Catching Up--

Whoa! A lot has happened in the last 7 weeks.  Holy, freakin', smokes.

A family of six.

We made it home from the the hospital and got right to work recovering and prepping for our move.  I'm super glad we didn't move before we had Elizabeth, but man...moving only a few weeks after was probably not the brightest idea either! Ha!  Elizabeth, however, is the bright spot in all the crazy. What a sweet baby she is, and oh, how we love her.  She's a great sleeper, puts up with constant 'love' from her siblings, tolerates all the hair accessories we put on her, and is a calming snuggle when I need it most.  Heavenly Father knew what He was doing when He sent her at this time.

Coming home from the hospital--Katelyn got to come and help. 

 A family of SEVEN!

 A huge shout out to everyone who helped us move. Jillisa and my Mom who spent the weeks leading up to our move helping me pack and clean.  Jennifer, who never stopped working all weekend even though it was her vacation. Mike, who took extra days off work cuz I was buried under stuff to get done and it just wasn't going to happen.  My Dad, who showed up after several very long days at work to help us at the end when everyone else had just pooped out.  And our family, friends, and neighbors who came, on a weeknight (some of you came 3 weeknights in a row!), during dinner and bedtime, to help us move and pack and unpack--and put everything 2 floors up!  And, all on the hottest day of the year.  You guys are all the best!

 Last family picture--the kids look good...Mom and Dad look wiped out. And blast that sun! Oh well! :)

We made it. We got in. It was totally and completely overwhelming--and that is saying something cuz it takes a lot to ruffle my feathers.  Going from a big house to a TINY apartment is not for the faint of heart and we have definitely done some creative maneuvering to get us and all of our "essential" items in here. (#firstworldproblems) But we've done it.  And it is even starting to feel a bit like home, and for that I am grateful! :)

 

We tried a new ward once, then had our plan blow up (see previous post) and so tried a new ward again.  The first week was a bit rough, but this last week was much better and we are feeling good.  They say the church is true wherever you go--and for that we are so grateful!

We are loving our swimming pool and have been there just about 6 days a week since we've moved in.  On the colder days we have even had it all to ourselves. :)  Seriously, who wants to come and join us for a swim--anytime!  We would love to have you join us!

We are looking forward to Katelyn's baptism and Elizabeth's blessing...as well as birthday week (or month!), my little brother coming home from his mission, an awesome trip to Mount Rushmore, and house hunting. 

 Pictures from our photo shoots for baptism and blessing announcements.

 I cannot believe that summer is over halfway done and come 5 weeks we will have a 3rd and 1st grader!  My poor Lukey is going to be so bored without his brother around!  

Changes--

I had expected to write this update tonight with excitement and relief...instead, it feels a bit like my heart is broken and at this house we are mostly feeling sad, confused, and hurt.

We lost our lot tonight.  The woman who has been holding it for us for months got a better offer--literally one hour before we had an appointment to sign all the papers and pass over all sorts of money.  Looking back, we probably should have signed papers and passed money months ago, but we felt confident in our verbal agreement and have felt very directed on this path.  So, I guess looking back we did exactly what we were supposed to do.

In addition to that blow, we discovered that all of our bids for building this big, beautiful and wonderful house came in CRAZY high.  Apparently construction is booming and people can (understandably and rightfully so) raise their prices.  We could afford to build this big, beautiful, and wonderful house--but with a heavy heart we choose not to. What if Mike lost his job again? What if one of the kids got sick, like really sick?  Do we really want to never travel or have money for projects or upgrades.  In a few years perhaps it's a risk we will want to take, but not now.  And that sucks. And hurts.  We decided after losing our house in Texas that we would never be 'house poor' again--and we feel like that this is the right decision to hold to in this situation.  WAA!  

We feel heartbroken and frustrated, sad and confused, and even embarrassed.  I feel like a total flake to not have had this work out--and I keep thinking of all the things we should have done differently. But, when I look back on it, I feel like we did what we were supposed to...so I am just going to pray for understanding and peace.

We are holding onto hope, and even faith though.  If one thing has been constant--besides the stress--it had been that we have felt the Lords hand in this whole long ordeal.  Nothing has come easy, but every step has felt like we were going the way we were supposed to.  And so, I'm going to hold onto that. For some reason we are supposed to be in this teeny-tiny apartment (I already know it will make me a more interactive and more patient mother!).  There is a reason we sold our home and left all our friends to start over...twice!  The whole thing hurts my heart, but I know that it will all work out in the end--even if I never understand it.  I don't know that we will ever understand, but, we will learn.  I'm determined to make the next 5 months full of learning and growing--maybe that is the whole point!

So, going forward?  Who knows.  Anybody have a house for sale by them they want us to come buy ;)  We are locked into our lease until Thanksgiving time, so that gives us some space to figure out what we are going to do. I'm going to try and get the apartment all unpacked and feeling like home so that it doesn't hurt my heart so much to be here. We are going to start attending the ward that we live in (we were going to attend the ward where our house was) and hire a realtor.  With 5 months maybe we will be able to find an awesome foreclosure or something. Or maybe we will find a totally lame house in the exact place Heavenly Father wants us. I don't know.  :)