Idaho Lifestyle

Idaho is providing the type of lifestyle I've wanted for my boys for a long time. They have space, are experiencing seasons and getting a chance to be outdoors. While the winter can be cold and miserable at times, the boys are enjoying themselves and love experiencing new things. So far we've enjoyed: 

PLAYING IN THE SNOW

The kids love playing in the snow. Almost more than anything. So when it finally snowed again on Christmas, they were more than happy. Luckily, they have a fun aunt that took them out so I didn't have to. 

SLEDDING

Scott's grandparents have a nice big backyard and are kind enough to let us come play whenever we'd like. Today, we took the boys out sledding behind the ranger. They had the time of their lives. Cache only made it a couple laps and then came to ride inside with Scott and I. He loved it and enjoyed driving with his dad. 

RABBIT HUNTING 

When I said boys, I wasn't just talking about my sons. My husband has had a blast hunting rabbits with his dad. When we were first married I didn't understand hunting. I was actually a pretty big brat about it and made going hard on him. But when we moved to Las Vegas and our marriage matured, I could tell how much he missed going. And oddly enough, I was sad my sons weren't growing up watching their dad hunt. I didn't know just how much I wanted that lifestyle for my kids. But now that we are back, Scott has been able to go a few times and he has loved it. And I love letting him go. 

Christmas Part Two

The kids sure enjoyed Christmas this year. We enjoyed the morning with my parents and the afternoon with Scott's. And it was snowing. It could not have been more perfect. Plus, mom and dad rocked the gifts this year. They are loving their cameras, remote control cars and nerf guns. True to form, I snapped a few pictures and then enjoyed the rest of the day. 

Christmas Part One

This Christmas was great. Different, but great. I missed being in my own home doing our own things and missed spending the season with our Las Vegas family. But spending the holiday with our families was priceless. It was fun to share this special day with those we love. Though we missed a few. 

I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked focusing on the savior this year. I found excuses such as not being in our own space or having our own things. Keeping up with life these days is exhausting and I told myself I was too tired. One way or another I didn't do as much as I should have and feel like I lost out on some great teaching opportunities or family learning moments. 

However, I'm grateful that my kids know of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful they have a pure love for him that only children seem to possess. And I'm grateful that even though I didn't teach them as I should have, they still taught me. 

I learned about his love though the big brotherly kindness of Tayden. I learned about joy through the unbridled passions of Beckett. Cache teaches never ending forgiveness and humility. And the baby boy I carry teaches me everyday of the miracle of life. 

I know they can be crazy and don't listen as well as we'd like. There are days the prospect of raising four boys scares me to death. But they are good. They are full of the goodness that God created them with and are my greatest examples. I love them so much it hurts. 

I am grateful that this time of year always makes me reflect on the good that surrounds me. I look at Scott in awe. What a wonderful man I married. My love runs deep for him and in many ways I wonder how I lived without him. He completes the parts of me I didn't know we're missing. I look at the boys and thank my lucky stars I get to be their mom. I feel the love of my parents for letting us stay with them while we're in limbo. I see the kindness of strangers reaching out to those in need. I think of the Savior and his humble start. His sacrifice for me. I admire Mary for everything she endured to bring her son and my brother into this earth. It's hard not to be grateful. 

I am thankful for the holidays and the sweet reminder they are to us. I hope I can keep that sweet spirit with me through out the year. 

Beckett lately

Beckett comes up with from pretty funny stuff. Lately, I am seeing the change from three years old to an almost four year old. And it's so fun. Here are some most recents that I never want to forget. 

Whenever I do something he likes, such as cuddling or giving him an extra piece of candy he tells me, "Mom, I love you clear to outer space!" 

On the flip side whenever I make him mad he says, "You're always so mean to me. You never let me have any fun. Ever ever never." 

He is becoming quite the story teller. He told me about sloths being nocturnal the other day. I asked him how he knew that and he said, "I saw them last week when I was looking out my window during the night time." 

We bought him some new shoes and he was excited to check out how fast they were. He ran down the hall as fast as he could, biffed it and exclaimed, "Woah! These new shoes are way too fast." 

If he falls or gets stuck or something similar his key phrase is always, "Uh. A little help here." 

He uses Christmas as a measure of time. So he says, "I'm going to do (fill I'm blank) clear to Christmas." 

I love Beckett more than you can imagine. He is a the light of my life and holds an extremely special place in my heart. I love watching him grow. 

