Accepting this Blessing

Aaron had been applying for other Landscape Architecture positions for the past several months and had gotten a couple responses from firms in other states, but no job offers. After several applications and resumes sent, we were beginning to think we would just have to stick it out at his current job until the economy picked up again. His current job just wasn't his ideal job and his boss was far from an ideal boss - but we figured this job was better than no job. Well, about a month ago Aaron found a job opening at a firm in Connecticut that looked awesome - so of course he applied. We didn't expect to hear back from them, but about two weeks later they contacted him for a phone interview and two weeks after that they flew him out to Connecticut so he could see the office and meet everyone there. I was a little pessimistic (because of Aaron's current job situation) and figured that it wouldn't work out, but when Aaron called on his way home he said it went really well and he felt really good about it. So, long story short (there was a lot of stress for a few days on our part), Aaron got an official job offer with Cummin Associates and would start the beginning of August!

(So, now on to the title of this post - Accepting this Blessing.)
After having gone through unemployment once and then Aaron having a really hard boss and negative work environment more recently, I've personally had a hard time accepting this wonderful opportunity as being real. The other night I had a dream that we moved our family and all our stuff to Connecticut just to find out that the new boss didn't want to hire Aaron after all. In the dream I kept asking Aaron if he was being serious or if he was kidding with me. I was so scared because now we didn't have a job and didn't know anyone in Connecticut and I didn't know what in the world we would do! It was a nightmare - I woke myself up and had to convince myself that it was just a dream and not real! That dream is only a slight exaggeration from the feelings I'm constantly trying to push away. I keep thinking it's too good to be true - living in New England, Aaron's dream job, great boss, and good compensation. We've spent so long being under-compensated, and in jobs that we can't see a future in that we had just resigned ourselves to living that way indefinitely and trying to figure out what Heavenly Father wanted us to learn from it.  So, now I'm having to re-train my thinking, allowing myself to believe and accept this blessing, and reminding myself that we are deserving of this blessing.

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start ...

(from "The Sound of Music")
The birthday girls. We had a birthday party for Ellie on my birthday. (January)

Can you believe those cheeks!?! Oh man! I'm surprised she's made it this far in life without someone (me or sisters) chewing those cheeks right off! Unfortunately she's been slimming up over the last several month, but she still gets compliments on those cheeks of hers.

Sleeping Beauty - Ellise

Even at 4 1/2 she could still use a nap almost every day

(but of course this only happens once in a blue moon)

Fourth of July

What a big girl! She's talking (one or two-word phrases or jabbering), and she is sassy and feisty. It's super cute now, but I'm a little nervous for what's to come.

Aaron took the girls on a Stake Father Daughter camp out. They had a blast!

Aaron and I at my cousin's reception

The big girls took swimming lessons for about a month and had such a good time and learned a lot. The nice thing was that they got pretty swimmed-out and didn't beg to use the pool at our house for that month.

Dressing up with our new best friend Rosie. She lives across the street and walks Carly home from school each day. She plays (kinda' babysits) at our house most days of the week - I LOVE this girl!! She is such a sweetheart and has such a neat family.

Carly and Daddy after her birthday party. She planned her whole party (with a little supervision). When the day finally came, Aaron took her to the grocery store to buy ice cream for the party while all her friends arrived. When she got home they threw balloons and confetti and totally surprised her! I tried to download the video, but as you can see, it's not here- it was so cute!
 

The girls and our garden (two malnutritioned tomato plants)

Being sweet sisters

"Smile Aubree!"

p.s. Nothing new with the job situation. We have a lot of contacts though and some definite possibilities... we're really hopeful. Things had been pretty rough at his architecture firm for so long, and with two pay cuts we were living pretty tight, so we're excited for what's in store. The money hasn't run out yet, so I don't think reality has hit yet either. (Thanks for all of your thoughtful comments.)

Catch-up

Oh boy! What has happened in the last six months....

-We did move into our home (renting) and are really liking it
-Learned to live without internet. It's been a little inconvenient, but saved me a lot of wasted time.
-Aubree learned to walk and talk and goes to nursery now (she's now 19 months)
-Carly started Kindergarten and just celebrated her 6th b-day
-Ellise and Carly both learned to ride their bikes without training wheels
-The girls have made a new best friend, Rosie. She lives across the street and is 9 years old and I just love that girl!
-Aaron did a three hour commute round trip to work each day until last Monday (Carly's birthday) when he was laid off. It's a little stressful and sad, but we're both really hopeful and excited about new possiblities. We've already been blessed so much by friends, family and neighbors.

