Monday, March 7, 2011
A Miracle
Oh, in Fast and Testimony meeting on Sunday, Sister Johnson got up and shared her testimony. She talked about the blessing that Jake gave her (she didn't say it was Jake, just that it was a "dear friend") and her experience with her sick granddaughter, who is now at home and doing well. She said the whole experience was life changing. After we left, she and Rand sat down and recorded everything they could remember from the blessing, and she reviewed it every day she was out in New York helping her daughter and granddaughter. She said it was amazing, seeing the things from the blessing unfold. After sacrament meeting I sat with her for a while and she teared up and said how grateful she and Rand were for us and how much they love us; said that we've done so much for them. I said, "You've done so much for us!" I told her what it says in Jake's patriarchal blessing... that as he ministers to Heavenly Father's children, he will see miracles transpire. She said this was definitely one of them. She's going to write a record of this experience and share it with us. Heavenly Father is amazing.
Mike + Cassandra
- When he got to London, he went straight to campus to meet Cassandra at the music building. He pulled up to the building, she hopped into the car to show him where to park. He was disappointed; he'd wanted to give her a hug at first sight. As they were walking back to the music building, after about walking 20 ft., C stops and says, "Hey! Give me a hug! I'm glad you made it!"
- She gave him a tour of the music school and piano program. As she was showing him one of the pianos she was fixing and talking about it, he had this feeling, the Spirit telling him, "This is your future wife talking to you." He said it was amazing.
- She played some different pianos to show him the differences in sound quality. She was impressed when he started describing the differences.
- When they left at around 1:00, they went to her place for lunch. Made tomato soup from scratch. C spilled sugar onto the floor and started scooping it from the floor, back into the container. Mike teased her about it.
- C once told Emily that it was a huge turn-off for her when men just sit there while women cook and do the dishes; she wants her husband to be involved in that. So Mike made sure to be involved and did all the dishes after lunch and/or dinner.
- After that they went to a park and spent a long time talking and walking there. They held hands. She said, "Warm my hands up!" They hugged before getting back into the car, he held her for a while. Said it was very comfortable, not awkward. They had an easy time talking. At one point she told him that her roommate's brother Chris proposed recently and gave his fiance a giant diamond ring. She said, "I'm not really into big diamonds... that's not really important to me." Hint hint. ;)
- He went grocery shopping with C and her roommate Michelle. He's met Michelle in Kalamazoo and at YSA dances. At the last YSA dance in Lansing (that took place at the beginning of C's spring break), Emily told Michelle that Mike thinks C is really cool and asked if C does much dating. He had to fart really bad (lol) so he told them he'd go get chili seasoning so that he could go and fart by himself. I told him before he left that he should take Beano (he was worried about the farting thing, lol).
- While C and her roommates made chili, Mike helped her roommate's brother with his car. (The brother, Chris, originally came in and asked C for help, which is pretty funny to me.) At one point, her roommate Breanne comes up from the basement (where she'd been all day) and saw Mike and said, "Oh, who's this? Is he someone from the piano program?" C said, "Nope, he's a friend from Michigan." She asked Mike what his name was and where he was from. After he said Battle Creek, a lightbulb went off in her head and she said, "This is Mike Mike?!" And got so excited and hugged him and they hit it off pretty well. She said, "I really like you, Mike Mike! You're welcome here anytime!" And told him she'd call him Mike Mike from now on.
- After dinner, before they sat down to watch a movie, they looked at the weather and saw that there was freezing rain and snow in Michigan so they tried to get Mike to spend the night, but he totally didn't feel comfortable doing that. C had told him earlier that day that she wasn't a fan of co-ed sleepovers (like when Chris (Breanne's brother) and his friends would spend the night).
