Time's ticking...

The house was finished as of Saturday, the 14th. There wasn't a garage door until yesterday, but otherwise everything was done, cleaned (in a man's version), and ready. The inspection and appraisal took place and then the appraiser never called to let the lender/realtor know that he had done his job so the lender wasn't able to request for money until today. We meet with her tomorrow to get the last minute details figured out and then we have to wait for the money to arrive-which usually takes about 5 days.

So, a fate would have it, we won't be able to close until the 27th, the day after Thanksgiving, and because Jake is scheduled to work that day we will be will be moving all in one day, the 28th (we have never done that before, I sure hope it can happen) so that I can get the apartment clean on the 30th and have our checkout by noon. It is going to be a long weekend, but we will finally be living in our own place.

I feel like I'm holding my breath until everything really happens and then I think I will just bawl my eyes out because it actually took place...when you have dream and it actually comes true it's hard not to just fall on your knees and cry like a baby all the while pouring your heart out in prayer!

We celebrated our 8th anniversary on Monday, the 16th...it was one of those days that we just enjoyed spending together with our children and reflecting on the few years that have passed before us. It was fun to discuss how it was that day and how we were feeling and acting prior to seeing each other. We just kept looking in each other's eyes and seeing what we saw and felt that day...it's amazing all that has happened in such a short amount of time and yet how much we've grown because of it!!

newlyweds!!

the best men...

the bridesmaids...

8 years later...

In the meantime, I think I'll share some pictures that we've taken while living in our temporary dwelling.

she wants to be sophisticated like her mom...she LOVES to try on our glasses...we just have to make sure she doesn't touch them-she has a tendency to break every pair she touches.

taken 8/11/09

shortly after we moved to the apartment we finally made it to the park and the kids LOVED the slide...I tried to get one of all of them sitting so wonderfully at the top, but they had too much energy to sit still-I think this turned out even better!!

taken 8/16/09

Happy #3 to Sarah-she had a fabulous day!

taken 8/26/09

Bryant's first day of school (which happened to be Sarah's birthday)

taken 8/24/09

Kayelynn's first day of preschool-next to her locker

taken 8/26/09

Sarah's first day of school, in front of her locker

taken 8/26/09

Lydia was so tired, she managed to get lunch in her tummy, but didn't make it to her bed before she zonked-my first child to ever do this...it was pretty funny.

taken 8/20/09

the kids and I made it to the zoo on the free day-my sister and her boyfriend met us there and took this picture-it's the best one we could get-silly kids

taken 9/26/09

this is what Lydia does when the girls are at preschool...gather every single doll in the house and watch Elmo's world...she was especially into being mommy this day, as she insisted on the accessories on the ears-it was so funny

taken 9/24/09

remember that tire that blew out on our way to Boise? well here it is...in the shrubs just after it stopped steaming.

taken 10/15/09

and the wheel that got all chewed up with the remainder of the tire...I still laugh when I see these pictures, I can't believe it really happened. I'm still so thankful Jake was the one driving

taken 10/15/09

what is that, you ask?? She and Sarah got into the lotion and decided to paint their arms, faces, hair and even the carpet-it was too funny not to take a picture.

taken 10/4/09

the initial culprit got caught...she's the one that can reach the lotion and the one that confessed that she painted her sister just like herself! oh the creativity in this one's head...

taken 10/4/09

While potty training Sarah, Lydia decided she wanted to test out the pullups too, but did not want it on her bottom...this was the way she wanted it! (she's mad at the "binoculars" she's holding, they wouldn't do what she wanted).

taken 10/20/09

this is a common site at our house...a book and a teenager laying on the kitchen floor reading aloud the pictures that she sees.

taken 11/12/09

She has now decided that the pullups aren't as good at the "princess chair"...she really, really wants to be a big girl like Sarah. Oh how I wouldn't mind having her potty-trained before the baby arrives...what a great thing that would be! (Bryant potty-trained himself like this and was fully potty trained by 18months-it could happen)

taken 11/6/09

Walking in her father's shoes (size 18)...I sure hope she doesn't get feet that big...I don't even think they make women's shoes that big!!

taken 11/1/09

found this wizard costume for a quarter...she wanted it on and then decided that she wasn't so sure...

taken 10/27/09

Kayelynn's ride on her uncle's motorcycle...she was so cold, but insisted on getting a big girl ride!

taken 10/25/09

Lydia was mad that she couldn't have more rides and longer...she loved having the wind in her hair. You could hear her giggle as they came up the road...it was pretty stinking cute!

taken 10/25/09

We have had a lot of fun memories in this apartment and can't wait to begin new ones in our own place! The kids ask daily how long it will be until we move, the excitement is spreading throughout...it's really fun to see how much they are understanding and enjoying this transition! Thank you all for your comments of love and support. We are grateful for friends and family, such as you in our lives.