I think those are most of the highlights. Hopefully I'll post some pictures in the next few days or weeks :)

Camile

Hey friends,

So, we are now in our new (50-year-old) home! We like the community (most people do) - we’ve found that most people living in Davis county, are from Davis county. I don’t blame them, because I think it’s a great part of the SLC area.

This is part of our backyard and these are our new pets (awesome, low maintenance pets – they take care of themselves). My father-in-law took this picture and said he counted 16 mule deer living in our backyard! This backyard is going to be absolutely breath-taking in a few weeks with new spring– I’ll post pictures of the view from our living room windows.

Aaron – Aaron loves having a yard to take care of finally – lawn to mow, trees to prune, leaves to rake – he really does love it (lucky me). We also have a piano here, so he’s been playing the piano more and we all love it! He’s been going to bed early, waking up early, and taking long bus rides. Aaron’s commute is a BIG one – 1 to 1½ hours one way. He’s usually home by 6pm, so it’s not too bad (for me and the girls). Work is really slow right now and they just did some more layoffs and cut more hours. So, he’s down to a 4-day week. It’s nice to have him around more and this will give him more opportunity to do his own work with residential designs. Luckily our insurance premium is being lowered quite a bit, so we’ll still be taking home as much money each month. We’re just really hoping that he can keep his job (just like we’ve been hoping and stressing about for the last year). Aaron is so talented so we’re hoping that if he does lose his job he’ll be able to make enough money doing his own work and networking with other design/build companies.

Camile – I have been dedicating myself to trying to make our days here at home a little smoother and happier (lifelong goal). Having a bigger home has not cured Carly and Ellie of sibling rivalry like I was hoping. I don’t think that they know how to separate themselves from each other very well – even if they are totally annoying each other, they are still stuck like glue! So, I’ve started making a loose agenda for each day so that I feel a little more organized. I’ve been scheduling time for doing preschool with the girls and going to the library or park. I plan what we’ll have for each meal and what chores need to get done that day. It seems so simple (and maybe a little too overboard), but for me if I don’t have it written down and planned it just doesn’t happen a lot of the time. Well, this has helped us all A LOT – my stress level is a lot lower and I think we’re all happier. Another thing that has helped my stress level is having a bigger kitchen – our last kitchen was claustrophobic so I hated being in it. A picture of me with our top-of-the line-fifty-years-ago oven/broiler. The cutting board below actually pulls out and that is where our stove top hides – pretty cool!

Carly – She has been such a sweetheart lately! She is so sensitive to other people’s feelings (unless Ellie is driving her crazy). I especially appreciate that she recognizes my efforts to be a good Mom. She has made a new best friend here – Rosie (our 10-year-old neighbor). Carly is very outgoing and makes new friends very easily – whenever we go to the park she makes a new friend. She also just started a music class through a program called MusikGarten. Carly is so musically talented and she is just loving it! She’ll be going to the elementary school just 3 blocks from our home in the fall and I think we are all really excited for that day.

Ellie – She has recently informed us that she likes to be called Ellise (with a hard “e”). She had her 4th birthday in January. I planned a big family party for her on MY birthday (kind of a stressful way to spend a birthday – but it ended up being a lot of fun for everyone). I worry about the second child – they have so much to live up to! Her and Carly are so close in age that they compare themselves to each other (and I think Aaron and I do too sometimes). She is also doing a music class and we specifically put her in a different class than Carly so that they can become more independent from each other. Ellie took naps up until she was almost 4 (I realize that’s pretty lucky), but the afternoons get to be pretty rough for her still. It will be really nice to have Carly in Kindergarten next year so I can spend more one-on-one time with Ellie – our relationship needs it.

Aubree –

Look at those cheeks!!!

She turned one in February. She is still our little baby, but is starting to do things that are showing us how fast she’s growing up. She says, uh-oh, doggy, ma ma (for me and Aaron), thank you, baby and hi (not with perfect pronunciation, but we know what she’s saying). She folds her arms for prayer (or when she wants food), she loves to talk on the phone and she also loves to wash her hands with soap – so cute! She stands alone and walks along furniture, but she has not even attempted to take a step alone – but that’s okay, because I still want her to be my baby for as long as possible because we probably won’t have another baby for a LONG time. She sleeps in until at least 9:30 in the morning and takes one nap in the afternoon. I’m still nursing her in the morning and at night (she wants absolutely nothing to do with milk in a cup or bottle). Aubree brings so much joy into our family – she is at such a cute stage and makes all of us smile whenever she’s around! I can totally understand now how the youngest in a family gets spoiled, you just want to keep them a baby for as long as possible!

