Oh my goodness…. I am blogging.

After a month, I am finally reconnecting with my blog.  It has been a crazy month.  One of the craziest I have ever had.  In fact, it really has been a crazy year.  I have so much to say, and so much to share.  In fact, part of the reason I haven’t gotten to this sooner is that I really don’t know where to begin.  Today, I decided I would buckle down and share a little bit of what we have been up too.  Once I get that done, I will feel more like sharing my real thoughts and feelings about our life over the last few months and weeks. 

So… what has been up with us?

First of all, we sold our home.  As you may recall, it sold quickly.  We have spent many months preparing for our move.

To give you the short story, Jonathan is starting a new job in Pennsylvania in July.  He has to finish up his job in Arkansas and is under contract to do so until June 30th.  We had to be out of our home by May 13th.  The kids still had school until May 24th.  The dynamic of the situation posed just a few problems for us.  Among the move, life still went on.  We still had school, work, activities, vacations, and time to spend with friends.

This is what we have been up to:

The months of April and May, were full of lots of school activities.  Each child had a field trip; Jex had two.

There are so many of our activities that don’t even have pictures because I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind.

 

I did however take pictures of Jex’s field trip to the crystal mines.  I enjoy going on the kids field trips.  I haven’t missed one yet, and I don’t intend to.  It’s the little things that make kid’s feel special.  Even though going during this crazy time in our life seemed stressful, I wouldn’t change those memories. I may forget to bring my camera along, but I wouldn’t miss being with them. 

Jex played a lot of ball.  I don’t have many pictures, but I do have lots of memories.

Jonathan and I went on a trip to the island of Saba.  The island that we grew to love as it was our home for two years.  It was the best week ever.  The timing was perfect as it allowed Jonathan and I to enjoy one another and forget the move.

My parents came to take care of the kids.  The kids had a great time, and I can’t thank my parents enough.

I can’t wait to share our trip with you.  Until then, a sneak peak of the beauty of Saba.

While we were gone, Stella had her dance recital.  I was so sad to miss it, but I love that my parents could be a part of it.  I don’t have any pictures as of yet, but I have friends who have some for me.  (Marji and Pam, I need those pictures… hee hee.)

Once we got home, we kicked it in to full gear.  We had to be out of our house in just six days.

We are so grateful to our friends who helped us load and unload the moving truck.

Once, it was all loaded, we unloaded it all in my friend Lindsey’s garage.  She is awesome.  She let us stay with her for two weeks while the kids finished school, and is housing all our crap in her garage until we can move it to Pennsylvania.

We had a great time living with Lindsey.  This is me and Lindsey getting ready to go out with some of my girlfriends.  Behind us is her cute house that she welcomed our family in for two weeks.  What a wonderful person who welcomes six people in her home.  She is a great example to me of kindness.

We spent the next two weeks at Lindsey’s wrapping up the school year, and laughing with one another.  Lindsey is a kindergarten teacher at the school our kids go to.

The kids each received awards.

We enjoyed their field day.

I took them pizza for their last day at school. 

It was really hard to say goodbye to teachers and people who have made an influence on our kids over the last four years.  Bye Davis Elementary…. We love you and miss you.

We also had such a hard time saying goodbye to Jex’s baseball team.  Jex loves those boys and his coaches.  We love the parents, and our kids love the siblings who come to watch.  My friend Randy took some nice pictures of Jex at his last game because once again my brain was not in picture mode.  I am hoping to get those from her soon.

We did go to lake Catherine with some of our baseball friends and spent the most wonderful day.  One of those days that will go down in Arkansas History for me.

Jonathan gets husband of the year award as he went all out for Mothers Day, and our anniversary which all happened while we were living with Lindsey. It would have been so easy to let them slide with all that we had going on.  He still made time to acknowledge both.  He is awesome.  13 years with the most wonderful man.  I couldn’t be happier or more in love.

My Mother’s Day lilies.  This picture was taken with my Iphone so it doesn’t do them justice. They were so beautiful.

We enjoyed some great evenings out with friends, and said our goodbyes.  I will miss you all.

On Memorial Day, we made the journey to Utah.  I came alone with the kids, so that we had somewhere to live.  Jonathan stayed behind to finish work.  He is living with his friend Brady.  Thank you Bradford’s for welcoming my hubby.

We have been here a week now.  I am beginning to feel settled.  I am feeling less anxious and worried about all we have going.  I am enjoying being in the home I grew up in.  It helps me feel like I am “home.”  While a home is something that I don’t have. It is so nice to be home with my mom.  I am grateful that she still loves me enough to let me come back to my old bedroom.

We have spent a lot of time with family.  All the cousins on the Swenson’s side enjoyed spending the day together. 

taken with my iphone.

The kids have loved being with their cousins.  I think it has helped them with their feelings about leaving Arkansas.

I have enjoyed hanging out with my family, and Jonathan’s family.

 

taken with my iphone

I have enjoyed just chilling at the park, or sitting around catching up.

Although I haven’t had a minute to breath as of yet, I am feeling better.

