A place to call our own!!

Jonathan took some pictures of the outside of the house, so that is what I am posting today. I have to give all of the credit to him. I had nothing to do with this part of the house. He is taking such good care of our home. He loves to be outside working in the yard.

Look at this GREEN lawn!! All of the neighbors keep asking what he is doing to make our lawn so green. It's serious SKILLS!! It really is amazingly green compared to some of the others in the neighborhood. He should be proud of this!!! I know I am. He has it down to a science. When to mow, when to water, and when to fertilize. I love that I don't have to worry about the yard.

This is our kids favorite place. Jonathan worked so hard to give them a place to play. Today, we put a pool at the end of the slide, and the kids were going crazy. Jonathan also bought this picnic table, and spent some time staining it. It is a nice addition to the yard, and the kids love to eat outside.

I am sure Jonathan may have some things to add to this post since this is all about his SKILLS!!

I hope he knows how much I appreciate how hard he works.

Confessions of an OCD housewife!!

I must say that I can get over the top in the organization of my life. I do believe that it helps me to stick to a routine and a schedule. My kids are so accustomed to it, and function better when we stick to a plan. I wanted to share my latest in organization.

Now that we own a home, and have a house payment; I am on a strict budget. I am so tired of coming home from the grocery store and realizing I forgot something. It also bugs me when we run out of something before I plan on going back. So I devised a plan, and I hope it works.

I compiled a list of what we eat on a regular basis in two weeks. I made a list. Then I made a list of the items that I like to have on hand on my shelf, and also a list of all of the household items that we use. I will use this list as a resource on grocery shopping day. I will circle the items we need, and then we will have enough of the usual items for two weeks, and I will not forget anything. This list is also full of key words just to remind me of the things we are out of. For instance, we may be out of children's Tylenol. The keyword being baby medicine. I can write next to it on the list what specific kind I need.

Before I go to the store, I can make a quick run around the house, and make sure we are good on all of these items. Then I will make my menu. There will be random little items that are not on the Staple List. These items will be filled in on the back of the page. This will be a double sided document with slots for the odds and ends items on the back.

I also made a Sam's Club list so I won't forget when I happen to go there for the important items that we only buy at Sam's Club. That list may grow as I figure out more of what I want to buy there.

I am so excited to have this in order. I am sure you are all reading this and laughing because you all know I am insane. But, I will be smiling when I am saving gas, and only make a trip to the store twice a month. I am on a budget, and I think this will really save me. It will help eliminate unnecessary spending.

I have attached a copy of both documents. Maybe this can help your trips to the store as well.

A Wonderful Sabbath Day!!

We had a nice Sunday. We started out the morning enjoying one another. We have 11:30 church so we have a little bit more time in the morning. It is so nice because Isaac can have a nap before church. The only problem is remembering to feed the kids a small lunch, since we don't get out until 2:30.Jonathan and I spoke in our ward today. We spoke about Obedience. It was a nice reminder of the purpose for commandments and rules. I focused my talk on teaching our children Obedience. It really taught me to think about how the Savior would discipline. I don't think he would "fly of the handle" nearly as often as I do. I learned an important lesson or was reminded of the importance of teaching with Love.
We are beginning to adjust to our new ward. It is always a change. We just came from a really active, and amazing ward. This ward is full of wonderful people, but only 25% of our ward is active. It seems much smaller than what we just came from, but on the other hand is much larger than our small group in the Caribbean. I know that we have purpose in this ward, and will soon find our place. One small lesson that I have learned through all our moves, is that the church is true wherever you go. It is also important to reach out, and put yourself out there. I am beginning to make some connections, and I am enjoying my new calling. My lesson in YW was about how valuable our heritage and traditions are. It is also important to pass on righteous traditions. I had one miamaid today. Hopefully my class will expand.After church, we enjoyed having our neighbor and fellow resident that will work with Jonathan, over for dinner. His wife and daughter are out of town. We enjoyed a nice meal. I made Sanpete County marinated turkey(except I used chicken.) Who would have guessed my kids would scarf that down. Jex had 3 pieces. BTW, Jex is opening up to a whole world full of food possibilities. Everyone told me it would get better as he got older. I didn't believe them, but it really has. This is one aspect that we have settled for using love over frustration, and it has proved positive.

We ended our night with a nice family walk.

Well... just a few thoughts about our day. I hope your Sunday was just as lovely as ours.

Isaac is so Busy....