Gingerbread houses

One really great thing about being home this Christmas is decorating gingerbread houses with my mother and sister in laws. Cheryl taught me how to do it from the very beginning. We made and baked the gingerbread, cut out the shapes and glued them together. I loved it, but loved decorating it the best. I won't have any girls to pass this tradition on to, but I'll have plenty of daughter in laws in share it with. And I think it's pretty special that my MIL taught me and some day I can pass on an 'in-law' tradition. 

Tayden also made one in kindergarten today. He was super proud of it. And so am I. 

Love it! 

Situation

Lots of people have been asking about our situation. Specifically, our living situation. Here it is. 

We're with my parents. It's not ideal. For anyone. It's not ideal for my previously empty nester parents, who have moved downstairs and given us two of their rooms upstairs. It's not ideal for my kids who have lost a toy room. It's not ideal for Scott and I who have committed to a new level of humility. But you know what, it could be worse. And better than that, it's actually working quite well. My parents have been unbelievably patient and understanding. The kids love being around grandma and grandpa. This is basically their second home, so there was zero adjustment period for them. Beside sleeping. But we're getting there. It's actually been quite wonderful. 

Scott and I always took pride in not having to move back home with mom and dad. And while we aren't here because of financial difficulties, it was still a hard thing to decide to do. But, having a school age kid changes everything. We didn't have time to come up and find a place in Idaho Falls before the move. And I didn't want to come up and stay with my parents for a few weeks until we found a place and have Tayden moving schools from vegas, to chubbuck, to Idaho Falls. I know kids are resilient, but three different schools during kindergarten is a little much if you ask me. So we asked my parents if we could stay with them until the end of the school year and they were kind enough to agree. It was the best decision we could make for our family, namely Tayden, and I'm so grateful that it was even an option. 

During this process, I have found a new gratitude for family. I've always been grateful for family, but it's a whole lot deeper now. I'm grateful my parents opened their doors to us and I'm grateful they love my kids so much. I'm thankful we have family to turn to when we're in limbo and that the said family is willing to welcome us with open arms. I'm glad to have such a great relationship with my parents that I felt comfortable asking them for help. 

So, we'll be here until the end of the school year and then the plan is to buy a home in Idaho Falls over the summer. And hopefully, this is permanent. But as we have learned over tha past few weeks, The Lord is I'm control. And we will go where he asks us to. 

We have felt such a strong confirmation that moving to Idaho was the right decision. I'm indebted to my parents for helping us make our dream to get closer to home a reality. Good things are happening and I'm excited for our future here. 

Thankful

Grateful for my family.

Grateful for the gospel.

Grateful for the spirit.

Grateful we followed the prompting of the spirit.

Grateful to be in Idaho. 

Life is good. And Thanksgiving was a great day to remember all the things I am grateful for. This year I am especially thankful for my family. As long as I am with my husband and boys, my heart is full and happy. And there is nothing better than that. 

Milestones

This week has been a good week. Everyone had some sort of milestone or celebration. In order from oldest to youngest. 

Scott. 

Scott turned the big 3-1. We celebrated by taking taking a day trip to Idaho Falls. We went out to lunch, hit sportsman warehouse, took the kids to the toy store and checked out a few different neighborhoods (since we'll be moving there in a couple months). It was pretty low key, but so fun to spend the day as a family. 

Stacey. 

Stacey, A week short of a the halfway mark in this pregnancy and it's really starting to hit me that I'm going to have FOUR boys. I'm so excited to welcome this new sweet child into our crazy circus family. When I was sure we were done having kids, I gave all our baby clothes and other stuff away. So I'm a little stressed that we don't have much for new baby boy, but I'm sure it will work out fine. He is getting bigger by the week and his movement are becoming more and more distinct. I can't wait to have a newborn again.

Tayden. 

Tayden had his first day of Idaho kindergarten!! He goes full day every Wednesday and Friday and every other Monday. I was concerned about this schedule, but so far so good. He loves it. He loves eating in the cafeteria and playing at recess. I picked him up the first day and before we could even get to th car he grabbed my hand and with a huge smile said, "Mom! My first day was so great." It was the cutest thing. He got a little lost the first day going to the recess from lunch. He told me he explained the situation to a teacher and asked for help. I am so proud of this brave boy. He took a hard scary situation and did the right thing. Makes my heart burst with pride. 

Beckett. 

