Loving Life in This Moment

What a great week it's been around here. Nothing that would seem amazing to anyone else looking in on our little lives together, but we've had a happy week.

Our little men are growing and changing every day. I keep wanting to write down the funny/cute things they say and do, but somehow I always forget. I'll try and recap some of the things that happened around here this past week.

Finn. That kid is really too smart for his own good sometimes, and it cracks me up watching the funny things he does and the way he uses his newfound independence as he gets older. A few weeks ago, I caught him peeing in the bathtub, so I grabbed a cup and caught the pee then rinsed it down the sink, so as not to soil the bath water. Well, the other day, as I was bathing the boys, I looked over to see Finn standing with a cup positioned ever so carefully between his legs, exactly where it needed to be to catch his pee. The kid was peeing on command, so as to fill his cup. Sort of gross but pretty funny, and I had a good laugh. Also noted: if he can pee on command, I see potty training in the very near future (waaaaaahhh, I'm TERRIFIED of potty training).  He has also been putting sentences together so well, it's just the cutest thing to listen to him try and get all the words in the right order. Sometimes he succeeds and is able to get his point across very clearly, and it's usually comical. The other night he climbed into bed with me (a recent development...I swore I'd never do that, but my bed is more comfortable than a toddler bed, so. . .),  and I had to get up with Gideon to help with Mason for a minute. Gideon got back in bed first, and for some reason Finn wasn't having it. I climbed in between them, and Finn pointed very deliberately out the door and said "Daddy GET OUT!!" over and over. It was so funny. Of course, we ignored him and fell asleep. You can only be asked to give up so much for your children. He has also been trying to understand lately why you can't just grab a picture of something, that it's not a physical object. On a flight home the other day, he was so upset that he couldn't reach through the window and grab a picture of the American flag that was on the side of an adjacent plane. So funny. He gets irritated that he can't pick up things right off the page. Cracks me up. He is also obsessed with REI, and recognizes the sign any time we drive past. Even in other cities, he if we drive by an REI, he shouts "aawww eeee iiii!!" He loves going there with Gideon to look and the boats and ride the bikes. A true Medley. He's also obsessed with fire trucks, firemen, fire, etc. He also knows where the mall is, and when we drive past, he begs to go to the "Malll!" And, when we drive through McDonald's (always just for me to get a Diet Coke), he says "mommy diet coke!?!" every time. So sad. One of the reasons why I'm trying to quit, but that's an entirely other blog post. . . There are so many other sweet and cute things, I'm sure, but I really need to start jotting them down every day. Needless to say, our sweet little Finny is growing up, and while I want it to stop sometimes, I am also surprised at how fun it has been to watch him grow up. He can communicate what he wants, he has a real sense of humor, he has opinions, and I love it all. He has become my little buddy I can talk to and he will talk back (although the conversation topics usually revolve around fruit snacks or fire trucks). I love getting to be best little friends with my little guy. It's just the greatest.

Mason. Oh, that boy. He is my very percotious little man. Walked at 9 months, down the slide solo at a year, and talking by his first birthday as well, he definitely keeps me running. It is only by the grace of God that the child has survived this long. Some of his favorite past times include jumping off of the armrest of the couch, running down the slide and face planting at the end, running around the house with his blanket over his head (thinks that one is particularly hilarious, until he ran right into the door frame. Don't worry, he was back at it five minutes later). He's getting really good at climbing things as well. The other day Gideon found him kneeling on top of the kitchen table, and I also found him on top of the TV stand the other day. He is CRAZY. He is also talking up a storm, it is the craziest thing to hear him speak. He can say REI like his brother, he says doggy, mommy, daddy, tractor, cracker, all done, outside, uh oh, please, cheese, dee dee (the official slang for blankie in this house), and he is also signing things like crazy, too. He will randomly bust out a sign for a word that I never specifically taught him (I think he's picking it up from Finn because we don't watch Baby Signing Time like we used to with Finn). Anyways, he's a wild one. He knows no fear and is always on the move. He will be 15 months on Friday, but since Gideon and I both serve in the nursery, we have him in there with us, and he loves it. Today, for the first time, he sat in his chair at the table for snack time and ate all of his snack, plus his brother's leftovers. It was so cute to see him sitting there, looking so grown up (and so small).

