Our Christmas Card

We aren't Christmas Card people but if we were to do one, this is the year to do it I guess. It has been quite a year for us.

We started the year with J in his last semester at the University of Utah completing his Doctorate of Physical Therapy and having some interviews for jobs. He graduated in May and began working for Las Vegas Rehab (a Kindred Health facility) shortly there after. T and I stayed with my mom in Orem, UT until we welcomed MJ, the newest addition to our family in the middle of June. The first week of July the kids and I made the trip to Las Vegas. A few months later we were able to purchase our first home. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful home.

J is continuing to play hockey as well as ref. He enjoys his job and he is very good at it. He is pretty much the go-to guy for wounds in the rehab division.

T is quickly approaching 4 years old and he is getting way to smart for his own good. We are all very anxious and excited to get him in school! He adores his baby sister and has a deep love and concern for her. Every morning when he wakes up the first thing he does is run into her room.

MJ has now passed her 6 month mark and is learning and developing perfectly. She is getting all to close to wanting to crawl and she and her brother have such an incredible bond. She prefers him to everyone else and smiles for him in a way she wont smile for anyone else.

I am trying to keep up with two children. Its true what they say...it is more than double the work of one! But completely worth it.

We are excited to see what a new year brings!

We love all of our friends and family and the support we have received from everyone.

Merry Christmas!

DISNEYWORLD

Our trip to DisneyWorld was amazing! We had so much fun with J's family! We all flew in last Saturday and then spent Monday-Friday at DisneyWorld and then sadly we all left our different ways to go home on Saturday. Sunday was our nieces 7th birthday so we had a family party for her. Monday was my Father in Laws 60th birthday (the reason for the trip). We spent the day at Magic Kingdom. We had so much fun! T was beside himself with joy! MJ did very well considering most of her time was spent in a stroller! T went on all but 2 rides he was tall enough to go on! He did great on some...okay on others. Jason put it best when he said "Being tall enough to ride and old enough to enjoy are two very different things." Tuesday we spent at Animal Kingdom, Wednesday at Epcot (and more Magic Kingdom), Thursday at Hollywood Studios, and Friday at Magic Kingdom again. We were all spoiled absolutely rotten and it was an awesome family vacation.

The picture below is what prompted J's comment.
(I want to make it clear that this was the SECOND time T went on Splash Mountain. The first time he was all smiles and giggled most of the time. When we got off (SOAKED) he asked me if we could go again...so we did. The second time he didnt do so well. I think its because 1)we got stuck on the ride for an additional 15 minutes 2)he had me and Jason telling him "its okay, its just a small drop, you are okay, blah blah blah the whole time and 3)he inherited his mothers anxiety because the whole time he kept waiting anxiously for the "big drop."

our house...

Sadly I admit I still have no pictures. We are getting internet connected on MONDAY so no more of this silly phone internet stuff. Then pictures will be coming shortly. For now you get more details.

About a week before we found this house Jason asked our realtor (who happens to be his aunts best friend) if she has ever had clients that it took so long to find a house. She said no. Haha. It wasn't our fault either! We offered on 6 propertires-all of which were owner or bank owned. Not a single short sale. Well we just kept praying that we would find the house that was right for us in the place we needed to be. Randomly 1 day I got crazy and expanded our search 10,000 more dollars and found this house. I was drawn to it but we had decided what we would spend on a house and we didn't want to go over. We didn't want to spend more than we had to for what we needed. Plus the market here is craxy good for buyers. Well, I kept the house in my search just to track it. At this point it was only on the market 6 days...a few days later the price dropped 11,000 dollars. We couldn't believe it! We looked at it the same day and put in an offer. A few days later it was verbally accepted and we drew up a contract. Then the bank tells us we are in a "highest and best" situation. We said nope. If our offer was good enough the 1st time its good enough now. A week later [we thought we had lost it] they called and asked if we were still interested with our original offer...um...YES! (We later found out there was no other offers). Well, after that it took less than a month to close. Now we are here. Its a gorgeous home and we are so lucky to be here. Our realtor said in her decades of real estate she has never seen a "too good too be true" property like this one. So a few details. It is 2 stories. About 2900 sq feet. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a loft upstairs and 1 bd, 1 bathroom, living\dining room, family room, laundry room and kitchen on the main floor. 2 car garage. An actual lot big enough to play in! (Vegas is not known for its yards) granite counters in a super pretty kitchen. We love love love it and we know this is where we should be. Our guest room is up and running so feel free to call!

