The Eleventh Hour

If you've been keeping tabs on us, you've probably been wondering why there hasn't been a post all about our new house and the joys of moving. The simple answer to that question is that we haven't moved yet. About a week before we were set to close, and after being under contract for 2 months, we got a call from our Realtor telling us that our buyers did not qualify for their loan and we would not be closing. To make a long story short, we tried for the next few days to see if there was something we could do to still make things work with our buyer, but in the end learned that they really never should have made an offer on our house, as it was out of their price range and they were never really able to afford it. So, with our house almost empty and boxes crowding the garage, our house was back on the market at the end of June and until we sold our current house, we couldn't move into our new one. So, it has been back to the meticulous process of keeping the house clean, and we have had to drop the asking price 3 times, just to get people through the door.
Through this whole process, we really have felt guided by the Spirit and feel like the Lord has helped us in so many ways, but I honestly have had a really hard time since things fell through with our buyers. I have felt very frustrated, angry, and bitter at the fact that I feel we were not honestly dealt with and because of their dishonesty, our family has been put into a difficult situation. It has been very difficult for me to try to come to terms with all of this and be able to just move on. So often people just don't realize how much their choices impact others. If it were only Mike and I in this situation, it would be a different story, but I see every day how difficult this is for our children, who have all their things packed away and their lives completely disrupted. I have prayed quite a bit lately, asking for the Lord's help in blessing me with the ability to overcome my frustrations with these people, and giving me the strength to endure this trial with temperance and grace.
After we got home from California, Sam came downstairs in tears one night so frustrated with having to share a room with her brothers because they wouldn't let her sleep, and we knew we had to do something for the sake of the happiness of our family. So, Mike and I decided to see if we could qualify for a loan with both mortgages, which would enable us to move into our new house before we sold our old one. We submitted all the paperwork before I left with the kids to come down to Texas. The whole time I've been here, I have been attached to my cell phone waiting to hear if the loan went through.
A few days ago Mike called to let me know that we qualified for our loan and that as soon as the builder could set a closing date for us, which should be within the next few weeks, we would be moving into our new home. That same night I got another call from Mike telling me that we received an offer on our house. Two days ago we finalized the offer and signed the contracts, and are set to close on our current home on September 10th. As soon as I got the text from Mike that we had finalized the deal I just cried, which if you know me, isn't really a surprise. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted! Although we were taking a huge risk of ending up with two mortgage payments by moving before we sold the house, we knew it was the right thing to do for our family, and now, knowing that our house is sold and we won't have to take on that burden is such a relief.
Sitting in church a few weeks ago the lesson was about how we are here to be tried and tested, that we are to suffer first to know the sweet. They talked about how the Lord does hear our prayers and does always answer them, but often in the eleventh hour. The whole time I sat there feeling like that lesson was just reiterating the hardships and burdens I was feeling, and I honestly didn't feel any comfort in it at the time. This week has been such proof to me that the Lord does in deed answer prayers, and yes, even in that eleventh hour! Although I have felt so disheartened and frustrated lately, I have always had faith that my Heavenly Father knew my burdens and was going to answer my prayers, I just wasn't sure when those answers would come. Thank you to so many family and friends who have been with us through all the ups and downs of our house adventures. We have had so many prayers said on our behalf and we have felt your love and strength. We aren't finished with this journey yet, but I feel we are getting close and we are so grateful that we haven't had to walk this bumpy road alone.

On the road again...and again

It must be summer! For the past few weeks we have been on the road traveling to and fro, and all I have to say is thank heaven for portable DVD players and Nintendo DS! Our travels have taken us from Colorado, to Utah, to California, and now to Texas. We have been through 6 states within a matter of two weeks, and although it has been a lot of driving and many long days, the kids have all done really great. The "are we there yets" have been amazingly few and far between, and we have made it to each of our destinations in one piece!