Time is going too fast. It's crazy to think that when Finn was the age Mason is now, I was 2 1/2 months away from having another baby. Things have gone so fast the past few years, but they've been awesome. We are so content and happy with our life right now. Of course, I'm already planning when the best time will be to have baby number three, and we are always making plans for the future, what our next move will be (move in life--not actual MOVE, although that is discussed as well). But we are really trying to live in the moment and enjoy things the way they are now. They will never be this way again. Life is always changing and moving and speeding along, and we can never have any phase or moment back. School was a special time, and yet we were always so excited to be done and move on to the next phase. Graduating college and settling in has made us take a step back and realize how each situation in life has it's pros and cons, but each has something valuable to teach and it's own special memories to give. We will never again long for the future or make complaints about a current situation. We have it pretty good right now, and we've had it good in the past. We are so blessed and our hearts are full. We are seeing the world in a new light, with optimism and gladness and while we look forward to new gifts the future brings, we are also enjoying the blessings of today. Especially our boys. These beautiful little loves of mine. What I wouldn't do for them. Life may be full of bumps and rolling hills and sometimes dark storms, but these little cherubs are the beacons of light that shine through the darkness and light the night sky, filling even the loneliest soul with hope, with brightness, with life.

So. In summary, life is good. We're happy. How happy? "Preeetty daaarn."

(If you don't know that line, I don't even know how to begin. Watch THE KID.)

Thoughts on Motherhood and Mountains

This blog is quickly becoming outdated, but I am still determined to keep it alive. Recently my thoughts have been on motherhood, as my heart has been extra full these days. Watching my sweet little boys grow has been such a sweet experience, and I have been reflecting on that a lot lately.

The past year and a half has definitely been trying, to say the least. Having two children 17.5 months apart was probably the hardest thing I have ever done, but also the most rewarding and amazing thing I've ever done, too. The chaos is finally just beginning to calm, as the boys are getting a little older and becoming more independent. Recently I have had so many moments of clarity and spiritual insight that have allowed me to see a glimpse of God's plan for me and my family. I have drawn so much closer to Him through becoming a mother, and I know that it was His plan for us to have these two sweet little boys exactly when we did. While it is extremely difficult and trying at times, there are so many moments, so many days that I can't help but feel so blessed and blissfully happy at the gift God has given me. I have come to realize that it is through my relationship with Him that I will be able to give my children all the love and direction they need in this life, and that realization has made all the difference for me as a mother. 

These were my thoughts this morning, as we played inside on a wet, rainy fall morning, with sweet laughter and the sounds of little footsteps echoing through our humble abode:

The closer I draw to God and My Savior, Jesus Christ, the more motherhood becomes a joy and a blessing, and less of a battle. The closer I am to him, the deeper and more full my love is for these beautiful little souls. The more I lean on Him, the greater my patience, understanding, kindness, gentility and grace. In Him, I am whole. It is only in partnership with Him that I can rise to the tremendous call and duty that is motherhood.  Alone, it is a mountain too steep to climb, too treacherous to take on alone. But with God, motherhood is a beautiful ascent on the mountain of sacrifice, of love; one that brings us to its peak, able to see through the clouds, to see the sun resting softly on all things beautiful and real in the valley below that is life. Every day I continue to take steps upward and onward, and when I am led by The Lord, I am able to look around and see the indescribable, breathtaking beauty that surrounds me at every stage of the climb. I thank my God with all my soul for granting me this opportunity to draw nearer to him; for letting me experience a love that is second only to His love for each one of us.

Working Things Out

After finishing a nice workout this evening, I started having some thoughts. Obviously, I figured I should enlighten the facebook world with a cute little status about my thoughts. I mean, what good are our thoughts if they don't end up on facebook or instagram or twitter, right?? Well, my thoughts started getting too long and elaborate, so here they are in a blog post.

Working out is awesome. I mean, really awesome. Now, now now, don't start with the nay saying-yes, you. I hear you piping up about how working out is only fun for super fit, cute chics who also love eating celery sticks and think the low-fat popcorn is a special treat. But seriously, it's not like that. Let me tell you why.

