Procrastination

Yes, that is me.

I should be packing right now.

But, after 27 boxes and 17 buckets of our food storage early this morning. - I'm taking a break.

My back was sore by then.

I still have a to-do list:

Fix hole in Eden's room & paint

Stain the back patio

Shampoo rugs downstairs

Scrub down the entire house

Mow the yard

Finish laundry from yesterday

Keep packing

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I am overwhelmed at the moment & want to just run away from it all. I'm considering paying someone to come finish all my chores & magically put my new house all together for me!

Wake Up Call

I woke up at 4am today......

In excruisiating (sp?) pain......

My mind is saying to the the ER and get checked out.......

My neighbor drives me the 15 minutes......

 4 hours later.......

IV fluids..............

Fenagrin................

Morphine...............

Lab Draw................

X rays & CT scan..................

The pain finally goes away and I get a diagnois of...............

Multiple kidney stones. Some already in my bladder but most still up in my kidneys..................

Yay for me! NOT!!! Definitely something I could have lived without experiencing in my lifetime. But, this too shall pass.

Sealed for Eternity

June 1, 2012

This will forever be a special day in my family's life.

Joel, me & Eden were able to be sealed as a family for all eternity in the Spokane Washington Temple. We had my sister (Emiley), JoAnn & Jerry Wolcott, John & Donna Rios, Justin Leonard, Mark & Amy Farris, and Rick & Judy Seemann attend with us. We also had Amy (Judy's daughter) waiting outside to take some photos for us.

Joel & I had to arrive at the temple at 3:30pm. We were even 15 minutes early bc I wanted to be able to say hi to the Wolcotts - they had a nephew getting sealed at 3:30 also. So, after we left Eden with Aunt Emiley in the waiting room, we began our journey in the temple.

To begin, our recommends would not enter into the computer system. We both were denied access and had to wait for the temple president to come speak with us. So, while we're waiting 3 more people were denied access and they relized the internet was down and let us go in anyways. We were ushered to wait in the lobby area until the President could meet with us.

After about 15 minutes, we were lead into the President's office for our meeting. We reviewed our family member & group records as well as a few other minor details. We discussed our sealing and what was about to happen to our family. It was a great conversation and really got to know our temple president on a personal level.

We were then ushered to our separate changing areas - I got the bridal suite! We changed and met in the celestrial room. We were able to start our sealing in a sacret manner & learn more of ourselves. We proceeded then to go into the sealing room and sit with our family & friends until our sealing actually took place. After a few minutes, our sealer came in and gave a wonderful sealing service to us. I remember, just holding Joel's hand and knowing I could feel all the love he truly holds for me at the very second. He just kept looking in my eyes, I saw the unspoken promises he was speaking to me while listening and covenanting with me, as his wife in the ceremony.

Then, Eden came in. He was quite dashing in his white suit - thanks Grandma Bev for that very special gift he will have forever. I've never seen him so handsome before and all smiles! He was determined to know what type of treasure was hidden at the alter. (He still thinks he missed out on the gold, lol.)

When our sealing was completed, I could't help but realize the power of the priesthood that was performed through Heavenly Father's plan. The Spirit was definitely with us that Friday.

I loved being able to visit with and hug the Rios & Wolcott family. It has been a few months since seeing both of their families. I was overwhelmed with the love and support that my sister, Emiley, showed by coming on our special day. My dear friend Judy traveled with her husband 2 hours to come with us. As well did the Farris'. Justin came from the Seattle area and followed us home after a delightful dinner at Tomato Street with John, Donna & Emiley.

Amy (Judy's daughter) was waiting outside the temple for us. She had brought her daughters along and kept them entertained outside. She shared with me that Zoey was so excited to come to the temple that evening. It's such a blessing to see the happiness that the temple brings to everyone. Amy was so sweet & patient with us. Eden was in his usual mood of trying to show off and wanting only to show off his muscles or make an awful face in all the pictures. But, she was able to convince him to give a few smiles and sit up straight. I look forward to seeing her photos and enjoying them for years to come.

