When they are getting along....it is wonderful. (:
Ryan and John
Monday, December 22, 2008
New House
SueZan wanted to see some pictures of the new house.Here they are. There is nothing hung,no paint, and boxes and junk in corners, but at least you get a feel for it.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Dance Party
For Family Home Evening we had a dance party. These are the boys doing the Napolean Dynamite Dance. It was so cute.
Look What We Found!
I was cleaning up the front flower bed and kept getting the rake hooked on some root lookin' things. This is what we found under the ground.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Unpacking
I have been so busy unpacking that I literally have NO time to write. I have been drowning in boxes and am ready to just donate the unopened ones to Goodwill.
Life is good.It is weird living close to neighbors again. Our house sits on .25 acre and it feels weird to see other peoples houses out my back windows. I miss the mountain views and the Great Salt Lake with the sun setting over it. But, the Texas sunsets are HUGE with no mountains blocking any of it. I love being very close to the grocery store and I LOVE not having to drive up and down a steep hill every time I leave the house.......sure saves on gasoline and brakes. The kids are doing a little better in school.......but the hours are horrible. If Kathryn rides the bus to and from school she is gone from 6:50 am until 4:50 pm. I literally started crying on the phone when the lady told me how long my kids would be away from home everyday. She thought I was worried if the bus driver was nice and offered for me to come down and meet "Miss Peggy". Alex leaves for Seminary with Chris at 5:45am and would come home on the 4:50 bus with Kathryn. Crazy long days!!! I really do feel sad being away from the kids this long. I try to pick them up as often as possible to avoid the extra 80 min. on the bus after school. It is nutty that they drop off every kid on the bus at their front door. They literally pull up in front of our door for the kids. Funny. Kathryn thinks it is great in the morning because in Utah they had to walk uphill (steep) to the bus stop. Now she can just wait, warm in the house until she hears Miss Peggy pull up. So for example she went to bed late tonight, but I will let her sleep in another hour and drive her to school in the AM. BUT, if she causes me to be late because she is being slow and lazy than it is bus riding time for her the next day! I love that Steven and Ryan walk to school. I love hearing their recess bell ring and I can hear the morning announcements if I am outside. I feel a lot closer to them being nearby.
Today we decorated the Christmas tree and then made some more shrinky dink ornaments to remember events of this year. Some of them were : Aspen Grove Family Camp with Chris' parents, my mom, the Lyon Family and their grandparents.Chris and I's 15th anniversary,Alex starting seminary,a Texas flag (by Chris), Twilight books and movie, Indiana Jones,Thanksgiving in Arkansas,Star Wars Lego game,The Flying Fish and the Billy Bass Adoption Center, and last but not least.....our favorite sign we have ever seen....White Trash and Pink Lemonade! It curled up and died, literally.....it never would flatten back out after shrinking. I can't recall right now all of the others we made. Oh yeah, and we made one with a list of things we will miss about Pleasant View.....to include Johnny's Dairy,Acres, North Pointe Theatre, Champi's Grill, Lomond View, Orion Jr High, and the Fought's pool. ):
Sleep is calling.Goodnight.
Life is good.It is weird living close to neighbors again. Our house sits on .25 acre and it feels weird to see other peoples houses out my back windows. I miss the mountain views and the Great Salt Lake with the sun setting over it. But, the Texas sunsets are HUGE with no mountains blocking any of it. I love being very close to the grocery store and I LOVE not having to drive up and down a steep hill every time I leave the house.......sure saves on gasoline and brakes. The kids are doing a little better in school.......but the hours are horrible. If Kathryn rides the bus to and from school she is gone from 6:50 am until 4:50 pm. I literally started crying on the phone when the lady told me how long my kids would be away from home everyday. She thought I was worried if the bus driver was nice and offered for me to come down and meet "Miss Peggy". Alex leaves for Seminary with Chris at 5:45am and would come home on the 4:50 bus with Kathryn. Crazy long days!!! I really do feel sad being away from the kids this long. I try to pick them up as often as possible to avoid the extra 80 min. on the bus after school. It is nutty that they drop off every kid on the bus at their front door. They literally pull up in front of our door for the kids. Funny. Kathryn thinks it is great in the morning because in Utah they had to walk uphill (steep) to the bus stop. Now she can just wait, warm in the house until she hears Miss Peggy pull up. So for example she went to bed late tonight, but I will let her sleep in another hour and drive her to school in the AM. BUT, if she causes me to be late because she is being slow and lazy than it is bus riding time for her the next day! I love that Steven and Ryan walk to school. I love hearing their recess bell ring and I can hear the morning announcements if I am outside. I feel a lot closer to them being nearby.
