Princess Olivia Turns 5!

She has been waiting for this all year and it finally came!  On May 22nd Olivia turned 5.  She was so excited to have her special day.  We celebrated in Idaho with Michael's family the weekend before her birthday.  She got to have cupcakes and open presents with all the family.

Then, the day before her birthday she and I went out to lunch and had pretzels.  She wore her birthday crown and got to pick out cupcakes to take to school on her birthday.  For her birthday we went to Applebee's for supper (she wanted them to sing to her) and then came back and had cake.  We invited the neighbor kids over to help celebrate.  Michael was working but he made a couple of phone calls to her during the day and she loved being able to tell him all about her day.

 She wore her new birthday clothes to school (she picked out the shoes and socks).  She loves clothes and shoes!

She is so much fun to have around and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!  She is a true princess, from her long wavy hair and closet full of clothes to her sweet spirit and loving heart.  I waited three years for her to come and I can't imagine our family without her.  We love you Princess Olivia!

The Days Are Going Quickly

We are now almost done with the second week of May.  What was once lots of time to get everything done has now turned into 4 weeks before we head out.  The house inspection has been done.  There were no major issues thank goodness!  There may be a few minor repairs the buyer wants done but we haven't heard for sure yet.  The appraisal will be next week.  Once that's done everything can be finalized and signed.  Four weeks seems like a while still but when you add all the extra stuff to the everyday stuff, it goes quickly!  Baseball and softball are in full swing.  Most nights consist of multiple kids at multiple fields either in practice or games.  I usually make it to the end of each game.  Hopefully next week when Michael is home I will be able to watch more of the games and actually see my kids play and not just get there in time for the teams to shake hands and hand out treats!  We are also in the middle of field trip season at school!  The kids love it!  Makenna got an overnight trip to Cody, WY. Today she is on a trip to some ranch somewhere for a hay ride and a hotdog roast and who knows what else.  She has several more to go on yet.  Zane has got three coming up, Dillon has at least two and Zeke has one.  Dance is coming to a close this month too. Olivia has already stopped going. Makenna will have her final show in a few weeks and then she will be done too. Scouts is ongoing of course but only a once a week thing.  The Hershey track meet is also coming up and I have 3 who want to participate this year.  We'll see how it coincides with baseball as to who gets to run! The weather has been beautiful lately so being outside has been a bonus. Olivia and I have been walking her to school and back with trips to the park along the way.  I have still been trying to pack and sort through things a little at a time.  Our storage shed is filling up and our house is slowly emptying out.  I have decided I kind of like it empty!  Not sure I will allow all those other things back in the house after we move!  House hunting in Hendricks is coming along.  There are a couple of leads there.  Hopefully everything will get settled there soon.  Then I will be able to relax and just focus on packing and getting ready to move.  Michael gets to come home Sunday night!  I am so excited!  This will be his last week off before moving week.  He only has one more hitch to go.  We are both very grateful for that. So that's our update.  Hopefully next week I can take pictures of some of our adventures and get them posted!

The Blessings Continue...

This morning I talked with my amazing and beautiful friend, Pam.  She has been trying to find us a place in or around Hendricks to live when we move next month (can  you believe it - next month!?).  Well, the rentals are few and far between.  She, along with others, has been calling and asking any one and everyone if their empty houses are for rent or sale.  The favorite answer has seemed to be no!  Well, over the weekend and the beginning of this week as things were being pout into motion here, things started happening there.  A guy that had some land that Pam's husband had been interested in buying (the man at the time was not interested in selling) called Chad and told him that he was trying to buy a house in a different town and wanted to know if Chad wanted to buy this land.  The fact that this guy was buying a house elsewhere meant he would be moving out of his house next to the land.  Chad asked if he would be willing to rent the house.  The guy said yes.  Pam and Chad went and looked at the house yesterday and while it may not be the biggest house ever, it is available!  It is cheap, it has more than one bathroom :), it has beautiful views of the lake, a deck off the master bedroom, and a huge yard for the kids to run free in.  The guy is supposed to close on his new house sometime this week and start moving out so it should be ready by the time we get there in 5 weeks.  As I told Pam about how things worked out here and how it had to be because of help form God she said it was the same there.  All of a sudden everything fell into place.  Once again I am overwhelmed at His presence in all that we do.  He is so aware of us.  If we will but move forward in faith doing our best to do what is right, He will be there.  Things don't always go perfect, I'm sure we'll still have bumps to get over, but He is aware and He is in control.  He will bless us and carry us along.  My heart is full of joy and peace.  I wish Michael were here so I could share all these moments with him in person and not over the phone.  We are definitely grateful for the opportunity to come here.  It has brought many blessings to us that will continue to help us as we leave again.  We don't always know the why's and how come's to all of what life offers but I do know that He knows and if we follow Him we will be okay.  There is a song that we sing in church called "Be Thou Humble." The words of the hymn say, "Be thou humble in thy weakness and the Lord thy God shall lead thee, shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers. Be thou humble in thy pleading, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee, shall bless thee with a sweet and calm assurance that he cares."  I love this hymn.  The words are so true.  He will lead us and bless us.  For this I am eternally grateful. I am so thankful to everyone who has helped us over the last month or so.  It has been a roller coaster at times and there have been a few who have stuck with us for the whole ride and have done all they can to help and support us.  Thank you!  I love you all!  You are a part of these blessings that have come to my family.

