Sometimes you just need to take a drive!

Thank you for all of your kind comments and emails. Sometimes you just need to vent and let it out, so you don't feel like you are going crazy. We just walked through our home and have been told that it will be completed in 3 weeks. Looking at it, you would never guess it, but they are doubling up on contractors and working long hours to get it done. I am so excited, it does not seem real. I think it will be like Christmas opening up all of the boxes that we have not seen since May. I was just talking to Corom about his bunk beds and bedding (that we have not seen since May because it is in storage) and he was arguing with me about not having bunk beds. Won't he be in for a treat to see that he actually has toys and pictures to hang on the wall! Tonight, as a family, as mentioned, we walked through the construction site, stopped to get ice cream and went on a drive through the country! It is stunning. Most of the fields are in harvest and it is green, a stark contrast to the dead fields we saw when we came to tour the city last winter. I needs more evenings like this to find balance and beauty with my family. Thank you all again for your love and support. This summer has been tough, but we look forward to brighter days and settling down!

Preschool is a kick. Tomorrow we are talking about Jack and the Beanstalk. This too, has been a blessing for me to find structured time and something to keep me busy away from my everyday duties! Have a great week! I can hopefully post house pictures soon.

Search for Something...

This entry is one that has been on my mind for quite awhile, but I usually try to keep things light, fun and family-friendly on my blog. The truth is that these last few months have been really trying. I don't know if I have ever felt such intense feelings of loneliness, inadequacy and discouragement. When those who are close to me question why, I can't explain it. We are building a beautiful home, have beautiful children, are earning a "real" income after years of schooling, have our health, live close to a temple, are part of a wonderful ward (congregation), and have been taken in by a great family while our home is being completed. I recognize these things, and appreciate these things, I have just been in a slump. I believe that Satan works on us when we are weak with thoughts like, "You aren't good enough", "Life stinks" "What are you worth anyways?" It has felt like a constant battle to be a good parent and wife when I have felt lost in this world of "Oh poor me." Today in my Sunday School Class, I was teaching the teenagers about Spencer W. Kimball and the refining moments in his life. I do believe that we are given these periods in our life to prove that we can be better, that we can rise above the blues to be grateful for the beautiful gifts that we have been given. I have had confirmation after confirmation that Heavenly Father is aware of me, that he loves me, but that it is my job to CHOOSE to be happy, to be a good friend/wife/mother/daughter/etc. Last night I was able to slip away for a bit of "Filling my spiritual cup" time. I attended our General Relief Society Conference. Among other speakers from the General Relief Society Presidency, Elder Uchdorf, one of the counselors to our Prophet, spoke. He used the analogy of Willy Wonka and talked about how in life we are often too busy looking for our Golden Tickets to take delight in simple beauties of life like the chocolate bar itself. If you have not yet viewed the talk, it is archived on the LDS.org website. It was wonderful and I believe it was written for me. I left there saying, "I am now living in this new city and can CHOOSE to be happy here, to find beauty in being the person that I am, with the responsibilities that I have been given. I am committed to humbling myself to seek inspiration and guidance in my pursuit of happiness in this phase of life." I have so much to be grateful for. I don't know why life gets us down sometimes, but when it does, it is difficult to rise above it. I am eager to feel like myself again, and to not only be where I was, but to become who I really want to be. Thanks again for checking in on us. I miss my friends and family dearly and feel that these connections and updates are priceless.

PRESCHOOL

After months of preparation, we are in business! I opened a preschool with a friend, Brenda and we have 7 children in our class. The preschool is held in Brenda's basement, but as you can see below, the basement has been transformed into a gorgeous classroom! We are still in a period of trial and error as we get to know the individual personalities in our class and see what motivates them to learn. We have discovered already that they all love music! Some of the children have longer attention spans than others and we are working on transitioning activities to accommodate the differences in attention span. (Some kids could color a picture to perfection while others scribble a few scribbles and are ready for the next task) As discovered in years passed, it all comes down to routines and over-planning! This month we are studying a letter a week and the theme "All About Food!" This week we will talk about produce and grains and will do among many other activities, fruit and veggie stamping with paint. I LOVE IT! My sweet Corom is thrilled to giggles about starting preschool. He giggles at every joke we say and anything he finds fun or funny in class. Brenda has a little boy the same age as him and they get a kick out of it! The children we have enrolled are delightful, which makes hard work all worth it! Elijah goes to a baby sitter, but I am able to have Noelle with me, as she is enrolled in PM kindergarten. She too, is finding it fun and enjoying the activities, especially the awesome assortment of dress ups. As far as home updates go, we have been told October 19th and though we are not holding our breaths, we are hopeful and excited. Have a great week!

AND, WE ARE BACK ON THE BLOG!!!

