Home Sweet Home

Well, we've made it so far... :) After some MAJOR help with loading, unloading, and driving the UHaul (Pace's Dad drove, he is amazing! Along with everyone else who helped, thank you! Seriously, you saved us! Thank you all so much!) By the 4th day Pace and I had worked non-stop to have pictures up on the walls, things put away, the garage organized and cleared out with cars parked in it (what a treat!) and nearly all the boxes emptied. It was tiring, but we felt great to be home and comfortable. Now that I've had Ashleigh here for almost a week! (How awesome has that been!) the kids' rooms are decorated, and I can relax a little and post some pictures. :)

The Family Room
A tuckered out "Nash" lays sleeping :)
(door is to the back yard)





I love the mantle. It's a great place to put
nice things away from little hands :)

(We found Hobby Lobby here - vinyl sayings were 50% off!)



The Master Bedroom
It all fits! We had to combined the den with our room
to make room for baby #2 - Worked out great!







Sydney's favorite areas:
1. The kitchen
(happens to be Pace's favorite too)
We lock the fridge - no raspberry/strawberry incidents here :)



2. Outside
Yeah! Syd has a backyard! And a running Barbie jeep :)
(Pace was more excited about the jeep than Syd at first
A customer gave it to him. Now she loves it!)



3. Her bedroom/playroom
I'll post just this for now, another vinyl saying we fell in love with
I like the Princess theme better with this phrase added to it :)



And lastly... The Nursery :)
(If I can just keep Syd out of Pace Andrew's bed!)

I love how his name turned out.
Ashleigh helped me paint and decorate the letters :)



Aside from getting settled, here are a few small updates:

1. Syd is now full-time in a big girl bed!

2. She said, "Holy crap" yesterday... I had to laugh :)
Guess I'd better start watching my phraseology!

3. Pace made it through 3 intense yet inspiring days of orientation.

He's overwhelmed at times but is loving it so far!

4. I enrolled in 2 classes POS 110 & CIS 105, online at MCC

Gotta take what you can when you can... should be good. :)

5. We've made some neat friends already!
Good people here in Lubbock. :)
Our records were read in the ward on Sunday, I cried. :)

It felt good/ right, like "We're home, for now" :)

We've had a busy week...

If you can't tell, that's Dad's favorite Rocky Road ice cream she's fallen nearly face first in. :) I bribed her with it so I could go clean myself up after swimming in the pool. She's a tired little Syd. :) We sold our beautiful table and chairs, found a new set more kid-friendly & easier to move from place to place that we'll just pick up and pack in the UHaul next Friday. Until then, it's make do with what you can (hence the little chair on the kitchen floor). Our dining room is now quickly filling with boxes...

(Notice the "ball pit" we found at a children's second hand store.
She loves it! Helps keep our girl sane amid all the chaos)

Some call it progress, I call it devastation...

I shouldn't have taken the pictures down from off the walls, or the curtains off the windows for that matter, until right before we left. The undoing of 4 years worth of decorating is pretty upsetting to a pregnant homemaker. I'm sure it isn't just me who has felt the stress of moving. It's gotta be done. Only 1 week left!

Baby Shower

Can I just tell you all how amazing my sisters and family are?? My older sister, Trudy and my younger sister Ashleigh (along with the help of my dear friend Kimmie, and my niece Alishia - sorry I forgot to mention you originally, Lish! Thank you for your help to make it so wonderful!!) threw me the most amazing baby shower! It was fantastic, the food, the decorations, the fun!! Seriously, I laughed myself SORE! It made my face hurt we were laughing so hard! Completely memorable. I just loved it!

Here are some pictures, just to give you all an idea of the festivities. Ashleigh made up a trivia game that all the guests played - hilarious! About things most of them didn't know about me... I cheated giving away a lot of the answers with subtle hand signals. Ashleigh didn't catch on so she kept thinking to herself, "Wow, they're good!" as they'd get a lot of the answers right. Each question lead into a funny story... I don't know, it was just hilarious to me and my family, at least, with our crazy sense of humor... It was awesome!

Thank you to everyone who came and made the afternoon so special!!
And for all the wonderful gifts! I can't wait to put his new room together in Lubbock and to see him in all these cute clothes! Thank you again, everyone! What a shower! :)

Random...

My IRA is going

down,

down,

down...

This stock market is killing me!!

