The Everday Edwards Family

We interrupt the belated summer posting to bring you...

2011-10-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

Another post about moving!

We are moving in a couple of weeks. Wait, you say, didn't you just move not that long ago?!

Isn't there several posts on this blog about that rather recent move?

Why yes there are -here & here are a couple examples as a matter of fact.

The Situation

Jared once again was gone most of the weekdays from April/May to October this year.

As it isn't very healthy for our family to be apart so much, he began looking around for other jobs locally for the most part. As we didn't think we would move from our home because we've only lived here 1 1/2 years, we wouldn't be able to sell our house for what we purchased it and maybe not even what we stilled owed, and there was the tax credit we thought we would have to pay back.

The Miracle

Jared interviewed at place where his old boss used to work. The company offered him a fabulous deal including a relocation package that would cover all our losses and still have some money to move on.

When we received the offer I knew that it was the Lord's doing and He wanted us to move to Ohio.

So moving to Ohio we are and really quick too.

The Home for Sale, once again.

I never posted what our home look liked after we moved in.

You can compare what the house use to look like under the previous owners here.

Our cozy "conversation room"

(we purposely placed comfy seats in this room and no TV for the purpose of making conversation or the next best thing reading the center of our home.)

The Dining Room

Our crisp, clean and yet still cheery kitchen.

All kitchens should be cheery.

One of my favorite rooms in the house- the sunroom.

These pictures don't do it justice.

My other fave room: Lil A's room upstairs.

Again these pics don't do it justice.

Downstairs in our finished basement:

1) Family Room

2)Seminary Classroom

3) Craft room

(it used to have it set up better but I packed a lot of that stuff away already)

Jared was like "You're taking a pic of your 'wall-o-craft-tupperware' shelf ?" and I said

"You bet I am!"

Look at this beautiful organization!

These cute colorful bins hold all my current unfinished crafting projects.

The drawers and shelves below hold all my not-so-current unfinished projects.

Sigh.

Our guest bedroom and study

The master bedroom

and finally our back deck.

I'm sad to leave this home. We have loved living here.

Two Weddings and a Conference: Part 1

2011-09-27T20:13:00.003-05:00

Well, we didn't have a working camera most of this summer but we did get some pics of some of our happenings.

First my brother Jeremy's wedding to his long-time sweetheart Ashley (she waited for him while he was on his 2 yr mission in Chile and at BYU no less) took place towards the end of June at the Washington D.C. temple. We spent a little over a week in D.C. with family. It was a great trip.

The cute & happy couple

Jared got some great shots of the D.C. temple. It is so beautiful!

I think this is a great pic of my Mom & Dad

My parents were sealed in the D.C. temple almost 29 years ago. I was just over 1 years old at that point and we have lots of cute pictures of the three of us from that time...

So, here is another pic of the three of us together years later at the D. C. temple.

We're still pretty dang cute.

We did lots of things like the Holocaust museum & monuments, took Aurora to her first movie- Cars 2 she loved it, went swimming a lot, family gatherings & dinners, lots of game playing etc... But I only got pics of the D.C. Zoo which is a great place. The zoo is free, you only pay for parking and you can get that free too if you can find any in surrounding neighborhoods but we were willing to pay the $5 it cost to take a Suburban full of people.

My brother Jeremy with our nephew Tyler...Aurora was in this pic like 2 seconds before it was taken.

Tyler and Aurora were best buds most of the stay.

The gang taking a lunch break.

The gorgeous girl texting next to me is my niece Lauren.

I don't see Tyler or Lauren often enough...it was so good to hang out for a week.

Aurora's favorite part was the monkeys especially the Orangutans that use the "O Line" which are these ropes/cables strung high above the ground from a tall tower to a tall tower all over the zoo.

Then we spent several days and the 4th of July weekend with my family attending the reception in my old hometown of Muncie, IN.

This pic is in here of my new sis-in-law Kayla and my brother Aaron (married in March...I need to upload some pics of that happy event too) because I caught on camera his reaction to her pinching him. :) Have I ever told you that I really like Kayla a lot?! :)
I am so blessed that my brothers all have good taste in women...I love all my sister-in-laws!!!

Loving, Happy Couple

Then in mid-August we headed out to Utah for about a week for Jared's brother's wedding...more on that the next post which will hopefully happen before the New Year.

Can You "Spot" the Birthday Girl?

2011-06-20T13:47:00.002-05:00

Aurora's 2nd birthday party was "Spot" themed based off some of A's favorite books by Eric Hill.

In one of the books, Spot goes to a costume party, so I put a large trunk of costumes out for ALL our party guests, adults included.

Apparently upside down sunglasses are all the rage among the toddler crowd.

Gpa Mac

Gma Mac

Uncle Aaron & Aunt Kayla

Aunt Jessie also attended the party but she's the one who took all these pics for us! Thanks! And also Momma A was visiting us for the week which was a great treat and blessing.

After trying on lots of costumes we had a parade with party blowers to show off our savvy costumes. This was A's favorite part.

I decorated for the party with "spots" by stringing up some pom-poms (super easy and very cute!) and a colorful spotted tablecloth.

We then read the lift the flap book Spot's Birthday Party with each child getting the

chance to lift 2 flaps.

In this book Spot plays Hide & Seek with his friends at his party...

(the official party guests: Addie, Lydia, Trenton, & Alyssa)

...so I hid paper puppets of some of the Spot characters around the house.

The kids had to find them, then color them and tape them to craft sticks.

Puppet coloring.

Candle time!

Besides serving brownies (Aurora's not big on cake) all the kids were served ice cream in a dog shape cookie cutter and were given mini M&M's to decorate their dogs w/ spots.

This is Aurora's twin...

whenever Alyssa is out with us, I get asked if they are twins by everyone! :)

Another family friend, Princess Emily.

Thanks everyone for coming! It was soooo much fun!

New Family Pics

2011-05-17T14:58:00.000-05:00

Go to this photography website of my friend Hope to see a few of the new pics of our family especially the ones of our beautiful newly turned two year old!

Recap & St. Louis

2011-05-04T14:18:00.002-05:00

It's May and I've only posted 3x's this year!

Well here is a recap (I'm getting really good at doing these.)

We still don't have a camera that I like which is part of the issue with not blogging. Also I'm still the seminary teacher and a mother which is really the issue with not blogging.

I love teaching seminary. I truly think it's the main reason why I was able to stave off the Seasonal Affect Depression this year. It's fabulous to have the Spirit in my home every morning Mon-Fri.

The car seat woes from the previous post were resolved about a week or two later (which I knew in my head would happen sooner or later like all stages but it was still really hard).

What helped push the transition faster and more smoothly was help from my most trusted mother's aide: books.

I've been testing out audio books with Aurora off and on over the last 6 months and she just grasped the

concept that the cd is telling her stories from some of her favorite books.

So now when we go anywhere it's "Do you want to listen to Monkeys (5 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed) or to Cows (Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type)?" And she chooses one and happily gets into the car and her car seat.

Her favorite right now is Audrey Wood's (my all time fave children's author) King Bidgood is in the Bathtub. The sound recording is quite fabulous and it's like listening to a musical. I highly recommend it!

Jared and I took a short vacation together to St. Louis. He had a meeting there on a Thursday and it coincided with the schools' spring breaks around here. So I didn't have to teach and my Mom and Dad watched Aurora for us, it was perfect.

So despite the quite warm weather the previous week we had snow on our "spring break" vacation.

Quite a bit of snow.

Of course, we saw the Arch.

But by the time we bought our tickets to go up this is what it looked like...

(Note: If you ever visit St. Louis buy your tickets for the arch beforehand...we tried too but instead had to buy them the day of and you have to wait several hours before you can go up)

This was some of our views from the top...

Not great, but still fun.

This is the door to the elevator to ride up and down to the Arch.

It's so small, I thought it could easily be a hobbit's door.

(Remember that I am hobbit size when you're looking at the size of the door in this pic.)

This is one of my fave pics from the trip.

We are in the waiting area at the Arch about to board the elevators and go up.

I was going to type out the whole "witch" scene from Monty Python but decided against it in favor of just publishing the clip itself. You're welcome and enjoy! :)

Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood
Sir Bedevere: And therefore...

Peasant 2: ...A witch!

(I guess Jared is the "duck" and I'm the "witch")

We also took a ride on the ferry boats. I enjoyed the names of the boats.

Ours was called the Becky Thatcher and the other boat was the Tom Sawyer.

We had dinner at a local pizza place: Imo's Pizza.

I didn't have high expectations but it was truly great pizza!

We went to the St. Louis temple that night.

The next day we went to the Science Museum (no pics really to speak of)

and my favorite place: The Butterfly Garden.

It happened to be Blue Morpho month and so the most gorgeous and huge blue butterflies were everywhere along with all kinds of other butterflies.

Okay, enough pics of just butterflies...here is one of us.

The garden is inside and feels like a tropical rainforest which is good compared to outside...

That night for dinner we went to the Melting Pot (a fondue restaurant)

We have never been there before but we had heard good things about it.

Even though my expectations were relatively high...I was still pleasantly surprised how good it was.

We did the 3 course meal! It was so much food but soooo good!

Jared wanted me to take a pic of the meat plate...he was so excited about it. :)

After a fabulous weekend, we drove home through the snow to our much missed beautiful daughter.
(Thanks Mom & Dad!)

This is what she got out of the deal:

Coming soon to a blog post near you:

Aurora's 2nd Birthday!

Okay, so I'm back

2011-03-15T12:47:00.002-05:00

I've been waiting for something to inspire me out of my blogging depression and self-pity party and this pic did the trick.

I took this pic with my phone because I still don't have a proper camera yet.

Isn't she just darling?!

I love my little sunshine even on days when she is feeling a little overcast and rainy.

The Rainy Moments:

Right now, the rainy moments are when she throws a fit (the screaming, arched back, kicking legs kind) almost every time I try to put her in the car seat.

So in response we have become hermits who never leave the house.

No, not really but I seriously consider whatever it is taking us out today if it is worth it.

