Temple in strange place

I was looking at the AOL news ticker that they have and one of the pictures they have was of one of the LDS temples. Now seeing our temple that has anything to do with AOL is strange to me but then the heading of the article didn't seem to fit "Ten great cities for salary growth". I clicked on it and then the picture made a little more sense. Check it out. http://jobs.aol.com/article/_a/10-great-cities-for-salary-growth/20081218103409990001?ncid=AOLCOMMjobsDYNLprim0001

Happy Halloween

All six pumpkins. Again our Daddy is the greatest. He even took requests of what we wanted.

Here's all three witches and their little dragon. You can't have a witch with out a dragon.

Ben being the best Daddy carving all six pumpkins this year. The girls love to get all messy. We may have some pumpkins growing next year due to the amount of seeds that were on the ground even after we picked up.

Azlie being the cutest dragon ever. Notice the pink headband just so people knew she was a girl.

Cecilia the silly witch. Yes she's pulling another face. Just one picture without a silly face is all I want.

Aubrey the sweet witch.

Alex the good (because I am getting candy) witch.

Our trip from Wyoming to Iowa 10-6-08 thru 10-11-08

Azlie not getting into trouble but trying to figure out a way.

Ben taking some time to relax. It was much needed.

Ben cooking dinner.

Cecilia called dibs on the top bunk along with Aubrey.

Bottom bunk was Alex's this night. Relaxing while watching a movie.

So I have posted about this trip before but here are some of the pictures of our trip. We stayed at KOA's for the first four days of our trip and then on the last one we stayed at a hotel. We really liked being in the little cabins that they had. The first three nights we stayed in cabins that had one full bed and a bunk bed. As you can see it was just a foam mattress but since we were planning on camping in a tent we really didn't care. Plus with all the moving hastle we didn't care where we slept just as long as we were sleeping. On our fourth night we up graded to a cabin that had a bathroom. I have a picture of how small it was but it was in use at the time and I didn't think any of you or Ben would want that published.

We had a lot of fun during this trip and I would have to say that we are really grateful for going through every thing we did. It has made our lives so much better and I feel as though we were able to focus on what was really important. I told Ben that I have never been prayed into an area which is how I feel about being here. There is so much work to be done here with the gospel and we are so grateful to be living near family. And I must say that I am still jazzed when I get to go to walmart. It's the small things that get me through the week. We are planning on staying here and even though I know we have been "drifters" I really feel as though we could be happy here for a long time to come. I look forward to buying a house here and making it our own. That is a ways off but still we are excited. Something else that the Lord has been teaching us is to have patience. Normally we get into an area and buy a house in the first two months. Well we have been waiting for almost a year now to buy a house and live in it. We still have our house in Roy but we don't get to enjoy it. I saw a picture of the front of it the other day and it made me so sad because I still love that house so much. Oh well now I get to find a new house that I love even more.

I'm random, but you love me!

Mid-late October. Old Nauvoo waiting for a cookie. Aubrey, Cecilia, Jackson (cousin), Alex

10/8/08 maybe 10/9/08 Winter quarters. If we were pioneers back in the day our whole family would have to sleep on this bunk if we were coming across the seas. I've seen the way my kids sleep and I would pass. I am so glad that I was born in this time.

10/3/08 Alex 5th birthday with Miss Lucky. This is an all time favorite present.

10/3/08 Aubrey 5th birthday with here puppy. I feel so bad the girls didn't get a birthday cake this year because we were moving three days later and we just didn't have to time to do their birthday right. Let's hope they don't remember that when they get older.

Martin's cove 10/7/08. We stopped at church history places on the move to Iowa. I was in awe of what the pioneers did. It was sooooooo windy that day and cold but so worth seeing where the saints made history for my family.

Azlie around 4 1/2 months. This is her where's Waldo look . She's the cutes Waldo I have ever seen.

On a side note, those of you who know me best know that lime green is my favorite color. There are many reasons but the one I like the best is that there's no way that you can look at lime green and be depressed. It's just a happy color in my book. When I was switching from the Christmas background to something new I saw this and just had to have it. We actually painted our bathroom in Washington pretty close to this shade of green. I love that Ben let me do that. Anyhow we called it "The Happy Crapper" for the reason you couldn't be sad while doing your business. Just thought you would all like to know the random thoughts in my head.

