Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister-in-law's home (Jenny). She and my mother-in-law made an amazing meal! While the food was cooking I got to relax and watch Home Alone. Good times! Porter enjoyed playing with Gran's phone. He was looking at pictures of Annie dog and making a few phone calls.

(Feeding Brinnley olives.)

After our feast the kids played in the snow in Jen's backyard. Ainsley was tempting fate with this one.
Porter LOVES the snow. The first time we put his snowpants on he screamed and wanted them off. I kept getting him dressed because I knew once he figured out what they were for he would want them on. I was right. His favorite thing to do is throw the snow.

In the late afternoon we came home to put up our Christmas tree and decorations. We had the Christmas music on and everyone was laughing and helping. It was a perfect Kodak moment, but everyone was so busy enjoying it we forgot to photograph it. Oh well. Next year...
The day after Thanksgiving Chant and I did Black Friday shopping. We weren't too crazy, Chant did go to the midnight sales at Wal-Mart and victoriously made it out of the store with two items. The next store didn't open till 6:00, so I got to sleep in :)

That afternoon we rode the Trax into Temple Square for the Lighting Ceremony. Oh man it was so cold! I had on my tiny little Rocket Dog sneakers and my toes were ice cubes. (I have since purchased a pair of boots that are already being broken in.) Porter was wrapped up in a blanket, hat, and mittens in his stroller. When I would ask how he was he would say, "I cold." While we waited we snuck into every building for warmth. These pictures were taken on one of our pit-stops inside.

Brinnley was so excited about riding in the train. Her first time on a train and she thought it was the coolest thing!
We had another snowstorm Sunday. This time it buried Brinnley. Well, Daddy may have helped a little bit.
We survived the freezing cold weather and kept warm with homemade chicken noodle soup. So good!

We even had a little pre-dinner entertainment. Our next door neighbor was shoveling his sidewalk and he would through the snow over the fence into our yard. Porter would gasp and then laugh every time the snow came flying over. It was the cutest thing to see him gut-laugh each time.

We had a wonderful holiday and we have so much to be thankful for. The top of the list is a healthy family, a wonderful home, safety during travels, and wonderful friends and family who love us and support us. And of course we are grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers and provides for our needs and a Savior who loves us enough to die for us. Yes, we are blessed!

Week one in our new home

When we pulled up to our house, we had an hour before we were met with a moving crew from the Elders Quorum. They had our stuff in the house within 50 minutes. And then our house looked just like it did before... boxes everywhere.
A few days later we had a beautiful snowstorm and woke up to 9 inches of snow. The kids have had so much fun! We had to buy all new gear for everyone because we didn't have a thing, hence the cowboy boots.


Chant's mom came two days after we got to our new home and she left this morning. She was such a huge help! And Chant's sister Jen lives about 40 minutes away from us. She came every day after work to watch the kids or help with whatever. We couldn't have done it without these two! Seriously, livesavers!

The Move

November 8

November 10

November 13 (Second to last night in our home, in their sleeping bag beds)

We sold our home Nov 5 and moved out Nov 15. Packing is a blur. Packing, cleaning, and painting consumed our last two weeks in Missouri. But somehow we survived! And got everything done. And got all our stuff on the truck. For the most part anyway :)

Home Snowy Home

We arrived at our new home last Tuesday about 5:00 p.m. At 6:00 members of the Elders Quorum were here to help us unpack, and 50 minutes later everything was out of the truck. Since then things have been a blur of unpacking and getting settled in. We still have the living room to unpack and then starts the decorating. But we are loving our new home. It has three bedrooms and a loft upstairs and the living room, kitchen, and dining area downstairs. My favorite room is the loft. We have designated it the toy room. In the 4 days that the toys have unpacked, the kids have played more than they have in a long time. We decided to put a toybox of boy toys in Porter's room. I have already heard mooing and roaring come from his room. When I peak around the corner he is laying on his belly playing with all his farm animals and dinosaurs. So cute! And Ainsley girl has discovered my old dolls and doll clothes. She has spent hours changing their clothes and taking them on tours of the house. I love it! Brinnley started school Thursday. She was nervous, but still so brave. She went right in the classroom, saw a hook and took her coat off and hung it up. The teacher was surprised by how comfortable she seemed. She is nervous about making new friends, but I know she will be great at it. There is another Brynlee in her class and so her teacher was trying to decide how to distinguish them. When school was over Brinnley went up to her and told the teacher she could call her Brinn because that's her nickname. Perfect.

Then last night we had a surprise. We woke up this morning to 9 inches of snow in our yard. The kids are so excited! And I have to say that it is beautiful, but then I haven't driven in it yet. Our home has the most beautiful view. We can see a mountain range out both the front and back of our home and the back is a completely unblocked view. Love it! The first morning we were here the girls were up bright and early as usual. I could hear them talking so I went to their room to say good morning. They were kneeling on their bed looking out the window. Brinnley said the mountain was glowing and it looked like Christmas lights. It did with the little dots of lights on the side of the mountains.

It still doesn't seem real that we are here, but I know once my things are on the walls then it will feel more like home. The camera cord is in a box somewhere, so pictures will come later. I am just grateful we made it safely and have a warm, comfortable place to live.

My Bags Are Packed...

Life has been insane here! Tuesday, November 2nd Chant was home all day, no clinic no nothing. First thing in the morning he said to me he had a feeling that we needed to start packing our house up. We had our house on the market and a few people were showing interest, but no one had said they would take it. I looked at him like he was crazy but said okay. We spent the entire day packing. We had most of the kids' rooms and our room packed. Thursday evening a man and his wife came to look at it. They weren't here very long but I feel peaceful while we were talking to them. The next morning (Friday 5th) he called and asked if he could come over and talk about the sale of our home. We had a cashiers check in our hands by 10:30. Wow! They wanted it quick and so we said okay. We are moving on Monday the 15. We have had a week to pack, clean, and load our truck. (Thank you to all of you who have helped us accomplish everything! We couldn't have done it without you!) That's just our house here. We have had to find a place to move to, which finally happened Monday, and get everything set up there. It has been quite the ride!

I am now sitting on the floor in my empty office. The truck is loaded and we are camping out in our house till Monday. As I think about leaving and try to process all that has happened in such a short time, all I can think is how blessed we are. We have had the best four years here. I am so sad to say good-bye and I know that a piece of my heart will always belong to Missouri. But I am so grateful for the blessings we have been given. I feel like this is the right time and the right thing for us. I am nervous about starting over but I feel peace in my heart and I know this is the right thing. Heavenly Father really does know us and he loves us. He hears our prayers and I have felt his love these past few weeks as I have dealt with every emotion possible. There is still so much uncertainty in our future, but I know in my heart things will work out as they should. I'm holding on tight and waiting to see where this ride takes us!