- At one point, Mike asked Michelle if she wanted a priesthood blessing because she was really sick. So he and Chris gave her a blessing,
- So they sat down to watch a movie (Invictus) and Mike intended to leave when it ended, around 10:30. C sat in the middle of the couch, M sat on one side and Michelle sat on the other. They just sat there and watched (not holding hands) for the first half of the movie. But halfway through, Michelle left. So Mike asked, "Can I hold your hand?" and she said yes, of course, and they snuggled on the couch, he had his arms around her, etc. She rubbed his hands and at some points where he was talking, she squeeze them tighter.
- This is where things got good. They spent the next 4-5 hours talking (and cuddling). He asked what her "three year plan" for life was. Earlier she told him that she bought an old, beat up Steinway piano on Craigslist for $3000 and she has a "three year plan" to fix it up and then sell it (it should sell for up to $70k!). So he wanted to start asking questions and get a good conversation going so that she could start asking questions about the divorce if she wanted. She told him that she was finishing up school and then in December she'd be done with her internship, but she didn't really know after that. She said she does hope to be married in 3 years.
- Oh, so Mike asked about the bet that she made with her sisters about the divorce. When her family visited her in Canada at the beginning of her spring break, she and her sisters and Mom were talking about Mike. They couldn't figure him out. He'd lived in Battle Creek for a year and they hadn't met him till now. Cassandra figured that he was divorced, so they googled him and found a blurb in the newspaper about it. She also remembered Kalina doing Lindsey Reyes's wedding cake. He told her that he would have told her sooner but hadn't really had an opportunity to do so until their ice skating date. She said she understood.
- At some point she said, "So tell me about Kalina." Mike basically told her everything. Told her out they met (which C said she thought was kind of cute) and then how the divorce happened. Told her about Kalina's past and how that affected their marriage. That they never really had a happy marriage. Told her about the day she told him she wanted a divorce, how he didn't tell anyone until a day or two when he was driving to work in Indiana, he called his dad and started bawling. Told her about the men he talked to in the temple (Brother Stoddard, the man who sealed he and Kalina--coincidentally, C's mom nannied for Brother Stoddard's brother when she was in her 20s) who told him about their experiences with re-marriage and how much of a blessing their current wives were. He touched on Kalina's sexual anorexia. So, he basically bore all. He said/thought that maybe he said too much, but he said it felt very right and good to just get it out there. He asked if C had anymore questions, and she didn't. She said, "Wow, that must have been so hard."
- And then she started talking about her struggles. She said it's been so difficult for her to not be married yet. All she's ever wanted is to be a mom and to have a family and that it's never been important to her to have a career, even though that's what has come easily to her. She said she's dated a few guys seriously, but the Spirit never guided her to marry either of them. She's been proposed to twice by the same guy. She helped teach him the gospel, and she said he mistook the feelings of the gospel for love for her. She said that when she was younger she was really angry about it, but now she's just trying to follow the Spirit and that the Spirit led her to grad school. She never planned on going to grad school, but that's where she's been led. She made it very clear to Mike several times that career wasn't important to her. She said that she could end the internship whenever she wanted.
- They swapped mission stories.
- She told Mike at some point that she thought he was a great guy, that it's clear he honors the priesthood, and that she'd really like to get to know him better. Mike then said that he thinks she's amazing, that it's clear she honors the priesthood, and that he wants to continue to get to know her.
- She (half-jokingly) asked Mike what in the world Jake was thinking when he introduced them so soon after the divorce. It's a good thing that she and Jake have a good rapport, he can get away with being bold. :) So Mike told her everything about that as well... how the first time he saw her was at the YSA dance when he was still married. He saw her signing with Emma Hardy; she was so animated and happy and he thought, "Wow, I wish my wife was that happy." And about how Kalina had been moved out for a long time before the divorce finalized. He told C how awesome Jake and I were throughout the divorce, and how we'd talked about her before the divorce was final to give him some hope. Something like that.
- They talked about kids. He asked if she'd want to wait for a while after she got married to have kids. She said probably not, that she'd like to start her family soon after.