Today we decorated the Christmas tree and then made some more shrinky dink ornaments to remember events of this year. Some of them were : Aspen Grove Family Camp with Chris' parents, my mom, the Lyon Family and their grandparents.Chris and I's 15th anniversary,Alex starting seminary,a Texas flag (by Chris), Twilight books and movie, Indiana Jones,Thanksgiving in Arkansas,Star Wars Lego game,The Flying Fish and the Billy Bass Adoption Center, and last but not least.....our favorite sign we have ever seen....White Trash and Pink Lemonade! It curled up and died, literally.....it never would flatten back out after shrinking. I can't recall right now all of the others we made. Oh yeah, and we made one with a list of things we will miss about Pleasant View.....to include Johnny's Dairy,Acres, North Pointe Theatre, Champi's Grill, Lomond View, Orion Jr High, and the Fought's pool. ):
Sleep is calling.Goodnight.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Early Mornings Ahead
Tomorrow Alex starts early morning Seminary( a daily scripture study class for high school kids).....at 6 am. He will be studying the New Testament. I am so excited that Chris is going to be driving him so he might actually get to work earlier! YEAH! I am a morning person.......Chris is NOT! This will be fun to watch.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
We are here!
We are finally residents of Weatherford, TX! We signed the papers Wednesday and moved in Thursday. We are so excited to be done with commuting to school from the corporate apartment in Ft Worth!!!!!!! Those were some long days.
In our new house ALL of the kids rooms are upstairs and we are ALONE downstairs! This is a first for us, but we are willing to do the painful suffering. (: Also, we have an upstairs living room where we can read scriptures and have family prayers before bedtime. That is so nice that we don't have to heard all of the kids up the stairs after we are done saying goodnight. They are already feet away from their doors and we can tuck them all in and then retreat the ENTIRE bottom floor .......ALONE! What kind of genius built this house???????? A parent of lots of noisy boys and a nosy girl, I bet! (:
Our house and yard are alot smaller than Utah, but we think we are going to be thankful for that. We were sick of being slave to the BIG yard and big house. The kids are lovin' sidewalks, also. They can ride their bikes on semi flat ground and walk to school in 2 minutes. I love being able to see them playing at recess when I am driving by while running errands. I feel close to them.
Alex and Kathryn are having a rougher time adjusting to school in the NORMAL world.This is not Pleasant View, UT anymore. They are appalled by the way the teenagers behave and have had a lot of eye opening experiences. We have had many tears this last week. But, I think it has helped them become stronger and realize what is really important in their lives. I think it has strengthened their testimonies of the Savior, Jesus Christ. I have heard their prayers become more deep and meaningful. I have felt them relying on the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort them during their days away. I also feel such a greater responsibility to make home a haven .....where they can rest and retreat from the filth and garbage they are sometimes surrounded by during the day. Family Home Evening is taking on new meaning and family prayers and scripture study are ssssooooo essential. I always knew this , but felt so much support from the community in Pleasant View. I knew the kids were surrounded by people with strong morals and values.Now I feel like we are swimming in the ocean and not splashin' around in a kiddie pool. It is my job as a parent to teach them all how to keep afloat in deep water. I think it will be a blessing to all of us and help us become in tune with what is really important to us in this life.
In our new house ALL of the kids rooms are upstairs and we are ALONE downstairs! This is a first for us, but we are willing to do the painful suffering. (: Also, we have an upstairs living room where we can read scriptures and have family prayers before bedtime. That is so nice that we don't have to heard all of the kids up the stairs after we are done saying goodnight. They are already feet away from their doors and we can tuck them all in and then retreat the ENTIRE bottom floor .......ALONE! What kind of genius built this house???????? A parent of lots of noisy boys and a nosy girl, I bet! (:
Our house and yard are alot smaller than Utah, but we think we are going to be thankful for that. We were sick of being slave to the BIG yard and big house. The kids are lovin' sidewalks, also. They can ride their bikes on semi flat ground and walk to school in 2 minutes. I love being able to see them playing at recess when I am driving by while running errands. I feel close to them.
Alex and Kathryn are having a rougher time adjusting to school in the NORMAL world.This is not Pleasant View, UT anymore. They are appalled by the way the teenagers behave and have had a lot of eye opening experiences. We have had many tears this last week. But, I think it has helped them become stronger and realize what is really important in their lives. I think it has strengthened their testimonies of the Savior, Jesus Christ. I have heard their prayers become more deep and meaningful. I have felt them relying on the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort them during their days away. I also feel such a greater responsibility to make home a haven .....where they can rest and retreat from the filth and garbage they are sometimes surrounded by during the day. Family Home Evening is taking on new meaning and family prayers and scripture study are ssssooooo essential. I always knew this , but felt so much support from the community in Pleasant View. I knew the kids were surrounded by people with strong morals and values.Now I feel like we are swimming in the ocean and not splashin' around in a kiddie pool. It is my job as a parent to teach them all how to keep afloat in deep water. I think it will be a blessing to all of us and help us become in tune with what is really important to us in this life.