So Blessed

It seems, over the last twlevish years, that Michael and I have gone against the flow many times. There have been so many instances when we have felt prompted or lead to do things or move places in the face of a lot opposition. Some of that opposition has come from family and close friends. It has been hard to follow our hearts and stick to the feelings we had because of all the things that were being said to and about us. Yet, in every instance, Heavenly Father has not left us alone. He has provided peace, comfort and strength when needed. He has helped Michael and I pull together instead of apart. He has helped us see eye to eye and feel the same promptings. He has provided blessings and opportunities to help us achieve what we needed. This time has been no different. Our decision to move was not accepted with great joy from some. But during it all we pulled together and stuck to the feelings of our hearts. It was hard, but I couldn't go back on the promptings I had and neither could Michael. There was uncertainty in it all. We had a house to sell that we had only owned for 6 months. We had to find a place to live in a small community that didn't have much in the way of empty houses. Tonight it has all come together. After only a day and a half on the market, we got two offers on our house - both above asking price. I also got a text from a friend stating that they think they have found a place for us to move in to for a very reasonable price. We will also have money for a down payment if we want to buy a house. The Lord's hand is in this. I am overwhelmed at His love and concern for me and my family. He knows our needs. He knows our hearts and will help us in our righteous endevours. I am so thankful. My heart is overflowing from His tender mercies. I am a little nobody according to the standards of the world. But I am important enough to my Heavenly Father that He will hear my prayers and answer them - sometimes more fully then I could have ever imagined!

For Sale

Well, it's official.  The sign is up and the house is listed.  Now comes the waiting and hoping and the constant cleaning :)  Right now the market seems good.  There are not as many houses for sale and it seems that some of them are going rather quickly.  Since ours is still in the fix it up mode, we are asking a lot less than most others so that will help to not have competition in the price market.  One thing about Green River is that even if the house is $200,000, it still needs work.  The housing is really expensive here.  The fact that we can ask $139,000 for ours will help us I think.  We will just have to wait and see what happens now.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I Think We're Ready!

This has been a busy week.  Michael and I spent the days packing and hauling.  I rented a storage shed last week and this week we have been filling it.  I kind of like the half empty house - it's so much roomier!  We have made a trip to the dump, several trips to the thrift store and even more trips to the storage shed.  We have cleaned - inside and out and done our best to get everything ready.  We signed papers and got everything ready at the real estate office.  We even had time for a little fun.  There was the regular baseball and softball.  Zane also had his pinewood derby this week.  The kids love to watch all the different cars race. Michael and I got to go out on a lunch date and a dinner date!  We celebrated our 12th anniversary Saturday.  He brought me white roses and a card.  Then we got a babysitter and went out to dinner.  It was nice to have some relaxation time with him after all the work we had done during the week.  Today we went to my parents house and celebrated again with dinner and dessert.  Michael headed back to work tonight.  I'm afraid he didn't get the rest he needed this week and will be tired going into this hitch but the knowledge that we only have two more will help.  Maddi had another meltdown after he left tonight.  I feel so bad for her when she struggles.  It's hard to watch your kids hurt.  She hates when Michael leaves.  She asked why we couldn't just leave now.  Unfortunately we have a few things we need to do before we can leave - the main one being to find a house to move in to!  Watching her struggle though shows me how important it is to do this.  This is pain that you can't buy off with the money he is out making.  Nothing I can buy her will take the place of Michael not being here.  His paychecks aren't worth that!  As I have said before, despite the chilly treatment we get from some and the undeserved questioning from others, I know that we have made the right choice.  I know that we are doing the right thing for our family.  The next few weeks will have moments of concern and anxiousness I am sure, but I know that it will all come together the way it is supposed to.  My brother quoted me a scripture the other day when I was talking to him about all that was going on.  It says (in some form or other), "lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust doth corrupt...But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." That is in Matthew.  We are doing our best here on this earth to do the things that will allow us to be a part of the Kingdom of God. We are trying to be righteous.  We are trying to teach our children.  We are trying to strengthen our family.  If we are doing our best to seek Him, He will bless us with all that we need.  I believe that.  I trust in that.  I receive hope from that.  I gain strength from that.  So after all that has happened this week, we are ready in all aspects.  We are ready to put our For Sale sign out front tomorrow and get things rolling!  Our house is ready, our hearts are ready, the kids are ready and hopefully everything else (like the house market) is ready!

