My Latest Update

Hello All,
As most of you know, we went to Texas this last weekend to attend the temple to watch Mike's brother Chris and his family be sealed for time and all eternity. What a huge blessing that was for us! I had the honor and privilege of being Penny's escort as she made her way through the temple for the first time. It's nice to do that because it gives me a fresh perspective on the blessings I get from attending the temple. I hope that Mike and I can have a new desire to start going more often.

On a more bittersweet (but exciting) note, Mike also had the interview with Holt Cat in Irving. It's looking more and more like Heavenly Father wants us in Texas. I will miss Utah and the people I have met and love so much here, but I am looking forward to opening a new and exciting chapter in my life. The interview went better than Mike or I could have ever hoped for. Not only did they tell Mike they want him so badly that they will create a position for him, they also said that they will continue to pay him what he makes here with room to grow and all the overtime he wants. We are so excited to get going. In some ways, I want to leave right now! But, we are still waiting on our home situation to be figured out. If we can get that taken care of, then there is nothing stopping us except the sheer amount of packing. The garage alone could take upwards of a month!

I had the chance to look at some houses while we were there and I toured the elementary school the kids will go to. It is wonderful! I am so much more excited for them to go there than I am for them to be at Fox Hills. We attended our potential ward and everyone was very friendly and inviting. That's one of the things I love about our church. It doesn't vary no matter where you are in the world. I really need a fresh start like this. I also saw my campus that I will be attending and I found out that in Arlington, they have all-day kindergarten!! I can't wait! Not that I don't love Claire, but it just means that I can be that much closer to attending school full-time or even working during the day doing accounting. So, the countdown has begun. We will see what Heavenly Father has in store for us. I can't wait!

My Toasty Home

Right now I am sitting on my trusty leather couch, listening to a fire crackle in the fireplace. My kids have just gotten done playing in the snow and the girls are now lying on the floor with their feet held up in front of the fire. I just got done cleaning the kitchen and the dishwasher is running in the background. Dallin is sitting at the table doing homework and the window is bright from the sun reflecting on the snow outside. Mike is out with some buddies working in the garage and the dumb dog is laying at my feet, asleep. We had some Christmas music playing before Audrey started practicing her cello. Now it's back on and we are enjoying our morning. I hope everyone else is having a nice one too! Love to all!

My Quandary

As you all know, I have gone through about a zillion dogs since we have lived here in SLC. I have never been able to find the perfect one. Cannon was a puppy, so he chewed on everything and was just too much work. Plus, I was pregnant with Claire at the time, so I just didn't have the patience! Then, there was Turbo. Turbo. What can you say about that dog? He was cute, but he consistently took food from the kids hands, knocked over the garbage can, constantly pooped in the house...I was done. Then, there was Rowdy. Rowdy was the best dog ever. I couldn't ask for a better dog. But, Mike didn't like him. Apparently, his blonde dog hair was too much for Mike to deal with. Man, I wish I would have just told Mike to shove it on that one, but I didn't. So, we gave him to a friend in the ward. Now we are onto Bronx. Bronx seemed like the perfect dog. But, from the beginning he peed every once in a while in the house. I thought it was because he wasn't neutered, so I got him neutered. Yeah, that didn't help. Then, I thought maybe a dog door would help. At first, it seemed to, but for some reason he is scared of Mike (which might be part of the problem) or he doesn't like the cold weather (which I doubt is the problem). But, today alone I have found poop and pee in my birthday room, pee in Dallin's room, and poop in Emma's room. I have tried and tried to get the kids to close their bedroom doors, but alas, no luck. So, I have reached the end of my rope. For some reason, I am having trouble allowing this dog to leave even though I don't exactly like him. Maybe it's something about his buggy eyes, or the way he snores when he sleeps. But, I have posted him on KSL and I am hoping that he will go to a family who will love him. I can't count how many times I have had to clean up dog pee while we have lived in this house. But, I have decided that this is it. We are not getting another dog again. Maybe a goldfish would be better suited for our family. In the meantime, I have some rooms to clean. Does anyone have a pooper scooper I can borrow?