Another glimpse

A lot has happened in two days...I am getting so excited to see everything coming together!! I'm pretty sure they will be doing all the finishing touches tomorrow and that we will be able to close as planned. What an exciting thing...it's so fun to walk through the house with Jake and see him light up and get giddy about OUR place and see the relief he has that he has brought a dream to life and that he has proof that he does support us adequately. Thank you, Jake, for all that you do and especially for working so hard to let me be home with our hooligans.

The ENORMOUS rolls of sod ready to be laid. It was such a cold and windy day, but the landscaper was out there getting the job done!
taken 11/12/09

And he had the coolest "tractor" to actually lay the sod for him and then a neat little rake to help straighten the rows...it was pretty neat to watch and know he wasn't breaking his back as much with the help of these neat inventions.
taken 11/12/09

the cabinets!! my favorite...the thing I've been waiting the most to see.
knotty alder with a medium stain...LOVE IT! I asked for extra storage and they custom built the large cabinet on the left of the picture. I think that will be my favorite feature in the kitchen...
taken 11/12/09

I drove up to the house this afternoon and I saw this...
the grass COMPLETELY done! and the back fence up!! I got so excited I literally ran into the house to see how much got done there!
taken 11/13/09

before I entered the house I took a picture of the back yard...this is the angle that shows my garden spot...it looks like there still might be a little fence to be put up.
taken 11/13/09

this is the opposite side of the yard...there's a little spot of fence left there too...cool! I can't believe that we already have a back fence and a yard with sprinkler system! It's all surreal...
taken 11/13/09

I walked in, and my carpets were all laid!! It looks fantastic! Yes, I picked a more expensive carpet, but we made a sacrifice with a few other things to keep the budget as it should.

this is the living room...

taken 11/13/09

this is the angle from the front door...I'm loving the softness of my carpet-even with shoes on I could tell it was plush. I can't wait to walk through with barefeet and enjoy brand new carpet!!

taken 11/13/09

the style of home we have is "santa fe" this is the door style throughout the entire house-LOVE it!! good thing they've invented swiffer dusters-I'm sure this will be a pain to clean

taken 11/13/09

this is the master bath...I took this to show the counter tops throughout the house...again a splurge (supposedly-this was not intentional) but I LOVE how it matches/goes with all the colors and styles we've chosen throughout the rest of the house.

taken 11/13/09

the appliances are in!! The dishwasher and sink...

taken 11/13/09

the microwave and gas stove-with an extra burner in the middle. again, we splurged on this, but we knew that the only way we would get what we really wanted and not have to replace it was to use the appliance allowance toward the three appliances and then purchase the fridge separately. I am super excited to use a gas range-I grew up with them and have never really liked electric, it's just not the same. I also know that I want/need a huge fridge, so we will be purchasing that just before we move, so it can be in and ready to store food! I will show pictures of that when it's in it's spot...I'm loving my kitchen!! now if I can just figure out how it will work with me and not against me as most kitchens have done...we'll get there soon enough!

taken 11/13/09

I can't wait to go see the finalized version tomorrow...they still need to put on a few door knobs and touch up some paint spots and most importantly, they need to install the garage door! It should all come together by tomorrow evening! It's a thrilling and surreal thought to know I will have my own custom home-it's really kind of a weird thought-I'm sure it's like that for anyone who's a first time homebuyer...but wow! what a step in life.

Progress report...

Satisfactory.
Could use improvement in speed and communication.
However still close to the top of the class.
That is the ranking of the house at this point in time.
Enjoy the progress.

We are hoping to see carpet put in tomorrow, the fence finished, cabinets and countertops begun and then the garage door, appliances and finishing touches on friday/saturday! I hope we will be done then...that's what the builder promised, so we'll see if the hired labor guys feel the pressure we do!

there's a door, you can also see the sheetrock through the front door...they were working hard-surprisingly it only took two days to put in all the sheetrock, mud and tape and then texture over the weekend. The driveway was put in that day and had a tarp over it the very next morning!
taken 10/26

putting the stakes in for the driveway pad
taken 10/26

basement steps
taken 10/31

basement bathroom
taken 10/31

basement, one bedroom closet framed
taken 10/31

basement shot from one end to the other
taken 10/31

The basement will be left unfinished for us to do what we envision for the benefit of our family. We are hoping to have the bathroom, the storage room and at least one bedroom finished before the baby comes-that's the goal. We will then put in two more bedrooms and a possible play room for the kids as well as the "theatre room" aka family room.

brick is being put on!!

taken 10/31

brick is finished!

