My smartphone

So I am loving my new technology.  This morning the kiddos had a 2 hour delay and I was able to lay in bed and read my scriptures and ensign on my phone.  I can even highlight!!  I love that scripture references are just a finger tap away too!!  Technology is amazing.  I am hoping it will help me to keep my resolution to do a better job at daily scripture study.  So far so good!

9 months

Avery is 9 months old today.  She is still a super baby and has even been amazing through this trip and multiple time changes.  She sleeps like a champ and is finally eating like one.  Well real food that is.  She is not a fan of baby food and despite never having taught her the first baby sign, she signs all done whenever I try to give it to her.  She loved Easter and all of the amazing food it brought, especially mom's steamed artichokes.  She ate her weight in them.  I love how big she opens her mouth when we are feeding her something she likes.  And how she yells when we don't shovel it in fast enough.  Pizza, eggs, green beans, potatoes and cheerios have all been added to the list just this week.  She is pulling up on everything and even cruising a little if she wants something out of reach badly enough.  She has thankfully learned to sit as well because, well, that game in the crib at night was getting a bit old.  She loves to be outside and is fascinated with her sisters.  She is not a big fan of the formula now that I am home full time and will rarely take it.  She is quickly turning into a mommy's girl as well, much to daddy's hurt and heartache.  She still has no teeth but the top two look awfully close.  She is super smart and making a ton of new sounds.  Still not saying mama.  Just dadda and nanna and what sort of sounds like huuh?  She is just a beautiful addition to our family both inside and out.  She is our HAPPY BABY!

Easter Sunday

Today I am grateful.  I am grateful for many things.  For my amazing husband and beautiful children, for my family who I love tremendously and was able to spend Easter with, for the opportunities that lie ahead, for amazing friendships, for a few days of work to help pay the bills, and for those few days to be over ;).  But most of all I am grateful for the atoning sacrifice of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for the knowledge that because of His amazing sacrifice I will never in my life endure anything that he cannot comprehend and that because of that I will never be alone. 

Grateful

So yesterday was a trying day.  We met with the loan officer and found out that because we have to push our closing back again we will definitely lose our 3.85 interest rate.  A definite bummer as it will add almost 60 dollars a month to our monthly mortgage.  And with no definite end in site, we can in no way even lock in at today's rate.  So I guess it will mean another month in an outrageously expensive corporate housing and no paycheck.  I am trying to have faith in all that is happening.  But as of yesterday all I could see was debt piling up and no way to combat it.  I have always been the only one with the ability to fend off financial problems because I have a job that allows for it.  I would just pick up a shift.  In this instance I feel like I am hog tied and smothering and I am just trying to be patient without losing my mind.  So today as I sat in the ridiculously expensive corporate housing waiting to go and see my new home, angry that the Realtor has pushed the time back an hour cutting into my already tight scheduled trip to Atlanta, I found  myself trying to breathe and to remember that I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be.  I made one last trip to the mailbox to see if the package I desperately needed by today had arrived, it had not..... and I got into the car.  It was on the way out that I got one of many slap in the face confirmations I have had to receive in my life from the Lord.  (He knows me and this is the kind of revelation I do best with.)  As I was pulling out of the complex I noticed a UPS truck in front of another building.  I passed it not giving it a second thought and than it occurred to me that my package was being shipped UPS.  I quickly turned around and parked beside the truck waiting for the driver.  When he came out I asked him if he might possibly have a package for apt 1217.  He did and that is when my attitude changed.  Not because of the package per say but because once again the Lord had reminded me that he knows me personally and that he has a hand in EVERYTHING, including me receiving my package before my week long trip to Atlanta.  If my Realtor hadn't been running late I would have never had the opportunity to see the truck and receive my shipment.  So if things aren't happening exactly as we had hoped or expected I am OK with that.  Because I know that someone much greater than I knows exactly what is best for me.  He loves me and as long as I am in tune to his whisperings (that is if I can keep my grumbling down) he will bless me.  And I am so very grateful for that gift.

What is that SMELL??

So Tuesday was Jerry's official last day on campus.  After putting the girls on the bus and Avery down for nap (I took a short one too ;) I began cleaning.  I don't mean surface cleaning.  I mean the kind of cleaning that I haven't had the time or energy to do in, well, lets just say, a LONG time.  It was gorgeous so the windows were open and it just felt clean.  I somehow even managed to prepare what I thought was a nice dinner.  It was at the point that I was thinking, hmmm maybe I CAN do this, that Jerry got home from school.  Unfortunately he was not as excited as I was about my productive day, as his first words were, "Man it really stinks in here!"  I have to say I was a little upset and the terror from last week crept back into my brain.  I couldn't smell a thing and I had been cleaning all day, so what could he be smelling?  Jerry suggested we take the girls for a walk and play at the park, which we did and then we came home and had dinner.  After dinner we went out for some free Rita's Italian ice.  After all he has to butter them up with all the goodies before he leaves them with mean ole mommy. ;)  We came home and crashed, never to think of the smell again.

