Bring on Summer

Are you ready for the longest post ever???? If not, scroll down for pictures! Thanks for checking in! My cute little preschool class!

Well, hello! I apologize for my long absence. I have a lot of explaining to do and this is a bit personal, but I feel like this blog should include the happenings of our family. (exciting, stressful, whatever it may be) This year has been a year of change and the changes have consumed me. Like previously posted, we moved into our home in October. We moved after 6 months of living out of boxes and as welcoming as our circumstances were, renting a cute home and living with our friends, it was a period of transition and well, a bit of chaos. We became accustomed to eating out, got out of our routines and just felt like we were on vacation. We started school, Noelle in kindergarten and Corom with our preschool that we opened. Life just went on. We moved from a 1000 square foot apartment to a 3 story home, without landscape. I feel blessed and pinch myself often, as I recognize that we are very blessed to have found employment and to be living this new life and step as a family. As we have settled into our home, I have had a really hard time adjusting to the added responsibilities. I never knew how much work a house could be. (All of you homeowners are laughing) That coupled with living in a new community and getting used to having a husband who works long hours. It has really affected me. I feel really stupid admitting it because I know that people have REAL trials and change isn't a trial for everyone, but it is for me. It has made me pretty miserable to be around. This, is why I haven't posted. I have just been hiding. With that said, lets get on with this post. We are here. We are healthy and a LOT has happened and I have had some really neat experiences in the last few months. After a year of praying to know our purpose in Idaho, I have finally found the comfort I have been seeking. I just had to be ready to receive and accept it. I KNOW that this is where we are supposed to be. I know because as I have prayed, I can feel the warmth and comfort of the Holy Ghost confirming to me that this is part of the plan for my life. I can feel the guiding hand of the Lord in things as little and big like raising my children, budgeting, making decisions regarding our preschool, decisions about the yard, etc. We have also been blessed with wonderful people who have taken us in and befriended us and helped us. I know Heavenly Father is mindful of me and my life as a mother and wife. We have been blessed to be a part of the creation of a brand new ward. We have had over 700 people in our ward. We are now down to 400. Its been a few weeks and already, with smaller numbers, I feel like we have more of a ward family. Dan has been called to serve as ward mission leader, and I have been asked to continue serving in the youth organization, this time as a councilor. We love, love, love our callings! I feel like I have missed out on documenting many wonderful details and as I document, I am going to go out of order. Thats just how my mind works, so bear with me! In March, we celebrated our 10th Anniversary! I am a lucky woman! It has been a decade of serious growth and learning, but I have an amazing husband. He works so hard for our family and devotes his time to taking care of us and loving us. He is devoted to teaching our children and living up to his role as patriarch of our home. With the celebration of our anniversary, we were able to go to Sun Valley. The week prior, Dan's parents drove up and got Noelle to take her back for her spring break. She spent time in Sacramento and as well as at their condo in Santa Cruz. She got a bit homesick, but really enjoyed her time with her grandparents. They made the 9 hour drive back to Idaho and tended our children while we went to the mountains. It was soooooo refreshing to spend quality, quiet, time with Dan. We stayed in a cute studio condo, ate lots of yummy food, took walks, watched General Conference, shopped and snow shoed. We drove up to Galena Summit and a little beyond. It is truly heaven up there. One of the masterpieces on this earth. A great way to celebrate our time together. When we returned, we came home to happy children and sick grandparents. It happens every time. They returned home and we prepared for our next round of visitors. Callie, my mom, Eden and Riley came up over my mom's spring break from the school district. I had been so looking forward to this visit and we all got sick, like really sick. Nonetheless, we played and enjoyed our time. We celebrated Easter with our preschool Easter party, an egg hunt at Dan's work, (Eden found the golden egg!) and decorating Easter eggs. The Easter Bunny even managed to come and bring a huge egg hunt to our house and