I've always considered myself in a sort of in-between category as far as weight goes. I've always been active in sports and I've taken up running since I graduated high school 7 years ago (whoa, starting to feel old). I've pretty much always been trying to lose 5 or 10 pounds, like lots of women. In other words, I don't have the super model, 1% body type. But I've never struggled with my weight as far as being morbidly obese or it being a health concern, etc. I probably never will. I lucked out with good genes in that arena. Where I didn't luck out? The mental health department. I've got a bunch of crazies in my family as far back as you can go (and I say that with love- wouldn't trade 'em for anything). But seriously. Suicide, depression, bipolar; you name it, it's in my family. And severe cases too. Needless to say, I'm always on the lookout for depression symptoms.

I've been lucky enough to sort of dodge the bullet and never struggle with clinical depression, while most of my immediate family has at some point. However, after my second child was born last August, I got a small glimpse of what that world must be like.

Looking back now, I realize I was clearly suffering from some post-partum depression. Nothing major, but I was definitely not myself. There were moments when I should have been overwhelmed with joy, but instead I just wanted to cry. More often than the crying emotion, I really wanted to smack someone. Particularly my husband. And if you know him or have ever even met him, you'd know that you had to be a little crazy to be annoyed at him at all. He's the nicest, most easy going, easiest person to get along with that I've ever known. That's when I knew something might be a little off. I mean, he'd say the wrong thing and I kinda wanted to smack him with the frying pan. Then maybe myself. I uttered many curse words under my breath that I know my parents would be ashamed of me for even thinking. I felt so overwhelmed with my kids that I couldn't just enjoy the small moments in those first few weeks and months. I've always been an emotional eater, and things got bad for a little while there. One day I actually ate almost an entire cake (Gideon's birthday cake, actually. . .) while Gideon was at work. And not just any cake-the kind filled with sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, topped with whipped cream and heath bars. Yeah. When he came home to one small piece left that I had mustered the self control to save for him, I broke down sobbing, mumbling something about being a fat pig between slobbery bursts of tears.

Yep. It was a great time, those first few weeks after giving birth. Thank you, hormones. Needless to say, I started talking with Gideon about solutions to my not so pleasant demeanor. Now remember my background with depression; I know the drill with this stuff. I've got a whole network of people who know all of the mental health professionals that are top rated in the country, know all the best medications for specific issues, all the herbal supplements, etc. But . . .

---------------HANG IN THERE, HERE COMES THE POINT OF THIS POST YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR---------------------

We both decided that what I needed first and foremost was some "me" time. My favorite "me" time? Running. I love it. It's always been my de-stressor. In high school I actually fractured my foot after a 6 mile run prompted by some boy drama. Totally worth it. Anyways, I got a membership to a gym and started running a few times a week. 

And let me tell you, wow. I had forgotten the emotional benefits of those natural endorphins. For any of you who don't know, when you exercise, your body naturally produces "feel good" endorphins. You can google the topic and find out all the specific info and terms that I can't remember, but it's awesome. This term also has another nickname, the "runner's high." These endorphins aren't just a silly little wives tale. Getting back into the workout mode seriously changed my life after my son was born. I came home a totally different person after my workouts. Partly from having some alone time out of the house, but mostly from the exercise. I swear by it. Gideon noticed a change in my mood almost immediately, and would always offer to watch the kids so I could go run. If I missed more than a day, he'd kindly suggest I go to the gym. He liked me so much better when I had worked out (got him to admit it)

Eventually my hormones leveled off and I felt myself again, but exercising got me through that hard phase when I was so out of whack. I really actually believe that my exercise regime was the catalyst for my hormones to get back into gear, and for me to start feeling myself again. 

I want to tell every mother out there, every person struggling with depression or who is just having a bad day, to get moving and see how much  better you can feel. And you don't have to run. It can be anything. My knees started giving me a lot of trouble, so I alternate running with a Jillian Michaels DVD that uses small weights and mixes strength training with cardio. It's 20 minutes long, but it changes my whole day around. That's what prompted this whole post. Feeling homesick and a little depressed, I probably ate my weight in Hershey's Kisses today (I told you, emotional eater. That's another post for another day). But after I put the little one to bed, I got on my tennis shoes and busted out some Jillian (which, by the way, Finn loves and does the entire DVD with me. It's to die for cute). And low and behold, the world was  a brighter place, my kids were cuter, my husband funnier, my apartment almost bigger. I may not ever be the perfect weight or have a six pack, but I always love the most important results from working out: a much happier me. :)

**Disclaimer: I realize that for a lot of people, a good workout just doesn't cut it. In lots of cases, nothing takes care of depression like some good ol' fashioned pills. I'm all for that. I'm not one of those people who thinks you can pray yourself better from depression or just run off the stress and then you won't be sad any more. Not at all. But there are a lot of people like me, who start thinking, "maybe I'm depressed?" So before seeking out pills, try getting active and put away the chocolate (speaking from personal experience here). You might just change your life in a way you never thought possible. 

