Happy Birthday Dave!

I just did an ode to Dave, so he doesn't get another one. hehe. But a few seconds ago Emma asked how old he was now, and I said 31, to which she replied, "OH!!! THAT'S A MILLION!!!" So nice to feel young. I love her reactions-she says some funny things.

And I have a new name. Bree has been calling me Mamia. Now I'm Mompf. Pronounced exactly as it's spelled. And sometimes Mompfy. Gosh I love that girl.

It's all coming together!

Today we got the phone call we had been praying for-we got the house we wanted to rent! I have spent the last 2 months pouring over Craigslist for rentals that would work for us and still be priced low enough to afford. I called and emailed property management companies and individual listings. I think I even got one company annoyed at me-it wasn't my fault that I kept emailing them and asking the same questions about different properties! If they would have listed their company name in each listing, then I could have done it all in one shot. Most of the properties were within certain price ranges that we technically could do, but we would be stretching it and have to cut back in other areas. Then one day it showed up-priced WAY below other properties and in a good neighborhood. I jumped on it so fast! I emailed and asked all the questions and then asked our friend to go over and see it. Our friend sang our praises to the landlord, and the landlord said she had felt good about us from the start. Her concern was that we would be renting a house unseen, and it's an older house. HA! Little does she know that 1950 is SO NEW for us :) There were 12 people that came by that day who had all submitted applications. I emailed ours the next day, and today we've just been fasting and praying that she picks us. She told me they were going out of town for the weekend and that she would call tomorrow after they did the credit checks and picked someone. But she called this afternoon (while on their trip!) to say that they want us to live there! She said she had originally felt like we were to be the ones living in her house, and she felt like she should call today to let us know they decided on us. WHAT A RELIEF! The price is unbeatable, especially for a house this size and in such a great neighborhood.

This past weekend has been such a testament to me of how much Heavenly Father is aware of us. Dave had a Boards experience that really could have gone in a BAD direction. Interestingly enough, quite a few of the guys had some slip-ups and things out of their control happen. But they were all watched over...and now Dave can rest easy...we think :)

And today was a great day-we had Fast Sunday because of Stake Conference next week. I'll admit, my Fast Sunday experiences have left much to be desired over the last few months. Sad, considering all the major decisions we've needed to make. But I've found myself so distracted over the last few months that when Sunday morning rolls around and I remember it's Fast Sunday I don't eat, but I don't really focus on a fasting purpose. I just let the day go by and "think" about things on my mind that I'm hoping will either receive some help or resolution, etc. But I haven't been an "involved" participant in fasting, except for a few Sundays we've had family fasts. But last night as I was getting ready for Sunday, I wrote down the things that I wanted to fast about, and I said my prayers with those purposes in mind. And when I woke up this morning, those things were already on my mind. It sure makes fasting a little easier when you know WHY you're not eating! But my purposes were at the forefront of my mind all day, and I could FEEL that my prayers were being listened to. I might not get answers right away (except for the house thing-that phone call came at 3:57pm-church gets done at 4pm!!), but I knew that Heavenly Father knew exactly what we needed and that He was thankful that I would have enough faith in Him to fast about those things. I'll be honest, I definitely don't feel worthy of a lot of the blessings we've received lately, but I'll take them! And it makes me want to try harder to do what is right and to serve others.

What a great day for us! Hope everyone has had a great Sunday experience too!

It's Final

We're moving the the San Luis Obispo area! We don't have a job yet. We're taking a huge leap of faith, but we feel good about our decision. We've had a few disappointments in our search; namely, a lot of leads for work not working out, and not a lot of returned communication for places to live. But we have just kept working on finding a place to live and doing everything we need to to find a job, get licensed and be ready to go once the license comes through, and today we saw a few rewards for our efforts. Some phone calls about practice opportunities, and returned emails about a few homes within our price range. I'm feeling so hopeful!

Of course, Dave doesn't want to talk about all this cool stuff that happened today because he's WIGGING OUT. I've never seen him this antsy before in my life. He keeps slapping his cheeks (you know, like you do when you're trying to wake yourself up), tapping tables or his legs like he's drumming, rubbing his eyes, and he's all jittery. He told me I shouldn't expect him to listen to anything I say over the next few days :) He's over at the Jackson's right now playing the Wii with "the guys". Hopefully he'll come home a little more relaxed and able to get some rest for the next few days of stress coming up.