darling baskets. We visited the Shoshone Falls and had a yummy ham dinner. I would give anything to live closer to my family, but cherish the time we do get. Thanks to all of our family who made the trek to see us! We feel so lucky! April was a crazy, busy month! We celebrated Dan's 32nd birthday with a BIG birthday bash! We had a bunch of families over, had a BBQ, cupcakes and a pinata! We love birthdays here and I can't believe Dan is 32! It's been 14 years since our first date. HAPPY Birthday to Dan! Again, there are a million details I am missing out on because I didn't document...a bummer for me. MAY! May brought Mother's Day! Mother's Day I awoke to breakfast in bed, really excited kids and lots of homemade gifts! I LOVE being a mom and seeing the pride of giving homemade gifts! It was a very special day. This was also the first day of our new ward! This last week was our last week of school. We completed our preschool year with a preschool graduation at the church. Brenda made wonderful refreshments, the kids wore their graduation hats and the children performed their songs with singing and instruments! It has been a lot of work, but as always, whenever I teach, I feel so good about stretching my talents and working with children. It has been a very fulfilling year. (We have committed to next year and have 6 sign-ups already!) I do, however, look forward to a bit of a break and a chance to write lesson plans before the year begins. Noelle graduated from kindergarten!!!! I know, when did she grow up? She is SO grown up! She has really enjoyed her time with Mrs. Makings and has made wonderful friends. The last few weeks of school, she took field trips to the Rock Creek Growers, to visit the greenhouses and plant a flower, went on a bus field trip to Rock Creek park for a picnic and play, and had a big BBQ picnic/potluck on the last day of school. Noelle's teacher has been teaching for 26 years and has teaching kindergarten down to an art. She is so good at what she does and Noelle has developed by leaps and bounds this year. Her creativity has blossomed as well as her interest in music. (Which has always been present) She sings most of the day and has been memorizing 1-handed Primary songs on the piano. She really has a talent for it. We are going to begin piano lessons in the fall. Dan surprised Noelle with pink and brown cowgirl boots for graduating kindergarten. (REAL leather ones from the farm supply store) She has been wearing them proudly! It is an Idaho thing! The little girls wear cowgirl boots. She is in heaven! Congratulations Noelle! She has thrived in school and we are so proud of her! We had a really fun visit a few weeks ago. Dan had to go to Boise for a conference, and I was bummed he missed out. My longtime friend, Jordan Bartlett, (since we were 5) his wife Natasha and their baby came to stay with us! EEEK! I was so excited! They are attending the University of Idaho, a few hours away. We had such a nice visit. So refreshing to be around someone who knows me and all the same people as me! As for my cute boys, they are doing well...growing like weeds. The boys wrestle and play like bear cubs. They fight like crazy, but can't seem to be away from each other. They love each other so much. Corom is seeming more and more like a 4 year old. He is such a tender heart, it often makes him seem younger than he is. Dan was doing his monthly interviews with the kids on Sunday and commented that he would have 10 kids if they were all like Corom. He has a heart of gold and is very affectionate and snuggly and eager to help. He is always in the thick of things when we are working on projects and keeps a tidy room and a made up bed. He is a good boy. He spends his time playing legos, playing with Gavin and riding his strider bike. He likes to be read to, likes art and is really into his bathing suit. Elijah is quite opposite of Corom, or should I say, just has a different personality. Elijah is really, really independent. He is going to be a chief! He is my sidekick, likes know where I am, what I am doing and wants to help! He talks like a 5 year old, he has a huge vocabulary and is always surprising us with new words. I spend most of my nights snuggling him, because I can't get a hug while he's awake. He's too busy. He knows where everything is in the house and gets into things. He dresses himself (even without being asked) and likes to do everything by himself. (brushing teeth, buckling seatbelts, etc.) There is a pecking order in our home, but Elijah tries to keep up. I love these ages! I hope all of you are doing well and thriving! I have felt very overwhelmed by the support and love that has been shown to us! And for the record, I officially passed my Idaho driver's license test today! (It only took me a year to get in there!) Enjoy the pictures!