I know many of you do not believe me when I say that Isaac is busy. He is ten months and is still not crawling. He's rolling continuously and pulling himself up. So how could he be busy? It is hard to explain, but he is always looking for something to do.

Toys don't entertain him for too long, and what Stella or Jex has always looks better.

Today.... I have proof that he is busy. We recently discovered that the walker is pure bliss for him. Because he isn't mobile yet, the walker allows his body to do what his mind wants to. He can move so fast. I just laugh because I know he wishes that he could really run like he does in the walker. He gets so frustrated when he tries to crawl, and he just gives up. It is easier for him to just scream (and believe me he an scream), until one of the kids gives him what he wants.

I realized that if he was mobile, he wouldn't be walking. He would be running. If he was crawling, it would be speed crawling. Maybe I should count my blessings that he hasn't quite figured it out yet.

Watch his little feet in the second movie. They move so fast. The first video is what I found him doing this morning. We have a pantry in our laundry room. All of the shelves are open. (This is a project for a later date, I want to make a curtain to cover it). Anyway, he figured out how to get in there, and help himself to unloading the shelf.

The second video is his smart little brain at work. I pulled him out of the laundry room, and he is going to try with all his might to get back there. Watch how well he maneuvers the walker.

Now... I hope you can see for yourself just how busy he really is.

What language do you want to learn?

I just had to share this. We were watching a special about the Titanic on the History Channel today, and all the commercials were infomercial types. A little later on in the day... Jex said, "Can we buy the Rosetta Stone." For those of you who don't know it is a system that helps you learn a language. So I said, "what language do you want to learn?" Jex said, "Army."

The Reading Nook!!

I didn't have much time yesterday to post anything. So here is another room. This is what we call our Reading Nook. It is an extension of our great room. We have our computer here, and a bookshelf full of all of our books. Including the kids books.

I love this room, and we use it all the time. This is where we read to the kids. I love that I can be on the computer in the same room my kids are in. I also love to catch a nap at 4:00 when the sun is shining through the big window. It is so relaxing.

I am also posting a picture of our little entry way.

The Great Room!!

I promised I would post a room each day... So here is the Great Room. This is where we spend most of our day. It is so comfy and cozy. We love the fireplace(not that we need it right now.) We also love how open it is to the kitchen, and our little reading area(which I will post tomorrow.)

I had a lot of fun decorating this room, and I love the new furniture(that my darling husband picked out!!) I hope you can feel the coziness of this room.

Random Post

I am using the website Blurb to print out my blog. I am so excited to have this as my journal for the year. What a wonderful history of our family. So.... from now on you will notice more posting about every day happenings, random thoughts from a crazy mom, and no more web albums. I will be posting my pictures individually. This will be a long post. I want to write about a few quick things I have been thinking about. I need to get it done quickly, because I have a new calling(miamaid advisor). Jonathan and I were also asked to speak in church on Sunday. I have two items to prepare for church. Isaac is napping, so I don't have much time. Here is what is floating around in my brain....

I wanted to share Stella's cute new hair cut. We cut about 6 inches of it. It was starting to look stringy, and so hard to comb through. She looks so adorable. After I cut it, I thought she would freak. She looked in the mirror, and said, "I love it, mom." It was so adorable. Oh, btw Stella picked out her shoes. A little hot for the summer don't you think.

Bug, Bugs Bugs Bugs.... There are bugs everywhere in Arkansas. All kinds of bug, bugs I have never seen before. We got a pest control service, which is common in the south. I am just glad they are dying outside of my house instead of inside.

Jex loves it, and is always running inside to tell me about the different kind of bugs he finds. I always have to go out and look at them. I act really excited, but inside I am screaming YUCK!!!

Along with unique bugs, we still have the mosquitos. Here is a picture of the kids, and check out Stella's legs. Poor girl!
Jonathan took this picture of Isaac snuggling with me. It was so sweet. I just had to share this crazy thing about him. He can put the food away. He is still nursing 4-5 times a day. He eats three meals, and sometimes a couple of snacks. He only wants to eat whatever everyone else is having. Here is what he had for lunch. Half of a corn dog, 5 cherries, a piece of lemon bread, some peas, and was still screaming for more when I let Jex have some chips. (yes, I do make all of this food bit sized) It is the only way, he wants what he wants!! This kid out eats Stella. He Loves FOOD!! I guess that is a good thing, as opposed to Jex who doesn't.