I got to help my mom redecorate her office.  Here is a sneak peak.  We are not quite done; but I love the way it is coming together.

I have also been busy editing pictures from the last few weeks in Arkansas.  I had several photo shoots.  Here is a little peak for those clients.

Speaking of photography; I am so far behind on sharing my photography on my website.  I promise to catch up soon; so stay tuned for some awesome shots.

As for our future, I plan to leave Utah sometime in July to meet Jonathan in Pennsylvania. 

Jonathan will load up the truck once again, and drive with his dad to our new place in Pennsylvania at the end of June.  He will start his new job the beginning of July.

Speaking of new place, that is one more added stress.  We had a home to rent all lined up.  That recently fell through as the family is no longer moving.  Jonathan is now on the hunt to find us something new.  We will only be there a year, so it shouldn’t be a big deal to find a rental.  I totally trust him, and know he will do well for our family.

After Pennsylvania, I just don’t know.  We have lots of dreams for our family, and I am sure we will try to make as many as we can come true.

However, a lesson I learned long ago; my plans are not always what God has planned for us. 

I just hope he is listening to my prayers and takes some of those thoughts in to consideration. 

Thanks to everyone who has helped us in this crazy time. 

We are truly blessed.

We are having a wonderful time….

…here in our old stomping grounds.  We are taking in the beauty and simplicity of this place.  Hopefully we will come home with a new outlook on life.

 

Saba… you taught us so much when we lived here, and we are reminded once again. 

A reminder to live more simply.

House Tour {Boys Room}

I think it is finally time to finish up this house tour.  My purpose in sharing this was so that I could remember this house that I love. I am thankful that I took pictures of each room. I am so glad that I did this because now my house just doesn’t look the same.  I have taken everything off the walls, and my garage is full of boxes.  It is so sad to see all your hard work taken down in just a matter of a few days. 

My brain has already started thinking about how things will go up in the new house.  The crazy thing about that is I have never even seen the new house.  I have only seen it in pictures.  We will be renting because we will only be there for a year.  We were lucky to stumble upon a new home to rent; which is another blessing from heaven.

so… I think it is time to wrap up this house tour.  It is time to have it all documented, and I guess it is time to move on. 

The Boys Room:

We bought these bunk beds when we lived in Utah, at Shopko.  They were pine; but when I moved the boys together I painted them black. 

I recently found these comforters.  I have been on the hunt for the perfect ones for almost a year.  I love these.  They are perfect for their room.  I love how they go with the orange sheets, and the dust ruffle that I found at the thrift store that is perfect for the bed.

I also love this quote.  It is from the “Winnie the Pooh.”

The picture above shows the bed without the new comforters.  Some of these pictures were taken at different times.

I included the main words from the quote on these metal boxes.  My dad made these for me several years ago out of sheet metal.  I painted them orange.  When you paint sheet metal, you must treat them with vinegar first.

My favorite part of this room is the photo collage.  The B is for brothers.  I used pictures of the boys, and some old vintage pictures of trains that I picked up at a flea market.

I have used old metal vehicles as accessories all over the room.

The book shelf is so helpful in their room because Jex reads so much.  I can hardly keep him in books.

 

I also store some of their toys here in these nice baskets that I picked up at IKEA.

Speaking of reading; I made this book holder for Jex.  I folded the fabric up to make a pocket and then I sewed it twice to make three compartments.  It is so helpful because he has 5-10 books on his bed at anytime. There are usually some even hidden under his pillow; as you can see from this picture. This is a great place to store them.

I used orange burlap for this.  I added ribbon to tie it to the bed.

 

I also used the orange burlap to make a simple curtain.  A nice brother banner made out of a map is the finishing touch.

This little corner is fun.  Jex can be found reading here a lot.  Sometimes he even reads here at night with a head lamp.  I found this great bean bag at our local thrift store.  It was the perfect color.

I also found the globe at the thrift store.  I love the color it brings to the room.

This is the boys chalkboard.  It is home to a few pictures, and notes from Stella.  I also write notes to them here.  It is a fun place to say, “I love you”, or play an on-going game of tic tac toe.

This fun addition above the closet was a neat find at a flea market.  I picked it up for $3 and painted it orange.

 

Speaking of closets, this room has a great closet.  I love how big my closets in this house are.  I will really miss that.

 

At the foot of their bed sits this really neat red trunk.  We keep toys in it, and the boys play on it.  It has come in very handy.  I also bought it at a flea market for $10.  It was a steal.

What I love about this space:

1.  I love the colors. I love how masculine it feels.  I love that it isn’t babyish so it suits my 9 year old and 4 year old.

2.  I love that I didn’t just walk into some home store and buy up a collection.  I pieced together items that I love to make it my own style.  I love how it all came together.

3.  I love that my boys love to spend time in here.

Thanks for touring our boy’s room.

Easter 2012

We have had a nice weekend.  I really enjoy Easter.  We do our “Easter bunny” celebrating on  Saturday.  Then we celebrate the real reason for the holiday on Sunday.  We had a beautiful meeting at church.  I was once again reminded of how grateful I am for the Savior and his atonement. 

