Conner's First Prayer

Every night our routine is read from scriptures, brush teeth, say prayers, sing 2 song, and good night. Well we were on step 3-say prayers. Typically Kyle or I say it and the kids are really good about folding their arms. Kyle is working tonight so I was doing everything and I said the prayer. After I was done I said ok, lets sing a song. Conner says, "No mama, more prayers" I asked if he wanted to say it and he said yes. So we all folded our arms again and I waited about 10 seconds. He didn't say anything so I whispered, Heavenly Father and he repeated. I stopped and he said, "good dreams, good sleep. Daddy safe. Jesus Christ, Amen." How cute is that! It brought tears to my eyes! I love hearing what those little minds are thinking and I'm so proud of him saying his own prayers now! I was just so excited I had to blog about it before I forgot exactly what he said. Now we shall always remember Conner's very first prayer all by himself!

Everything will work out!

So we have the 1st and 2nd collection of John Bytheway's talks on cd. They are awesome! I listen to them quite often while in the car. I was listening to the one entitled "Righteous Warriors" and he mentions a quote from President Gorden B. Hinckley in it. He just mentioned the President Hinckley tells himself every morning (when he was alive) that everything is not as bad as you think it is and everything will work out. I wanted to look up the exact quote and here it is:

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." -President Hinckley-

Wow! What a great quote! And it is so true. Soon after Kyle and I got married we had a conversation about what he wanted to do for a career. He had a few different choices and he decided he would love to be a seminary teacher. He loved teaching and was great! However the year he was trying to get in the church had a hiring freeze and he wasn't hired. Then, Kyle graduated from college over 13 months ago with a business degree. He was trying to find a job in the marketing/advertising world. It really wasn't going to hot so Kyle started working as a Waiter to pay the bills till he found a "real job." He then thought he should go back and get his masters in Accounting. So, we do all the work to apply but missed the deadline by a few days. So Kyle gets everything ready for the following semester. We hadn't heard if he got in so he called the school and they told him the only thing he didn't do was change on his application he wanted a different semester and even though he did have everything in he couldn't go because of that one detail. So, school was put off for a year while he kept working as a waiter. Then he decided maybe striking out twice with getting a masters that he would also like to be a teacher (we had looked into it but the program people never called back so we didn't know what he needed to become certified). Finally, he found a program that called back and he did all the work very diligently and now has his "temporary" certificate (you get the real thing after a full school year of teaching).

He was soon offered a job but we didn't feel good about taking it. That was hard to say no to a salary job, but we knew it wasn't where he should be. So, after many job fairs and more interviews later he has been offered a job at Williams High School right here in Plano! He is doing to finger printing and stuff now and will be signing a contract soon!! It has taken over 13 months but I am so happy and proud of him and the choices he has made. Even though it took a few dead ends before getting here, we still made it and I know the Lord has a plan.

It is just amazing how when you are doing what the Lord wants you to do everything works out. We have been deciding when and if we should move out. We were looking at some nice places but before we committed to anything we wanted to check our budget of what we can do when Kyle starts the new job. We figured we should be safer and stay within a certain budget with utilities and everything. None of the places we had looked at would be in that price range. And needing a 3 bedroom it can be hard. Well wouldn't you know the day after we decided what we could realistically do I found a place that is perfect! We checked it out and we really like it. It's only about 15 min from Kyle's parents and a straight 10-15 min to Kyle's work. So are currently on their waiting list but they said they are pretty sure we could get in by August. So that is what I'm shooting for.

Kyle had a really good month this month and I was thinking what we can do to get ready to move. I had a friend who was selling her washer/dryer that were bought brand new and only used a year. She only asked 250$ for the set! Obviously we bought them. Then I found on Craigs list a toddler bed. We were trying to figure out what to do with a new baby coming and needing the crib for that. We got the cherry wood toddler bed and mattress for only 40$ (gently used). Then yesterday I found a table and 6 chairs for only 150$ We need that many chairs since our family is growing! We set up a time to pick it up this morning at 8am. At 7:30am we received a call that last night he mentioned to his mother-in-law they were selling it and she stole it sometime in the night! He sounded mad and said he was working with the police to get it back! Wholly Cow!! Anyway, that obviously didn't work out. But I figured we still had time so I was just glancing at tables again and wouldn't you know I found an oak table with 6 chairs for only $85 this time!!!! Needless to say I got on it right away and that tables and those chairs are now mine!!! They will need to be reupholstered but they really are in good condition. So, now we are pretty much set with the necessities for when we get the call that an apartment has opened up and we are approved. I know that will happen because we have been blessed so much why stop now! haha...