Christmas Sunday

Aubrey knows how to shine.

Daddy and Azlie both looking so cute.

Cecilia our little show girl. In almost every photo she's pulling a face or doing something silly.

Alex and her sock monkey that she loves. She's so sweet.

So today was Christmas Sunday and I have to say that it's one of my favorite Sundays of the year. The girls got new dresses thanks to Grandma Sharron and they all got to pick them out except Azlie (daddy picked hers). Ben and I have decided that it cost SOOOOO much money to outfit girls for anything. But look how cute and beautiful they look when they are all clean and dressed up.

Church today was a new experience for us. I got a call while we were getting ready from one of my counselors asking if I was going to church today. Now I found this call a little funny because we didn't get snow or an ice storm last night. I told her yes we were going and I had planned this really great sharing time for primary. After I told her we were still going she told me she didn't think many people were going to show up since it was so cold and the roads were icy. Ben and I found it strange that church would be cancelled because of it being cold. We continued to get ready and headed out for church. When we got on the main roads they were fine and we joked about it. When we got to Church that was a different matter. Our branch parking lot was about an inch to two inches of solid ice. Now after my fall I had on the ice when we first moved to Wyoming I am scared of walking on ice. We made it into the building but poor Cecilia fell four times in the 30 seconds of getting out of the car and then another three times while holding my hand.

We got into church and got the primary room all set up and ready to go and then someone in our branch comes in and tells us that we are going to have a short sacrament meeting and then we are going to call it good for the day. I was so sad. Having sacrament meeting was still really great and I love how strong the spirit is in our branch. We actually had a really good show of primary kids. Church for next week is going to be the same since we are expecting bad weather this coming week. Here in Iowa they only plow the main roads and even those aren't done very well. We have been grateful for buying Bobbert the Mammoth because he handles so well in the snow and ice.

Santa is planning to come on Christmas eve for our house since Ben has to work all day on Christmas day. Our girls have been counting down the days all month. They are all at such a cute age. Now that I have down loaded some pictures I plan on doing some back blogging that I promised.

Congrats to Kilts and Kimchee

A very important person in my history that I wrote about before wanting to adopt a child was picked by a birth mother. They should be getting their baby in March some time and it is a baby boy. I am so excited for them because they have so much love to give and such a strong home to raise a child in. Welcome to the endless nights of worrying about if you are doing it right guys. I just love that Heavenly Father is blessing these two and I just wanted to share their good news with everyone.

Currently Gas is $1.68

Finally

Before we moved to Iowa our computer cord died. Then we found one at Walmart and the computer got knocked over and the new cord broke again. Well today we went and got the part that we needed to start using it again. I have been checking stuff on Ben's phone which is good to have but not the same as a computer. Having to type emails using your thumbs is just no fun. I am back and will be responding to all the emails and such in the next couple of days.

Life stuff

Nothing really exciting has happened here. We are still loving it here and how our family has seemed to become closer. I do have a couple of updates. We were able to vote here since you can register the day of election at the polls. We were sad to see the out come but knew we did what we could. Also we needed to get gas in our Excursion, so right after we voted we filled up. Gas was 2.04/gallon. Then later that day we went to run some errands and at the same gas station gas was 1.99/ gallon. No joke! We were bummed that the changed didn't happen before we got gas but all the same we are still way excited.

Isn't that sad when gas prices make our day exciting. I miss everyone like crazy. It's strange that all the sudden I am missing all my friends. I have some exciting news that I can't tell just yet. And NO I am not pregnant nor will I be anytime soon. Ben is working hard as always to make sure that we have food to eat and money to pay the bills. Aren't husbands great. I just wanted to let you all know how much we are paying for gas. Hope your prices drop soon.

The Price to Live in Iowa

Being here in Iowa is great. We love the area and the opportunities that we have before us here. I just wanted to let you all know what my sweet sister-in-law already knows and that is Gas prices here are 2.18/gallon. Now I know I posted when we got our Excursion about how much it took to fill the tank. I am glad to say that it now takes less than $100 to fill it up. Ben said that he would cry if the gas went under $2.00/gallon. I told him I wouldn't cry I would jump for joy.

On a side note it's great living in the country and still have stores and large towns around. Now I know that for most standards that the towns around here aren't large but to us they are. The largest town near where we did in Wyoming was about 1500 people. Here we have towns that have 15000.