It has been way too long! I have been fussing with my IPHOTO and have been having trouble putting my pictures on the computer. It isn't much fun to blog without pictures. Well, we are officially basement dwellers. Like previously posted, a wonderful family has taken us in while we are waiting for our home to be completed. With that said, it has been a wild month. We, as a family, are about as off-routine as any family can be. We came with only our basics and are trying to make do with what we have. After a really frustrating summer of construction delays and after expressing our frustrations repeatedly with the builders, they have promised that they are doing everything possible to get us into our home. (Keep in mind, we were supposed to be in our home on August 16th. It is now September 11th and the home has been sitting still for over a week awaiting the HVAC and framing inspections) My kids are getting really used to driving by the house and hearing my growl. It is REALLY frustrating! But, I think that we have come to terms with the slow process and will wait with patience and anticipation for the completion of our home. Life does go on, even if you are living with another family and some BIG events have happened this month! I will let the pictures speak for themselves. My family is getting big and every day I watch my children in AWE that they are really mine. We are so blessed. I keep thinking that this time last year, Elijah was just turning one and starting to walk. Now, he is speaking in full sentences and so active! Life is flying by! This Tuesday we begin our in-home preschool that I am opening with a friend. It has been ALOT of work, but has come together well and we are anxious to get it going! Corom will be the first to benefit from this preschool and can't wait!

NOELLE started kindergarten at our rural elementary school. This little school building houses over 700 kids! She was so excited (and a bit nervous) to begin! We are so proud of her for being so BRAVE!



Last weekend we slipped away for a day to Boise to school shop and play! Dan helped Noelle pick out some skinny jeans, ballet flats and other cute clothes. My 5 year old and husband are way more fashionable than me! WE LOVED OUR TIME THERE! While there, we found a wonderful park. These pictures are of Corom and I watching Noelle's back-to-school fashion show! The ones below are of Dan and the kids in Boise!




Elijah's Birthday was on September 1st and our baby turned 2! (So sad! I would love for him to stay a baby) But, two he is! He fits every two year old stereotype. He is inquisitive, playful, energetic, talking like crazy and climbing out of his crib! HE MAKES ME SMILE! I cannot imagine our lives without this beautiful child! For his birthday, we went to the park with the Weavers (the family we are living with) We ate cake, opened presents, did a pinata and PLAYED! At our 2 year old checkup last week, Elijah weighed in at 27 pounds. He is in the 75% for height and the 50% for weight. (Corom has always been in the 3rd) He is healthy and growing like a weed! Happy Birthday to my sweet baby boy!







Here is a picture of the construction. It is a little out of date, as we now have windows and felt on the roof. WE CANNOT WAIT! I am hoping the next pictures will be with all of the siding, rocks and roof on! Those materials have all been dropped off. Soon, we hope!

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK! LOVE YOU ALL!

Moving day

Moving day! I keep thinking that if I can get through this period in my life, I can get through anything! Wish us luck!

ELIJAH LOUIS, how we love you!

We are quickly approaching Elijah's second birthday and I am afraid that in the midst of the move, I will not find time to document how much I love this child. He was meant for our family and every day I thank my Heavenly Father for sending this spunky, funny, and loving child into our home. He makes me happy!

Here is a sampling of Elijah as he turns 2:

-He follows me around the house ALL DAY labeling my actions! He opens the shower curtain to tell me "Mommy in the shower, mommy shampoo, etc." If someone is changing, he sings at the top of his lungs, "NAKED (name of person) on the loose!!!" (Pierce's song!) Uh, oh, spoon fall down, I want to get down, etc. HE TALKS ALL DAY! And, he speaks really well. I am amazed daily by his ever-increasing vocabulary and the way he uses it!

-Elijah loves to sing! When he takes a bite, he sings to the tune of Go Shorty, It's Your Birthday, "GO ELIJAH! HE'S A ROCKING!" He will eat his whole dinner stopping to sing the song between each bite. He usually looks to us for applause! He can sing every Taylor Swift song and High School Musical song. We were in Costco today and he was singing Taylor Swift at the top of his lungs!

-Every time we pass the llama farm (yes, there is a llama farm in our town) he sings, "Me and my llama, me and my llama, going to the dentist today!" (from 1970's Sesame Street) Tonight he was eating his dinner, singing the llama song, picked a booger, stopped his song and looked up at me and started singing, "Me and my booger! Look mom, BOOGER!" He is such a boy already!"

-This child knows how to joke. He likes to call me by my first name. He knows this is a joke and will say it over and over again until I say, "YOU CALL ME MAMMA!" He will laugh and say, "TAMI!" He teases us, and even his Papa who he still refers to as Stinky Pete. He always says it with a chuckle. He is always good for a belly laugh with hide and go seek!

-Elijah is a shoe thief. If there are shoes missing, you know where to find them!

