The Christmas Rundown

Christmas Eve we went to Madison. We spent a couple of hours that went too quick with mom to open presents and visit, then off to Dad and Regina's place for Christmas there. That was fun. Dad had family and some friends over for the get together. It was a really fun, relaxing night there. The kids had fun, the dog was even worn out from playing. Thanks Regina for always being so kind and generous, always a great hostess too. After that we went to Buddy's and opened presents there with mom and his kids. Mason was so grateful. All the kids did well, and love each other so much. We then made the 2 hour drive back to Lexington. We really like the idea of being in our own home for Christmas, mostly selfish...I can relax, and it's more intimate. Who cares about bad breath and all the trash and craziness when you are at home. So we set things up and went to bed around 1 am. The kids slept in, Zac came in the bedroom at 8:30 and said, "mommy wake up, it's the first day of Christmas!" They had a fun morning. Jenna now knows a little about names and letters, so she passed out gifts and was really sweet to Zac.
Thanks to everyone for the gifts. The pictures are just the fun ones with real smiles that I could capture in the midst of tearing open gifts. I wish I had more of mom and dad and the grown-ups too, but as Buddy said, "it's all about the kids."
Thanks to Scot and Julene for everything too. Lis, you'll see the picture of the kids with your gifts too. The kids had a great Christmas.
That night we went to my Uncle Mike's house and had a nice meal with them. I haven't seen them since 2001. Jenna whispered to me at dinner, "this is the best gravy ever!". That was cute. She loves mashed potatoes and gravy, her grandma great's pots and gravy in Orem are her favorite though! After the kids went to bed, Steve and I played Mario Kart on the Wii and laughed. It was a good day.
Next year I hope that we won't be moving again. This happened close to Christmas last year too. I hope that I can have more talks about the Savior with the kids and teach them better about the true meaning of Christmas. We are grateful for our Savior. For His humble birth in Bethlehem, for what he taught us while He was on Earth, for His atonement and death, and for the resurrection.
"May God be Thanked for the priceless gift of His Son, Jesus Christ."

We hope that you had a Merry Christmas!

Congratulations Kevin and Anna!

Congratulations to Steve's brother Kevin who was married in Armenia on the 19th. Welcome to the family, Anna. We love you both and are excited to see you!

Christmas Pictures 2008

 

 

 

Lexington

We are in the home in Lexington. Driving from mom's to here was fun (it's 2 hours). I love to see the farms and the look of KY. It's beautiful here too, just a different beautiful than Utah.
Everyone here has been super nice. The house is nice, and the kids are starting to settle in, sort of. Zac is an emotional wreck at bedtimes and a little out of whack in general. We are trying to remind ourselves that this is a change for everyone. All of us are dealing in our own ways, and have our own concerns whether verbalized or not.

We did finally put up a tree last night, after the third try on finding one...most normal people apparently have theirs up! That was fun. Jenna loved it. She was fun, Zac was very zealous about the lights. My friend from high school, Kelly came over too. It is nice to have her here. I am glad to have her here in Lexington. She has been so helpful, and I think that we will really find friendship in each other as her husband works a lot in Med school Residency, and Steve is working the tax season.
We went to church Sunday and really loved the Ward. They were so friendly. We were invited to bowl at as a Ward tomorrow morning but are going pass on account of a lot to do before heading back to mom's to celebrate Christmas there tomorrow evening.
Thanks again for everyone's prayers and well-wishing on our behalf. Much Love to you!

Dec 17th: We are here!

We made it. My odometer read 2040 miles for the trip last night when we got to mom's. It was a long haul, but in the end, the kids and dog did great, minus a few hiccups typical for kids and a puppy. We were able to leave Cedar Saturday at 1pm. We arrived past Flagstaff, AZ, in a town called Gallop, NM. Thankfully we were just driving through Flagstaff as the snow was starting the fall. Mind you that they are now calling for a total of 20' there! The next night we stayed in Elk City, OK. Our last night was in Springfield, MO. Kudos to Steve for always choosing a hotel with an indoor pool and swimming with the kids each night. The last night the wind chill was 1 degree...it was an indoor/outdoor pool, they went under the curtain and swam briefly outdoors! Fun memories for the kids. The dog did awesome, minus tearing up the carpet in the corner of a hotel room. We are still waiting for a call from the manager there! Yikes, that was awful and we feel terrible. She needed to burn off energy too. It was like 15 degrees most of the time, which made the dog hesitant to play fetch or even pee at the stops. Steve rode with the dog and I rode with the kids the entire trip.
The van was awesome, minus the windshield wiper fluid was froze most of the trip.
Steve was totally fine with the long trip and enjoyed it, aside from the fact that he worried about us in the van when the roads were bad or the traffic was heavy. He knows that I get all nervous and sweaty.
We head to KY on the 19th to sign the lease and meet the landlord.

