Monday, June 8, 2009

Living with your parents really isn't bad

We have been SO busy and having such a blast since being back in Provo. Erik is now 95% potty trained, but that is a topic for another time. Whew... Anyway, we have been able to meet up with many old friends and hangout with family like never before. This will definitely be a fun summer. I had to include the view of my parent's next door neighbor's incredible pool. They are the kindest people and open it up to the whole neighborhood once a week. Erik is already hooked.





































Visits from the Tias

Erik had not seen either of his Tias in person since he was seven months old. We had great visits and he remembers them by the items they had given him. Adrianne is remembered for her baseball blanket and Natalie for her bat towel. We love you guys and hope you visit again soon!




Saturday, May 2, 2009

Friday, May 1, 2009

Our Big Move

Yesterday Mike accepted a job offer where he used to work (the Energy and GeoScience research institute at the U of U). He has only been unemployed for two months, but we have had a crazy roller coaster ride of emotions during that period. We were sad, but not surprised when Micron announced the closure of its Boise manufacturing plant. We were kind of in denial at the beginning at exactly what this job loss would mean for us. We were optimistic that we could make something work and stay in Boise where we had planned on living for 10+ years. Reality hit about a week later. The job opportunities for Chemical Engineers had dried up in the Boise area. Mike considered getting a teaching license to teach high school Chemistry until the economy recovered, but Boise is having to let teachers go. We knew we would have to leave our first home, the wonderful ward, and great neighborhood we had planned for Erik and our future children to grow up in. It was devastating. I was mad, then scared, then just sad. If you can't already tell, I like to have a plan for everything. :) Basically, my entire perspective needed to shift. Once I was able to accept the needed changes (which took about a month), life got easier. I still had/have hopeful and stressful and mundane days, but over all, things are much better. I listened/watched Elder Wirthlin's 4 min YouTube video "Come What May and Love It." I highly recommend this great 4 min pep talk to remind you everyday to laugh and be optimistic. Recently, my aunt and uncle who live here gave us an amazing book to read Who Moved My Cheese? (It is a short 1 hour read!) It helped us to realize that change is inevitable and your attitude and actions regarding change determine the quality of your life. I haven't been able to bring myself to update my blog about these recent changes in our lives until I knew I would be able to be positive. We have our first silver lining with Mike's new job and now we will just need to deal with selling or renting our house and moving in with my parents for a year. I am optimistic that change will bring "wonderful new cheese" and I hopeful I will embrace it.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Erik's New Quilt


A few minutes ago Erik's aunt Audy (Adrianne) sent him the cutest quilt. I just had to get out the camera! This is her first patchwork quilt and it turned out SO stink'n ADORABLE! Erik loves it, especially since she stitched his name on one of the baseballs. He spells it out in the video. It was perfect timing coming today, because he just learned how to say his name this morning. Thanks Audy!!!!!!!




Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas 2008







Erik's little body could not contain his excitement over his new train! Kick, kick, kick!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Motherhood

So it may be the season, or the fact that Erik just turned two, or that I just read the Christmas Box, but I wanted to reflect on the wonderful gift from my Father in Heaven which is my son. I am So grateful for his health and how much he loves life. He gets SO excited by the smallest things. He LOVES sprinklers, fruit snacks, splashing water, kicking/throwing balls, the movie CARS, hide-and-seek with Mommy, wresting with Daddy, running free at the zoo or park, and most of all anything that spins. He wakes up SO happy in the morning and without fail, asks for Daddy. He FINALLY said "mama" a few days ago and is starting to get a little bit cuddly. I am amazed how fast time has gone and how small he used to be. He has learned SO much, but I think I have learned more. He notices everything which has helped me to more fully enjoy the little things in life such as running up and down a hill over and over. That really can be fun! I have learned a lot of patience and I'm sure will have to learn more as time goes on. I am grateful to be a mother. What a WONDERFUL gift!