Our Colorado Friends
We were so excited when our good friends from Colorado came to visit us here in Texas. We all snuggled into the apartment and had a great time catching up.The kids had fun playing together. They are coming back for spring break, but luckily now we are in our house with more space. Yeah! We miss the Taylor's...... ):
Chris giving Gabe a hug.
Chris giving Gabe a hug.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Today is the Day
We are going to close on our new house tomorrow morning. (wed) I am so excited and so ready to get settled in before Christmas. Kind people are coming out of the woodwork to help with watching kids and cleaning.We will have the keys less than 24 hrs before the movers show up with the "load". The carpets need to be cleaned and so does the rest of the house. It is such a blessing to have extra hands to help when the time frame is so rushed. I feel so thankful.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Thanksgiving in Arkansas
We had a wonderful trip to Arkansas last week. It was so nice to see Grannie Norman and Grandma Anna. We also got to see all of Chris' Aunts and Uncles. It was fun, fun, fun!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Arkansas
What a busy week! I literally have had zero time to blog. It is 11 pm and we are leaving for Arkansas in the early morning. We will be back Saturday in time to spend a few hours with our friends, the Taylor's, from Colorado. They will be here in Texas for Thanksgiving with his family and are staying with us in our cozy apartment..... We are so excited to see them! It has been 2 yrs since we have seen them all.We were totally surprised and thrilled when they called last night to see if we were going to be in town during their visit.. (Brandie, if you read this....John and Adam were hoping "Cousin Jude" was coming along with them.) (:
We got both cars registered with TEXAS plates this morning and now we both have Texas drivers licenses. I am known to move state to state keeping the same license and never switching. bad girl. I surrendered an Arizona one from 5 yrs ago this morning. Boo Hoo.
Katie gave a talk at church last week and Alex, Chris and I are speaking next week even though we have not officially moved in the ward. I also was called to the Young Women's Presidency and we haven't even signed the papers on our house. Busy ...busy....busy.
Life is good. We have so many blessings.We have met many wonderful people here who have been so warm and welcoming.
It is so great to be able to visit Chris' family.We are going to his Mom's house ( Arkansas) tomorrow and then on to his Grandma's for Thanksgiving. What fun. And last weekend we were in Kansas visiting Grandpa John, Grandma Dana,Aunt Libby and Uncle Jean and cousins. We have loved being so close. It is only 6-7 hrs away. What a blessing.
Goodnight.
We got both cars registered with TEXAS plates this morning and now we both have Texas drivers licenses. I am known to move state to state keeping the same license and never switching. bad girl. I surrendered an Arizona one from 5 yrs ago this morning. Boo Hoo.
Katie gave a talk at church last week and Alex, Chris and I are speaking next week even though we have not officially moved in the ward. I also was called to the Young Women's Presidency and we haven't even signed the papers on our house. Busy ...busy....busy.
Life is good. We have so many blessings.We have met many wonderful people here who have been so warm and welcoming.
It is so great to be able to visit Chris' family.We are going to his Mom's house ( Arkansas) tomorrow and then on to his Grandma's for Thanksgiving. What fun. And last weekend we were in Kansas visiting Grandpa John, Grandma Dana,Aunt Libby and Uncle Jean and cousins. We have loved being so close. It is only 6-7 hrs away. What a blessing.
Goodnight.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Party is Over, Kiddos!
Party time is over for the big kids....they are back in school. Alex is going to a 9th Grade only school, Kathryn is in middle school, and Steven and Ryan go to the elementary around the corner from our new house. It is named Mary Martin...after the actress in Peter Pan. She is from the town we are moving to.... Weatherford, TX. Small world. I love that the kids can walk to school and the neighborhood pool from our new house. The kids are excited to have sidewalks and a neighborhood playground.
We are supposed to close on December 3rd. Movers arriving with load on the 4th. Let's pray it all goes as planned.
I will only have to drive them to and from for 7 days or so. It is an hour and a half to two hours round trip to drop off and pick up because of the 45 min range of start and release times of all 3 different schools.
We are looking forward to settling in our new home in December. The apartment has been fun and simple, but I am ready for real life to start again.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Grandpa John, this one's for you
These pictures are reversed, but after you gave Adam his "Leaf $$" he bought a present for himself at Cracker Barrel in Oklahoma on the way home . The funniest part was that he had it gift wrapped for free and brought it in the car and unwrapped it and acted surprised when he opened it. I wish you could have been there to witness it. By the way, this is a "talking parrot"that repeats everything you say. The kids have been wishing that we would buy it for them since 2001 when they went to their first Cracker Barrel in Colorado. The big kids were so excited to "use" it all of the way home!!!!!!There were a lot of laughs last night.
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