- As he was getting ready to leave, he asked when she was coming to Kalamazoo next. She said the weekend of March 19th, for her friend Serena's wedding reception. (Serena is coincidentally Shane's--Emily's love interest's--sister.) Mike said, "Oh, and that's when your friend from Colorado is coming right?" (On their ice skating date, C told him that a guy from Colorado was going to come visit that weekend because "he'd never been to Michigan before and he wants to see what it's like.") Cassandra said, slyly, that it looks like he won't be coming to visit anymore, because she's changing his plans. Mike asked why and she smiled and said it was a story for another day. It's pretty apparent that this guy was a potential love interest and that she didn't want to have to go to this reception by herself. Cassandra turns 26 this Saturday and said she's trying to get her sisters to visit her. Mike probably won't be able to go because of work, but is planning on sending her flowers.
I know I'm totally geeking out about this. I'm obviously very excited for them! :) I just feel Heavenly Father's hand in this so much. To have seen all that Mike went through... and to have known Cassandra for a while and know that she's been wanting to get married so much... this is just wonderful. I think that they will get married. C's been texting with him yesterday and today, it's all good stuff. Woohoo! I'm going to have an awesome sister-in-law! :) (I hope.)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Baby Showers (and Hunger!), Mike's date, President Anderson
On Friday, after Lila's morning nap, we picked up Emily and went to the mall. We had lunch at the food court and Lila happily munched on some fries. I went there to get some jeggings for Annette's baby Ruby. Preston loved Lila's jeggings and it's become a bit of a joke in the ward. That night, we had a game night with Ann and Ben Hernandez and Kari and Hayden. Ann and Ben are living with Ann's parents right now while Ben is looking for a job; they just moved here from Mexico; Ann is originally from Kalamazoo. Nice couple! So Lila got to play around with Lucas and Hayden. We played "Oh Caca!" and had pizza. It was a pretty short game night. Didn't start till 7:15 and ended at 8:30 or so when Lila was ready for bed. That night, we watched an episode or two of Planet Earth.
Saturday was a weird day. I had Annette's baby shower at 11. It was really nice and relaxed and intimate. No silly games. Just visiting, eating, and opening presents. They did pass around a book that we could write advice in. It was a really nice time and it was so fun seeing her open all of the sweet baby girl clothes. And OHHHH did the baby hunger kick in. lol. I was jokingly telling the women I was sitting next to that if I'm pregnant soon I'm blaming it on Annette. I'm so excited to meet sweet baby Ruby. Everyone laughed when she opened the jeggings. I also bought her the most adorable outfit, a limey-yellow-green and tan outfit, that she said she was going to buy at Kohl's the other day, but Preston told her to wait until after the shower. :) Score.
After that I headed right to Desiree's shower, which was completely different. It was at a moody/trendy restaurant, North Eleven. Her sister is a manager there and Tyler is a waiter there. There were a LOT of people there--over thirty. And we were all sitting at a very long table, so it didn't feel very intimate. Desiree was dressed up fancy. It was catered by the place, so I got my fill of Pepsi and mozzarella sticks. :) I sat near Sonja, Juliet Nava-Altman, Ann, and Danielle (formerly Bush) Johnson and her sister Karen. Danielle and Brian Bush are getting divorced. Not a surprise. I'm going to take more maternity pictures of Sonja in a few weeks. It was a long shower and got boring after a while. There were a ton of presents.
So yes, I left the showers very, very, very baby hungry. :) While I was at the showers, Jake and Lila had lunch with Andre and then went to the grocery store. It was fun seeing her when we all got home. We played in bed for a long time, hoping that she'd fall asleep but she didn't. She's so cute now. When we ask her where her belly is, she lifts up her shirts and pats her belly and then claps her hands. She likes it when I then poke her belly and say, "Belly, belly, belly!" If we ask her where our noses are, she grabs at or points at our noses. Very, very cute. She is getting to be sooo adorable.
We met President Anderson (our stake president) at Applebee's at 5. Lila fell asleep on the way there and I sat in the car with her for 40 minutes before waking her up. She was so tired. I wrote Jess an email on Jake's phone. She'll have her baby in around a month!! So crazy. Lila and I will go visit them this summer.
