The Reason

"We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles

Tagged

So, I've been tagged a couple of times to complete a little list of things about myself that I've not posted before, or that are strange or largely unknown. I hope my dear friends won't mind if I combine their requests and bend the rules a little. Here is a list of 7 things about me that you may or may not know. If you feel like telling the rest of us about yourself in similar fashion, consider yourself tagged, and leave a comment on this post letting us know that you've accepted the challenge! I'd love to learn more about you.

1. Though I've spent my life dreaming of travel in far off places, I find I'm becoming some what of a home body. I think this is due mostly to having children now, and the reality of traveling with kids is not an easy one. I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to travel as much as I have. I'm so lucky to have a husband who loves travel as much as I do. We've taken off on some pretty cool adventures. But the more I see of the world, the more I love being in my own space, on my own schedule, with my own babies. (That being said, I'd still be willing to drop it all for two tickets to Europe. I'm not completely cured. Just very happy in my more home bound state)

2. I have an unnatural fear of bees. Once, while stopped at a traffic light, a bee flew into my car and I actually tried jumping out. My seat belt restrained me, and I fought it. It must have been quite the scene. The light turned green, cars were honking, I was still frantically trying to free myself from the seat belt... The most pathetic part of it is that I've never actually been stung. Its probably not that bad, right?

3. I'm so anxious to see the good in people that I often overlook their flaws. Though this sounds like a good thing, its gotten me into trouble more than a few times. There is such a thing as righteous judgement.

4. Twice in my life I really wanted to quit the piano. I will be eternally grateful to my parents who didn't give me the choice.

5. I've never been good at spelling. Through the last few years of elementary school I was in a Gifted and Talented Education program (G.A.T.E. to any of you who endured So. Cal. schools back in the day) and I thought I was pretty hot stuff. We had a spelling test at the end of each year--only ten words taken from a larger list. Those who scored 100% on the test got a special t-shirt that could be worn on Fridays. I coveted those shirts my whole childhood and never got a-one. My sixth grade year, my last chance for redemption, I misspelled the word 'sentence'. So bad. To this day, I cannot do anything without sending it through spell check. Even when I hand write notes, I double check words in a Word document.

6. My favorite color is the hue that is created by late afternoon sun on a field of wheat. It makes me feel happiness, longing, joy, peace, and completion all at the same time.

7. I talk to myself a lot. Out loud. Really, I do. If you could be a fly on the wall while I cook, you'd think I was auditioning to have my own show. When Gracie catches me in the act, she'll tug on my pants and calmly say, "Mommy, stop it."

Wordless Wednesday: Double Feature

Happy with his Dad

Nap time vs. Lunch time

She enjoyed that whole apple with eyes wide shut

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Grant Sept. 24

Blessings

* Seeing the first snowfall before leaving for our Thanksgiving holiday.

* Being able to travel across the country to visit with family. It isn't cheap. It isn't easy. But we are grateful that we can do it. Why does Michigan have to be so far away?

* 3 1/2 wonderful days at home in Gardnerville where we were able to witness and participate in Jared's ordination to the Melchizedek priesthood. This was so important to me, and I will always be thankful that I could be there.

* Seeing Grandma Bettie (my grandmother) and Mama Jo (my great-grandmother) in UT. Due to some last minute changes in Thanksgiving plans, we got to drive out to UT for the second half of our trip. My mom's sister and her family were there (minus only one cousin--we missed you Daniel). Its the first time in at least 15 years that we have all been together like that.

* Getting both of our families together for Grant's blessing. All of my immediate family, including those just mentioned, and all of Cori's- except for Damien and his fam- got together at the hotel we were staying at. One of Cori's uncles was in town with his family and they were able to make it as well. My dad rented the conference room for the evening and we ate dinner together and had a wonderful time catching up with everyone. It was amazingly special to be together like that to officially welcome Grant to the world and the Church.

* Being back home again. The kids are getting back onto their schedules. Grant is almost sleeping through the night. We've got a lot of work to do. Its good to be home.

Recap Part VI: The House

Okay, this will be the last instalment in the recap series. I just wanted to share a little list of all the work that we (we ='s me, Cori, Sandy, Ray, Jared and Sara) have done on the house in the 2 short months we've been living there. Here it is:

• 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms painted
• exterior shutters hung
• interior blinds installed
• shower curtain rails installed
• bathroom hardware installed
• 2 decks stained
• lattice hung below both decks
• lots of furniture picked out, purchased, and placed
• 1 BBQ assembled
• landscaping started
• mail box put up
• house numbers installed
• washer and dryer purchased and installed

This is all the stuff we did on our own. We also began the construction on the basement as quickly as we could. Our contractor pulled his building permit the day that Grant was born. It has taken a lot longer than we planned, but he's kept pretty well within the budget we set, so we can't complain. The whole project got set back nearly two weeks while we waited for the fireplace to be installed... Anyway, we're getting close the end, and we are so excited to have that space! Here's a little peek at the progress. It went from empty to being framed in about 4 days.

Then, after all the plumbing was in, all the information and power lines pulled through the walls, and the fireplace finally installed they came and hung the drywall. They finished all the finishing work on the drywall the day before we left to come to NV for Thanksgiving. I took a few pictures that night. So its textured, primed and waiting for us to come home and paint!

This is the bathroom.

This is taken from the guest bedroom. You are all welcome to come and stay! The door on the right goes out to the living area, and the door on the left goes into the bathroom.
This is the main living area. The fireplace is further off to the left.
This is the view coming up the stairs into our upstairs living area.
So, once we have all the painting done, they'll install the finish lumber, flooring, and the rest of the lighting and bathroom fixtures, and voila! I'll finally get the rest of our stuff unpacked, and we can really start decorating.

Well, that's what we've all been up to. You are officially up to date!

Recap Part V: Visitors (AKA Life Savers)

The last couple of months would not have been possible without the unmeasurable help of some amazing family members.

First, my brother Jared came out the weekend we moved into our new house. He lifted boxes, organized the garage, kept me company, helped Cori move the furniture, helped me unpack, and played with Grace. It was a treat for me to be able to talk with him and spend some quality one on one. Isn't he just so handsome? Sorry ladies, he's putting in mission papers.

The day he left, we welcomed my sweet mother-in-law, Sandy. She stayed for a marathon-esque 2 1/2 weeks. It was so wonderful. Especially for Grace. I got to sleep and rest and figure things out with Grant, and Gracie got 200% more undivided attention than usual. Sandy took care of so much around the house--she was always cooking or sweeping or changing laundry. Not to mention all the painting she helped us do the weekend before we had Grant (and putting up with me!). Thanks again, Mom O!
Part way through her stay, her hubby Ray joined us. He also helped so much with things that we wanted to do around the house and with playing with Gracie. This guy knows how to have fun. (Don't be alarmed. That's a non-alchi drink he's got there!) It was really nice having them both here with us.
Just over lapping their stay was my sister's. Sara came and stayed with us for just over 2 weeks as well. It was a little piece of heaven to bum around with her, plan meals with her, go shopping with her, and work around the house with her.

Conspicuous by their absence were my own parents. My mother had a knee replacement surgery just a few weeks before Grant was born, making it pretty much impossible for her to make the transcontinental voyage to stay with us. I missed my mom so much during this time. But lots of phone calls and cards from home helped ease the hurt. We'll look forward to having them stay with us soon.

So there you have it. The great secret to our success. Thanks again all! We couldn't have made it without you!