We made it!

Well, we've moved! Tonight will be the third night sleeping in our new rental home. The Basuas were here yesterday to help us put stuff away (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!), and they even spent the night. If 13 (almost 14) people can stay in this cozy little house, anyone can!

I'll be sending out an email with our new address soon (as soon as Larry can get my computer set up--hint, hint), but if you are anxious, just email me, and I will let you know how to find us now!

Totally cool experience this evening! I was just putting stuff away and saw that there was a cable coming out of the wall downstairs where I had set up the "movie watching zone" for the kids with the little 13 inch TV. I plugged in and before you know it, I was watching a rerun of the afternoon session just moments after it had concluded. I don't even remember the last time that I actually saw conference--we usually just listen to it over the internet. It was just another reminder that, yes, I am in Utah, where they carry conference on regular TV. How cool!

Just to let you know--no baby yet. But I can't say how glad I am that we are in the new place. We may be surrounded by boxes and chaos, but we all have places to eat, sleep, and use the facilities (ahem). Now we just have to carve a little spot out for our cutie-girl-to-come!

Time flies...

Wow--its been over a week since I've blogged. I guess I am not feeling very inspired. I am 3 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced (moms should know what that means), but don't panic! That was the same as last week! :) I think I am probably going to have this baby sometime in the next month or so. How's that for covering my bases?

Last Saturday was a special day. For the first time in my life, I got to sit in a huge auditorium full of women and listen to a prophet of God. I feel so blessed to be here (Utah) at this point in my life and reap so many blessings that come from being close to the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Having not grown up here, I still marvel at the fact that when I travel on the freeway, I can see temples dotting the hills. When we were in Oxnard, going to the temple was a HUGE undertaking. But I know there are people in the world who would laugh at the "hardship" of getting through LA traffic to the temple. I laugh at myself thinking that it is a sacrifice. But blessings always follow sacrifice. I believe that with all my heart.

The theme of the meeting last Saturday was "Encircled Eternally in the Arms of His Love" or something to that effect. What a blessing to have sisters gathered all over the world to hear that message. Regardless of our circumstances, we can feel the love of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Whether we are living in a hut in the most desolate desert or in a mansion in the most exclusive neighborhood, we all rely on the Savior as our Rock and our Redeemer. We are all equal heirs to His kingdom. It doesn't matter how fast our progess is, just that we are making progress. Am I making progress? Am I going forward in faith? Am I making essential course corrections to help me become more Christ-like? I can always do better. One foot in front of the other!

Do not take counsel from your fears

I had an interesting experience yesterday. I was faced with a not-so-pleasant situation and completely broke down. Maybe I could blame the pregnancy hormones, but I think I need to be a little more honest with myself. My mind raced from "what-ifs" to other horrible scenarios as I let my fears take over. I was reminded that what is needed most in my life is a believing heart. Not a naive one, but a believing heart. I am so blessed, and the Lord wants to bless me even more. But I have to believe and wait upon Him.

On a happier note, we put a deposit on a cute little house. Who knows how long we'll be there, but I feel really good about making a little nest for my family there. The Lord DOES take care of us--of that I am sure!

Only four weeks away from my due date! I always dread this last month, but here goes! Let's see...Hadland was a week late, William was 5 days early, and Lauren was two weeks early. Any guesses as to when this little sweetie will make her debut?

DADDY'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

So, this is the story of my life. I make all of these fun plans and they never work out as I imagined. Case in point: I went and got a posterboard yesterday that we could decorate to welcome Larry home. Then the entire family wrote and drew and all that. We didn't even forget it when we left to go to the airport. So far, so good. Then Larry got in a little early, I got a little lost trying to park the car, and we walked into the baggage claim area only to glimpse Larry from afar. As we got closer, I couldn't see him anymore. Then my cell phone rings. He is outside waiting for us. We didn't tell him that we had parked and that we had a surprise for him. So I told him that he needed to come back inside because we had something for him. So much for the big welcome with the kids and the sign. So much for my desire to get a picture of him being greeted by the family. Oh, well. He just wanted to get home, and I was trying to have a "moment." Larry is not really about "moments" anyway. But it is wonderful to have him home. More than I can say.

