On Thursday morning I had to bring Lila to the doctor's again for a re-check of her hemoglobin levels. So we were there for an hour, and of course she hated it when the nurses and doctors were checking her out. Her iron levels are going up, thanks to the iron supplement, but we need to continue with that for 3-4 months until they're back to normal. I don't know if I wrote about this yet, but her lead levels are normal. The levels from the first draw they took were a 12, which is pretty high, but the second time was a 2.
At 4:30 that night we met Mike at the Hathaway house. We wanted to see it one more time before we put in an offer and to show it to Mike and Emily. (Emily had to work so couldn't come.) Mike wasn't too impressed, lol. It's not what he'd buy. But we were sure that we wanted to buy it still. We walked around the house and in the backyard. It's actually a great yard. And I could definitely see us living there and being very happy there. So we drove over to Rich's office and signed all the papers. Lila was a trooper... though she was pretty cranky by the end. We decided to offer $170,500. Rich said he'd try to meet with Kim (their realtor) as early as possible the next day and call us afterwards to let us know what the "vibe" of the meeting was.
So, Thursday night we were all excited about that. Called our families and told them. And we spent more time on the phone with Mike, of course. Actually we video chatted with him. Because we don't see each other enough. He was texting and chatting with Cassandra. He hadn't contacted her all day because he was still pretty bummed/weirded out about their conversation the previous day, when she told him about Mr. Colorado. But she texted in the evening and started asking him when she'd see him next. She asked what he was doing this weekend, and then he suggested she come home, and she said she would.
Friday was a very boring day. Lila and I sat around at home until 2:30 or so when I got so bored that we needed to get out. We went to the mall to pick up my anniversary ring that had been fixed. Lila and I had a treat--she loves her french fries. Walked around a little bit before she got crabby and needed to go home. I made chicken and rice for dinner. I think we just hung out at home that night. Oh, Cassandra got snowed in and couldn't leave Canada, but she and Mike talked on the phone for an hour, until her mom and sisters called at midnight.
Here's an email I wrote Jake Friday --
You know, I've been thinking and feeling lately that it's been a special part of the Lord's plan for us and for others in Kalamazoo that we live here. Just think about all the opportunities we've had to serve and share the gospel here in Kalamazoo. I know that we would do good wherever we live, but I feel like we're specifically needed in this area to build up the kingdom here. I'm excited that we'll continue to live here and grow some roots here. Our children will be blessed for it.
Saturday morning we went grocery shopping and got boxes from guys stocking the aisles--good idea! It was nice to get shopping out of the way. While there, Mike called to say that Cassandra was actually going to come home that day! So he was excited. We went home, took naps, got up, played with Lila, and then had a free lunch at Penn Station East Coast Subs (we had a coupon). Then went to the stake center for a few hours to clean out files and papers in the clerk's office. (There were files in there from the '70s and '80s.) We got home, got ready for bed, did showers. I worked on finding design ideas for our new house, Jake helped for a while but got on my nerves. :) Then we kind of watched The Social Network. I was doing other things and went to bed before it finished, but with the time change (spring forward), we didn't get to bed till after 1.
Mike went over to Cassandra's house for her birthday dinner with her family. They met up at the youth dance he was chaperoning and after that he went to their house again to watch a movie. It was weird for him because he got to see a lot of her family's craziness. Particularly her mom's and youngest sister Savannah's. They have a weird family culture. It was her 26th birthday. The sisters found out that Mike isn't an Eagle Scout and said that their mom wouldn't let them date guys who aren't Eagle Scouts. (The Lillrose girls are Savannah (15, almost 16), Samantha (21), Tiffany (23), and Cassandra (26).) Cassandra thankfully spoke up and said, "I'm old enough to decide who I'm going to hang out with." Savannah "lectured" Cassandra after Cassandra showed up at the dance to visit with Mike; didn't want her there. Savannah is pretty rude to all guys that go over to their place. Before he went in after the dance, he told Cassandra that he didn't have to go in if it would cause tension in the family. Cassandra said that Savannah is like that with all the guys that come over, and that if he didn't go in that night, it wouldn't help the next time he came over, so he should just come in if he wanted to. So they had donuts and watched a movie. Cassandra fell asleep on his shoulder and held his hand the whole time. They had a long hug goodbye and he mentioned that it was weird/different around her family and she said, "Yeah, you should come to Canada more." I feel for her... because I know how it is to have a kind of crazy family.
On Sunday morning, the alarm went off at 7:45 but we fell back asleep until 8:30! Woops! Church starts at 9, so we were 10 minutes late. Savannah spoke in sacrament meeting and Cassandra was there. I didn't get a chance to talk to her but Jake did. She congratulated him on the new house, which in very close to her parents'. Jake had Lila the whole time, which was nice for me.