Hmmm, maybe I should take the account off of my banking overview (so I don't see it every time I log in)... The investment rep in me says that'd be a good idea, but the human consumer in me is telling the investment rep to take a hike - this is reality! Ha, the inner struggles of a former banker.... Anyway, one random post. I was due for it. Now back to packing. :)

Update

I suppose it's time to update our blog. Life comes at you fast! We are currently packing up, getting ready to leave August 2nd, with a destination set and even a place rented! Can you believe it? We are going to... Lubbock, TX! We feel really blessed to have things moving forward so quickly and smoothly!

Here's what happened:

1. Pace took me out July 1st as a surprise for a belated anniversary. (Once my internet class ended I could finally relax and celebrate). He had booked a room at the hotel we stayed in the night of our wedding, got D-Backs tickets to that evening's game (Milwaukee Brewers), and took me out shopping all afternoon for some new maternity clothes. I have the best husband ever!! Here we are (awesome seats, thanks to a realtor friend) wearing matching shirts (what guy will purposefully do that!??) at the D-Backs game. We had a great time! Thanks to Ash and Anthon for taking care of Syd!

2. As soon as we returned Wed, July 2nd, I felt like, "Okay Pace, call UofA." He agreed. The admissions office guy was really helpful, let him know the status of the wait list there, and ultimately that "chances were slim". YAY!! We were comfortable going forward with Lubbock/Texas Tech!

3. We jumped in the car the next evening (Thurs, July 3rd) and headed to Lubbock, stopping briefly in Show Low to sleep. Thanks again to sweet Ash and Uncle Anthon for moving in with Syd - she was happier here and we moved so quick without her. Literally it took 24 hours before we had secured the most blessed home and we were on our way back to Show Low! I know the Lord has lead us and is leading us to where we are headed... We are really going to like it there!

(Here's a pic of the home we've rented across a big, beautiful park)

4. We've sold off some furniture, scheduled things to be turned on in Lubbock (utilities, phone, etc), and currently are trying to rent/sell our condo last minute. If you know of anyone looking it's 1401 sq ft, 3/2/1 (4 yrs old) for $1050/month. Singles fit perfectly in here (no yard, but the community pool is great and there's lots of add'l parking right outside). :) Gotta work our contacts! Three weeks goes by really fast!

Amazingly enough, we're very calm, enthusiastic, and are anxious to move! Faith helps keep our heads from swimming with all the immediate changes coming our way, with rapid speed I might add... We are so grateful!!

Oh boy, it's a boy!

Our ultrasound confirmed this mother's intuition - we're having a little boy! (An undershot - looking up towards his bum, legs are pointed out to the left) Gotta have that proof! :)

A profile image of the babe... Kind of cool. He was very active during the appointment. Today I am noticing more and more the nudges of movement in my belly. Pregnancy's about to get a little more fun...

Otherwise, so much has happened that I wanted to blog about:

1. Pace took a canoe trip with his scouts down the Colorado (some 60 miles) last weekend. This is the troop that has had 4 search and rescues/air-vacs within the past 4 years. It was good to have them return safe and sound. He had a great time! I really missed him, though. Not having him here brought my affections more toward the surface - he is my best friend! I love and appreciate him so much! And... he came back all tan with enormous lats (rowing a canoe does wonders for the back and shoulder muscles). He's a hottie! :)

2. Summer school - I'm taking 2 classes this month: Microeconomics & US History Post Civil War to Present. One is internet and the other I spend two nights a week downtown. Great option with gas prices the way they are. Whew, will the gouging of the American consumer ever end? June is proving to be a pretty hectic month, but very enjoyable! I love gaining an education!! July we pack and August we move. Which leads me to my next point...

3. The process of securing housing and financial aid for law school is a bit daunting, if I do say so myself. (I was in banking for 10 years - I didn't think this part would be difficult, but it is.) Especially from hundreds of miles away from your future home/university. I cried yesterday, starring facts and figures in the face. I felt a little without hope, overwhelmed. Luckily others have gone through it, are going through it, and can help me get through it. (Thank you!)
It'll work, somehow it's gotta work. :)

What she's doing now...

First, Pace was put on the wait list at UofA!
(In Tucson - yes, some 1.5 hours from our home and families)
Quite tempting you can imagine (for me at least) to cry, beg, plead, and pray that we end up there! But... I'm not "of little faith".

Truthfully, both places come with wonderful perks:
Lubbock= cheap, new experience and a semester in Spain.
Tucson = still inexpensive, closer to family and a higher ranked school.

So, our plan (to keep me from worrying myself into virtual insanity) is to:
1. Have faith that we will end up where we should be.
2. Be packed and ready to go to Lubbock, TX come August 8th (or so).
Should UofA call prior to that time... we'll think it over (it is likely we would stay). UofA says most students will hear between June 15th and August 25th.
(FYI, orientation in Lubbock is on August 13th)

A little crazy, but that's our plan! Also, If the home isn't sold we plan to rent it. What more can we do? In reality, renting it might be an even better option for us (in the long run). Again, both outcomes have their perks = Trust in the Lord.