The other day we were getting back in the car from a needed grocery store run and she was screaming and kicking etc... I pulled out one of my sometimes successful parenting tools (nothing is surefire with a toddler). It is to show empathy and understanding to the child and since the child is a toddler, this tool pretty much sounds like this (in a loudish voice with feeling but not yelling) "NO, NO, NO CAR SEAT! AURORA NO CAR SEAT!" Also, as toddler's are physical beings for added understanding and empathy I pound on the car seat a couple times. (This particular tool of the many I try in the daily car seat episodes is from Dr. Sears' book The Happiest Toddler on the Block) Well, after repeating this a few times not only did it not have any effect on her (at least in the moment...I know years down the road she will say to me "Gee, Mom you're swell. Thanks for understanding that I hated that darn car seat."), it dawned on me what this might look like to someone who couldn't fully see or understand what was going on inside the car.

A small child is screaming like a banshee and I'm pounding on the car seat.

"No officer, I wasn't hitting or intimidating my child. No, I wasn't even hitting the car seat out of frustration...at least not this time. Yes, I know the store's security camera caught bits of it on tape but I was actually trying to show my child that I understood her feelings. That understanding strengthens attachment which influences biological systems to slow down and become calm."

Then I envisioned the officer giving me a look and saying:

"Uh-huh. Okay, why don't we just step over to my car here and you can wear these pretty shiny bracelets on both hands behind your back while we head downtown."

So, I gave up on empathy for the moment and instead used bribery by giving her a piece of chocolate.

This calms her long enough to put her arms through the seat belt restraints but I finish the buckling while she begins screaming and kicking again.

Sigh.

The Sunny Moments:

-When I can see her laughter break through on her face like a beam of light before the bubbling sound escapes from her mouth.

-When she spontaneously cries out with joy "Momma!" and hugs me.

-When she sings along with the Primary songs cd that we use as her bedtime music.

-When she receives anything from me or gives anything to me even trash or a partially chewed piece of food, she always says "thank-you-welcome."

-When she spells or reads.

Yes, that's right my not even two year old daughter recognizes about 20 words whether it is written or spelled aloud. She adds a word or two a week to her repertoire. Her favorite words to spell herself are: Aurora, cat, home, Momma, and Daddy. She's also very fond of the words: fish, dog, sun, ball, star. She also knows: book, tree, stop, pig, bed, out, and a few more that I'm not remembering right now. This week she has added the word 'jump' to her list. It's so much fun for the three of us- being the bookworms and word lovers that we are.

Just so you know, I don't believe her to be a genius.

I wouldn't want to box her in and label her with that so early in life even if she was.

I believe her to be very interested and talented with letters, words, and reading for now (and maybe writing in the future). It also helps that she is still in the small window of time where language acquisitition is quicker and easier.

Just so you know, I am bragging though :)

Anyways, so now your caught up on some of our doings, well at least Aurora's doings.

Even though it's rainy and dreay here I'm wishing you all a little sunshine to remind you of the hope of spring!

Technical Difficulties

2011-02-17T11:59:00.003-06:00

We appreciate your patience as we work out our technical difficulties.
Now if I could just get my hands on some of that patience.

I know I promised I would post Christmas pics by Valentines and would of accomplished my goal by that deadline if it hadn't been for several technical difficulties. First, we upgraded our computer from XP to Windows7. Before doing so we backed up everything onto the hard drive, at least we thought we did. Now I can't find our Christmas pics anywhere. Of course we just cancelled our subscription to Mozy (an online back-up system) because we just got this new hard drive. It appears that over a 100 pics and videos from Christmas are gone.

I rallied myself after several days of mourning to post more recent pics of our comings and goings but that was when we discovered our internet was down for a couple of days.

Then I went to take pictures and discovered our almost 2 year old camera was not working. The estimate to fix it is almost as much as we paid for the camera new. Sigh.

We borrowed Jared's work camera since he's not out working in the "field" at the moment but so far all the pictures are blurry...I don't know what the issue is. Also when I recorded some videos, (like the last swim lesson for the Daddy & Me program that Aurora and Jared participated in) apparently the mute button was on and the videos don't have any sound.

So, all in all I'm quite dishearten and don't have a desire to blog much at the moment with everything conspiring against me to do so. I might post some pics from Valentine's Day that I took with the work camera but maybe not since they're not very good.

What is kind of funny is that we had technical issues and difficulties about this time last year. Sigh. Well, maybe not that funny.

I know I'll recover soon and be back to blogging because Aurora is growing so fast and I have lots of things I want to document, remember and share about this time period. Until then, wishing you better luck with your technical appendages in life.

"Where Have You Been?!?"

2011-01-28T17:53:00.003-06:00

So once again I have been MIA from my blog for about a month. I like to keep busy in general but I just reached a new level of busyness. Right before the new year I was called to be a seminary teacher at church. A seminary teacher works with the high school aged youth every morning Mon-Fri in studying the scriptures. I am loving it! It is such a great blessing but it does take a lot of time and energy to do...so less blogging. I hope to get on and post some Christmas pictures before Easter, maybe even Valentine's Day...but don't hold your breath for it to be before Groundhog's Day.

I did already take the time to update the blog's look though. New year, new look.

Post title is quoting Mrs. Weasley in the movie
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

I heard some of you were going through
"Esther-quoting-movies-all-the-time" withdrawls.

Yes, This Is Another Post About My Hair

2010-12-23T13:02:00.000-06:00

Right before I chopped it off for Locks of Love.

A week later.

I love it!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T12:57:00.001-06:00

I actually rather dislike our Christmas card so much I'm going to post many of the pictures I used. So you can see Lil A in all her squirming-hugging-pulling-ornaments-off-every-branch-she-can-reach-leaping-out-of-arms-smiling glory.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-23T12:40:00.005-06:00

I know it's so tacky that I always email and post on various social websites our Christmas card but it's the best I can do. This card isn't as good as last year's (taking the pictures was a lot harder this year with a very active toddler and I didn't have as much free time this year to design the card with my very minimal skills with photoshop)

but we still wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!

With a Grateful Heart

2010-12-20T13:12:00.004-06:00

We had so very much to be grateful for this past Thanksgiving! We were able to visit with Aurora's birth family, see some dear friends and some family for little over a week!

We stayed at Alyssa's 3 bedroom apartment (Thanks! You're the best!) and at any given time there was usually around 11 of us staying there!

Crazy I know, but it went really well!

We read lots and lots of books

Made lots of crafts and sang songs

Played in lots of snow.

There was a forecast for a blizzard while we were there. The worst storm in a decade.

Although it did snow and blow- it really wasn't all that bad which was really too bad.

(Here Daddy it tastes great!)

Can you believe my own husband of 9 years did this to me....

...good thing I caught it on video to show the authorities.

(Officer, please see the snowball frozen in time in the upper left hand corner in the last frame)

We also had a birthday celebration, went to the dinosaur museum and the aquarium

Aurora loved the penguins

Aurora caught the 2nd boat ashore since the 1st one was a little too crowded for her liking.

We played lots of games, some football and of course ate lots & lots of food!

Jared carved his very first turkey!

A trip to In & Out where we had burgers "animal style."

Fighting over the last bit of strawberry shake

Of course being the big Harry Potter fans that we are...saw Deathly Hallows Part I

(I usually dubb it HP7a).

Loved it! Absolutely loved it!

Also, Jared and I celebrated our 9th anniversary while we were there.

We were able to go to the temple together.

Love him! Absolutely love him!

Quite the week and we still didn't get to see all of the friends we wanted to...sorry dear ones!

How very blessed are we!

Aurora at 18 months

2010-12-10T09:39:00.000-06:00

Aurora will be 19 months in a couple of days! She is getting so big!

She goes to nursery at church now and does really well. Only crying for the first minute after separation.
She is starting to do a little pretend play. She will pour some pretend tea (herbal tea of course) from her tea pot and then pretend to drink from her cup...so cute! She talks to her stuffed animals and dolls.
She talks quite a bit in general, although probably only Jared and I understand her. She says "please" quite consistently and "thank you" quite inconsistently. She can make pretty much all the appropriate sounds for almost any animal and tons more words.
She loves singing. So without further ado here she is singing her rendition of "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam" that she has entitled "Jesus Sunbeep"

Here is the Winnie the Pooh song.

As with every stage and transition that she grows into I have a hard time keeping up at first. This week she has been into EVERYTHING.

We have to keep the trash can turned around facing backwards toward the wall or she will get in it and eat things. So gross.
We have to keep the bathroom door closed because she can lift the toliet seat up and loves to splash in it. Very gross.
Recently she unrolled a whole roll of toliet paper in a record time of about 5 seconds and then proceeded to carry it around with her all day with long trails of toliet paper streaming behind her. She alternated between calling it "blanket" & cuddling with it to blowing her nose on it. (She recently had a cold). So fun.
She won't hold still whatsoever for a diaper change and during certain diaper changes it becomes a literal, utter mess. Poo is everywhere and I most certaintly do not mean Winnie the Pooh either. Very fun and very gross.

But as always I know I will eventually adjust and we will have a few great weeks until the next stage! I know I will be a little sad at the passing of another stage. For soon the crayon drawings on the front door will stop and I will miss them. A lot.

So I try to laugh when something like the toliet paper incident happens. And I keep closing doors and washing hands a million times a day and try to smile at the same time. And I try to find new ways to help the diaper changing to go smoothly and keep the expletives in my head.

I wouldn't trade a single experience for the world!

More Catch-Up

2010-12-10T08:51:00.001-06:00

Okay, I lied. This isn't Thanksgiving pics but a few more random ones from Oct & Nov.

We visited Aunt Tiffany & Uncle Erich and the cousins when I presented at the regional FSA adoption conference. I never take very many pictures when I'm with family & friends. It seems like I have to choose between enjoying and living the experience or documenting the experience. But here are a few from the fun 4-5 days we were there.

My friend Camille, recently moved away. I miss her and her family so part of my grieving process is to post a couple pics from one of the times we went to the zoo.

So here is what we are getting Aurora for Christmas but don't tell her!

A box

and her very own toy vacuum

Is there a better picture in the world than a man vacuuming and holding his child? :)

November Non-Thanksgiving

2010-12-08T19:56:00.001-06:00

November is National Adoption Awareness Month and I was contributing to the FSA blog on a weekly basis during November so that is my small excuse for neglecting this blog. (Go check out the FSA blog...there is some great stuff on there!)

The poster child for adoption:

Isn't she the cutest?! I'm not biased whatsoever of course.

Lil A loves playing outside!

We went outside everyday in the late afternoon and waited for Daddy to ride his bike up from work.

