Dear Life...We really DO love you!

My goodness,

Life has been CRAZY lately!!

Nothing bad thankfully, (well, unless you count major plumbing issues throughout the whole house as BAD, which I DO, then I guess there was one bad thing! At least it can all be fixed!)

Anyway, Life has been very full and crazy with good things lately.

Bryan is SUPER busy at work, which we are grateful for.

His job presents such a fabulous opportunity for him!

I got called to be the Primary President at church last week.

Wow.

Was not expecting that one since I was just put in the Relief Society Presidency 4 months ago. Kinda thought I was "safe." :)

I've learned you are never "safe" in a small ward!!

But I love Primary, so now that the shock is wearing off, I am quite excited!

There really is no better Christ-like example than a young child,

and I am excited to get to learn from the children in our ward.

So I go back and forth between loving that our lives are filled with so many wonderful opportunities to work and serve, and just wanting my head to stop spinning for two seconds so I can figure out what needs to be done next!! :)

I really do love our life though.

I love how things never go as planned,

but things always seem to work out for the best.

Who would have ever thought we would live in a small West Texas town?

Not me, that is for sure!

But here we are, and it's great.

I love the feeling of knowing, without a doubt,

that we need to be here right now.

We have a lot to learn here,

and hopefully we have a lot we can contribute as well.

So, yes, Life, in spite of how crazy you have been lately, we really DO love you!!

The Potty Wars

SO....
Grace is almost three.
She can take all of her clothes off, including her diaper, by herself.
She tells me when she needs her diaper changed.
She brings me the diaper and the wipes if needed.
She loves to wash her hands and can do it all by herself.
She loves her princess Pull ups.
She has picked out Princess and Minnie Mouse underwear.
She likes to sit on the toilet.

She should be potty trained, right?

AND YET....
Every time she sits on the toilet all she does is put toilet paper in the toilet and then tells me "Mommy, it not workin' "
Today she wanted to wear a Pull up and I told her if she was going to wear one she would have to try to go potty in the toilet several times through out the day. She promptly turned around, headed back to her room and said she would just wear a diaper then! What a TURKEY!
I told her I had bought M&M's and she could have one if she went potty. She smiled and I almost thought I had won. Then she said she wasn't big enough yet. I told her she was big enough to do this and she said "No, me get bidder Mommy!" and raised her hand up three or four inches above her head! I couldn't help but laugh - really hard! I am a little worried though because if we have to wait until she gets four inches taller for her to be "bid enough" then this kid is going to be 6 before she is potty trained!! The war continues...

He's all official now!

Last Thursday,

Bryan was sworn in as an attorney in the state of Texas.

What a happy day!

It was so neat to think back over the last three years and realize

WE DID IT!!

We made it to the end of the law school journey,

and we did it TOGETHER!

We really have grown so much as a family and as a couple during these three years,

and although it was sometimes difficult, I'm glad we did it.

This moment was well worth the journey!

Here is Bryan being sworn in by the judge:

Bryan and Ken, the partner of the law firm that he works with:

And here is our family with the judge!

More Fall Fun!

The kids got their first taste of jumping in the raked leaves yesterday.

Yep, poor kids, this was their very first time, they've been that deprived! :)

It's kind of a meager pile because they were so excited they couldn't wait for me to rake all of the leaves up into one big pile!

My favorite part is, OF COURSE, I woke up to a backyard that looks like it was never raked!!

Dang wind!

Guess I know what I will be doing tomorrow! :)

Oh Happy, happy, HAPPY DAY!!!

Three years of Law school...

Three solid months of studying....

Three LONG months of waiting...

and drum roll please....

Bryan passed the Bar Exam!!!

I don't think we can even describe how excited, relieved and

grateful we are to hear this news!

I am so proud of Bryan. He has worked so hard to get to this point!

And now I feel like we are officially done with law school!

Let "real" life begin! :)

Happy Halloween!!

Here's hoping your Halloween was full

of sweet treats and even sweeter Trick-or Treaters!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

from

The Mom, the Dad, the knight, and his pretty pink princess:)

PS. No, I didn't make the cute princess dress. Credit for that goes to my friend Amber who was making one for her daughter and had extra fabric so she made one for Grace, too. Isn't that so nice?! She asked if it was okay that it was bright pink. I said....um, YES! :)

Happy Fall Y'all!!

This fabulous fall weather and the beautiful colors all around just make me so happy right now! It didn't seem like Lubbock ever got very colorful in the fall, but I look out my window now and I see so many colors! I love the change of seasons, don't you? It's so refreshing.

Ahh...beautiful!

We took a little fall outing last weekend and went and explored an adorable little town about an hour away. We found a great spot for pictures on the old walking bridge at the edge of town.

I hope y'all are enjoying the beautiful scenery around you as much as we are here!

Batter Up!!!

We had beautiful weather 'round these parts last Saturday, so Joshua thought it was perfect for a little baseball game! This kid has got it all figured out. He even pulled out all of his hats and made us all wear one because you can't play baseball without a hat!!

