So I haven't posted much lately. I feel okay about that though seeing as most of my friends' blogs are just about as outdated as mine. :) All the pictures are pretty recent of us from this summer. We'll be doing new family pics in the next month or so, but the kids have changed so much I thought I'd at least get those more current. I'm not going to get into all the nitty gritty of the challenges and changes we've been thru in the last year, but I'll cover some of the basics...
Our family temporarily moved out to Scottsdale in January and have been thru some major adjustments in that. We are doing well through it all, and are doing our best to find the joy in our journey. It's hard to leave behind the last 8 years of our life in Gilbert, but it was the right thing for us for now. When the opportunity presents itself, we hope to be back out in the east valley. Hopefully it will be sooner than later... Time will tell.
Adam is still with Scottsdale fire and is stationed 4 miles from where we live. So convenient for us. It's fun to just pop in and say hi. :) He had the opportunity to go to Switzerland back in May and compete in the international firefighter fest. Had a blast! They placed 17 out 50 teams. They were one of only 2 teams from the US. The other was from New York. Pretty great experience. I'll be scrapping it soon. Just gotta find the time. He made the promotion list for engineer (#2 on the list!), so we are looking forward to that coming about. It would be a great thing for us right now. :) He is still doing his adventure races when time permits, and hikes locally as often as possible. He works for Butterbraid when they need him and does other odd jobs in his spare time.
I graduated top of my class in massage school in January and work for a chiropractor out here 4 days a week. I love helping people feel better. It's been an adjustment having both of us work, but it's been good for us to help share the load. I also do mobile massage (where I bring my table to you) and I officially opened my own office this past week at 33rd and Shea. I do massage and have begun doing eyelash extensions as well. It's really been fun. I do massage when Adam can watch coop and schedule my lash clients by appointment. I will be starting a new blog for massage and lashes soon. They are in the works, just not ready yet. :) Another big thing for me... I took control of my life a few months ago and finally got my weight back down. Mostly through a very strict diet and changes in the way I eat and look at food. I have lost over 30 pounds! YAY ME!! I feel so much better. I'm not quite to my goal just yet. I have another 15 or so to go. I took the summer to enjoy my family and not have the food challenges with the kids home all day... I still craft when I can. I have a couple girlfriends that I get together with to do projects with. Pinterest is pretty awesome. I really should stop browsing and start pining when I find stuff. :) I'm still a consultant with Close to my Heart for now. I love it but just don't have a lot of time to devote to it. I can place an order for you though if you want something. ;)
Shelby finished 8th grade at Desert Shadows Middle School. She has struggled the most out of all the kids through all this, but is doing her best to be strong and support our family through everything. She is such a great kid. She started high school this fall at my high school. So weird being back there. It's crazy how little things change. She is doing well there so far. She's in choir, and taking all her core classes. She opted not to stay in the honors program when we moved. She is still horse crazy and rides whenever we can make it happen. she has gotten together with a few of her Gilbert friends over the summer, and even went on the youth lake trip with the old ward. She will be starting voice and piano in the next few weeks. (I love having a skill to trade!!)
Jenna is now in the 6th grade and looking to run for class secretary in a few weeks. She just loves to be involved. She made all honors this year and ended up skipping 6th grade math all together. It has stressed her out a little, but I have been working with her and she is getting all the new concepts pretty quick. She makes friends so easily she hasn't missed a beat. She probably misses her Gilbert friends the most, but she stays in touch with skype and phone calls and emails. We schedule playdates when we can. She has also gotten really close with her cousin out here which has been really good for both of them. They are so different but have found that they have a lot in common that they never new before. She is singing in the school choir and will also start voice and piano soon.
Reese is in 2nd grade and LOVES school! she can't get enough. She takes after Jenna that way. :) She has made several friends out here that she loves to play with. at least a couple days a week they play together. So fun for her. she lost another tooth and looks so cute when she smiles with her big gap. It won't be long before she loses a few more. She has a few more loose. She also thought it would cool to have her bangs do the same thing her big sisters does (that swoop to the side that Shelby does) and cut about a third of her bangs to roughly an inch and half long. On the first day of school. the WEEK before school yearbook pictures. Ah, the memories. :) I'm very proud of myself for not getting mad. Just told her that we'd just have to wait for it to grow out... So far the creative hair styling has been fun. :) She is in the school science club and taking Let's play music for her 3rd year. (she had to quit half way through when we moved and there wasn't a class for her to move to out here til this fall). She loves it. She amazes me how well she is plying. Shelby helped her learn to play an adele song and we hear it ALL THE TIME! She sings and plays. I have it on video... I should upload it. Pretty cute. :)
Cooper is just awesome. He's in preschool and wants to know why he doesn't get to go every day. He is so ready for kindergarten, but we decided to wait. He is so stinkin smart, but I am just not ready to let him go yet. He has spent a lot of time with his cousin Lilly, and they just love playing together. He also has a nwe little friend from church and preschool that he plays with on Tuesdays while I'm at work. They get along so well. It's been fun for him. He'd play with him every day if I let him. :) He still loves to play cars and dress up as super heroes, but has found out how much fun can be had with legos. We find them EVERYWHERE! He builds space ships and cars and towers and all kinds of fun stuff. Of course the best things he build while in costume as Super Cooper. :) He is so fun!! He is my snuggle bug. He is taking his first year of lets play music. He loves it. I'm excited to watch him grow.
Well that wasn't short, but it's the short version of the year to date. As I have time (yeah, right) I will post more and add some pictures from our family day hikes and other activities we've been up to. All in all, even though it's been tough, we have had a good year. We'll keep working towards our goals and do the best we can with the circumstances we are in and just enjoy our time together. It's brought us closer as a family to go through our challenges together. I know I didn't get into them specifically, but they aren't something I feel like publishing for everyone to see. I'll share them one day, but right now some are still too tender for me. They always say that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I know it well. We are living it right now. Some days are easy and some are not. :) Some of you know most of the story, some know only bits and pieces. And some only now what you can pull out of this post. Just know that we are putting our trust in the Lord's hands and doing our best to let go of the hard things, embrace the lessons learned, and move forward. Heavenly Father knows what we need so we are just trusting in that as much as we can. Some parts are easier than others. He will guide us to where we need to be when we need to be there and under the circumstances that will be most beneficial to our family.
If you are still reading... Thanks for reading. Until next time... hopefully this will hold you over. :) If not you can always call me and catch up!! :)
2 years ago
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