Family.

It's what it all comes down to right? Family. So, when my laundry is not done, my dishes are piling up, and my two year old says "Mere (come here) mom, mere, play, hide, with Beth?".....I play with her. And when my husband comes home at 10:30pm from a long day at work,  even though I'm exhausted, I stay up with him. And when my 5 month old is cooing when she's supposed to be asleep, I play with her. Because that's what matters.

So, although the last few months have been slow (compared to this summer with a new baby and our first house!) a few things have happened. We had Halloween, which was awesome. And we were able to go to Washington, which is one of my favorite places to be. Eric and Jackie were sealed for all Eternity in the Columbia River Temple. It was an amazing day. I can't wait until we have the Boise temple re-opened, and the Meridian temple! It will be such a blessing to have 2 temples so close! 

Ami is now 5 months old! She can roll over, both ways, but would much prefer to sit up in her bumbo. She likes to be part of the action! I recently gave up my office/craft room, to be Ami's bedroom, for now. I have had Ami in a bassinet for the past 5 months, knowing that between 4-6 months I wanted to move her into Beth's room. I shared a room with my sister from the day I was born, up to the day I got married, 18 years later. So, I always wanted my girls to share a room. But Ami wasn't sleeping very well. And since I'm still nursing her, it wasn't going to be easy to go in and out of Beth's room, sometimes to soothe a screaming baby, and not wake Beth up. The last thing I needed was two children awake. So, my office/craft room will be moved into the bonus room for the next 6 months or so. Ah the sacrifices of a mother. I'm joking. Kinda.

I think anyone would move things for this face....

And there are two little girls I know who have their Daddy wrapped around there little fingers.....

Sometimes I wonder how we got so lucky to have two beautiful little girls.....that surprisingly look exactly like their dad.....in a feminine way. :-)

We spent some time visiting other family the last few months too. We went to my Grandpa Bassett's Birthday party, and it was a treat to have Grandma home for a few hours during that time. We don't get to see her often enough, especially since we've moved to Nampa. 

And we spent time baking lots of fun stuff!! My assistant is wonderful!!

We made sugar cookies, which is a Halloween tradition with our family!

GIRLS RULE!!

I told Beth we couldn't go trick or treating till Daddy got home....so she stood at the window and waited for 15min.

While trick or treating I met the most HANDSOME firefighter!! My Jack-Baby! Who isn't a baby anymore, obviously, but I still think of him as a baby.

It's been a good couple of months. We are excited for the Holidays, Andrew can't wait to fall off the roof while putting up lights. There are some things about owning a home that are super exciting. Falling off the roof is NOT one of those things. But decorating is. 


Well, that is the end of my ranting, and random slide show. I hope you are all doing well!! 


See ya later, Partner!

Happy Blogging!

This is why....

There is a reason why we have the Priesthood on the earth. Many reasons. And anyone who reads this may think of a different reason. And I know at times in my life I can think of different reasons and why I'm grateful. Last night I was truly grateful. Ami has been having some rough nights. Usually starting around 8pm and sometimes, like last night, she's upset till past midnight. I'm not sure what it is, but it's rough. 


I didn't know how to make it better, which was hard for me. And I thought that maybe I should ask Andrew to give her a priesthood blessing. But I didn't know how he'd feel about it. So we continued trying to soothe her in other ways. After on and off screaming for 3 hours, I decided to just ask. I told him I had been thinking about it a few times, but I didn't really know if he felt the same way. And he admitted that he did. We both had promptings that we had foolishly ignored. But gratefully we finally listened. 


So, while my typically happy baby screamed in my arms, my husband laid his hands over her head and gave her a blessing. He asked for comfort. And peace. And soon I was crying along with my baby, but for much different reasons. As soon as he finished the blessing she whimpered a few times, relaxed in my arms, and went to sleep. It was so quick. 


We still don't know what was wrong, but I can't help but think that maybe she was trying to teach us the importance of listening to the promptings of the spirit. In 4 months she's taught us so much, and we look forward to many, many, many more years of lessons. 


How grateful I am for a husband that holds the priesthood. He has been such a wonderful father to our two girls. And I know they will turn to him for many blessings in the future. I'm grateful for a Father who gave me blessings growing up. And I'm really excited that my brother Eric, just received the Melchizedek Priesthood. It blesses people, it blesses lives, and it blesses me. Thank you Heavenly Father. 