He was so excited when he hit the ball!

(I didn't have the heart to tell him it was really a foul ball!)

Good for you Joshua!

And here is Coach Grace,

or as she calls herself, "the Pink Coach."

OF COURSE.

Yes, she picked out her outfit. :)

And here is my power swing!

Actually, I was reenacting my fabulous hit because,

come to find out, when you play with baseball with Joshua

you have to act out the "instant replay" like they have on TV,

complete with the slow motion throwing of the bat and running to first base!

SWEET!

We love Saturdays!

P.S. No, I have not taken up dressing goth. I had just come back from running and the only good running clothes I have happen to all be black. I'm sure I make quite the sight dressed all in black (except my bright red face, of course!) and running at a snail's pace down the street! :)

Joshua: the Health Specialist

I know I just posted yesterday, but Joshua has said some pretty funny things today, so I thought I would write them down here.

Today we found out that the attorney that Bryan works with lost his mother. She was older and had Alzheimer's, and had been getting sicker over the last few weeks, so it wasn't a surprise, but of course still very hard. We were going to the store to get somethings for dinner for them and I was trying to explain what happened to Joshua. I explained that she was older and had been sick and that she passed away. He nodded and seemed to get it.

Then a few minutes later he came up to me and said:

"Mom, did she have ward council, is that why she died?"

WHAT? Where did that come from?

Then I remembered that we had gone to the grocery store earlier in the week and seen all of the pink breast cancer things and he wanted to know what they were so I explained a little about CANCER. Bryan has been going to the ward COUNCIL meetings on Sundays. I think he obviously got the two confused! :)

So then we are one the way home from the store and he tells me this story:

"Bro. G. (his primary teacher) said his uncle is sick because he ate too many blood sugars."

Me, trying desperately not to laugh: "What did he eat?"

"Blood Sugars"

Me: "Really?"

"Yeah, he said he ate too many of them and he's sick and..... (he pauses trying to remember something).....then Brother G. just went back to the lesson."

Hahahaha! Sometimes it is really hard to take what he says seriously without laughing! I know he is serious because in his mind he's got it all figured out, and he almost does, just with a few four year old tweaks!

I love his curiosity and how hard he tries to understand the world around us!

Before and After: Our Home

I have had a couple of people ask about our house and what we have done to it so far, so I thought I would show you! I didn't have as many good "before" pictures as I had thought, but I think you can get the idea. I would apologize for the minor messes here and there, but hey, we live here!

There are still some projects-in-process, as I'm sure you'll notice,

but between my aching wrists and the empty wallet, this is how it looks for now. :)

Kitchen BEFORE:

Kitchen AFTER:
We (by "we" I mean my little sisters Maren and Paige. They came for a "vacation," but I put them to some serious work. Not sure they'll be visiting again anytime soon....) took down the wallpaper border over the cabinets. Fortunately the paper came of easy shmeassy, unfortunately the glue stayed. So that is one of the projects in the works. I am stripping the glue off and painting the paneling over the cabinets.

Kid's bedroom BEFORE:
notice the *fabulous* fan :)

Kid's bedroom AFTER:
We decided to have the kids share a room still, since they like it so much, but Joshua wanted blue paint and Grace of course wanted pink. So I vetoed them all and we did green, with a pink side and a blue side. We just got the twin beds a couple of weeks ago and I am making them some really cute quilts. I got the fronts done but don't have fabric for the backs yet, so they are another one of the projects still being worked on. The paint is not so dark in real life. AND, no more big, ugly fan! Now we have a nice little white one. I don't care what they said on HGTV about how ugly fans are, in Texas, they're a necessity! You just have to find the least ugly one you can. :)

Living room BEFORE:
The whole far wall is wallpaper, not just the border :)

Livingroom AFTER:
We had quite a splendid time taking down the wallpaper. Actually, I cried. Really. The paper was so thick we couldn't score it and soak it with the glue remover, so when we pulled it off it tore right down through the top paper layer of the sheet rock. That is when I cried. It was a MESS! By the time we finished getting it all done there were holes all over the wall where you could see down to the sheet rock. But my dad and Sherwin Williams came to the rescue and we primed, plastered, primed, painted, and painted again and

TA DA!!
WAY BETTER :)

This is the built in cabinet next to the fireplace,

I love having the storage space there:

The Dining Area:

No big changes here, just hung some pictures. I think eventually I

will paint the paneling, but not anytime soon :)

Front Room:

This is our front room. Haven't done anything to it yet, but

I've got paint picked out for some day down the road.

Entry Way AFTER:

This was the other big project area. The whole wall here was wallpapered. Luckily the wallpaper came off really easy, but underneath it was some really funky painted paneling. I'm sure in the 70's it was Fab, but today, not so much. So my dad re-textured this wall, too, and we painted it. Like the light fixture? It's Bryan's favorite...or not...so it will be going soon, I think.

Master Bedroom BEFORE:
We had a wallpaper border, which we removed.

Master Bedroom AFTER:
We removed the wallpaper and painted.