Now that it is bitter cold, when 4 o'clock comes around it is really hard to convince her that she doesn't want to go outside, or at least that Momma doesn't want to go outside.

She paticularly loved the leaf piles we made from the huge tree in our front yard. I believe it is the largest tree in the whole city.

I finally arranged a play area in the basement. Now we have somewhere to go and be when it's too cold out. I love our home! It is truly my dream home and I feel so blessed to already in my stage of life to be living in my dream home.

So much fun, huh?!

Coming up next...our trip to visit family & friends for Thanksgiving.

Then hopefully ready for Christmas!

Edwards Family Day

2010-12-08T19:51:00.002-06:00

One Saturday in October we celebrated the day that Aurora was sealed to us forever in the temple by having a family day.

It was a much needed day just to be together as a family and take a break from our very busy lives. Also Jared had been away from us working out of town Mon-Fri for 2 months and he was finally home to stay. Another reason to celebrate!

The day was glorious!

It started out by making t-shirts for the special day. Jared looked at me rather disbelieving when I got out the markers and shirts but I had warned him this was going to be an "event." He's lucky the "family song" I'd been creating in my head didn't come together until the end of the day and I didn't force him to sing it! :)

Back of the shirts.

The best pic we got of the front of the shirts.

We went hiking at a nature preserve located at the local monastery.

(How often does one get to say something like that?)

We hiked around this beautiful lake.

The trees were gorgeous and the weather perfect!

There were so many interesting spots and places we discovered...this was one of my favorites.

Aurora travelled mostly by backpack but sometimes she went

by foot.

She is quite quick now and if there is space to run, she will.

We saw all kinds of wildlife too. Ducks, bullfrogs, fish, rabbits, squirrels, birds etc...

Jared pointed out all the interesting plants and trees such as spicebush which I love the way it smells.

I want to plant some in my yard.

We also collected leaves for the collage that we will make of our adventure.

Look, how cool is this?!

Here we are collecting some shells for the collage and getting a closer look at some fish.

I'm trying to keep Lil A from losing her shoes in the mud. Also, I clean up a little easier than she does.

We ate lunch at a picnic shelter at the end of the trail.

We then went to an outdoor concert (sorry no pics) and finished the day out with some ice cream.

I am so very grateful for my fabulous husband and the little ray of sunshine that is my daughter.

What a wonderful blessing it is to be a forever family!

The girls

We "Care Beary" much about you...

2010-12-08T19:21:00.000-06:00

with no ifs or "butts" about it!

I know, I know, I'm just now posting Halloween pics!

Apple Picking

2010-10-14T13:51:00.004-05:00

On Labor Day

our friends, the Birds,

take their annual trip to the apple orchard.

It's been a few years since we were able to go.

So we were excited to take Aurora on her first apple picking experience.

The trees were laden with apples!

Daddy showing Lil A how to pick the perfect apple.

Lil A saying "Oh yeah, I can do this!"

Apple picking is hard work, so several different modes of transportation was needed.

The fruit of our labors! Yum.

We then cooled down (it was gorgeous weather but a little warm being in the mid-high 80's) in the rocking chairs on the shady porch with the most delicious apple cider slushies and homemade blackberry ice cream.

Before we left, we raced the chickens.

I think the chicken is winning.

This reminded me of our very first outing with Aurora.

The orchard had a Labor Day special: buy one bushel, get one free.

Not one to let a good deal slip by: We had a lot of apples.

Lots and lots of apples.

I made 2 apple pies, a large pan of apple crisp and several caramel apples.

In fact, just today, we ate our very last apple from the orchard.

(They keep pretty well in the crisper drawer in the fridge)

Random Tidbit:

In my family history, we are related to the man who bred the apple now known as the Red Delicious.

Random Tidbit #2:

Also in my family history, the McCullough's (my maiden name) created the first soft serve ice cream. They eventually sold their rights to Dairy Queen. Look at the first line from a display in DQ.

You would think with that kind of heritage, I would be rich or at the very least have free ice cream and apples available to me for life. But no such luck.

What I did inherit was a love for ice cream (food in general, actually) and the resulting pounds. :)

Hope your Fall has been beautiful and bountiful!

Mini Vacate: Part 2

2010-09-24T22:13:00.006-05:00

In downtown Indy there is a canal

that runs right next to many of the museums, restaurants, hotels etc...

One end of the canal happened to be right outside our hotel.

It's really quite beautiful.

I've always wanted to walk the whole thing.

So Aurora and I set out one morning to walk the canal.

But silly me I thought this was just some little decorative thing they call a "canal"

and would take us 30mins to stroll around.

But the canal is so much more.

There are lots of pretty little sitting spots

and waterfalls,

and fountains,

and bridges,

and even gondolas,

and pieces of art & other interesting things to look at

all during your 3 mile stroll around the canal.

It was peaceful and pretty. I just wasn't prepared for how long it was (I was wearing flip-flops, no sunblock and next to no water for Lil A while it was quickly becoming a hot sunny day etc...)

Aurora ended up taking her nap on the go.

Later after lunch and another nap. We went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum

which is one of the best in the nation.

As a child, I went to the Children's Museum every year on school field trips.

Then as a teen, I volunteered at my local children's museum but once a month we went to Indy and volunteered and help out during their Family Nights.

Early in our marriage, I made Jared go with me to the haunted house they sponsor.

I've been waiting for the day when I would take my own daughter/son to the museum

and the day had finally arrived.

Playing in the sand with friends.

Playing at the water table.

Playing on the indoor cushion playground that's just her size.

Then there are the staples of every museum visit:

The carousel

Mesmerized by the carousel while waiting in line.

Getting your picture taken in the Indy 500 car.

I believe my mom has a pic of me in this very car.

And the World's Largest Water Clock:

The reason we couldn't get the whole clock in the pic.

We also saw the dinosaur exhibit that was really cool. Also a touching exhibit titled

The Power of Children: Making A Difference which was an interactive (of course) exhibit about Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges and Ryan White.

I wished we lived a little closer so we could go more often. I had so much fun

and Aurora probably did too. :)

Sidenote:

It is such a small world because while we were there we ran into our friend Joanna, who had just moved to Indy recently.

We got to see her boys and her new little baby girl. So fun!

We finished off our vacation by visiting with some other dear friends over dinner.

Thanks Ryan & Mimi!

It was a great little getaway. Jared should have conferences like this more often.

Mini Vacate

2010-09-08T21:36:00.007-05:00

Jared had a week long conference to attend in Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago.

Lil A and I decided to meet him there for a few days and make a little vacation out of it.

Unfortunately what should of been a 2 maybe 2 1/2 hour trip for Aurora and I turned into almost a 4 1/2 hour trip with a little car trouble, bad weather, and an unusually cranky baby.

Here she is finally asleep after a lot of hard work on the Momma's part.

We stayed at a nice hotel (courtsey of Jared's work) in downtown Indy-- a stone's throw away from White River State Park and the Canal. (And only a hop and a skip from the zoo).

Here is Aurora taking in the view from the 8th floor.

In the mornings, Lil A and I would swim, watch movies and walk in the park (more pics of that later).

Here she is watching one of her all time favorites: Winnie the Pooh.

Sidenote: Have I told you what Aurora's first couple of words were? The first one was "Uh-oh" and the second one was "movie" (prounounced mooo-vie ending on a higher note with the "vie"). Yes, movie came right before Momma and Dada. It makes me laugh but at the same time I wince and then I feel called upon to tell people that she doesn't really watch movies or tv all that much... maybe 30mins every 2-3 days. Not like all day every day or anything. :)

Jared was able to take his lunch breaks with us. We went to a Cuban sandwhich shop one of the days.

We have been missing the one in Lexington. This one is nicer looking but we still prefer the food at the one in Lex.

Aurora took this pic of me while waiting for our food.

Yes, it's another crazy face pic but still a good shot for her first photo ever.

The first night we had dinner with some dear friends we hadn't seen in awhile.

Thanks Alcorns & McFarlands! Sorry we didn't get any pics.

The next night we went to the zoo.

We saw fish which Aurora loved.

It was Jazz Night At The Zoo. So they keep all the animals out a little longer. We got to see all the animals really well because it wasn't very crowded although it was pretty hot. Also the animals seemed to sense that it was past the usual time for them to be out. They were all real active and hanging out near the gates waiting for their keepers.

Aurora's favorites appeared to be the giraffes, elephants and rhinos.

The Indy Zoo has a Splash Park. It pretty much looks like an open playground area where water

is shooting out or pouring down from everywhere.

We brought a change of clothes for Aurora but not for me... Oh well it felt good.

We enjoyed the jazz, the food, the animals, the Splash Park...so two thumbs up for the zoo.

To Be Continued...

Update

2010-08-30T22:12:00.002-05:00

By popular demand

here are pics of my not-so-new-anymore haircut that I mentioned in a previous post.

I decided that I was never going to get a good candid shot of it.

So I had Jared take some...

(Don't mind the date on the pics. Aurora turned the date function on while playing with the camera. I just haven't gotten around to turning it off yet or at least setting it to the current date. She also setup the bluetooth function on my cell phone for me...she's quite technologically savvy).

For comparison sake:

The day before the haircut

(If you can't tell I really love my plaid shirt with white sweater...I'm wearing it both times :)

Then I took a couple myself so I could make all the silly, crazy faces I wanted without comment from the peanut gallery (aka my husband :)

It's getting quite long...I'll probably chop it off for Locks of Love again at some point.

Now that you have seen way more photos than you ever wanted of my hair...

Here is another update:

For those concerned about my library woes--please be at ease.

For I gave in and crossed over the river & the state line (only 5mins further than the library I was currently patronizing) and paid $25 to be a member of a library there.

I will just simply say: It's wonderful.

The librarian was apologetic about having to charge me the $25 but I stopped him midsentence

"No, No this is utterly worth it. I am willing to support a library like this.

Also, no worries I will get my $25 worth out of it."

I believe I already have.

Coupon Crazy

2010-08-26T16:12:00.005-05:00

(Warning: Reading this very long post may start you down the path of either craziness or boredom).

Have you or someone you love been exposed to the coupon craze?

Yes, I've been exposed

and now have a full-blown case of coupon crazy.

Of course, coupon clipping has been around since the first newspaper but it's never been done like this before. The grocery shopper, the homemaker, the thriftster now strives to be

a couponista.

Jenny in Lex was the first to expose the condition to me.