Happy Birthday Eve Baby

This time two years ago, I was starting to feel some major contractions. My heart raced with the thought of meeting my first born son in just a few hours. I didn't know how short it would be. It was painful and fast, like a freight train. And it was beautiful. Two spirits in total harmony (despite what you might think from the screaming involved) as a darling little child of the Almighty God graced the earth with his arrival. I was the lucky one who got to be this sweet boy's mother. I received him into my arms that day and I felt the world change. My world. His daddy's world. And the world of those we have yet to meet, those who's lives will be touched by his graceful and thoughtful ways. Oh he's all boy, that one, wild and silly and mischievous. But oh, the love that one has. I fear his little heart might burst from all the sweet love he's been giving out for two years now. But it just keeps on pumping, keeps on giving. It amazes me. He has a mind of his own, but usually that little mind likes to tell him to give his mommy kisses, to play with his baby brother and hug him to death. To love his daddy like there's no tomorrow. THAT he does oh so well. We have tender moments when all he needs is me, but on the whole, this little man is a total daddy's boy. There are so many things I want to say about this absolutely outstanding little two year old, but no words could do justice to the sweet pint size love of my life. He was my first; my initiation into motherhood. He led me down the path to loving another human being almost more than physically possible. I can't fight the tears at the thought of him growing older, stronger, farther away from me; and yet I can't stop the joy from creeping over me as I watch the amazing person he is becoming. Full of love and life and his very own ideas, thoughts, desires. I am so blessed to walk beside him on his journey here, and hopefully be able to hold him when he needs love, encourage him when he needs strength, and free him when he needs to fly. I love you, my beautiful Finneas Adam. You've made my life worth living and I don't know how I ever breathed or existed before you ran up and down the halls, straight into my heart. Be mine forever, won't you? Ill always be yours. Xoxo, your momma

New Adventures

Well I suppose I'd better blog about the biggest news we've had since Mason was born: Gideon is graduating in April (walking in April, technically won't have his diploma until August)! He will have his Bachelor's in Actuarial Science. The last few months he's been interviewing like crazy with a few different companies for summer internships. He applied to literally about 25 different companies; every actuarial internship that was available for the summer in the US, you can bet Gideon applied for it. He must have spent hours and hours filling out applications.

He got turned down after a few interviews for a company called Mercer in their Seattle office. We were pretty bummed. Then over Christmas he interviewed for another company in Seattle/Portland. Got turned down again. One day he got a phone call from one of the random online jobs he'd applied for; the company, called Munich Re, was in Atlanta. We had never heard of the company, and it was so far away, so we kind of thought "eh, nothing's gonna come of it." But he interviewed on the phone a few times and they kept saying how impressed they were with him. They were also so great on the phone, friendly, personal, really treating Gideon like a person instead of just a number or a nobody. During this time, he was also interviewing via phone with Liberty Mutual, in Seattle. Eventually both companies decided to fly him out to do a final day of interviewing to make their decision. So he went to Atlanta one week, then a week later he flew to Seattle. After doing his research, we found out that the company in Atlanta, Munich Re (aka MARC LIFE), is the United States branch of the biggest Re-Insurance company in the world (Re-Insurance means that they insure commercial insurance companies. It's kind of complicated). They have some 50,000 employees world wide, and only about 260 employees in the US. Gideon's professor told him that it's pretty rare to get to work in re-insurance right out of school and that it was an awesome opportunity. Combine this with the fact that he was really impressed with how put together and nice everyone was when he went to interview, and we found ourselves crossing our fingers for Georgia (plus it's been so snowy here and Georgia is warm. I'm sure I'll be complaining about the humidity and heat in 6 months). And it ended up that they called and offered him the position with a near guarantee of a full time position afterwords, all before he even went to interview for Liberty Mutual. We were waiting to say anything in case he loved Liberty Mutual and got offered that position as well, but overall he was really put off by his experience in Seattle. The city itself is awesome, but the people and the opportunities couldn't hold a candle to the Atlanta job.

