A Special Thanksgiving

It's no secret to most of you who have kept up on my blog, that from about February 2010 to oh about August 2011--it felt like I was in crisis mode constantly. From a VERY difficult pregnancy, to packing up our apartment(packing pregnant and with a toddler, by myself as Bryant was so busy with school still), to my parents leaving on a mission to Mongolia, to moving from Washington to Oregon 35 weeks pregnant and just PRAYING I could get insurance in Oregon, to my parents leaving Mongolia because my Dad was critically ill, to having my second child, to moving from Oregon to Idaho, to potty training Gracie, to getting through one rather difficult internship, to job searching, to moving yet again from Idaho to Texas, to having some anxiety/depression issues (which I've never had to deal with before), the list just goes on and on and on. As I look back now, I don't know that I realized what a trial that year and a half was for me until it was all over. I see the incredible growth that has come from everything.

I can also see that I could not have made it through that time without the love, help and support of some very special people.
When we got to Oregon, we "house sat" for a wonderful couple who were taking a trip back to England (where he was from) for a month. Once they got home, they allowed us to stay in one of their apartments free of charge for the next 6 weeks. I can't tell you how much that helped both financially, and not having to worry about an apartment contract for the short 12 weeks we were there.
I made some amazing friends there. I practically lived at my friend Danae's house. She let me give Kate and Gracie baths at her house since it didn't really work at the apartment we were staying. She had us for dinner A LOT. She came to the hospital when I had Kate. She watched Gracie for me. My sister Kristin came a few days before I had Kate, but it was so comforting to know I had someone that would help with my 2 year old if the baby decided to come early.
The beginning of November (Kate was 2 weeks old) a group of ladies invited me to go to Time Out for Women in Portland with them. They all treated me like an old friend. It was a nice weekend. One I will never forget.

When my Dad was so so sick, I KNOW there were people literally all over the world fasting and praying for him. November 17, a code blue was called on him. The pain patch that he had dumped too much medication into his system. I am absolutely convinced the only reason he survived that is because that particular day, the Elders Quorum in our ward in Yucca Valley were fasting for him that day.

My sister spent 2 weeks with me after I had Kate. She kept Gracie for me, she changed A LOT of diapers, she cleaned up, she let me sleep, she helped me adjust to being a mom of 2 children.

My Mom---oh what can I say about my Mom---she is wonderful. I can ALWAYS count on her. In April, the company Bryant works for flew both Bryant and I down to check things out. My Mom, bless her heart, dropped everything, bought a very expensive plane ticket and came to Idaho to watch my girls so we could come alone. She has been so generous with my girls. She is the greatest grandma any kid could ever ask for. I just love and admire and respect what an amazing person my mother is, and how much she helped during my time of need.

When we got to Texas, a bunch of guys from the ELder's Quorum were here to help unload the truck--and they brought everything up 4 flights of stairs for us. I had a playdate the first week I was here. The ladies in this ward took me under their wing, and I can truly say, after just 5 short months in Texas I have some of my best friends here in Texas.
We've been invited for dinner several times. I've always had someone willing to watch my kids while I go to my Dr appointments. In fact a few weeks ago, I had to drop my kids off at 6am and I was gone ALL DAY at a specialist in Houston. I didn't get home until about 7:30 that night. I had two great friends watch my kids all day for me.

"The Lord does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other...So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane help with mundane tasks, but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds!" Spencer W. Kimball


I'm feeling especially full of gratitude this Thanksgiving season.

It Feels Good

Wow, it's Thanksgiving this week! WOW! This year has come and gone so fast in so many ways. I am so excited for Thursday because that means that Bryant will finally be okay with watching Christmas movies, decorating, listening to Christmas music--and the holidays can FINALLY begin!

Since we got here in July, Bry and I have driven around, looked through windows of houses that are for sale and trying to figure out what was really important in our first home. For the past 6 weeks or so, we have been working with a fantastic realtor. She is actually in our ward, and has really helped us figure out what we can live with out, and what we absolutely must have. And she has found some great properties for us to look at. A few weeks ago, we found a house we fell in love with. Unfortunately, about 4 other people also fell in love with it, and it is now in a bidding war. The price has gone crazy on the house. We were sad, but we figured that house just wasn't meant for us. A few days after all this happened, we went and looked at another house. Ironically, it's on the same street about 3 houses down from our original dream house. It's not as updated, but it is a great house. It definitely needs new paint (since I'm not into pink and blue walls), but it's just a little old lady that lives there and the house has almost everything we want! It took me a while (like 2 weeks or more) to decide if I really liked the house at all. The last few days, I have fallen in love with it. It's kind of strange. I guess I couldn't see the potential this house had right after the other house fell through. Now, I can see--a few gallons of paint, and some updates to the bathrooms, and this house is perfect for us. Plus it's well in our price range. There are other things we'll want to do as time goes along as well, but nothing we cannot live with. We have prayed about this. Looked at a few more houses, fasted, driven by, talked it out--and hoping not to jinx us here--we are hoping to put in an offer this week.