Ben is loving his job! We were laying in bed the other night and he says to me "Don't be offended but I love going to work". I told him I wouldn't of been if he hadn't of started that sentence the way he did. He says that working with the troubled youth is like therapy for him. Now I don't care how great your parents are or how lovely your life has been we could all use a little therapy to help deal with life.

We are grateful to be here and can see the Lords hand in the blessings that we have received. Our girls love it here, we love it here, and I feel like we have grown closer as a family. We are really lucky that Jared Ben's brother ( and by Jared I mean Melissa) thought to call and offer Ben this job. Thanks again you guys!

Sweet girls

So yesterday was Ben worked his first 24 hour shift at work which went okay for all of us all around. He had told the girls in the morning that he wasn't going to be home till the next morning and they took it well since they are use to having him going on trips for work.

The sweetness set in when I was driving home from the library and Aubrey all the sudden was really serious. I asked her what as wrong to which she responded,"Mom I have some really bad new". Here I am thinking that she's done something naughty when she then tells me the bad news. "Mom, Daddy won't be coming home tonight because he has to stay at work and help those kids who are having a hard time." I told her that was really bad news.

Then around bed time Alex comes up to me and asks "Mommy who is going to sleep with you tonight". I told her that it was okay I would sleep alone and she then said, "But mom won't you be scared sleeping alone?" I didn't end up sleeping alone anyway. Aubrey was the first to come out and get into bed with me and then an hour or so later Alex came out and slept on the floor.

It's good that I always have someone taking care of me.

Our new adventure

This is the first time that I have been able to get to a real computer in a while. For those of you who don't know we are moving to Keokuk, Iowa. Ben will be working for a troubled youth school. We were planning on Ben going into the military but his brother offered him a job working for him and it just felt right. With this opportunity we will be totally out of debt in 6-8 months which we are totally excited about. Ben will be working from 7a.m. to 11p.m. three days a week and then have four days off.

Being in the city right now is a little overwhelming. Driving in it is even worse. I guess I didn't realize how much I got use to living in the country where there is no traffic and no stop lights. I just hope where we are going is more country than city. I do know that there is a super walmart near by so that is good.

We are actually in Des Monies, Iowa right now and have a couple of hours left tomorrow till we are to our new home. I have to say that the Lord has yet again blessed us with this opportunity. This last week while traveling I haven't had any problems with my anxiety which in it's self is a huge blessing. I will post the pictures of our trip here and our new area when I find the cord to the camera and buy a new power cord for the computer.

Also we went to Martins cove which was so great and then today we stopped at Winter Quarters. Both places had such a strong spirit.

We are moving again

We have decided that it's time for a job change for Ben so we will be moving again. And since we will be living with his mom for a while we will also be again after that. We are really excited about the choices we have made for our family and are looking forward to the future. With any luck in a couple of years we might even be able to move back into our house in Roy. We are greatful to our family and friends who have supported us and been there for us when we needed love. I will post more plans as they come up. Right now we will be moving on Monday October 6th. We will be in Roy for a short time while taking care of some things at our house there. After that we will be on our way to St. George or rather Hurricane. I still love small town life but living down there I will get that and also have stores around us.

Life's good

So I haven't posted in a while and not too much has happened. The girls started preschool here. I wish they were in kindergarten since I don't think they are getting much out of preschool. It is nice to have the small break during the day. I get to spend some time reading in a quiet house since that's when Azlie and Cecilia go down for nap.

The weather here I think has finally turned cold. I am looking forward to it but then I know winter is coming right behind and that's what I am not looking forward to. That means that the parks and yard will be under feet of snow and the kids can't have that outlet.

We are really loving our ward and are still waiting for a calling. I do think one is coming, our bishop asked Ben on Sunday when a good time to come and see us would be. People here are nice and besides getting use to the way that people are I can't complain. Ben and I are use to being in new wards so the transition is going well. I guess that's a blessing from the Lord.

Oh Azlie got her first tooth and you can see where there are others coming in. She still doesn't like to be on her tummy or on her back but she loves to sit up and is teaching herself how to scoot around sitting up. It's really cute. I am going to have to get her on video doing it.

