Moving

This past weekend we got an offer on our house, we are now under contract and if everything goes as planned we will be out of our house on May 15th by 5:00pm. With the playground coming with us, they didn't offer enough for it!

The strangest thing happened when I found out that we had on offer that both parties could agree to and that we were moving forward with this: I literally jumped for joy. Anyone who knows me well knows this is never the norm. Me? Jumping for joy over change? And not just a small change, a huge one! Yeah the new house is only 20 minutes away but 20 minutes means a completely new life for me and the kids. A new ward with new callings. New faces we don't know. A new gym that hopefully I can get a job teaching at. New grocery stores that I don't yet know my way around. New kids for my kids to become friends with. A new street with new neighbors that can in no way beat the ones I am about to leave. No way! All of this is terrifying to me and I hate that I can't picture all of those things in my head already.

Why? I wondered, was this my reaction instead of huddled in the closet, in secrecy, bawling my eyes out? I realized I have already gone through my own personal mourning phase, pathetic, I know. But yes, I needed a mourning phase about leaving the life I now have, the comfort & security of staying put. And it lasted probably longer than it should have. But the truth of the matter is once that was over, once I knew we were doing it and there was no turning back I have embraced the change head on. House on the market? Let's do it. Build a new house? Bring it on! Stay in a tiny apartment until new house is done? No big deal! Find a new job teaching? Let's start now! Leave my friends and street? Oh wait, that still hurts! So here's a little shout out to a few of the people/things who have really made a difference in my life while living here. And yes ladies, I will only be 20-30 minutes away.

Amy: LOVE HER! She was the first friend I had after moving here and we were pretty much stuck together at the hip. She's laid back (I wish that would rub off on me a little), super funny, honest and has seen me cry more than a friend should have to. She was more than a great strength to me after Caleb was born & during some difficult times in my life. She is my social connection and I will always be grateful she keeps inviting me to things even though I usually turn her down. Now that are schedules are a little more busy you won't see us doing our grocery shopping together anymore but she'll always be one person I can confide in. I love you Amy!

Joan: Okay, seriously Joan and I are like two peas in a pod. She is the only friend I have who loves talking fitness and nutrition as much as I do. You will never, and I mean NEVER hear Joan say something negative about anyone! Seriously, how many people can you say that about? She too has seen me cry a fair amount and always seems to have good advice on those days, you know, so I don't end up strangling my kids or something! I will always be grateful for the service I got to do for her when her youngest Charlie was born. Born with some health complications I was able to help her out some with her other kids. And although I know she felt like it was a burden on me it wasn't. It was so nice to be doing service for someone other than my kids and know the person I was doing it for appreciated it. And besides, look how much better friends we are now Joan, since all that happened. Love you Joan!

Shannon: So truth be told there was a turning point in this relationship. We went from being just neighbors who would sit outside and chat because our kids are the same age to awesome friends who both cry when I tell her we're moving (in Chick-Fil-A, might I add. I know, not the best place to tell her). Shannon is truly one of the most amazing people I know. I have seen her change in so many areas! She has a determination to accomplish hard things that I wish she could share with me. Her ability to forgive people is amazing. Her complete focus on keeping the negative things out of her life is what I love most about her. She has suffered from one medical thing after the next and yet every time I see her it's all smiles and "So how are you?" She brings me caramel apple cider on Saturday mornings when I'm not feeling well. She brings me flowers when I'm having a hard time. And when she can tell my boys are both about to be sitting on the curb with a "for sale" sign around their necks she invites them over to her place. Shannon, did you know there are still empty lots over by where we're building? I hear there's other little boys on the street so the company should be good for Ian and Aidan!

My street: Is this weird? Maybe so. But really, here's an ordinary afternoon on our street. Shannon, Katie and I all sitting in the Covington's drive way. I'm flipping through a magazine, Shannon is painting her toes, Katie's listening for Crocket on the baby monitor. Six little boys are running around getting dirty, riding bikes, eating popsicles, playing hide & seek and having the occasional fight. The teenage boys are throwing a football up and down the street or playing basketball. The girls are walking from one house to the other with their swim suits on and towels over their shoulders. LaRae is across the street sitting on her front porch talking on her cell phone. All the adults yell in unison "SLOW DOWN" as the crazy school bus driver goes to fast down our 25 mph street crawling with kids. Who wouldn't miss this? You don't find many streets like this these days.

