Still getting settled..:

I will post more about what we have been doing soon I hope...our internet went down last Thursday and because the homes in this neighborhood are pre-wired and the HOA handles internet this has been a pain. After hours of troubleshooting on the phone with no luck they will most likely have to send someone out. Boo.  It wouldn't be so bad except we have Netflix as our TV and we watch shows online so evenings for me have been boring. Also, our oven isn't working so we are still getting that handled. We did get approved for health insurance (yay!) and are just waiting in the cards...Charlotte is behind for her 15 month appt but that's no biggie...and we still are waiting on the paperwork to be done to register my car and we still need to do Tim's. All this is part of the moving process...I understand. I'm still trying to get everything put away in the most organized way and I have already moved furniture around to make it more functional. The only part of the house I actually miss from our old house it the girls' playroom. It was set up so nicely and was the prettiest color green. I am still getting used to all the white walls and their playroom will just never be what it was and that's okay. 

I am glad I was crazy and started Halloween costumes in August because here we are just over a week til Halloween and I just finished them yesterday. 

That's it for now. I am posting this from my phone and because of the lack of internet at home right now I have already received a warning on my data usage for the month. Boo. 

It happened.  The girls were playing happily and I decided to go through my pictures on my phone...because it was so full I couldn't take any more...and it hit me.  The last couple months in visuals.  Friends. Family.  All the emotions which have been easily masked by my tasks came like a freight train.  I had it all figured out when I came here.  I would join MOPS.  Gracie would start gymnastics and make friends at church.  I would meet moms at the park.  That's all good and well until it actually happens.  Here I am in the midst of the waiting.  Going to the park and slowly starting to talk to people.  There's one mom.  Her name is Alicia and we have talked a few times and she's really nice.  I know things won't be how they used to be with Linds and Reese and all our fun we had together.  Tomorrow I start MOPS.  I know the women won't necessarily be the "Michelles, Beccas, Melisas, Amandas, and Sarahs" that I am used to but they will be new and different...and nice.  It will be fine.  But in the meantime as I sit here in front of my fake fire with the girls in bed I am grateful for all the memories I am able to have in my little electronic device to look back at whenever I want...and I can look to the future- making memories in this house, and looking forward to the life we will create in this breathtakingly beautiful area we get to now call home.

The Ups and the Downs

Today was one of those days...one of those "Alexander and the No Good, Terrible, Very Bad Day" days.  Since we have been here things have been pretty great.  The girls have been a bit challenging but nothing too bad considering the huge life change we just made.  Coming here we knew we would need to find health insurance for a few months until it kicked in at Tim's work.  We also knew we would establish residency like register cars, get licenses etc.  We enrolled Gracie in gymnastics.  I got my library card and we have been a couple times and even attended story time.  It seems like everywhere we go there's a card of some kind.  Fred Meyer...want a club card? Sure!  Human Bean Coffee, Dutch Bros Coffee, Peets Coffee, Human Bean Coffee (can you tell we like coffee?!) all want to know if we want punch cards...yes please!  Big Town Hero (GREAT sandwiches)...want a punch card?  Anyway...we have been getting settled.  But this black cloud of DMV junk and health insurance has been killing me.  Just to elaborate...I applied for health insurance WEEKS ago.  We received a letter needing info to prove residency.  I send them what I had.  A week ago.  So today I call to check the status.  She tells me they need more residency proof.  Oooooookay.  Well registering my car is still in the works (my other headache), I haven't been here a full month to have a utility bill...ugh.  But a lovely lady at Golden 1 put a rush on some new checks for me which should be here in a few days and solve that problem...now in the meantime I need to bubble wrap my children and pray against sickness or ear infections because currently we are completely un-insured. Boo

I thought the car registration process could happen with one visit to the Oregon DMV.  Boy was I wrong.  Over a week ago I started that process with high hopes of having it finished because today marks the first day my car is no longer registered as of today.  Anywhere.  After I spent awhile getting the car taken care of at the DEQ (Oregon's version of SMOG) I rushed to the post office to do 2 day mail to our financial institution so it could sign off and get it sent with my check and DEQ certificate back to Oregon DMV.  It was guaranteed in Ohio Thursday and the guy at the bank said it would go out the day after they receive it...so I thought it would be back to Oregon DMV by today.  I called and they say they haven't received it.  Tim calls the bank and they say they never received it.  CRAP.  I go searching the house, the car, purses, pockets, trash cans...for the receipt with the tracking number.  I didn't find it anywhere.  I start freaking out.  I can't get another DEQ certificate.  I will have to go back to the DMV and get more paperwork and start ALL OVER AGAIN.  How could I be so stupid and not keep the tracking info somewhere safe?  Or better yet, pay extra for signature confirmation?

