and now some pictures

My three crazy kids

He always has a messy face. (Poor third child)

Pensacola Beach 

First day of Grad school

First day of Kindergarten

First lost tooth 

Reading Bob books

Favorite family game

This girl gets lost in the makeup aisle 

 Every morning 

 Our first at home fondue attempt

 all 3 Sleeping!!

One of the many beautiful parks

 

It's a long drive (30 Hours)

Four Corners

This is Daniel after getting his hard cast. 

Noah meets Great Grandma Pretzel (Wilson) 

She always has a bowl of pretzels she shares with the kids so d calls her Grandma Pretzel. 

Megan treated us to a birthday Pedicure. 

I have the best, most beautiful sisters ever!

 The only Girl cousins 

Camping with Crazies

Playing with the Hills 

Again it's a long drive

Long time coming

Well it's been awhile. Change came and went and came again and well we are stronger for all of it. I'd love to go into more detail about the last 6 months but that would take so much time and honestly I doubt I have any readers at this point. So this is just for my purposes and keeping track of my life. So here is the last 6 months in a nutshell:

• Noah turned 1
• Davids job came to an end opening up new doors and opportunities. 
• Grandma Leslie came to visit and helped us transition to our new place
• We said goodbye to a house I will always love. We grew up in that house and learned to depend on one another. I have so many fond memories bottled up inside from that house we made our home. 
• We downsized and found a new less expensive place to live.
• It was a rocky start, it was a mess, so DIRTY, no dishwasher basically the exact opposite of our previous house BUT things are feeling more like home here. 
• We took our time to figure out what we wanted to do and took a much needed trip to Utah
• Within an hour of getting there D broke his leg
• We didn't have insurance
• We had just driven in the car for 31 hours.
• I was really mad. Really mad.
• We changed our whole trip to accommodate his broken leg and ended up staying for 3 weeks.
• It ended up being a blessing that he broke his leg in Utah because there were so many people to entertain him and lots of space to roam around. 
• We loved every minute we spent with family
• I got to visit my grandma in Idaho that I hadn't seen in over a year and introduce her to Noah
• We got to go real camping
• David helped work on his parents amazing new deck
• As much as we wanted to stay in Utah we knew New Orleans was still a place we needed to be
• Maggie turned 3
• David was accepted into UNO for their Masters in Acting and Film (his emphasis is acting)
• Everything fit into place perfectly to allow us to stay here and live comfortably while David attends school for the next 3 years.
• We made it through our 3rd New Orleans summer (it gets easier each year)
• Many of our closest friends here moved away to different parts of the U.S. It's been a rough transition. 
• I made it through 6 more months of sitting outnumbered in sacrament meeting. (Today they were good)
• David and Daniel started school together. So much fun taking the first day of school pics
• Daniel is in Kindergarten.
• DANIEL IS IN KINDERGARTEN!!!! This was a hard adjustment. Its full day here and honestly I love it now but it was really hard for the first few weeks. He grew up way to fast. It doesn't help that he already acts like a 10 year old. 
• He can read and write and do simple adding subtracting and multiplication thanks to his daddy
• His class is very mixed and he is making great friends
• I get to go and help in his class every Friday afternoon. It's so much fun.
• We started watching the cutest little baby, Atticus two days a week. My kids adore him and he is basically theirs. 
• Noah loves babies. 
• I've also been able to work for my dad from home  during nap time earning a little extra each month.
• We took a fun family day trip to Pensacola and enjoyed the beach
• We've enjoyed many days, nights in our new open backyard
• We live at the park
• We also live at the Bounce House
• Maggie is taking on the role of "older" sibling. She isn't nearly as helpful as Daniel but hopefully with time we can change that
• Maggie loves being able to pick a movie and have no one contradict her choice.
• Maggie loves all things girl, make up, shoes, clothes, and is a tomboy at heart
• Noah Is amazing. Everyday I thank God that he sent that amazing little man to our family
• Noah also started Nursery. No Bueno 
• I discovered just how amazing spray paint is
• The weather is PERFECT right now. 
• I now get cold when its below 70 degrees. 
• I was called to be the Activities day leader and its the best calling ever. I seriously love those girls. 
• Every day I try to write something nice about my children and everyday I go to bed thinking great things about them. Such a nice way to end even the hardest days.
• The Lord is blessing us every day 

I can look back on these last 6 months and see his hand in the way things have played out. While I wasn't always excited or happy about it at the time it really has been a positive Change for our family. I believe that this is a turning point for us, that years down the road we will look back on this time and see just how much God knew what we needed and when we needed it. Much like I now look back on the last 6 months. I am so grateful he is all knowing and I pray I can continue putting my faith and trust in him and his infinite knowledge. 
God is so Good.