taken 11/5

there's the fence line! our property is "special". In the back yard there is a portion that has 5 feet deaded to the original land owner, which is why we have a jog in the fence/property. In the front yard it's a whole different story...we'll get to that when I have better pictures to show of the craziness.

taken 11/11

wood flooring! It's hickory and oh, so pretty, can't wait to see it shining without the dust

taken 11/11

the outside it finished!! it only took them 3 1/2 days to do it, but it's done...I don't think the lighting outside was all that great, it was overcast but it's a green hue in the siding, not grey

taken 11/11

master bath tiling, he did a brick pattern here and in the laundry room, he laid it "normally" in the kids bath...

taken 11/10

the front entry-he did an awesome layout per our request and he did a FANTASTIC job! the kids are so excited that this cool place is actually ours!!

taken 11/10

slightly closer take-it still looks grey here, sorry. it is a color that changes depending on how the sun is shining (or not) on it. The door does have a grey hue, I will probably change that at some point, but for now I kind of like it and it's not a priority ;)

taken 11/11

There you have it folks. The house is coming along and there will for sure be more pictures in the next few days-we should be done in THREE!!!! I can't wait to see my cabinets and countertops in with the carpet on the floor and the minor touch-ups done! It will be so exciting!!! Then we wait for the inspection and the closing date to draw near-that will go fast as we will be packing up a storm. The unfortunate part, with the days Jake has been scheduled to work we will not be able to move until Thanksgiving weekend, unless I can convince him to move the few days before Thanksgiving...either way he does have to trade one day, so we'll see if they really finish the house by Saturday and we go from there...so if anyone feels like helping move after shopping Friday morning, we would LOVE your help-we want to get done in one day!! Ha! I will be cleaning Saturday, so again if you feel like helping during your holiday, come on over-I intend to try and get enough helpers that there can be one or two to a room and be done in a few hours!! This is all ideal and I live in an ideal world-at least momentarily {wink}

Halloween

with pictures!!!

The craziness of the week led to some simple ideas for Halloween. I do know that the holiday was arriving, but I figured we could recycle costumes from past years. The kids don't really care what they are, except Bryant, but he changed his mind 42 times a day since last Halloween. I had found this cute little cheerleading outfit at the quarter sale a few weeks ago and snagged it, hoping someone would wear it-thankfully they did!

On Wednesday, our old ward had a trunk-or-treat we were invited to. The day brought 30 degree weather with 30 mph winds and therefore feeling more like 20 degrees. We bundled up to practice our trick-or-treat manners with the 12 cars that were there. But it was oh so fun to see old friends and share our excitement of moving to a house and getting candy in the bitter cold. (yes, Bryant should be a pirate, but took off his sash and lost his eye patch before we even went to the trunk-or-treat).

This picture was taken afterwards-they were frozen!!

On Thursday, the kids all had school parties (there was no school on Friday). They each got to dress up in their costumes for the first part of the day. Like I said, the girls don't really care what they are, but apparantly they have decided they need to have multiple options-just in case the first costume doesn't suit their fancy. I think the cold weather had a lot to do with the change. Next year I hope to have more energy and motivation to actually make something for them all-I should know how to sew by then ;)

Sarah wanted to be a ballerina! She was so cute.

Kayelynn wanted to be the cheerleader...this is her attempting to pose a 'K' the cheer way!

We finally broke down and bought pumpkins on Halloween. I don't think the kids cared that much really, I think if we didn't do it they wouldn't have realized it until evening, but it's just not Halloween without the mess of pumpkins! This year we decided to have a family pumpkin and that would suffice. But once we made it to the store, they kids found "baby" pumpkins and we just couldn't say no to them. The thought was to carve the big one and decorate the others, but again, it's just not Halloween without jack-o-lanterns!

Lydia was coloring hers while she waited for hers to be carved.

Sarah delicately dug the "guts" out and really wasn't interested in that part at all.

The family pumpkin, exposing all its gooey guts.

Kayelynn getting the innards out of hers.

Bryant was too interested in the camera to get a candid photo...but he took the innards out of his too. He even carved his own, but somehow I got distracted from getting a picture of that.

After carving the pumpkins we only had about 30 minutes to get ready to go to our wards' trunk-or-treat. Once again, Bryant had lost his eye patch-yes, we had found it for his school parade, but he managed to lose it while getting dressed. So we used a marker (we found out it was NOT washable-yep, still a pirate at church the next day). And again the girls decided to dress up differently once again-all things we had in our dress up stuff. This night was actually really mellow for weather-they had predicted snow, but it was quite mild and nice. Lydia really understood what was happening since our practice run a few nights earlier and was so cute to follow, I wish I would have recorded it. She went to every single car on her own and said her version of "trich or treat" and always said "tank you" to everyone. It was so cute! She even scored more candy just for being cute! She was pretty proud of her little self for having such a loot and kept a very close guard on her bag-no one was allowed to carry it or look at it!