Until Next Time....


Happy Blogging! 

Home. Sweet. Home.

Ok. So we've lived in our house for almost a month. And what a crazy month it's been! I haven't done this post for many reasons. Previously mentioned busy-ness (not to be confused with business) being at the top. But I didn't want to take pictures of my house till it was PERFECT. And then I realized, homes that are lived in are NOT perfect. So I did some dishes, laundry and made sure to only take pictures of the pretty set up areas, which means there are no pictures of the top half of my house....all in good time...


So, let me tell you a little bit about our home-buying experience. First off, I was NOT interested in buying a home this year. I was expecting a baby, had a crazy almost 2 year old, and the apartment seemed to be working just fine. But the home buying bug was biting Andrew. Hard. So, he used a technique that I have perfected over the years, which is to ask about the same thing over, and over, and over, and over, until you've convinced the other person. After a few months I agreed to talk to a Mortgage Lender. And I knew who I wanted to have for a Realtor. Almost everybody knows a Realtor right? But it's not often that your best friend is one. And that she is a DANG GOOD one. Kristin also happened to work for one of the largest Real Estate  Companies in Idaho. Silvercreek Realty Group. Funny Side Note, the owners of the company are friends of my parents. So we figured out just how small this world is. 


So, fast forward a few months. We'd been looking at houses, even made a few offers, only to be outbid 3 times. We were frustrated, and I was wanting to have my baby already! I had a labor scare, which ended in being sent home at 5cm dilated after 6 hours of admission. So I decided to keep my mind off things we needed to see some houses. We viewed a couple, and they were short sales, which I was afraid of. Let's just say they can be very hard to buy. So we looked at what ended up being our house. I wasn't too impressed. It needed some work. And a few walls removed. Which Andrew was SO excited about. He loves home improvement. I was scared. Regardless, we offered on 2 houses that we saw that day, hoping that maybe we'd get one. We put in the offers just 10 days before my due date. I thought this was a good plan, because then we'd forget about the offers. This was important because short sales can take up to 3 months to close! 3 months. Geez. 


So, over the next 2 months I got updates from my Realtor and Lender, some good, some bad. But all pointed in the direction that we were going to get the house. We offered on  2 houses at the same time, and one house ended up being taken off the market. So, that left us with what became our house. It was the largest, in the best location, a wonderful floor plan, and the best deal financially. I was told very early on in the process that I could NOT celebrate till I had keys in my hand. Because nothing is final, till, it's, well....final. On paper, signed. etc. So, after 2.5 months, on Sept 1st, we signed papers for our house. Knowing the road ahead would be crazy. On the 2nd we got keys, and on the 3rd, Labor day weekend, we started the long process of cleaning, demolition, remodeling, painting, and moving in. This process ended on the 15th, when we officially moved in and slept at our new house. The specs are: 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms, Bonus Room, 2 Car Garage and a LARGE patio. It's a little over 1600 square feet, which is almost double what our most recent and largest apartment was. 


We moved in with most of the painting and projects done, most of it. We were without carpet (due to a delay in shipping) for a few days. And I FINALLY got a decent speed of internet today. (Another reason why this post has been daunting). We are still unpacking boxes, decorating, and moving things around. We still need some furniture, to paint our bonus room (Boise State Baby!), to landscape the backyard (next year), and many other small projects. But here are some pictures of what we have done so far. We removed a half wall (that originally held a HUGE fish tank) and a closet (which sadly was the ONLY coat/linen closet in our house). Sorry about the fuzzy ones....


Before the Process:

During the Process:

After the LONG Process:

Our Entry way, with the newly added hooks (since we demolished the closet):

Our Kitchen and Dining Room:

So that's the bottom floor.  Minus the laundry room and bathroom, which I doubt you really care to see. So, our living room and dining room. Lived in. Not Perfect. I warned you! I still need to do some decorating and painting upstairs. And I'm currently decorating for Halloween/Fall outside....YAY for outside decorations! 