We met with P.A. to talk about buying houses. He said he'd like to do that because he and Cynthia have had 8 houses and have learned a lot. It was really good to sit down and just talk about it--helps Jake and I feel better about it and more informed, and helps the idea solidify in our minds. It's a big step to take... feels like such a grown-up thing to do, but P.A. reminded us that it's a natural thing to do and helped us feel more confident about it. Good man! He'll make a great mission president.
Saturday night we waited to hear from Mike till 12:30am. He said he'd leave Cassandra's at 10:30pm. But we didn't hear back so we went to bed. This morning we woke up a little after 7 and heard about the date from Mike on the phone (I'll write a separate post about that--it's awesome!). That made us excited all day. Church went well. We gave the prayers. Lila was pretty cuddly and screamed a lot too. Jake had to do stuff for a stake audit during second hour and part of third so I had Lila duty. I walked around the hallway with her for what felt like a long time, and she finally fell asleep just as Jake rounded the corner to save the day. My heart leapt when I saw him, "My husband!" So he took Lila to EQ and she slept till that was over.
After church we went to the nursing home. There's an old lady there who just adores Lila. Lila was pretty shy and snuggled Jake, she was still tired and waking up from her nap. After that we went to an open house. It was an awesome house and we're interested in it... we thought maybe we'd make an offer on it this week, but we'll have to think that through. We're going to have Rich show it to us tomorrow at lunch. We think it'll sell fast, so if we do want to make an offer, we probably need to do it soon. So we'll see. (I still like the Greenbriar house.)
Lila pooped three times today, it was awesome. It smells SO BAD because of the vitamins she's taking. Nasty.
Mike and Emily came over after the KUB break-the-fast. Mike told us everything about the date yesterday and that was fun. He and Cassandra will get married someday. It's pretty apparent. :) We're so happy. Lila fell asleep in the Ergo while he was talking. She didn't get good naps in today. Jake broke his fast. Talked to parents on the phone. Mike and Em left.
We started putting Lila to bed at 7 because she was super tired and she screamed and cried for the better part of an hour. It was weird. She was super tired. She ate a few crackers today, which is great. She's slowly getting better. Talked to Mike a little bit more on the phone and have the CES fireside on. Now we're going to have some milk and cookies. :) Yum.
Good weekend.
Saturday was a weird day. I had Annette's baby shower at 11. It was really nice and relaxed and intimate. No silly games. Just visiting, eating, and opening presents. They did pass around a book that we could write advice in. It was a really nice time and it was so fun seeing her open all of the sweet baby girl clothes. And OHHHH did the baby hunger kick in. lol. I was jokingly telling the women I was sitting next to that if I'm pregnant soon I'm blaming it on Annette. I'm so excited to meet sweet baby Ruby. Everyone laughed when she opened the jeggings. I also bought her the most adorable outfit, a limey-yellow-green and tan outfit, that she said she was going to buy at Kohl's the other day, but Preston told her to wait until after the shower. :) Score.
After that I headed right to Desiree's shower, which was completely different. It was at a moody/trendy restaurant, North Eleven. Her sister is a manager there and Tyler is a waiter there. There were a LOT of people there--over thirty. And we were all sitting at a very long table, so it didn't feel very intimate. Desiree was dressed up fancy. It was catered by the place, so I got my fill of Pepsi and mozzarella sticks. :) I sat near Sonja, Juliet Nava-Altman, Ann, and Danielle (formerly Bush) Johnson and her sister Karen. Danielle and Brian Bush are getting divorced. Not a surprise. I'm going to take more maternity pictures of Sonja in a few weeks. It was a long shower and got boring after a while. There were a ton of presents.