Cecilia is still pushing her limits and wants to be like her big sisters. She talks non stop and has started to ask MANY questions. Oh lucky day for me. Questions is all I get all day long from everyone. At least they want to learn.

Ben's still working hard for our family. He was going fishing every week but hasn't been for the last little while due to Bracitisis and a staph infection in his elbow. We have no idea how he got it but when it set in it really started to create problems for him. I am guessing he'll be out fishing soon enough since he's almost back to normal.

I know we are boring but if any of you want to come and visit so that I have more to talk about that will be fantastic.

Adoption Blog

A friend of mine wants to have kids but has had problems conceiving. They have have and adoption blog and they have asked that people pass that on in hopes that maybe they will be able to find someone who is in need of giving up their baby. I don't know if that's the right way to put that. They are really great people and I know that they both will make great parents if given the chance. They are more than able to be able to provide for any baby. Here is the link to their adoption blog. If you would please post it on your blog to help get the word out a little more. I think we all know how great it is to have kids and shouldn't we help those that can't out as much as possible. Thanks for the time. http://chadandlinder.blogspot.com/

Braggin on the hubby

Last night I went to go and get my hair cut because I was in need of a new style. While talking to my hair dresser I was reminded of how great a husband I really have. Ben is like no other man I have ever known. I get breakfast in bed at least once a week. He gets up with the kids every morning and helps them start their days. He does diapers and will get up and get the babies when they need me or need something else. He takes the kids away whenever he can so that I can have sometime to myself. He does laundry and cleaning. He also has a gentle way to him when it comes to our daughters. I am so glad that he is their dad and that he loves them so dang much. He always works hard to provide for our family and has had really suckie jobs in order to do that. He is a hard worker (sometimes I wish he could slack but he just can't) and I have never seen anyone before with his dedication to work. He does the grocery shopping and takes 3 our of the 4 kids with him. He supports me when I want to do something. He will take money out of the bank for me to go to yard sales with as a surprise. He takes the girls fishing with him.

I could go on for hours about all the things he does for me. I love that Ben makes me smile everyday and that his kisses still make me go weak in the knees. We have been married for 6 years now and it doesn't feel like that long in some ways and in others it feels like he has been with me all of my life. The Lord was so kind to me when he gave me such an amazing man to be with forever. Life with Ben is a amazing adventure and he is so understanding of my weaknesses and has a way to help me be able to improve and become stronger. I can't wait to have a son so he can look to his father and learn how to treat a woman and be a great man. I am also glad that our girls have such a great example of the type of man they should have in their life.

I am still as excited today as I was the day we got married to spend eternity with him. I wish that every one could have a husband as great as mine. I also hope that you all feel the same way about your hubbies.

We cought the summer reading bug~

This summer our local library had a reading program that the all the girls enjoyed being apart of. Every week they had to read for at least a half hour a day for 5 days out of the week. If they read then their names were entered into a drawing where at the Bug Ball they won prizes. Aubrey and Cecilia both won the big prizes but then all the girls won other little things.

The kids were encouraged to dress like bugs for the Bug Ball. I just made them butterfly wings with poster board. I thought that there would be lots of other kids dressed up but there was only two other kids dressed up. I was quite pleased at how their wings ended up. I cut them out and then in the morning they got to decorate them any way they wanted to.

It was really great for them and for me since going to the library at least once a week was great to get us out of the house. I can't wait till the next reading program starts. The girls do think that every time the go to the library that they should get rewards. I have to keep explaining that there isn't a program going on right now. Here are some pictures of the Bug Ball. Oh and every week there was a mid week activities. Really the library system here in our valley is great.

Of course the parks people had to have a sprinkler on. I figured that having a wet kid wasn't so bad. Aubrey and her little boyfriend could care less about the prizes that were being given out.
Cecilia looking cute as always. I wasn't able to get a picture of her with her wings on.

Aubrey the butterfly.

Azlie dressed as the flower patch that the butterflies come to visit.

Alex the butterfly

It snowed on 9/1/08

Across the street.

The canyon still has snow today.