Well, that is until the next morning.  Headed to the laundry room in the basement with the dirty clothes I opened the basement door and was slammed in the face with a HORRIBLE, HORRENDOUS smell!!  I can only guess it was what Jerry smelled yesterday.  It was beyond description and for an ICU nurse, well that's BAD!  My neighbor Dan, the maintenance man Ed, no one had words for it.  It literally smelled like a dead carcass.  So Jerry and I began tearing up the playroom to try and find the smell.  A smell that has the ability to come and go.  After two days of this on and off again odor I finally figured out it was the deep freezer.  I say I because Jerry has since escaped the smell by moving to Alabama.  Not inside the freezer but outside, the backside and it was BAD.  I called Sears and the earliest a repairman could come out was Saturday afternoon.  UGGG.  It got so bad on Friday that you could smell it outside the apartment but then Friday night it was gone again.  I have to say it got so bad that I was tempted to have my neighbor put it outside.  But today we finally have resolution.  Darrell the repairman took one whiff of the not so bad today smell and said it's rotten food.  Unfortunately I wish it were that easy.  The inside of the freezer was odor free and food free.  Sooooo, the problem is that during our 8 days without power, (who could forget all that fun) something with blood thawed just enough to get down the drain and into a catch basin that can neither be replaced or removed for cleaning and the reason the smell was on again, off again was because each time the freezer was cooling and the motor was running it was heating the catch basin of bloody residue.  (This I guess is how any liquid is cleared, it evaporates. It's been quite the educational experience.) I speak of the smell as was not because it is completely gone, but because it is so much better, that I can actually breathe down there.  Because now when the motor on the freezer runs I can smell a faint odor, but mostly I smell the bleach that he had me pour down the spout.  Hears to hoping it works 100% because if not my nearly new freezer will be going to the dumpster.  The smell was that BAD and I'm not moving it with me to Alabama!!

Terrified would be putting it mildly

So as many of you know, Jerry has taken this amazing new job with Belle Foods in Birmingham, Alabama.  He is leaving a week from yesterday and as a result I will no longer be working.  I have cut back a great deal in preparing for this transition and I have to say it's been a little rocky for all of us.  Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of driving Jerry to work so I could have the car for the day (something Jerry has been doing multiple times a week for over 2 years with no complaint). We got up at 6 am, got ready for the day and drove Jerry to UCONN.  When we got there Jerry realized he needed the keys to his office which were on the key ring with the car keys.  He had multiple keys so it made sense to just take the car key off and give him the rest.  We quickly left.  We had little time to get home in time for the bus so that I could get to an 830 am Doctors appointment in Manchester.  After taking a wrong turn we made it home with only 2 minutes to spare.  Perfect!  We would run inside and grab the backpacks and lunches and be right on schedule.  WRONG!  Jerry had the key ring and I was locked out of the condo.  UGGGG!!!  I quickly ran to the office, got the spare key and grabbed the backpacks as my amazing neighbor took the girls to the bus stop.  Somehow the bus was just late enough that I was able to get the backpacks to the bus stop and get them off to school.  Back to the van and now off to Manchester, I was already feeling ready for a nap.  One hour at the office and Avery and I headed to BJs for gas and groceries.  In getting gas I noticed that the wrench was lit in the van and we needed an oil change, so off to Larry's garage for an oil change, where I had to attempt to entertain an infant without putting her on the floor where she likes to be.  We rushed home in just enough time to unload the groceries, nurse Avery, stuff an sandwich in my mouth and then run to the bus stop to get Ansley.  We then jumped back into the van and ran to UCONN to pick up Jerry so we could run back to Manchester for Doctors appointments for Jerry and Ansley. While at the apt I lost track of time and managed to miss Ally's bus.  Again my fantastic neighbor Dan came to my rescue and got Ally for me.  Exhausted, I wonder, could this really be easier than going to work?  At the end of the day I had to admit to Jerry that I am a bit nervous about my new role as a stay at home mom.  After all, sedating the children will not be an option if they become unruly and there are no mandates about 30 minute lunches and breaks.  No regulations on mommy to child ratios and no ancillary homework helpers or dinner preparers.  It will be all on me.  I pathetically asked him to try to remember how hard it has been for him over the last 5 years and to try to be sympathetic when the roles reverse when he admitted to me that he is a little nervous as well.  He has been at home with the girls taking them to school, karate and Daisy's and doing the homework and night time routines all while being my personal chauffeur.  I think it's going to be a learning curve and shock to both of our systems.  People keep asking me if I am going to be OK once Jerry leaves next week.  My answer is, I am going to be fine, the kiddos on the other hand, may not be. 

8 months old

Where to begin.  Avery you are getting so very big.  Everyday you amaze us with something new you have learned.  You are still a chunky little monkey just like we like you.  You have the plumpest thighs and arms and have rolls all over.  You are a beautiful baby inside and out. You are officially into your 9-12 month clothes and fill them out beautifully. You have the face of a perfect little doll and an amazing temperament to go with it.  You are so easy going.  Thank goodness because it is a rare occasion for you to ever get a day where you get all your feedings and naps on time or at all.  I will say though that you have found your voice and are not afraid to use it.  Especially when telling your big sisters you have had enough.  You are finally taking to the baby food although there are still days when you seem like you could just care less and you still spit a great amount of it out.  If you are into eating you grunt and yell if I don't get the next bite to your mouth.  Something your dad thinks is hilarious.  You are definitely not patient about all things but neither am I so I can't find fault in that.  You definitely have a bit of your dads short temper though.  Your cry is like no other.  And while you don't do it often there is no mistaking it when you do.  You have been crawling for a few weeks now and are quite proficient at it.  Just this weekend you tackled the task of climbing the one step up into the kitchen.  I guess I am going to have to do a better job of keeping the kitchen floor clean because today after a day of sweeping it with your belly you were filthy!  You have yet to get the first tooth making you our latest teether ever.   I think my favorite thing about you though is your laugh.  You laugh like your big sister Ansley, from your belly and as soon as you hear someone laugh you erupt in laughter.  It's the cutest thing ever.  You love your sisters and they love you.  I can't imagine life without you in it.  It's hard to believe you have only been with us 8 short months and yet it seems like yesterday I gave birth to you.