544: Now this one I know is weird to write about but really, 544! How I will miss you! You have everything so conveniently located. Target, Aldi, Sprouts and Wal-mart are all a stone's throw away from each other. My bank. My gym. Chick-Fil-A! Now you even have a Michael's coming, right when we're leaving. In this new, unfamiliar city I am about to move to there is nothing like you there. I already know I will miss you!

My little sister Sadie said that it's never not weird to her how people will come and go, in and out of your life. She went on to say that even though they may not physically be with you, they will still always be with you because they have helped you become who you are. A part of them is with you. I know these three ladies have helped me become a better person and I will always be grateful for that.

turning every day into a fun day

Terrible two's? Really, who came up with that phrase? Did their child never make it to three? Honestly I LOVE two! Like really really love it! It's when they start to show love to you. They cherish you! You can't do anything wrong to a two year old. They cup your face and think Mom is the best. But then 3 hits, really 3 1/2. They start to realize that they can say no to mom and the funniest thing is they really truly mean it. My sweet adorable little Caleb has entered this terrible 3 1/2 age. I am trying really hard to focus on the wonderful things about him and to my surprise they're are a lot! Funny how many wonderful things there are once you start looking for them. Things I love about my temper-tantrum throwing 3 year old right now.

-Anytime I get upset, raise my voice at Austin, cry...you get the point. Caleb is right there. Behind me and then quickly in front of me. Arms up saying "I trying to give you hug." So I bend down and accecpt his hug. He then gives me a kiss followed by eskimo kisses. Then he says "you not angry anymore?" It happens almost every time! And it works. How can I be angry or frusterated after that?

-He loves to play with his brother! Today they were upstairs and I could here that they were getting upset about something. Finally Austin said "Fine then,I'm just not going to play with you." I could hear the panic in Caleb's voice. "No, No, No, No. Austin! I your unger brother. We play together." There was real urgency and panic in his voice. Austin said "Oh okay. You're right. Sorry Caleb." I seriously stood in the kitchen and asked myself if I really just heard that conversation take place. It was one of the cutest things ever!

-He says such funny things and he understands so many concepts. Today was exceptionally windy. As in when I left to get Austin from school, the neighbors who live two doors down and across the street, trampoline was in our front yard. And Caleb said "Mom, that huge giant fan in space is switched to "on" today."

-Today he and I were playing while Austin was at school. He told me to "quick, run and hide! The bad guys are coming to throw us into the fire like King Noah!"

Who brings "AH-HA" moment's into your life?

So Rodney is my old boss with 24 hour fitness and he is awesome! He is one of those people that's motivational and energetic and people want to be around him because he's uplifting. He likes to focus on "Ah -Ha" moments, you know, when you learn something new that's gonna stick with you. I got this off of Rodneys facebok page.


Rodney J. Morris

My "Ah-Ha" moment from today... staying after class tonight to teach one of my members (a 65 year old gentleman) how to "shimmy." Lesson learned: You will never be too old to learn something new as long as you are brave enough to raise your hand (and be noticed) and smart enough to surround yourself with people who are willing to help you grow...

I just loved this! Maybe I can take my dance lessons one day after all! Rodney now works in the Austin area and I will miss all the chances to gain Ah-Ha moments from him. Not to worry, there are other amazing people in my life who I can gain Ah-Ha moments from!

Austin

I know you've heard me say it before but Austin is truly a special little kid. I explained it to Jaren this way. Everything about Austin is more! If he's feeling angry then we as a family get to experience that anger 10x greater than most people would with their child. If he's throwing a temper tantrum (yes, he still does this at the age of 5) then it's 10x worse than the average child. You get the point. But it's not all bad. When Austin wants to show us that he loves us he does is to such an extreme that you feel like you're a Queen. If he wants to help clean up around the house, or be nice to his brother than it's all done with such passion!

Lately I've noticed that this carries over into his TV watching and it is the funniest thing! If I'm standing in the kitchen doing dishes I can tell exactly what's happening on the TV by watching Austin's face/body. So yesterday I'm unloading the dishwasher and I see Austin move to the edge of the couch. His feet start drumming the floor and both hands are up to his mouth and it looks like he's biting his nails. He's got a very concerned look on his face. I am wondering how on earth it can be that intense, I turned on a Disney Junior show called Octonaugts from the Disney channel. It's about 8 little animals that explore the underwater world. At that moment there was a scary shark about to attack. Then in an instant he stands completely upright, shouts in horror and runs out of the family room as fast as he can towards the front door. He ran so fast he couldn't stop in time, SMACK! He collided with the front door! He came crying into the kitchen but the look on his face told me it wasn't the pain of smacking the front door that was causing this crying it was what ever he saw on the television. I got a tissue and hugged him for a long time. He finally said, "That was too scary and I didn't like the way it made me feel inside."