It's no secret that Beckett wants nothing to do with school work. Or any sort of fine motor skill learning. He's quite opposite from his older brother in that department. Every spare moment he has had has gone towards speech. So school work, coloring, drawing etc has taken back seat. I started to recognize his need for extra help a few weeks ago, and now that things have finally settled down a bit, I have started to work with him more. I tried everything I could to make it fun, but he wasn't responding. Finally, I cracked down and was a little mean about it. He actually responded fairly well. When we work on speech he has to do something right so many times before he gets a reward. I tried the same approach with writing and he's done well. He's got a long way to go, but is getting better everyday. This picture was taken about a week ago, but it was the first thing he worked really hard on and put effort into. He drew his friend Paige a rainbow and again, my heart beamed with pride. 

Cache.

Cache is potty trained!! Well, mostly. He's only had about 2 accidents over the course of a week. It's quite remarkable really. But he is still working on the poo part. I'm not sure what the deal is, but he hasn't taken that quite on as quickly. Which is weird, because he was pooping in the potty without issue a few weeks ago. Either way, I'm so incredible proud of him and am sure he'll get the hang of the rest of it soon enough. 

Happy for such a positive week!! 

Lovers of snow

The boys have a new love. Snow. It has been such a pleasure watching them experience snow, for basically the first time. Tayden and Beckett played in it two years ago, but B didn't remember much and Cache hasn't had real experience with it. So it's been fun. The first day it barely snowed they couldn't wait to get out in it. So we put coats on and went to play. 

They were a little (and by little I mean a lot) bummed they didn't have their full snow gear yet and got wet and cold faster than they would have liked. Beckett cried and cried because he, "Missed the snow". He thought that was all the snow we'd get to play in all year and he didn't even have the right kind of clothes to make a snowman or play. The few minutes in the skiff was super fun though and enough to start the obsession.  I was able to round up some good yard sale deals over the next two days and have all three boys fully loaded with coats, snow bibs, hats, gloves and boots. They could not be happier. Especially since the snow really started coming down. 

Beckett was thrilled he didn't miss the snow. All day they looked out the window watching the snow accumulate. And every morning, they wake up and get their snow clothes on. They hate taking their snow pants off and would sleep in them if we let them. They are 100% fully enamored by the snow. 

Which is fun, because I am 100% enamored by them. 

It's going to be a great winter. 

We made it

We're finally in Idaho. What an exhausting week, both emotionally and physically. Saying goodbye to my friends was much much harder than I anticipated. It was gut wrenching. And true to my exhausted form as of late...I'm keeping this short. 

The last night in Las Vegas was rough. I drown all my sorrows in chips and salsa. Of course without furniture or bowls, I got comfy on the floor and ate straight from the jar. 

I was super nervous for the drive. Turns out I was worried for no reason. The boys were awesome and did remarkably well on the drive. They each had a notebook and pen, a mcdonalds toy and two suckers. We told lots of stories, played games, laughed and just talked to pass the time. It was wonderfully unexpected. Tayden was my designated helper and handed out everything. I couldn't have done it without him. 

After a few days in the car and a lot of chaos, I decided it would be good for the kids to get out and do something fun. My mom and I took the kids to Lowes to a building workshop. They built a science lab. They loved hammering the nails. And even though it was much harder than it should have been, we got it done. And the boys looked adorable while doing it 

We're all glad to be here and are ready to get settled in. Hopefully as we do, we'll get back into a grove and I'll fall into a better routine. As hard and tiring as things have been, my heart knows this is the right move. And that helps make everything worth it. 

This and that

The past few days have been full of emotions and ups and downs. This move is going to be hard to swallow. But today, I am only focusing on happy memories and pictures. 

Halloween was great. Per tradition, we went trick or treating with our clan. The kids had a blast and came home with a boat load of candy. The adults enjoyed the nice evening and spending much of it laughing the night away. 

The next morning my friends and I enjoyed breakfast and a pedicure. It was so wonderful to spend the morning with them chatting and just being in their presence. They gave me the most thoughtful gift I have ever received. A beautiful Nevada necklace to always remind me that there are people here who love me. And to show everyone that I have left a piece of my heart in Nevada. I am going to miss these girls with a fierceness I can not explain. But as I said before, today is for happy memories and pictures. 

After breakfast was over, we hit the park for Taydens t-ball party. It was cold, but that didn't stop the kids from having fun. Tayden had such a great year and had a really great couch. He was so excited to get his first trophy ever and promised to keep it the rest of his life. He also received his baseball plaque and a game ball. 

It has been a fun few days. Time is winding down and we'll be leaving in just four short days. It breaks my heart, but....today is for happy memories and pictures. So I'll leave it at that.