This was after 20 minutes of snow

Bobbert the Mammoth

Here's our new car. I love it. It's so nice to have and as my friend Jenn told me it's the largest on the road. Even bigger than a hummer or a suburban. It has a 40 gallon tank so we need to take a small loan when ever we need to fill the tank. The girls love it also. Ben takes it when he's goin around town because he says it's more manly than the van. He normally gets a talking to about that since the van gets better gas mileage than Bobbert. We did get a screaming deal on it. We bought it for less than half of what it blue books for. It's a 2000 Ford Excursion and only has 34000 miles on it. Also it's very kid friendly since it has rubber on the floor instead of carpet so if the kids were to get sick or spill somthing we could just take the seats out and hose it down. As always the Lord has really blessed us. Living in the area we do you need to have some sort of heavy duty car. We've got ours and LOVE, LOVE it.

Oh and to Britt and Meg it's so cute to hear the girls call it Bobbert. It just makes a mom proud.

Call Me Cheap

I was surfing around this morning and went to the piperlime online shoe store to see what they had (not that I was going to buy anything I just like to look). Anyhow I don't understand how people can pay so much for a pair of shoes. Even with the sale price almost every single one was priced at an outrageous price and to top that off most are too ugly to wear. I tried to cut and copy some of the shoes to show all of you but it wouldn't let me so if you would like to see the reason for my outrage go to www.piperlime.com . Maybe I am wrong but paying 100+ dollars for shoes that are on sale just doesn't seem right.

Everything under one roof!

So we are all moved in and have all of our stuff in one place which is great. Now the unpacking is to the hard part. Really what's left to unpack is going to take a while since I have to go through everything. By the time I am done there won't be one box that hasn't been touched in some way. I do have to go through all of the girls cloths because we have way to many and they are in new living arrangement. Alex and Azlie share a room and Cecilia and Aubrey share a room. It's working our really well for everyone. Cecilia really seems to like sharing a room and since Aubrey is such a big helper it has made the transition go smooth.

We went to our new ward yesterday and everyone was really nice to us. Aubrey met a little girl in her class named Grace. It was sort of cute because she told me "Her name is Grace and she has brown skin and she's my new best friend." I think we are going to have to start some play dates. Alex also found a new friend who as she said "she has yellow hair just like me." It's funny that when Alex is looking for friends she tries to find friends that have the same hair color as her. Poor girl is the only blond in the family so far. With being the only blond and also having her milk allergy I think she feels like an outsider sometimes. She was really hoping that Cecilia or Azlie would have the same hair color as her and each time was a little disappointed when they didn't.

We are all very happy. The girls love to go and play in the yard and are actually out there more than they are inside. That's good for Ben and I for more than one reason. First they get their energy out and when it's bed time they just crash. Second I don't have to hear as many fights and they seem to be getting along much better. We feel truly blessed to be where we are. I am in need of taking some new pictures of the breath taking views that are just out side our doors. That alone really makes me love this house. We have space and views, life is good!

There is Beauty all around

I looked up the other day and saw this huge cloud. It was amazing it looked like the cloud had it's own shadow above it. There really isn't a day that goes by that I am not blown away with the beauty that surrounds me. It was so big that I couldn't come close to getting it all in. That and it was right over head. I am so blessed.

Our Prayers have been answered

I would like to thank everyone for their prayers the last little while for our family. Monday has been the hardest day of all but the best one also. We were trying to figure out what we were going to be doing about the house in Roy since we didn't have money to pay this months payments. I called and talked to one mortgage company and while they were very helpful I still broke down crying on the phone and the crying didn't stop for a long time after that.

From talking to Ben and our real estate agent the mortgage company the only choice that I could come up with that made sense of all of this was for me to take the girls and go back to Utah. I actually had just accepted the fact that's what was going to happen. Both Ben and I didn't want to do it but it didn't make sense for us to start missing payments when we could just move back. But on the flip side of that I couldn't imagine that was the Lord's will for us.

While in the middle of my break down Ben called me back and told me that our land management company just called and said that there was someone that wanted to rent the house and they were going to be moving in on Friday. This made the tears flow even heavier and I had a reconfirmation that the Lord is in all things and is well awhere of us during our trials. I was really feeling like I couldn't take any more and then He was there to answer our prayers. I really can't do justice to the experience that I had but I am grateful.

