you!

Love,

Mommy

P.S. 3 years old is way too young to start calling me "Mom"! Can't I be "Mommy" just a little longer?