But it wasn't the right time in my life.

I found it overwhelming, stressful, time-consuming and I just plain ole disliked doing it.

But I kept trying.

Clipping a coupon here and there.

Matching it with a sale sometimes there, sometimes here.

Then I moved and I met another couponista named Janell.

I was at a different point in my life. I had already been through the initial exposure.

Janell had some other tricks and tips to add to Jenny's.

The rest is history, as they say.

This was into my 2nd week of coupon crazy:

12 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of fruit snacks, 2 packages of diapers and wipes, large package of toliet paper, deodrant, kitty litter, 2 boxes of granola bars, 2 containers of ice cream plus more all for $75.

It would usually be at least double that.

My 3rd week in I had another Kroger grocery total of $48 before coupons and ended up paying $13 after coupons.

Another thing I have discovered is that I hardly ever go to Wal-Mart anymore because it doesn't have the most inexpensive prices now that I coupon.

That alone is worth it's weight in gold.

(The last time I went to Wal-Mart I was in line 45 minutes. Most of the time was spent with the cashier, the cashier manager and the store manager trying to ascertain that an item was truly on sale. This was after I handed them my Wal-Mart flyer with the sale listed).

Interested in being a couponista?

My suggestions:

First, you need to get at least one subscription (many couponistas have several subscriptions) to the Sunday paper to begin couponing. I find one newspaper is enough for my family's needs with all the coupons I can print off the internet.

Get "the lists" that tell you exactly what to get from each store using which coupons for the best deals

from http://www.thegrocerygame.com/

There is a 4 week free trial so you can figure out if it's helpful for you.

I like the way one gal there organizes her coupons into a binder without clipping.

(You can read about it on the website).

I find it less overwhelming and time consuming.

These are my two favorite blogs about couponing:

I read these blogs to find the smokin' deals that aren't always on "the list" because these couponistas scour the internet for the best coupons and deals and then tell you exactly how and where to go for the deal.

(I only read two because there are tons and tons of blogs about couponing and it can be overwhelming and time consuming).

http://happyhomemakercindy.com/

She focuses on stores that are found more in the midwest area.
She also does bulk cooking which I haven't tried yet.

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

I like her articles for "Beginners"
This blog focuses on different stores such as Target and other stores found more out west.

Some issues I have had to conquer on my way to being a couponista:

1) It's still cheaper to buy generic than with coupons.

I use to think this but I've discovered if you coupon like the above couponistas it's not true.

In the past I would indiscriminately use coupons- meaning I did not wait for the items to go on sale first and/or I did not "stack" (using multiple coupons) a store's coupon with a manufacturer coupon.

When I started doing these things it was less expensive to shop with coupons than to buy generic.

2) I don't want to spend money on newspaper subscriptions, buying coupons or subscribing to coupon websites. I rather spend that money on groceries.

What spend money to save money?! I was a little bit leery because that usually smells of scam. But I went ahead and budgeted these expenses into our grocery budget and found I was still saving money. I was able to get our newspaper for $0.99 a paper. My husband enjoys reading the newspaper anyways.

During the 4 week trial to "the list" I found that my favorite list was for Kroger and I plan to only pay money for the one store.

3) You just get a lot of things you don't need or use.

I make a list of things we use regularly and items we are getting low on. I scan through the lists and the blogs for those items. Sometimes I'm not able to find items that I want/need that week. So I make the decision to either be patient and wait for the good deal or pay more money this time if I really need it. Most of the items were average size not huge bulky things that can be hard to store or to use up once opened. A few have been travel size or the smaller sizes of the product though.

Hard Truths & Costly Mistakes:

I still spend more time than I wish on couponing although now I kind of enjoy it. It's sort of a hobby for me or a game to find the best deal. I still hope that I get better and quicker at it. My time is valuable and I might have to start charging for my time and adding it to the budget. I'm interested to see if I would still save money. I bet a lot you are more organized and efficient and could be a couponista in less time.

At least for me it's not perfect and something still inevitably goes wrong every week. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes:

At Walgreens, I forgot to purchase items in a separate transactions so I could turn around and use the $10 Register Rewards I had earned to buy the nonRegister Reward items. The Register Rewards are like cash that can only be used at Walgreens and they expire. If I don't use them right away I forget about them or don't use them in time. I've lost $12 that way so far. Again many of you are probably more organized and this wouldn't happen to you.

Another time, I did do a separate transaction so I could turn around and use the Register Rewards but I did not purchase items in the correct order. If your total isn't more than the Register Rewards you want to use, it won't work. I think I'm making it sound complicated, it's not really all that bad, you just need to think it through and (once again) be a little more organized than I am.

I've also gone to Kroger without my Kroger card. I've gone to Meijer without bringing my $-off-your-next-purchase catalina. At Target I have a hard time sticking to my list and often buy things that aren't way on sale or without coupons. I have also spent time researching and couponing to never make it to the store before the sales end.

Every now and then I buy something I don't need because it's waaay on sale. I bought Bayer AM for $0.50 but then realized I would never use it. (It's mainly for hangovers and since you have to drink to get a hangover--it's a not a problem. And it uses caffiene which I avoid as much as possible in my food and medicine because it makes me anxious).

Maybe you can help me decide on this one:

To get the deal I had to buy 4 packages of Oreo's, 2 gallons of milk and 3 packages socks containing 6 pairs each. I got it all for around $16. (I'm having flashblacks to math story problems). Did we really need the Oreo's? No, we did not. Milk we go through almost 2 gallons in a week, so we are good there. And the socks aren't needed at this moment but eventually they will be right?

What do you think: Deal or No Deal?

Sometimes I think about giving up the whole couponista dream but I think I'm too far in that I can't ever go back.

So I keep hoping I will get better at this whole coupon thing.

Summer Catch-Up

2010-08-02T16:59:00.000-05:00

I love summer!

Despite that it has been in the 90's for months now

(living right next to a large river makes the humidity horrendous! Even worse than farther south in Lexington)

we still have done some fun summer activities.

Summer Activity #1

Aurora loves water.

She loves baths, washing her hands in the sink, the fountains in front of the library

and of course swimming!

At my brother's house...

we are so lucky they have the inclination to keep up a pool and let us use it whenever we want!!!

At the Edward's family reunion with cousin Suzy.

Summer Activity #2

Aurora loves the park, especially the swing.

After a little more time and exposure to it, she now loves to slide too.

Over and over and over again.

Although cousin Colin may love the slide more than she does.

Summer Activity #3

Aurora loves animals.

She "ruffs" and makes the sign for doggie whenever we see one even if it's in a book.

She also "meows" and chases our cats...of course what cat wouldn't love that.

(They actually tolerate it rather well).

And when we went to the petting zoo with Alyssa & Co.

She liked the goat...

...and the goat seemed to like her back.

It followed Aurora around for awhile afterwards.

Summer Activity #4

Aurora has done some hiking this summer too.

With a portion of our new friends, the Snow family.

This is pretty much the one and only pic of me

to prove that I too did all these summer activities.

Not even a good pic of my new cute haircut.

(I got bangs! I haven't had bangs since I was 8.)

At the top of the fire tower.

Aurora looks unhappy because she wanted to get down and crawl/walk around

but there wasn't enough space for her to do so safely.

Summer Activity #5

Another activity that I have been having so much fun with:

Art projects!

She actually does pretty well and doesn't eat the paint or the crayons...

much.

Deal Bragging:

I got this picnic table and a slide (you know the one- it's orange & blue)

for $5 on Craig's List.

The best summer activity has been being with family and friends!

Thanks for good times and memories everyone even if I didn't get pictures of it.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

2010-07-21T12:36:00.007-05:00

I know its been over a month since I've posted and I'm going to post something completely random.
But it made me happy so maybe it will make you happy
especially those of you who are children of the 80's!

I was at Target and I found Rainbow Brite post-it notes. They made me smile so big!

I bought them...they were only a $1.

Then I started thinking about how I wanted Aurora to have a Rainbow Brite doll

(I loved my doll and I used to have Starlite too!)

which led to wanting a Popples backpack for her

(I loved the show and always wanted a backpack myself)

which led to My Little Pony figurines

(I didn't care for the show but loved the toys)

which led to a Thundercats something (maybe a t-shirt with the logo?)

and watching the opening theme song on YouTube

(Loved the show and owned a Thundercats sleeping bag).

Am I missing anything?

Oh yeah...

I did like She-Ra the Princess of Power so Lil A will need an action figure...

maybe something from the Smurfs...

or the Snorks

or possibly Jem & the Holograms

Aurora already owns several CareBear bears, videos, a costume and a blanket.

So she's covered there.

I never watched or owned much in the way of Strawberry Shortcake...

So should I let Aurora find her own childhood favorites instead of forcing mine upon her?

Nah.

One more thing that I found...

a My Little Pony Princess Leia!

LOL!

Okay, okay back to 2010 for the next post, I promise.

Happy Father's Day 2010!

2010-06-20T08:29:00.003-05:00

Daddy & Aurora

First Cuddle

First Bath

Working Hard

Resting Hard

Milk & Daddy...doesn't get any better than this.

Daddies are good at making funky hair-dos...

...and giving big smooches!

We all need a Daddy to lean on.

Playtime!

Go Cubs!

Just Chillin'

Daddy showing me appreciation for nature's beauty.

BIG HUG!

Out & About with Daddy

Discovering the World

Having Good times!

(Laughing right after the horse tried to eat Lil A's hair)

WE LOVE YOU!

The Betrayal of the Children's Dept at the Library

2010-06-16T15:06:00.005-05:00

I feel the need to bewail, lament, complain and otherwise grieve (I love synonyms!) over a painful subject with someone and since almost all of you are far away or far enough that I don't see you in person regularly and since I don't like the phone very much either, this is my best option.

The serious and most painful subject that I wish to bring up is: The local library in our new town has only a handful of children's board books and the few titles they do have are not of high quality. The feeling I felt when I saw this small selection and then later looked online to see if a large quantity or the quality board books were just checked out (they weren't, they just don't have them), was one of betrayal.

Melodramatic? Maybe.

But here is the rationale behind my feelings of betrayal.

First, for there to be a betrayal there must be deep roots of loyalty and love:

The library is my place of refuge, a place that brings peace and happiness to my heart. The place, that for years I have visited religiously at least once a week, if not more. On those visits I have always spent some time in the children's section even before I had a child to take there. But now that I do have a child I consider the visits to the children's department and the time reading books to my daughter there and at home as some of my best moments as a mother. The library is the place where I am surrounded by shelves and shelves of friends for myself, my husband and my daughter. And like all good friendships, it’s free.

