Ok, so yesterday was GORGEOUS!! It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and SUNNY and WARM(er)! It was just so nice and we were driving around...looking at places and it was just so...nice. We finally had a good feeling about being here. I know that sounds weird, but we figured that some of our negative thoughts could've been because of the weather, but mostly because we weren't looking in the right place for us. We drove all the way out to Painesville (about an hour out), just drove and drove and drove for about an hour or so, had lunch and then drove back through Bay Village and just enjoyed ourselves. The kids were sleeping for most of the trip, so that helped. Luke and I were able to talk and bask in the SUNSHINE!
Today we went down to Medina, Strongsville and Parma. We really like the Parma area and just had a good feeling all day. It is a nice location, close to everything and to CLEVELAND, which is important. We'll have to see what we can find, either renting or buying. Rachel was kind enough to lead us to the Church and to her neighborhood, WHICH WE LOVE! We would really like to find a place around there.
Finally, thank you ALL for your love and support. We really are so thankful for all the words of encouragement. THANK YOU!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
President Hinckley passes away
Well, with all of my earlier complaining posts...we wanted to dedicate this post to President Hinckley.
Gordon B. Hinckley was born on June 23, 1910. He was the 15th president of the Church and had such a huge impact on our family. He was the Prophet that we most identify with because he was the one that we have grown to know. He was set apart in 1995 to be the President and Prophet and was best known for dedicating the most LDS Church temples.
He was such an inspiration to millions and personally to us. These are some of the things we love:
He was ALWAYS so positive, he truly loved every single one of us, The Family: A Proclamation to the World, all of his quotes, his "Be's" : (Be Positive,Be Still,Be Involved,,Be Grateful,Be Smart, Be Clean, Be True, Be Humble, Be Prayerful). My favorite quote:"Now, my brethren and sisters, the time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth, and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike"
Gordon B. Hinckley - Gen. Conf. 1995 Apr.
We love him and are sad that he has passed...but also know that he is with his wife and much happier!
So much for the updates...
Ok, so the updates haven't come daily, but here's a LONG one!!
I HATE HOUSE HUNTING! It isn't fun, especially with 2 kids. THANK GOODNESS the minivan we rented has a DVD player or we would NOT be alive and kicking. Livi has been SUCH an angel and Spencer pretty much does what his sister does, so we have been very lucky.
We have been wondering if we should even buy...we can only afford so much right now, but in 6 months, Luke will be getting a pretty big raise and then we can afford much more. The real estate agents have been really nice (they are 4 older women working together) and we have enjoyed them, but if we just wait a little longer, we will have a HUGE variety of homes to look at...that don't include a huge amount of fixing up or condemning the building. ;-)
We took Friday off of house hunting and we went to Kirtland. It was such a good experience, even with 2 cranky kids and even though we didn't get into the temple (it's only open on weekends in January) we are excited by the prospect of going back when we move here. It wasn't much of a trip, so we can do it again. I had been when I was much younger...like 14 years ago?! And the Church has done a lot to fix the Church sites up and even moved a road. It was great!
Saturday we were pretty bummed. We saw two homes that we were interested in, but one needed some work done in the kitchen, bathroom, etc and the other one was structurally unsound. With that said, the last one would cost $24,000 to rebuild the foundation. That includes lifting the house up and doing some major foundation fixin'! We would be asking about $50,000 less than they wanted on the house, but who knows what would happen after they fixed the house?? It might have MORE foundation problems, etc.,etc. So, all-in-all we are ready to go home. We are just plum tuckered out and need to go home...the kids can handle only so much time away from some place they can call home. Fortunately, we found some AMAZING and BRAND NEW apartments that have 2bed/2bath/2 car garage attached!!! We signed a lease right then and there for corporate housing, unfortunately it is WAY far away from where Luke is going to be working...so far out that there isn't any public transportation to downtown Cleveland. Therefore, he has to drive 20 miles to the nearest RTA. Heck, I was all for getting a different apartment, but Luke wanted this one, so whatever works, right? He'll be home later, but at least we'll be in a really nice apartment and the kids will have their toys and we have a new town to explore. A great thing is that the ward building is about 1.2 miles from the new apartment, so we are looking forward to that too!!
Enough of the update...sorry so long, but it has been a few days. I know that Rachel will read this soon...so not too offend (because we haven't even looked in Parma yet) but we aren't really excited to move here.