My brother, Donny, got married in Sacramento on July 10th, so at the beginning of the month we loaded up all the kids and headed out to California for the occasion. It was a quick 6 day trip, 4 of which were spent driving, but definitely worth it to see my brother and his sweet bride sealed together in the temple. Of course they were both beaming, with smiles on their faces the whole time! Sarah looked absolutely beautiful and her dress was stunning. Sami was so excited to be a flower girl and was happy to find ways to help Sarah.
While we were there, we had a little time for fun between all the wedding activities and took the kids to see the Jelly Belly Factory. The kids had a really good time taking the tour and learning all about how Jelly Bellies are made - of course their favorite part was the free bag of Jelly Bellies at the end! We also had some time to enjoy the pool and hot tub at the hotel, which of course my kids took advantage of every free second they had.
Although it was a really fast trip, we had a good time and the kids had the chance to see family they hadn't seen in a long time. Besides getting to share their uncle's special day, they also got to see my whole family and all of their cousins on my side, as well as a lot of my aunts, uncles, and cousins who came out for the occasion. We also had the chance to stay with Mike's brother's family in Utah on the way out there and the kids were able to spend some time with more cousins, whom they haven't seen in over a year. Thanks Greg and Kayloni for putting up with our crazy loud family and thanks to Heidi and Cody for letting us crash at your cute home on the way back! It was so awesome to see all of you and have a few minutes to catch up!
And of course, congrats to Donny and Sarah!! We are so excited for you both and love you tons! Welcome to the family Sarah!

And the Texas installment will soon follow....

Pink, pink, and more pink!

Happy Birthday to my little girl! My baby turned 7 on Monday. I know I say it every year, but I just can't believe how fast she is growing. I totally love this little girl! She is the best little helper, and a second mother to all her brothers - for good or bad. :) She is always so concerned for others and loves to help me take care of everyone in the family. She absolutely adores the babies and even helps me change their diapers once in a while. I seriously don't know what I would do without her in a house full of so many boys! She is so fun to be around and has the sweetest personality. She loves to read, write, and draw. She is becoming quite a little artist, and loves to make up stories about almost anything. She loves dress-up and make believe and of course all things fairy and princess! I can't even count how many barbies she has now, and she has decided that Zhu Zhu pets are some of the coolest new toys around. :)
On Monday, I started the day off by making Sam a special breakfast of crazy pink and purple pancakes. Later that afternoon, Mike's parents came down and took all the kids out for dinner and a movie to celebrate Sam's special day. That night, after Mike got home from work, Sam was finally able to open her presents. She was such a sport and had to wait the whole day, but, she was pretty excited about her presents and her cute reaction was definitely worth the wait.
Yesterday, we had her PINK Princess birthday party! Yes, it was very pink!! It was super cute, all her little friends came wearing all pink, and Sam of course, was all decked out herself. She asked me to make her a tutu for the party, and I thought a pink feather boa would be just the finishing touch she needed. (In retrospect, although she looked adorable, it was definitely not one of my more brilliant ideas. I'm not sure we will ever get rid of all the feathers!) It was a super girly party, and the girls had fun making pink bracelets, and pink flower pens - to go with their pink princess diaries of course. We had a princess pinata, and pink princess cupcakes with pink ice cream cones. Just before the girls went home, we had a little dance party and the girls looked so cute rockin out to Taylor Swift. It was loud, super crazy, super girly, and definitely super pink! Mike was a great sport and stayed to help out with all the pinkness! With four boys and only one girl, we won't have too many chances like this, so it was definitely fun to go all out for Sam. She had a blast, which made it all worth it! I love you tons, baby! Happy Birthday, to my favorite little girl in the whole world! I love you, my little 7 year old!

The missing puzzle piece!

