a short tribute

Goodbye old house. Even though you are next to crazy people (I'll get into that sometime), we love you. We will miss you. You hold a lot of great memories for our little family, and you'll always have a special place in our hearts. It was hard to drive up to you the other day, where you still held all our stuff, and to see that big truck parked in front of you. It felt very real at that point, and that reality didn't feel good at that point in time. But we took our stuff out of you, and left you empty and (mostly) clean. And now you're someone else's. We hope he loves you and builds memories for himself and maybe his future little family. Take care of them as you did so well for us.

We love you.

For as long as it's still up, you can go and see the virtual tour of our sweet little house at this address: http://www.8132parkvistacircle.com/. Otherwise, here's a picture. This is the way it looked when we first fell in love with it.

And here's my favorite picture of the inside:

I'M TIRED

So the move is done - for now. The new house will be finished within 3 months, if all goes as planned (cross your fingers with me). We finished moving out and cleaning up around 1:45 am Friday morning, then fell into bed at the Curtises at about 2:15. Too bad our kids haven't figured out how to sleep in yet. 7:30 came at its usual time, and we were not too happy. BUT, we got through closing, came away with money in hand for the first time EVER when selling a house, and we're done. So our clothes and toys are here with us, while the rest of our stuff is being stored in the unfinished basement of WONDERFUL people in our ward. I owe so many people so much. They've all been so amazing. People called and offered help with the moving, with the kids, meals, help with singing time on Sunday, etc. We were overwhelmed. Everyone we asked for help was glad to do it. And the ones that came and offered without being asked just blew us away. It was truly a wonderful experience (as much as moving ever can me), and it helped me see what true service looks like. I feel like every hard thing in my life just prepares me to help people better when they go through their hard times. Heck, we all have 'em, so let's just all come together and share the burden. I guess that's the whole idea... I'm just now starting to understand it better.

So, we got settled. Had the "who cooks dinner which nights" discussion (yay! I don't have to cook every night!!! And Chad is the main cook at the Curtises, and he actually enjoys it and is GOOD at it. I am going to eat very well, and learn a few things in the process!!!). Were getting ready to go sleepy-bye, and we hear Leah calling out from her room/the office. We go check her out, and there's barf everywhere. Well, rush to the tub, quiet Bekah, change the blankets/pillow, get Leah back into bed, turn on the monitor just in case this happens again. Sure enough, 5:30, and she's yacking again. And on and off for the rest of the morning. Frank stayed with her while I took Bekah down with me to our bed and tried to get some more sleep for both of us. Bekah, I know you think you're cute, but NOTHING'S cute at 6:30 in the morning. Go to sleep! She kept patting my face and stuff. Finally she fell back to sleep for a tiny bit, and when I woke up again, she had a pair of Leah's shoes on, so who knows how long she'd been up. I absolutlely cannot believe I slept through any of that. Well, yeah I can. I was exhausted. Light sleeper or not, my body just took over. Sleep it is. Well, we all took naps this afternoon, Bekah and I for 4 hours (!). Oh, and Bekah threw up too before naptime, but it was just the one time.

Anyway, I'm holding up remarkably well, but my sub-conscious mind is more than likely storing up all bits of stress and upset and tiredness, and it will likely blow up eventually. Just be warned world. I love you, and I apologize in advance, but I will likely have some fragile days coming. Oh well, it'll be over soon. We'll settle into a new routine for our new temporary home, the kids will get better, Bekah won't be 2 forever (right?), and it'll be okay.

I will say, the kids have been sleeping together in the same bed - the Curtises pull-out bed from the couch - for the first time ever, and they're doing great! They have been going right to sleep at night, and there's been no fighting, or even talking after lights out. This is great, especially since we broke the crib in the move (sad!), and Bekah will be in a big girl bed once we get to the new house. This is a great way to get her used to it. I think she'll do just fine.

Okay, my brain is shutting down, and I am going to go see what I can do to clean up some vomit-crusted blankets, jammies, pillows, sheets, etc. I know, you wish you could trade me places. Well, it's a glamorous life, but someone has to live it.

Bekah's haircut

So I have to brag on myself. I was getting fed up with Rebekah's hair a while back, and decided to cut it. So I looked up some pictures of different styles that would look good on a little girl, and fell in love with the bob. So I studied said pictures a bit, and WENT FOR IT! And I am really proud of how it turned out. It needs to be trimmed a bit so it can be left down for the cute a-line thing, but here's how it looks right now pulled up a bit (besides, the bangs don't get as much food in them when they're pulled up...).

Ooh, I LOVE that kid!!! (And we gotta get rid of that thumb...)

Easter eggs! and "Mom, there's a bug on that one"

So, this will highlight the difference between my 2 daughters, Leah (4) and Rebekah (2). At the church Easter egg hunt on Saturday, Bekah jumped right in and found about 15 eggs, including ones in the middle of bushes. Leah took her time, and each one she picked up had to be brushed free of dirt before she put it in her basket. I pointed one out to her, as all you parents know how to do, and she refused that one because it had a bug on it. Yeah, I didn't see it happen, but imagine that Bekah was somewhere in the bushes EATING the bugs. Anyway, Leah did end up getting 9 eggs, and she was very happy with that. Mind you, there were eggs EVERYWHERE, and they were limited to 20 apiece...