We are very happy with our home. I'm excited to spend lots of time making it better and better, when I can find the time! Andrew built some shelves in the garage for me, which are AWESOME, so we can now park both our cars in there, and store all of the hunting, fishing, camping, painting, and home improvement STUFF! Sometimes I still can't believe that things worked out the way they did. 


Well, I'm hoping to do a family post soon to catch you up on how Beth and Ami are doing. We are all getting used to a new home and routine.


Until I find time to update you about all the other fun stuff......


Happy Blogging!

I promise.....

You know how you make mental notes for yourself? Mine are kinda like sticky notes. That will literally stay there, bothering me, till I do whatever was written on said note, and take it down. It's rather annoying. But, a BIG sticky note I've had is to UPDATE THE BLOG. Not just write a few sentences, but REALLY update it. And I PROMISE I will. Someday. Soon. Eventually. 


My Nephew Jack keeps asking to come over to "Auntie's House".....and after 4 responses of "soon, maybe later, someday, and I'm not sure when" (all within 5 minutes)....Jana finally said "Eventually you can go over to Auntie's house Jack....Do you know what eventually means?" Now this kid is a GENIUS! So I wouldn't have been surprised if he had said "Yes, mother, it means......"....But with his handsome blue eyes he looked at my sister and said "What mommy?"....."Well Jack," Jana said "eventually means far far far in the future, or maybe never." I laughed at her. Of course he would come to my house. It's just a matter of having enough seating to transport him and timing. So, I can tell you, that eventually (I'm hoping SOON) I will update the blog. With pictures of our house, our family, and everything that's going on. Let's just say I've had A LOT going on and Heavenly Father thinks I need to learn patience. Memo received. 


Happy Blogging!!

It's been forever!!

So, It's been forever since I've posted. There has been A LOT going on. And after we move (in three days) and get settled (probably 3 months)....I'll give you a nice long recap about what has been going on in our life. Here's the gist:

-Our Girls are growing like crazy

-We're super busy packing, moving and cleaning

-We're EXHAUSTED!!


That's our life right now!! More to come in a few weeks!

The End is in Sight!

Hello!

It feels like it's been FOREVER since I've blogged. SO much has been going on. We've been very busy over the last few weeks, so I'll try and recap to catch you up. Sorry the pictures are blurry. I am using cell phone pictures since I don't have access to my computer.

We've been enjoying a fun summer as a family. Andrew finished his online class and we are enjoying a few weeks of down time before fall starts. This fall he will be taking 11 credits, working full time, and refereeing highschool and optimist football. Busy. Busy. Busy. So, when we have time as a family we try to make the most of it. At the end of July we celebrated Andrew's 24th birthday. Yep. That means I'm 2 weeks older than he is, and yes this is probably surprising as most people think Andrew is a few years older than 24. :-)

We decided to bless Amielia at the end of July, and we were happy to find out that LOTS of family would be in town that same weekend! We took up 7 long rows in our ward. We probably doubled our wards sacrament meeting. The blessing was amazing, and it was a lot of fun to see cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents! I got a cute picture of some of the kids. Beth, Linkoln, Alivia (all cousins and born within 8 weeks of eachother) and David, my cousin and our toddler entertainer! 

And this is my cousin Megan, she is amazing with the kids! My kids both love her!

Ami is getting bigger and bigger every day! She was 10lbs at about 6 weeks old. She is a happy baby most of the time. And she loves to smile!

The picture above is from her blessing day. My mom made a dress for her that was similar to mine. We blessed Beth in my dress, so, Beth and Ami's dresses will look alike. My mom did a wonderful job! 

Beth has been spending a lot of time at Dawnie's (my mom). She loves to go see Max and Annie. I took this picture a week or so ago, and had to share it. Max thinks that the right side of the couch is his. Not on the cushion. But on the back of the couch. So Beth had to copy him.

I think the most exciting news of this blog post is that after 4 months of looking, and rejected offers on 4 other houses, our offer was accepted on a house in Nampa! After 5 years of renting the end is in sight! The house is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, bonus room, 2 car finished garage, and almost 1600 square feet! Nothing is official until we have keys in our hands, but we are very hopeful. We have plans to replace carpet and repaint and I can't wait to start decorating our home. It exciting and overwhelming at the same time. This has been a crazy process, but we are so grateful for such a wonderful Realtor and friend! My best friend Kristin has kept us informed the whole way, and we couldn't have asked for anyone better to help us find our first home. 

