Staring Out!!!

So the day after we got back from Wisconsin my Mom and Dad finished their long 3 day trip out here to see us. They towed out my car so that Jake and I wouldn't have to worry about driving 2 vehicles. It was so nice of them. I think it really helped Mirra adjust to being here. She was worried that she was never going to see her Grandma again and having her be here helped. While they were here Mom helped me unpack and arrange the house while Dad fixed things and made Mirra and Mason a rocking horse. I am so excited to have one. The kids like it a lot too but I think I am more excited. The only problem is no one would paint the face. I had to do it. I am not a painter it looks terrible if you look close but from a distance it's not too bad.

I am so grateful that they were able to come spend the time with us. It was probably really boring for them but we loved every minute of having them here. It was hard to see them go though. Mirra cried for over an hour in loud sobs that broke my heart. It was so sad. Heidi and Mathew gave them a book though that Grandma read and it recorded her voice reading the story. They love to listen to it. Mason will open it about a hundred times a day and say there's grandma Mommy. Poor baby I know he doesn't understand. He keeps asking to go play with Hazel and Joshy or Wesley and Kissa. When ever someone comes to the door, which is not that often, Mason says there's grandpa Mommy it's Grandpa. I know he will sometime get used to the idea but it might take a while.
I think that he is also wondering when I am heading back to work. He has been so clingy like he is holding on to every minute of me being here. He said to me today after Jacob went to work that Mommy go work too? I tried to explain to him that I don't have work any more. Someday he will understand it all right......
Jacob really likes his new job. He feels like he is understanding what they need him to do and he has really made some improvements this first week. He says that the biggest plus is that I am home waiting for him when he gets here. I think it is the fact that he doesn't have to do all of the cooking anymore but he will not admit to that.
I have had several people ask for pictures of the house so here they are. Don't judge the messes though k. I am very new to this stay at home thing and I am still trying to get moved in k.

Ok we are looking at the coldest room in the house. No matter what we have tried this room will not heat up warmer then 66 degrees though most of the time it hangs at about 43-44. It is so cold. It is the family room and behind the couch where the kids are sitting is the dinning room. About this house.. it is an old farm house that they have remodeled and built around. The older part of the house has barn wood on the walls and the rooms are dark. The remodeling made the house kind of a maze. I can never figure out where I am. It is weird.

So this is the same room just the other from the other side. I am now standing by the dining table. The door you see in the back leads to the sun room that is along the whole side of the house.

This is the view that anyone see's as they are passing our house.

and this is another view from that room. These are the main stairs. To the left of the stairs is the laundry room but I didn't take a picture of that. The coolest part is that there is a laundry shoot though from my bathroom so I just throw my cloths down the shoot and I don't have to carry them. The window you see is actually just an opening to the kitchen.

I have lots of complaints about this room. The oven is tiny, old, the tops heating element hardly works at all so we have to bake everything as high up as it will go and it doesn't stay closed. It barely fits the little cookie sheets in it. The open cupboard is a lazy susan that will not stay shut and we have not figured out the recycling system yet so all of my empty milk jugs are still sitting on the counter.

This is the front entry way. We never use it because we park right next to the sun room and just come in that way. You can see a little corner of the front door. To the left is another window that leads into the kitchen right behind the lazy susan that will not shut. the room behind Mirra is the library of the living room and to my right there is a bathroom.

The door at the back of the room leads down to the basement. It is kind of strange.

This is the Library. All the boxes are Jake's speakers and things like that so he will have to take care of them when he gets time. off to the left there is a door that leads upstairs. The steps are really steep so we don't really use them. There is also a little bed room.

We are using this as the guest bedroom and the closet for all my craft stuff....

Up at the top of the steep staircase is Mason and Mirra's room. This first one was going to beMirra's room but the whales scare her so this is now Mason's room. He loves the big fishy's on the wall. to the left of the picture there is a little bathroom inside the room with just a toilet and a sink.

This is the other side of Mason's room. While dad and mom where out here they helped us get a big bed for Mason. He is so proud of his big bed.

It's small but Mirra loves it. Mom helped me push nails in the cracks in the barn wood to decorate. The boarder is a sticker. It turned out really cute. Most ofof you know that I had just painted Mirra's room at the new Springville house and put up a boarder that I had saved for Mirra for a long time. I even made her blanket to match it. Mom and Dad went out in search of that boarder or something close to it but couldn't find anything. Mirra loves this one though. She says it is even better. And Heidi found me 3 rolls on Ebay of the other boarder so I will be able to redo Mirra's room when we get a place of our own.

