GOODBYE WEST JORDAN, UT...

Hello Fountain Valley,CA!!!

So, here's the story... not even two weeks ago I was awake in the middle of the night feeding Garrett and I was thinking, thinking, thinking of what we could do to get financially ahead without Brad getting 2 jobs. The thought popped into my brain "maybe we should sell our house," but then I was filled with sadness plus I had no idea where we would move. I couldn't go back to sleep cause my brain was running wild. I then talked to Brad about it and he had the thought that we should look for job openings in the Huntington Beach area and we could move in with my parents. I wasn't too sure about it, but I called my parents anyway to ask if we COULD find a job if they would be willing. They were.

Then that got our wheels turning even more and conveniently the next day was Fast Sunday. We fasted and prayed and felt really good about pursuing this idea. Which we thought would be a big deal to make happen. Getting a job in this economy and selling our house in the economy might take a long time.

To make a long story short; within a week Brad got a accepted for a job transfer to the Irvine Lowe's where he would still be a department manager but he would get paid more. The store manager wanted him there by April 4th which was less than a month away. Now we had to sell our house. Two days later we put our house up for sale and within 4 hours of our sign going up in the yard... SOLD! Sold to the women I visit teach (Petra)and her family. I had told her about our house a couple days previous to putting it up for sale and they liked it, but already had an offer on a different house. Once the house went up online they decided they needed to come over for another look. Our house is absolutely PERFECT for them even down to the paint colors in the bedrooms already being the right colors for their kids. They will move in and not have to change a thing. They wanted to close as soon as possible. We are closing March 31st which means our WHOLE famiy can move to CA before April 4th!

Is this the Lord's will or what? From the time we decided this is what we should do it only took a week and half to get a job and sell our house. The Lord knew this would be coming and put everything in place for us. Why was I Petra's visiting teacher? If I wasn't, I would not have known she was even looking for a house. Why were there openings in CA Lowe's but nothing here in Utah? Heavnly Father loves us and we love Him. We give Him credit for all things and we could not live our lives with out Him at the head of our home guiding us. We can't thank Him enough for going above and beyond our expectations. The blessings are overflowing and we can't thank Him enough.

Mommy WOW....

I'M A BIG KID NOW!

He did it! We did it! Parker is now wearing big boy underwear all day, everyday except for at night. He wakes up most mornings dry, but I don't want to chance it yet. It took a solid week, but I think it is safe to say he is potty trained(mostly). I am so proud of our "not-so-little" guy. We have gone to the store and other outings and he holds it... he actually does it. Today at a little play group he was doing the potty dance so I asked him if he needed to go pee and he went in his friends potty with out even getting nervous. (this was his first time using someone elses potty) Every time he finishes "peeing like Daddy" he glows from head to toe with pride. Parker amazes me. How are we so blessed to have such a wonderful child. Every big transition in his life so far has been so much easier than I thought it would be.

This is parker showing me his BIG muscles.

Big boy bed... big boy underwear... Parker, you really are a big boy now. It is hard to believe that in 4 short months you will be 3 years old!

Who couldn't love these boys?

Their new "brother" thing to do is play in Garrett's crib together. Garrett absolutely ADORES Parker.

Melts me everytime. And yes, that dark area on his shirt around his tummy IS drool. He is my drooly baby. He is always making bubbles and eating his hands. I think he might be teething already, but we shall see.

Little Einsteins is one of Parker's favorite shows. I love that he watches this show cause it teaches him so much about music (he sometimes beats his dad at naming instruments) and his vocabulary is so much bigger from it. What 2 year old knows what a Petroglyph and what metamorphosis is? He knows that this picture has the rings of Saturn in it? Are you kidding me? Who's kid is this? If Parker turns out to be some genius when he grows up, I can't take any credit for it. Thank you television for educating my child. What would I do with out you?

P.S. At what age does this cheesy/fake smile go away?

This picture illustrates why we call Garrett "chunk a lunk."

Parker is getting so old. I just want to slow time down or on the other hand, maybe I want to speed up time so we can by pass the rest of the terrible twos and most likely threes and go straight to four. Any potty training tips? Potty training terrifies me. I don't want to deal with it. But I've got to. He is ready and I can't miss this window of opportunity. I'll take any advice.

I love these boys with ALL my heart. Being a mom is the coolest thing in the world. Hearing Parker calling ME Mommy and telling me he loves me and watching Garrett's face light up every single time he sees me makes everything worth it! I love you Parker and Garrett. You are MY boys for eternity and I am so proud of it.

Time Flies with two kids

Here is our little 3 month old "Garritto." One day that name just came out of my mouth and it stuck, I don't know if I even like that nickname, but what's done is done. Other names he goes by are chunk a lunk and little cutie. Garrett has turned into such an easy going baby. All he does is eat, sleep and hang out with out complaints. The only time he fusses is if he is STARVING or super tired, but both of those are easily remedied. Garrett can not take his eyes off his big brother and I can tell he is already looking up to Parker. We love this little guy more and more everyday!

His little infectious smile is the best. Sometimes it seems he looks for reasons to smile. He has brought so much joy into our lives. If he is in the right mood we can even get him to be ticklish around his neck, armpits and legs. Honestly.. LOVE THIS KID!

Here is Parker attempting one of his "death defying tricks" I don't know if I like this one. He is also a pro at somersaults, spinning and doing animal imitations on the ground. Parker has also become WAY into singing. I probably hear him sing Twinkle Twinkle little star about 50 times a day especially while he is trying to fall asleep in his room and most of the time it morphs into the ABC's because they are the same tune. For instance..."A B C D E "best" G, how I wonder what you are" Yes... you did read the word "best" in there, for some reason he doesn't say "f" , its "best."

I know this is an awkward angle but I had to share it. I was taking a shower and told Brad to watch the kids. When I got out this is what I found on our bed. Brad fell asleep snuggling with the boys. Notice, the kids managed to stay awake. Brad sure does love his naps.

So much to share!

Christmas 2008 is definately one we will remember. Blizzard, snowed-in for half the day, and the power out for over an hour. There was so much snow that the main road leaving our neighborhood was closed the whole day. We couldn't go anywhere even if we wanted to. Later in the day though we were able to go to Bonnie and Mike once the snow was plowed on the main roads.

All this snow from one storm!

Ususally snow doesn't even touch our front porch, but the winds were going crazy. Consistently between 25-30mph.

This was during the storm.

A couple of the things Santa brought for Christamas...tools and big boy underwear. Parker is not potty trained by any means, but this is a start. He loves his big boy underwear, he just doesn't love the potty.

GARRETT IS NOW 2 MONTHS OLD!!! Always smiling and always sleeping. He slept 8 hours last night! His hair is still long, his eyelashes are getting longer, his eyes are getting bluer and melting our hearts everyday.

Last year we started a tradition of making an igloo in our backyard. Here is our igloo for winter 2008-2009. The igloo before our Christmas Day blizzard/storm...

After...

A day in the life of a BIG brother

Once Garrett fell asleep in his swing these were the things that my little helper said Garrett "needed." Luckily Garrett slept through the whole thing.
Parker trying to stay out of the way of the swing to see the results of his big brother skills.

Snuggling on the couch with his "cowboys." Kim Hoke made him this blanket before he was born. This is is favorite. He can't snuggle or sleep with out it. p.s.--he piled both those pillows up so he could be more comfortable to watch his movie.

A day would not be complete with out a little rockin' out in the kitchen. Thanks Grammie and Grandpa for teaching him that the canisters can be drums.

Cheesy smile. But we love it. This boy needs a hair cut.

Garrett's Blessing Day