Hurting...

I am not perfect although perfection is my goal.  I will never reach it in this life but I hope to live good enough to reach it in the next life.  I will say this though, I try to always do what is right.  Sometimes it is hard.  Sometimes it is painful.  I don't just do things to do them.  I try to pray and study and think things through.  I know I will always fall short in the eyes of some.  I always have and it seems I always will.  To those I want to say this.  You hurt me.  You break my heart.  You know me better than that yet you give me no credit.  Tonight I am hurting.  I am sorry for falling short in your eyes.  I am not, however, sorry for the choices I have made.  I believe with all my heart that what I am doing and the choices I am making are the right ones.  My desires are righteous.  My heart is good.  My intentions are not evil.  I will continue on in faith despite the hurt that I feel, because beneath the hurt I still feel peace in my choices.  No one can say what our Heavenly Father has in store for us.  No one can say what His time frame is.  No one knows what lies in wait for us.  No one can take away the things that I have felt and the knowledge that I have.  I hope that some day you will be able to see me for who I really am.  I hope that you will be able to see into my heart and past the physical body that holds it.  I hope you will understand how desperately I need your love, but also understand that I can't always do what you want me to do to earn it.

What a Hitch!

Michael is coming home tonight (actually early tomorrow morning).  It has been a crazy hitch!  When Michael left two weeks ago I was so discouraged and frustrated. We were hoping with the interviews that Michael had gone to that we would have some answers about jobs before he left again.  We didn't.  I was in a really bad mood that day.  Here we were, him leaving again, the kids sad and me left to do it alone.  It wasn't what I was hoping for.  We had been fasting and praying.  We knew that this isn't what we were supposed to keep doing, but the options we were hoping for hadn't come about as of yet.  What's more, one of the jobs Michael had decided he probably wouldn't take even if they offered it to him.  Well, a week went by and nothing.  Our spirits were down.  The next week, I started filling out applications for other places around here.  I figured that I needed to do everything I should and take advantage of all the opportunities out there.  Tuesday things started coming together.  SDSU called and offered him the job. The next day Olsen Custom Farms called and offered him a job (our secret desire all along).  Michael turned down SDSU and accepted with Olsen's on Wednesday.  Thursday our real estate agents came to look at the house and let us know what we needed to do to get it on the market.  Friday I rented a storage unit so we could empty out all our non-essentials into it.  I also started collecting boxes.  This weekend we have started going through the kids rooms and getting rid of a lot and packing the rest, except for a few things.  It has been a whirlwind hitch!  I am so excited for Michael to come home and be a part of it!  He will love to see the kids' excitement and I will love having him be able to help pack and haul things!  Our spirits have been lifted.  What started out as one more hitch in a never ending pattern, turned into a joyful answer to prayers!  We feel so blessed.  Michael only has two more hitches to go.  It will be so much easier to say goodbye knowing that there is an end in sight and in the very near future we will not have to do this anymore!  There is still a lot to do between now and then.  We have to clear out our house, get it sold (cross your fingers for that to happen) and find a place there to live in, but we know it will all work out.