My brother, Donny is the baby of the family, and is the only one who is still single. As I've watched him grow and become the amazing man that he is today, and seen all the things he has accomplished so far in his life, I have often wondered who he would end up with and what she would be like. I've seen my brother go from a total gamer, to an apathetic student, to a devoted religious missionary, to a soldier in the military serving his country in a foreign land, to a motivated student of diverse languages. And now, finally, I get to see him get married and become a husband on July 10th. This week we were able to meet his fiance, Sarah. He met her last October, and by Thanksgiving and Christmas they were meeting each others' families. We weren't able to spend Christmas in Texas with my family, so we didn't get to meet Sarah with the rest of the family. So, in the middle of planning her wedding, Sarah dropped everything and came to Colorado to visit us for a week. She wanted to be able to meet us and spend time with our family before the wedding. It was so awesome to get to meet her! I am so happy she is going to be a part of our family. She is a really amazing woman. She just finished her Master's in Spanish Translation, has served a mission to Honduras, has studied abroad in Austria, enjoys singing, can sew just about anything, is motivated, driven and exactly the type of person my brother needs! Sarah is going to be so great for Donny, and I am so excited for both of them! My kids absolutely adore Sarah, (they were crying when she had to leave) and I am so excited to be getting a new sister! Sarah, we already love you, and are so excited to have you as part of the family! We can't wait to share your special day with you guys! Only a few more weeks to go!

School's Out for the Summer!

Last Tuesday was the boys last day of Speech and last Preschool day with their friends. For the past year they have been taking some speech classes through the county. They have only been going twice a week for an hour each day. This has been really great for them and they have done some really cute things. Every
couple weeks they had a new theme they worked with and studied that theme through books, activities, obstacle courses, and also came home from every class with a new fun craft. I've been really happy with the progress they've made over the past few months, and have noticed improvements in their articulation and pronunciation. Of course it was sometimes difficult to get them excited to go, but after each class they would run out the door excited to tell me about what they learned.
Here are the boys with their teacher Ms. Kathy:Over the past few months, the boys have also been involved in a Joy School with a few of their friends. The boys have definitely loved having preschool with their friends. The hard part for me was helping them realize it was school, not play time! :) My sweet friends involved in this group have been so wonderful. We started this group while I was still pregnant, and with everything going on with the pregnancy and the babies being premature, they have all taken on the full weight and divided my turn amongst themselves. I honestly could not ask for better friends! Teaching a Joy School full of about 7 boys is definitely no easy task, and I know that my two are definitely two of the more active boys of the bunch. My sweet friends never once made me feel that I was not pulling my weight, though I felt that myself, but insisted on taking over my share. They did such a wonderful job putting together such cute lessons and activities for the kids. My boys loved going and I loved watching the cute things they learned each day. They can even say the whole Pledge of Allegiance by themselves now! I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful, amazing women around me who have gone so far out of their way to help me and my boys. You are all wonderful! Thank you!
Here are the boys with a few of their preschool friends:Two weeks ago was actually Sami's last day of school as well. For the last few days of school they learned all about baseball and prepared to play a big game on the last day of school. The boys and I all went over to the school to watch Sami in her first baseball experience. It was so cute to see all the kids so exited to play. Sam was out in the field first and was eager to see some action - though sadly, none of the balls ever got out that far. When it was her turn to bat, I was actually pretty impressed at how well she did. She actually got a pretty good hit! The best part was watching her sweet smile when she finally was able to come around to home plate.











After the game her class had a little hot dog and ice cream sundae picnic for lunch. I stopped by for a little while, just in time to get a few cute pictures of her and her friends.Sami loves school! She loved her sweet teacher this year, Ms. Morgan, and is so sad to leave her school when we move into the new house. Even though we will only be moving about 5 minutes away she will be going to a new elementary school. The other day she even told me "Mom, I wish school were just starting instead of ending, then I could still be in Ms. Morgan's class." She has learned so much this past year and has become quite the reader and writer. Not a day goes by when I don't see a pile of books by her side and a notepad in her hands. I am so glad that she enjoyed her teacher so much, and I absolutely love that she loves school! I really hope her enthusiasm rubs off on the boys!
Well, I guess now that the business of school is behind us, the real fun can begin! It's definitely going to be an eventful summer!