Branching out

So for all of you "Twiliters", just in case you are looking to read something else I have found an author that I really like. Her name is Michele Ashman Bell. I have read one of her books already and am well into a second one with the third on deck. The first book I read was "Without a Flaw" and I am now reading "Perfect Timing". The reason why I love her books so much is that she does a great job including the gospel in her books. While reading you are being spiritually up lifted. Ben keeps on saying that he's going to take my library card away because I get so focused on what I am reading. Poor guy feels neglected. But at least I am doing something at home. When he wants to do something for himself he goes fishing. I don't have shopping any more and all my quilting stuff is in storage. What else is there for me to do? There is only so much cleaning a person can do.

Anyhow back to the point after "Breaking Dawn" comes out it might be nice to branch out to other books.

Random pictures

They have learned to work together. We are in trouble!

I love thumb suckers. She is starting to learn that she can self sooth.

Why do boys think this is so funny. Silly husband.

I got this pool at a yard sale for 5 bucks. I was so glad I found it so the kids could play. On a side note since we get our water from a well it comes out at the temp of ice water. When ever we fill the pool the girls lips turn purple. But the are young and don't care.

Family is Wonderful!

the sisters

the brothers, I still think my husband is the cutest.

our family, aren't we so cute.

lool at those tired eyes

We've been back from our vacation for a while but I am always so frustrated with how slow our Internet is that I haven't wanted to get on the last little while.

Anyhow we had such a fun time and it was really great for our kids to play with their cousins. The older ones were such a blessing because they would take over and we wouldn't have to worry so much about keeping a close eye on them. Alex buddied up with the oldest boy cousin Bubba (not his given name just family nickname) and every where he went she wanted to be. Aubrey buddied up with his sister Hanna. Cecilia just drifted but Carrie and Robin the oldest girls took good care of her. Cecilia was so tired during our trip that she would grab her Lulu and silky and would lay down where ever she was. We found her in interesting spots. On the picnic table, under the table, on the sidewalk. I felt bad for her but Ben's family was on the move this reunion.

Jackson's eye has healed great and his mother says that you can hardly tell that there was an injury, but we are still being careful when it comes to sticks. I will say that I really miss all of my sister in-laws. We took a small shopping trip and it was so much fun to have someone to be with and talk to. That is one thing I really miss about not living around family, not having girl time. On our shopping trip we did find a great little quilt shop and since Ben won't let me start any projects till I finish the one's that I have started I have been regenerated on getting them done.

We also found out on our trip that Aubrey is a total city girl. Ever since we have moved here she will bring up every so often that she misses our house in Roy. I totally agree with her but when we stopped by on our way down to the reunion she started saying that she missed being around things. Then when we got to the reunion the closer we got to Bryce Canyon the more she complained. The day that was set aside for us to hike she refused to go. She kept on demanding to go back to our cabin (which was a war she lost). When we got back home Ben asked if the girls wanted to go fishing with him (what a good daddy), Aubrey said she didn't want to go because she doesn't like the woods she liked shopping. I couldn't help but laugh.

I have to say that being married to Ben is so awesome. He is a great man who works so hard for our family but also his family is a blessing to my life also. They all just ban together.

Why you don't run with sticks

So we are at our family reunion which is so far not that bad. When everyone got here it started to down pour and so we unloaded everything and then went to the town park to eat and visit. One huge problem it was still raining so everyone (especially the kids) got wet.

All the 25 kids were running around playing, and there was bound to be some bumps and bruses along the way. Well those bumps and bruses got pretty serious when Jackson our 3 yr old nephew was running and bumped into another nephew who was running with a stick. When the two of them hit the stick went into Jackson's eye and a piece broke off in the white part of his eye.

As a kid your parents always tell you not to run with sticks and I always thought my mom was being over protective and as a mom myself I have told my kids the same things. Knowing the possibilites but not really thinking anything would happen. Now I have seen first had what can happen you better believe that my kids won't be playing with sticks. Yeah I know I am over protective but I don't want to have my kids flown to Primary Children Hospital because they need to see a specialist to get the stick out.

I do have to say on a personal note that I am super glad that I married Ben. Melissa our sister in-law was here by herself and her husband Jared was coming up later tonight. Anywho I am glad that I married Ben because he was so great to go get his oil to give Jackson a blessing and aslo he went with Melissa to drive to the hospital and to help out in anyway that he can. He's so great when something comes up like this to be there as the solid rock. I feel horrible for Jackson and for his parents. It's just the worst when your child get's hurt and there's nothing you can do about it.