So, the point of this long boring story, is that we are headed to Atlanta, Georgia at the end of April. (April 29th is our exact move date). We are a little scared to be going so far away from our family and of course sad for the same reason. But, at the same time, we are beyond excited. The opportunity is an amazing one; we wouldn't head so far away unless it was. Plus Gideon's office is actually right outside of the city, making his commute so much more manageable than if he took a job in the middle of the city (most other actuary jobs are). So that's a plus. We are pretty stressed with the expenses of moving, trying to find a place to live without being able to go visit, and facing the 5 day drive to Atlanta. But really, we are so excited and we feel so blessed. We are excited to embark on a whole new exciting adventure! We've heard great things about the city we're moving to and we think it will be a great place for our family for at least the next few years. We really feel like we have been able to see the Lord's hand in the way everything has worked out, and we are just so grateful to have a good job and to be done with school.

See ya later, January.

We've had quite an eventful few weeks around here. I guess it's our way of kicking off 2013 with a bang.

First, Finn took a spill (slipped on a toy guitar) a few weeks ago and landed weird on his foot. After an hour of him not walking on it and screaming like crazy, I called Gideon and had him come home from school so we could take Finn to the urgent care. We went to the one down the street from our house, which we've visited before and had a good experience. Well, after spending two hours there, we finally left after I yelled at everyone for how horrible they treated my son. The PA we saw was SO rude. He walked into the room and didn't say one word, no introduction, no acknowledgement Finn or the fact that he was in pain. He mumbled was so rude and so rough in his examination with Finn. He didn't inform us of anything that was going on or seem to care at all about my poor little guy. So we waited for an x-ray tech to arrive (they are "on call"), and finally he got there. But he was also very rude, super rough with Finn, and to top it off, he had Gideon actually operate the x-ray machine, while holding Mason!! I was furious. Looking back I should have left right then, but Finn was screaming on the x-ray table and we'd already got one shot and I just wanted to get it over. After the second shot didn't work, I told him we were leaving and that it was absolutely ridiculous that he had my husband operate the machine. He tried to argue with me about that, which if any of you know me, you know that was a big mistake. Lucky for him my two children were present so I kept my temper under control. Of course though, after yelling at him and then having to tell the nurses in the office why we were leaving, I was being all "tough and assertive" while trying not to cry, so my mouth started doing that awkward not-quite-crying-quiver. And my voice cracked. And I was shaking. But we stormed out of that place and I've never been more proud of myself. Something about being a mother makes you not afraid to hurt anyone's feelings or seem crazy when it comes to your kids. Except I wasn't rude or crazy at all. How do I know? We went up to American Fork hospital with Finn and they were amazing. A completely different experience. And when we told them about our experience at the Urgent Care, they were just as blown away as we were.

But finally, poor Finn made it through another set of x-rays and they determined it wasn't broken. They said to redo the x-ray in a week if he still wasn't walking on it. The poor guy crawled around crying saying "oweeee" for 3 days and I kept him drugged on IBuProfen. After a week, he still wasn't walking. We got ANOTHER x-ray and they decided it still wasn't broken. But 2 weeks later, he just barely started walking on it and only with a limp. He looks so sad and heartbreaking, a tiny little boy limping around the house. Oh and also, while we were getting his follow up x-rays, the doctor thought it was a good idea (and so did I) to test him for Celiac's disease (gluten intolerance), since the boy won't eat hardly anything. We're still waiting on the results, but he did so good getting his blood drawn from his arm. Tough little guy.

Waiting to get x-rayed at the hospital.

So to top it all off, both of the boys have been sick all weekend, and Finn has gotten the worst of it with a nasty case of croup. We have been in the bathroom steaming all night for two nights in a row. It's awesome. I'm not tired at all. Poor guy. But on the bright side, Finn learned how to say "booger," which he pronounces "boo-gack." He likes to announce when he has a big one in his nose or better yet, running down his face. He's also watched us pour saline into Mason's nose and suck it out with a bulb syringe so many times that he now goes around with the Saline and tries to squirt it into our noses. He got to Mason one time before I could catch him and practically drowned the poor boy in saline. It was funny though, and really quite harmless.

Poor guy sleeping after getting his shots. Not a fun day for him.

