My Sister is Leaving on a Mission!

My sweet younger sister is entering the MTC for a 18 month mission to the Washington-DC South area; which right across the river from us! How cool is that?

I got to talk to her on the phone briefly this afternoon, and she sounded happy but nervous.  She is such an amazing person, and I know she will be blessed for her efforts!

This is a short post, but I just wanted to document this event for journal purposes. :)

June Update

I'm a slacker on here as of late, so here is an update on what we have been up to this past month:

-We have settled into life with a dog.  Fiona is probably the calmest dog I have ever met. We have had he for going on 2 months, and I have yet to hear her bark.  Kind of strange. She still doesn't like to eat it seems and only drinks water when she knows she is not going to be bothered by the boys, which means that hardly happens.  I worry about he eating and drinking, but I guess if she is desperate enough she will eat and drink!  Strange dog.

We have also realized that vets in this area try to bleed you dry of your money when you go in.  Every time we go in, they talk about all these tests that they want to do or things they want to give her and you are required to pay on the spot.  If we let them do everything they wanted, we would easily spend $500 or more per visit.  She is an old dog.  We knew that when we adopted her, so we are really not looking to do any kind of interventions.  We just want her to live her last years nice and comfortable. 

-I got a new job! I started at a new gym this past week, and so far I really love it.  I hope that it is a much better environment then my last job.  I work when Greg is home, which means either really early mornings or nights.  It seems to be working for now, so lets home it is a good thing for our family!

-My sister came to visit us! She will be going on a mission to the DC south mission which is just across the river from us.  She came to say goodbye so to speak, even though I hope we get to see her from time to time since she will be in the DC area.  We had a great time with her here! 

-Summer has hit, which means high heat and humidity are now a daily thing.  I don't know if you can ever really get use to that kind of weather.  

Here are few cute pictures to accompany a pretty random and mishmashed post :)

We got a dog

This past week we got our first dog! We adopted her from the local shelter. She was a stray, so they had no information on her. Because of that, we got to name her! Greg and I decided that since he and I get to name the children, we will let our kids name our pets. Deagan chose Fiona after Fiona from Shrek. I'm not sure if she looks like a Fiona to me, but that's her name! :)

Fiona is 8 yrs old, so she is an older dog. Because of that, she is super calm and sleeps as much as a cat. She is super sweet and really good with the boys. She lets them play with her, pet her, walk her, etc and she shows no real emotion from it. They really love her and are good helpers!

She is a cute little dog, and we are happy to have her part of our family!

Father/Son Baseball

There is just something so sweet about watching a dad and his son play baseball in the backyard together.  :)

Deagan loves spending time one on with Greg, so this was perfect for him!

An update for posterity...

One of my favorite things to do us to look at the books that we have printed from our blog. It is so fun to read what was going on then and to look at pictures of our growing family. It's neat to see the struggles we have overcome and the blessings we have been given. When I read posts where I am describing a struggle, I am grateful that I took the time to write it because I see how I have grown.

My boys love looking at the books to and point out old toys of theirs and to see how they have changed. It makes for a great family bonding moment!

One thing I noticed that has changed from my record keeping of our family is that I use to be much more descriptive. Now I just write enough to record a memory. Maybe it's because life is just busier? I miss the detail though, so I thought I would do a more detailed update of our family for posterity sake :)

Greg: He has become an expert in his profession, which was his goal from his deployment; to come away knowing his stuff! He is a vital assets to his team which is great for his career! Unfortunately, the federal government has been holding the possibility of furloughs over employees heads, so a lot of Greg's team have abandoned ship so to speak, so he is very busy trying to make up for a number of people's work. Either way, he hardly complains and goes to work to support our family regardless of the stress he is under. But I think he would be very happy if a new job arose. :) I am very grateful for his work ethic! He goes to work early so he can get home early. I love seeing him home by 3 some days!

He has been working in the Young Men program in our church and has seemed to enjoy that. He has never served in the youth programs so I think it has been a welcome change.

He has enjoyed the challenges that come from owning a home. He has acquired a few power tools and enjoys trying to fix things that break. He does a great job! Home ownership suits him well :)

Michelle: Since the weather has gotten warmer and the sun is our longer, I have felt myself feel more alive here. I felt like I kind of just endured the winter here, and it really was not that harsh of a winter. I just felt the effects of continual gray skies. I have loved the SonShine and staying outside with the boys as much as we am during the days.

I got a job as a personal trainer right after we moved here, which was good for getting experience, but it was a hard work environment. I had been praying for a way to get out of it, and this past week an opportunity arose and I quit. I don't feel like I gave up as my employers felt because the environment was very hard for me. I felt like I did what I had to for my own well being. I know God provided a way out and for that I am grateful.

I have been babysitting a little and training out of our home, so I am trying to help bring in some money. With me not working at this gym anymore, I am actively searching for new opportunities. It's tricky though since my requirement is that I have to be able to do it with the boys there or when Greg is home. I know I'm picky but I will not sacrifice my job as a stay at home mom. It is too important to me. I know The Lord will provide.

I have tried to continue doing races, and have really enjoyed the ones I've done!

I have made a lot of great friends since moving here, and the boys have too. We love having friends over! I am grateful for good friends.

Deagan: Our sweet Deagan turned 5 this past year which means he starts Kindergarten in the fall. That just blows my mind. We got him registered a couple of weeks ago, so it's official! I am honestly terrified of him going to school because I'm afraid of the negative influences he will have, so I've toyed with the idea of homeschooling, but I'm afraid I will cheat him. I just want him to always be a good boy!

Deagan is a very smart and active boy. He still LOVES toys and would do anything to get a new one. He loves spending time outside, and running and playing. I have noticed lately that he seems to have some natural athletic ability, so I'm excited to get him involved in sports.

He is a great brother to Kayden, when he is not picking on him:). He is a great helper to me. I just love him! I need to work on being more patient with him because I tend to over react a lot with him. I guess it's the blessing (or curse?) of being the oldest.

Kayden: He is the sweetest little thing. Reading back in our blog books, I just can't believe he is 3. He is so fun. He has the sweetest little spirit. I'm so blessed to be his mom.

He is not as into toys as Deagan is. He is more willing to play on his own and entertains himself well. He loves nursery and always says that he has a lot of work to do in nursery :) He is just so busy! He is a great eater and likes everything that Deagan hates. It makes preparing meals kind of tricky!

I was hesitant to put Kayden into preschool this past year, but I am so glad that I did because he did so well.  He is going to be going back to the same preschool, without Deagan this time, so hopefully he does just as well!

Life continues to present us with challenges, but that is part of life! I heard somewhere that changes will always come in life, so instead of dreading them, just accept that they will happen.  I like that approach.  We have been greatly blessed!

Pee Pee In The Potty

Kayden is a little behind on this potty training thing. I think it's a combination of him not really having any interest in doing it, and me not too excited to go full steam ahead on it because of our experience of potty training Deagan. Either way, we are slowly working on it. When he gets in the tub or when Deagan is going, I ask him if he wants to go. Sometimes he says yes and sometimes he says no.
Well tonight he said yes and I had to document his cute little smile. He was so proud of himself since we all gave a big. " hooray" when he did it :)
Slowly but surely we will get this kids in big boy underwear!

Precious Little Moments

When I went to check on the boys one night before we went to bed, I saw that Kayden hopped onto bed with Deagan.
Cutest thing ever :)