As a side note: We just don't know how to feel yet...maybe we aren't even supposed to move here, who knows...but it just doesn't feel right, nothing does. Hmmm, any ideas?? It's not like we can change our minds now, but if any one has any insights, let me know! Being transferred isn't the easiest thing and if Luke wasn't in contract, then we probably would've stayed in Kansas, but with things sort of out of our hands, we are being placed here and don't feel right about it...sort of uneasy. I know that the Lord will help us, but even after praying we haven't felt ANY ease at all. Insights..please!
I HATE HOUSE HUNTING! It isn't fun, especially with 2 kids. THANK GOODNESS the minivan we rented has a DVD player or we would NOT be alive and kicking. Livi has been SUCH an angel and Spencer pretty much does what his sister does, so we have been very lucky.
We have been wondering if we should even buy...we can only afford so much right now, but in 6 months, Luke will be getting a pretty big raise and then we can afford much more. The real estate agents have been really nice (they are 4 older women working together) and we have enjoyed them, but if we just wait a little longer, we will have a HUGE variety of homes to look at...that don't include a huge amount of fixing up or condemning the building. ;-)
We took Friday off of house hunting and we went to Kirtland. It was such a good experience, even with 2 cranky kids and even though we didn't get into the temple (it's only open on weekends in January) we are excited by the prospect of going back when we move here. It wasn't much of a trip, so we can do it again. I had been when I was much younger...like 14 years ago?! And the Church has done a lot to fix the Church sites up and even moved a road. It was great!
Saturday we were pretty bummed. We saw two homes that we were interested in, but one needed some work done in the kitchen, bathroom, etc and the other one was structurally unsound. With that said, the last one would cost $24,000 to rebuild the foundation. That includes lifting the house up and doing some major foundation fixin'! We would be asking about $50,000 less than they wanted on the house, but who knows what would happen after they fixed the house?? It might have MORE foundation problems, etc.,etc. So, all-in-all we are ready to go home. We are just plum tuckered out and need to go home...the kids can handle only so much time away from some place they can call home. Fortunately, we found some AMAZING and BRAND NEW apartments that have 2bed/2bath/2 car garage attached!!! We signed a lease right then and there for corporate housing, unfortunately it is WAY far away from where Luke is going to be working...so far out that there isn't any public transportation to downtown Cleveland. Therefore, he has to drive 20 miles to the nearest RTA. Heck, I was all for getting a different apartment, but Luke wanted this one, so whatever works, right? He'll be home later, but at least we'll be in a really nice apartment and the kids will have their toys and we have a new town to explore. A great thing is that the ward building is about 1.2 miles from the new apartment, so we are looking forward to that too!!
Enough of the update...sorry so long, but it has been a few days. I know that Rachel will read this soon...so not too offend (because we haven't even looked in Parma yet) but we aren't really excited to move here.
As a side note: We just don't know how to feel yet...maybe we aren't even supposed to move here, who knows...but it just doesn't feel right, nothing does. Hmmm, any ideas?? It's not like we can change our minds now, but if any one has any insights, let me know! Being transferred isn't the easiest thing and if Luke wasn't in contract, then we probably would've stayed in Kansas, but with things sort of out of our hands, we are being placed here and don't feel right about it...sort of uneasy. I know that the Lord will help us, but even after praying we haven't felt ANY ease at all. Insights..please!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Cleveland here we...are!
So, we FINALLY made it to Cleveland!! It was one of those CrAzY, CRAZY flight days. With all the snow in Chicago (there wasn't much, but enough to screw up the runway) and other places, Chicago ended up being a no fly zone. It was seriously ridiculous because it was GORGEOUS, very cold, but GORGEOUS in Kansas AND CHICAGO.
Anyway, our flight was supposed to be GONE at 10:50a.m. and we didn't leave until after 12:20! Most would think nothing of this delay other than we have 2 children with us and we arrived at the airport at 8:40! They were STARVING by the time we were ready to take off, BUT the food vendor BROKE down and we couldn't get anything but a cinnabon. Now, normally I don't have a problem with that, but the kids haven't eaten anything since 7:30, so what to do. We arrived in Chicago around 1:50 and by the time we got off the plane, RAN to the bathroom, we re-boarded at 2:09. Again, no food for the kids because we didn't have time. Luckily, I had brought goldfish and teddy grahams, otherwise THEY WOULD'VE been BEARS! We arrived at 3:30(4:30 Cleveland time) and found out that the airlines hadn't put our stroller on the connecting flight...so we had to go down to baggage claim and they gave us a different stroller until they could get ours. It took us 15 minutes to get to Budget and another 45-1hour to get our CAR! It was insane...BUT we are here, the kids are fed, got some swim time, got a bath, and are currently watching t.v. with their daddy. What quiet bliss. We are staying in a nice hotel and are loving the suites...very nice!
