11 Days to Go

It seems only appropriate that since today is Sunday I should document something about my church on this, my 11 days to go post. I have wonderful memories of being a Mormon in New England the past 13.5 years. I feel like I've been able to dispel a few myths while being here. Such as...my Dad does not have multiple wives; I do not have horns in the back of my head; I do use electricity. All questions I was asked on several occasions. :) For the past 6 years I've attended the same congregation in Arlington. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the people here. The friendships I've made are some of the greatest treasures that I will take with me. I've loved the open forum they have provided while sharing their strengths and struggles. The never-failing willingness to help with anything and everything. The comrodery I've felt. Never feeling judged. Truly feeling united in one purpose of taking care of each other. It's been a beautiful experience. I love these women! Many have come and gone since this picture was taken at our closing social in August of this year. Now I'm just another one setting foot on a new journey. To all my friends I'm leaving behind I want to say thank you. Thank you for being such great examples to me. I have learned so much from you. I will miss you all! You better look me up if you are ever in UT!

(I can't get this picture to change size for me)

A Different Kind of 12 Days

Normally this time of year people are celebrating the 12 days of Christmas. In our house it's a bit different this year. Today is the first day of our "last 12 days of living in Boston." Jesse got a new and exciting job in Utah and we are flying out of Boston for the last time on December 27th. It is with very mixed emotions that I leave Boston. My love affair with Boston started when I was a mere 15 year old girl spending the summer with my brother and sister-in-law. It was love at first sight! I remember walking around the city and knowing this is where I wanted to be. It only took me 6 years from that first visit to convince my parents to let me move. In 2003 my parents came to visit. I had lived here for 4 years at the time. My Mom pulled me aside one night and said, "this is where you belong". There is something very magical about this place and anyone who has spent anytime here will echo my words. I have been fortunate to spend 13.5 wonderful years here. With all that said, it is time to move on. I am looking forward to being closer to family and having my kids not shriek at the sight of Grandpa (sorry Dad). I look forward to Jesse having a job where he can be home in time to have dinner with his family. I will have a special place in my heart for Boston - the love affair will never end! So, here I will document my last 12 days of Boston! From this:

To this: ready for new adventures!

(borrowed pics from google images)

And their off....

I could hardly keep up! Happy Halloween!!!

Darian is 4 going on 14. Her new thing now is to tell me if something is "stylish" or "fashionable". I'm not even sure where she learned these words but it's pretty funny / frightening to hear my 4 year old tell me whether or not I'm stylish. She loves dresses and would wear them daily if I'd let her. She got this new dress from Aunt Kelly and asks to wear it daily. I especially love the stance she's got going on. Love her!

She is growing up so fast! I desperately want to slow down the hands of time. She made me a Mom and I will always hold tender feelings for her as my first child. Unfortunately for her that means I make a lot of mistakes before I learn from them. But, she is a trooper and endures it well. :) One night when I tucked her into bed I apologized for being in a bad mood that day and I had gotten angry at her for something. She gave me a big hug and said, "that's ok Mom, you can try to be a better Mom tomorrow." And I do...I try everyday my sweet Darian...everyday.

Proud Papa

I love this picture of Jesse and Avery. Jesse is such a good Dad. He is so loving and tender with the kids that it melts my heart. I think we'll have another Daddy's girl on our hands and I know that thrills Jesse!

More Avery...

Avery is already a month old and I'm very sad about that. She brings us nothing but joy and is really a sweet baby. I wish I could slow down her growing up. Since I can't, I'm trying to savor every moment as best I can with two other kids who are demanding my attention. Thankfully, Darian and Camden are as in love with her as I am and are more than happy to sit next to me and snuggle with her when I do. Avery is starting to make some cute faces and I can't get enough of her! She is smiling although I haven't been fast enough to catch it with my camera. Here are two of my favorites from this week.

I'm sure this face will reappear during the teenage years :)

Siblings

It's been a whirlwind 2 weeks. I can't believe our little Avery is 2 weeks old tomorrow. Time flies! We are adjusting well. She is adored by her siblings. They can't get enough of her. They also couldn't sit long enough for me to grab a few pictures. Here are some that came out somewhat decent.

Darian adores Avery and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual! Darian will sing to her when she cries and she calms right down. The other day I overheard Darian saying to her, "I'm your big sister and I will protect you from rain, thunder, and lightening." It was a precious moment and I'm sure glad that she is in love with her sister!

Camden also loves his sister! In his words..."I want to pet him." Camden still refers to her as a he, but he sure loves to stroke her head and cheek - or "pet her" as he refers to it. He is really sweet with her and is always trying to kiss her and help out by giving her the binki or his blanket - which is a huge compliment if you know anything about Camden and his blanket.

I love this picture..I just wish it wasn't blurry. The kids were super excited to have their picture taken with Avery so getting them to sit still was quite the challenge. And here are a few shots of the star herself...she is changing more every day but I'd say we have another Daddy look alike on our hands!

She's Here!

I can't believe it's taken me over a week to post about our latest addition. Such is life these days -chaos! Avery Frances Aldous came into the world on August 5th at 8:13 a.m. weighing in at 8 pounds 3 ounces. I started having contractions the night before, which was my actual due date, at about 10:30pm. This was my hardest labor but easiest birth. For the life of me I couldn't get the nurses to listen to me and they discharged me because they didn't like how I was progressing. I didn't even make it to the parking garage before a security guard saw me (I may have been screaming louder than the homeless guy they were trying to kick out) and decided to take me back to labor and delivery. Avery was born only 2 short hours later. She is sweet in every way and everyone in this household is in love with her!

Microburst Storm

Yesterday the weather forecasted a thunderstorm that we were looking forward to so that it would cool our hot and humid weather down. We got more than we bargained for! It started raining and then within seconds turned into the most massive rain storm I've ever seen. The rain was blowing sideways and every few seconds a tree limb would blow by. It reminded me of white out conditions in the winter only with rain. It only lasted about 5 minutes but when it was over the damage was incredible. Trees were down all over our town and streets were flooded. Thank goodness our house had no damage but others around us weren't so lucky.

All these pictures are just of damage done around my block. I didn't even snap pics of all the downed trees. It was just such an unbelievable storm that lasted mere minutes.