Here are a few pictures of yesterday’s celebrations:

Our traditional egg hunt:

The kids searching through their eggs to find their treasures.  Candy is good; but money is better.

A little egg dying:

(which seemed so much easier this year.  The kids are finally at a good age to do this.)

I had a photo shoot in the afternoon.  Jonathan had to work so the kids rode along in the car.  I decided to take a few of Tess while we were there.  I tried to get her to wear this bunny hat.  She really didn’t like it.

…and our favorite part of the evening.  Our glow in the dark egg hunt.

I used glow sticks, folded in fourths, taped, and then stuffed inside the plastic eggs.  They thought it was so cool.  We let them hide them several times for each other.

I think this is our new tradition.

It was a beautiful weekend.

…and a little more about what this weekend means to me.  ENJOY!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bAuaSpJ7zGs#!

Living one day at a time…

…and one day at a time has not found any time for this blog.  I really don’t have the time for it now, but I do want to record something.  When I look back at this blog, I want to remember why posts have been few over the past weeks.

Our life is a little busy right now.  It seems when life picks up, you always have to let something go.  I should have already let about 4 things go, but I am still working on that one. 

My blog seemed like the one thing that I just don’t have a whole lot of time for right now.

You see, we sold our house a little sooner than anticipated.  That means I have to start packing and organizing a little sooner than I anticipated. 

That also means that  we have to find somewhere to park ourselves for six weeks while we have no where to live.  I think I have it all figured out, but it also means bouncing between 3 locations.  Which makes packing a little bit more interesting.

In the meantime, while all those thought, worries, and stresses rattle around in my brain.  Life is still going on.

I am still mom to these four little cuties.  It is my goal to make their last 3 months here the best.

That is why we are still playing baseball.  Which is making our schedule CRAZY!! but worth it.

 

Baseball is one of those times, that my brain actually relaxes.  I really love being a baseball mom.  I enjoy sitting outside at the ball field.  It’s just getting there that seems a little stressful at times.

sidenote: Jex has the best coach.  We love him, and how great he is with the kids. 

 

We will certainly miss playing ball with the Cardinals next year.

Along with baseball and dance, we are still going on field trips, having sleepovers, class parties, playing with friends, and making time special with only a few more weeks in this house.

I still have lots of responsibilities that I am trying to uphold; in charge of the school fundraiser, church responsibilities, PTO meetings, photography clients, and photos to edit.  Here is a peak at a few that I desperately need to add to my photography blog, but I don’t have time for that either.

 

On that note: I am completely booked for the month of April, and will be taking May and June off.  Thanks to all those who have expressed interest in a session.  I apologize that I can’t take any more clients.

Not to mention, the housework still piles up.  Laundry seems to happen every. single. day. Oh, and someone always wants to be fed.  I can’t believe that they think I need to make them food; and when I do I always run out of groceries.  Then it is inevitable that I must go grocery shopping.

And then you have the Holidays that still go on, so we are making great plans for this Easter Weekend. It will be our last Easter in the house, so I want to make it special.

See my kids cute new baskets?  It was time.  Their old baskets were terrible.  I know, the last thing I need to do is make new baskets, but I didn’t want to pack the old ones.  Plus, they were simple.

My friend Marji helped me with the vinyl. Thanks Marji; the kids love them.

We did find a house in PA.  Now I am working on school registration, and all the fun that comes along with moving locations.

Did I mention that Jonathan took a moonlighting job to help with our moving expenses, and has been working a lot.

I also bought a Groupon clear back in September to print a digital scrapbook.  They are so expensive, and I got it at a great deal.  Well, I just read the fine print and I have to print it before April 15th.  Needless to say, I have been working like a madwomen to get Tessa’s baby book finished.  I am almost done.  Here is a peak at a few pages:

Did I say a few? Maybe a few more.

Did I also mention that I was diagonosed with TMJ last week? (Do you think it could be stress related?) hee hee.

Oh.. and my favorite part.  The best part.  The only part that is helping me get through all of it, but also adds to the stress just a little.  We planned a little trip.  We happen to get home just days before we have to be out of our house.  However, we are going. It was already planned, pre-sale of the home.  We have been dying to go back to the place where our medical school journey began….

The island of Saba.  This was our home for 2 years, and I can’t wait to go back for a visit.  The kids are staying home with my parents.  Grandma and Grandpa have agreed to be the best grandparents ever and help with our kids, running them around, dance recitals(that happened to fall during our trip), baseball games, and any last minute house emergencies that may happen while we are gone.  My dad even asked if we will have things for them to work on when they come.  Oh yes dad, I will have nail holes to fill, paint to touch-up, curtains to take down.

I am grateful for parents.

I am also grateful for friends who will be helping us out over the next few months.

On this what I have learned Thursday… I guess I could say I am learning to live one day at a time.  Sometimes one moment at a time, but I am going to do it with a smile.  I am going to try and do it with less stress.  I am going to learn to let some things go.

…so dear blog and blogging world.  I will be seeing you.  It might be a while… before I make it back.