life

oh, life is pretty nuts sometimes. sometimes so nuts i feel like i can't quite seem to get a handle on it. and that is definitely where i am at right now. life is, well, i don't even know, it's just weird right now. we love it here in alabama but things are just not going quite the way we thought they would. the business still hasn't closed-and to no fault of our future employers, they are all working their tails off. we are in temp living still, and it's a great place, we just don't have our stuff and that's always hard. the kids are doing alright, they can't wait though to have their toys back and to be able to go outside and just play-we are in an apartment. maddie ad patrick share a bed, makinley is in our closet (nice size closet, huh?;) and it's a constant battle of early waking up, due to bed sharing and, always telling the kids to be quiet because we have neighbors, um...all around us. :)

this has seriously turned into a whine fest.

life is good and we are blessed, it's just hard.

thankfully, church has been a great blessing here-our ward (or to some of you, better known as our congregation) is wonderful. so friendly and welcoming-we've had play dates already, which have been  tremendous. let's not forget to mention, we are with family as we go through this time-and it is nice to have them to go through it with. the cousins run from apartment to apartment playing and spending time together. i am so glad that the kids love each other and get along so well-it makes this transition time so much easier for them all. and goodness, i am thankful for kelli and jeff-they are such a fantastic example of strong faith and perseverance. we are all just pushing through the best we can.

after almost 2 months of being here we are just now, today, having to call the dr. for the first time-HUGE blessing too! it was also a blessing to be able to go to MO almost 2 weeks ago and see our family, even though it was for a funeral. it always gives us an extra boost to see them all-and thankfully we were able to see ALL the grandparents in our short visit!

apparently i needed to do this-i needed to get it all out and then remind myself of the blessings that are surrounding our family at this time. i always feel bad writing stuff like this but then i realize-it is my blog, my way to document our life, and life always has ups and downs and my kids need to know that too someday. that's the only way we learn to appreciate all that we have-to go through the hard times, and we learn how much our Heavenly Father loves, watches over, and blesses us in these

times-if we choose to see it. and i realize, this is a minimal trial, one that doesn't even compare to what many others go through or are going through but it's a hard time nonetheless, one that tries our faith day after day. trials may differ but feelings and struggles come no matter the magnitude of it and so, if we can but reach out to the hand that is always there, He will always guide us to where we need to be.

and because a post NEEDS a picture, here's one from december-because i love it...and because i can't seem to get my pics from my camera onto my computer.

and that little girlie in the middle, yeah she now has enough hair to sport some cute little piggy tails.

 I KNOW, RIGHT-how is she so old!!!?? pics of that as soon as we figure out what in the world is going on with the computer!