Pitiful post

I am a slacker as of late.  Do you think I would be more organized by now? No!  Starting February I am hoping to be.  Andrew started a new job working with an autistic man.  His name is Orrin and he is 21.  He is such a cute guy!  I love his youthful personality.  He has severe autism so he doesn't speak very much but he is still very aware of what is going on around him.  They do a variety of things throughout the day and some things really make Orrin happy and it is funny to hear his laughter!  Andrew is loving this job and is feeling more fulfilled than he has in a long time.  He has been able to do more paintings, which he truly loves.  My job is still going well but I have been working more hours now so I have even less time to bum around and even blog!  Hence the gap between posts lately.  There really isn't too much to write about besides the afore mentioned.  Christmas was good, new years was good.....hmm.....I guess groundhog's day is next? Hahaha!

Since I am stuck in bed.....

I may as well blog.  Wednesday night I was hit hard with a stomach bug and am still trying to recover.  I spent the whole night laying in the bathtub...let's just say that's how bad it was!  I was finally able to crawl back to my room around 6am, Thursday morning and slept a little bit but getting the kids up for school was out of the question!  I could barely move!  They too contracted the disease but not as severely as I did.  Thank goodness!  They recovered much quicker than I did.  I am still bound to my bed because my strength has not fully come back yet.  This is one of the weirdest experiences of my life.  I have been ill in the past but not to the point that my body has no energy to recover.  Its been hard because my stomach is still sensitive so I am not getting all the nutrients I need to fully recoup.  hopefully I will make it thru work tomorrow.  I have no idea how I will feel or if I will be able to get thru an 8 hour shift comfortably.  I guess we will see.  It's hard to miss work when you depend on that money so severely.  Yikes.  10 more days 'till Marbles goes home and 15 'till Christmas!!!!!

December already?!

Wow, it's the first day of December!  Where has this year gone?  So much has happened in such a short period of time.  I started a new job a few weeks ago and I really like it.  Much more than the grocery store.  Andrew is still in the bakery for now but hopes something better will come along.  The kids are becoming better adjusted to their new life here and it takes a burden off my shoulders.  That was one hard thing for me to deal with.  I know what it's like to miss friends.  I am making new ones though.  I forgot to mention, or maybe I did, that I was called into primary the very first Sunday we were here.  I teach the 8 year olds so Brianne gets to be in my class.  They are fun bunch.  I have been so busy that I almost forget to prepare my lessons!!  I am sure with time I will get better.  I am living a life that feels somewhat foreign to me, but I do enjoy working.  I have always loved retail, so this job suits me well.  It has been an interesting ride so far; trying to juggle the children's schedule with ours.  It seems to be working very well.  The grandparents love having them around and I know the kids love having them around.  It has been a pleasant go around.  I definitely appreciate their help more than before.  I needed to grow up.  I learned a lot in Edmonton and I am trying to take those lessons along with me.  It is easy to judge this place right off the bat, but maturing can help change your perspective immensely.  I know some people think I may be trying to shelter my children because of the high LDS population, but that is only a small percentage of the whole equation.  First, family is here.  As I grow up (yes I still am) I realize how important my family is.  My children will benefit from having that many more people who love them and care for them.  Secondly, it's a smaller community with MUCH less crime.  Edmonton is, apparently, well known for it's capital of pedophiles.  It is the hub for those sickos and the government thinks dumping them in one place will solve some kind of problem?  I do not miss those monthly perv alerts.  Although the community may "know" each other, maybe a little more than necessary, there is strength, support and safety in having a tight knit community.  Lastly, yes it is LDS dominant, but I love this gospel and I enjoy being right by the temple.  I like having my children groe up with friends who have the same morals and values.  Yes, there are non-LDS here too and they have friends in those circles too, but those children are just as great, if not better, because of the love small communities share.  I do really like it here and I am sure one day I will say I love it here.   

Adjusting

Poor Mr. Marbles!

So it has been about a month since I have blogged so I figured I should catch everyone up on this.  So Andrew and I both work at the local grocery store right now, him in the bakery and I as a cashier.  Between the two of us we still don't make as much as we did in Edmonton but we will somehow survive.  We are thinking of having a lady with down syndrome come and live with us.  We will get paid and I would be able to quit my job and be at home more with the kids, which is what I really want.  It's taking me a while to adjust.  I dream about Andrew getting his old job back a lot.  I do like it here and know I need to be here but it has been hard.  I knew it would be and I would have to make some sacrifices but I know it will be worth it.  Meanwhile, we have been enjoying our cats.  We have to keep them separated because they do not like each other.  Mr. Marbles, aka old man river, literally scared the poop out of Peaches.  haha!  Of course it was not fun cleaning that up!  We have gotten our first snow but it has since melted.  It will be a little warmer for a while.  I guess there is not much else to say for now!

Marbles and all the kids sleeping on the couch

Brianne and Peaches

Home sweet home?

Well not so sweet when we moved in but it is getting better.  We are almost officially settled in.  Andrew comes home tonight for good!!!  We are meeting him in Calgary to go see the Calgary temple open house!  Dallas isn't excited but I think he will be pleasantly surprised.  So when we officially moved in two weeks ago the house was NOT in move-in condition.  We spent a lot of time cleaning it but it is just about done.  What a circus it has been!  Now Andrew needs to find a good job! Haha!  I found a job working at the grocery store BUT I had an interview at the registry (DMV equivalent) and I am hoping to get that instead.  I am supposed to start Monday but we will see what happens!  Wish us luck!  

In with the old...

...and out with the new.  We are moving.....again.  This time back to Cardston.  We never thought we would ever move back so this comes as a surprise to us too.  No, Andrew did not lose his job and no, we do not have any jobs set up there yet.  We are doing this completely blind on faith.  We feel it would be good for our children to have more family around.  There is a lot more to it as well but the that's the gist of it.  I am nervous but confident.  I dread packing, cleaning, then UNpacking and cleaning again.  ugh!  We do get to have kitty cat though!  The kids are super excited!  We already found one and she is super cute!  She is a rescue cat and her name is Peaches!  We got to see a picture of her as well and we fell in love right away!  I know that we are not putting ourselves in a  financially lucrative situation, but for some reason we feel that this is what we need to do.  Life is not about money anyways.  Don't get me wrong, we knew it was right to come to Edmonton for Andrew to obtain this job, but now we feel we need to move for our children's benefit.  We have learned a lot as a family, as a couple and as individuals.  We have gone through many trials but have come out much better as a result.  I hope that this next chapter will continue to help us learn and grow, but hopefully give us a bit of rest? hahaha!  Yeah right!  Now if I could only get my anxiety under control.  It is making me batty.  Well, next time you hear from me we will most likely be in our new home.....well, new to us!

Has it really been that long?

I keep telling myself I need to update this but this summer proved to be busier than expected!  Let's see....mom came to visit for two weeks, then the children went to Cardston for a week, then Andrew and I went to Banff for a weekend, and last weekend we went back to Cardston to do finally do temple work for family names.  So in between all of that, we have not had much time to breathe.  Kind of glad it is over, but sad.  School started today and I am lost.  All three children are gone all day now.  I am still going to do lunch supervision for now, but I am not sure I want to.  I kind of want to find something more full time during the day but part of me does not.  I guess I will figure it out eventually.  I am feeling pretty lonely right now.  Parenthood is hard.  Anyhow, here are a bunch of pictures from our summer!  Enjoy!