But, just for the record...Luke wanted to know if I could stay in a hotel for 50 days and I about SHOT him!! NO WAY! I mean, come on honey..there is NO WAY!!! Even if I had the whole stove, fridge, etc..what would the kids do ALL day lONG! No where for them to go, nothing for them to do and I would LOSE my mind! Ok, enough ranting..now on to the whole getting an apartment and then a home!
Goodnight and I'll see about updating daily on our CLEVELAND TRIP!
Anyway, our flight was supposed to be GONE at 10:50a.m. and we didn't leave until after 12:20! Most would think nothing of this delay other than we have 2 children with us and we arrived at the airport at 8:40! They were STARVING by the time we were ready to take off, BUT the food vendor BROKE down and we couldn't get anything but a cinnabon. Now, normally I don't have a problem with that, but the kids haven't eaten anything since 7:30, so what to do. We arrived in Chicago around 1:50 and by the time we got off the plane, RAN to the bathroom, we re-boarded at 2:09. Again, no food for the kids because we didn't have time. Luckily, I had brought goldfish and teddy grahams, otherwise THEY WOULD'VE been BEARS! We arrived at 3:30(4:30 Cleveland time) and found out that the airlines hadn't put our stroller on the connecting flight...so we had to go down to baggage claim and they gave us a different stroller until they could get ours. It took us 15 minutes to get to Budget and another 45-1hour to get our CAR! It was insane...BUT we are here, the kids are fed, got some swim time, got a bath, and are currently watching t.v. with their daddy. What quiet bliss. We are staying in a nice hotel and are loving the suites...very nice!
But, just for the record...Luke wanted to know if I could stay in a hotel for 50 days and I about SHOT him!! NO WAY! I mean, come on honey..there is NO WAY!!! Even if I had the whole stove, fridge, etc..what would the kids do ALL day lONG! No where for them to go, nothing for them to do and I would LOSE my mind! Ok, enough ranting..now on to the whole getting an apartment and then a home!
Goodnight and I'll see about updating daily on our CLEVELAND TRIP!
Friday, January 18, 2008
To the MAIN MAN in my LIFE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LT!
Today is my hubbies 29th b-day...(we are getting pretty close to the BIG 3-0!!) I am so thankful for him and ALL that he does for our family. WE LOVE HIM!
LT has many qualities and talents:
1. He can dance (he has got some MOVES), he is very good at basketball, flag football, baseball/softball, and basically any sport he plays.
2. HE is AMAZING at games: X-Box, pinochle, count-down, etc.
3. He is very even-tempered and easy to get along with. He has a great personality and a LOT of good friends (he is still close to those that he grew up with).
4. He is dedicated to many things/people including: his FAMILY. We come FIRST! He is very conscientious of our feelings and makes sure that we know how important we are to him. He always puts us first over work and Church.
5. With that being said...He is a VERY hard worker. He is currently training co-workers so that the transfer will go smoother. HE was recognized in 2 meetings yesterday for his hard work and dedication. Besides work, he is the accounting director for a non-profit organization and the Vice-President of ASMC-KC. He is also in the Elder's Quorum Presidency.
6. He does the dishes..enough said!
7. He comes home from work and wrestles with the kids so that I can finish dinner...(he does this EVERY NIGHT!)
8. He loves going on pop runs. (QT anyone?)
WE LOVE YOU!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Happy Birthday Dad!
We wanted to wish my wonderful DAD a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 
We are so thankful that he is in our lives!! He has done so much for our family and has made many sacrifices for us. We are so grateful for him!!
We are so thankful that he is in our lives!! He has done so much for our family and has made many sacrifices for us. We are so grateful for him!!
Some highlights I remember...
-He taught me how to dance and even when we were washing dishes or hanging out, we would start to boogey. -So fun!
-Memories at Lake Geneva (The Abbey, Lake Lawn Lodge, Eagle Ridge), Turkey Run...
-SKIING! He took out all the plastic gates while skiing down the hill, it was HILARIOUS!
-Our 3-day Utah trips; traveling out to Grandpa Lorin's Funeral, traveling with the rest of the family every August
-Working on the house...