One cute thing, though. The minute Lauren saw Larry, she stood up from her stroller and latched on to his legs and wouldn't let go until he picked her up. You should have seen her face--she was positively beaming. She couldn't get enough of him. She was doing what I should have been doing (except that I was still being bummed about my fantasy "moment" not happenning). That girl sure does love her daddy. We all do!!

Rainy days and Fridays...

OK, so it isn't the Carpenter's song, but it IS a rainy day--complete with thunder and lightning (t/l) . I am trying to get used to the whole t/l thing, but I am a California girl...I'd take an earthquake over the thunder any day of the week. In fact, a thunderbolt (is that what you call it?) got so close to the house today that a nearby car's alarm went off just from the sound/pressure/whatever. Deep breathing--that is what I recommend! It was kind of cool to sit and watch the rain come down in front of our house. I don't think Lauren has ever really seen anything like that. She thought it was pretty nifty, I must say.

Oh, and daddy's coming home tomorrow!!! O frabjous day--callooH, callay (I'm chortling in my joy). He passed his evil test and is now an official Red Hat Certified Engineer! YIPPEEEEEE!!

Life is good out here. We have a roof over our heads, a car that keeps us dry (and warm) when we travel in it, clothes to wear, yummy food to eat, and books, movies, and each other to keep us entertained. What more do we need? :)

We're outta here!

Does that sound really excited? Well, fake it 'till you make it, I guess. The people that own house that we are renting just accepted an offer last night to buy it. So that means that this pregnant lady and her family need to find some new digs and fast. I am just a little nervous that we can find a good place before this baby comes. Deep breath! Ok. Everything will be fine--we just have to get going!

And don't worry--we'll let everyone know our new address!

So, how many more nights?...

Tonight it was Hadland's turn to miss daddy. When I tucked him in, he asked me to tell Daddy to give him a kiss and a hug. I reminded him that Daddy would be gone for a few more days. Next question: "How many nights has he been gone?" Answer: "Six." Next question: "How many is he going to be gone altogether?" Answer: "Eight" Then: "So when Daddy gets home on Saturday you need to tell him to give me eight kisses and hugs." He misses his Daddy!

But the heart-wrenching one is Lauren. When she gets sad or wants to be comforted, she usually goes in to Daddy for a hug. So now she just walks in to his office, stands there crying a little and then walks back out. Pathetic! She can't say it, but she sure misses her Daddy, too!

Then there's me. I just walk around the house in a daze. I go to the computer every hour or so and look at everyone's blogs. Usually no one has anything new, so I surf a little bit, and then walk out. I am so bored I don't know what to do! I even surfed Costco.com tonight! Someone give me something interesting to read on the internet before I go nuts!! I still have three more days until Larry gets home. I've heard it said that only boring people get bored...well, I guess the truth hurts!

I miss Larry!

He's gone for the week, and boy do we miss him. William just told me tonight when I was tucking him in that I should tell Daddy to give him a kiss and a hug. I winced a little inside and told him that Daddy wouldn't be back for a few more days. But he was determined. He told me that when Daddy got home, I should tell him to give William a kiss and hug. So I said, "Sure, honey. I'll do that when he gets home."

I just got off the phone with that tall drink of water, and I miss him. He is at training this week, and he misses us too. We've been so spoiled for so long that Daddy gets to be with us almost all of the time. So when he's gone, we sure feel it.