Its true...

WE. HAVE. A. HOUSE.

Planning to close at the end of September. So far, so good.

Amazing house...Amazing price...and totally exciting for us.

PLUS. we have a guest room so its exciting for everyone else too. :) Look forward to pictures plus more frequent blog posts because at said house we will have internet. Truth be told I will no longer have to try and navigate blogs and such with a smart phone. Boo to the yeah.

adjusting

That is what we are doing...adjusting.
We are all adjusting to little girl-though we all love her, T most especially, its been an adjustment. We are still adjusting to the heat. Not much to do with a 3 yr old and newborn when its 110^ outside, and when you live in a small two bedroom apt with no english speaking neighbors, no yard, no playground and no ward members within walking distance.poor T hasn't really played with friends since we left salt lake in May...neither have I. Jason has the car at work so we stay here most everyday...which means we are still adjusting to not having internet except on our small cell phones, not having t.v. (which is really hard when T wakes up early or when I'm feeding baby girl or just when I wanna watch the darn news! We like it here...we are just...ADJUSTING...

We are hoping that we will get in to one of the homes we are negotiating on. Which means...neighbors, a yard, more space, more rooms, internet, t.v., and someday another car... but we are still working on the friends thing.
We miss our friends a whole darn lot.

But, we are adjusting...

A family of 4

A friend of mine once told me that when she had her second child she felt like they were a "real family." I now understand what she means! Having a second child makes me feel more complete and instantly more respectable as a mom (haha...true). We are so excited that our little miracle is here. I hate pregnancy and I had a hard time accepting the idea of having another child. I told J even on our way to the hospital that I wasn't ready and I really didn't know if I wanted to do this all over again! But when I looked at my perfect child everything changed.

This baby really is a miracle to us. She was wanted but never expected and she caused me much grief in the womb! Due to my doctor going out of town, trying to find a time for Jason to make it to her birth (because he has been out of town the past month), the fact that I "bake 'em fast", and that I have some TERRIBLE (and nasty) varicose and spider veins in my leg that cause problems my doctor scheduled an induction a few weeks before her actual due date (which ended up being dangerously close to when she would have come on her own!). We arrived at the hospital at 615 in the morning on the 17th. After all the paperwork we got to the room fully expecting to be able to start the pitocin before 7. Well, little miss MJ started causing some concern even before I had any drugs in me (essentially her heart-rate was everywhere it shouldn't be and she was distressed)! So we had to wait for my doctor to come and check me out and discuss the possibility of a C-section and give the go ahead to start the drugs. They started me at 745. My doctor broke my water immediately so he could attach some monitors to her and have fluids continuously flushing through the womb. I had to lay completely on my side the entire time and be on oxygen to get her more air-not comfy. When I was admitted I was at a 3. Two and a half hours later (at 1015) I was at a 4. It was frustrating that it seemed to go so slow! Well, 25 minutes later I was at a 10 and complete. My doc came in and I pushed ONCE and he even had to say "stop." She was born at 1040-less than 3 hours after they started me! (I went from a 4 to a 10 in less than 2 hours with T also and I pushed twice with him).

Someone asked me if I loved her. They asked me this because I had a hard time for the first few months with T. It took me a while to feel bonded to him and really feel like I loved him. This time, as much as I wanted to disassociated myself from the pregnancy,didn't accept it,and wasn't terribly excited about it-at the moment they put her on my chest I instantly loved her. It felt natural. I knew she belonged with us. She just fit.

We love her very much and we are so happy we finally have our little baby MJ. In her short hours of life we have already determined she looks just like her brother, she likes to sleep on her side, she is ALWAYS cold and has terrible circulation in her feet and hands (just like momma), and as terrible and humorous as it is...she is showing signs of having T's gag reflex (many of you know of this little problem...) I have my work cut out for me with these two!

We miss...

Shoreline.

Our friends.

The playgrounds.

Daddy/Hubby.

Running in the hallway.

Our friends.

The ward.

Oh yeah...and our friends.

We miss so many of you so much. T asks for his friends all the time. He has asked me when we are going to go home to his house. Just today he told me he wants "his" nursery back. He is doing well but this change has been hard on all of us. We miss a lot of things and people! We miss all our friends---both toddler and adult!

The Last Post...

Not forever, just in Shoreline.

