Life Changes Yet Again

     The day after Christmas I got a text from a friend, nothing unusual there. Her brother that lives in New York was here for Christmas and was looking for a nanny (his nanny had something drop in her lap & had moved) and they were wondering if Morgan would be interested. I told her that is exactly what Morgan had been talking about doing actually. She said have Morgan call me. I did and she did. She talked to both my friend and her brother the next day, babysat for them that night, and just needed to talk to our boss about the fact that she was now moving to New York City! Our boss was perfectly okay with it. She only said "Go. This is your dream and what you've been wanting to do. Go and don't think anything about it. I'll get someone to sub for you until we find someone to take over." Our boss is the absolute best.
     The last two weeks have been slightly crazy getting her packed up and all the things that need finalized before she moved across the country, possibly forever. She has been going through everything in her room deciding what to take, what to pack away, what to throw away and what to leave for me to send her later, and what to just leave to deal with later. Wow, who knew she had so much stuff? Who knew these decisions were so hard to make? Who knew she wouldn't have enough time to go through everything? They will be back for a while this summer for a visit, maybe she can finish it all up while they're here?
     We will miss her, but we are so excited for her new adventures. This puts her right where she's wanted to be. An actress in New York City, oh the possibilities!  My brother has some friends there in the acting/music industry he has/can connect her with to get her started. After a year and a half of her figuring out how to get where she has always wanted to be, everything has started falling in place. The sky is the limit for her.
     We are now down to two children at home. It was just two years ago we still had 5 of our 6 kids still at home...so we bought a Suburban to replace the van that had worn out and needed replaced. Now we no longer need such a large vehicle. Time to start looking for a car I guess. Who knew how fast we would no longer need that vehicle? Who knew in that two years we would have one child come home from his mission, get engaged & get married. A second child meet someone the week of the other child's wedding, get engaged, get married and send her husband off to Afghanistan and have him return safely a year later. (Yes, I need to backdate blogs about all of  that) Then have a third child move across the country to New York City hoping to live her dream there, possibly forever.  
     Life is ever evolving, changing, morphing. Sometimes we feel like nothing is ever going to change, like we will be changing diapers, wiping noses, potty training, or breaking up bickering children forever. Then we realize we are helping with homework getting them to ballgames, taking them to friends houses, taking them to parties and they are taking care of more things themselves. You blink and you can no longer help them with their homework, they are driving themselves everywhere, instead of getting them ready for a play date, you're getting them ready for a date. All of a sudden they are in college, getting married, having children of there own and you are down to two children at home.
     We are okay with that. We have plans and dreams of out own. We love out kids and grandkids, and we will enjoy the time we have left with the kids still living with us. We still have a few years of homework, one more child to teach to drive, dating and all that comes with it, two more high school graduations, college and career choosing, and we'll enjoy it, or not, just as much as we have all along. There is no problem with looking forward while enjoying the journey.

New Year 2014

     I got on here today after not having written anything for a while with full intentions of just saying Happy New Year! Intentions of just spending some time for a few days or nights getting caught up on this blog of my life. It seriously took me quite a while to even figure out how to get on here, much less post anything, and the next time is probably going to take me just as long. What do I discover when I finally do figure it out and  navigate my way here? I discover that I haven't been on here or posted anything for longer than I thought. I discover that it is going to take a lot longer than just a few days or nights of updating past happenings and writing new posts to get caught up, and stay caught up, and re-figure out how to do things on here. After all, I'm not a technology whiz by any means. I need to load pictures on here, from the last 2 1/2 years apparently, update the background, get caught up on family happenings and lives...and things have changed on here drastically from what I can see.
      It is the way it goes I guess. Time passes and we don't even realize how much has passed or how fast it's passing. We have all the plans and intentions to do so many things and accomplish great goals and make great strides in our lives. Do they happen? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. And why is that? Do we get busy? Not pay attention to what is really going on in our own life? Waste time with what is considered by some to be silly or frivolous things or only with the 'mundane tasks' of the reality of life? Sometimes both? Is it bad, never good, to just take a self-imposed time out in our life just playing, watching tv/movies, FB or just the internet in general? Is it always good, never bad, to only focus on the 'mundane tasks' of life in general...kids, chores, errands, work, etc etc etc. And is it good to just run on the proverbial gerbil wheel day after day after day? I don't feel either is necessarily right or wrong, just different, and both are needed to have some sort of balance in our life.
     So maybe that is what I should hope/plan for myself this year, balance in my life. A balance between what I feel to be the mundane and the fun, Spiritual and worldly, peace and chaos (because chaos can be fun after all).  Maybe I can get caught up on here while I'm on one of my self-imposed time outs.
     This is the first day of a New Year. People feel it is a time to start with a clean slate, of new beginnings, to start over, or again, or just start. What is it that the turning of the calendar to a new year makes us feel this hope and resolve that we didn't have a week ago? Today is just yesterdays tomorrow after all. Maybe all of our tomorrows should hold the same bright outlook.    

End of May 2011 Mission Poster

This is the last month!

Look at that. The poster is full....

And then some. We had to add 5 more stickers for May.

Oh what happy little bugs these are to finish out the poster!

Except that's not the end.....there will be one final sticker tomorrow! The day he comes home!!! :)

.

This is how we told Elder Gary whether he had a nephew or a niece. He doesn't like to find out in advance. So it was a good thing he was on his mission......cause it wasn't a secret around here!

Needed a little love before the pictures.

Cutest little Brody bug.

So tired. Maybe he will be awake when we get to the airport in 2 weeks.

I think it's not a secret anymore. He has the cutest little nephew Brody!

End of April 2011 Mission Poster

And we come to the end of yet another month. This is an exciting month as we have only one more left!

The triangle that is left is very small now!

Aren't those the cutest little Easter stickers?

Yep. That's what it says, 26....but there are a few more days than that. We're going to have to add our own 'circles'.

So little left!

End of March 2011 Mission Poster

The end of another month already. The end of countdown month number 3.

Getting quite full.

Smaller double digits....

The triangle is shrinking ever so much smaller :)

End of February 2011 Mission Poster

This was month number 4. It is flying by. :)

Look at it filling right up!

In double digits!

Look at that smaller triangle. Shrinking even more.