I have been inspired... my friend Stephanie has been working so hard to loose weight. She has lost over 25 pounds so far... "weight" to go Stephanie! She has inspired me to loose my last 10 pounds. I was doing so good before the move. I went in to survival mode with all the packing, and unpacking. I was just eating whenever, and whatever. Yesterday, I went back to my Weight Watchers meeting after 2 months. I am in the zone now. It always takes me atleast a year after my babies are born to get rid of all the flab. I also hang on to a few pounds while I am nursing.
So... I am setting a goal. I am writing it down because then I have to be accountable. So here it is...

Before(Now)

This is my goal for after. This is when I finally lost all of my weight from Stella. Goal: 10 pounds by Aug, 31st. I feel like this is so reasonable. Wish me luck!!

In honor of my new lifestyle, I am sharing a couple of treat recipes that I got from my last meeting.

A Bag of washed grapes, and 1/2 to a whole package of sugar free jello sprinkled on the top. Place in the freezer. When they are frozen, enjoy!! These are delicious.

Also, a tub of FF cool whip mixed with 6 T. of PB Spread evenly between 12 muffin tins. Drizzle with sugar free chocolate syrup. Freeze. I haven't tasted these yet, but they are supposed to be great. I can't wait. I love PB.

Well, there you have it. A long post, about a small amount.

Breakfast Nook!!

I have decided that I am going to post pictures of the house room by room. This will give me some time to do it, and I can put a little more time in to it. Since I am now turning my blog into a book for journal purposes, I will be blogging in more detail. I am also not using web albums any more because you can't put them in a book. You will just have to scroll down, and take a peak...

So... if you could careless about our new house just DON'T LOOK!! If you do... here is our breakfast nook area.

I am posting this room first because I am so excited about how it turned out. I think it is great. With help from our friends, we added the wainscoting. Jonathan and I finished painting it last night (and he finished the time consuming "touch up" while I slept on the couch!). I love to walk in to the kitchen, and see how great it flows with the rest of the house. After I went to bed, Jonathan cleaned up and took the "after" picture. I'm sure he knew I would want to post it on the blog. That boy knows me too well.

Before

After with the wainscoting!!

Finished Room

Another Angle...

This is one of the pictures I have hanging on the wall. I love it!! The vinyl lettering above it says: "Memories: We are not making a mess, we are creating memories." This is a good reminder. Thanks Brigetta for sharing this quote with me.

I will be posting a different room each day... it is so fun to finally be a grown up and play house!!

Kindred Spirits!!

Krysta and I have been friends for eight years. We met while our husbands were in college at Utah State. They played on the same softball team, and we started chatting at the games. We hit it off. In the early years, we did a lot together as couples. Once we started to have kids, our friendship evolved to something different. We have always saught each other out as a sorce of comfort, and guidance. It is so nice to have someone who is in the same stage of life, that understands just what you are going through.

We have quite a bit in common, and I think that has helped to make our friendship what it is. She is the one friend who truly gets me. We are both a little OCD, and it is so nice to have someone who can embrace that quality about me. We both have 3 kids, and we understand just how hectic life can get. We both are Hair stylists for a living, and we share scrapbooking, decorating, and cleaning our house as a hobby.

I know that we will be friends for life, and I believe that one of the best gifts from God is a best friend. I am so thankful for her in my life.

Now that we have moved, we are much closer to them. This is the closest we have been in 5 years. They just recently moved also. It is about a seven hour drive to visit each other. When that is the closest "family" you have, seven hours doesn't seem so bad. So... they came for a visit this past weekend. It was the best feeling when my door bell rang and they were all standing there at the door. For the last five years, we have spent several weekends, and sometimes a whole week staying at their house. Since this is our first house, this is the first time we have been able to have them. What a wonderful feeling it was for me to finally have them as a guest in my home.

Jonathan and Casey spent all weekend working on projects, the kids ran around having a blast with each other, and Krysta and I enjoyed our girl talk and our favorite hobby.... decorating. This is a passion that we both share. It was so fun to decorate my house together. She was such a big help, and it was nice to bounce ideas of each other.

In my life, she has always been the person that I look up too. She has always been just one step ahead of me. She had the first baby, she bought the first house, she potty-trained first, and etc... She is who I turn to for advice in most aspects of my life. The best part is that I know that her advice would be similiar to how I would do it. We think a lot alike. I appreciate all she has taught me.

After they left yesterday, both of the kids started to cry, and Jonathan and I missed them before they got to the end of the street. They were great house guests, and made me want to be even closer to them. We will be making lots of visits over the next four years.

We are so blessed to be able to be closer to them. Casey and Krysta thanks again for the weekend, help, and wonderful visit!!