After church, we talked to Mike on the phone and he filled us in on the previous night. We had lunch and laid down for a while. Had dinner before Jake had to go do some clerk training at 4:30. Emily came over around the time Jake left. Skyped with my parents for a long time and they loved watching Lila play. She danced for a looong time while we sang to her. It was really funny.
At 6, Lila and I headed to the stake center for the ward's RS birthday party/fireside. I sat by Sister Johnson and visited with her for a bit about the new house. I was asked to share my testimony about how RS has blessed my life. I talked about my background--how RS sisters taught me the gospel at church, in primary and YW, growing up... which meant a lot because my mom isn't a member of the church. And how they helped as I was a very young wife, and how now I'm so grateful as a new mom to have their support. Several other women and the bishop also spoke. The other testimony that really stood out to me was Sharon Hunt's. She is the Stake Primary President and my friend Kasey's mother-in-law. She said when she was younger, she used to think it was kind of pointless to visit inactive sisters because they usually didn't want her there and it was awkward and uncomfortable. And then she started sobbing and said that now, she has a daughter who is inactive, and it means the world to her just to know that her visiting teachers contact her monthly. So when we're assigned inactive sisters to VT, remember that often, they have mothers and fathers and siblings who are praying for them. It was a powerful message.
After the fireside, we got to just sit around, eat refreshments, and visit. It was a lot of fun. I really love my RS! Visited with Candace, Alicia, Kasey, Kendra, Amber, and Annette. As we were talking out to the parking lot, Kendra told me she really enjoyed my talk, that she loves getting to know people better. She said that since she's met me, she's thought that I'm a really strong, awesome, upbeat person... that I do so much for the Primary and so on top of things, that the Primary would be a mess without me, haha! And then she said after hearing my background and testimony, she thinks I'm even stronger than she thought! It was a nice compliment. She said, "You're awesome, Rudi!" I really like Kendra, so it meant a lot to hear that from her. She's pregnant with her fifth and turned 32 yesterday.
Yesterday (Monday) morning, Lila woke up just as Jake was getting ready to leave, so we hurried up and half-heartedly got ready (I just threw my glasses on and some clothes) and headed off with Jake to Rich's office to sign some papers for the house. Mostly just stuff from the relocation company, Cartas. Lila pooped while we were there, which is awesome. Found out that Rich's best friend is my mom's first cousin, Greg Krause! Small world! As we were leaving, Alicia Thompson called and invited us over, so Lila and I headed there. Talked to Mike on the way. He was excited because Cassandra had emailed him. On Sunday he didn't hear a lot from her because she was busy having dinner guests, but before she went to bed she wrote him a quick note telling him about her day.
We spent the morning and had lunch at Alicia's. Brig is almost 15 months and she's due in June with her second, a girl. It was fun visiting. They have one car so she's mostly at home every day. I'd go crazy. But she's awesome and has a positive attitude and loves being a mom. We left at around 1, and Lila slept for an hour in the car. At 4, Lila and I went to Walmart to pick out a birthday present for Waylon Hunt. When Jake got home, we had a quick dinner and went to Waylon's birthday party at 6:30. Opened presents and had cake. There was a beautiful sunset on the way home. Lila had a few small bites of cake and liked playing with a big ball that Waylon got for his birthday. Lila turns one a week from today; can't believe it!
Something kind of exciting: Jake's boss, Jen Randall, had a giant, custom-built house in Indiana before she and her family moved to Kalamazoo. (Jake said that the mortgage alone was $3800/month!!) It took them two years to sell it. So they've been in an apartment in Kalamazoo and are planning on building a house here, but will be in an apartment for another year and a half or so. Right now they have two storage units in Kalamazoo full of their furniture and stuff. All really nice Pottery Barn type furniture. She suggested to Jake yesterday that while they're waiting to build a house, we use their furniture. That way we don't have to buy furniture right away (and can take some time to save up more money for it) and they don't have to pay $200/month for the units. She sent pictures of some of their furniture; really nice stuff! So it's not official yet, but we're planning on doing that. Another blessing for us.
Last night after Lila went to bed, we had a virtual FHE with Mike (video chat). He played some guitar, Jake gave a lesson on getting what we want most in life. We told Mike to ask Cassandra about the dozen other boyfriends her sister said she had. So they were up talking till 1:30 on the phone.
We did not get good sleep last night. Lila was up a lot. Today she has a runny/stuffed up nose so maybe she's getting another cold.
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