California Trippin! A post I never finished...

Over Easter weekend we got to stay with James's brother's family. That's a lot of "s" sounds in there... And it was so nice for all of us. James got to hang out with his brother Jared and help him build a retaining wall in their backyard. I got to hang out with Lindsey and the kids (cousins) got to play and make memories. We were happy to be there since we've only been able to see each other maybe once a year and like only for a day. This was a very much needed visit. We wish we could be in California and see them more often. And well, we just prefer the scenery over Utah.

After a few days with them we headed down to Fresno to stay with Kerry & Jeannie. We took my mom out to lunch and visited with her and also got to see some Carlson's and Fletchers. Oh but I almost forgot, on the way to Fresno we stopped by and visited Regina & Joel Fowler and their adorable little girl Jane. 2 hours went by so quickly with them, I was so sad we couldn't visit longer.

 After our brief 3 day stay in Fresno, we headed south to visit my brother Willie who is getting treated at a mental health facility for his paranoid schizophrenia. I wasn't sure what to expect when we saw him because I hadn't been with him in person since it all came to fruition, but he was happy to see us and Elsie even let him hold her without fussing and smiled at him. I know that he really needed our visit and it's been hard for him to be there. And it's been hard to not have him close by to visit. The nurse says that he is improving but that he was pretty bad when he first came in and didn't talk to anybody (real) for about 6 months. They only allowed us to visit him for about an hour, but I am glad we were able to.

After our brief visit with Willie we headed to Santa Monica Beach and hung out for a couple of hours before hitting the road. We promised Janen she would get to see the ocean so we made a concerted effort to do that for her and she absolutely LOVED it! We definitely want to make more of an effort next time around to have a whole day trip at the beach because she was in heaven and even Elsie was really happy. It was a good family moment for all of us!

Now for pictures and in no particular order cause I am definitely too lazy (busy) to do that right now! Also, I can't find all the pictures i took and that makes me sad. :(

New Job(s)

This past January, James was approached by a man (Mark) that worked for Cornerstone Manufacturing up in Ogden, Utah. James had a connection with Cornerstone because his current position at Schiff Nutrition used their facilities to manufacture some of their products and he had been up there a few times to oversee production runs. Mark asked James if he would be interested in applying for a position at Cornerstone in a new department they were opening up. Cornerstone decided to open up their facility to doing powder orders (powder drinks..that sort of thing) and they needed a Powder Specialist to be manager over that department. They discussed what salary would make it worth his while to leave Schiff. James gave him a number 20k-25k higher than what he was currently being paid and they seemed ok with that number.

We thought our chances were really good in getting this job and thought our prayers had been answered. We were super tight on money and eventually would be even more tight since we would have to start paying my student loans. There was no money for savings and we have lots of debt to pay off from our student and unemployed days.

There seemed to be a lot of run around in the beginning. After about 2-3 weeks, James was finally able to interview for the job. We were told we would hear back in 1 week. 10 days went by, we were told it would be another week because a couple of the VP's were out of town that needed to be in on the decision. That week went by, but then Mark had to go out of town unexpectedly so it would be another week or so. It got to the point of ridiculous. It was about mid-March when we were both about ready to say, "forget it!" We felt our hopes were being crushed and that we must've misread that this was an answer to our prayers. So James continued to make plans to apply for the MBA program at BYU. He continued his studies for the pre-requisite courses and we saved our pennies to apply. We had already held of applying at the first deadline because we were sure he would get this job and the second deadline was approaching mid April.

Well April came and James and Mark met again about the position. James was finally able to get some real honest answers from Mark as to the cause of the delay. He said that half of the VP's were on board with hiring James, but the other half felt they should hire someone with more experience. So Mark traveled across the country to find someone with the experience these other VP's wanted but they all wanted too much money. About 100-125K and Cornerstone didn't want to pay someone that when this was a new thing they were trying out. Mark was finally able to convince the rest of the VP's that James was a promising choice and offered him a job less than a week after they met.

James went to Schiff and told him he got an offer from Cornerstone and that he was going to accept it. The head of the department he worked for (Kenny) did everything he could to get James to stay. They couldn't match the same offer but were willing to give him a 14k raise and would bump him up one more on the chain of command. Meaning he would be a scientist instead of an associate scientist which Kenny says he's never seen happen before after someone only working there for 18 months. But Cornerstone's offer was 22k more than he was currently making and he was being made a manager which was still 2 positions away if he stayed with Schiff. Kenny was able to make a legitimate argument as to why James should stay. One of them being that their 401K match was far superior. But when we sat down and did a pros and cons list we still couldn't decide. It was fortunate that James' Dad was in town at this time. He was able to get a blessing to aid him in his decision. The blessing helped him gain some clarity and he felt that he should reject Schiff's offer and accept Cornerstone's but that he would give Schiff 3 weeks instead 2 weeks since his leaving was complicating things for them.

He started his new job with Cornerstone on May 13th. I asked him if he regretted his decision and he says he doesn't. He loves his job and looks forward to going to work. We are grateful to Schiff for helping James get his start in the nutricuitcal industry, but know that in order for him to really go places and sooner rather than later, he needs managerial experience and we are grateful that Cornerstone gave him that opportunity. We are excited to see what happens with his career 3-5 years from now. We know there are wonderful things in store for him.