The moment I have been dreading has arrived. As I sit in our apartment looking around at all the boxes, all of the wrapped furniture, the empty walls, I cant help but get a little teary. I am proud of and excited for Jason to be done with school and start working in the real world-but at what cost!!! I have grown to love so much about where we live-mostly who we live by. I have met some of the most incredible people and I have been blessed to learn from them as friends. I am not looking forward to leaving so many people that have become such a huge part of my life. I have felt loved, accepted, understood. I have learned how to be a better mother and a better friend. T has been accepted and loved by so many friends. J has found people to relate to and talk to about school and "guy" stuff. We have all loved our experiences here.

Thank you for being our friends

Thank you for trusting us with your children-and for being people we trust with our child

Thank you for listening

Thank you for all the girls nights

Thank you for caring

Thank you for the treats

Thank you for dinner

Thank you for my first ever real official all for me SHOWER!!!

Thank you for teaching me

Thank you for loving me!!!

I wish...

I wish I wasn't so stressed to move (in two weeks)

I wish I could sleep in every morning

I wish I didn't have boxes all over my house...both full and empty...

I wish I could go grocery shopping and stock my shelves instead of trying to get rid of what I have and having no fun doing it!

I wish I wasn't moving in two weeks

I wish this parasite inside me would stop moving around and give me some peace.

I wish I wasn't so concerned about the transition of insurance over the next few months

I wish Jason didn't have to leave us for a month

I wish I wasn't moving in 2 weeks

I wish I didn't get heartburn with everything including water

I wish it was sunny outside

I wish we had peace on earth

I wish I was happy to move in two weeks

I wish all my friends could move with me

I wish this parasite would seriously STOP moving for like a minute

I wish I trusted the government

I wish my apartment would pack and clean itself (but not really, I typically like packing except when it means I'm moving AWAY from where I want to be)

Have I mentioned I wish I wasn't moving in two short weeks?

Venting over...

At least he's honest...

Me : T, if you make another bad choice you will not get a treat bag to take in the car on the drive home (from grandma's)

T: Okay.
(bad choice made moments later)

Me: Okay bud..sorry, but no treat bag. You made a bad choice.

(10 minutes later)

Grandma: T, should we go make you a treat bag to take home.

T: Nope, I cannot have one because I made two bad choices...and in a minute, I will make three.


Oh the joys of a three year old. This came a day before he looked at me and said "Mom, Im going to go hide so I can bend this card that I should not bend."

HE DID IT!

Its official. The only thing J has left to do is graduate. He has taken and PASSED his boards and we couldn't be happier! He is very relieved to have it all over. Now its going to be a breeze for him to finish his internship and get recognized as officially receiving his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard, studied so much and slept very little to prepare for his future as a Physical Therapist and he is so excited about it. We all are! Its going to be a whole new experience!

CONGRATS TO J! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Viva Las Vegas

Well, it became official a week ago. J has accepted an offer from a company in Las Vegas to be their "main" Wound Care Physical Therapist. He is very excited about the job, the people, the offer, and pretty much everything about working! The location itself is not ideal but we feel very strongly that we will be happy and that this will be a wonderful start to the next phase of our lives. To me it feels bittersweet to be leaving the life of a student. It has been easy, secure, safe, fun, and simple. We have enjoyed--and been extremely blessed these *almost* five years we have been married that J has been in school. But alas, it is time to move on into the cruel dark "real" world.

J has done exceptionally well in school and all his internships and has been recruited and sought after by many people. I am so proud of him for working so hard to be the best at what he loves and to do the best he can to take care of his family.

We are excited for our new adventure but we will be sad to leave all of our friends! I guess its a good thing that Vegas is a common visit spot for a lot of people.

Three perfect years...

Three years ago today was one of the best days of my life. It was the day I became a mommy. Not only a mommy, but a mommy to the most sensitive, compassionate, beautiful, funny child I have ever known! I remember the moment he was born when the nurse placed him on my chest and said "go a head and hold him, he's YOURS." I couldn't believe it was real--how could the Lord honestly think I was capable to raising such a perfect little child! In all reality, in the past 3 years he has done a better job raising me! It has been a slightly bittersweet day for me because I love watching T grow up and learn new things but with everyday he seems to need me less and less and I cant believe how fast time goes!

A few things about T-

*He LOVES trains. He shares this love with his Grandpa in New York who he lovingly refers to as "Grandpa Trains."

*He is very sensitive. He is very aware of how people are feeling and recognizes when people are sad or hurt and has a great desire to make them happy.

*He is gentle. It has always been his nature to be soft and gentle with people, particularly with babies.