Master Bath BEFORE:

Again, above the tile was all wallpaper.

Master Bath AFTER:
We took down the wallpaper and in a last minute decision I painted it red. Never thought I would have a red bathroom, but I really like it. I was going to paint it tan, but it was too bland with all of the other brown and white in the room.

And, just for fun, here is my Scrapbook Room!

I didn't paint it or anything because in the back of my mind I realize that I probably won't have it forever. I'm sure as we have more kids I will have to pack it all up and find a new home for my hobby, but for now I am REALLY enjoying it!

I didn't put pictures of the fourth bedroom because unless you want to see all of the unpacked boxes and unused baby furniture, it isn't much to show off. :)

Thanks for taking the tour! Y'all will have to come visit sometime!

Our Greatest Blessings

The kids were kind enough to put up with a little photo shoot

in the backyard this last weekend.

(Okay.... I admit, I bribed them with ice cream!)
I was so happy with how the pictures turned out!

We are so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy children.

They are certainly a challenge some days, but I am glad they are my challenge because they are also my greatest joy, there is no doubt about that.

I am so glad that Bryan has a good job that enables me to be at home with them.

I get to hear all the funny things they say, see their cute smiles, even see the fits they throw because they don't want to eat their dinner.

I'm glad I don't have to miss a minute of it.

I think I'll go kiss them one more time....

Missing you....

You know, it's funny how even when I really like it here and we are meeting wonderful people and Bryan loves his job and I think the house is wonderful.....I still get lonely.

Now I am not at all trying to complain, just some days I still miss being close to family. I wondered if maybe it would get easier after a while, but it's been over three years since we first moved away from family and sometimes it is still really hard! I guess it never gets easy. :)

Here are some of the people and things I am missing today:

It's easy to see why I miss them, huh?

We love you all and can't wait to see you again soon!!

XOXOXOX :)

A few things we LOVE about having a house!!

Just wanted to share some of our favorite things about our new place:

We have a fenced yard!!

Complete with a TON of sticks, courtesy of our big ol' tree.

The kids will play out there for quite awhile and not even touch the toys.

I guess toys are kind of limiting, but a stick can be anything!

In this case, I think it's a sword. :)

Our back door has a Doggie Door :)

Now, some of you may think that for a family who has no dog,

this feature would be rather useless.

My kids, however, have found it to come in handy quite often

when they can't get the door open!

Yes, they both can fit through it -

crazy kiddos! :)

We have a driveway to play in!!

We finally have space for drawing with sidewalk chalk, playing,

and riding bikes....or at least scooters

since technically we don't own any bikes...yet.

Ahhh the joys!

The one downfall is the kids constantly argue over who gets to push the button to open the garage, but I suppose I can live with that, considering all the positives! :)

Come with me on a photo tour :)

So, as you may have noticed, we've been absent from the blogging world for a while.

Where have we been, you ask? Well....

In the past two months, we have been EVERYWHERE!!

At least it seems like it to me! :)

At the very end of June my mom flew down and drove with the kids and I to San Diego where we met up with my family for a little vacation, leaving Bryan with some peace and quite to study for the Bar Exam.

While in San Diego, we went to Disneyland!....

(Joshua did NOT want to be in this picture with the princess - can you tell?!?)

....to the Beach!....

(it was COLD!)

....Golfing - just a par three course -

trying to take it easy on us first timers!......

The next Tiger Woods, maybe? :)

.....to a Padres Game....

....to Seaport Village....

(these are four of the five great grand kids on my Henke side of the family. The other one is too small to climb around!)

...and to the Zoo!

(Uncle Todd and Aunt Elaine were very nice to put up with me and my kids. As you can imagine, by this point they had had ENOUGH! The kids may look happy in the pictures, but don't be deceived...)

Then we drove up to Utah to relax from our vacation! :)

While there we celebrated lots of fun things.

We started with the Fourth of July!

Then that evening we drove to Jake and Katie's to meet our new cousin/niece Lydia!

We were able to attend her baby blessing the next day.

Cute, isn't she?!

Then we drove back to Logan and a couple of days later drove down to...somewhere that I don't remember now, all the driving just melts together....to see more cousins and watch Lindsay play softball. The kids had a blast hanging out with their cousins and grandparents!

Then it was back up to Logan where we celebrated my Grandpa Larsen's 83rd birthday!

The kids love that Grandpa always seems to "need" their help blowing out candles and unwrapping presents! ;)

And the final celebration was my Dad's 50th Birthday!!

Check out this picture:

Yep... that's smoke from all of the candles! I love it.

I have a great dad, and we were happy to be able to help him celebrate...

even if he didn't want to celebrate being 50!! :)

Phew...
So then my mom drove back home with us where we thought we might really relax, but alas, we got there just in time to close on the new house, remove wallpaper, paint, go back to the appartment and pack, take the Bar, move back to the new house and 2 days later head off to a family reunion in Yellowstone (and YES, we drove...again)!

All of those things are going to have to be another post....

I'm EXHAUSTED!