I changed my font at Lily Puff

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Are we absolutely CrAzY?!

Well, the place we were going to live ended up being too good to be true. After I called them to confirm our move in time, the lady told me "Yes, we have you. You'll be getting our move-in special. First and last month free, as well as no security deposit OR move-in fees." Wow, really? That's...awesome! So, I told Andy. He was shocked. The more he thought about it, the more we realized this may be too good to be true. I had looked up the reviews on the complex. I did think it was a little odd that the reviews were mostly glowing and that they were just from about January. So, I dug a little deeper. I learned that the complex recently changed it's name (in December-ish) and the reviews I found for the old name were....less then glowing. Let's just say, we didn't feel comfortable living somewhere like that with Andy being gone 12+ hours a day. I was more then disappointed. I had done so much work to find this place. I guess my lesson is learned.

We weren't sure what we were going to do! My step-mom has family in Mesa, maybe we can stay with them while we try to find somewhere to live. Except we don't know them at all. It might be a little awkward. I was determined to find us a new place to live. I used a different search site and found a few places. We decided if we wanted something worth living in which had a good, safe reputation, we were going to need to pay more then we had originally planned. I was also ready to be disappointed. I not only searched reviews, but I searched Family Watchdog. The national sex offender registry. It not only tells you which offenders live in your area, but it also gives overall ratings for your area in categories like forced rape, murder/manslaughter, robbery/burglary, ect. While this doesn't seem like something fun, it is really important to us to live in a safe area. So, I contacted a place via e-mail. I was completely shocked when they called me back within the hour. This neighborhood is closer to the school, it is a gated community with an access card, they do monthly activities for the families, they have three swimming pools, two spas, a 24 hour fitness center and so much more! We decided this was an answer to prayer. We'd been praying hard, too. We figured if the Lord wanted us there, he would help provide a way. We were able to get approved and assigned an apartment the next day. They do rigorous background and credit checks. Which we passed. They also do a rental history check. I am absolutely willing to go through these steps in order to live somewhere I feel safe. We are very grateful The Lord sees fit to guide us in our lives.

So, I know you're wondering, geesh, enough talking already. But, I still have to tell you why we are absolutely CrAzY! You all know, we recently bought a VW Passat Wagon. We love this car, but it's falling apart before our eyes. The one thing we can't afford is to move, living off savings until August and have our car breakdown. We have been praying about it and we finally decided we would look into buying a new car. Not brand new, but something we knew would be safe. We were worried about paying rent, food and taking on a car payment. We searched online to see if there were cars which we would be able to afford, with good gas mileage and a great car fax report. Again, we figured if it was meant to be, the Lord would provide a way. We found a couple crossover cars which fit our needs. Last night, we test drove them both. One was a Buick Rendezvous and the other was a Chrysler Pacifica. We were pretty disappointed with the Buick. It was pretty trashed on the inside. We want something which will last. Andy went to the other dealership and brought the Chrysler to me at work. Let's just say, it was love at first site. I couldn't believe there was this wonderful car, right in front of me, with everything we need and we could afford it. I drove it around town. It drives as great as it looks! Well...you're looking at the new owners of a 2006 Chrysler Pacifica!

See, I told you were were crazy!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What do YOU think we will have?

I had another doctor appointment yesterday. Baby's heart sounds great! I talked with Dr. Lamb about my hip pain, my radical emotions AND the fact that I have lost six pounds since becoming pregnant. Oh, and that little bit about my progesterone shots. Well, my hip pain is normal...rest more. My radical emotions? While not typical for me, it's normal when pregnant. Loosing six pounds? Well, it's not unusual to loose weight. Someone brought up to me today that maybe I am having twins...Ekkk! We talked about new developments with the progesterone shots. I will be able to have them! That means NO bed rest starting in July for me! That means NO bed at all.
I set up my next appointment for May. I will be meeting with the High Risk Specialist at Millcreek Maternal-Fetal department as well as having my ultrasound done to find out what we are having! We are really excited and grateful to know what we are having before we make the big move to Phoenix!

