Our own little miracle

I have been thinking about Elder Eyring's talk this past conference. I love that he kept a journal of little moments when he felt Heavenly Father's hand in his and his family's life. Well, I can not pass this moment with out noting my own little miracle this week. As you all know we are moving to the Gould's house. I have been excited, stressed, and hard working to make it all happen. The house has not been lived in for over a year, so there were some minor things to take care of before we could move there. The gas stove needed to be installed, the old one was stolen. A leaky toilet needed to be fixed. A new sliding glass door in the back had to be replaced because Chuck Gould, our landlord and gardener, shattered the last one with his high powered weed eater. The whole place needed a good cleaning. A lizard had to be caught. Callie found it, my friend Erin caught it and let it go out back. The walls needed to be painted, and the carpet needed to be replaced. Cameron has absolutely no time to help with any of this. In fact, dedicating one day to move the furniture over stresses him out more than enough. So in order to make this move happen for my family, I have had to do all of the work. All the switching of the bills, meeting with contractors, picking colors, cleaning, and moving all the little things, etc. Though hectic, all has seemed to work out relatively smoothly. Last week, we ran into a slight glitch in our plans. Home Depot had promised that the carpet would be installed by the 27th of this month, but only to find out that the color we picked was on back order until November 2nd. This meant that the carpet would probably not get here until the middle of November. Yikes, our moving in weekend was scheduled the 27th. The last weekend available before our lease was up. So this meant, we either move in part way (just the bare minimum), and live on yucky carpet, or we move in everything and pay $35 per room to have them move it to install the carpet, or we move everything twice ourselves. None of the options seemed easy. I was stressing about them all, not wanting to inconvenience my husband, family, self etc. So I prayed that the carpet would some how get here on time. Well, guess what, it did. The carpet installers called Wednesday night and asked to schedule the install on Thursday and Friday. What a miracle to me. Such a small thing and it has made my life so much easier. The installers actually finished Thursday around 6:00. The painter will finish the job on Friday. We move in Saturday morning. Wahoo, we are in a house.




Upon seeing the new carpet, Callie jumped around the room and did forward rolls. Then she told me as we went in each room, "Oh mom, it is beautiful!" I think this was a miracle to her also.

Princess Power

I don't know if I am slowing down because of pregnancy or if this observation is correct. Callie has become a little ball of energy since moving to Tucson. Maybe she, like Superman, has gained energy from the sun, or maybe she is just bored here. I put her down for a nap and she will play in her bed for 2 hours and not get a wink of sleep. With this toddler-hood state of affairs, I feel I can hardly get anything done. Oh yes, we are moving which is a huge project in itself, but I also have some stationary things going, a house to keep and clean, and a husband who is too busy to even claim the job of taking out the trash. If only I could bottle some of that pint-sized energy to give myself a boost of super power. So needless to say, I feel like our house, while getting packed and moved, has been greatly neglected this past week. Today was a day to remedy some of that, but, alas, Callie needs me to change her Polly Pockets clothes. Ahh, "there is no rest for the weary." This past week, besides the boring tasks mentioned above, Callie and I did manage a fun play date with her friend Eliza, swim lessons, and a girls' night on the town to "Disney Princesses on Ice."

We had a great time at the ice show. Callie was thrilled to see all the princesses. Snow White and Ariel are by far her favorites, but she has not stopped talking about the dragon. The dragon was a little scary. She was trembling as this giant glowing, fire breathing creature came out to fight Prince Phillip. Dragons are a huge topic of conversation in our home, now. Saturday we had a quick "baseball," "golf," I mean Soccer game with dad. Her bat/club is an umbrella given to her by Julia. She calls her bat "Darlin," referring to a baseball movie called "Everyone's Hero." Her cap is what you see in the picture below.

With all this fine sporting equipment she prefers to use her Crock covered toes. Oh, and we do think she is a rising soccer talent. Cameron continues to comment on her athletic potential.

A couple weeks ago I realized strangers would often ask Callie how old she was. She never would answer as she hid her face. Finally, it occurred to me that she may not know the answer. So I tried to teach her, "Callie when someone asks how old you are you can tell them 'I am 2.'" She looked at me patiently and said, "No, mom, I two and a half." I stood corrected.

Callie continues to be a card in the family. She wants to name her baby sister Dinosaur Superman. She tells me, "mom, your grumpy," when I obviously am. Recites the songs that each princess sings. If she can't think of one she makes one up like "Mom, Cinderwewa sings the carrot song." Sings her own version of songs. "S.P.A.O.L. I just love to spell." She will try a new food by licking it with her tongue and then say "Mmmm mom, it's good." Then she will not touch it again. She also asks to play hide and seek constantly. She just started a game with me right now. She started counting before I knew I was playing. She sleeps with every possible toy she owns. She barely has room for her body. Maybe that is part of our nap problem? And last, but not least, tonight she sat on daddy's lap in front of the computer as they looked up dragon pictures and listened to the "Flower Duet." I just love the age she is. It is really fun and keeps me laughing.

October Fest

O.K., so it is not really Oktoberfest in our home, but we like to celebrate the up coming season of holidays and cold weather, too. Just without the beer. Callie is completely potty trained. She is slowly earning more prizes each time she poops, most recently she earned a "Snow White" dress she has not taken off since she earned it. She is supposed to wear it for Halloween. The dress has been cause for much celebration. Cameron is celebrating Optimus Prime's return to the video shelf. I was told it is the next movie we will rent. Mama is celebrating moving out of apartment living, hopefully for good. We are moving to a small house at the end of this month. Yes, this house has a yard, garage, and 3 bedrooms. The best part about it is we will not be sharing any walls with noisy, reckless partiers. Wahoo. Oh, and I am getting to pick out carpet and paint colors that our landlord is graciously installing. I have been lucky enough to live with three of the daughters of the Gould's and now get to rent from their parents. I can hardly sleep while celebrating my new creative outlet in our future home.

Our whole family had reason to celebrate because I had my first ultrasound on Wednesday and found out many good things. Like the baby is healthy, my due date is really Feb. 13th (with a scheduled C-section it will be more like the end of Jan.), and this baby, though the odds were against it, is a girl. Callie was so excited she was jumping in her chair while watching the baby monitor. She said "Yeah a sister! Oh, mama she needs a skirt." I guess she is understanding the notion of modesty already.

We don't have any names, and the way we make decisions indicates it will probably be a last minute decision. But, we are taking suggestions.