Why we came back home

Well, I don't have internet on my laptop yet, so this will be short and simple. Hard to write a post on phone. 

Last year in September, we sold our home in Las Vegas and moved. Just felt the need to. Can't explain why. We had a wonderful 10 months in Vancouver, Washington. 

We learned and experienced a lot. It's another planet up there! A different kind of beautiful. As some of you good friends saw from my Instagrams, we explored a ton. A great way to live. 

We lived in one of the best LDS wards ever. A gift that I will explain in more details on a future blog post. 

I was blessed to serve the young women at church, and loved them all, especially my 5 dear Miamaids. Another whole post coming up on that:) 

We struggled and grew from it. Cost of living is a bit higher in WA. We wanted to afford our bills again, and survive financially while going through Nursing school. One reason to move home. 

While the summers there are beautiful, they're actually not hot and long enough for us. We learned that we actually do prefer the desert summers, imagine that? 

The trees were hundreds of feet tall and beautiful, but blocked out any horizon views. Coming home last week and seeing a sunset was a gift. 

The day we arrived home was a day of many emotions. We'd been waiting since January to come home, but in the meantime we lived it up in WA. It took three months of online job hunting for Vegas jobs. No interviews. Test of faith. Finally, a phone interview came which turned into a job, our ticket home. I have learned again that Heavenly Father knows best. He saved the perfect CNA job for Shaun, and we had to learn patience while we applied to dozens of jobs. He knows our needs and wants to bless us. I have seen his blessings in our lives since we left last year, and before. 

It's bittersweet. While it has been wonderful to come home and hug old friends, I left amazing new friends in WA. A piece of my heart is left there. There are good people everywhere, and it was lucky to meet some of them, and experience a much different way of life. Beauty abounds. I used to despise the desert, no joke. Now, it couldn't be more beautiful to me. Isn't that funny? I see things now like the sky, clouds, sunset and huge, vast horizon that I didn't see before. Funny how life does that to you:)

Since 1991, this is the fourth time I have moved to Las Vegas. I just think that's hilarious. You have to live here to know why it's great. It's so fun to live here. 

More blog posts to come, but that's it for now. That was a lot of finger tapping to get this out:) 

Dear Salmon Creek friends; thankyou for blessing me life, and sharing your kindness with me. I feel like Audrey Hepburn on 'Roman Holiday' when she said at the end, 'I will cherish my time in Rome for as long as I live.' My thoughts exactly about Vancouver:)

The Pen and Scripture Journals

Ever since I read an article about reading with a pen, underlining things that stuck out to you, make notes, etc, reading has been most enjoyable! 

Birthday boy

He just won't stop growing. He's getting so big, and he's 7! Wow. He really wanted a red robe, and loved it. The things that bring happiness to kids:)

We celebrated Birthday Week, just doing simple fun things each day. A dinner trip to Big Als, where he played some games and won a lot of tickets from prizes. He picked out a junky but fun cereal that was gone in two days. No chores on his birthday, and he woke up to balloons all over the floor of his room. He had a great week! 

Things I want to remember:

Ethan loves to tuck in his shirt each day. He'll sometimes wear a belt with his pants, and tuck that shirt in. It's so cute.

He loves wearing his watch and learning to tell the time. He wears it every day. 

He still loves to be loud and boisterous, running all over the place. 

He loves riding his bike.

He still sleeps with about 15 stuffed animals, and arranges them neatly in a row each night. So dang cute! 

He still lets me grab him at random times and pull him onto my lap to hug him. I love that.

He's just one stinking, great kid! 

Tonight, I helped the boys into bed, and read to them from "The Mouse and the Motercycle" book. Kevin quietly zonked out. Ethan was awake when I was done, and I could tuck him in and give him more love. I checked on them later, like I always do. I love taking a moment to just adore them when they are sleeping. Just to remember that everything will be ok. They are precious, and they love to be kids and be crazy sometimes. 

I love this thought.

"You will never be this loved again. So on those days when you are feeling stressed out, touched out and depleted, just remember that you will never be this loved again. One day you will long for their affection. So choose a soft voice, choose gentle hands, choose love." AK from Power of Moms

I love the last line, 'choose a soft voice, gentle hands, choose love'. As a mom of young kids, I sure need this reminder often. Thoughts like these help me believe in myself and try again to learn this mothering stuff. Love these guys. Glad they are still little. It's going by too fast, but love the chapter we are in.

Nature Beauty and Silly Kids

The day just called us to be outside, and explore more of Washington. I am forever discovering the nature up here, and the closeness of it. Just drive about 5 minutes, and your in immense nature. This wonderful park nearyby has a lovely river flowing gently through it. It needed to be explored and cherished:) I kept gazing at the scenery, and going 'Wow, so beautiful', listening to the sounds of the water and the tree leaves moving in the wind. I kept an eye on Brooke often, as she just loves to go out in the water. The boys played with our empty snack containers, filling them with water and pouring them out to create waterfalls. We vowed to come back with buckets and shovels.

Ethan's face cracks me up. The water was not exactly a comfortable pool temperature. More on the frigid icy side. 

As we made our way to the car, the boys discovered a huge dirt pile. Tremendous joy comes from things like this. They love dirt. Reminded me of when I ordered some garden soil in Vegas, and it was dumped outisde our home. This was much bigger for them:)

It was just a good day. 

Some good memories I don't want to forget from this weekend:

I took the family to a church potluck while Shaun was working. 50% of the day was challenging with the usual parenting crap. At the dinner, I talked with a kind, older woman and asked her 'Did you have young boys? Any of them strong willed? How did you get them to listen? Sorry for being so open and poopy.' She was so kind and talked with me, sharing thoughts about her boys. Gave me the encouragement and hope I needed. 

At the dinner, the kids had a blast eating food and playing with friends. Among the food there, someone brought grilled chicken kabobs. Seriously was a tender mercy for me. Heavenly. 

I watched my boys through out the cultural hall. Ethan was enjoying the company of two girls his age, chasing them and making them laugh, and sitting in between them on the stage. So cute.

Kevin, oh Kevin:) Half of the hall was filled with kids ranging from 2-18, playing with a flood of big, bouncy balls. Balls, that's all kids need to entertain themselves. Some were playing keep away, while the older ones bounced some into the basket ball hoop.

 Then, there was Kevin, who decided to clamp onto a leg of one of the older boys, and not let go. He wrapped his legs and arms around them, laughing hysterically, and proclaiming that he was a Trex. The older boys would slowly walk around, dragging him on their legs, and it was so funny. How sweet that the boys never grew tired of him, but were kind and just played along. When Kevin would let go of one boy's leg, he instantly clamped on to another victim, and crack up. A mother of the older boys and I watched and died laughing at this scene. I wish I had a picture of it, but I decided to not run for the phone, but just enjoy the moment while it was happening. 

Brooke was happy eating food and chasing after balls. 

My kids are ok. They are funny, happy little people. They struggle, and I struggle. Sometimes I want to cry and just give up. Then, I come to myself and try to learn how I can understand them better, and what I can learn through this. It's so hard, but there's help all around. Just have to stay active, and count the blessings, in every possible way.