And, here are some "funnies" Sydney has pulled as of late.
For your reading pleasure... She sure is at a fun age!



Part I: Movie Time
Pace rents The Bee Movie, hoping she'll enjoy watching it with us. She doesn't. After entertaining herself for the majority of the movie, she comes and puts her face between me and the TV and says and signs "Baff." (Bath)
"Ok, this is over in about 10 mins, I'll give you a bath then."
She goes to her Dad and communicates the same request.
He says the same thing and she walks away.

Next thing we know, Sydney is at the TV, turns it OFF, ejects the DVD, closes the armoire doors, then turns to us sweetly as if to say, Now that have your attention - "BAFF" please. I laughed so hard I covered my mouth. She must've thought I was upset because she walked over to me and, rubbing her chest with her fist, said so sincerely, "Sorry! Sorry!"

Part II: Bath time
Pace went and drew her a bath.
Then came back to try and finish the movie.
Not much time went by and we herd her yell, "Hey!"
Pace went in, laughed and called for me to come look,
said I wouldn't be disappointed.

I thought she had out done herself this time, maybe had pulled the bathmat into the tub (it's usually a towel). Nope, she had dragged her favorite pink blankie into the tub!
I asked, "What have you done?"
She, obviously sad, stuck out her little lip and tried to explain. I reached in and pulled the blankie out - the bath was really cool compared to her usual temperature!
She was cold, that's why she went and got her blanket!
We warmed up her bath and put her blanket in the dryer.
Soon she was warm and cozy, asleep in bed.

Seriously, I love the "wonderful" 2's!

The end of "What a Day"

If you have not yet read the post titled "What a Day" (just below) I recommend doing so before proceeding with this one (in order to get the full effect). :)

3:00 Sydney wakes up from her nap happy! (Unusual.) Mom thinks, "Hurray! We can do this!"

4:15 We walk into the portrait studio, Syd's looking gorgeous, bright and happy. Yeah! These are gonna be good pictures!

4:20 Bright and happy Syd switches to crazy, intolerant, hysterical child the moment the photographer tries to get her to sit on the bench and pose for the photos.

4:45 Her bright red face now streaming with tears and drool (can you imagine? She would not calm down), Sydney pleads with Mom to go, "Bye-Bye!!?!!"

4:50 What could I do? Mom gives up, puts Sydney in her stroller and we leave the studio without one photo being taken. As we exit Sydney is smiling and waving "Bye!" like the sweetest angel ever. This is definitely one for the books/journal. Ha, seriously - What a day. :)

PS - Ashleigh Anne, could you please help me take pictures of your darling niece sometime? That'd be greeeaat. :)

What a Day...

7:00-8:00 Played with Syd as she watched cartoons.

8:00-8:30 Ate breakfast together - Oatmeal with brown sugar. Delicious!

8:45 Mom (that's me) decides that today is the day that Sydney should have her 2 year old picture taken at Kiddie Kandids. She calls and leaves a message - they'll call once they open.

9:00-10:45 Mom gets Sydney all dressed up (casual outfit #1), and makes some new bows for for her to wear today.

Somewhere in here Kiddie Kandids calls and set Syd up with a 12:30 appointment time. An hour or so before her nap time. Perfect. :) Everything's going great, Mom's excited.

10:50 Her church dress is all pressed and ready to go! (New beads and everything - it's her thing right now)

11:00 Mom starts to get ready herself. Stops to help Syd. Syd accidentally pokes Mom in the eye and breaks a blood vessel. Ouch.

11:45 Mom's eye feels better (thank you) and she's all dressed and ready to go! Starts to pick up the house. (A realtor may want to come by you know...) Side note: Three came last week to show the property. We're keeping our fingers crossed... :)

11:50 Mom realizes she hasn't heard Sydney in a while...

11:51 Mom finds Sydney fast asleep with her pink blankie on the floor. She lays her in her crib and says, "Figures..." (chuckle, chuckle)



12:00 Appointment has been rescheduled for this afternoon. We'll be ready!

2 Years Old!

Our baby girl turned two today!
Here are a few pic's to commemorate the event.

No more high chair for Syd...

& she's mastered the stairs like a pro.

Here she is - all big and grown up!

We spent the day with cousins & friends having lunch

at Peter Piper Pizza...