So even though the master bed room is right next to Mirra's room you have to go down a little hall, turn, go up 2 stairs, go down a hallway, step down one stair and you get to our door. This is a view from right inside the door. The tub doesn't work yet. Well I guess it would if you wanted a cold bath. The land lord is coming to fix that sometime next week.

This is the other side of the room. the door is to our closet. It is really big. It is in a L shape and has a big built in dresser. You can see the tub in the picture but that if from the huge wall mirror. It is rather annoying and I will just leave it at that....... on the other side of the mirror is a little hallway that leads to the bedroom.

It is a big room but there is a big window right by the bed and no blinds. At least there are 5 acres behind us with nothing on them. the little windows look into the sun room. My favorite part of Michigan so far has been the last week at anytime you can look out the window and it is snowing. There is flurries in the sky almost always. we only have about 2 inches on the ground but there is always snow flying. It is really pretty.

This is the front of the house. Off to the left is a big red barn that is in the back. It is a different house but we have somewhere to live. While Mom was here she and Mirra put some apples outside to feed the chipmunks. We finally caught the animal that we were feeding though.

It's a possum. They are ugly little things. I thought that you found them down in louisiana Not here in Michigan and don't they hibernate? Obviously not though because here he is....

Christmas 2010

Christmas this year for me was a true vacation. Before we left Utah Mirra had one request from her Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen that we act out the Nativity. My family graciously came over to help out some even missed out on important things just to participate. I am so greatful for them and all of their help with the move. They are amazing. Mirra got to play the part of Mary. She took it very seriously. It was so cute. All of the kids were adorable.

Mason was the cow, though he didn't last very long. Josh was sheep that Ian the Shepherd ended up holding for him, Jordan was the other Shepherd, Isaac the camel, Porter the donkey, Collin played Joseph, Hazel the Angel, and Wesley, Owen and Ethan were the Wise men.

After we arrived to Michigan Jacob's Dad and his sister Aylayna made the 6 and a half hour drive out to help us unload the trailer and start getting this place organized. They were a ton of help. Jake and I are so lucky to have such great family on both side who do so much for us...
Anyway we started all of that on Monday the 20th and by Wednesday night we were on our way to Wisconsin. I love my in laws but I don't know how much it meant to me to stay with them this time. I had just left the place where I have lived all of my life and most of my family to come out here. It is so comforting to me to know that they are close and don't mind if I show up to visit. I just felt really at home there.
I got there and it was a rush to get things done. As of December 23rd at 9:00 PM I still had not wrapped one gift but with lots of help we got it all done.

The kids had a great Christmas and had so much fun with the kids. Mason got a long really well with JV and Gia. It was a great trip.

i love this family they are amazing.
We stayed there for a few days after Christmas and we were able to got to church with them. Most of the kids were sick that morning though so just a few of us went but Mason and Mirra got to try out their new church cloths.

It's a good thing my kids are sweet because they are very spoiled. Mirra did say while we were still at Grandma Enszer's that she loves all her gifts but she would give them all up if she could just see Grandma Nielsen. I knew that would be hard for her. She has had my mom there for all of her life. They have really developed a strong bond. Mirra misses her so much.

Here we are!!!!

Well tonight is our first night as a family living in Michigan. We left Springville on Friday at 12:30 and just got here tonight. It was a really good trip. We hit one snow storm but it was really not a storm at all. It was light flurries not really snow. Weahter wise we could not ask for a better trip.
I know I have said this before but I have the most amazing children in the world. They were so good the whole trip. 3 days in the car and it is me and Jake that are so ready to be done not the kids.
Anyway this is the beginning of the new life in a new state. What an adventure....

Moving To Michigan

So after 4 nights of sleeping in our new house Jacob called me and these were his exact words...

"How do you feel about moving?"

Laughing to myself I say "I am moving. I hate it."

Jake's reply "How about to Michigan?"

"Like the state? Are you being serious?"

The company of the company Jake works for had called him that morning and told him they are looking for an Engineering Manager to run the Engineering team in the Michigan plant. Instead of having a plant manager Jake and a guy named Ray will be co-managing the whole plant. Ray will be over the production and Jake over Engineering.