Too much info.

Aubree - 7 1/2 months old. height: 25" (10%), weight: 16.5 lbs (25%), head circ. (75%). She takes after her sisters...(and her Daddy) :) She's getting so big so quickly, time just keeps going faster and faster for me. She'll be crawling pretty soon, but it seems like she should only be 3 months old. I can't even describe how much joy she brings into our home! I think the more kids you have the more you enjoy the baby stage. Preschoolers can sometimes be such a handful and kinda' sassy sometimes, but I never have to worry about Aubree throwing a tantrum (on purpose) or hitting me (to be mean) or saying she'll never play with me again. The worst a baby can do is nothing compared to a 5- or 3-year old!
Ellise - 3 1/2 years. And she is very aware of how she looks too - she brushes her long, beautiful, blonde hair about six times a day and is very picky about what she wears (which is usually a dress or a skirt). I think it's hard for her to be the second child (especially since her big sister has such a dominant personality). So, we have a lot of crying and whining from her, which drives me crazy, but my Mom keeps telling me that she's just trying to figure out how to be seen and heard. We still try to have her take a nap every day (but it usually only happens about 4 days a week). I asked Ellie what she wanted me to say about her on our blog and she said "I love you" - she is a very sensitive and loving person.


Carly - 5 years. People ask us all the time if Carly and Ellie are twins (Carly is only 1 1/2 inches taller than Ellie), which used to really bug Carly, but now she thinks it's funny that they always trick people! Her and Ellie have been getting along pretty well lately (only fighting 30% of the time instead of 60%), I just love to see them playing well together and make-believing with each other - they are so creative! Carly is definitely a leader - she is very good at directing all the other kids (neighbors and friends) when they play house (even if she is supposed to be the baby in the game). I asked Carly what she wanted me to say about her on our blog - "That I'm really nice" - well, she gets an "E" for effort. She really does try, but she takes after her Mom...(not a whole lot of natural patience). I've said this before, but she is just a very passionate girl. Aaron hopes that when she's older she gets called as the R.S. "Passionate" service leader (his version of compassionate service leader I guess) - ha ha!! She asks some of the most interesting questions - she is so curious and eager to learn.
hair-brushing train

Me - I'm not one of those superwomen who can keep up on a blog and be a good mother, wife, housekeeper, enrichment leader, etc. all at the same time. I'm really trying to work on my organizational skills! So, I've been blogging less and watching movies less and going to bed earlier and waking up at 6am (a few days a week) to go walking and read my scriptures (I realized that I need to start my days off better). The biggest reason I decided to start walking is because I usually go through every day feeling tired and in a fog. And I'm sick of feeling so worn out and having to miss out on motherhood because of it. I want my girls to have memories of me playing with them and being cheerful and excited about life. (As I said earlier "I'm trying".) Most people I talk to who do exercise say they can tell a difference in their energy level, so I'm hoping it works for me. Another reason I've started walking is because I've been blessed with a healthy body, and up to this point I've just taken that for granted, so I want to do something to show that I'm grateful to have a healthy body. I know walking isn't a big deal, but it's a starting point.


Aaron - Still has a job which is seriously a blessing (and a miracle considering how slow things are at his firm and how many landscape architects are out of jobs right now). But, it's still likely that he could lose his job at any time. I just wonder when things will pick back up again. It's interesting to think about where the future might take us! Aaron's been studying for the last two tests in the licensing exam and he takes the tests this weekend. I'm thinking he'll pass and then he will be official! He's also been getting really excited for his big hunt in two weeks with his cousin Terrance. Right now Aaron is carrying Aubree on his shoulders and supervising the other kids outside - such a good Daddy. (Sorry, no picture of Aaron - I just realized that Aaron and I need to actually include ourselves in some of the pictures.)

p.s. Another movie recommendation that I forgot about: BBC's Little Dorrit (based on the novel by Charles Dickens). Very highly recommend it - both Aaron and I really liked it! Sometimes BBC movies aren't very good with the acting and look low budget, but not this one. Seriously, WAY good acting, awesome story, very well made.