I took a break to take a walk with the girls and get the mail.  It's a nice walk and when we get to the mailbox it starts to rain.  I quickly grab the mail and we head back.  I get back to the house and think "where are my keys?" I always put them in my jacket pocket and they are not there.  I check with the mail.  Nothing.  Are you serious??  So I strap both girls in the car in the garage and say I will be right back and I run to the mailbox because now I know I must have left them hanging in the lock.  One of the gardeners must have seen them because they were inside our mailbox with the door almost closed so no one would see them.  Thank you so much!!  With keys in hand I run back to my girls.

 With some advice from my mom I decide to head back to the little post office where I mailed the paperwork.  The man was oh. so. nice. and he looked in his computer, found info on my package, tracked it and printed me confirmation that it was, in fact, delivered to Ohio ON THURSDAY.  Of course at that point this afternoon it was after hours in Ohio so it means another (and hopefully positive) phone call to them in the morning.  The day was looking up!

I head to Fred Meyer (one of the ONLY stores that I know how to get to...and it happens to be a place you can get everything from groceries to potted plants, shoes, clothes, and home improvement junk) to get some groceries and pick up my free Redbox.  I get there with both kids and there's one double shopping cart left.  Let me tell you, the double cart is amazing.  Even though it is the suburban of shopping carts, on a trip to a huge store like Freddie's the double cart means no whining from my 3 year old that her legs are tired.  So I am heading to grab the one double left and the mom in front of me with her ONE kid grabs for it.  I am sure she is moving it out of the way to get the regular cart in front of it.  She can't possibly be taking the double cart for her one child.  So I say, "Are you going to use that?" She replies, "Yes, I was going to" as she is wiping it with her sani-wipe...what the?  I get a regular cart, tell Gracie she has to walk, and under my breath say..."you only have one kid" while I send her a look.  The shopping trip was actually successful and my day was looking better.  I got a wool duster on clearance for only six bucks, and it will be great on the vaulted ceilings and other hard-to-reach areas.  Plus, it entertained the girls as Gracie carried it while she walked shoving it in Charlotte's face,,,which thankfully made her laugh.  In fact I was having such a good time and it was getting too late to cook a whole dinner at home that I asked Gracie if she would like to get Big Town Hero (which is conveniently located just outside the doors of Freddie's) to which she squeals, and I smile, filled with the "my daughter thinks I am the best mom in the world because I buy her a sandwich" kind of happiness.

As we are eating our dinner I realize I forgot to pick up my reserved movie...so after we finish, the girls and I head back into Freddie's to find the Redbox.  Turns out it's inside the other entrance so we make our way through the store to the other side.  As we do so, Gracie trips on an imaginary something and falls face first, smacking her forehead on the tile floor.  This happened right in front of a check stand with someone working there and I was SURE she was going to ask if Gracie was okay or offer ice or something.  She never said a word.  I know she heard the commotion.  If you know Gracie you know that the whole store probably heard her scream.  I take my hurt, crying girl and head to get my movie.  Then I go back.  Because you know what? That was wrong.  Darn you Fred Meyer.  You pride yourself on customer service.  So I went back and made sure they knew how absolutely disappointed I was at that lady.  And then I left...to go home and put the girls to bed, watch a good movie, eat some Halloween candy, go to bed, and start fresh tomorrow.

Pumpkin Patch

One of the things I was looking forward to when I knew we were moving here was visiting a pumpkin patch.  They have really good ones where we lived (like Bishops and U-Pick) but even in October it could be pretty hot.  In fact one of my friends posted pictures from this weekend and she was able to wear a sundress! I knew we have the rain looming on the horizon at most times, but today was PERFECT.  Tim was off for the first time and my cousin Sara was able to come with us which made it even more fun!  We went to a place called Plumpers Pumpkin Farm which is family owned and had lots to do in addition to picking pumpkins.  We picked little ones for the girls but we plan to go to another pumpkin patch with some other close friends so we will save picking a big one for that trip!

Some of the pumpkins and the picnic area 

Look at that view!

Some of the farm animals

The crazy hay slide!  Gracie and I did this one and we crashed!

The tube slide...this one looks awesome, but is super slow...