Happy Halloween-the best picture I could get.

It was so light when we left for trick-or-treating that we just left the pumpkins on the porch and then lit them when we got home. The kids loved seeing it! Their little lids burned up because they had such small pumpkins, but it was worth it!



Family pumpkin, Lydia's, Bryant's, Sarah's, Kayelynn's

We had a fantasticly mellow, simple holiday and everyone was happy!

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

...along.
The house is coming right along. They have poured the driveway and front sidewalk and back "patio". They have finished taping and mudding and the texture is should be dry today. They will start leveling the dirt (after the snow disappears) and start painting. I finished picking out all the appliances yesterday and now I get to monitor the progress. I had seen a home in the neighborhood with the same layout and fell in love with the colors outside, but decided instead of just copying them I would pick out my own...I ended up picking out the exact same colors for the siding and brick!! The color changes depending on the way the sun is hitting it and it looks great! I can't wait to see it on my house! We went for a greenish color inside the house with a whitish trim. We have wood floors in the kitchen, a beautiful tile in the bathrooms and laundry and the thickest carpet we could get! I can't wait to see it all inside the house! They predict the house should be ready for final inspection by the 13th of November, if not sooner!!

In other news, I went to the doctor for my glucose test (a month early) and passed! No gestational diabetes here-I can enjoy my holidays!! They finally measured me to see if I would be measuring ahead or not and I am right on, that hasn't been the case since I was pregnant with Bryant! I think I've decided to go get another gender check. There's a place here in town that will do that for a minimal cost and they are very accurate, now I just have to make the appointment. I have had an ongoing cold for about 2 weeks now, but because I have asthma it been causing more problems than a typical cold. I went to the doctor and she prescribed a heavier medication to help me breathe. And then I get hit with pink eye! What adult gets that?? Seriously, I know exactly why/how you get it and I feel like a nerd that I'm walking around with green goop in my eye-pathetic! But Jake informed me that because I'm so congested it decided to drain through my eye...I guess that's supposed to make me feel better...
Anyway, it's just been a crazy life this month and there's only one day left! I can't believe it!

This week has topped the crazy busy life-I have barely had time to breathe, but it's been fun picking everything out for the house and keeping the kids entertained with all the different Halloween festivities that have taken place this week. They have also been excited to see the progress of the house! Now that I have a little time today I may actually get some pictures downloaded and be able to post them in the next few days!! November will be here soon and we will have some serious action taking place at our house-I am seriously getting excited to move!! I never thought I would say that. I'm also getting a little anxious...it's still so unbelieveable to be able to say that this is MY place and to be able to move and have no thoughts of where we will end up after that...I don't have to worry about that and can actually start living a more stable lifestyle for the kids...it's just weird and yet so exciting!!

HOUSE

We've been married 8 years (in a couple weeks) and have moved 13 times...and we get to move AGAIN!!!! However, if third time isn't the charm, maybe 14 will! We bought a brand new house-by brand new, I mean it's not even finished yet and I get to pick out the fun stuff to personalize the house, not just "new" to us!!!!!!!!!!
This has been a long time coming and has already proved to possess unforeseen hurdles, but we've gotten past them and are anxiously awaiting to hear what the closing date will be.
We applied for a Rural Development loan back in August and had to wait our turn on the waiting list. We were told it would be about 30 days-can I just say I never realized that 30 days could go by so incredible slow when you're waiting for such news as that?! It's worse than the last 30 days of pregnancy and that is s.l.0.w. Finally we broke down and called our realtor to see if he would know anything, he was told 2 weeks-so the very end of September. The very next day (a Friday)our application was pulled for processing and on Monday we found out our approval amount and went looking for a house. On Tuesday we called the realtor with the one house we wanted to look at and set up an appointment. It didn't take much to fall in love-oh, so in love! We were leaving town Thursday, so we wrote up and signed an offer Thursday morning and by Friday afternoon our offer was accepted!!! We set up an inspection for the following Tuesday and found out 10-minutes before that inspection that we were not allowed to purchase the home because of location.
This loan is specified to certain rural areas and this neighborhood, although grandfathered into the areas, had been officially released from that grandfathering just that morning! We were booted and had to find a new house-fast!! To say we took it well, would be an absolute lie. This was the dream home we didn't realize we had dreamt up! There were a few days of absolute meltdowns and anger. We have slowly gotten over it, but there are still moments of extreme sadness. When looking at other homes all we could do was compare...Jake stated that it's hard to compare gold with silver-summarizing our hunt rather well.
We looked at three homes, an overpriced, dirty place; an older, charming, but broken foundation place; and a home under construction-we didn't love any, but put some serious thought, prayer and conversation into choosing what would work for our family and still get us into a house by the end of November (I'm not gonna lie, $8000 is something I will shoot for!!)
We finally decided that the home under construction would be the best option for us, especially because it would be finished quickly and allow us to choose some of the customized features to make it ours! We signed an offer last Friday afternoon while they were putting up sheetrock.
I knew I was going to need to get some choices to them soon, so I called the Realtor after lunch today so I could do a little homework and found out I needed to have some decisions by 5 o'clock! I quickly loaded the kids and went searching for the siding store-got lost, finally found it and quickly discovered this could get overwhelming by myself. Jake works today and tomorrow and with his job he can't just get off, nor does he finish at an early hour. I made many trips to get samples of the siding and brick and back to Jake's work to get his opinion, but I did it and got my homework done with 5 minutes to spare!! I am more tired from todays adventures than from a day of cleaning and washing at home...it's amazing how drained your brain can get choosing some of these things-especially when you constantly learn new terminology!
Tomorrow I will be headed out during preschool (I will only have one child to worry about) to pick out flooring and paint. I should be able to get it done in 2 hours (I did today) and then I can actually get the laundry done...
I have gone out to the house and taken pictures to keep track of the progress, so when I get brave and connect the other computer I can download pictures and show you some fun pictures and updates!
I know that this is going to end up being a fast few weeks full of adventure. They were putting the "frame" up for the driveway today, but we are supposed to have snow all week, so we'll see when they manage to get that in-but at least they can still work on the inside! I think they finished all drywall today as well.