I am hoping that is the worst thing that happenes during this reunion and that the rest goes very smoothly. I will post pictures when we get back of all our fun.

Leaving on Vacation

So we are taking off tomorrow to go to Ben's family reunion this weekend. We are super excited to go. I have been baking tons of cookies for it so that Alex will be able to have them when everyone else does. We are planning some hiking and relaxing. I plan on doing more of the latter.

Just to update on the whole house situation. We decided to walk away from the house we wanted and have lined up to rent another house that is bigger and better for our family. We will be in a different ward and even a different stake even though it's only 20 minutes from where we are. I am sad and excited to be in a different ward. We have met some really great people in our ward we are in now. They have shown us so much love and support.

I was also thinking that we were off the hook for giving a talk in this ward since we're going to be moving soon but our bishop called today and asked us to speak on the 20th. I thought we dodged that bullet. Oh well we aren't the type of people to say no. I was sort of hoping that we could start going to our new ward so we could start to get to know people there. Maybe we will get callings in our new ward. Our bishop in our ward we are in now said that he wanted to give us callings but the callings that we would of gotten would of required us to be around for a while. He mention primary and Sunday school teacher. I know the primary calling would of been for me since I have been serving in the primary since I graduated from high school. I love singing time and getting to know the kids but I would like to spread my wings in other areas. Maybe it's that I'm not doing the job right. The Lord is holding me back in primary or he's just letting me get what I gave to all my teachers in primary. I wish now that I was a better kid.

We are feeling really positive about not getting the house we wanted and moving into this new house. We are bummed but we are also happy to of been able to find this house to rent. It's got an updated kitchen and also a jetted tub. Also we are going to have a family room again that is separate from the living area. We feel really good about what has happened and are glad that the Lord has blessed us with a bigger rental for the same amount of money. The Lord has really been there for us and who knows maybe he was protecting us from something bad happening.

We hope that the Lord is blessing all of you like he has been doing for us.

10 Things about moving

Good:

1. You can tell what year it is in your pictures by the house in the background.
2. You get to meet lots of new people.
3. You don't have a bunch of stuff you don't need due to having to go through it all so often.
4. Your kids can adjust really well in new situations.
5. If you don't like your baby doctor it's all good because the next will be with someone else.
6. If you don't like the calling you have you know it will be over soon.
7. If you get bored of your house it's all good because you'll have a new one soon.
8. You don't have to pay for vacations.
9. It's okay if you don't unpack all the boxes because it makes it easier for the next time if you don't.
10. You get to see the beauty of different areas.

Bad:

1. You are always leaving friends behind.
2. You have to pack and unpack way too much.
3. Just when you get the house organized it's time to leave again.
4. You don't ever get to see your flowers bloom.
5. You really aren't able to make long term plans in fear that you won't be able to follow through.
6. You have the stress of buying and selling homes.
7. You have to think really hard when it comes to giving you local address, phone, and zip.
8. You run out of spaces on forms where you have to write your residences down for the last 5 years.
9. You get confused about what state you are living in.
10. You pay the same amount for gas for the moving vans that you would to take your family on a really nice vaction.

For all of you that we have left behind we love and miss you so very much. You have all helped us make memories that will last forever. You all mean so much to us.

We are in need!

So I am posting this in a very emotional state so please forgive me. It seems as though I have taken all the stress that I can handle. So everyone knows that we have our house in Roy that needs to sell and then we also are living out of state in WY. That's no seceret. Our problem that we are facing now is that we don't have any money to be paying for two houses any more. We love where we live but hate the house that we live in, it's too small for our family and the mice I can't stand. We are basically accepting the fact that we aren't going to be able to buy the house that we want to since the deadline for that is July 5 at 10:27 a.m. and we have no prospects for a buyer or a renter.

We are now starting to face the fact that maybe we aren't going to be able to stay together as a family. Ben needs to stay her for work and well we don't want to go bankrupt either. I can't stand to be away from Ben the 8 hours that he has to work so the thought of us living in different states is tearing me up. Everytime the thought passes through my mind I start crying. I just hate feeling so helpless. I couldn't of made it through the last 4 months on my own so I am glad that we have been here with Ben but something is going to have to change.

