Happy Endings

November was a blur this year. It was a great month and an extremely challenging one at the same time. Dave being gone for an extended period of time brings its own set of challenges. On top of that it seemed like everything that could of gone wrong did. Our sump pump went out and our basement was on the verge of flooding for almost 2 days. It took our management company way to long to send someone! It was my turn to teach preschool so I had extra little girls running around. Our friends the Rubalcava's saved the day and Drew came over and helped clean out the pump and fix what he could on it. Someone scratched the side of the van when I was in grabbing a pizza and it made me cry. It's silly, but I don't know why people are careless. My neighbor was in a pinch and needed her boys picked up from school that afternoon. I had also signed up to bring a family dinner in my neighborhood who had just had a baby. I truly thought my head was going to explode. I ran the dinner over to my friend and it was missing like half the sides and I gave them a half used thing of cool whip to go with the dessert. I had planned on giving them a Book of Mormon with my testimony in it. Satan works hard to stop me from fulling promptings and feelings that I get. Literally I had the longest day and all was going wrong. I handed my friend the book and told her briefly what it was about. I told her that the meal that I gave them wasn't a good representation of who I was, but that this book was. In that moment I forgot everything that had happened and I felt the love of the Holy Ghost and my Savior. It felt very natural to give her the book and I was really proud of myself. I don't share the gospel often or really interact with people that need it. It was an experience that I wanted to write for my posterity and for my children to remember. No matter what the world throws at you or how hard you think things are there is always a higher light. I came home that evening and cried in my pillow hard, like wailing hard. I've felt so overwhelmed since moving here and I can't seem to shake it. I taught Relief Society that Sunday and I was an emotional wreck. It was on missionary work which is what initially prompted me giving away a book of mormon. I had prepared a nice lesson and half way through I stopped looking at my notes and just bore my testimony of my experience of sharing the gospel. At the end I challenged everyone this holiday season to give away a book or mormon or invite a friend to our RS activity or the ward party. This past Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and two ladies got up and shared their experiences of giving away a book of mormon from my challenge. It made me smile and feel good about my efforts. I actually ended up getting released from teaching right after I gave that lesson. It made me feel weird that I only had the calling for a few months, but with the RS activities every other month it was a lot. Dave's schedule has been busy and it seems like he is gone a lot lately. I haven't been able to handle the girls with him gone as well as I would like. I find myself really emotionally tired by dinner time almost every day. I miss my friends from Buffalo. Its a broken record, but I do. My mom has filled a huge gap from not having a close friend here. I miss trading babysitting with Kait and Juana and actually enjoying having their kids around. Dave and I have been talking about our future family plans and the thought of adding anything to my life seems impossible. With the start of a new year I need to prioritize what's important and decide what needs to go. I know that my family needs to be my first priority and that spending time with the girls should make me happy. My schedule since breaking my foot has been totally up in the air. I blame a lot on my foot and I need to stop! I'm hoping for a fresh start with January and a positive boost in my attitude!

Another Year Is Gone

Another birthday has come and gone and I still seem to LOVE birthdays! Unfortunately Dave was gone for three weeks and missed my birthday. It seems to happen more years than it doesn't! He didn't let the chance go by to take me out to celebrate. He arranged for my mom to come babysit and took me to the Melting Pot! It's my absolute favorite place to go. It meant a lot since Dave doesn't really like that place or the price... we managed to get a sweet military discount. I went out to some amazing Thai food downtown to celebrate with some girl friends. We stayed until the restaurant closed and it was nice to have a night out. My parents always pull together a wonderful birthday celebration. My mom and I took the girls to the Newport Aquarium and it was amazing! We spent the whole afternoon there and Addison and Avery loved it. My dad made me a huge batch of my favorite breakfast.We went out to dinner at Carraba's and the girl's helped my mom make a yummy carrot cake. I was then ultimately spoiled and got to fly to Dallas on my birthday to see Katie for a few days. It was just what I needed and I forgot what it was like to enjoy some time alone and out on the town. We went to the movies, got out nails done, went to a fancy birthday dinner (I got a big steak!), we cooked, napped and shopped. It was perfect and I loved seeing where Katie lives. My parents kept the girls happy, healthy and fed while I was gone. I got home on a Saturday and Dave somehow talked me into jumping on a plane that Monday to see him. His schedule was slowing down and he had a couple days off. We stayed in a nice hotel in downtown Baltimore and enjoyed eating at new places. It was freezing there and we had to walk a lot! It felt like a second honeymoon and I'm so glad I went. More importantly I'm grateful that my parents were willing to take the girls again. When I got back I almost felt like I didn't know how to take care of my own kids!

