If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart.--A
“Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us.” President Benson

Tuesday

Expect the Unexpected

So, as we were driving to the pumpkin patch last Thursday, we got a phone call from John's mom saying that John's Grandma had passed away. Would John be able to get off work...yes he did. It was unexpected that he would be able to work it out so nicely, but he did. Then came a very hard decision...fly John w/ Josie so his family can see her for the first time or drive 10 hours with the whole family. WE DROVE! It was not an easy decision, but I feel like the right one in the long run. The kids did amazing, and probably whined less than their mom did(I was feeling quite sick that day).

The funeral went well. John's grandma was 87, and suffering from all the things that come when you get to be that age. It was wonderful to see family and some friends. It made me a little excited to move to Utah next year. Meili, John's niece was in love with Josie, and is going to be the most amazing baby-sitter for us the next three years. Hannu, John's nephew kept Deeken entertained the whole time...it was a nice, needed break for me! I loved seeing me parents, like I always do, and got to have a home cooked meal made by my mother. Yummmy! We miss them and everyone already. Micah was nearly in tears the last night. She knew she was going to miss them so much, but it was funny because the night before all she wanted to do was be in her own bed. It will be nice when we can have the bed and grandparents in one state, or technically two. (Idaho & Utah)

So the drive back was long, but at least it was after three days, not two(John was able to get an extra bereavement day which we were originally not planning for.) Spokane gave us such a nice welcome back...I want to leave here as soon as possible. We came home to a note on our door telling us if we don't pay our rent in the next 3 days we will be EVICTED! WHAT?!? I always mail in our rent at least a week before the due date! I laughed and went inside to check our bank account to make sure it had come out....it hadn't, What the heck!?! So I called them to make sure they hadn't received it in the time that they had put the notice on our door. NOPE! and we want cash or a official check--no personal checks(so now I'm a criminal.) Seriously ticked by this time...at myself, at the Post Office, at my stupid management company...the least they could have done is called before serving notice for eviction. It's not like we have ever even been late before, in fact always at least a week early. Seriously this world is so screwed up...NO Forgiveness...Well there will be no forgiveness for the USPS from me! So to make a long story shorter than it could have been...with a cancelled check and $120 later we still live here, and I can't tell you how ready I am to be back in Utah! Expect the Unexpected! It is a small trail, but still! Expect the Unexpected!

Joel's cute new wife was such a big help with Josie during the funeral! Thanks McKell!
Joel played an awesome song that he wrote when John's grandpa passed away. He did amazing.
Micah adores Joel! It was fun to watch her watch him LIVE! She always asks to listen to his CD in the car. I love Joel and his music, but EVERY time in the car! If you want to check his band out, they are on my link list on the side, Pleasant Tree.
This is Hannu and Deek. He seriously ADORED him while we were there!
Some fun pics of Josie from this weekend. John's family adored her. She payed them back by puking & smiling for them...yes she has learned to SMILE!!!
Just not in these pics.
Noah and Micah got to see Porter for a little while and loved playing the Wii with him.
John's dad never did hold Josie, but he liked her just them same. He's not so big on holding them when they are so small.
I tried to capture that smile, but kept missing it. My mom and I got her to smile a ton, but my trigger finger was slow.
for some reason I didn't get any pics of my parents, but I want to say thanks for letting us stay. We LOVE and miss you so much already!

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Sunday

I'M GOIN' POSTAL...

I MEAN PRIVATE!

I'm just kind of tired of not knowing who is checkn' out my blog. I'd love to invite you to keep track of us if you either e-mail me or leave me a comment with your e-mail.

I love checkn' blogs and I love getting your comments. Hope to hear from you!

Wednesday

Pumpkin Patch

OH this is so not the Pumpkin Patch we were used to in Oregon. Green Pumpkins?!? Oh, we missed Oregon very much today! But here are some of the decent pics that we were able to capture.
Hannah
Clara
Thank You Heidi for bringing your sweet girls and taking our family pic. We always have a great time with you and our kids adore you!
And here's to my husband and family...who all loved John's tribute to me, and that ugly picture with my tongue hanging out. Thought I would give you one more!

Saturday

Josie is 2 Months Old!

My BEAUTIFUL baby is getting old! She isn't smiling yet, but you can tell she is thinking about it. She is really good at puking at the most wonderful moments. I can tell she is growing, but only because she doesn't fit in the newborn diapers anymore. Next to my other monkey's she still seems little. She is loved(smothered) by her siblings often. I think all of us would agree we can't live without her, the puking, but not her.

Below are some out-takes of my Photo shoot with the kids. I am quite happy with how they turned out, It is getting harder the more kids I have to get a great pic. But in general, when you have beautiful kids like mine, even the out-takes can be cute!