Thankful

Well, I googled the school wrong, and come to find out, it is a terrific school that is 4.5 miles from the home that we have decided on in Lexington. I also think that all day will be fine for Jenna.
Also, not only do I have a friend there and an uncle, but Steve has a relative in a nearby town that is our age.
Also, the kids are doing fine, the weather may hold for the cross country drive, and we are so pleased to have renters sign a lease last night. Hooray.
Also mom plans to keep the kids for 4 straight days while Steve and I unload in Lexington and maybe hang Christmas lights.
Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement when I think that a melt down is in order.

Vicarious nausea

We are coming close to a decision for where to live next week! I can't get one place to call me back, and the other looks pretty good. It is so hard not seeing the places myself. We plan on a 6 month lease, enough time to look around and see where to settle in.
I am mostly sick for Jenna. I was searching for schools nearby the potential homes. 1 is 35 minutes away (almost 45 minutes from where Steve and I will probably work), another is downtown Lexington- I get an ugly picture in my mind, and the other is a public school with strict dress codes. - $$$, she has no khakis right now, I just bought 2 pair of jeans Saturday! And they are all day! She has been doing afternoon only and has been great. She currently loves her teacher and has her little friends at the school that is not even a mile from here. She is shy and withdrawn when she is upset. She is already starting to do that as we say goodbye to people. I worry about her. I pray that my worry is unwarranted and that she does great and loves it! I also hope that she makes friends at church that will help. Thank you, thank you that I can be there for her the first few months and not work. It's late I know and that is probably half of why I am looking at the blurry screen because I want to cry...I just love her and want her to be happy and confident. Gall! I have to re-live the August kindergarten post all over again! Don't worry the logical and faithful part of me sees her smile and laughing and happy, talking about how much she loves school and the kids that sit at her table. I can be positive, and for her sake and mine, she will see me be positive and strong. :)

On a good note, I am pretty sure that we have renters even after our original ones fell through earlier today! Yea!!!!!

Our House

I have been taking pictures of the house for craigslist and those that have inquired about renting. I thought that I would post them here. None of my family has seen our home. I thought that I would post them.

Old Kentuck

It was official Monday. We are moving to Lexington, KY. The movers are lined up, and we are looking for housing in Lexington. I am proud of Steve, we interviewed in KY, AZ and Logan Utah and received offers from all 3 places. Crowe Horwath gave us an awesome offer that will be a great experience for Steve, albeit in a cubicle. We are grateful to have choices (some are easier than others). What a great country to live in where we have freedoms and options. We are also glad for Steve's education that we continue to pay off monthly. :)
We have been impressed through this ordeal of losing a job and looking for a new one, and renting the house, etc...that there are so many good people out there. So many have been just awesome... Our home teacher, friends at my work, friends in general, prospective employers, potential renters, the moving companies, etc. My dad even offered to drive out with his trailer if it would help us move.
We are holding our breath a little for good renters so that we can afford to not do something drastic with this house. I am going to miss Cedar, we all are. I suppose it wasn't meant to be. "Kentucky will be an adventure" is the attitude we are going for. Jenna simply says, "moving to Kentucky is not an adventure!". She is happy to be closer to Ma and Mason though. We will look for new kindergarten, and Zac (or maybe Steve and I need him to go) desperately needs to go back to preschool and play with kids other than Jenna and Spongebob! We'll find an OB, and I am thrilled to not have to work until after #3. That just makes me so happy! It almost seems necessary to get things in order and "be there" for the kids as they adjust. It's tax season too almost immediately, so it will be nice to have off through those difficult months.