Personalities

These two ladies in our lives have such personality. Addison is at such a fun age...most of the time:) She loves to comb her ponies hair and take care of her babies. She even asked if Grammie could watch her babies for her when we go down there. It made me smile and it reminded me of myself. Addison fills her shopping cart packed with as many things as she can and then carts it around all day. Avery usually gets in there and toddles behind it as well. Addison is learning to share and help "watch" Avery for me. When I shower Addison plays legos or reads books to keep Avery from drinking and playing in the toilet water. Every day Addison requests an Elsa braid for her hair. She loves to put it over her shoulder and sing all the songs. We were lucky enough to sneak in a nice day at the park last week while visiting my parents. Addison has gotten so strong and can hold herself on the monkey bars. We're working on pumping her legs to swing. Addison pretty much lives off of bread and cheese. I don't know how she has so much energy when she eats like a bird! Addison has a heart of gold and loves when her daddy is home to make his pancakes for her:) 

Avery has taken off WALKING! It started about a week ago and she is pretty much walking all the time now. I love watching the beginning phases of when they realize they can go faster by walking. She has a lot more bruises on her forehead, but she is loving the new freedom. Along with walking she is also climbing up the stairs. It's really helpful to not have to carry her up every time now. I don't worry about tripping as much now not carrying her. Avery has developed a short temper at meal times! The girl wants her food and she wants it fast. She will literally shove the entire plate in her mouth in one giant fistful. We like to call her hippo teeth because her top teeth are so far apart. Its really cute and funny when she does a big cheese grin. Avery is starting to carry purses over one shoulder. She packs small things in it and drags it around the house. Changing her diaper is a NIGHTMARE. She still screams, twists and turns until I basically have the diaper on crooked. Every morning when I open the blinds Avery takes her pointer finger and goes "OOOHHH" and looks for the horses. She loves to stand at the back door and watch them. Her favorite thing to do is to throw her food over the edge of her highchair and say, "Uh, OH". Its more of a really long "Uhhhh". It drives me nuts and she is fast at it! Her hair is starting to come in more in the back, not fast enough on top to do a little pinny tail. Avery loves to stick her finger in Addison's belly button in the bath tub. It makes Addison laugh so hard I love it. Avery will take a wash cloth and try and scrub Addison and it tickles her. They are starting to play together and I love it! These two girls are my pals and I love watching them develop differently and learn and grown together!

Smash the Cake

Avery had the privileged of getting her own Smash the Cake photo shoot a couple of weeks ago! I love how they turned out. Poor Saundra who took them had to work around Avery's cranky mood. She wasn't so sure about all the balloons and frosting everywhere. She cried the last half of the session, but she was about to capture some really nice ones. Avery's brown eyes make me melt! We love our little brown eyed baby! 

Halloween Festivities

I love fall and everything that goes along with it. We have been spending our weekends enjoying the last bit of nice weather and getting into the spirit of Halloween. We went to Shaw Farm to pick out our family pumpkin and my mom was able to go with us. I've been going to this farm for years! I loved taking Dave and the girls there. We went on a hayride and enjoyed running around the farm. For playgroup I set up a private hayride to a pumpkin patch. It was the bumpiest hayride I've ever been on! Addison won't let go of my leg and Avery held on for dear life. The hayride ended with a giant pumpkin cookie that Avery was on cloud nine with. We went to a Halloween fun night at Kroger this week that was fantastic. They had a bunch of different stations and activities at one. Last night was our ward's trunk or treat night. Dave had to work at the last minute, but the girls and I had a good time. Avery ate more food than all of us combined. I'm not sure where she puts it all! Addison was dressed up as a flight attendant and Avery was a cute little pumpkin princess. We can't wait to go trick or treating this weekend! Addison is working really hard on saying, "Trick or Treat and Thank you!" My parents came up for dinner tonight and we carved pumpkins. It was a lot of fun and Addison requested a princess tower. Daddy did a great job!

For playgroup another mom and I put together a fun Halloween party for the kids. I read a scary story and sang some songs. We made spider peanut butter and jellies and had candy corn fruit cups. Addison chose to wear a tiger tail and ears this time. Addison and Avery got a very fun Halloween package in the mail from Grandma Michael. They loved the light up star wands and of course the cotton candy. The actual day of Halloween we met some friends for lunch at chick fila and then went over to a friends for dinner and trick or treating. It was freezing and raining on and off all night. We went out for about 30 minutes and came home frozen. Avery stayed back and played with the other little kids her age:) Addison has decided that whoopers are her favorite candy these days. We had a great month of October and getting into the holiday spirit!