I have yet to meet the builder, but he was anxious to get this sold that he threw in some bonuses even...it was hard not to refuse despite struggles in deciding which home to choose.
We are moving into a new neighborhood on the north side of Hitt Road in Idaho Falls.
It is a starter home, but we will make it better ;)
3 bedroom, 2 bath upstairs at 1300 sq. ft.
decent size living room and kitchen-extra cabinet space as there isn't a "pantry" to speak of
laundry is off the garage-aka mudroom
There is a basement-unfinished at 1300 sq. ft.
We will put in 3 more bedrooms (it's intended for only 2, but you can fit 3)
One more bathroom
A family room
A food storage room-this is a big deal to us-first thing to be finished in the basement!!!
It's located in an open cal de sac on a third acre

We will once again move schools, but the kids are so excited because they know we will NOT be moving again for quite some time-they are willing to sacrifice friends from school and the ward to be stable and I can't blame them-poor kids are a little too used to change, I hope we can get into a great routine and habits once we "permanantly" move!
I have finally had some time to do a little research and the upside of this move is that I will not have to schedule in drop off and pick up at the elementary school-Bryant actually gets to ride the bus! He is so thrilled he couldn't hold still for a whole minute!!! I discovered that since we are now going to the "country" we will be attending a rather small school and one of the first grade teachers looks like she would be awesome! I sure hope they will let me "request" who I want-just reading her intro letter online made me think she would be similar to the first grade teacher I had a hundred years ago and still remember!!!

I hope to keep putting updates as regularly as possible and even get some pictures up soon. I have waited 8 years for this kind of fun, but when you're pregnant and your brain is fried, it's a little harder to enjoy-but never unforgettable!! I'm getting more and more excited daily for this change to take place even with the few con's that I cannot get rid of.

We're going with...

...a guess.
I went in this morning for my complimentary ultrasound and even though the "picture" was more visible than the last we are still at 80% girl. I suppose this time around I'm just supposed to be happy that I have a healthy baby and not worry too much of the gender. I'm going with girl, but there's still a chance we could be surprised.
I can't lie, we'd LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to have another boy, but really will be so happy with a girl. It would be fun to get all the "old" clothes from the little days of Bryant and see them on another child, but I suppose we will be sporting brand new outfits for this child anyway. After 3 girls, there isn't much to salvage in the cute department-girls go through clothes so much ( I hear boys are hard on their clothes and believe me they are, but not until they are at least 2-the girls are hard on their clothes from the very beginning-at least in my home). And after washing things so many times, there's just a time when you've gotta get something new and not sport the dingy and spotty stains that won't release in the wash.
It'll be fun to buy new girl-y stuff and get more accessories. Now to wait out another 17 weeks until her arrival. Although I would bet we're closer to 15 or 16 (f she's anything like the rest of the girls) :D

Life goes on...

There have been so many fun and exciting things happening in our family recently...it's been hard to not post, but without pictures it's a little boring.