Sara and Charlotte!

The owner took us on a hay ride up to the top of the property for the most gorgeous view on a fall day, and he told us the history of the farm!  It was an extra special treat.

Baby pumpkins for baby

Enjoying the hay ride

The view and that SKY!

Little barrel train

Sara's winner!

The Life of A Stay at Home Mom

Last year when Tim and I made the decision to trust God and have me stay at home I had some idea of what my new life would be.  The cooking and cleaning were a given.  I knew there would be library trips, play dates, and grocery shopping.  Usually my days are a juggle just cleaning up spills and spit up, diffusing tantrums, playing dress-up and pretend, dancing with my girls to music.  Today something dawned on me.  Today was one of the days I was watching Jordyn, the most adorable 5 month old who is SO EASY.  Today, shortly after I woke up, I put a whole chicken in the crock pot to roast for dinner.  I stuffed the cavity with orange slices because I didn't have any onion, but I really didn't have any idea what I was doing.  Guess what...when I looked up how long to cook the chicken I came across a recipe putting oranges in the cavity!  I just did it hoping it would work.  Today my child came down with a fever...and not a low one- nearly 103.  I made her comfy, gave her medicine and a popsicle and went on with my day.  If I were working I probably could have pulled off the chicken thanks to the wonderful crock pot, but I would not have been the one to give my girl the first snuggles when she didn't feel good.  Today while all three kids napped (thank you, naps!!) I made cookies so my big girl could have a yummy treat when she feels better.  Today I watched my baby girl reach another small milestone on her way to crawling...going from a sitting position to crawling position.  I know it's not a big thing but I was there to see it.  Today I am beyond thankful.  I look around at my tiny, less-than-perfect, toys everywhere house and know that there is NOTHING else I would rather be doing with my days, especially while my babies are still babies.  

A long time ago...

I have wanted to do this post for a long time.  If nothing else, I want to archive our story for the future and for the girls.  Almost 5 years ago, Tim and I made a major lifestyle change.  I felt God was telling us we needed to get rid of our rent in order to get some things in order and save money.  The solution to this was purchasing a 1982 31 foot travel trailer and put it on Tim's grandparents' property in Loomis.  Thirty one feet long by nine feet wide.  Three hundred square feet of living space.  I know people with master bedrooms bigger than that.  Finding a trailer was pretty easy but this trailer was in HORRIBLE shape on the inside.  The bones were good though, and no leaks...so we could see potential.  A  good thing was the guy we bought it from left two large boxes of chapter books in the back- SCORE!  I was teaching 4th grade at the time and they were perfect for my classroom.  This didn't make up for the fact that he had back registration fees we ended up having to pay to the DMV...jerk.  Besides being a jerk, he was a pig.  We spent several days gutting the thing.  First came cleaning everything out...including the family of mice living under the bathroom sink!  Next was cutting out a wall in the back to make one space for a bedroom.  It started out with 3 bunk beds and a full size platform bed.  We tore out an upper bunk over the platform as well as a half wall to create our room.  The remaining bunks served as storage and a living area for our two cats (since this lifestyle change included our cats and 90 pound lab!) Then came buying a new bathtub, building a corner bench/couch, and installing carpet and linolium (we found remnant linolium that looked like hardwood floor!).  Finally, I was able to re-cover the dining room bench pads and decorate. 

We lived in the trailer for 9 months.  There were moments of frustration, and many more moments of laughter and fun.  We have stories from these months we will remember forever.  We each celebrated a birthday and we also celebrated our first anniversary.  So here are pictures from our trailer adventure...these have been seen by very few eyes until now!

BEFORE

 Looking down from the front to the back...kitchen on the left with horrible 80s wallpaper we painted over.

 The "couch"

The "dining area" and a bunch of junk mid-clean!

AFTER

 The couch/bench we had Tony build.  There was a cool ledge all around it for lamps, pictures, candles, etc.

 The "dining area" The benches had storage under them for our large appliances!  The storage above held food/dishes/etc

 A view from the middle of the trailer.  The couch was L-shape and the "skirt" was an old bedskirt I used a staple gun to attach!  We hung a shelf and curtains.  The cupboards above the couch were perfect for movies and games.

 Looking at the "great room" :)  Kitchen on the right with stove, oven, and sink and counter...new flooring...

 My little curtain above the sink.  We had the most beautiful view every morning along with birds chirping.