So yes, I left the showers very, very, very baby hungry. :) While I was at the showers, Jake and Lila had lunch with Andre and then went to the grocery store. It was fun seeing her when we all got home. We played in bed for a long time, hoping that she'd fall asleep but she didn't. She's so cute now. When we ask her where her belly is, she lifts up her shirts and pats her belly and then claps her hands. She likes it when I then poke her belly and say, "Belly, belly, belly!" If we ask her where our noses are, she grabs at or points at our noses. Very, very cute. She is getting to be sooo adorable.
We met President Anderson (our stake president) at Applebee's at 5. Lila fell asleep on the way there and I sat in the car with her for 40 minutes before waking her up. She was so tired. I wrote Jess an email on Jake's phone. She'll have her baby in around a month!! So crazy. Lila and I will go visit them this summer.
We met with P.A. to talk about buying houses. He said he'd like to do that because he and Cynthia have had 8 houses and have learned a lot. It was really good to sit down and just talk about it--helps Jake and I feel better about it and more informed, and helps the idea solidify in our minds. It's a big step to take... feels like such a grown-up thing to do, but P.A. reminded us that it's a natural thing to do and helped us feel more confident about it. Good man! He'll make a great mission president.
Saturday night we waited to hear from Mike till 12:30am. He said he'd leave Cassandra's at 10:30pm. But we didn't hear back so we went to bed. This morning we woke up a little after 7 and heard about the date from Mike on the phone (I'll write a separate post about that--it's awesome!). That made us excited all day. Church went well. We gave the prayers. Lila was pretty cuddly and screamed a lot too. Jake had to do stuff for a stake audit during second hour and part of third so I had Lila duty. I walked around the hallway with her for what felt like a long time, and she finally fell asleep just as Jake rounded the corner to save the day. My heart leapt when I saw him, "My husband!" So he took Lila to EQ and she slept till that was over.
After church we went to the nursing home. There's an old lady there who just adores Lila. Lila was pretty shy and snuggled Jake, she was still tired and waking up from her nap. After that we went to an open house. It was an awesome house and we're interested in it... we thought maybe we'd make an offer on it this week, but we'll have to think that through. We're going to have Rich show it to us tomorrow at lunch. We think it'll sell fast, so if we do want to make an offer, we probably need to do it soon. So we'll see. (I still like the Greenbriar house.)
Lila pooped three times today, it was awesome. It smells SO BAD because of the vitamins she's taking. Nasty.
Mike and Emily came over after the KUB break-the-fast. Mike told us everything about the date yesterday and that was fun. He and Cassandra will get married someday. It's pretty apparent. :) We're so happy. Lila fell asleep in the Ergo while he was talking. She didn't get good naps in today. Jake broke his fast. Talked to parents on the phone. Mike and Em left.
We started putting Lila to bed at 7 because she was super tired and she screamed and cried for the better part of an hour. It was weird. She was super tired. She ate a few crackers today, which is great. She's slowly getting better. Talked to Mike a little bit more on the phone and have the CES fireside on. Now we're going to have some milk and cookies. :) Yum.
Good weekend.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Things I Love About You 2011
From Rudi to Jake, for Valentine's Day.
1. I love that you love kids so much and that you're so good with them; that I never have to worry about feeling supported in my desires to have children and a happy family, because your desires and intentions match my own.
2. I love how you really do inspire and motivate me to be more righteous and obedient. Ex. Sabbath Day. And how your desires to be obedient aren't because you want to appear righteous or because you have a "holier than thou" attitude, but because you sincerely want to obey God's commandments and that you have faith that He'll bless us.
3. I love you love and care for our daughter; that you were right by my side through labor and the days after birth when I was recovering and my feelings were so tender and vulnerable. I felt so protected and safe because you were there for me. You took charge--changed diapers and gave baths. You encouraged me in learning how to breastfeed; called lactation consultants for me. The first week of Lila's life was so special and it really bonded us together. It made us a family.
4. I love how you are the only other person in the whole world who knows just what it's like to have Lila for a daughter. I feel like we have the same heart now, because of Lila and our commitment to adoration of her. I love how you and I giggle whispering in the dark hallway outside of our room, picturing in our minds how she looks sleepy-eyed and tired, sitting up in bed.