The same thing happened with their first birthday cakes. Bekah finally cried when she got the frosting in her eyes, while Leah picked at the frosting on the edge until I went and got her a fork to feed her with.



It's so interesting to see how they can be SOOOO different, even when they look so alike. I do have people ask me in the store all the time if they're twins. We don't think they look that much alike, but then we're around them all the time. So, here are a couple of my favorite "twins" photos.


Leah

Bekah

Oh, before I forget...

I need to write this down before I forget it. The other day, Leah was saying her bedtime prayer, and she said, "Please bless that the food mommy makes won't ever be yucky."

I mean, I TRIED not to laugh... And Leah's still not too great at keeping eyes closed, so she totally saw me smirk and try to bite my toungue... off. So I was busted. And you know when a kid gets a laugh out of you... So I'm just imagining more prayers about my cooking. Now mind you, it's all pleasing (or at very least acceptable) to the adult palate, but Leah's a bit of a picky eater.

So here's a picture of Leah so you can put a face to such lovely sentiment.

Things I'm learning about myself

We are in the process of moving. We sold our house about a month ago, and decided on the house we're building a week ago. So, we're going to be staying with friends (hopefully they'll continue to call us that when this is all said and done) for 3 months - thank you Chad and Linda for opening your home!

Anyway, we had to pack up a bunch of stuff and "depersonalize our home" before we listed it. That meant clearing out all pictures of family and Jesus and the likes, so when someone came to see the house, they would imagine their family pictures on the wall, not get caught up in, "what an absolutely amazingly gorgeous family!!!" and the likes. So, I went about changing out all personal decor, and everything I replaced it with had something to do with nature. It wasn't really intentional either. I put up a bunch of pictures I'd taken of things that I found to be beautiful. I placed more flowers around. As I looked around the new version of our decor, I realized that finding beauty in this world has always been very important to me. I have lots of pictures of things outside that I think are amazing. I would love to take a photography course and learn how to truly make the pictures as beautiful as what I see. So I'm going to dig up some of my favorite pictures and post them. Some are ones I've taken, others are ones I've found that I think are amazing. (It'll be pretty easy to tell which is which.)

But it just drew my attention to the fact that I think this world is full of so much beauty. I have always LOVED sunsets. I would probably enjoy sunrises as well, but that part of the day never seems quite as lovely to me unless I'm tucked in bed and still dreaming. Some of my favorite places are snow-covered Timpanogos, esp early evening when the sun is beginning to set and it casts a pink glow on the snow. I love driving through winding roads in the middle of the fall. My two favorite places to drive are the Alpine Loop in Utah, and on I-77 up to Blacksburg, VA. There is this one section of the drive up to VA where you're basically driving on the side of the mountain, and to your right, it opens to the most glorious panoramic vistas you'll ever want to see. And in fall... oh my goodness. Frank's always driven on that stretch of the trip, so I've been able to just allow myself to be mesmerized. I would definitely be a road hazard if I were to drive it. It just about takes my breath away. I'll find a picture of that too. Oh yeah, after some searching, I remembered it's called Fancy Gap. It sure is fancy.

Actually, none of the pictures I like that I've taken are on my computer - and the ones I do have can't hold a candle to these, so I'll post more once I've had a photography class or two... Just kidding. It's all about the process.

I think retirement bliss for me will include traveling around with an expensive camera all over the world, off the beaten path, trying to capture the beautiful things around me. And hanging out with Frank along the way - what could be better?

Take one...

I've just finished reading several family members' blogs, and, in true lemming form, I am running headlong off that same cliff. Hope there's down comforters at the bottom. Or at least chocolate. Or maybe just the rest of my family, and we can just hang out and eat said chocolate... Okay, sounds pretty good... And... jump!

Wow, it's not quite what I expected... Huh. Interesting. Kinda full of boxes and laundry. Wait a second, this is my house. What am I doing back here? I thought this was supposed to be an escape. OH... in my MIND. OH!

...

Well, the pressing sounds of kids finishing tuna sandwiches (and the knowledge that tuna will only last them so long...), the pressing sights of aforementioned boxes and laundry (in process of moving - more about that later), the pressing to-do list screaming at my conscious and sub-conscious beings (yeah, I'm stressed even when I'm NOT thinking about it)... These are things from which I am trying to escape. If only for a few moments.

And other than escaping, I'm hoping to learn more about myself through this process. I think more when I'm writing. It helps me process things. It helps me connect to my inner self. Also, the leaders of our church have been encouraging me (well, all of us) to keep a journal for as long as I can remember. And I think this might be a more effective way for me to do that. After all, my one-third filled journal I got when I was 5, the journal from my mission, and a handful of printed-out emails from me (after I wrote the email, I thought, "Man, I should remember those things...") aren't quite up to par as far as I'm concerned. But that's a malady I'm trying to overcome - both by doing something about it, and by not troubling myself so much about the many perceived sub-pars of my life.

So, profound it may NOT be. Funny at times, whiny at others, random stream of consiousness with no clear sense of direction at most times it WILL be. So, welcome to the inner workings of my mind - I know, it's kinda cluttered in here. Well, hopefully I'll be able to do some spring cleaning in the process... Enjoy your stay.