 Teeny tiny bathroom.  We used an Ikea lamp that plugged in!  We had a teeny toilet, teeny sink, and teeny tub!

Our room.  We separated the bedroom from the rest of the trailer with a curtain for a little privacy.  Our bed was next to a window overlooking the field. 

Highlights of our time in the trailer:
-Living on 5 acres in beautiful Loomis.
-Paying off several bills
-Learning to live with less, and in turn, appreciate the 1100 sq ft we live in now (and especially our dishwasher!)
-Getting to be in such close proximity at all times to my best friend aka my husband :)
-We did a lot of housesitting which gave us lots of time in a "real" house.

Lowlights:
-There were some very cold nights, and the little space heater didn't always help. 
-There were some very HOT days, and even with A/C (yes we had it!) it couldn't keep up.
-Laundry- Tim's grandparents were nice enough to let us use theirs in the house.
-No dishwasher
-An oven with awkward temps...we burned many cookies :(

God gave us many lessons on humility.  Here are some funny stories:
~One day in May it was VERY hot when I came home from work.  My grandfather had called and I was telling him how hot it was and the A/C wasn't helping.  He told me to get my sprinkler and throw it on the roof and turn it on.  I did what he said and when Tim got home the big long trailer looked like it was a whale with a spout!  But it worked!

~My best description of taking a bath in the trailer?  It's like taking a bath in a bucket! 

~We went to Pam and Bob's wedding and were staying with Nicholas and Amanda after for a couple days.  We needed to get some stuff and went by the trailer after the wedding.  Amanda asked where Tim went and I told her he was in our house and pointed to the trailer...she said "That's not a house...that's a shoebox!"

~One of the joys of staying in a trailer is having to empty the "waste".  We had a special box on wheels designed for this joyous task (a task that was reserved for Tim only!) and he would have to fill it, roll it to the other side of the property to empty it in the sewer (his grandparents had one put in for their motorhome)  Well the box-thing is blue so you couldn't see when it was full and one day when he was filling it, it overflowed and the "waste" was spilling out all over the place!  Needless to say after that day we looked up a company and paid for it to be done!

We are thankful for the time we spent here...however, we are even more thankful for our house we now call home and have for the last 4+ years!

My Mom and the "Big C"

Many people have asked me more details about my mom and her recent diagnosis.  It all started a couple months ago when she started experiencing some symptoms which she told her GP about.  She referred her to a gynecologist.  Of course I wanted her to see Dr. Phelan because he is so amazing.  She went to him after having an ultrasound and he recommended a procedure to check what was causing her symptoms.  She had that procedure on Friday, and Dr. Phelan said they would have biopsy results in about a week, and he would see her in three weeks for post-op check up.  When he came to talk to me in the waiting room his comment was "It went pretty well" and he continued by telling me what he took out...then ended up chatting about my babies.  I went home not so comfortable with the words "pretty well".  Don't they usually say "it went great" or at least "good"?  Then, over the weekend, my grandma died, which really threw my emotions even more.  On Tuesday my mom got a call that Dr. Phelan's office wanted her to make an appointment to come in and discuss results.  She made the appointment for the first thing the next day (Wed.) I went with her that morning and had called her best friend of almost 52 years, Nikki.  I just had a feeling it was going to be bad news, and I didn't know how well I would do staying strong.  Nikki offered right away to come to the appt, and she waited in the waiting room.  Dr. Phelan delivered the news gently that what they tested is in fact, cancer.  At that point they went and got Nikki while I started to fall apart.  My mom stayed cool as a cucumber the rest of the time.  Dr. Phelan gave her a referral to a gynocological oncologist and recommended a total hysterectomy ASAP, and if all goes well that would take care of it.  Then he gave hugs and went on to happier appointments.  She got in to the specialist for a consult yesterday, and both of us got a good feeling about him.  He felt positive about what he saw in the ultrasounds and pathology reports.  She has Endometrial Adenocarcinoma and it has a high success rate of being "cured" with surgery.  She will have it in a couple weeks (still waiting on an exact date) and has AMAZING friends who have already offered her help with whatever she needs.  She is staying positive about the whole thing and just wants it to be over with.  I am thankful for everyone who has reached out to me as well, especially those who have walked in my shoes being the child of a parent diagnosed with cancer.  The advice I have been given has helped tremendously.  She is just glad that the timing worked out with being able to still attend my grandma's services next weekend and support my dad's family.  Again, thank you, for thoughts, prayers, hugs, phone calls, and everything else.