5. I love that you want music in our home--the stereo, drums, piano. You make it a point to share music with Lila. I remember in the days when we got home from the hospital, you played Mozart for her all day long.
6. I love that you impress people. Most recently, your new boss and co-workers.
7. I love that you can support our family and made choices in your education and career that allow you to do so. Instead of prolonging responsibility or avoiding it, you embrace it.
8. I loved to see you vulnerable and nervous for me while I was in labor.
9. I love how you have been a loving example to your siblings; to see you praying and fasting for them, defending them; investing time and energy; guiding, giving advice (even when it's unsolicited); saying bold things.
10. I love how you're learning to balance things. Especially with your calling. To see you recognizing you can't do everything you'd like to do and be at peace with it is good--shows how you're maturing.
11. I love how you really are the priesthood leader in our home. I feel it. Never knew I wanted to be led like this, but it feels so good and so right.
12. I love that "words mean things" to you. It saves us a lot of problems and we avoid a lot of pointless arguments because we're usually able to communicate what we need and wants. It sets good examples to our kids.
13. I love that you have such faith in my mothering and that you support me in my parenting style (so far); that you agree that co-sleeping is the way to go right now; how when Lila crawls to me and falls asleep on me at night you think it's adorable and so sweet; that when I said I intend on doing things a lot differently with our next baby, you told me that you didn't think I needed to do anything differently because I'm there for Lila when she needs me. I love that you listen to the different ideas I have about raising/teaching/disciplining our kids. You--once again--have built me up; built up my confidence as a woman and mother. This is one of the greatest gifts you'll ever give me in my whole life.
1. I love that you love kids so much and that you're so good with them; that I never have to worry about feeling supported in my desires to have children and a happy family, because your desires and intentions match my own.
2. I love how you really do inspire and motivate me to be more righteous and obedient. Ex. Sabbath Day. And how your desires to be obedient aren't because you want to appear righteous or because you have a "holier than thou" attitude, but because you sincerely want to obey God's commandments and that you have faith that He'll bless us.
3. I love you love and care for our daughter; that you were right by my side through labor and the days after birth when I was recovering and my feelings were so tender and vulnerable. I felt so protected and safe because you were there for me. You took charge--changed diapers and gave baths. You encouraged me in learning how to breastfeed; called lactation consultants for me. The first week of Lila's life was so special and it really bonded us together. It made us a family.
4. I love how you are the only other person in the whole world who knows just what it's like to have Lila for a daughter. I feel like we have the same heart now, because of Lila and our commitment to adoration of her. I love how you and I giggle whispering in the dark hallway outside of our room, picturing in our minds how she looks sleepy-eyed and tired, sitting up in bed.
5. I love that you want music in our home--the stereo, drums, piano. You make it a point to share music with Lila. I remember in the days when we got home from the hospital, you played Mozart for her all day long.
6. I love that you impress people. Most recently, your new boss and co-workers.
7. I love that you can support our family and made choices in your education and career that allow you to do so. Instead of prolonging responsibility or avoiding it, you embrace it.
8. I loved to see you vulnerable and nervous for me while I was in labor.
9. I love how you have been a loving example to your siblings; to see you praying and fasting for them, defending them; investing time and energy; guiding, giving advice (even when it's unsolicited); saying bold things.
10. I love how you're learning to balance things. Especially with your calling. To see you recognizing you can't do everything you'd like to do and be at peace with it is good--shows how you're maturing.
11. I love how you really are the priesthood leader in our home. I feel it. Never knew I wanted to be led like this, but it feels so good and so right.
12. I love that "words mean things" to you. It saves us a lot of problems and we avoid a lot of pointless arguments because we're usually able to communicate what we need and wants. It sets good examples to our kids.
