Broken

My heart is broken. Losing a loved one is extremely difficult but losing a child is just....different. It is a different kind of pain and sorrow. Something that is hard to understand unless you have had to go through it. Some loved ones are now going through this and I so badly wish I could take it all away and make things right again but I know I can't. All the feelings I had when I lost Grayson have seeped in tonight and knowing they are going through the same sorrow is gut wrenching. Please say a little prayer for those who are struggling tonight to find strength to make it through their trials. Pray for those close to them to know the best way to love and support them and most importantly please pray for them to know they are loved.

He knows that everyone falls down,

He's reaching His hands to lift up and strengthen us all now.

He helps me stand higher than I ever knew how,

Through things that I couldn't do alone.

He handles the rest when I've given all I've got to give.

My heart's been trying, and in his eye's it's enough.

He know's who I am, and he know's I'll make mistakes.

He's my oldest friend and through it all I know he'll wait.

I learn every day that I've got so much more to give

My trials have a purpose, I know that's why I'm here.

-Mercy River

Busy Busy November

Holy geez this month has been busy. We had the move of course but so much more too.

The boys started basketball a few weeks ago and it's been crazy crazy since. Both Nate and Ty are playing on separate teams and are in different divisions, so practices and games sometimes overlap. They usually practice Tuesdays and Thursdays then the games are on Saturdays. This last Saturday both games were at the same time at different locations. I was only able to see Nate's game and his team did fairly well. They got creamed but for most this is the first time they've played organized sports like this, so all in all they did good for their level. Tyler's team was opposite, they creamed the other team pretty good. I heard the game was awesome and was sad I had to miss it. Luckily, there is only one other Saturday that the games overlap so I should be able to go to both of their games every week now. This weekend, Tyler's game is at 9:00 am at Canyon View High and Nate's is at 11:00 am at Canyon View Middle School in case anyone wanted to come. Basketball is going to last until January for Tyler and February for Nate so the next few months are definitely going to be busy busy.

Nate has been doing great with his Cello. He's still undecided on if he wants to continue to play it after the Orchestra class is up but I am definitely going to suggest he keeps at it. Tyler is also taking piano lessons and doing very well. From what I hear he is really enjoying the lessons and from hearing him play a little he is catching on really well. And of course both the older ones are also doing their scouts. Poor Ry hasn't had anything too huge going on but he's been a trooper riding along to all these other events and it's helping him be a little more motivated to want to participate in activities when he gets old enough.

Work is going well too. I was really struggling with trying to figure out what the underwriters looked for to give good solid approvals on files so I decided to reach out to the underwriting manager the other day and she gave me some great tips. I've put her tips into play and my last three files have come out very clean (which means the underwriter was able to issue approvals without having to request a ton of extra info called conditions). One was even a quick clear which means that I had provided all but two items she had needed to give me a clear to close. That's pretty major. I am also done with my required educational courses for my Utah Licensing Test and about half way through the required courses for the National Licensing Test. The goal is to complete these courses and take my tests to be a licensed Loan Officer by January. Things are headed in a great direction and I really feel we are becoming closer and more tight knit as a team. It's very exciting to be a part of it all.

So we're busy busy but absolutely loving every second. It's been an adjustment for sure with all the changes going on but so far all of it is definitely moving us upwards and I look forward to where this little path we've jumped on will lead. Here is to a good ride :)

Getting Settled

I have been attempting to post pictures of the new house for the last week but they won't transfer from my phone to my computer. Highly irritating. So eventually I will get some posted I promise.

The move went well. We had a few bumps along the way though. The house was not ready when we moved in. I don't know what happened there, but when I came to do my move-in inspection that Friday before there was maintenance stuff EVERYWHERE. A toilet was completely ripped out of the hallway bathroom and was chilling out in Nate's room, the stove has some issues and there were pages of things that they didn't quite get finished. Tools were everywhere and patches on the wall hadn't been fixed yet. So the plan to move stuff in on Friday was out. I was a little stressed out I couldn't move as much as I was planning on but come Saturday morning most of the stuff was cleaned up thank goodness and we were good to move stuff in.

I was extremely blessed with all the help that showed up. We had our last load in the new house by noon which is a record for me for sure. When not as many people as I had expected to come showed up, some prayers were answered and the troops came in. I am soo grateful for all the help, thank you to everyone who took time out to help. I know we couldn't have done things so quickly without them all...I am soo grateful that things worked out the way they did.

So not everything is fixed yet unfortunately but they are slowly working on it. The toilet got moved back into the bathroom but wasn't installed until yesterday. The stove is now fixed too but I cannot get the gas fireplace in the family room to work to save my life, there are still toothpaste looking patches on some of the walls that didn't get covered and I can't dry any clothes here since my dryer is electric and the hookups are gas. The maintenance guy said he had connections and could hook me up with a very inexpensive dryer, but I've yet to see that come to fruition. So...the hunt for a dryer continues and we become friends with the laundromat for a minute.

Having a house is a lot of work too...as I mentioned I can't get the gas fireplace to work in the basement and even with the heat on it gets cold down here. I have no idea how to use the wood fireplace in the living room either, so we are slightly cold. Good thing heat rises though because the bedrooms are nice and toasty, and I guess that is really what counts right? And the spiders. Oh the spiders. I hate spiders. And there are TONS of them. There was one in the boys room who's body was easily as big as my thumb. It was nasty. But we are handling it bit by bit.

But there are soooo many upsides that all the other stuff is minor. We feel at home every time we walk in the door. The boys are loving the space and the ability to run and play without me having to tell them to be quiet. And being so close to the school means that we have not been late once since we moved in which I'm sure the school appreciates too. My favorite part is the fact that the dining room and family room are far apart so we haven't had any temptation to eat in front of the TV. It's been soo very nice to eat as a family at the table and to have the kids excited to help cook, set the table and do clean up. I'm sure that won't last forever but I'll take it while I can. The boys are super excited for the prospects of fun activities in the house too. Nate is going to have a friend party at our house this year for his birthday which is something we really didn't have room to do previously. The other boys all want to do the same and I'm excited to be able to give them that option finally. And the holidays! They are soo excited to spend the holidays here. We can decorate and feel all festive here which we are ALL excited about. Yay!

So that is that. I look forward to the fun memories we are going to be able to make here and the opportunities we will have with being in our own home. And with that, have a lovely night :)