It's Starting to Feel Official

When all this job stuff came about at the beginning of the week it seemed kind of unreal. I wasn't sure how to take it all in. I was excited. I felt like our prayers had been answered. But at the same time, I could hardly believe it was happening! As the week has progressed and we got more details of the job and when we would start, it started feeling a little more real. Today pushed it all the way there! Our real estate agents came over to look at the house. We are using the same ones we bought it from since we know them and they know the house. They checked out what we had done for improvements, asked a few questions, and left me feeling relieved. They are extremely confident that we can sell the house with no problems. They told us we didn't need to do any more work on the house ( big relief). They told us we could for sure sell it for a profit (nice bonus since we've only owned for 6 months). They also told us that we were one of the few houses in this price range so there wouldn't be a lot of competition. Since we can sell it for well below what others are selling theirs for we have a nice advantage. The one thing we have to do though is declutter! Six kids take up a lot of space. We have to pack everything but the essentials and get it out of the house. They would like for us to get it all done next week so they can put it on the market that next Monday. Guess what Michael and I are going to be doing next week? Packing, organizing, throwing things away and hauling stuff off. Then, once it's on the market, we have to be ready at all times to show it. It will be crazy to keep the house show ready all the time, but it will be worth it if we can get it sold before we go to Minnesota. Anyways, now it feels official. Now I know it is really happening!

I Just Have to Say...

I am not a verbal person, in that I don't like to speak my mind or talk about emotional things directly to people.  I get nervous and flustered and worried that I might offend.  So instead, I write.  It not only allows me to say what I want to say, but it relieves stress for me as well.  So here goes....

I just want to express what is in my heart and on my mind.  I feel like, with some, I have been made to be the bad guy in this whole job and moving situation - like I am doing something wrong or out to hurt some one.  I'm not! I am trying to do what is best for my family!  As much as I would like to I can't make everyone happy.  I just can't!  I have to do what is best for me and my family and I can't worry about anything else.  I know this move comes as hard news to some and I feel horrible about that.  If I could, I would take it all away but I can't.  There are hard things for me too.  We are leaving good schools, family, some of us are leaving good friends, I am leaving the first house we ever owned and while it wasn't the nicest of homes, it was mine and I enjoyed making plans for how I wanted it to be.  BUT, we are doing what we feel is best for our family.  There is great joy in this decision.  I feel guilty about those that may be hurt.  I am not trying to abandon or anything else like that.  I am sorry if I am happy about it but I can't help it.  This is an answer to our prayers.  This is what we have been waiting for.  Not only are we going back to a place that we never wanted to leave in the first place, to people that we never wanted to leave, but we are going to a place that will allow Michael to be back home with us.  Michael's mom pout it perfectly the other night, right now he is a visitor in his own home.  It is so true!  Now he will be able to be in our lives on a daily basis.  There will be no more putting little kids to bed crying because they miss their daddy, no more breakdowns by older ones who need daddy there, no more sad Sunday nights as we stand at the door and tell him goodbye for two weeks.  Our family will be back together.  That is what is most important to us and if it means we have to leave here then that is what we will do.

Last night, in the middle of the night, I woke to Olivia coughing and choking in her bed.  She couldn't get her breath.  It scared me.  She has had croup many times and it has resulted in several trips to the ER.  All I could do was lay there with her propped on pillows and pray that she didn't need to go there.  I had to be up at 5:30 to take the two older girls to school by 6:30 for their much anticipated trip.  I had three others that would be sleeping.  How would I get her to the ER and get the girls to school and take care of the other three too.  So I lay there from 2:30 to 4:00 hoping that she would settle down.  She did and for that I am grateful.  What if she didn't though?  What would I have done?  How could I have done it all by myself?  Michael was gone and all the responsibility was mine.  I never did go back to sleep last night.  The worry from Olivia, the stress from having to deal with it alone, and the responsibility of getting everyone where they needed to go kept me from sleep for the rest of the night.  I realize that there are people who do it alone all the time.  I know that, but I have the opportunity to not have to do that anymore.  I have the opportunity to have my husband back home with me and nothing is going to make me want anything else.

So if you have taken this move as a personal offense, please don't.  Please understand me and what I have gone through, what Michael has gone through and what our children have gone through.  Please don't be mad at me and make me feel guilty over a decision that should be bringing me joy. You may think that there will be holes left where we were, but the Lord will fill those holes.  He always has and He always will.  Life is full of change and challenges, but He is always there to help us over the bumps.  I refuse to be sad over this move. I refuse to let others push their feelings on me and smother the joy that I am feeling.  I refuse to let anything get in the way of my family being together.  I have loved many aspects of living here.  I have met many new people and made friends who will forever be in my heart.  My children have had many wonderful experiences here, but I am ready to have my husband back and our family life the way it was meant to spent - together.