13. I love that you have such faith in my mothering and that you support me in my parenting style (so far); that you agree that co-sleeping is the way to go right now; how when Lila crawls to me and falls asleep on me at night you think it's adorable and so sweet; that when I said I intend on doing things a lot differently with our next baby, you told me that you didn't think I needed to do anything differently because I'm there for Lila when she needs me. I love that you listen to the different ideas I have about raising/teaching/disciplining our kids. You--once again--have built me up; built up my confidence as a woman and mother. This is one of the greatest gifts you'll ever give me in my whole life.
Taxes and Mike
Thursday night was ok. We were up late, till almost 1:00 doing our taxes. We watched the Office marathon too. We get a decent return this year as expected, which is especially nice because last year we had to pay a lot. Thursday night was also exciting because Cassandra invited Mike to visit her in Canada this weekend. They were originally going to drive to Kzoo together after mike flew into Detroit on friday night, but she ended up needing to stay in canada so she invited him to just go there on Saturday. So that's where he is right now! Very exciting stuff and it's happening so fast. We definitely think she's interested in him now. We're really excited to hear about it all tomorrow. We've "invested" so much into mike over the past 6 months; we've cried and prayed with him, we've seen him struggle so much. It's so nice to see good things happening for him.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Panera, Target, Home
All I really remember from Tuesday is that Lila and I met Jake at Panera for dinner. Originally, I was going to need to go to a Scout meeting at 6, but Rachel Mills called and said she could go instead. But Jake and I met for dinner anyway because he needed to go to the Stake center before his meeting at 7 to get stuff done. It was a good visit. Lila ate more soup from a soup (she fed herself) and even ate a few little bites of cinnamon roll. And drank water from my cup. Lots of older women thought she was so cute and waved/talked to her from their tables. She had only taken one nap that day, in the morning, so by the time we got home she was ready for bed. I think she was asleep around 7:30.
By 10:00, I could barely keep my eyes open, and was getting a headache, so I laid down (and fell asleep) till Jake got home at 11:15. We visited till midnight. Oh, now that it's "public" I guess I can write it in my journal now... President Anderson, our Stake president, was recently called to be the new mission president for the Colorado Springs mission (the same mission that Shane Murphy is currently serving in; Pres. Anderson will probably send him home in July). He reports to the MTC on June 23rd. The Stake conference where the new presidency will be called is on April 10th, so on April 9th all the interviews will take place. Jake and I will be interviewed, too, but typically the Stake Clerk doesn't get released when a presidency is reorganized. Jake's excited about the new changes.
Yesterday Lila was up before 7:00 but was down for a nap before 10 and slept for almost 2 hours. I even got to nap for a little bit, too. After lunch (macaroni and cheese--she even ate a few little bites, and drank water from my cup too... and she even sucked on a piece of chocolate for a while!) we picked Emily up and went to Target. Got a few things from Annette and Desiree's baby shower registries. Oh gosh, I want another baby so bad :) It's so much fun shopping for baby things... and remembering how exciting everything was around this time a year ago, waiting for Lila to come. Lila sucked on a potato chip while shopping. After that we went to Emily's apartment and hung out there till we looked at houses. It's nice to get out of our apartment, especially on days Lila only takes one nap. I was showing Emily the houses we were going to look at that day, and we looked over at Lila and she had taken out a chocolate chip cookies from a Ziploc bag on the couch and was "eating" it. So funny!
We saw three houses last night. The first had a woodsy (more like a swampy) backyard that Jake's into, but it needs a lot of updating. The second house, I just love. I love it! Jake likes it too. I think it might be "the one." But we're going to sleep on it for a little while and come up with some questions, and maybe look at one or two more houses. I think it'll be hard for us to officially commit to a house, just because this is such a big step for us to take. The third house was really expensive and lame. We headed home, put Lila to bed, and then talked for a while about houses, looked for more houses online, and then watched an episode of Parks and Rec. And still made it to bed around 11. (It's nice when Lila goes to bed a little earlier.)