So anyway, it may be a little hard right now, but just like President Hinckley said, it's never as bad as you think it is and everything will work out. The Lord loves us and He wants us to be happy. And things are working out!

Something about Nature

I really believe there is something about nature that truly heals the soul. Some days are just plain tough, and I feel it is even harder because there is always someone watching (more on that later on) so if I'm having a hard time the best medicine seems to be to just pack the kids up in the stroller and take a long walk. The kids just love being in the stroller for some reason. They love just looking around and Conner talks about every single bird/rabbit/flower/airplane/etc that he sees the entire time. Just being outside just helps calm me down as well. I don't usually think about anything in particular and it's not like we are out in the middle of nowhere, we are walking through the neighborhood. It's just in the air or something that makes me feel so much better and I can walk back into the house a much happier momma! Pretty much everyday we go on a walk in late morning or early evening. The weather is perfect at that time and it seems to be when I and the kids need out of the house the most.

We are so blessed to be living with Kyle's parents. They do so much for us, however we are very excited to here back from a school with a job offer so we can move out on our own again. I think I have pinpointed why I need it now. Being pregnant I feel like my emotions just take control all of a sudden and I really try to not say anything I would regret, but sometimes it just pops out. Poor Kyle, our kids, and everyone else who lives with us! I know Sherry (mom in law) tries to help and today I snapped more then I should have. Everything was just building up and the kids were in a non mommy mode apparently. They were so tired so I put Joshie to bed around 8:30 (kicking dad in law off the big screen again, which I always feel guilty doing) then I laid Conner down by 8:45. Of course he started crying and Sherry was upstairs and wanted to go sing to him. I said, "No! I want him to fall asleep by himself or he will get used to someone there till he falls asleep." She asked if she could just sing him a few songs and I was just like, "please no, just let me raise him and put him down how I want." She just went downstairs and of course I felt guilty. I know she loves her grandsons and hates hearing them cry, I shouldn't have freaked out I was just so tired of how hard the kids were today and just wanted to be done. So, when we move out I won't have to worry about biting some ones head off for trying to help (except Kyle but he choose to be with me!haha)

Anyway, after I put the kids down I read my scriptures and that always brings a spirit to calm the soul also. It's just another miracle Heavenly Father gives us for those hard days. I'm so grateful to have this knowledge or I really think I would go crazy.

Just a Pregnancy Day

Kyle and I have a saying when I am having a ruff day, I say, "Don't worry, it's just a pregnancy day." One of those days where everyone seems to be saying the wrong things to me and I wonder, what is wrong with everyone today? Then I realize it's not them, its me! On "pregnancy days" I am much more irritable. Poor Kyle and the poor kids (luckily they shouldn't remember it! haha) My little Bell Pepper sized baby has decided to pop out a little more, so I am in all maternity clothes now, making it to 18 weeks with my 3rd child isn't bad! Lynda (my sister in law) said the other day, wow, you actually look pregnant now, even just a week ago you didn't. That's always nice knowing I don't just look pudgy anymore. Kyle tells me I now have the pregnancy glow. He tells me I look beautiful every day. I have needed to start sleeping with a pillow between my legs, it's just much more comfortable. I also had to lean the seat back a little in the car. I usually like it straight up, however now my belly gets squished so I have to lean a bit now when I sit. Kyle is working today so lets hope I can put up with this "pregnancy day" and that tomorrow is just another normal day.

Swimming Picutes

We bought 3 month passes to the Plano Parks and Recreation Centers. The one we are at here is the one we usually go to because they have great pools! Here is our little family taking a dip.












Conner for some reason really loved wearing the life jacket, and every time we go he grabs the blue one for him and the yellow one for Josh. I should probably thank Dora the Explorer for that since that is always what he quotes when he puts it on, "life jackets so we can be safe!"












Conner has said some pretty funny things lately. He has recently discovered his love for the movie Finding Nemo. At the very beginning of the movie it shows the plant that Nemo and his father live in. Conner always says "look mama french fries! French fries in the ocean!" haha...it is too funny!












Joshie wasn't sure about the slide at all.








































Here is the kids part. However, the water splashes off the stairs and things it is right at the height were it hits the kids eyes so they don't like playing on it yet.








Both boys crashed afterward, that's the best part!








The boys really can read for hours! They love reading their books. Their favorite is a book called This Truck. Conner has it memorized! He sounds so smart when he reads it! Conner is also going through a phase right now where he will repeat everything he says over and over and over again until you repeat him back. Ex. "mommy, i want chocolate milk, mommy i want chocolate milk, mommy i want chocolate milk." "ok Conner I will get it for you." "mommy I want chocolate milk (over and over untill..)" "Conner you want chocolate milk?" "yes thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks" "your welcome Conner" For everything he says you have to repeat it or he will keep saying it! At least he is talking though!