I feel so blessed. We have so many luxuries in our life. Bryant has a great job. We have a great ward with fantastic friends. I finally got my dream car (a mini-van is a dream car when you have kids!), and now we are looking to purchase our first home. We have a healthy beautiful family, we have the gospel in our lives, we have great family (that are coming to visit next week!! Yay!) All in All, life is good. We still have our trials, we've had our fair share the past year or so, but I see so many blessings, and so much growth. Life just Feels Good!

Happy Birthday!

Like I said in my last post, today one of my most FAVORITE people in the world is having a birthday! My Mom is the most influential, selfless, caring, spiritual, loving people I know. It baffles me more and more as the years go by how lucky I was to get such an amazing woman as my Mom. Not only is my Mom a wonderful Mother, but she is a WONDERFUL Grandmother. Not a day goes by that Gracie doesn't ask about Bubby. Whether to talk to her on the phone, to pretend she's going to her house, to ask when she is coming to visit, at some point every day--often several times a day, Gracie asks about Bubby. My Mom will call and leave sweet messages for Gracie and Kate, simply to wish them goodnight. She will find a cute card and randomly send it to them. Gracie has carried her Halloween card around for weeks now! She will write sweet letters and notes and send them in the mail. When we're together, she dances around the living room listening to music. She has tea parties, they cook together, I am telling you--Kathy Carter was BORN to be a Grandma. And I just hope my kids remember how lucky they are to have a grandma like her!

So, to the woman who raised me. Who taught me right from wrong. Who taught BY EXAMPLE. Who forgave my many transgressions against her. Who sacrificed so much for me. Who made clothes for me when I was young. Who read books with me. Who shared her testimony of Jesus Christ with me. Who loved my Dad and showed that love. Who helped me become the person I am today. Who LOVES my kids. To this woman who I can ALWAY count on. Whether to call and vent, to share good news, to pass an idea by, to come watch my kids for a week so Bryant and I can go on a cruise, who is always there when I need her! I Love You Mom! Happy Birthday!

The Holidays Are (almost) Here!

I can't believe it's halfway through November already! Tomorrow one of my favorite people in the whole world will celebrate a birthday! I will surely have a post about her tomorrow! But I don't remember being this excited for the holidays before! Bryant is pretty much opposed to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. But Thanksgiving is NEXT week! Holy Cow! So, I found some cute Thanksgiving crafts and Gracie and I (and Lilly and Aubrey--her little friends) are going to do them this week! I figure it's a good time to explain what Thanksgiving is and the history of it--in a very simplistic 3 year old understandable way of course!
My parents are coming the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. We are all excited, but no one as much as Gracie! She LOVES LOVES LOVES her Bubby and Grandpa. She has their entire trip all planned. First on the list, decorate the Christmas tree! Friday we went on a "date" to find new Christmas ornaments for Bubby and Grandpa. It was so fun! She has also planned a trip to the zoo, making candy ornaments out of rice crispy treats, and making all kinds of goodies in general!

I think I'm so excited for a few reasons. First of all, we're finally done with school. No more anticipating, no more waiting to be done, no more tests, no more stressful semesters, no more scrimping by on the meager student loan money we had to live on. Bryant has a great job, one that he likes and that he is really good at. We have great friends here. And I mean GREAT friends! It has been such a good experience here in Beaumont. We are looking at houses, hoping to find one we love soon, and be in it by the first of the year! Life is just so good! It's taken along time and A LOT of sacrifice to get to this point in our lives, and it feels awesome to finally be here! (Now to pay off all our student loans!)

Mostly I think I'm excited because Gracie is finally able to understand. She really enjoyed Halloween. She loved doing crafts with me, like making spiders by tracing her hand, making ghosts out of her footprint, making and decorating halloween shaped sugar cookies and dressing up like Jessie! She liked Trick or Treating too, but that wasn't even her favorite part.

Right now Gracie is SOOOO excited for Christmas. She keeps talking about decorating the Christmas tree (with Bubby and Grandpa) and all the other fun activities she has planned for us. She does understand Santa a little, and Santa is definitely a fun part of Christmas, but I hope to take the opportunity this year to teach her about the true meaning of Christmas. I want our kids to love the holidays because it's a chance to think of all of our many many blessings and especially to celebrate the birth of the Savior.