Then we all went to see Dr. Suess's "Horton Hears a Who"!

In the evening my Mom, sister Ashleigh & "Uncle Anthon",
& "Tio Pedro" all came to sing to her and wish Syd a Happy Birthday. Ashleigh got her a Barbie big wheel - she's gonna love riding that! Seriously, some really wonderful gifts and fun times Syd got to experience today. I know she had a really special 2nd birthday!! How fun is that?!

PS - We are ordering her this with some of her birthday money - an additional Signing Time DVD. I just love this song!! I'm excited - Syd will get to learn new signs! She's a big fan...

It's a peanut...

First ultrasound at 9 weeks :)

Home At Last

Well, our trip to Lubbock, TX ended up really GOOD. But within the first 24 hours of leaving (12 of which was spent driving mind you) I suffered some major homesickness... I told Pace, "Let's drive back home!" I guess I really am a sissy, though I talk tough. However, once we got to know some of the SWEETEST people there, I felt waaay better.

Pace enjoyed the campus, we both loved the small, yet extremely ornate, temple, plus visited the neighborhoods surrounding it - lovely! It's a mixture of Mesa and Provo in our minds. All brick homes with "large enough" lots (compared to Mesa). Plus those neighborhoods are extremely affordable. I joke and tell Pace, though, that if UofA accepts him we have to go there! Or ASU... :) I can't help it it. But... I know we'll do well wherever he and the Lord decide to take us, I'm sure.

Well, besides our "weekend vacation" with a nearly 2-year-old (who only survived the trip because of the awesome Johnson family we stayed with - they have grandchildren Sydney's age and an awesome toy room to entertain her! I was so thankful!) I am totally thrilled to announce (and Pace is too) that we are PREGNANT! Due mid November. Perfect. :) Life just gets better and better...

PS - Wasn't conference GREAT!!! I so appreciated all the talks directed to young mothers. Sunday afternoon was my favorite session. I bawled. Needed the uplift tremendously, as I am sure we all do from time to time, and time and time again it seems. What a role we are given as mothers. A Weighty, uncontrollable at times pressure and responsibility. Maybe I'm the only one, but after it was all over I felt like, "(Sigh) I think I can go on now." I am so grateful for our church!

Happy Birthday Pace

Yesterday we celebrated Pace's 27th birthday! I can't believe how time flies. Seems like we just celebrated his 25th. :) Friday night was spent watching a Suns game here with his friends and their families, we had a great time. Sunday we celebrated the day with both our families and watched conference. ...Although he deserved an even bigger present, the basketball shoes we got him did bring a pretty big smile to his face.

They are cool looking...

I can't tell you how thankful I am for a husband, and father for my children, that is unconditionally kind, loving, patient and righteous! He is the favorite piece in our little puzzle (mine and Sydney's). I am so thankful the Lord saw fit to bless us with such a wonderful and loving person!!

Happy Birthday, Pace - Dad!! We love you!!

Yes, No, Maybe

Two more responses came in this week: Seattle said yes and offered another great scholarship! Ohio State gave a polite, "No." That's ok.
He's 3 for 4 & I didn't want to live there anyway... :)
I am so proud of Pace!

Has he made a decision? Not a firm one. Our trip to Lubbock is next week.
That ought to help shed some light on the process.

Note: We listed our home only 2 weeks ago today and in that time have felt to reduce the price to by over $17k. We need to sell it. If you know anyone who is interested, we are offering a $500 commission to anyone who brings us a buyer!
Here's the add on Craig's List: (Click here)

Fishies

Ashleigh (who is out of the hospital & feeling better every day, by the way)
gave Syd her first aquarium for Valentines day. Here are a few shots of her
enjoying the "fishies". :)

We named the red beta "Valentine"

The little creature in the blue light is a miniature frog that Syd is just
CRAZY about. She loves it & you Aunt Ash! Thank you!

Sunday Pace and I met with a Realtor (AKA Uncle Steve) & put our home on the market. Kind of sad to see the for sale sign in the window, especially with the house all beautified and ready for showing. But it's better to be prepared than to not have it sell in time. Pace's parents have graciously offered their spare rooms to us if/when it goes before the beginning of August.

Spiritual uplift for the day: Sunday I heard what had to have been one of, if not the most, beautiful blessing(s) ever given to an infant. It was the couple's first child, a son, and the father blessed him that: 1. He would have compassion toward his fellow man, 2. he would have an obedient heart, 3. he would have a repentant heart, & 4. he would learn his role & responsibility in regard to the priesthood. Amazing, beautiful, powerful, & tender.
What more could a parent hope for his/her child?