-Elijah loves to eat! For this reason, he and Corom, though 18 months apart, are only 2 pounds apart.

-We have already gotten used to his quirky little smile! It is still a smile that makes me happy!

-Elijah loves cartoons. I will be preparing breakfast in the kitchen while the kids watch morning cartoons. The cartoon will ask a question like, "What color is Mickey's balloon" and Elijah always shouts back a response. He is usually right!

-He says beautiful dinner prayers!

-Loves to be rocked and sang to with his blanky!

-Sings to the temple every time we pass it!

-Loves his family, though prefers not to be bothered. I think this is one of his funniest traits. He has a strong sense of personal space and makes it known!

-When bored, he will start running around the house saying, "CA-CHOW! or "LOOK MOMMY! I'M FAST!"

-As I type, he is asking me, "Mommy, where is my ice cream cone?" over and over again.

Elijah Louis, we love you and cannot believe that we have had you for almost 2 years. Our lives are so much more complete with you in our home, teaching and snuggling us. I am excited to see what the future holds in store for you



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So much to write about...where do I begin?

I cannot believe how quickly this summer is coming to a close. At the end of May, we moved into a rental, with the thought that we would live here until our home was completed. The building process is going MUCH slower than anticipated and the rental has sold and we must be out at the end of the month. We found a wonderful family in our ward at church who are going to let us live in their basement apartment until our house is finished. I cannot even begin to express our relief at finding this wonderful family, as we had been pricing out single room hotel rates. This option would have been expensive and cramped! So, after feeling like we just unpacked (only some of our belongings) and feeling like we are just getting settled, we have once again pulled out the packing tape and have started reloading boxes. This time we are keeping out only what we will need for a month or so and the rest is going in to storage. That, is our current living situation.
On a more fun note, my wonderful husband has been listening to a homesick wife complain about wanting desperately to go home to California. When we found a potential new owner for our puppy in Sacramento, (long story, but we couldn't keep her) we loaded the children up and Dan drove through the night on Thursday after having worked a long day! We had a WONDERFUL, QUICK, trip and loved every minute of it! The kids swam, we barbequed, spent time with family, we slept in and relaxed. It truly felt like a vacation. We were able to meet our beautiful new nieces attend their blessings. Dan drove the whole way home on Monday while I played angry birds! Told yah I have a wonderful husband! (Actually he thinks I drive too slow!) He knows I do not like driving and steps up to do it!
When we came home, our home had finally been framed! We turned the corner of the street to see what had been only a basement in ground when we left, was finally a framed 2 story home! YIPEE!!! They put the stairs in this week and we actually got to walk through it and show the kids their rooms upstairs! The framers worked late into the evening tonight and it is really starting to take shape. Building has been the most frustrating process and seeing the start of the home is giving us hope!
We also came home to an apricot tree that is fully in bloom and hundreds of gooey apricots all over the ground! What a mess! Dan and I tackled about half of the tree tonight, sorting the fruit. We are hoping to do jam, pie filling and canned fruit. THANK YOU ASHLEY for teaching me to can in Salt Lake! I would give anything to have you here right now to tackle this fruit with me!
The kids are thriving and doing well! We are loving our summer days, but feeling ready to add the structure of school into the mix. Noelle will begin kindergarten and we have had some sign ups for our preschool. It will be a small year as far as students go, but a great place to start. We are going all out, as if we had a full class. It is only fair for students who are enrolled and paying. I will also have my children. So great to use my creative side!
I hope you are all doing well! I apologize if this is kind of a gushy post, my emotions have been on a roller coaster this summer. There is so much change, it has been intense! Love you all! Thanks for checking in!

Warning! Pictures are not in order and I could not put all of them on the blog. I know I do not have pictures of everyone! (Especially we are missing photos of Marco's birthday!)
These kids always pick right back up when they get together!

THE GIRLS!

We didn't anticipate thousands of apricots, but we are up to the challenge!

And how did we get to 9 grandkids? SOOOOO FUN!

Tessa and Riley's blessing day

I LOVE this boy! He tugs at my heart strings and is looking like such a big boy these days. I still think of him as my baby!

A trip to California would not be complete without helping Nana and Papa in their garden. The kids all have their own baskets and even Elijah took part this year. The kids really look forward to this!

Auntie Gina and Corom have a close bond! They played and played!!!

Corom and his Papa! The smiles say it all!

Happy little Tessa! She is so sweet!

Read the sign on the door! Hilarious! The kids were playing beauty salon! Did I mention that my 5 year old insists on doing her own hair everyday? Nikki, I am so sorry if she has had an influence on Lucia! Independent children!

We love our Nana!

Sweet Baby Riley!

This is the first time my kids have been in the pool all summer! There really aren't pools in Idaho! Noelle and Corom loved it! Elijah was not so sure!

PHEW, I could have posted more! It was a wonderful weekend!