Handy Men!!

If you don't have a Handy Man... get one!! It is so wonderful to have someone who can build things. Jonathan and Casey worked so hard this weekend. It is so nice to have a husband who works so hard. I am thankful for great friends who are willing to help out too.

Casey was able to bring his tools, and help Jonathan with a lot of projects. He also taught Jonathan some tricks to adding some great features to our house. Casey and Krysta have owned a home for nine or so years, they know what it takes. They are always working on projects to update their house. It was so fun to do some of that to ours.

They started building the playhouse/swingset for the kids early Friday morning, and after 19 hours, it was complete. They finished it up on Saturday afternoon. The instructions said it would take 2 skilled men 30 hours. I am impressed with 19 hours. We must have some "skilled men."

After the playhouse, we went to Home Depot and picked out moldings, and bead board. The guys put up bead board in the kid's bathroom, and then pencil molding in our breakfst nook. I am tired just thinking about all they did in two days.

We had several late nights, but we really had a great time. Thanks to great friends, our house looks so great.

I appreciate Jonathan for taking such good care of the house. I love that he is the "project man." He has some sort of project that he wants to get done every day. I love his pride of ownership.

I am thankful to Casey for taking some time off work, and driving all this way just to work. What a great friend he is. Friends are such a blessing. We know that the Moes's are one of those treasured blessings.

Thanks again Jonathan, and Casey.

Little Helpers!!

Our kids couldn't wait for the Daddy's to finish building the playhouse. They were pretty good at making do with what ever was built at the time. They were climbing all over. I am sure it was driving Casey and Jonathan crazy, but they never complained.

I enjoyed watching our kids play together again. When we lived in Logan, Jex and Kaylee were great friends. It was so fun to see them together again, and getting along great. They are a lot alike. They take after their mothers, and are such big helpers.

It was a house full, and pretty crazy at times, but full of laughter. They all got a along so well. We have five kids in five years between the two of us, so it really never got boring. We can't forget little Isaac, and he makes six. He is two years younger then Drew.
Kaylee will be seven in July, Jex six in August, Jake was five in January, Stella will be four in August, Drew will be three in July, and Isaac will be one in August. What a blessing from God. Six great kids, and six great friends.

...More to come!!

 


Many of you have been asking for pictures of our new house. I am just about done getting things on the wall. I have a few more cutains to get hung, and we need to finish the projects we started this weekend. I am hoping to have some pics to share this week. I will post them as we get them finished. It has been so fun to get it all put together. Krysta really helped me put the finishing touches on the house. It was so nice to have her here.

Oh Happy Day!!

We hope you know how great you are. Enjoy your day, and take advantage of it. It is your day, so relax. We love you.
Andrea, Jex, Stella and Isaac.

Adjusting to something new...

We are starting to get adjusted now. We have enjoyed getting to know our neighbors, and learn the lay of the land. Here are just a few random pictures of some of the happenings since we got here.

First: The big Penske, and saying goodbye to friends.
Second: Isaac's new favorite game. He loves to play in the sink. He gets so excited every time we walk in to the bathroom. He tries to dive out my arms for the faucet. So I let him sit in the sink and play. The bad thing is he knows how to turn the water on. I have to watch him because he will turn the hot water on, and burn himself. So.. I stand there and let him play because it keeps him happy for a while.
Third: The kids have been playing dressup a lot. I thought these pics of Jex were so cute. He just posed on his own. He is a true boy. The kids are enjoying so much space to run around and play in.
Fourth: We found a quaint little sno cone shack. This is the kids after their first sno cones. We have been longing for a treat like this. I haven't seen a shack since we lived in Utah. It reminds me of home and is right up the road from our house. The bonus... it's only $1 for a sno cone. We are finding our way around, and enjoying a few summer memories along the way.

He is finally a doctor!!

I have been meaning to post this for some time, but our life has been crazy. We've also had some days without a computer. Our desktop internet is still not functioning, so I'm using the lap top. I just wanted to post this.

Jonathan's graduation was so special. I am so glad we were able to make the trip to Boston. It was well worth the time, and helped reward all of the hard work over the last four years. We have certainly been through so much these last few years. It has been a long road, but well worth it.

I am very proud of Jonathan and all his hard work. He has worked so hard to reach this goal. It has been full of good and bad times... but we did it together. He has been so dedicated and stuck to it. It is not easy to go through medical school. I don't think anyone realizes just how hard and demanding it can be.