-WGN and Paul Harvey
-His Laugh (the extra laugh, that is): HooohoooHOOOHOOOHeeeHEEE!
-His Puns
-He whistles...all the time (it's one of those comforting memories, not annoying)
-Nauvoo trip
-Going through my endownment and having him there...him being there at my wedding. I still have the handkerchief that he gave me. (Laurie helping him get onto the elevator at the Joseph Smith Building so he wouldn't be LATE for the wedding...!!)
-Him coming when the kids were born (I am also thankful for my mom for that too!!!)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
A long post...Sorry!
I was thinking about my sick kids and just wanted to jot a few things down:
The past 5 days have been hard ones in our household. Livi woke up with a high fever and hasn’t really gotten better yet. Her cough started around then, but has continued until it is a constant barking cough. During the middle of the night (5 straight nights!) she has coughing fits that will last 45 minutes and has thrown up several times due to it. We now have the mid-nightly routine to get the steam going in the bathroom for three 10 minute increments. (You know she isn’t feeling well when she takes naps WILLINGLY during the day!!!)
Spencer is also sick, not as bad, but I can tell that his cough is getting worse and his nose is running more.
They have both been so funny the past few days. I thought that when Livi was off for school break, I was going to go crazy, and I did a few times, but for the most part, I really enjoy having her at home and so she hasn’t gone back to school yet (since she has been sick) and I enjoy it. I’m a sucker for her blue eyes and blond hair...what a sweetheart.
Spencer has stopped taking his 2nd nap during the day, which I am not entirely happy about and goes down around 11 a.m. Yesterday, he slept for 4 ½ hours!! He loves CARS!! He loves to vroom them around the house. He loves his bath time!! Holy cow, he is a water baby if I ever saw one. Plus, last night he placed a little Elmo figure on the bathtub faucet and started yelling at me, “ook, ook!!” I didn’t realize he was talking to me until I understood he was saying, “Look, look” look what I did mom! He has started to stack his blocks (the ones he got for Christmas) instead of ramming his cars into the towers, it is awesome to see what he is learning and doing. When we are in the car, he will constantly say, “Mom, Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom” until I say, “Yes?” then he giggles, waits a few minutes and then does it again. Sooo funny. He is obsessed with Livi’s new Cinderella shoes (or shoes in general) he loves putting on Livi’s underwear (cross-dresser) and his daddy’s shoes.
Livi loves outdoors. We went outside and went sledding as a family a few times over break, she giggled so hard and it was AWESOME! She is such a good older sister and really loves and protects her brother. She is a good helper and will put her clothes away or fold them or whatever needs to be done. She doesn’t like playing in her room or by herself...although she is working hard on independent play. SHE MAKES SPENCER Laugh and giggle like we can’t…it is truly amazing how well they get along. She has been a little emotional lately, which could be because she is sick, but it is interesting to see her like that. Last night, she was especially ADORABLE!! She had a 3 hour nap and couldn’t fall asleep very well. Luke came home around 10 from work and she got up to see him…she was smiling her cute shy smile for about 15-20 minutes and we did some stretches with her to help her get “tired” for bed. It amazingly worked! She LOVES stories, especially before bed, where she will request a story almost every night. She loves her Princess blanket (it has become an attachment over the last few weeks/months) and Blueberry Patch, her Build-a-bear. It is adorable and she sleeps with her every night.
**Since this was written we took the kids to the dr's and Livi has strep and this funky bronchial thing. Her cough continues and will for several weeks, but we hope that she will start to sleep through the night and that she'll be a bit better before our Ohio trip!
The past 5 days have been hard ones in our household. Livi woke up with a high fever and hasn’t really gotten better yet. Her cough started around then, but has continued until it is a constant barking cough. During the middle of the night (5 straight nights!) she has coughing fits that will last 45 minutes and has thrown up several times due to it. We now have the mid-nightly routine to get the steam going in the bathroom for three 10 minute increments. (You know she isn’t feeling well when she takes naps WILLINGLY during the day!!!)
Spencer is also sick, not as bad, but I can tell that his cough is getting worse and his nose is running more.
They have both been so funny the past few days. I thought that when Livi was off for school break, I was going to go crazy, and I did a few times, but for the most part, I really enjoy having her at home and so she hasn’t gone back to school yet (since she has been sick) and I enjoy it. I’m a sucker for her blue eyes and blond hair...what a sweetheart.