Is it possible?

Kyle and I were trying to decide the other day if it is possible for two right handed people to have a left handed child. Josh is 17 months old and does everything with his left hand. He only throws balls, colors, etc with his left hand. We have tried putting it in his right and he just switches it. Nobody that we can think of in our family is left handed but Kyle thought it was hereditary. I thought maybe it's like red headed people. It is way more likely if a parent has red hair that the child will too, but once in a while a red headed child is born without either parent being red headed. Kyle's dad thinks we should really help Josh keep up throwing balls with his left hand so that he can be a MLB Pitcher and we can make lots of money off him.... but to get to the majors you have to go through little league, and man I get bored enough with baseball, let alone when the kids run the wrong way around the bases, no thanks! I guess we will just see if the left handedness sticks or if it is just a phase. Only time will tell I suppose.

Oh, and good news, Kyle had interviews with a high school in Plano and a middle school in Frisco! yeah Kyle!!!!

Books to Movies

Wow I haven't posted in forever and now 2 posts in one day! Kyle is working all day and the kids are really being great, so I'm taking the opportunity. For some reason this really bothers me and Kyle doesn't really understand.....

I just finished the book called Beastly. It was cute, very much Beauty and the Beast, only modern times. I learned it is going to be a movie and comes out July 30th. So I take the time to look up the trailer and I was really disappointed. The only character they seem to have right is the blind guy! And the story line is changed and I can just tell that from the trailer. I love love love to read. I read all the time! And maybe that's my problem because books are always so much better then the movie, however there are still some really good movies out there that originated with books. Here is my beef, if you are going to call it the same title the book has, then it better follow the book!!!!!!! If you are just going to loosely base the story on the book, ie. "A Walk to Remember" then call it something else and say it is based on a novel. I hate getting my hopes up and then the movie has only the title in common.... I understand to make it more "Hollywood" some things need to be changed. Like the fight seen in New Moon or in the 2nd Harry Potter, but basically the characters and story line are correct. Anyway, Kyle isn't much of a ready other then church books, and seeing as how Jesus the Christ isn't coming to the big screen anytime soon, he can't really empathize. So sorry it's me ranting a bit on a pet peeve.

I'm sure the movie Beastly will be fine, but don't read the book and expect it to be the same...

Baby Cakes

My little baby cakes is now bigger than an avocado!! We find out on June 3rd if it is going to be a boy or girl. I seem to be the only one in the family that thinks it's a girl... I'm trying to prepare myself though for the sonogram so I don't start crying if they say they see the "turtle." Just a few more weeks. This baby is super active! As soon as I lay down I can feel it moving all around. Last night I pushed down on my belly to see if you could feel it and she was rolling and pushing back. So I put Kyle hand where mine had been and he was like what is that? I was like it's the baby. He said but it's not kicking or anything. I was like, I know she is just rolling around. He thought it was pretty cool and I did too that he could feel her already (yes I always say she/her till we find out otherwise). So, everything with the pregnancy is going great. I usually feel pretty good. I am more moody of course, but I really strive to be patient. I have days where I am like, man what is wrong with everybody! But then I realize it's probably just me not them and I try to just relax a little and go to my room. But other then that, it's going well.

The only thing we have done to prepare for this baby is buy a van...yes, a van. It's an Honda Odyssey, and we actually really like it. I will have to post pictures however the internet upstairs is out so I have to use a computer but it doesn't have any of our pictures on it. So, maybe later.

Kyle had a great interview in Grande Prairie (Fort Worth area) the other day. The school was great! We should be hearing soon if he is offered the job. I think the hard thing now is going to be knowing which job to take. We would love one in Plano/Friso area, but it's hard to know if we will even be offered one here... however, I know the Lord will help us. We have really been praying to know what we should do and I know He won't let us make a wrong choice for our family.

Lately I have had my testimony strengthed on family. I love love love being a mother and having my beautiful little children to be with. They make me happier then anything. When Kyle and I first got married he was planning on going to Law School. We were talking and I told him I didn't care what he did or how much money we had as long as when he came home he was really home and we could be a family. We have a lot of people in our lives who are lawyers (family/friends) and they all love what they do, however we have known for a while this is not what we are going to do in our family. Kyle loves to teach! For some reason he loves it and we may not live in Plano (we don't want to anyway) but we will be provided for and have a wonderful husband/daddy as part of our lives. I love being able to be home with our kids! Anyway, I didn't mean to go off on a soap box there, i was just thinking about it. Well, when I get my computer back I have some cute picks of the kids swimming so I will post them later. But knowing how often I blog the next time will probably be when we find out if the baby is Sarah Jr. or Kyle Jr.......