Change

Change is upon us, a great Change. I don't like change. I never have and I doubt I ever will. We are at a crossroads and really don't know what direction to go or how to get to where we don't know. My one and only comfort is that God is all knowing and sees the beginning to the end. He is the one we have put in charge of guiding us through this journey. I only need the faith to follow his directions and believe he will lead us safely through this change.

Sundays

Sundays aren't always easy for me. In fact they are hard. Today one sweet sister stopped and asked what she could do to help me as I started unloading my kids. I could have done things on my own more quickly but a little voice said "let her serve you, let her help you." So I let her carry one of my bags and we walked in to Sacrament together. Then another sister came over to me after sacrament meeting and told what Joy and  happiness Maggie brought to her. I apologized to her for Maggie being a distraction (she is a stinker) and she said "no not at all, She made me so happy, I loved watching her and her freedom and joy, just think of what happiness she brought to other people today."

The Lord is teaching me. I'm a slow learner and its hard, SO VERY HARD. There is no easy button to push in life. This quote has brought me a lot of comfort :

It will work out. It always does.

Faith

I'm having a difficult time exercising faith. So I turned to the brethren for some inspiration. 


Elder Bednar came to visit our stake last year around this time. It was an amazing experience to hear his words and learn of Christ through him. He said something about faith that struck me. I tried to find a better word for word quote but couldn't. He said 

"Unlike the popular movie I believe that Moses and the Children of Israel had to step in the Red Sea and get there feet wet, maybe even there knees, before the sea was parted." 

Again that quote is paraphrased and not word for word but the general idea is there. I skimmed through this talk by Elder Bednar called Pray Always which is amazing as all of his talks are and found this quote:

"Remember, Nephi tried several different approaches before he was able to successfully obtain the plates of brass from Laban (see 1 Nephi 3–4). And he did not learn how to build a ship of curious workmanship all at one time; rather, he was shown by the Lord “from time to time after what manner [he] should work the timbers of the ship” (1 Nephi 18:1)."

Kind of the same concept of the Moses quote.
I also found this from Elder Packer The Edge of Light. This is taken out of a story that he is retelling,

"The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning." I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: "You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you." Then he quoted these eighteen words from the Book of Mormon: "Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I would love to be able to see just 2 steps in front of me. I'm afraid of the dark. I need more faith and I need to exercise that faith. I know that at the end of this month we will be taken care of because we always have been. Its just a waiting game to see what the Lord has in store for our family and for me. I know that he knows me I know that he knows the true desires of my heart and I know that he will bless me and even carry me through this trial if I just rely on him. 

First aid badge...

So I know that many moms have had to deal with cuts and breaks and hospital visits, but in my five years of experience I have avoided those for the most part. I honestly would look at bloody wounds and think "oh gosh please not my kid." So here is the story, David went to the temple this morning which just happens to be 1 1/2 hours away. We had Daniels birthday party planned for 3:30 so I was cleaning to get ready. I was just vacuuming the play area and set the kiddie chairs on top of their table so I could vacuum underneath it. I continued vacuuming and heard a loud cry. I turned around and Maggie was crying. I asked d what happened and he said she had climbed up on top of the table and sat on a chair and was trying to convince him to do the same when she fell backwards off the table. I was hugging her and realized she was bleeding  a lot like dripping down the back of her head. I think she hit her head on the edge of our toy shelf.  I called my cousin who luckily lives 20 mins away and she came and sat with d and Noah while I ran Maggie to the ER. While I was waiting for her I fed Noah and then did a frantic "I wasn't planning on anyone seeing this mess till 3:30" clean up. Then headed to the hospital that was recommended by the dr.  Maggie was a trooper. She broke down when Madi walked in the door and when we arrived at the hospital, she doesn't like shots, but really she was so brave. She ended up with two staples. I almost vomited. It made me so queasy when I looked at the cleaned up gash and still does when I see the staples sticking out of her hair.
Again I know that moms everywhere do this all the time, I'm not saying I'm amazing at all. I'm just really proud that I was able to stay calm and rational through the whole process and so proud of Maggie. I know I was blessed.  So I've earned my ER staples badge and hope that I don't have a repeat.

The Bishops Wife

Yep that's me. David was called and set apart as the bishop of our ward on Sunday. I have mixed emotions but I know he will do a great job. I know this will be a great growing opportunity for us and we will be blessed. I also know there are going to be hard times too. I feel at peace though and I'm excited for this new chapter in our New Orleans adventure.