So with many prayers and lots of emotion from me Jake and I are packing up our little family and moving to Williamston Michigan which is somewhere between Detroit and Lansing. I think the weirdest part for me is that I am quitting my job. I only have 1 week left of employment then I officially get to be a stay at home mommy. I am so excited about that but very nervous too.

Jake is excited for the change. He feels like he has been given a huge responsibility that he is not sure he is ready for but he is ready to try. I know he will do a good job.

Mirra is handling it really well most of the time. I am not sure she really grasps the meaning of moving so far away yet. She gets excited but sometimes she starts crying out of the blue saying she is going to miss her Grandma Sandy so much. I know she will and Grandma will miss her so much too. They have been so close for all of Mirra's life. I know it will be hard on her but she will be ok.

Mason's Birthday # 2

Yesterday we celebrated Mason's 2nd birthday. He was very excited to have a lot of his cousin's over at Grandma's. I felt bad though because I made him wait a whole extra day because of Halloween. He was so ready to rip open the gifts to see what he got by the time I let him do it last night. Jake and I got him a Geotrax train set and Mirra gave him a Lightening McQueen car to go on it. Then Grandma got him an extension pack that is all cars. The kids, and Jake, had fun playing with it until it was time to go home. It was fun.

I know I know the cake is a little girly. Kamila and I took a cake decorating class for the whole month of October. This cake is my final project. We had to use some of the things that we learned during the class to decorate the final cake so it has flowers but with buzz and the alien's Mason thought it was pretty cool.

Halloween!!!

This year we celebrated things a little bit backwards. Halloween fell on Sunday this year so everyone went trick or treating on Saturday night instead which was Mason's birthday. I felt like a horrible mother. I didn't even let him open a present on his birthday. He didn't even notice though. He love dressing up as a "Dragon Movie" as he says it. His big thing right now is he always wants to watch "How to Train Your Dragon" so when you ask him what he is for Halloween he will tell you a Dragon Movie instead of just a dragon.
Mirra had a good time as well. She was a fairy and loved every minute of it. We went with Wade's family to a trunk or treat which was inside their church building. It is a good thing it was inside because right as we were leaving to take the kids it started hailing. It was bad. we got soaked running out to the car. It is moments like this I wish I would get my garage cleaned out so that we could leave through the garage and not have to run in the rain but what ever.
Anyway we went to the trunk or treat, to Aunt Heidi's, Grandma's and then we went home. By that time the rain had stopped and there were lots of kids running around. So I took the kids out and found Lisa and Shane and Jared and Nikki and the kids and we walked around with them. I think that Mirra's favorite part though was when we were all done Daddy let her help him hand out the candy. She loved that and then Mirra taught me a lesson again. As we were running out of candy she started to dump her candy bag into the bowl to hand out. Jake and I were confused "Mirra what are you doing? That is yours." And our little sweet 5 year old says Mommy I don't need it, let's give it out to the other kids." She is such an amazing child.

Wisconsin Trip

Last month we took Mirra’s trip to see her Grandma in Wisconsin. We were able to fly out there one more time before we have to start paying for Mason to fly. It was a really fun trip. I love seeing the family. I wish that we could see them more often and spend more time with them.
Mirra loved playing with her Aunts and Uncles (although she kept calling them cousins.) She asks more questions then anyone I have ever known and about things that most kids don’t even think about. One of the first things she asked me is why Sara is so much smaller then her siblings. I had to explain that she was born in another Mommies tummy but that Mommy couldn’t take care of her and Grandma adopted her. Then she wants to know what adoption means and why Kavon and Christina have darker skin and…… Anyway she had a lot of fun playing. I think I only saw her in the morning and at bed time. She also discovered a cousin that she absolutely loves. Warren and Aubrey were able to come with their kids to see us for the week end. It was so good to see them. It has been a long time. Mirra remembered Blake but she forgot that she had a cousin named Kindall. They played so cute together. I am so sad that we don’t live closer so they could be better friends. It was so much fun.
Mason, we discovered that the Dr’s are right he really does have asthma. It all started in the airport in Milwaukee when he was chasing after Jake.
He was so cute running down the airport corridors but then he started to cough. He was coughing so hard he couldn’t catch his breath and started to gag. Poor baby I did what every good mother would do and picked him up just as a good Mommy would to help him just as he threw up. My shirt was covered. It was caked down in my bra and everything. I stunk so badly. It was terrible.
The rest of the trip he didn’t do to bad but he coughed the whole time we were gone. Poor little guy. He had a lot of fun though. We got to do lots of activities and we loved spending time with the family.