Secondly, for there to be a betrayal I believe there also must be a "need" that must be fulfilled to give opportunity for the betrayal:

I am absolutely thrilled that my daughter already loves books, loves to be read to, loves to turn the pages, and loves to look at the pictures by herself. If she is in mid-cry and I hand her a book, she is immediately soothed. If she has been wriggling and squirming around so much that I can't put a diaper on her, I hand her a book and she stops. If she is determined to type her own message on Momma's blog, I hand her book so I can finish up. The list goes on and on of the situations where a book is my most valued and trusted mother's aide.

So my need is for books.

But not just any type or kind of book; for we do own a nice-sized collection of board books but I am so very tired of our titles right now. And it can get expensive rather quickly to buy books weekly instead of checking them out from the library weekly. We do get tired of our new purchased books pretty quickly because we read so much (again most valued and trusted mother's aide in my household). It is important to read books that you can enjoy too because that’s part of the process of how the love of books and reading is transmitted.

So my need is for a variety of free books of enjoyable quality.

I acknowledge this library has a very large selection of picture books (larger than any of the branches in Lexington) that will fit our needs wonderfully and magnificently when Aurora is 3 or so. But what do I do now and over the next year or two? Despite that Aurora loves books; most books do not love Aurora back. At least not at this stage, not yet. Only board books can withstand the love of a 13 month old.

Every now and then I do try reading a more fragile children's book to her but it doesn't work. Reading is supposed to be a hands-on experience for a child her age. I refuse to interrupt our story times with stressful outbursts of "Let Momma turn the page!" "Be careful!" "Don't rip it!" "NO!" "Books are friends, not food!"

So my need is for a variety of free board books of enjoyable quality now. (Not later child development stages).

Are you beginning to see why I feel betrayed?

Am I asking for too much?

Or am I just being picky, greedy and melodramatic?

One more thing, to add salt to injury. I've always participated in summer reading programs at libraries, as a kid and as an adult. I'm not really sure why I love them but I do. I signed Aurora up last summer and I would just write down the titles and authors of the books that I read to her on an official summer reading card and turn it in for prizes.
It usually doesn't matter if the book is your own purchased book, or borrowed from your great aunt's twice removed cousin's neighbor, or checked out from the library-- you can just read any ole book. For the program here, the book has to be a library book to count towards the summer reading program. You check out the library books and then you return them to a librarian at a special station who checks the books back in and denotes how many points each book is worth on your summer reading card. If you accrue enough points then you can get a prize or be eligible for one of the cool big prizes. (They really do have cool prizes here…the best I’ve ever seen). But because of the lack of selection in board books Aurora and I won't be participating in the program much this year since we can’t turn in all the books we read from our own collection.

I feel sad.

I feel betrayed.

Melodramatic? Yes, thank you.

Aurora reading a book with her friend Andrew

Aurora looking at books on her own.

Definitely One Year Older, Possibly One Year Wiser Too...

2010-06-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

For my 29th birthday I received:

Some great birthday cards. I'm not sure why I feel more emotionally attached to my b-day cards this year than usual, but I do. I love them, I keep them next to my bed and they make me smile and lift me up when I see them.
The best present ever from Aurora! She let me sleep in until a little after 8am...it was amazing and pure bliss.
A birthday serenade on my voicemail from my parents.
A birthday package that arrived on my birthday. What's better than receiving a fun package in the mail from a dear friend? And it contained my favorite things: Books!
Oreos, Snickers Ice Cream, and Strawberry Trifle. Birthdays don't get much better than that.
Lots of texts and FB comments wishing me Happy Birthday.
Time with family, including my brothers. One of the nice things about living close to family.
A Wii. Finally! We have been planning and saving to buy one for over 2 years now but when it came down to actually purchasing it, we always talked ourselves out of it because there was always something else that was more of a "need" and practical that we should spend our money on. So it went back on the "wants" list and "to save for" list for the next holiday, birthday, special occasion just to be passed up again. But no more will it be returned to The Lists because Jared spontaneously bought it! Can't talk yourself or a spouse out of it if it's spontaneous. And I was surprised because Jared told me that our new home was my b-day present. I'm glad we waited and postpone buying it previously but it was time for this purchase to bring balance to The Lists.

Once again, relatively simple, rather quiet but just how I love it!

Moving: A How To by Aurora

2010-06-07T21:34:00.001-05:00

Packing

First, you need the boxes:

Then some tape:

Why is it always so difficult to find the end on these things?

Seriously, some spit helps it to stick better

Of course, always have a Grandma near by to do all the real work.

Although I loosened the end of the tape for her so she could find it.

Mission accomplished.

I don't know what you were complaining about Mom.

Now on to

Disassembling the Furniture

Do we have the crib?

Check.

Do we have Daddy as your assistant and grunt man?

Check.

Do we have the "tool of power" aka a wrench?

Check.

Do we have choice words prepared to scream if things don't go as they should?

Check.

Once again Mom, I don't know what you were complaining about.

This was fun!

Oh yeah, I also assigned Daisy to be the overseer in your bedroom since I can't be everywhere at once.

That's the key to success, Mom:

Delegate, Delegate, Delegate.

Aurora's 1st Birthday

2010-06-07T12:32:00.006-05:00

"Nobody can be un-cheered with a balloon."

-from the ever-wise and silly old bear, Winnie the Pooh

Originally I was a little hesitant to throw a Winnie the Pooh birthday party for Aurora. I knew in the years to come she would possibly want "commericalized" birthday parties such as Dora, Disney Princesses etc...

Which is fine but I was thinking of taking advantage of this opportunity where she doesn't really care and go uncommericalized but the girl really does love Pooh Bear, so Pooh Bear it was (with balloons and flowers added in).

I had a lot of fun with the decorations.

The bear himself:

The invitations that I handmade:

We asked that everyone bring children's books to be donated to the children at the women's shelter where Momma A stayed when she was pregnant with Aurora in lieu of gifts.

Aurora woke up lethargic and clingy that day. She is never lethargic and clingy. I took her temperature before the party...it was normal. She didn't nap very well before the party and although she did pretty well throughout she just wasn't herself. After the party I took her temperature again and this time it was 103. This was her first time to ever have a temperature. She never had one with her shots, with teething, she only had one cold so far and no temperature. I found it a little ironic that she would be sick on her birthday.

This is probably the best pic we got of her all day.

Playing with some of the party guests.

I had all the party guests make water globes using Pooh figurines and baby food jars. I got the idea from here and tweaked it some. They were easy and a lot of fun!

We gave Aurora this "adventure tent" for her birthday. She loves it!

A couple days previous to the party:

Friends enjoying it at the party:

(Christina: Phx is in this pic behind Bekah, you just can't see him :)

Here is a video of Aurora and her birthday cake.

For more pics of her cake, go to my food blog.

(Still trying to figure out how to get videos directly on here.)

The cake aftermath: You can tell she just doesn't feel to good.

Group picture:

This is her the next day in her Sunday birthday dress. She was feeling a lot better after a nice bath, a good night's rest, lots of liquids and some medicine.

(After taking this pic, Jared said that I make my "crazy" face too often. Pfffttt to him :)

All in all it was a nice birthday and a fun time!

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl!

Note to Future Selves

2010-05-18T10:07:00.003-05:00

Dear Esther & Jared,

We are writing the two of you in regards to the topic of moving. We know from past experience that when 5 years or so have passed you will forget the many details and horrors of moving and you will once again optimistically embark on this colossal task. We know that we will not be able to persuade you from moving again, but we hope to pass down some of the lessons and insider info learned in an effort to help your future endeavor.

#1 Get a realtor from the get go.
Just do it. We know it would be nice to sell your home by owner but a realtor can advertise your home so much better than you ever could and they know all the ins and outs of the real estate contracts and laws etc... (Some of this may have been market and time of year issues.)

#2 Get a copy of the contract and write down the closing date, checking it twice.
Remember how you thought you were closing on Weds. the 19th which was perfect but then you found out not even a full week before, that the contract had actually said you were closing on Monday the 17th which turned out more stressful than you could ever imagine? The most important part is to get a copy of the contract...harass your realtor if need be. It's your right and it's smart.

#3 While on the subject of closing days, try to arrange it as early as possible to move from your old home into your new home without having days of homelessness in between.
You can't make an offer on your new home until you have an offer that comes with a set closing date on your old home but then the closing date on your new home which is set after the old home's date has to be at least 30 days out and neither your buyers of your old home nor the sellers of your new home will move the closing dates thus resulting in a week of homelessness. The homelessness resulted in renting a moving truck for a week and storing all your worldly possessions on it while you lived in your brother's basement. THANKS Tom & Jessie! To take all of this convolutedness out of the equation just make a condition in the contract stating that we can move the date of closing of our old home to match the closing date of our new home.

#4 Most absolutely, definitely, and assuredly have your mom come the week before to help you pack, especially if Jared is out of town 5 days out of 7 and you have an adoption conference, a baptism, and Aurora's first birthday party on the 3 weekends preceding the move.
There is no way you would have even been remotely ready if your mom hadn't come. THANKS MOM!!!

#5 Have babysitting for Aurora, and any other children you may have by that point, the week before the move and at the very least for the whole day of the move.
This will be an absolute must if #4 is not possible the next time. Even if your mom is there it still would be helpful. You have friends, family, visiting teachers...just ask, just do it. You will be happier. Your children will be happier.

#6 Lowes' moving boxes
After researching for boxes online where Lowes didn't even list moving boxes and no one else listed prices nor would answer their phones for price inquiry...Remember how you went to UPS and bought boxes, lots of boxes, and then found out towards the end that Lowes had better boxes for half the price. Also, even though you have to go late and you're already really tired from packing all day, go to Wal-Mart around 11pm and collect boxes for free from the stockers. Other options include liquor stores, fast food places, and work.

#7 Have the cat's sedatives be in liquid form and if possible ditto on the babysitting (see #5)
Don't pack their sedatives away. Then don't forget which box they were in. Then don't place the forgotten box at the bottom of a large stack of boxes. Then after looking in two other boxes and finally digging out and opening the right box have the sedatives be in pill form that the cats wouldn't take even when dissolved in tuna if their life depended upon it. Remember how your cats were pretty freaked out the day of the move...maybe designate a young friend who is a cat lover to watch over your furry children.