To add to the new job(s) story, I too got a job and even started the same day James started his job. I am a manager for Utah School of Music & Dance and work part time. In the next couple weeks, we will be hiring a receptionist that I will manage, leaving me more time to do managing and marketing for the school. It will also allow me to work from home more and be able to retain more of my money instead of it going to a sitter. I know it's not the typical "mormon" thing for me to be a working mom, but I prayed about this decision and felt it was the best thing for us. I still think it was the right decision and I am grateful to have the extra money to put Janen in pre-school, to be able to help a friend or family member when they need it and to have an emergency preparedness fund now. I don't regret my decision at all and I am grateful to have found an awesome sitter that Janen and Elsie both enjoy. I feel happier, have less anxiety and find that I am more patient with my kids and even find myself being more light-hearted with James which I know is something he values. We feel very fortunate and blessed to have our jobs. It was a long time coming for James and to see him feel valued is priceless. He's much more happier and that is a beautiful thing!

Out of the Mouth of Babes....

Since Easter, Janen has been very curious about Jesus. Specifically the Atonement and Resurrection. It all started when Aunt Lindsey was showing the kids an Easter video the night before Easter to help them learn/remember about what Easter is really about. It stayed with her as I read her The Berestain Bears Easter story. Then the curiosity continued when we stayed with Kerry and Jeannie. They have a drawing of a hand signing I love you in sign language with a hole in the palm. It's a representation of Jesus' hand. Since she recognized the sign (we do it with her every day) and she had just learned about the atonement, she wanted to know all about it. Her questions have been amazingly deep and I can see her internalizing what we are telling her.

"Mom, why does Jesus have holes in his hands and feet?"
"Dad, why were those people mean to Jesus?"
"Mom, why did Jesus have to die on the cross for me?"
"Dad, do you think it hurt Jesus when they put the nails in his hands and feet?"
"Dad, do I have to die on the cross to go to Heaven?"

Every day since Easter, she has asked about the Atonement and Resurrection. Last night, she wanted to chat with us before she went to bed. James went into chat with her last and she started asking about Jesus again. Somehow the topic got onto what happens to us when we die. James explained to her that our spirits go up to the spirit world until it is time for us to be reunited (or resurrected) with our bodies. So she asked, "Dad, who gave us our spirits?" He answered, "Heavenly Father." After his response she sat there for a minute pondering and then asked, "But Dad, who gave Heavenly Father his spirit?" James said, "Well, his father did." She was satisfied with the answer.

Janen also said, "I don't want to be resurrected. Not yet. I still have things to do." :)

 It's amazing to me how someone so young could ask such deep questions. She reminds me so much of me in so many ways. I remember being as young as her and wondering how God and Heaven and everything worked.

What I also love about all of her new found knowledge, is that learning about Jesus in a very "real" way has helped her feel connected to him even more. Where she used to fidget and fudge through prayers, she now stays still and listens intently and is adding more to her prayers then her usual 2 or 3 lines. She is also doing very well at paying attention during scripture study and asking questions on her own.

I love this new found love of hers!

Elsie 5-9 Months

To say that I am behind in my blogging would be a HUGE understatement. I've pretty much let it come close to dying! In all honesty, it's really hard for me to find motivation to do certain things during the winter months here in Utah. And well, it's just one of those things that got away from me the longer I went without doing it. But I'm back now and hopefully ready to recommit.

I feel that I should first start off by catching up on Elsie. I was so good at posting every month for Janen's first year so Elsie deserves a little catch up as well. Unfortunately, I did not keep as good of tabs (picture wise) on each month. But there are a few things I would like to record and remember.

Sat up with no support at 5 1/2 months

Got her first tooth at 6 1/2 months (just like her big sister). Here she is unhappy and teething.

And here she is a few weeks later with her teeth sprouted.

On February 15th, 2013, Elsie army crawled for the first time at 7 months. I remember it because it was the day James came home after a week long work trip.

It didn't take long for her to learn how to do more than just lurch herself forward. Within a couple of days she was crawling like this. (fast forward to 40 secs if you don't want to watch the whole thing).

 She started pulling herself to stand at 8 1/2 months

Just before Elsie turned 9 months old she started "talking". I mean she's been doing the normal babbling for a few months now, but now she's trying to repeat what we say to her and is sort of understanding what they mean. She loves to say "uh-oh" and "car"

Elsie just learned this past week how to climb up the stairs (with lots of encouragement from her daddy) and she even tries to climb down them head first. Time to dust off the baby gate. Because she is fearless!

Here she is on her 9 month birthday. We stopped by at the Santa Monica beach on the way home from California and she got to see the ocean and feel the sand. 

Elsie has been a complete joy to have in our lives. She is easy in every single way. I feel so blessed to have her in our family. She absolutely loves her bigger sister and wants to be everywhere she is. She's full of smiles and giggles more times than not. I'm grateful that she's such a calm and happy spirit. Now that she is more mobile, Janen is more willing to play with her. Janen is very anxious for Elsie to walk. I know in just a few months, they'll be chasing after each other and giggling. Love my sweet little Elsie.

Elsie is Four Months old