Life has been busy. So busy in fact that I am still trying to get things organized in the new house. I feel frustrated that some days I don’t get much done besides keeping up with regular life!
We did most the moving on our own. Neal took the seat out of the suburban and was able to move most of the stuff with it. We did rent a U-Haul truck to get the big stuff. Neal invited some friends over to help and had a great turn out. The men were able to move the big things, including the piano, and did a great job with everything. I really appreciated their help. By Saturday April 17th we were all into the new house. It was a big job. In fact while I was packing I ran out of boxes and had to go over to the house and empty boxes and bring them back to fill again. Thankfully we were only moving about 1 1/2 miles, so it made it easier to make so many trips. The kids were a great help too, Andrew especially. He just kept working and asking what else he could do. It was a busy week. I also had to clean the rental house. I had some help from friends and I appreciated that. Now I am just trying to keep up with life and organize when I can. I still have lots in boxes and some rooms are a bit messy, but we will work through it all. I am thankful to be here. I remember when I first saw the ad for the house and looked at the pictures it just felt right. I immediately expressed interest and got an appointment to see the house. After seeing it I just felt right about it. Later when we did an inspection and we were at the house I walked in and felt like I was coming home. It just feels right to be here. It has been a stressful time going through the process of buying and moving but I believe it is where we need to be. It is still stressful as we are working on getting settled and getting our lives in order in a new place. I hope things can settle down soon.
We were getting ready to move things over to the new house and it started to snow. Later in the day it turned to a light rain. We still got a lot done that day.
I am thankful for my volunteering time in the school library. Every week I would go in to serve and just be thankful for that time that I could get away from the stress of the house things. The ladies that I work with are so kind and have become my friends this year. It was good to go see them every week and talk with them as we worked.
I am also thankful for the temple. I love going there and feeling like I can forget about the stress of life for a couple of hours. Ruth has also enjoyed going to the temple to do baptisms. She was able to go again last night and says it is so nice to be in a peaceful place. I am thankful for the temple.
This move included a ward change for us. That was a hard decision to make. We enjoyed being in our ward. We were released from serving in the Primary and our other callings. Ruth was able to lead the music in Sacrament meeting on our last week before she was released as one of the ward choristers. Last Sunday we attended our new ward for the first time. I already know many in the ward from the school, since our kids attend the elementary school that is in this ward boundaries. Ruth also know the girls from school too. So we felt comfortable there and will get to know others quickly. We have a few member families living on our street and they have been friendly and come to introduce themselves to us.
We had a beautiful rainbow one evening. This was taken from the balcony of our new house. I couldn't get the whole bow in one frame. It was a double rain bow and just beautiful.
I have enjoyed walking with the boys to the school every day. It is a little less than a half mile away and it has been wonderful to be close enough to walk. Ruth has a bit more distance, a little over a mile, but she walks home every day. I am thankful we are close to the school. The high school is also only a mile away. So no more school buses for us!
I have had a few friends bring us dinner on different nights the last couple of weeks. It was always so appreciated and it made me feel loved. I am so thankful for the church and the “family” it creates for me. One night we took the family out to eat at a steak house and we enjoyed that too.
One evening, while we were in the middle of the moving, we had the sister missionaries knock on our door. We invited them in and we visited with them. They were in the area knocking doors and noticed we were members and wanted to meet us. So we told them we were in the process of moving from the ward. They gave us a challenge to share the Book of Mormon with someone. I know I hear this from missionaries a lot but this time I took it more seriously. I took time to write a note in the front cover for our neighbors, Joy and Mario. Then one Sunday afternoon (the day after we moved) we went back over to the rental house and our neighbors were outside. We started talking to them and I gave them the Book of Mormon. Mario said he had read it before and had even talked to missionaries, he said some day he would tell us more about his experience. He graciously took the book and said he would like to read it again. They have been great neighbors and we hope to stay friends with them. I am glad that it was a positive experience to give them this precious book.
During the month of April I found out my dad’s older brother was sick with cancer and declining quickly. Then just a few days later I received the message that he had passed away. Rulen was a good man. I have memories from childhood of his kindness to me. I haven’t seen him for a long time, maybe over 10 years. I can’t remember for sure when the last time was. It made me think a lot though about life and how we progress through it. I am seeing my parents generation move on and how I am progressing and really think about how quickly it all really is. This life is a time of learning and we don’t stay here forever.
A few things about the children. One night Caleb had a bad dream and came to me and wanted to tell me about it. He started out with “mom, it was fiction.” That made me smile. Last Friday I went on a field trip with Caleb’s class. We went to the Wildlife West park. It is like a zoo for local wildlife. It was cool to see the animals and watch them. We enjoyed watching a porcupine eating a corn on the cob. Last Saturday Caleb went to a birthday party for a friend. He was so excited about this party. Caleb has made many good friends this year.
It was a cold day at the park. In fact it started to snow while we were eating our lunch!
Andrew has worked hard in school. He loves art and it shows. He was chosen to have his art work displayed at a school district art show. He was one of 16 from his school who had their art displayed. We went to the art show and he was pleased to see his art up. It is a collage made of papers that he cut out and glued together. He did a great job.
This week we will be going to a program to honor the students who had art work go to the state Reflections contest. He did a good job with that art work too. On the Saturday we moved the big stuff Andrew had a big hike with cub scouts. He enjoyed going out with his group and was full of energy to hike around the hills. They also did some geocaching while they were out. He loved it all. The hike helped him finish the requirements to receive his Webelos and Arrow of Light awards in cub scouts. Last week he was awarded his Webelos. They decided to wait to award the Arrow of Light until he was closer to his birthday and they could do a “crossing over” ceremony for him. Either way he has his awards and I am proud of him for his hard work in earning them.
This is taken in our back yard. I am enjoying all the roses. And I might just learn to love looking at this mountain as much as I love Timpanogos.
Spencer loves cub scouts too. He works hard in his school work too. He enjoyed an activity to eat ice cream for a reward for learning the multiplication facts. He likes reading comic books and loves that we are by the open space that he can go out and play in.
Ruth has enjoyed being with the youth for activities and church. She enjoyed going to a birthday party last week for a friend, Maddie. I am glad that she has friends. She is enjoying school and was excited to get her year book yesterday. Last week I also took her clothes shopping for her birthday. She wanted clothes for her birthday but with the move it took me a couple of weeks to have the time to take her. She wore one of her new outfits today and looked cute.
Well, this is getting very long. I am thankful we have the internet connected here, that was another stress getting that worked out. It is a blessing to be able to communicate with my family and friends. Our phone number has stayed the same. If you still need our new address let me know and I can share it with you.
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