#8 As much as possible, do not schedule any big family events the weekend before you move on a Monday.
Tiff and Fam: Please understand we do not regret coming whatsoever to Ethan's baptism and being able to spend time with family. We know it was out of our control and your control that these two big events happened to be the same weekend and it might have been resolved differently if we had done step #1. We would make the same choice again if we were to do it over. But in the future I hope not to have to make the choice at all and skip all added stress and tiredness.

#9 Invite more than 5 people to help you load the truck but less than 20
This time you remembered how you had been to moves where there were tons of people helping and to keep themselves busy and feeling useful they pretty much grab & go and the truck is packed quite haphazardly without any order or sense and it's pretty chaotic and out of control. Well remember how asking for around 5 people to come and help resulted in 2 people for an hour and then another 2 people for another hour and it ended up taking over 4hrs to load the truck with the new buyers doing drive-bys of the house every half hour the last 2 hours of the loading and you didn't leave Lexington until 10pm and didn't arrive at your brother's house (see #3) until 1am? A BIG THANK YOU to those who helped us move! It would of been so much worse without you and we are sorry it was so chaotic and we had so many odds & ends not accounted for before you got there.

#10 Bigger Moving Truck
About those odds & ends: You always have way more stuff, especially odds & ends, than you ever imagined could possibly be in your house but you most certainly do have them. It doesn't matter if you collected them slowly over time or if they were multiplying like rabbits the day of the move, they're still there and need a space on your moving truck. If you think a 10ft truck is plenty of space, then go up to the next size. If you think a 16ft truck is plenty of space, then go up to the next size. If your stuff won't fit in a 26ft truck than get rid of stuff before the day of the move. You will not have the mental nor emotional availability to decide the day of the move what to take to the curb or what to take on the truck. For your remembrance you thought a 16ft truck would be just right and it almost was, almost. You had to fill up Jared's Dad's pick up truck with the overflow and then unload it into your brother's garage (remember #3) at 1am. THANKS DAD!!! Also, despite the fact that other companies (aka Enterprise) have 16 ft trucks, they are in fact, not as big as Uhaul 16 ft trucks. (No, this is not a 1 lb of feathers vs. 1 lb of rocks question.) Uhaul legitimately has more space. Plus Uhaul has ramps rather than lift-gates. Lift-gates stink.

You may be thinking this letter was written with a little too much drama, ingratitude (we are grateful to be living together again!) and cynical but we know that in a few years these memories and feelings will fade and thus, we wanted to give you a full detailed description in a place where you can't lose it.

One last piece of advice, if you can swing it just hire someone to pack, load, drive and unload all your stuff. That would take care of many of the items on your list. Although there would most likely be new items to remember for the "next time" then.

Sincerely,
Esther & Jared

Our New Home

2010-05-04T13:31:00.006-05:00

Thanks for allowing me to vent on the last post.

I needed a little sympathy and shamelessly went fishing for some.

Just a couple of days after my fishing in shallow waters, we received and accepted an offer on our home.

A couple of days after that we put an offer on a new home that was accepted. We move out on the 19th and move in on the 24th.

Here are pics of our new home that we are really excited about. The furnishings in the pics of the home belong to the current owner (I wish a few items were ours) but it might be awhile before I get pics of it with our stuff.

The house is on a double lot and is just under 1/2 acre which is an amazing find in the city.

It's on a very quiet street just 1 mile from Jared's work. In Lexington, Jared rode 10 miles a day on his bike coming and going from work. Here he can ride his bike in his suit if he wants to because it's so close he won't even break a sweat.

The house is very nicely landscaped both in the front yard and the backyard. We do plan to add more flowers along the other side of the walkway that leads to the front door.

I love that it has a red door...I have a fondness for red front doors.

The Living Room:

with beautiful hardwood floors & trim and there are lots of windows letting in lots of light.

I'm trying to decide if I will paint the living room and/or dining room...any suggestions?

The Dining Room that sports a nice light fixture...actually the whole house sports nice light fixtures.

Next we will go through the doorway shown below and into...

...the first bedroom (it's on the right).

There is another bedroom on the left that looks almost exactly like this one.

This is the bathroom on the main level.

Also located in the hallway with the bedrooms and bathroom are these stairs that lead to...

...the third bedroom.

I think this room is very cute and I like the green paint a lot.

It has a huge closet and a little sitting area right outside of the bedroom.

I'm not sure if I'm going to make this the master bedroom or if it will be Aurora's room.

What do you think?

If you continue straight through the dining room and do not stop at 'Go' (aka the hallway) you will enter the small kitchen. This is probably the only major downside to this house. The cabinets and countertop you see in this pic is all there is to see of cabinets and counter space.

I like the look of the kitchen although it is a little sterile...again any suggestions on color or something to spruce it up?

We think there is enough room to add cabinets and counter space with a lazy susan here along this wall.

Through the kitchen you can go down the stairs to a large, nicely finished basement.

This is one end of the long carpeted area of the basement.

This is the other end of that room.

There isn't a ceiling but it's been painted black and surprisingly I like it in a modern sort of way.

This room here is opposite the other room and has a new laminate hardwood floor.

They use it as a wet bar but we will most likely put it to other uses. :)

Although not shown, there is another full bathroom in the basement. So if you come and visit it will be like having your own guest suite.

If you go back up the stairs, you will come to a little foyer area where you can return to the kitchen or go into my favorite room of the house: the sun room.

I love the lightness that exudes from all the windows and the sky blue walls.

The sunroom has vents for heat or a/c so it can be used comfortably year round!

The sunroom leads out onto the deck and backyard.

This is the only pic we have of the backyard. It has a privacy fence all the way around it with plenty of room for our garden, a playset for Aurora, some adventures for our two cats and possibly a dog!

There isn't a garage (unless we buy a Mini Coop or a VW Bug...I wish!) but there is a large newer shed that looks like a garage.

The house is only a block from a nice, big park and the city pool. Also about a block in the other direction is a very cute looking elementary school.

We are really sad to leave Lexington, we have loved the 6 years we have lived here but at the same time we are excited to be together again in this cute house.

Busy

2010-04-18T21:33:00.003-05:00

So, I've been really busy lately with things that are additional to the normal busy everyday life.

Busy Item #1:

Since February we've had about 2-3 showings of our house every week. The good news: This is great news! It means people are interested. It puts us so much closer to getting an offer and selling our house. Which means so much closer to being a family that lives under the same roof all the time. The bad news: I have to clean my house, usually by myself, all the time! My house is pretty clean generally but I feel the need to do all I can to sell our house which means to me- spotless perfection for every showing. I also have to leave my house for an hour for every showing and I have to have myself put together enough to go out in public after cleaning a house like crazy and having all the things Aurora needs to go out ready etc... Then on top of that the showing usually occurs either at dinner time or Aurora's nap time or bedtime. It is not fun to do this several times every week for several months now.

Busy Item #2:

I'm in charge of the Indiana/Kentucky FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) conference coming up in Indianapolis on May 1st. This is a rather large undertaking that I'm not going to bore you with all the details of the planning. Although I am going to invite anyone in the area who is interested in adoption in any way or just wants more information about adoption to come! I'm very excited about everything we have planned. Go here for more information and schedule of events.

On that note, I want to share a small snippet of my testimony and Momma A's testimony about adoption. I was talking with Momma A on the phone yesterday when she shared this with me:

"When I think about adoption and the giving of Aurora it can be hard, but just for a moment. Because the very next moment Heavenly Father gives me such peace in the knowledge that she is happy, safe and loved. I know that my daughter is with her mother. Thank you for being her mother, for being a part of this peace and giving me this gift."

I was struck by the parallel in her words to some of my thoughts, feelings and experiences. I shared this with her and now you:

"Before when we were weren't able to become pregnant and then later when we started considering adoption but felt it wasn't the right course for us yet at that time, I sometimes became frustrated, sad or start to feel self-pity but it would only last a moment. Because the very next moment Heavenly Father would send peace and comfort. I always heard the words in my head and heart: It's okay, everything will work out. And I always knew that it would be okay and it was/is okay. So thank you for being the fulfillment of Heavenly Father's promise to me."

It reminds me of the quote by President Spencer W. Kimball who said: “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.”

Busy Item #3

I just finished a 50 page workbook (or what I like to call a "guide book") that I have been working on for about 3 years. It's for adoptive families to help them strengthen secure attachment and encourage positive adoptive identity. Now it just has to be edited by others probably a hundred more times and I hope to find a publisher for it too. Yikes!

Busy Item #4

I am busy planning Aurora's first birthday in a month but I'm keeping my plans a secret for now. Don't worry, I'll blog about it later.

I have rediscovered once again, that if I turn all these things over to God and ask Him "What would you have me do about this?" I get so much more accomplished with so much more peace and happiness.

Spring is Here!

2010-04-04T20:23:00.003-05:00

In fact, it has felt a lot like summer even.

It has been sunny and in the 70's since Tuesday and even in the 80's on Friday.

Here is some of the fun we had this past week and this Easter weekend!

This is Aurora contemplating the beauties of nature right before we went to the Aboretum to enjoy them.

Meeting up with friends...

Having lots of fun at the little fish pond...

And the beauties of nature...

Lexington literally blossomed over night this week!

Then, on Friday night my parents came to visit for the Easter weekend.

We went to Keeneland for "Breakfast with the Works" and saw the horses.

Grandpa bought Aurora a stuffed horse, mainly because it had a tag on it that said "Aurora"

She loved it!

Then Lil A received her Easter basket.

There was a small egg hunt-- about 3 eggs with goldfish crackers in them. I'm not giving her candy until at least her 1st birthday.

She figured out how to open the eggs and get to the crackers in like 3 seconds.

I'm telling you the girl is gifted.

We watched General Conference at our house mostly but Sunday morning, we put Aurora in her Easter dress and went to church to hear the prophet speak there.

Thanks Grandma Thomas for the beautiful dress!

Nature continues to blossom in my own yard.

One of my lilac bushes:

I love this time of year so very much. It is so beautiful and springing with life. It gives me so much hope and reminds me to turn to the source of all life, the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Happy Spring Day! Happy Easter!