Oh Austin! I don't think I'll ever be able to put into words how much I love you. I hope you can find a love for your Savior so that your tender heart can find a place of peace in this scary world. I'll always be there to hug you little guy!

Blurp

Austin brought home a book from school yesturday with pictures of all the kids in his class. With each picture was a little information about each child. The last thing on the page was a sentence that the child obviously finished. It said "I love" ... and then the teacher wrote in what the child said. These were common answers: oreos, pizza, dogs, my toys. Austins said, "I love playing with my brother." Made me smile!

Kia Ora

I did it! I attended my first Les Mills Training this past weekend. It was ... well, words can't really describe how it was. I got there at Noon on Friday with absolutely no idea what to expect. As I walked into the gym I saw what was obviously my class sitting awkardly in one corner waiting for what ever insructions we were going to get. I instantly did what everyone does in that situation and scanned the people. There were the two "cute" girls who's clothes matched. The nice looking, obviously people person, little ball of muscle whom I only assued would be our instructor (I was right) & the guys, there were only two of them. Then a lot of other women who seemed to be waiting just as I was. I noticed right off the bat that I clearly missed the memo about wearing red and black. I learned later that red, black & gray are the Bodypump colors but I had no idea that was the case going into this weekend.

We headed upstairs into what soon became "our home" and set our stuff down. I am naturally a shy person so I stuck to myself and watched as the bouncy, athletic people traveled around the room and got to know each other. The first people to introduce themselves to me were the two matching girls, Jen and Allie and they truly were very very nice! Before too long our instructor, Maria Long had us all in a circle and was teaching us about the history of Les Mills. It was originated in New Zealand and was influenced by the Maori people. She explained some of the Maori traditions and then we as a group got to practice one. One by one, in an organized manner we all looked straight into the eyes of these strangers, butted heads and said "Kia Ora" which literally means be well/ be healthy. Yeah, a little awkard staring into the eyes of complete strangers & then butting heads. But it did exactly what our instructor wanted it to do. It broke down that wall that each of us had placed around us. Weather we knew it or not it was there when we walked into the gym and was gone by the time the head butts were done. And the rest of the weekend we became a family, a tribe. We are tribe Dallas!

We did it through group games, Bodypump classes, extreme challenges, drawing pictures, watching motivational videos, watching videos of ourselves, eating together and much more. Through each of these we learned a little bit more about how to better our teaching. Weather it be through the coreography, the tone of our voice or by creating fitness magic everything we did tied back into making each of us the best we can be!

We did just what a family does, we helped one another! We taught each other technique, we helped each other with timing and choreography. Basically we encouraged each other to do our best and supported each other when we were having a hard time. We were trully happy for the other person when they did their best. There was no feelings of competition!

Now that the weekend is over I get to continue my Bodypump journey. It's time for me to set up my team teaching and get 100% ready for me to film my video! Even though it will take a lot of work and a lot of determination I am so "pumped" to get moving! Kia Ora Everyone!

"Snacker"

A couple weeks ago we went on a beaustiful house boat with Jaren's family and Austin caught, killed and ate his very first fish! A little history to this. Last summer Austin asked if we could go fishing so we went and bought all the stuff and took him fishing. His interest in fishing has not died down since then but taken has grown. So needless to say we took the fishing gear on this trip. Well since day one he has wanted to catch & eat a fish. That happenned this trip and the thing was SO WEIRD for me to watch!

After he caught it there was absolutly no emotional attachment to that fish what so ever. In fact he named it "Snacker" becuase he was about to eat it for his snack (it was tiny and the final outcome produced about an ounce of meat). He walked with his Dad, Grandpa and Unlce over to the shore where they then cut off the fish's head, all this time Austin was not at all bothered by it! He watched with excitement as they cooked it and asked his Grandma to please cut up a lemon to squeeze on it. Here are the pictures of the him actually eating his fish! I died laughing when I saw them!

Here is anxiously awating his "snack"!

You can never have too much lemon juice on your fish!

Fisrt Bite!

Austin exact words were "That was ... Lemon!"

I LOVE his face in this picture! It looks like were forcing this upon him, he looks like he may vomit any second but he voluntarily kept eating all on his own! He WAS going to finish that "snacker"!

Ugh! High Five from Dad!