I find that I've been doing little things for the kids--giving them unexpected treats. I wonder if I am trying to compensate for the fact that they only have me around for a week. I'm not very good at the "getting on the floor and wrestling/tickling them" at this point in my pregnancy (but then again, that is usually Larry's department). I am also pretty exhausted, and I am sure they get of Mommy saying, "I'm too tired. Maybe later. Come lie down with Mommy on her bed." I've said that more times than I would like to admit :)

I guess what I am trying to say is that I love my husband and my kids' daddy. I miss him more than I can say. And I hope the rest of the week flies by so he can come home. (And I hope that I can find some more yummy treats!)

Going home...

I think this weekend can be classified as one of the best of all time. First of all, we got to go "home" to Oxnard. We stayed with our FABULOUS friends, the Thunells, and we got a heart-full of love! Through some of the Lord's tender mercies, we were able to see some of the dearest people in the world. I love those blessings!

First we were able to go to Rowe McMullin's memorial service. Through coincidence (or maybe not) we found out when we first moved to Santa Barbara in 1999 that a couple in our ward knew Larry's grandparents in Barnwell. Now, since Barnwell only has around 500 people (or so I've been told), that is quite a small world! It was a wonderful service, paying tribute to a true cowboy. Ruth is still one of the most caring, energetic, amazing women I've ever known. She took such good care of us when we lived in Santa Barbara. WE LOVE YOU, RUTH!!!

Next we went to Karin and Wayne's wedding. She was a breathtaking bride, just as I always knew she would be. The ceremony was so sweet, and I think everyone could feel the joy as they took their first steps together as husband and wife. Now we get to look forward to their sealing in the temple next spring!!! :)

Sunday was full of church and WE LOVED IT!!! We were able to see our friends in both of our Oxnard wards, and we totally wished we were still there. We lived in Oxnard for the majority of our married life, and we had put down serious roots. We felt so loved and welcomed and missed. Its great to feel that you are important to wonderful people.

So, we went home and now I'm back to my new home in the mountains. I hope I learn to love it as much as I did my home by the sea.

Success report

Well, the peaches were even better than I had hoped. I wanted to report on my success. I canned 4 dozen quarts of peaches, made 3 dozen pints of peach-raspberry jam, and numerous peach fruit leathers. I definitely patted myself on the back a few times. But I never would have gotten it all done without Shauri! She's my hero!!!!!!! My feet are killing me--I am definitely getting a pedicure when I can safely walk on those dogs for more than a few yards without wincing.

Larita--I know you are salivating! Darla brought her own half-and-half so she could just eat those peaches. We just got home last night, and this morning, Larry had his peaches and cream. I think Lauren followed him around for a little while hoping to catch some from him, but no luck! She's the only one who REALLY appreciates a good peach. We had a couple of pancake breakfasts while we were at Delyle's (that's his way to bribe people to help him with manual labor), and the boys only wanted whipped cream and sugar on their pancakes! EWWW! Talk about sugar overload! But there was Lauren, after eating a whole bowl of Cheerios, then a few peach slices stolen from the kitchen, eating her pancakes with puree, peaches, whipped cream--the whole nine yards. Definitely a girl after her parents' hearts. But I did notice that the pancakes remained...I guess she has her favorites!

If any of you are close enough to Ogden, I would be happy to share (well, maybe not happy, but willing :) peaches and jam. But I am keeping all of the fruit leather. My kids think fruit-by-the-foot is better--ICK!! More for me, then!

By the way--no Storytelling festival for us this year--the barn and the peaches took precedence. But I have read on the website (www.timpfest.org) that Bill Harley and Bil Lepp are coming in February to a Mid-Winter Story Event. I am stoked! Bill Harley is my favorite and totally rocks, and Bil Lepp tells the greatest tall tales I have ever heard. We are looking forward to that since we missed it this weekend.

I think that is all for now. We are headed to CA this weekend for Karin and Wayne's wedding!! Yippee! Darla (that absolute saint) is watching all three kids for us so we can have a final weekend away before baby #4 comes! Thank you Darla--we love you! We are looking forward to seeing our beloved Oxnard family! Oh how we miss our "family". We love you guys!!!!!!! See you soon!