Random, Miscellaneous Odds & Ends

2010-03-23T19:09:00.001-05:00

I've been MIA from this blog for the month of March. So here is a pic heavy but light on the words post of our (mostly Aurora's) happenings.

A braid in Aurora's hair and playing with one of her favorite toys.

Another of Lil A's favorites: Anything Pooh

I got this practically brand new, huge Pooh bear for $5 at Re-Kid!

(His original retail was probably about $50)!

She loves it. She talks to him and crawls all over him.

This reminds me of one of my favorite lines from the classic movie Winnie the Pooh & Tigger Too:

Tigger: Hey, I know you. Your the one stuffed with fluff.

Pooh: Yes, and you're sitting on it.

Tigger: Yeah, it's comfy too!

So while I'm at it, here is another deal I found at Re-Kid for $3...I just couldn't pass them up. It's a cloth pirate bowling set, with the bowling balls being cannon balls. I loved them immediately :)

(Their original retail is probably something like $30).

The next pictures were taken on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I know the pic quality isn't great with all the glare but I love all the light and love in these pics.

I finally got a good shot of Aurora sleeping with her bum in the air. This is her new favorite sleeping position: on her tummy or more like her knees, bum in the air, one arm wrapped around the bumper pad, and face smashed into too.

This one was taken on St. Patrick's day.

Note: If she isn't smiling then she's sucking on her upper lip.

The hairbow was made for her by her Aunt Jessie. So cute!

Jessie and I one night made her probably 10-15 hairbows. She has tons & tons now.

Here is another:

"Mom, this huge flower is too heavy!"

Just love the look she's giving me here.

Talking about flowers...these just started popping up and blooming in my flower beds.

Now after a busy month, it's time to rest.

Hope your March has been spring filled and delightful!

S.A.D.

2010-03-01T20:36:00.001-06:00

I survived February!

I can still remember the very first battle I had with the dreary month.
I was in 4th grade, sitting on the school bus and I thought
"Yuck! I hate February!"

Now many years later and a lot more education, I have realized that it isn't necessarily February that I struggle with but with Seasonal Affect Disorder or SAD. As a therapist, I feel it is my responsibility to talk about this openly, although therapist or not, I tend to talk openly about almost anything anyways.

So what is SAD?

For me, it usually starts with a small gray cloud hovering over me in late November. That cloud gets bigger, darker and heavier until in Febraury I feel it's weight resting on my shoulders. The cloud and it's weight starts to zap my energy and I sleep a lot more and struggle more to get out of bed. It makes everything rather gray and 'blah', even things that I enjoy. I will plan to do fun things like blogging, crafting etc...but just don't. Then I start feeling guilty about wasting my day and being so lazy which isn't motivating at all and just feeds the cloud. By February there is a knot in my stomach that makes me feel worse which feeds the cloud. Can you see the vicious cycle and pattern SAD feeds on?

But one of the nastiest and cruelest symptons is SAD can cause you to believe that your not ill or struggling with a sickness but there is something inherently wrong with you, at your core. So instead of getting help or trying to prevent, treat and cure SAD like I would if I had a cold or had cancer... I thought thoughts such as "I should be able to do these things. Everyone else seems to be doing them and doing them well. How come it's so hard for me? I must be stupid, lazy, unmotivated etc... I don't connect with other people. I must not be very likable. There must be something wrong with me."

Although many of the symptoms and causes for SAD are similar to Major Depression, they are different. Lucky me, I have also fought an episode of Major Depression but I'll save that for a different post. SAD is predominately a vitaman deficiency, often Vitamin D because we are not exposed to as much sunlight in the winter.

Now after years of struggling with SAD, I have found many things that have helped me prevent SAD or lessen the symptoms. In early November, if I'm not already taking my vitamins regularly I start doing so. At some point when I feel gray consistently for several days I will start taking the herbal supplement St. John's Wort regularly. The supplement seems to help me some but it may not help everyone.

I try to get as much light and sun as possible and expose my skin to it. I do this by napping in the sun with my sleeves pushed up and my face uncovered. Also, there are special lights specifically to treat SAD and have been shown to be more effective for SAD than antidepressants. When I haven't been able to afford the SAD lights (because they can be expensive although with a prescription some insurances will cover them), I have at times slathered on the sunscreen and gone tanning. It really does work for me although I don't recommend this professionally. I don't want to be responsible for alleviating your SAD symptoms but then having you get cancer instead.

Then there is changing or balancing my thoughts. By balancing, I mean making sure I'm not feeding myself and the cloud more negative thoughts than positive. Also, making sure I don't believe or give more power to the negative thoughts than I do to the positive ones. In therapy, we call this Automatic Thoughts and there is a good chapter about this technique in the book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. (Personal note: I don't really like the book as a whole because it's patronizing, discounting and rather cold... but the chapter on Automatic Thoughts is really good).

Then there are the 3 sisters of good health: exercise, good sleep habits, and eating healthy. Sigh, why does it always come back to these? But they really do help. Now when I start feeling the cloud getting heavy or the knot in my stomach is growing if I exercise it makes a world of difference!!! I try to go to bed earlier instead of staying up late and try to get up early (the sun in the morning is supposed to be more beneficial to you than later in the day). Eating green veggies is supposed to be the best for SAD, but I'm still working on making that a consistent habit.

Last but not least, I talk to my therapist and/or doctor. Not always every year and sometimes I don't need more than a few sessions but it is truly helpful! Please don't think this post can substitute talking to a professional.

In general, I did pretty good and felt pretty good this year but I'm still really glad February is over and in a couple of months I will be feeling 100% like my usual self. I hope this post helps some of you!

Enough of this SAD stuff...here are some fun pics from Feb.

Child Prodigy

Usual sleeping position

Enjoying the heat wave.

Thrill Seeker: She loves going fast, high and upside-down.

This Will Brighten Your Day...

2010-02-12T09:15:00.001-06:00

Pigtails!

Bad News...

2010-02-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

Wish this was the worse my day could do....

but it wasn't.

I feel like I have been complaining a lot, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

In other bad news...

I almost didn't post this pic because I'm still so heartbroken.

But we are so cute.

Still, I want to give love and thanks to the Carltons for hosting another fabulous Super Bowl party!

She strikes again...

2010-02-01T22:38:00.001-06:00

...but at least it wasn't her head this time.

I placed Aurora on the newly clean floor in the living room with several fun toys, across the room from the plant, mind you. I was cleaning one of the back rooms before I had to rush off to work (I saw my last clients in KY today!) and before the realtor came to show the house.

I could hear that Lil A was having fun, so I peeked around the corner to see what was delighting her so much...

Lovely.

That was my first thought

and then I laughed and grabbed my camera to capture the look that said...

"Uh-oh. Mom, this isn't what you think it is..."

Rough Transitions

2010-01-26T22:37:00.001-06:00

I've been having a rough couple of weeks lately. Jared's work transferred him to a different office in September. He has been working off and on at the new office for months but starting this month he has been there Monday-Friday and we just see him on the weekend. I'm staying in Lex until we sell our house or for as long as I can take it. (On top of that, my neighbor and dear friend Alyssa moved across the country about the same time).

It actually hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be but I still can't answer more tolerably than "I'm okay" to inquiries about how I'm doing. I miss my husband. It's hard being a 'single mom.' I had thought I would be blogging a ton as therapy or as distraction but I haven't felt like it.

Partially because Aurora has been a handful at times which is reasonable since she's always a heartfull. Her first tooth may have come in with no problems or pain but not so for her second tooth that followed directly. The poor thing was soooo grumpy! I tried to keep her supplied with medicine (which helped sometimes but sometimes not) without keeping her in a constant drugged state.

In celebration of this teething period being finished, I actually did get a pic of her two new pearly whites!

(Okay, so still not a very good pic but the best I could get.)

Aurora has also entered a new development stage: mobility. No, she doesn't crawl yet, although it will be any day now, but she is always moving now. When you hold her, she squirms and arches her back. When you feed her, she flails her arms and constantly moves her head. When she is playing on the floor, she is rolling or scooting backwards. When she is sleeping, she tosses and turns and gets herself wedged into the corner of the crib every night and for every nap.

Scooting in reverse & getting up on her knees and rocking.

Sleeping with her bum in the air.

Even though it is exciting that she is doing and learning new things...it is turning out to be a painful transition for her and for her parents because she keeps getting hurt. Last week she got hurt 4 times which is 3 times more than she has gotten hurt in her whole life.

The first time occurred because she loves to stand up now. She was standing up holding onto Sheila's coffee table. I was giving her some support from behind when she toppled a direction I wasn't expecting and hit her head on the table. It left a small welt on the side of her face near her eye. :(

She loves to have help standing in her crib after a nap.

(She can't get to this position on her own yet but we will be moving the mattress down a level very soon!)

The next day when I placed her in the swing I snapped the tray/bar into place which is all she's ever needed to keep her safely in before. But now since she moves so much the tray came unsnapped and she fell out hitting her head on the legs of the swing. She had a little goose egg that turned into a small bruise. :( Needless to say we use the seat belt straps from now on.

The next day Jared was home for an hour on his way to a jobsite. He was holding her while sitting on the bed and as we were talking Aurora pretty much flings herself out of his arms. She does a twist mid-air and Jared almost catches her but she does another twist away from him and -you can probably guess what happens next- hits her head on an end table. :( No marks this time...I think Jared buffered the blow.

Lastly she scooted underneath our coffee table and then tried to get to her knees and rock but she banged her head on the table. She proceeds to bang her head two more times, crying all the while, before I can get her out. :(

This is painful to watch and experience and it's hard not to feel like a bad parent. I know a lot of it is just the stage and age she is at. Fortunately, this week she hasn't hurt herself...yet. I like to believe I have adjusted more appropriately to my cute newly locomative darling. Hopefully it's not that she is just lulling me into a sense of security before she strikes again...most likely on her head. I have been taking extra precautions. Not only is my house for sale but so is my coffee table and end tables and the baby swing and well...all my furniture.

Is it the weekend yet?

Aurora's First Tooth

2010-01-11T23:45:00.004-06:00

It's official, Aurora's first tooth has finally broken through and is here to stay...well at least until it falls out in a few years. The tooth is located on the bottom, center left. I don't have any pictures because you can't see it when she just smiles normally and if I try to open her mouth to get the shot her tongue is always in the way. You'll just have to use your imagination or come visit us.