*He is an incredible speaker. The kid can have complete conversations and is entirely understandable literally all the time.

*He LOVES learning. He is always asking how something works, what it means, how its made, or what is does. On our way back from the airport this morning he asked me "Mom, how do those big airplanes fly in the sky?"

*He can count to 20 (but he forgets 16 a lot...), knows his ABC's and he can spell his name, mom, and dad. He knows what sound about half of the letters make.

*He loves washing dishes, doing laundry, and vacuuming (lucky me).

*He is in the 90th percentile for height and weight. He has always been a big kid. He is built like a brick. One of J's patients calls him a little body builder. J is hoping that will pay off in hockey. :)

Like any mom, I could go on forever talking about my child. I guess that is the way its suppose to be! We are so happy and proud to be T's parents and we love him so much.

Happy Birthday TJ!

The cat that ripped the bag to shreds...and spilled the beans in the process

Thanks to my wonderful, loving, supportive, not to mention EXCITED husband, this cat is so far out of the bag, the bag might as well never exist. :) Apparently he found no reason to keep his excitement contained after 23 weeks so he spilled the beans. Last week he posted on his facebook "Its a girl." While most people picked up on that subtle yet entirely obvious message, there were a few who assumed he was excited about our new niece who was recently introduced into the world. While her birth is an exciting addition to our extended family it was, in fact, not what Jason was announcing.
We know that this baby truly is a miracle baby. After a long time of fertility treatments, lots of tests (many with less that favorable results), and being told that there was no way this was happening at this point in our lives, we had both accepted that for now, we were going to remain a family of three. The next thing we know, our doctor (who happens to be a high risk and infertility specialist) is looking at me saying "I have been over these results a thousand times and I have no medical explanation for why this happened. Keep saying your prayers and paying your tithing."
I have been blessed that this pregnancy hasn't been as bad as it was with T. I give most of the credit to the "cancer drugs" (meds used for nausea) that worked this time. At one point I think I was taking 7 pills a night. (I'm still nauseated, but apparently not enough to keep me from gaining like 80 pounds.) It seems that all the issues we have dealt with so far have been relatively minor. T has been a doll as well. He covers my with blankets, brings me pillows, strokes my head and my arms, brings me water, all while saying "Mommy, I so sorry you so sickies." He has taken excellent care of himself and me! He is very excited for his baby sister and tells me that he wants to hold her and give her loves and when we are in the car and she gets scared he will hold her hand and give her a pass (a binky).

So for now, we are taking it a day, week, and month at a time hoping that in June we are blessed with another happy, healthy, and perfect little child.

And so it begins...

Well, it has begun. The mad search for a job before J officially graduates with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy! We are very excited and I am quite proud of him. He has worked so hard during the past years to get to this point. He is currently finishing up two interships which will conclude the end of April, studying for the national exam, which he plans to take...AND PASS...in late march or April, and he is also applying and interviewing for jobs! He is planning on focusing on wound care which is a more specialized area of PT but he loves it. He has already done 3 internships/clinicals in it as well as his doctoral project. Because of this it has made him very marketable in the wound care area since they really only have 1 class on it. This last week we spend a few days up in Boise with a company that has expressed a lot of interest in him. He enjoyed it very much and was very interested in the facilities, the people, and the opportunity. We are hoping something might come of it! This week he is in San Deigo at a national PT conference where he will network and pass out lots of resumes. He also has been working with a recruiter who is looking for him! We have narrowed it down to 6 states that we would be willing to go to so hopefully that gives us more options too! Ideally we know by the end of March where we could end up but we know we dont have too much control over that part!

We are excited to start this new phase in life but nervous at the same time! In the past few years we have actually ENJOYED being students! Our life is "easy", predictable, simple, and we have made some wonderful friends and had some incredible experiences during our time in school. Mostly I think we are fearing the "real world" of bills, no time-off and early days, and LOAN RE-PAYMENT!

Trains and more trains

We flew out to NY on Christmas Day this year so we could spend some time with J's family and attend his brothers wedding. While we are there T spends much of his time with grandpa's trains (T actually calls him grandpa train because of them). Below are a few pix of the special christmas tree trains and of the train room. Yes, I said room. Keep in mind that the picture only shows half of the room and it doesnt show the trains to are near the ceiling on a platform. Its true. Its Ts train heaven (but we all have fun with them...)





(Notice there are TWO trains with this tree. One in the middle, one underneath.)