I just wish that I knew what the Lord wanted us to learn so we could learn it and move on. We have really wanted to lay our roots down somewhere and to stop moving so much. We told the girls when we moved into this house that we would only have one more move after this and then we would live there for a long time. It looks as though we aren't going to be able to keep that promise to the girls.

So if you know anyone that is looking to buy a house or even rent one please send them our way. Britt if your sister and husband want to buy it as an investment property or you can convince Jared to move to Ut. Meg if you and Mike want to buy a house so that when you finally do get to come back to the states you have some where to live. At this point we are willing to do just about anything to be able to stay together as a family here. This is my emotional break down at the moment.

I went to go and check on the girls the other night and found Alex's bed empty. It seems as though Alex has taken to sleep walking. She does it quite often and I am wondering if I should talk to her doctor about it. If you can see by the picture on top Alex and Aubrey are in the same bed. That's because Alex climbed into Aubrey's bed.

Ben went out to mow the lawn and Alex asked if she could go out to play. I didn't see a problem with that so I said she could. When I looked out to see what she was doing I saw her following every step that Ben took. It reminded me of a duckling following their parent. It was super cute.

Ben's bike

We have decided to help save some money we would buy Ben a bike. It's nothing big just 249cc's but it helps. Instead of him getting 20mpg he gets 60+ and it takes less than $10 to fill his whole tank. He does look for excuses to go out and ride it. He is taking it to work now but before he started doing that he would ask every night if he could go for a ride. As I mentioned before he tried to teach me to ride and I ended up with the second most nasty bruise of my life. The first I got bridge jumping and splunking (thanks Britt). Any how I have told Ben that if he gets hurt in any way riding his bike if the crash doesn't kill him then I will. We got a really great price for it. If anyone is wanting to look into getting a bike you can go to the Honda website and his model is the Rebel. We thought that the insurance was going to be way expensive but it only cost $4 extra per month.

Hubby Tag

1. What's his name? Benjamin Carl Stewart
2.How long have you been together? 6 years this month our 6th wedding anniversary is in August.
3.How long did you date? Well we met on June 2 and we were engaged on June 8 and married on August 8.
4.Who eats more? I think I do but Ben will never admit it.
5.Who said "I love you" first? Ben after we got engaged.
6.Who is taller? Ben
7.Who sings better? We're both not very good
8.Who is smarter? I think we are pretty equal with the smarts
9.Who does the laundry? We both do it but I do most of the folding.
10.Who does the dishes? I take care of it mostly but Ben does do a great job at helping out.
11.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me but Ben and I will steal the other persons spot if they get up in the middle of the night.
12.Who pays the bills? Ben does, I would be in trouble if anything ever happened to him.
13.Who mows the lawn? We both do but since I am home I normally do it more. But it's all good because we both love to do it.
14.Who cooks dinner? Both, it depends on if I have the time
15.Who drives when you are together? Ben mostly and I manage the kids.
16.Who is more stubborn? We both are stubborn but we also know when to give into the other person.
17.Who kissed who first? Ben kissed me and then was out of the car before I knew what happened.
18.Who asked who out first? Ben asked me, actually before we went on a date Ben was planning major trips with me.
19.Who proposed? That's a long story, first I think I said we should get married and then Benn asked formally.
20.Who is more sensitive? Yeah that's me all the way.
21.Who has more friends? Me, Ben knows more people but I have more friends.
22.Who has more siblings? Ben, he's #8 of 9 kids
23.Who wears the pants in the family? We wear them equally. Is there any other way to have it. We do a good job of working together. That's one thing I love about our relationship.

Now I tag Britt, Mindy, and Ruth.
So ladies just answer the questions on your own blog.

Why we love it here

The other morning this is what we woke up to. You can see the mountains peaking over the clouds. It's just about every day when I look across the valley from our house and am taken back in the beauty of our area. This picture doesn't do justice to what we actually saw. We were told by some of our friends that since it's so beautiful that people will drive through for the first time and will pull over and buy land here. Really I haven't seen anywhere that has been as beautiful as this. I know I talked poorly of the cold weather but now that it has stopped snowing here all the time and it's getting into the 70's I just love it even more. But even with all the snow it's like nothing I have ever seen. And most of you know that Ben and I have moved LOTS. The only other place that came close to being as beautiful was in Washington and it was when you drove from the main land to Anacortes island. No matter how many times we drove that I was always taken back by the beauty of it all.