Saturday, July 30, 2011

Snapshot update!

Wow, life has been crazy around here lately.

Rather than bombard you with a 100 pictures, and like 12 posts, I'm consolidating.

Since Justin got home, we celebrated Independence Day with a fabulous grilling job by Justin, sparklers, and a fireworks display at the mall. (bottom row, 3rd from left).

Justin also brought home his brother Devin, and we spent the week sorting through the attic. Caleb is such a good boy, but lack of attention is hard for any toddler. Until Justin found his old bucket of Hot Wheels. Caleb has been entertained byt hat bucket for almost 3 whole weeks!! (top row, 3rd from left). Yay for cars!

While Devin was here, we blessed Mackenzie. (second row, 2nd pic). It was a beautiful day and made me remember Caleb's blessing. I recently spoke to a friend from Scotland and she asked me if I was going to have Mackenzie sealed to me. It was a chance for me to explain the wonderful blessing of knowing that my children are ALREADY sealed to me. That as long as we stay true to our covenants, they are ours for all eternity. That's so comforting and awesome. What a blessing!


(just click on it to make it bigger)

With Devin here we also went swimming. Then when Devin left, we took a spontaneous trip to Cape Cod. Caleb LOVED the beach and the water, and I love this pic of him (bottom row, 1st pic). It was a bit hot, but Mackenzie handled it okay. (top row, 1st pic). It was just so fun to be with my family at such a beautiful place.

Our other spontaneous trip was to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Caleb absolutely LOVES Lehi. Oh it was so cute. We wanted a picture with a character, and Justin snagged Lehi from a crowd, and when Caleb saw him, he smiled, but then went all shy and wouldn't talk or anything. But he was so willing to sit on his lap and talked about it for a while afterwards. I love it! The pageant was spectacular too! Such a fabulous show!
It also showed us that we need more time to drive, cuz these kiddos like to stop! We stopped at every rest stop on the way home. no joke.

Then Justin and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary! We went to Franconian State Park and visited the Flume Gorge up there. It was a super hot day, but way cool in the gorge, so it was absolutely perfect! Yay!! I love him so much...posting about it just doesn't do him justice. He's so kind and thoughtful and considerate and always surprises me. He works so hard and carries more than his share when he knows I'm having a rough go of it. He's an amazing Daddy and loves his kiddos. And he always makes me laugh! I can only imagine how much my love for him will grow in the next year. I love you, Justin!

The pictures of Mackenzie are just cute pictures. far right is the oldest, bottom is from when she was like 7 weeks old; top row 2nd pic and 2nd row 1st pic are from yesterday. She's 2 months old! She's smiling but I haven't been able to catch it on the camera. She looks so different every day! I'm so grateful for my life. I feel so blessed!

And...we are leaving in like 2-3 days. I sure hope we can get everything packed and ready to go!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Photo Finish


420 Feet...

120 MPH...

17 Seconds...




Sometimes...

... you just gotta buy the picture...



Date is Set...

Alright, I know I'm behind in posts. Here's what you can look forward to:
Justin's home!! YAY!
4th of July
Mackenzie's blessing
more family hang out

But, the big news is, we have a move-out date.
August 2nd we will be pulling out of the driveway with (hopefully) all our stuff loaded and following in tow by Mom and Dad. We'll be in Iowa City later that week. It's finally here!

It's kind of a bitter-sweet event, actually.
Considering some feelings I've had while living here, I think I need to explain this.

First, the sweet part:
1) we're going to be living in our space
2) We'll be providing for ourselves (in a matter of speaking, since we'll be living off loans)
3) We'll be our own little family
4) Justin will be starting dental school
5) My children won't get confused with authority, and space, and routines.

Now, for the bitter:
1) I have many doubts about my ability to actually run a household on my own: I've never done it! Let alone with TWO kids!
2) It's been great for my kiddos to get to know their grandparents
3) It's been great for the grandparents to get to know their grandchildren
4) Who's gonna be our in-home baby sitters now?
5) Mostly, I'm worried about the things that will take me by surprise. Will I be able to handle it all while I'm adjusting to being a new mom? I'm really nervous for it.
6) Have we really done everything here that we could have?
7) money...I always stress about money

Summary:
I'm excited. We're all excited. Well, except for maybe Mom and Dad. They're excited for us, I'm sure, but they're going to miss their grandchildren something fierce.

Anyway, I know it'll be good for us. It's what we need. It's been quite stressful and strenuous at times for us to live in a space that's not our own. I'm so excited to arrange my kitchen cupboards, to put our pictures on the wall, to leave out what I want to leave out, do the grocery shopping and plan the menus...and I'm nervous for all of it too.

I hope we make new friends. I hope we can handle it. I hope we're able to stay close despite Justin's crazy schedule. I hope things keep working out for us and our fairytale continues...

Anybody else ever moved cross country to start over and have some input?