As most know, my mom is not a member of the church. But, it was so sweet of her to leave the message she did on my phone. I didn't save it (should have) but said that she had thought of us and wanted us to have a great time at the temple that day. - It's those bittersweet moments that you treasure forever.

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I hope these memories will last with me this entire lifetime. I don't want to forget any of them.

On a side note, June 1st is also the anniversary of John & Donna. It was a great day to celebrate their special day too!



It's official.... We're a family!

On May 14, 2012, a dream came true for our family.

Joel was granted by the Judge to legally adopt Eden. Everything is set in stone and we couldn't be happier. Seriously, it was an amazing day.

It was just Joel, Eden & I in the court room on Monday, but it was ok. We know that our family was there in spirit supporting us.

And, just two days ago, we were able to become an eternal family.

Twin Falls, Idaho

We can say it offically.................

We are moving to Twin Falls, Idaho.

Home of the Shoshone Falls

And the Twin Falls Idaho Temple

While Joel & I were in Twin Falls, we were able to find an apartmennt for us to rent. We were really scared of what we would get for our budget. Remember, our current home is over 2000 sq feet/4 bedrooms and we are downsizing to half of that. Literally, 1000 sq ft and two bedrooms. That is a whole story all in itself for Joel, lol.

Our rental manager, Shelley, is amazing and worked super hard on making sure we found the best place for our family. She was able to give us every things we had listed and in the school boundary we want Eden to attend.

We also were able to meet with our employer. Initally, we were actually hired over the phone and they said to just come in and sign the paperwork when we came to town and tell them our start date. Yeah, that definitely does not happen everyday! But, after looking around and speaking with other employees, we feel it's a great place to work. We are scheduled to start by the beginning of July. We've planned our moving date for June 19th.

But, I won't even get into how I feel about packing........

Just Taking Note

So, I've decided that I need to be more diligent with my writing. I've been writing in a personal journal and blogging online but decided it is time to combine for the most part. I will keep my very personal entries in my private journal, but will keep most updates on my blog and just print off regularly to keep in a journal.

This entry doesn't have a lot of explanation but wanted to keep track of the last couple weeks. We've accomplished a lot and don't want to miss anything as I expell on them later.

Our last 12 days:

Wednesday, May 23rd - Eden went to visit Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Devin. He stayed 7 days!

Thursday, May 24th - Sheetrock, plaster & taped our downstairs bedroom and did laundry. 

Friday, May 25th - Mowed the yard (3 hours), organized the garage and stacked wood.

Saturday, May 26th - First day of Joel's 10 vacation from work! Worked outside on the garage again, attended the local flea market & had dinner with our neighbors. Packed for our "mini-vacation".

Sunday, May 27th - Enjoyed our Sabbath with church & some quiet time.

Monday, May 28th - Started on our journey to Twin Falls. It took us 8 hours in the car and a TERRIBLE pass. (Not looking forward to taking the U-haul over HWY 93.) Checked into Motel 8 about 6pm, went to Shoshone Falls for a picnic dinner.

Tuesday, May 29th - A busy day! We met our rental manager and saw 5 different homes/apartments in Twin Falls. We also met with our employer and did all of the basis paperwork. Went to dinner at Golden Corral.

Wednesday, May 30th - Time to pack up and head back home. It took us about 9 hours to get home this time. We stopped and enjoyed a burger at a local stop on the way and also Lowe's. Got home about 5pm and immediately started staining the back patio a dark walnut color.

Thursday, May 31st - Woke up at 6am to get on the road and pick up Eden in Plains. So excited to have him back with us. (It was lonely without the little guy!) We continued staining the deck, finishing the inside stairwell (stain & edging) and painting the ceiling of the downstairs bedroom.

Friday, June 1st - Sealed as a family for all eternity. Had dinner with John, Donna & Emiley Rios and Justin Leonard at Tomato Street. (It was John & Donna's anniversary too!)