Bryant did receive his glasses and sure enough he looks handsome and is doing so well in school-his penmanship has gotten very impressive-even his teacher comments on it! He's loving school this year, which has been something I've held my breath to see.
Kayelynn is doing well in preschool. We got an email from her teacher telling us how much she is a role model in class and how well she is expected to perform in kindergarten-she LOVES school!! She is so fun-she is the little mom of the house.
Sarah is a hoot! She also loves preschool and gives a hug to her teachers every time she enters the classroom-it's pretty cute! She is learning so fast and is so excited to tell us about it when we pick her up. Everyone should have a conversation with this kid-so funny!
Lydia is a little ball of fire-both good and bad. She has been pretty sick the last few weeks, but is on the mend and getting back to her spunky self! She is so fun to be with. Her language is huge for her age and her comprehension is absolutely amazing-I am stunned everytime she responds to something I wouldn't expect. And her facial expressions are hilarious!
Jake is enjoying work, they treat him so well! He has enrolled in school, starting January to get his pre-requisites out of the way for the RN program-three more year and he should have that diploma in his hands!! The kids always have his schedule memorized for the upcoming week-they LOVE when he has his days off, especially if that means he gets to be the one to take them to school :)
I am just a big pregnant blob, needing a haircut and some serious sleep. Otherwise, doing fantastic!

Last week I went in for my ultrasound, but it was so hard to get the baby to open it's legs that for now it's a guess for girl. I got a call this afternoon to come in tomorrow for a complimentary ultrasound-they have a rep coming to demonstrate the machine they might get and for some reason they called me to come in for one of those demonstrations-so hopefully I can get a better shot of the babies gender-either way, I'm okay-I just don't want a guess.

We took a family vacation this last weekend to Boise for some much needed fun, mixed with some unexpected "entertainment"! We were 20 miles from Boise when our driver's side back tire popped off the wheel well. We took the tire, strapped it to the top and took our loaded car with 3 regular tires and a donut tire the rest of the way to my mom's...it was pretty funny, but only because Jake was driving and could actually change the tire...and to think I was going to go by myself-I'd probably still be stranded on the side of the road! The kids and Jake played lots outside at my parents while I went shopping-literally til I dropped. The famous second hand store that I go to for my kids clothes was having a bargain bin weekend for quarter clothes, toys, shoes, etc and inexpensive childrens equipment and large toys. It was so fun and so, so tiring. I ended up with just over 300 pieces of clothing and shoes and a few toys along with a few large pieces of equipment for the new little one. My sister in law came with us and she got just as much, so some of my items stayed in Boise until we go back before the baby arrives...I wish I could post a picture of what the car looked like-it was quite hilarious!

There's more to share, but not enough time. I will try to find the time between laundry, cleaning and school and another family trip (this time to Utah) to get more posted. Until next time...

Four eyes...

When I was a kid I always thought it would be fun to have glasses and then I entered grade school where the kids somehow turn into some of the meanest kids...I then decided that it would be torture to have glasses and get the nickname "four eyes"...somehow that's the best kids can come up with and they think it's the most clever.

Upon taking Bryant to the eye doctor yesterday for his yearly eye exam he told the technichian that he has a hard time seeing when he's reading.
What??!?!
That is the first I've heard of this...when the tech. left the room I promptly asked Bryant if he was telling the truth and if he thought glasses were cool, to which he answered yes to both questions. I started into a rant that he had to tell the truth to the doctor or there would be serious concesquences if not. If he lied just to get glasses his eyes would be worse and his head would always hurt because he wouldn't be able to see with something he didn't need. He humbly agreed to which I inwardly cheered victory!

After the initial exam with the doctor he immediately stated that he had all the questions he had answered...I was puzzled. He said that Bryant really did have a difficulty seeing up close and would need bifocals-my heart fell and then I was embarassed with myself. My son will now be four eyes-which he will handle well, I'm sure and he will be wearing what OLD people wear (sorry to the elderly that read this)! The doctor calmed my inward fears of looking like an old, welfare child saying that the style Bryant would be getting would be an almost invisible line and that by getting them this early in life his eyes would train quickly and he should outgrow the need for bifocals/reading glasses.

After what was to be a simple exam, we picked out some super cute-excuse me, handsome-blue frames and spent $100 that wasn't initially in the budget. Good thing there's a two year warranty on the frames and lenses-he just better not lose them...

He should get them in a few weeks and I hope I can get a picture or two on here...he's going to be one handsome kid-even more so than he already is!

Hello??

Anybody there??

I hate to admit it, but I feel kind of lonely these days (the vain side of me is coming out)...no communication through this blog makes me think my efforts to go private were not so fabulous. In trying to "hide" some personal information, I think I've lost all my friends in the blogosphere...is it worth having a private blog?? is it even more retarded to take the privacy off? hmmm...just curious if anyone reads this...not that it's super spectacular or anything, but just curious.