Just a little

Blog Throw up in the form of Pictures:

 David and I were able to go to our first Saints game

 Great Grandma came to play for a week

 Noah enjoys his bath time

 We hosted Thanksgiving 

 little kids table before the feast

 Little kids table after the feast

 our spread

 David entertaining all the kids while the adults played a game

Everybody

We Love FaceTime

 Car racing

 Melting Pot/Saying good bye to great friends

 Official first mess

 Cute little faces

 1st letter to Santa

 Gold glitter shoes love

 Cottage cheese buns

 she does her own make up

 Happy 

 Saying good bye to a best friend

 super heros

 waiting in line to see these lights

More facetiming

Sick boy for Christmas 

 1st Christmas

We survived our first (and hopefully last) Christmas alone.

Tis the Season

To be Jolly FALALALALALALALALA!!!!
Well It's Christmas time and so much is happening. Its been far too long since I last updated and I don't want to overwhelm you but here is just a point by point update of our lives.

Noah 

• 7 months
• Has 3 almost 4 teeth
• Army Crawls all over the place
• Smiles from ear to ear
• Loves his blankie
• Loves his binkie
• Loves his older brother
• Isn't quite sure of his older sister (she's a firecracker)
• Has started giving wide open mouth kisses
• Genuinely happy
• At 6 months weighed in at 22.9 lbs and 28 inches long still off the charts

Maggie

• 2 1/2 years old
• Loves her new gold glitter shoes so much she sleeps in them
• Loves to wear my clothes (true story she cried because I wouldn't let her wear the shirt I had picked out for myself to wear.)
• Loves Jewelry
• Loves Makeup and loves to do her own
• Strong willed and spirited
• Starting to talk back
• Giggles at everything
• Is a super happy little girl even when she is in trouble
• Oh and her best friends are my friends

Daniel 

• 4 years and 11 months old
• Sweetest older brother in the world
• totally into Christmas
• Loved soccer but glad its over (he had a beastly coach)
• Wants a Bike for Christmas or a Skateboard and armor "cause you have to have armor with a skateboard" or Thor's Magic hammer, or a baseball glove or a drum set or a baseball shirt.
• Loves his siblings. 
• Is loving fighting with any weapon
• Loves his friends
• Loves playing games
• Still loves Dinosaurs

David

• Super handsome
• Elders Quorum Pres
• Super Busy
• Started a new improv group called Hug Life 
• Performing at Comedy Sportz
• Excited about new games for Christmas
• Best Spin instructor at The Parks Fitness 
• Grateful for an amazing job that supports his family

Me

• Tired 
• happy
• fitting into smaller pants
• getting a sense of style in a very small way (I love bright colored skinny jeans)
• Growing through daily trials
• Loving/enduring Motherhood
• Grateful for my blessings
• Sad to be spending Christmas away from family but excited for a new chance to start traditions as our own little family unit.
• Totally in Love with our little family unit

New Orleans is good for this little family of ours. We are learning and growing and stretching and gaining stronger testimonies and being tested and coming together and really enjoying each other. We are truly blessed and happy to have this experiences in our lives. 

Just a sneak peak at our family Pictures:

(The raw unedited ones that is)

Sinking

Lately I feel like I'm sinking underneath all the responsibilities that I have. My house sadly comes after everything. If you walked in you would be able to tell that at one glance. There is always a pile of unfolded clean laundry somewhere and more piles waiting to be put into the wash. The floor always has stuff on it. Stuff could be anything, toys, clothes, food droppings from my darling little ones, whatever "it" is, it's just stuff. I'd really like to cut back on the amount of stuff we have. I'd love to be a minimalist but I fall more a long the lines of pack rat/hoarder. The windows all have fingerprints or face prints on them. The walls are colored on and bare the remains of thrown food/drinks (which I've tried with no luck to remove). The kitchen counters are always cluttered and the dishes are waiting to be loaded in the dishwasher that is waiting to be unloaded. This is my life. I know that something needs to change. I know that I have this really great schedule hanging on my fridge and if I actually kept to it my house would look amazing. I have a problem sticking to schedules though. I'd much rather be out enjoying the sunshine at a park then scrubbing my kitchen floors or looking at the animals at the zoo then folding laundry. I've become lazy. I blame most of this on my lack of sleep. I can't remember the last time I slept all night, without having one of my children wake up or without me having to get up to pee (pregnancy). I honestly think its been over a year. I'm tired, exhausted most days and when I get a spare moment all I want to do is lay on the couch and do NOTHING. I also blame it on my priority list. My kids are just more important to me then this dirty old house. I love them and I love spending time with them and I can't do everything right now. So I choose them over everything else. Which I don't think is bad but I've got to get back to a more balanced life. I'm ranting and this probably makes no sense to anyone but I need to put it down. 

Big baby gets bigger

 Noah is 4 months old and let's just say he's big. Well off the charts actually. The Dr informed me he is the size of an average 8 month old baby. Oh and yes he does have teeth, 2 actually, to go with his large size. He is full of smiles that melt my heart. I sure do love my big baby boy. 

 

(He's actually 19lbs 7 ounces not .07)