Today has been boring. We drove Jake halfway to work, because we forgot to pick up his car last night after looking at houses. One of Jake's concerns about this house that I like is that there's not room in the backyard for him to build a go-cart track. :\ I think he's serious, too. Lila's morning nap was only 20-30 minutes long, and then she fought her afternoon nap for a while but has been sleeping for over an hour now. We read books and I tickled and played with her for a while. She laughs when we through things at her (soft things, like socks) and hit her (gently) with pillows.
By 10:00, I could barely keep my eyes open, and was getting a headache, so I laid down (and fell asleep) till Jake got home at 11:15. We visited till midnight. Oh, now that it's "public" I guess I can write it in my journal now... President Anderson, our Stake president, was recently called to be the new mission president for the Colorado Springs mission (the same mission that Shane Murphy is currently serving in; Pres. Anderson will probably send him home in July). He reports to the MTC on June 23rd. The Stake conference where the new presidency will be called is on April 10th, so on April 9th all the interviews will take place. Jake and I will be interviewed, too, but typically the Stake Clerk doesn't get released when a presidency is reorganized. Jake's excited about the new changes.
Yesterday Lila was up before 7:00 but was down for a nap before 10 and slept for almost 2 hours. I even got to nap for a little bit, too. After lunch (macaroni and cheese--she even ate a few little bites, and drank water from my cup too... and she even sucked on a piece of chocolate for a while!) we picked Emily up and went to Target. Got a few things from Annette and Desiree's baby shower registries. Oh gosh, I want another baby so bad :) It's so much fun shopping for baby things... and remembering how exciting everything was around this time a year ago, waiting for Lila to come. Lila sucked on a potato chip while shopping. After that we went to Emily's apartment and hung out there till we looked at houses. It's nice to get out of our apartment, especially on days Lila only takes one nap. I was showing Emily the houses we were going to look at that day, and we looked over at Lila and she had taken out a chocolate chip cookies from a Ziploc bag on the couch and was "eating" it. So funny!
We saw three houses last night. The first had a woodsy (more like a swampy) backyard that Jake's into, but it needs a lot of updating. The second house, I just love. I love it! Jake likes it too. I think it might be "the one." But we're going to sleep on it for a little while and come up with some questions, and maybe look at one or two more houses. I think it'll be hard for us to officially commit to a house, just because this is such a big step for us to take. The third house was really expensive and lame. We headed home, put Lila to bed, and then talked for a while about houses, looked for more houses online, and then watched an episode of Parks and Rec. And still made it to bed around 11. (It's nice when Lila goes to bed a little earlier.)
Today has been boring. We drove Jake halfway to work, because we forgot to pick up his car last night after looking at houses. One of Jake's concerns about this house that I like is that there's not room in the backyard for him to build a go-cart track. :\ I think he's serious, too. Lila's morning nap was only 20-30 minutes long, and then she fought her afternoon nap for a while but has been sleeping for over an hour now. We read books and I tickled and played with her for a while. She laughs when we through things at her (soft things, like socks) and hit her (gently) with pillows.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Why I Love the Betzold Family
Mike emailed the family this picture this morning. He's in San Diego for a week.
Subject: I'm on a boat!
Replies thus far --
Me: I never thought you'd be on a boat.
Brother Jim: Boats are useful for traveling on water.
Dad: Did you go for a walk when you were out there?
Dad: If you were in Canada it would be a boot.
Me: In the thumbnail of the picture it kind of looked like you were wearing an ascot and blazer. That would've been awesome.
Dad: Wearing a mascot?
Mike: Poseidon, lookin' at me.
Subject: I'm on a boat!
Replies thus far --
Me: I never thought you'd be on a boat.
Brother Jim: Boats are useful for traveling on water.
Dad: Did you go for a walk when you were out there?
Dad: If you were in Canada it would be a boot.
Me: In the thumbnail of the picture it kind of looked like you were wearing an ascot and blazer. That would've been awesome.
Dad: Wearing a mascot?
Mike: Poseidon, lookin' at me.
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