She wasn't particularly fussy, so it appears that the tooth didn't give her much pain. She has been gnawing on things for a long time and this past week increased the tempo and the number of things that went into her mouth. Today she really enjoyed a carrot stick for almost a solid hour. The day before, it was the big plastic handle on the finger nail clippers (Jared allowed that one to happen). For whatever reason she loves cords or strings that are on some toys like her Hufflelump or on her parents' sweatshirts (I wouldn't think there would be a whole lot to chew on with a small cord). She loves to have her "teeth brushed" (which for right now involves using a warm washcloth) which is nice and I hope that the good habit continues.

She keeps getting bigger and bigger...she is 8 months today!

New Year's with The McCulloughs & Co.

2010-01-07T22:28:00.003-06:00

Usually Christmas with my family (or any get-together for that matter) is the largest social event we go to and it seems that my family heard that this year Jared's family was rivaling them...so everyone brought their dogs. We had 5 dogs there on top of the 10 people (we missed Joe & Rachel who couldn't come from Idaho and Jeremy on his mission in Chile).

Aurora knows what the tree and presents mean now...

...more wrapping paper!!!

Here is a cute outfit Aunt Jessie gave Lil A.

Grandpa & Rory

Of course, there was a lot of game playing: Ticket to Ride, Settlers, Texas Hold Em' & the Wii.

Also a lot of eating, talking and movie watching. We all went and saw Avatar 3D in the theater and to my surprise I loved it.

Aurora & Cousin Sabra

But a lot of the celebrating was cut short when a violent stomach flu hit. Mom got it first, followed by Dad, Jessie, and Sabra. After we left, Tom and Josh both came down with it. Jared and I prayed and prayed that Aurora wouldn't get it and our prayers were heard...amazingly she never did get sick. Jared and I didn't get it any worse than feeling just a little queasy.

It was still fun and I'm excited and ready to see what this New Year brings all our families!

Christmas With The Edwards & Co.

2010-01-07T14:58:00.008-06:00

Aurora helping Grandma Edwards with some Christmas cooking.

Aurora never showed interest in our Christmas tree at home but she really like Grandma and Grandpa's tree.

Aurora's 5 cousins were there too!

Aurora just loves Suzy and would laugh and laugh at her. We all think they look a little like each other especially when Lil A is wearing something that used to be Suzy's. (Same color of hair, blue eyes and round face.)

Boys in Blue: Brendan and Colin

Ladies in Red: Aurora, Suzy and Cara

This is the best pic I was able to capture with all the grandkids.

Grandmother Ison and Aurora

Aurora and Colin (who is 1 month younger). Lil A is eyeing his toy in this picture...she kept trying to take it.

One of the only pics I have out of many where they are both looking at the camera.

Lots of people, lots of craziness, lots of food, lots of presents and lots of fun & love.
Just how the holidays should be.

Chistmas Morning

2010-01-07T13:55:00.008-06:00

Note: Please ignore the grungy parents that are blighting the cute pics of their adorable daughter's first Christmas.

We started Christmas around 7am when Aurora naturally wakes up. First, was the reading of the real Christmas story in Luke 2.

Then the stockings.

Look inside...

Whoa! The jackpot...

Trying to fish out all the goods...

Then onto the presents...

YES!!! It's a box!!!

Actually it's a very cute dress from Grandmother Thomas... Thank you!

Here she is now with one of her favorite new presents...

...the wrapping paper. (It seriously was the best part for her.)

Hope your Christmas was as joyful as ours was!

Christmas Eve

2010-01-06T09:37:00.013-06:00

Twas the morning before Christmas...(we at the Edward's household do not wait til night to start the celebrations) ...and it was noisier than anything at the traditional Bluegrass Ward Christmas Eve Bowling Party!

By our crazed expressions, or maybe just mine, you can almost hear the chant:

"We've got Christmas spirit, we've got Christmas spirit...How about you?!"

...or see that we are coming down with bowling fever.

The latter appeared to be true, at least for Jared, who burned it up on the lanes. I believe he achieved the highest score of the whole ward with 178. Bekah, a 6yr old that was bowling in my lane had a higher score than me but I did beat Andrew the 3yr old...barely.

If you look closely at row E and in the first column you can see my one strike of the day :)

Then we went home to finish one last present for Lil A. We were refurbishing a super saucer that had been given to us by Jared's sister whose 4 children had previously used. Later, I found out that it had been a used item when given to her.

We cleaned it up...

sanded it... (which ended up being a mistake I think)
primed it...

(good thing it was warm that day and although it appears Jared is doing all the work, I too helped but someone has to document the transformation).

painted the top pink... (with Krylon Plastic Spray Paint)

the base brown...So, I asked Jared to take a picture of me painting the base to prove that I helped. It so happens that a brown can of spray paint is different from a pink can even though they were the same brand/product. As I went to spray paint the base with expert zeal and flourish, I sprayed the paint directly into my eye.

Jared's immediate response was to laugh. He then asked with concern if I was okay and then laughs again and then repeats the previous question.

I immediately drop the can, put my hands to my face and then realize my eye is only stinging a little. I too laugh with relief. Then I sober up and go running for the house calling to Jared "I think I'm okay but I read a book once where someone went blind spraying paint into their eye."

I rinsed my eye with water, it still stinged but I could see out of it...at least I thought so, even though I was surprised not to see brown paint all over my face. (Jared says I didn't spray enough for that to happen.) When Jared sees I'm fine, he comments that I'm probably the only person in the world who will reference a book they have read while running for the house to rinse a toxic product from their eyes. Hmmm...maybe.

But I digress...

The finished product...

(except I'm still sewing a cover for the seat which has been fraught with less peril than painting).

Isn't it very cute?! While we were waiting for the paint to dry we made cookies and other goodies for our Christmas Eve party at the Carlton's.

We all had soooo much fun that night... as Aurora can attest to in the following clip. We also had tons of great food!

The girls: Alyssa, me, Tammy and Sarah

The Carlton's have a tradition of playing Christmas Pictionary. Jared may have rocked the bowling alley but I was Pictionary queen. This will have to be one of our traditions too.

I didn't want to be too boastful, so here is a clip of Alyssa calling out the correct answer first to Erik and Andrew's drawing.

Later, Alyssa, Jared and I play a speed game of settlers while the kids got baths before we watched "Mickey's Christmas Carol." We seriously played the game in 15 minutes with Jared winning.

After the movie, scripture, song & prayer and the children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads; the adults played a "super-massive" settlers game where we combined two boards together. I won this game.

After a jolly good time with friends which after all is the family one chooses for yourself...we went home and put all the presents under the tree and hung our stockings by the chimney with care...

and settled down for a long winter's nap... where not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse or cat... in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there.

"I Literally Repel Technology Now..."

2010-01-04T15:41:00.002-06:00

So this past Christmas, I forgot to bring my cell phone charger with me and we were probably 30 minutes from Lexington when my cell phone died. Sorry if you tried to get a hold of me but couldn't. Then our Internet stopped working and I have been checking email etc... from computers of friends, family, strangers...(not really strangers just the library which isn't a stranger to me). I lost my camera for a few days but fortunately I found it... eventually. Hopefully in the next few days we will be back online and I can post some of the hundreds of photos I have from Christmas. :)

Christmas Card

2009-12-22T14:21:00.006-06:00

(Click on the card to enlarge it)

On the Sixth or Seventh or...oh nevermind

2009-12-21T10:39:00.005-06:00

I love giving gifts! I would give gifts to everyone I know if I had enough money or time to make them one but alas I do not. Also, in an effort to "simplfy" Christmas and keep the focus on the true meaning of the holiday, I have in recent years cut back on how many people I give gifts to and how many gifts. It's been hard, although gift giving isn't my love language, it is one way I enjoy showing love and to cutback on something that you view as love is hard.

So this year it was fun to plan our ward Christmas party and the service project because it was a way I could give gifts but have others help me too. We collected items for two shelters The Hope Center (who expects to help 400+ people this season) and BDVP's Women Shelter (who expects to help 60+ families). It was great getting to be Santa because I got to see all the cool toys and needed items, add my own gifts to the pile and deliver them but everyone else was the hard working elves providing the gifts. Total we donated about 200 items of toys, clothing, hygiene items etc... Look at this great stuff that people truly in need are going to be receiving!

Look at all the love :)

On the Fourth and Fifth Day of Christmas...

2009-12-17T21:32:00.008-06:00

...my true love gave to me a Christmas tree!

Last year, when we finally and safely got the Christmas decorations down from our attic, I thought, "Hmmm...something is missing. Where is our tree?"

Our tree was a 5ft, scraggly thing that leaned to one side that we bought for $15 at Goodwill our very first Christmas. We fondly dubbed it "The Charlie Brown Tree" because in the end it didn't look too bad once it was given some TLC.

(Please tell me you know what I'm referencing here. I have received some blank stares before...).

Our Charlie Brown tree all spruced up

(and anchored to the wall because it really did lean quite a bit)

We went looking for it everywhere: our shed, our utility closet, under beds and in closets. Then finally, I recollected that it fell over the year before and became irreparably broken, not even Linus's blanket could save this tree and we ended up throwing it away. We had planned on buying another tree at the after-Christmas sales but I guess we never made it, obviously. We couldn't afford to buy one right then in the middle of the chaos that is called Christmas shopping.

So we decorated our fake ficus tree. It was depressing. I had to chant "The Christmas tree is NOT the true meaning of Christmas" over and over again for about two weeks. The chant eventually worked and we had a nice Christmas but I was determined to buy a tree at the end of that season.

This past Monday for FHE (Family Home Evening) we put up and decorated our new tree for it's very first Christmas. (I know many of you probably had your trees up weeks ago. Like I said, I'm just not able to make it happen until around the 14th.)

Please note that our cat Daisy is present in every picture we have of our new tree. She loves the Christmas tree as it being her first Christmas tree since it seems she did not consider the ficus tree a "real" Christmas tree either. Our cats have made it interesting and even dangerous to set up, decorate and to keep decorated our tree. Maybe they're just prepping us for when Aurora is a little more mobile next year.

(Sorry, the video is a little dark. As we were setting up the tree Daisy would leap into the tree and attack.)

Finished product:

Here is the best gift ever:

(This is a sneak peek at one of the Christmas pics we will be putting in our Christmas email and blog post. Sorry, no cards... I'm lucky to send an email out before Christmas, let alone cards.)