Let me know what you think...if there are any readers out there.

Peachy Keen

I'm sure the previous post was getting annoying to you because it was really bothering me, but I don't have anything super interesting or new to share.

We attended our new ward yesterday. It was a little awkward, but I think we're supposed to be there...not necessarily becuase we are needed in any particular way, but just because we are where we are supposed to be and we will follow the counsel of our leaders and attend church where we should attend.

The kids are such good sports about change. There are moments when we have discussions about why we moved and "when we move again", but overall the kids are so resiliant and for that I am truly grateful.

We are all adjusting to the new school schedule still. For some reason, it's been a lot harder this year than last to get into the routine, but we're managing to at least get to school on time-sometimes we just end up getting there later than usual-ha!

I am getting excited and nervous for October-we get to find out what we are having and for some reason I am especially anxious about the whole process. Probably because one of us usually has an inkling as to what we are having, but we are both incredibly not feeling any vibes...so I declare "it" is an alien and "it" will therefore be known forever as "It"...lol

We are doing pretty O-K with everything. No worries about us, we are past any and all depression (at least that you will all know about) and hopefully should have some fun posts to share in the coming weeks-I am so sorry this is becoming more of a journal and less with pictures...I just don't have access to the right computer with the software and it's kind of bugging me...oh well.

"Labor" Day

Saw this floating around on the web, thought it was pretty clever.

How long were your labors?
Bryant-9hrs. 15min
Kayelynn-3hrs. 12 min.
Sarah-6hrs. 9 min.
Lydia-3 hrs. 30 min.

How did you know you were in labor?
Bryant-contractions started at home about 7pm, went to hospital-they sent me home, I went back an hour later-the contractions were pretty much the "hint"
Kayelynn-induced, meaning they broke my water, my body did the rest
Sarah-induced, they broke my water, my body did the rest-really slowly.
Lydia-induced, they broke my water, my body did the rest

Where did you deliver?
All of them were born at Madison Memorial

Drugs?
Bryant-demerol x2 (that stuff makes you loopy)
Kayelynn-Nubain
Sarah-Nubain x2
Lydia-Nubain, 1/2 dose, mostly none

C-section?
None of them

Who delivered?
Bryant-the midwife (Helene) I had briefly met once
Kayelynn-the midwife (Helene) that delivered Bryant-I was very impressed with her following my wishes
Sarah-Helene, barely
Lydia-Helene

How long were you pregnant?
Bryant-39wks. 4days
Kayelynn-38wks. 4 days
Sarah-39wks. 2days
Lydia-38wks. 6 days

How much did they weigh? (bonus)
Bryant-8lbs. 8oz.
Kayelynn-8lbs. 13oz.
Sarah-9lbs. 13oz.
Lydia-8lbs. 6oz.

It's No Fun Being Poor

...now before you think I'm being all negative (again), just keep reading.

This is the talk we had in Relief Society today and it hit the spot, so to speak. What great counsel we receive from the leaders of the church-it's a fabulous read!!

Elder Marvin J. Ashton was assigned the topic for a BYU devotional back in 1982. Reading it seems as if he could have given it yesterday (it's amazing how the words of yester-year seem to apply just as much today as then).

It’s no fun being poor. It is much more fun to be rich. I hope we will see that we can be rich if life’s ledger is filled with daily entries that show bottom line totals including sound moral conduct, uprightness, and incorruptibility.

He states 10 "commandments" to follow to "avoid being poor".
1. Thou shalt not lose a friend or cease being one.
No man is useless while he has a friend. No man can declare personal bankruptcy if he has one friend.
Very often friends are lost because we are unwilling to pay the price it takes to maintain them. It was Emerson who said, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
No matter what the conduct or negligence of others may be, we cannot afford to yield in our sincere efforts to be a friend. Very often our family members and friends need our friendship
most when they least deserve it.

2. Thou shalt honor thy character and protect it from self destruction.
We are poor in character when we think getting by is a substitute for doing our best. Virtue, action, and truth properly blended in life make a person rich.

3. Thou shalt not deceive.
Whenever deception is encouraged, the promoter is the greatest loser. He must bear the responsibility for those he injures.

4. Thou shalt not compromise they principles.
All of us should constantly remind ourselves that character is education properly applied. The sharing and encouraging of truth on a continuing basis shelters one from poverty.
How rich are those who can live by worthy principles and manage the results!

5. Thou shalt love thyself.
The worst form of defeat is to be conquered by self.
We should teach, particularly ourselves, that nobody is a nobody.
A person is poor when he places despair over hope. A person is poor when he fails to remember who he really is and forgets his relationship to God, family, and self.