Spencer has stopped taking his 2nd nap during the day, which I am not entirely happy about and goes down around 11 a.m. Yesterday, he slept for 4 ½ hours!! He loves CARS!! He loves to vroom them around the house. He loves his bath time!! Holy cow, he is a water baby if I ever saw one. Plus, last night he placed a little Elmo figure on the bathtub faucet and started yelling at me, “ook, ook!!” I didn’t realize he was talking to me until I understood he was saying, “Look, look” look what I did mom! He has started to stack his blocks (the ones he got for Christmas) instead of ramming his cars into the towers, it is awesome to see what he is learning and doing. When we are in the car, he will constantly say, “Mom, Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom” until I say, “Yes?” then he giggles, waits a few minutes and then does it again. Sooo funny. He is obsessed with Livi’s new Cinderella shoes (or shoes in general) he loves putting on Livi’s underwear (cross-dresser) and his daddy’s shoes.
Livi loves outdoors. We went outside and went sledding as a family a few times over break, she giggled so hard and it was AWESOME! She is such a good older sister and really loves and protects her brother. She is a good helper and will put her clothes away or fold them or whatever needs to be done. She doesn’t like playing in her room or by herself...although she is working hard on independent play. SHE MAKES SPENCER Laugh and giggle like we can’t…it is truly amazing how well they get along. She has been a little emotional lately, which could be because she is sick, but it is interesting to see her like that. Last night, she was especially ADORABLE!! She had a 3 hour nap and couldn’t fall asleep very well. Luke came home around 10 from work and she got up to see him…she was smiling her cute shy smile for about 15-20 minutes and we did some stretches with her to help her get “tired” for bed. It amazingly worked! She LOVES stories, especially before bed, where she will request a story almost every night. She loves her Princess blanket (it has become an attachment over the last few weeks/months) and Blueberry Patch, her Build-a-bear. It is adorable and she sleeps with her every night.
**Since this was written we took the kids to the dr's and Livi has strep and this funky bronchial thing. Her cough continues and will for several weeks, but we hope that she will start to sleep through the night and that she'll be a bit better before our Ohio trip!
Monday, January 7, 2008
It's 1 p.m. and....Church TIME!
So, as I have been reading the blogs, I noticed that many of you have also switched to 1p.m. church. As upset as some of you are...I'm really not too upset. I guess a lot of it has to do with the fact that I love my sleep and I love sleeping in late! (I also don't think this time change will be too bad, since Spencer's nap time has changed to 10:30/11a.m. He'll get up just in time to go to church. Not bad!)
Well, this Sunday was no different. I slept in until 10 or so and Luke got up with the kids (around 8 or so ;-) They all ended up staying home, since they were all sick and it was just me flying solo. It was weird.... really weird by myself, but I had plenty to do with music in nursery and in R.S. It was all-in-all a great Sabbath and it was nice to sit and listen in Sacrament.
After that we went over to Chad & Kristin's and Luke made Swedish Pancakes. They were DIVINE!! We played cards until around 1:15a.m. and drove home and literally fell into bed. We WERE exhausted!
It is going to be hard to move from our wonderful and great friends. We'll miss them!!
Well, this Sunday was no different. I slept in until 10 or so and Luke got up with the kids (around 8 or so ;-) They all ended up staying home, since they were all sick and it was just me flying solo. It was weird.... really weird by myself, but I had plenty to do with music in nursery and in R.S. It was all-in-all a great Sabbath and it was nice to sit and listen in Sacrament.
After that we went over to Chad & Kristin's and Luke made Swedish Pancakes. They were DIVINE!! We played cards until around 1:15a.m. and drove home and literally fell into bed. We WERE exhausted!
It is going to be hard to move from our wonderful and great friends. We'll miss them!!
revamping the blog
Ok, so the blog is going to look a little "off" until I can get everything how I want it to be..I want to thank ANJA for helping me to UNDERSTAND how to do it!! Now I don't need to copy and paste from Kristin's!!
Also, here is a little rant...I am a little sad that not as many people are updating their blogs. Whatever happened to updating it twice a week, let alone once a week! So...BLOG PEOPLE!! (I know that I am not perfect, but Christmas is over..let's get back into the swing of things and focus on what is important ;-) Bahahahbabaha..
Also, here is a little rant...I am a little sad that not as many people are updating their blogs. Whatever happened to updating it twice a week, let alone once a week! So...BLOG PEOPLE!! (I know that I am not perfect, but Christmas is over..let's get back into the swing of things and focus on what is important ;-) Bahahahbabaha..
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