Rough Economy

Right now Aaron and I are trying to decided where we want to end up in the near future. Gratefully, Aaron still has a job - there are so many people in this sort of field (landscape architecture) without jobs right now - a little scary! In fact, in the past month the firm Aaron works for has laid off about 7 people and Aaron's entire group got 10% pay cuts and 36 hr. work weeks. (I'm excited about the 36hr work week, but trying not to think about the pay cut.) Aaron is so talented and such a hard worker, but if there's no work, there's no work and they have to let even good employees go. Aaron's pretty sure the lay off's aren't over. We're trying to be optimistic, but we also have to be realistic and plan for if he lost his job.

(I tried to upload some of Aaron's work, but the files are too big I think. So, hopefully I'll be able to put them up in a future post.)

Aaron's dream has always been to teach at BYU-I someday (which is why we did the master's program in Moscow, only now BYU-I really encourages new hires to have a doctorate). So, we've been looking into some PhD programs hoping to find one that will allow him to get the degree without having to be on campus and still be able to keep his job here (not much luck with that). We've actually looked into some of the PhD programs at the U of I. It would be really weird to go back there - not in a bad way - just weird because we never thought we would ever see Moscow, ID again and a lot of the friends we had there are gone now. The ONLY reason we would even consider a PhD is for Aaron to have the opportunity to teach at BYU-I. But, we obviously can't guarentee ourselves a job there just because Aaron has a PhD. It would be so awful to go back to school (the irregular hours, the homework, the loans, etc) and not get a job at BYU-I and then try to find another job (especially if the economy is still bad).

Aaron has talked with some of the professors at BYU-I to get their advice and feedback about getting a job there. They have asked him to come and teach (sub.) this coming fall and spring while one of the other teachers is taking a sabbatical. Sounds like a great opportunity but, we would be out of a job afterwards. So, Aaron has told them no. For now we're just going to stay with his job here (hoping it lasts).


It seems like a lot of the talks in this past conference were about making it throught these rough economic times. Here are a few things from Conference that really comforted me:

In Pres. Eyring's talk "Adversity" he spoke of a man who had recently lost
his job.

"When I asked his wife on the day he lost his job if she was worried, she
said with cheerfulness in her voice, 'No, we’ve just come from the bishop’s
office. We are full-tithe payers.' Now, it is still too early to tell, but I
felt assured as they seemed to be assured: 'Things will work
out.'"

I am grateful for the peace it brings me in knowing that we pay tithing! Even if we did lose our job and face some hard times, I know we would be okay.



In Elder Christofferson's talk "The Power of Covenants" he told of a family who had lost their home and ALL their belongings in an earthquake. When the wife was asked how she could still have a smile on her face, she said,

"I have prayed and I am at peace. We have all we need. We have each other,
we have our children, we are sealed in the temple, we have this marvelous
Church, and we have the Lord. We can build again with the Lord's help."

There were also so many talks about going to the temple. We don't need to be afraid if we are worthy to go to the temple and go often.

In Elder Stevenson's talk he said that even young children are encouraged to touch the temple because Pres. Monson said, "as we touch the Temple, the Temple will touch us". So, for FHE this week we took the girls to Temple Square and let them touch the temple.

Carly

Ellie

Catching up

I put Ellie's hair in braids the night before - she has such beautiful hair!

Sad, but true...this is one of the only Thanksgiving pictures that I took over the whole break. Uncle Josh let the kids ride in the back of their Hummer! We were in Rexburg this year for Thanksgiving and had a lot of fun...and fighting (lots of little cousins who think they're in charge).

Franci and Holly (Aaron's sisters) and I went to the movie Fireproof. We had no idea what the movie would be about, but we really enjoyed it.

These are the gingerbread houses that Carly and Ellie made (they were originally decorated with candy - but Carly and Ellie thought the candy would be better to eat)

A Bow Holder
I got this idea from my friend Brandy - (she does all sorts of fun homemade projects)! I made this one for my sis-in-law and I still need to make one for myself. (The picture to the right is what I have been using as a bow holder for the last year or so - I like Brandy's idea much better!)

So, one of the reasons I haven't been blogging lately is because I've been sick for the last week and a half - not fun (head cold and the stomach flu). I think I'm pretty much better now though! So, this is a picture of Aaron and the girls hanging out (watching Robin Hood) while Mommy rests.



Aaron also took the girls to a work Christmas Party for kids while I was sick. They got to sit on Santa's lap. One nice thing about not having TV commercials...