When they played the processional music and Jonathan walked in to the room with his cap and gown on, I just started crying. I have watched this accomplishment first hand, and I know all that he's had to do to get through it. I am so proud of him. He is such an amazing person.

Here are some pictures of that great and monumental day. We didn't take the older kids, but Isaac was able to join us. Jonathan's parents also met us there. We also met up with man who lived with Jonathan's family for 2 years as a teenager. He met us there with his family. They happened to live in the town that the Graduation was held in. It was so nice to meet Boris and Blanca.

After the graduation, Boris and Blanca took us out to dinner. It was a nice way to celebrate. It was a short weekend, but well worth the trip.

I am so proud of you Jonathan. Thank you for working so hard, and taking good care of us. We love you!!

Video Clip of Jonathan's Graduation

This isn't the best quality. I was really far away, and I took it with our digital camera. However, there is such a sense of pride when you hear his name, and see him walk across the stage. It brings a tear to my eye every time.

To paddle or not to paddle...

I thought this was so interesting that I had to quickly jump on and share. Yesterday I went to register Jex for Kindergarten. I was filling out all the forms, and I come to one that just blew me away. It is a paragraph stating their policy on bad behavior. At the end of this paragraph is a line that says, "I give you permission to paddle my child." This was followed by a line for my signature. Then following that was, "I do not give you permission to paddle my child, but understand that he/she will then be suspended."

I was shocked... we go from paddling to suspension. WOW!! What extreme differences, and in my mind the paddling is worse. So of course, I signed I DO NOT ALLOW you to paddle my child. Jex is such great kid that I know I would never have to worry about it. However, if I did, I would rather him be suspended and I be the one to handle the punishment. I really don't like the idea of someone else spanking my child.

This made me think about quite a few things. First of all, maybe this is happening in all schools. I don't know this is my first school age child. Second, I have a feeling this is the way they do it in the South. If is it, I will have to get used to dealing with this sort of thing, although I do not agree. Third, let me state that I am not against spanking and we have used it a time or two. I think that this sort of discipline should be handled by the parent in their own home... a home which feels safe. That could be so awful, almost invading of personal space for a small child. Lastly, I am sad that this is what it has come to.

Now, you may all think I am thinking just a little too hard about this. This is my first school age boy, and I am so sad to have him away from me for 7 1/2 hours. AHHH!!! Now, I am just a little bit more nervous thinking that he may need a paddle. I am interested to find out what they believe deserves paddling. Well, I will leave my thoughts here, and quit thinking about this small issue. One which I will probably never really deal with, because I really do have great obedient children.
Let me know if this is a policy in your school....

We are HOME!!

After a very long week, we are settling in to our new home. It has been such a busy time, but exciting none the less. The last weekend in May took us to Massachusetts for Jonathan's graduation from medical school. After a wonderful ceremony (which I will post more about later) and two long flights, one extremely late and one really early, we made it back home Sunday. Then Monday we loaded up the big Penske truck, with wonderful neighbors and friends helping with everything. We could not have done it without them. Thanks to everyone. We already miss you.

Early Tuesday, we made the drive. It was only a 6 hour drive to our new house. It was not too bad. However, after the graduation trip we were all exhausted. Jonathan and I have been working hard to put the house together. We had help from some people in our ward here. We were able to unload the truck, and then even had help putting some furniture together. A wonderful couple here has adopted us as their own. It has been so nice.

Jonathan has done a lot of yard work, and I have been unpacking boxes. Everything is put away except for our desktop computer. Jonathan still has to put the desk together. Pour guy had a lot of furniture to assemble. After that, I will slowly attempt to hang some things on the walls. It is so strange because I couldn't wait to do that when we lived in an apartment, but now I don't want to put holes in the wall unless I am sure I want it there! It will take me some time. It is great to own our own place. Not as over-rated as some say. It really it wonderful. A lot of work, but well worth it. It is such a pay off to live in something so beautiful and spacious.

This week has once again reminded me of how the Lord never forgets about us. He watches after all of us. I don't know why, but he came to our rescue again. He blessed us with wonderful friends that we left, and then people who welcomed us with open arms. It has been a tremendous blessing in our life. I know that you can pray for something, and the Lord answers your prayers most of the time through someone else. I am grateful for people who follow those promptings. Those promptings have blessed our family tremendously. We miss all of our KC friends, and hope to have visits soon.

I am planning on posting some pictures when we get the desktop working. I have so much to share. IT HAS BEEN A BUSY WEEK. I am off to bed, I am exhausted.