So, Let the holidays begin! I'll make sure and take pictures so it's more interesting when I blog about them!

More Gracie-isms

Today in the car Gracie had a baby doll with her. She started doing "Patty Cake Patty Cake" with the doll, which I thought was pretty funny in and of itself. Then all of the sudden in the middle of doing it, she says "Oh YUCK. You're poopy---YUCK! Mom, my baby is poopy. I need a diaper for her." Seriously cracked me up. And I guess I let Kate know that it's YUCK every time I change one of her poopy diapers.

I love my girls!

Gracie-isms (and Kate-isms)

It just blows me away how big my girls are getting. I remember being pregnant with Gracie, and here we are over 3 years later. She is so grown up. She loves playing soccer and loves dance class--and she's really good and both! She LOVES her friends. She is really good at sharing. She has been potty trained for almost a year now. She knows her ABC's and can recognize most of her letters, she can count to 20 and can also recognize most of her numbers. She's definitely a drama queen, but I love her so much. She also picks up on EVERYTHING I say, and often repeats it to Kate or other kids. Here are some of her recent statements:

After going to the Dr. for her (and Kate's) wellness checks, she had to get one small booster shot immunization. I was unaware that she would need a shot so I didn't prepare her well for this. However, she did know what a shot was, and before she got it, I talked to her about it. Well, she got the shot, and you would have thought someone cut her arm off. She cried and cried for a good half and hour afterwards. Just as a side note, Kate got 6--yes SIX shots for her 1 year check up and she cried for about 30 seconds and then was fine. Well, I heard about this shot that Gracie had to have ALL DAY LONG. She kept telling me "I don't like a band-aid."
That night when I put her to bed...
She patted the side of her bed and said "Sit here Mommy, I need a talk a you." So, of course I sat down and she said "I don' like a band-aid. I don't like a shot again okay Mommy." It was really cute. And though it's been about 3 weeks now, I still hear periodically that she doesn't want a band-aid again.

Putting Kate in her car seat on Sunday she was crying. Gracie says "Kate, Get A Grip." Can you tell what this sympathetic Mom says to her 3 year old when she's crying for the 50th time over something ridiculous?!

"Mom, I sick, I need a treat."

"Jesus wants us to be nice" (She uses this a lot when it benefits HER!)

"Pardon Me" (she says this especially after she burps)

"I need a go the store. Kate needs a toy."

I'm sure there's more that I'll add later, but for now, these are some of the phrases she says that crack me up!

Kate basically says 2 things all day long....

Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma....

And
Ah O, Ah O, Ah O, Ah O, Ah O, Ah O, Ah O....

Happy Halloween

This year, Halloween has been really fun. Gracie is old enough to start understanding and we've done some really fun things. We made lots of Halloween crafts. She painted her little pumpkin. We went to the pumpkin patch about 4 times. We also went and bought new Halloween cookie cutters and made sugar cookies and then she (and her little friend) decorated the cookies with candy. They were works of art, let me tell you! I wish I had taken a picture! She got to dress up in her Halloween Costume for Dance Class, and then for 2 different Halloween parties that we had. She got lots of candy at our church trunk or treat and got to play some fun games. We also took her to a little Halloween party they had last night down the street from us where she got some more treats, and got to ride on a little "train" as she called it.
This year we had a cute little Jessie, from Toy Story 2, and a cute little Raggedy Ann. I thought the two costumes fit the girls perfectly. With Gracie's long hair and tom-boyish personality, and Kate's beautiful blue eyes and the fact that she's just a sweetheart (most of the time).

As fun as Halloween was---as as C.U.T.E. as my kids were in their costumes, I'm glad it's finally over. We've done so much that it feels like Halloween has been going on for 2 weeks now! I'm excited for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays to begin. Seeing how into Halloween Gracie got, and how fun it was to make hand spiders, feet ghosts, color pictures, paint pictures, etc. has made me SO SO excited for doing Thanksgiving and Christmas projects for her. I also noticed that Gracie just loved all the activities and dressing up. She didn't really get "trick or treating" until we told her about it and she did it. And it still wasn't her favorite part. She has gotten the concept of Christmas, and she knows who Santa is, but hasn't quite grasped the presents. So, I'm really excited to put the tree up with her, make decorations, make fun Christmas goodies and tell her about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. One thing Bryant and I have talked about it not getting blinded by all the presents and gifts. That is a fun part of Christmas too, but it shouldn't overshadow what Christmas is all about.
I can't wait to post all about out Holidays very soon!