6. Thou shalt be honest.
A person is poor when he thinks honesty is a policy instead of a proper way of life.
Mark 8:36, read this.
Without honesty there is no foundation upon which to build.

7. Thou shalt not wrongfully exploit others for personal advantage.
Those of us who knowingly give ear to dishonesty in any form are moving in the direction of poverty.

8. Thou shalt not believe that repentance is an announcement.
Repentance is not an announcement.
It is improved conduct.

9. Thou shalt not stay poor.
It's not fun being poor, but no one has to be.
Through prayer and action God helps us avoid being poor.

10. Thou shalt not allow thyself to be managed by money.
A person who allows his money to manage him instead of him managing his money is poor. No matter how much or how little we have to live on each week or month, it needs to be used wisely. We need to decide on a budget and live within it.
Things generally turn up for those who keep digging. Financial disaster can be avoided if we learn with others how to help ourselves.
No one needs to apologize for his success in financial achievement if the means of attainment have been honorable and he knows how to wisely use what he has.

After the pity party I served myself yesterday of why's, what if's this was the answer to my prayers. I am so grateful for the direction and advice and counsel given by the leaders of our church. It is so easy to forget the way of life we should live within the church as the world is so in-our-face. What a fantastic reminder to all of us. To get the full feature, you can read it here.

I hope your Sabbath was as uplifting as mine this first Sunday of September.

Oh the places we'll go...

...Birthdays, school, Boise and doctor's visits...

Bryant is all about walking to and from school with the neighbor kids and enjoys taking a lunch from home-I'm not sure how long this will last, I can't believe my mom packed a lunch for us every single day from kindergarten to our senior year in high school-I don't think I can be that creative or dedicated. He started out the week a little unsure how the days should work and got a little too excited about playing after school instead of coming home, but we got it figured out. He is a true boy and will only tell us the "cool" things that happened in the day.

Kayelynn is doing fabulous! Her teacher is super surprised at her ability of concepts, letters, numbers, etc. She is the only one in the class that will respond to the teacher and stay on task. It's kind of funny. She is going to be great in Kindergarten next year!!

Sarah was a little worried about the first day of preschool, but adjusted really well with it. She blended right in and only had a tiff once toward the end of class when someone wanted the toy she was having. Not a big deal, but it was at that time that her attention span was starting to waiver. Good thing she only goes two hours. She had a fabulous birthday-it ended up being a little more pink than Mermaid, but she was okay with it as she was the one requesting what/how she wanted. She received her very own Razor scooter, pink-just like she has been wanting all summer since I found two in a yard sale...her Grandma gave it to her and she was so, so excited!! She is such a mature 3 year old. I still worry about her sometimes with her health, but I think we'll keep doing what we know keeps her content and yet still do some research.

Jake surprised us with a last minute, quick vacation to Boise so I could get school clothes for the kids. I confess, after trying to go school shopping to find just a dress, jeans and new shoes I about had an anxiety attack in the store when there were no dresses, the jeans were $15+ and shoes were just as much as my shoes are!!! The receipt showed half a month's rent with just 6 items (okay, that could be an exaggeration, but only slightly-can you tell I haven't bought clothing at full price in a very, very long time, somewhat embarassing, but not)! I seriously about hyperventalated and died. I now understand why my mom hated school shopping for us! I can do groceries and not freak, I've figured out the coupon world, but clothing is another obstacle to overcome. I told Jake that since the kids were still small enough we needed to hit up the quarter sale in Boise at the 2nd hand store (Other Mothers-I hope the thought of another's clothes on my children's backs don't disturb you...they grow too fast to buy too many new things, and I can't afford/handle it). So, he took us to Boise and I was able to get just over 100 items and only spent $26! Now, THAT I can handle, it even included 6 pair of shoes!! After washing the clothes we discovered one of them had $2 in the pocket!! We even got some money back ;) To get more of a stock up on clothing I think we will be going again in October and hopefully be able to get enough clothing to get through the winter! It is totally worth the time and gas money to me because then I get to spend more time with my family too!!

While we were in Boise I canned apricots, apricot jam and 21 bottles of green beans-it's been about 5 years since I've done that. It's making me want a home and garden that much more. I hope that wish comes true this year!! (at least the home portion, the garden will have to wait until next year-I'm not that off-even if I do feel like it).

We are still getting into the morning routine for school-as none of us are morning people. We are getting the very last of the pictures hung and figuring out how to more effectively use our space. All is on hold for a few days as after arriving home from Boise late Sunday night we discovered Monday morning that Sarah and Jake have both come down with strep throat. I am just sanitizing everything to hopefully keep the bug from spreading and keeping the two of them as comfortable as possible. Then to reconvene with our daily routine!