Also, Mason turned 6 months on February 1st. I can't believe it. He is even closer to crawling and can easily army crawl across the floor. He is quite the spirited young chap and we love him to death. He is having surgery in a month and we're not looking forward to that but he is a strong boy and we know it will be ok.

Mason LOVES the tub. Cutest thing.

Lastly, I have to add that amidst the foot excitement and Mason trying to crawl and hence doing handstands and screaming all day, Gideon had to travel twice in the last week for job interviews. He went to Atlanta for 2 days and Seattle for one day. It was busy busy busy around here and mommy's patience is getting close to fried. I think I'll take a solo girls night out this week. :)

Gideon and Finn playing around with the iPhone

But I don't mean to sound like a sob story. We are blessed with a wonderful life and our tiny problems could be so much worse. Sometimes it's just nice to acknowledge that being a mom is hard and that I'm really really tired. All the time. That's it. I'm also really really happy. Only a smidgen grouchy. ;)

The Boys

My New Year's Resolution was to blog more. I'm not doing stellar but I am trying to get back in the habit. I feel like I am finally catching my breath after having Mason. Things sure are busier with two little boys just 17 1/2 months apart! We are loving (almost) every minute of it though. They are the best of friends already. Finn LOVES watching Mason and loves to tickle him, play with him and make him laugh. He calls Mason "Ma-moo." It's really adorable. Mason loves to laugh and watch Finn run around. Here is a little update on both boys.

Learning to sit up at Christmas

Mason-- He is turning 6 months on Friday. I can NOT believe it has gone by so fast. He is on the verge of crawling. He's been rolling since he was 4 months and has been really mobile with it. Finn never did that so it really caught me off guard to set him down and have him roll across the floor in about two seconds. He's been up on his knees rocking back and forth for a week or two now, and he's going to be full blown crawling any day. I think he is so anxious to attempt to keep up with his big brother. He loves jumping in his doorway hanging jumper thing (that's an official term). He is such a sweet, gentle natured, happy baby. He smiles at everyone and anyone (opposite of his big brother who is more of an introvert already). He especially loves his daddy and his brother. They make him laugh the most. He is loving solid foods, too. Pears with cinnamon is his favorite, although he's tried apple/blueberry, peach/pumpkin and sweet potato. He loves them all! He is getting so big so fast and I wish I knew how to slow it down.

Riding the motorcycle toy at the mall in Boise

Finn-- Our little boy isn't so little any more. He is such a wild little man! He will be 2 in a month, and I can hardly believe it. He loves climbing on my bed, jumping off of the couch, etc. He still loves his blankie aka "dee dee" though. He takes it everywhere and sticks his finger in the little corner fold. I think it's the cutest thing. He is usually super happy at home, in his familiar surroundings. He has a hard time with lots of new kids at once; he prefers things a little more quiet. Finn loves giving everyone kisses though, and sometimes gives them quite enthusiastically. He has to give everyone a kiss before naptime and bedtime. I can't resist a good kiss from my boy. We are so in love with his little (or should I say big) personality that is emerging faster than ever from our sweet boy. He loves to snuggle but also gets mad if you try to get him to hold still for too long. He is starting to do imaginative play (says "he-whoa" with his finger puppets, etc). It's so amazing to watch his little mind grow before our eyes. He is talking up a storm. He still has his own versions of many words, but he knows what he wants to say and can say it. He is also quite a fish. He would play in the bathtub all day if I let him. It's really nice because I usually put him in the tub and I can clean the entire bathroom while he plays in there. He is healthy and strong, in spite of the fact that he seems to be subsisting solely on whole milk, cheese, crackers and occasionally sliced turkey. I think he's hating eating because he is teething still. Finn has been staying in nursery the entire time that last few weeks too, which is so amazing. It kind of makes me sad almost, that he doesn't need me for two entire hours. But I suppose it's the way a parent is sad when their child goes to college or something- you are sad to lose them but so happy and proud that they're learning and growing (and let's face it, it's nice to have a little break during church). I'm so proud of my sweet little boy and the little person he is becoming.

We are living the life these days. Of course there are always things that we can find to complain about, but we truly are so very happy. We have a warm house and two healthy boys. We love each other and we love the Lord. I can't think of anything else that we really need to be happy; everything from here on out is just a bonus. The Lord has blessed us so much and we are so grateful.