Update on the New House

So to update on the New house. We closed last week!!! I own the house. It hasn't become real yet though because we don't get to more in until the end of the month or the first of October. The people that are living in the house are building so we agreed to let them stay there for a month. The perk for us is that they are paying our first months Mortgage so that works out for us.
I am so excited to get in there. It not that I am not grateful to my parents. They have been so good to help us out for these last few months. Well actually I don't know what I would do with out them everyday of my life. They have been great room mates and wonderful babysitters for our family but I am so ready to have my own place and my stuff back. Yippee!!! Mason loves playing at Grandma's house. This picture is about how I find him everyday when I come home. I think he and Mirra are going to really have a hard time with the change.

Update on Life Changes

Ok last week I was feeling really Winny about everything. Thanks for taking the time to read and give me suggestions. Karen you asked why I am working so many hours and that is a good point. I usually work 4 days a week and 10 hours a day. Last week was really hard though because not only did I have to get used to a new schedule but we had to meet with our Realtor a few times and we got to sign on our house last week. No matter how I do it I have to get 40 hours in every week and if I have to make it up by staying late then that is what happens. We are only allowed to work until 7:00 pm though. I hate it. This week has been much better because I have only had to work 8 hour days because Monday was a holiday and that gives me 8 hours already.
Mirra really likes school. She has had fun and has already learned a few Spanish words. She hates waking up in the morning though. This morning she informed me that she just needs a day off to sleep. It was a little bit of a fight but I did get her ready and Grandma got her off to school.

Mason is adjusting. Mom and I figured out that if I leave before they take Mirra to the bus stop it is not as traumatic for him. He has also had a bad cough so we are trying to get him healthy again and that should help as well. We started his breathing treatments again. There is a big difference this time though. I haven't even had to tackle him once. He just holds still and breaths in the meds. It helps to that Mirra lets him play with her tag pen while he is doing it. This picture if from this morning. I think we will adjust and all of us will be fine.

Life Changes

Ok. No one happened to mention to me that life changes a ton once your children starts school. I really don't know if I like this. First of all I have Mirra. My little angel who has been totally grumpy this week. My Mirra grumpy. I don't know how to deal with this. She is never grumpy. I know she sticks her nose up in the air a lot but she isn't a grumpy girl. One example is last night when she stormed away when I told her that she needed a bath saying "No one even loves me anymore." When I tried to talk to her and figure out what the problem was she says I never have time to just sit and hold her anymore so she thinks I don't love her. I felt terrible. Another example is today when she called me at work because she is mad a Grandma who will not let her eat Fruit Loops for lunch. She says "They are mine and not yours." I hope this problem is fixed when we have our own house.
Mason is also having lots of trauma. He does not like his best friend "Weewa" to be gone all day with out him. I left him yesterday at 9 and when I called to talk to My Mom at 11:15 he was still crying. Mom says he wasn't crying the whole time but for most of it he was. I feel so bad for him. He is so used to her being there. She has always treated him more like someone she is babysitting then a brother. She is so patient and plays with him all the time. Poor baby he doesn't understand.
So now the typical day for us is as follows, the alarm starts going off at 5:30, finally roll out of bed at 5:50, get a shower, get Jake up to get a shower, make lunches, Jake leaves at 6:45, finish getting ready, wake Mirra up at 7:30, get breakfast, get Mirra dressed and her hair done(this is the biggest battle), get Mason breakfast when ever he wanders in, run out the door to be to work by 8:00, Mom takes Mirra to the bus stop at 8:30 and the bus drops her off at 12:05. Mirra gets to play until 4:00 when Daddy gets home... Homework time, dinner time, Mommy gets home at 7:00 and eats dinner, reading time, bath time, then it is off to bed.
When did I get to see my kids you ask????? It was during the Mirra eat your toast, Mirra brush your teeth, Mirra get your pants on, Mason let me change your diaper, Mirra hold still, Mirra I am not hurting you quit screaming (during the hair thing), Mirra pay attention to your book, Mason get off Mirra while she is reading, Mirra get dressed, Mason hold still, kneel up for the prayer, lay down, stop talking, etc. No wonder Mirra feels like I don't love her anymore. She told me this morning that all I do is yell at her. Now that is an exaggeration I do not yell but I sure feel like all I have done for 3 day straight is nag nag nag nag nag. I really have got to figure out a new schedule. I can't do this. Any suggestions?
Anyway here are some more pictures of the kids this week.