Speaking of Phoenix...We officially have a place to live! We got a slammin' deal on some great apartments in the Phoenix area. I also have an appointment June 10 with the Doctor. So, I am hoping we can leave on the 11th. Or even after my appointment on the 10th. It's crazy to me to think we won't be living in Utah anymore. I have to say, with the weather being as it has been for the last, I don't know, MONTH, I am ready for a little dash of sunshine in my life.
I have already started getting some things organized and just keeping up with some deep cleaning so it's not as much to do when we actually empty our place out. The Ronald McDonald House has been our home for nearly two years. It will be sad to leave the wonderful people we are able to meet here. That being said, I am also SO ready and excited for this new adventure of ours! It will exciting to have Andy for the summer, just with us! We're excited to have a new baby and work our way towards being 'real' adults!! Who knows, maybe we'll just stay a young, hip family forever ;)

As far as what we will be having in October, I have no idea! Sometimes I think "oh, a girl would be fun...but not if she ends up with an attitude..." "Boys are great...plus, I already have everything I need!" But, only the Lord knows for now. What you all think? I know some of you have a 6th sense about these things. I usually do, but this pregnancy is doing crazy things with my mind!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

It's been an exciting time!

It's been a week since we made the final decision to attend Midwestern University and I have been VERY busy! I have decided I will be going through all of our things and getting rid of a bunch of JUNK, including my clothes I will probably never be able to wear again. I was doing some wishful thinking, don't judge me. I have also been busy finding us somewhere to live. At first, we wanted to BUY a house. The market is really soft down in Arizona right now and we could actually save some money with a small mortgage. Unfortunately, reality hit and we realized there is no way we could find a house and move into it...all in TWO months. So, we decided that renting an apartment or house right now would be the best option for our family. It will give us a chance to get to know the area and check out some places ourselves.

So, I have found some places to check out. And by "check out", I mean "This place has great reviews and the pictures are legit...let's apply". But, really, I spent the WHOLE day yesterday at the computer, compiling "pros and cons" lists of our top 6 places. I mean, I hooked the computer up at the kitchen table, turned on some Jimmy Buffett, and gave Will some paper and crayons. Of course, Will wanted to draw on the table. While we don't have the nicest table on the block, I still take pride in the little space I have on that table which isn't covered by Andy's school books and my borrowed Work and The Glory series. So, I taped about 10 sheets of blank paper to Will's half of the table and let him go at it! He LOVED it. I couldn't believe my stroke of genius! Last night, Andy and I went through the list and picked our top three to apply to. THAT is what I will be spending my day on today. We are SO excited to go to Arizona! We are so ready to be OUT of Utah winters, which last entirely too long. We are so excited to be on this adventure of building our lives and our family!

In other news, namely, WILL...We ordered him a big boy bed over the weekend! He was looking so cramped in his crib. We were going to wait until we move, but we decided that might be TOO much change at one time. We got a very cute bed from the internet. It's not very high, it's maybe 6-8 inches from the floor, and you just use a crib mattress. Well, it came yesterday. I thought we would wait to use it until the weekend, but Andy put it together last night, with the help of Will! It was so cute to see them working together! I love my family! One thing Will loves to do is 'pretend sleep'. He will lay down almost anywhere, squint his eyes shut, and proceed to snore. I told Andy that Will would probably do that when the bed was all finished...I was so right! The first thing he did was get under his blanket and snore! We have raised a "jumping child". We let him jump on the couch, our bed, the big chair and his crib. Well, now we let him jump on his BIG BOY BED! Last night was our first night. We were pretty laid back about it. We stuck to our normal routine. I let him climb into bed on his own, tucked him in and said a prayer with him. I turned out the lights and shut the door. He opened it about 5 minutes later, and Andy went in to put him back down. He came out two more times. The last time, with his horse in hand and he actually walked all the way into the living room. Andy told him "William RAY. You get back in your bed." Will then started to cry. I took him in bed, realized his noise maker was on the wrong setting, changed it, wiped away some tears, asked Heavenly Father to help Will to sleep and give me and Andy patience through this transition. I kissed him good night and walked away. He didn't make a peep the rest of the night. I woke up to use the bathroom at about 3am, peeked in at him and he was in the middle of the floor. I just put him back in his bed. I am grateful that our first night was a success! I think the fact that we were so laid back about it and that Will actually helped put the bed together and saw Daddy put his crib mattress from his crib into his bed helped a lot. It was only the first night, we still have our first nap time and night 2 ahead of us. BUT, I have faith that we can do this! It will be wonderful!