Santa: What would you girls like for Christmas this year?
Carly: A rubber ducky...a pink one!
Ellie: A pink rubber ducky!
(That should make Christmas shopping pretty easy on Santa's wallet!)

Aside from taking care of the girls and me while I've been sick, Aaron has been studying for his licensing exams - pretty intense. He's such a hard worker, I sure hope he does well. One of these days I'm going to post some pictures of what Aaron has been doing at work - he's kind of their in-house landscape artist. I just need his help downloading and stuff.

Our first few weeks in Salt Lake. . .

Well, I'm definitely liking things a lot better than the first few days that we were here! I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable and familiar with my surroundings. It’s been really great to be so close to family. We spent a day at Angela's house just hanging out. I see Stephanie just about every other day and we had a family dinner at my brother Ken’s home on Sunday. He makes the best Curry meal!

Last week we took the Trax into SLC.

Although it is an adjustment for me to live in a big city, there are definitely pros about it. There is so much to do!

While we were in Salt Lake we went to the Church History Museum. This is a video of Ellie at the “I Am a Child of God” center in the Church History Museum.

We also went to the Beehive House (Brigham Young’s Salt Lake home) which brought back many childhood memories. My little sister, Stephanie, and I hated to shop when we were little, so when we would go to SLC, my mom would take the older kids shopping for school clothes and my Dad (who also wasn’t keen on shopping) would take Steph and I to the Beehive house and around Temple Square. I always looked forward to those trips!

We went to the Conference Center to see Leon’s (Aaron’s Dad’s) paintings of Elder Scott, Elder Bednar and Elder Cook - aren’t they amazing?! (The photo we took of Elder Scott's had too much glare.)

This is a picture from the Green Roof at the Conf. Center (I'm pretty impressed with my photography skills on this one)

I LOVE going to Temple Square!!!

Carly’s favorite part of the day was the escalator (cheap entertainment)!

We went to Gardner Village last weekend – it is the coolest little set of shops! They also have a petting zoo and a pony carousel ride.

Our next door neighbors here are so nice – it seems that we just always get lucky when it comes to neighbors – in Rexburg, Moscow and here! Our neighbors have made us feel so welcome. They have a son, Jose (11 yrs), and a daughter, Joselyn (9 yrs) – they adore Carly and Ellie and vise versa. They are such a neat family.

Our ward is so different from what we are used to – it’s what you would call a “Newly Wed and Nearly Dead” ward (ours is about 80% “Nearly Dead” and the "Newly weds" have all been married longer than we have)! When we sat down in sacrament meeting Ellie looked behind us and, pointing at one of the older men, said "That bishop is going to die"! I guess she thought he was a bishop because of the gray hair. Funny girl! Everyone was very kind on Sunday and made us feel welcome.

Of course the day after we moved here we made it to the public library to get library cards and have been there about 4 times in the past week and a half.

Carly finally got her own bike.

And Ellie has been wearing big girl panties for 3 days now. We've tried potty training her a few times before this, without success, but hopefully this is it!

Also, while we’ve been here we received a job offer in Oman (in the Middle East). They offered amazing compensation (like nothing you would see in the States) and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it wasn’t right for us…at least for now. This is, by far, the hardest and most stressful decision we have made since being married!

A Job Offer!

Yesterday Aaron got a job offer from the IBI Group in Salt Lake City. We are so excited! When I told Carly that Daddy got a job the first thing she asked was, "Can we have a baby now?". We're still waiting to hear back from a couple other places, but hopefully we'll know in the next week what our plans are for the coming year!! YAY!!!!

My Sisters & Aaron's Job Prospects

My Sisters

My Sister’s and I had a Girl’s Weekend in Boise the last weekend in March.
We Shopped ‘Til We Dropped (10 hours straight on Saturday…way too long!)

Aaron's Job Prospects

Last week Aaron had two different companies fly him to their offices (Aspen, CO and SLC) for 2nd interviews – we’ll let you know more when we know more! On his way to Aspen (for Design Workshop), the flight was not able to land because of weather conditions so they landed at the nearest airport (about a 3 hour drive away – 6 hrs because of weather). The guy sitting next to him on the flight offered him a ride to Aspen. This same man had also worked with Design Workshop on several projects and was able to give him lots of information and advice about the company and the Aspen area. He also happened to be the Land Planner on the site that Aaron is studying for his Master’s Thesis! Is Someone watching out for us or what!?