We are going to have a busy couple of weeks, but we are very excited! I'm also happy to say that Jana and Jake will be moving back to Boise in a week or so! They found a sales opportunity up here and could not say no. So, I will have my sister by my side helping me decide on decoration for my house! AND, I'm going to be an Auntie again! Jackie and Eric are expecting their first baby, due on VALENTINE'S DAY! I've already named the baby "Baby Love"....there are lots of exciting things going on and I can't wait to tell you guys more! Hopefully I can post again in a few weeks! Till then....

Happy Blogging!

Playing Catch Up

Well...it's been a few weeks since I've done a real blog update. I have LOTS of pictures to show you, and really they do tell the story of the last few weeks quite well. Most of you prefer pictures to my ranting and raving right? So here you go!!

Beth's 2nd Birthday: We celebrated by going to see Rio in the theater. Beth did really well. It was a fun movie and we all enjoyed it!

After the movie we did some shopping and found Beth a cool new toy. It interacts with the TV and she can learn about numbers, colors, math, etc. She loves to play the "star" game!

We celebrated her birthday with my family a few weeks before her actual birthday. And we celebrated with Andrew's family a week or so after her birthday. She was very eager to blow out her candles, but I covered her mouth and made her wait till we were done singing. When I removed my hand she said "Hap Birday!"....

At 2 years old, Beth is 27lbs and 34in tall. She knows LOTS of words and phrases, but her favorites are:

"No Way"

"Word World" (or some variation)

"Baby it's O-Tay"

"Sorry" (which sounds like Sh-are-y)

"Picture"

and "Come here" (which sounds like mirror)

She is very smart and helpful. It's amazing how much she's grown and learned in just a few short months.

A few days later we celebrated the 4th of July. At this point I had run out of adrenaline. The long nights, and busy days were starting to wear me out. So when the 4th came along, I wasn't sure if I was up to going anywhere. Beth wasn't in a very good mood all day. But, we decided to go for it. After much deliberation we ended up down at the train depot. Beth enjoyed the fireworks, although she didn't enjoy how loud they were. She made Andrew hold his hand on her ear the entire show.

We celebrated my 24th birthday about a week later. We really didn't have much planned, but I told Andrew I wanted to go to Five Guys and get a good burger for lunch. It was delicious.

Speaking of eating healthy....i've started a new "program" I guess you can call it. I've named it the KC Incentive Program. The name is after my best friend Kristin. She came up with the genius idea of getting rewards for working out. So, when I work out for a certain amount of days, I earn a prize. My workouts can be various things, so I don't get sick of one thing. And I also have goals for weight loss. I'm very excited!!

The last few weeks have FLOWN by. Ami is almost 5 weeks old, and changing every day. When we went to the doctor for her 2 week appt (which due to the 4th, was closer to 3 weeks), she weighed 8lbs 7ounces, WOW! And was 21.5 inches tall. She had gained 20 ounces and 1 whole inch in only 1 WEEK! She continues to grow fast, and is now outgrowing most of her newborn clothes. I feel a little sad about it, but we have plenty of cute 3 month clothes, and we can't wait to see more of her personality come out. We finally caught a partial smile in a picture! She has the biggest smile, but I never have a camera handy for those.

 Beth tries really hard to be mom's helper, even though sometimes, she's not that helpful. She loves to wear an apron and try to help me cook. She also loves carrying her baby around in my front pack.

I'm re-learning how to balance my home responsibilities, now with 2 kids, but still only 2 hands and 1 husband. :-) Sometimes when Andrew gets home at night, I have no patience or energy left to even talk to him. Poor guy. There have been a few days and nights where I feel like everything is out of control. Luckily, I have great family and friends who I can turn to for help and advice. I have a few friends who recently have had babies, and I LOVE talking to them about frustrations and triumphs! I'm starting to feel like I can handle this crazy thing called life, and one day, eventually, I will have time for everything....maybe? :-). All in all, It's been a wonderful few weeks, and we feel very blessed!

I will probably be without a computer for another few weeks, but I'm sure my dedicated readers (eyeroll) will find other worthwhile things to do with their time till I can blog again. Right. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

Happy Blogging!