BUT HE'LL DO GREAT ON BOARDS, I KNOW IT!!

ps-anyone who wants to come visit the BEAUTIFUL central coast of California, you have a place to stay!

GRRRR...

I'm so ANGRY and OUTRAGED! I really hate the media right now. There's all this "controversy" over Miss California's opinion that she feels marriage should be between a man and a woman. GOOD FOR HER for stating what the majority of the country feels! Stupid Perez Hilton goes on msnbc saying that he was so shocked and disappointed b/c HE feels like Miss America should represent all of America and her opinion was not representative of America, and all I could think was, YES IT IS!!!! I feel like people like him are not facing reality. If she would have said that she believes gay marriage should be constitutionalized, the media would have been praising her and saying she's so great and wonderful. Stupid media. I'm so angry I want to hit something. You know that Orbit commercial where the woman is ripping apart that nice classic car with her teeth? That's what I feel like. When are the American people going to take a stand to the media and say, enough is enough???????? Uneducated people are totally influenced by what the media has to say, and when both sides are not being represented fairly and equally, those people form opinions based on misrepresentation. GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I really want to hit something right now.

Disneyland!

Finally, pictures of the fun we had at Disneyland! I feel stupid that we didn't take any pictures with Ann-Marie and the kids. It was sooooo magical for the girls! Emma's autograph book is full and she loves to look at it all the time now and tell all her friends that she met all these characters. We chose to get the hopper passes so we could go back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure-good choice for us. The Bug's Life area was awesome, and the Pixar Parade was so great! We were right in front and the girls were ECSTATIC. A few characters came right up to them, which they thought was so fabulous. Emma's favorite ride was the caterpillar train (Flem?)-I think she liked it b/c the you could actually smell the foods that you ride through, and she thought it was so hilarious that he burps. Although Emma does like to try the rides, Bree is definitely our more adventurous child and I think she liked that she could actually go on the rides. Dave and I didn't do much for us-we knew going in to this that we wouldn't be going on any adult rides. But we can't wait until the girls are big enough for Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain!

Disneyland is MAGICAL!

Dave will be so embarrassed, but...

...so what??? hehe. This is kind of an ode to Doctor Dave, not Daddy Dave. So this weekend was the Senior Dinner, where all the seniors come for a nice meal and awards, then a "roast" of sorts-funny things from dental school. We had so much fun with friends at our table and talking across tables to other friends. We laughed a lot and made bets on who would get what awards and the most awards. Nobody at our table had any expectations at all of getting awards, not that every guy there wasn't deserving...just not expecting. They had a lot of awards to hand out, and some were funny in their wording, some went to people who totally deserved them, etc. Then they announce the award for clinical excellency in periodontics goes to...Dave Latham?? WHAT? hehe. We were all laughing and there were cheers and shout-outs, and Dave was a little embarrassed to get the award. I don't think that he thinks he deserves it, and I don't think he wanted any awards. He's not the type of guy that looks for acknowledgment and praise. Obviously, it's always good to praise people, and I try to do it with Dave, but he never looks for it or expects it. But he got it that night! He did tutoring/TA-ing for perio, so I think that contributed to him being considered for this award. And he really has a great ability to teach people and help people who are having difficulty understanding concepts, so it's not a surprise to me.

And as far as Dave being a dentist, he's gonna be great. He is so good at listening to his patients and taking the time to understand their concerns. A few patients have told him how much it has meant to them that he really listened to them.

For those who don't know, Dave wasn't originally going to be a dentist. He graduated in Marriage, Family, Human Development with a minor in Psychology, and he was accepted into programs for a masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, with plans to go on to a doctorate in Psychology. And anyone who knows Dave knows that he would be a really great Marriage and Family Therapist! He has a knack for listening to others and finding solutions for people-he has pretty much been our family therapist! My extended family always joked that he could do his thesis on them-haha. So that was our plan. We were all ready to move to Nebraska, I was accepted into a Culinary program, things were moving forward. But then we visited my uncle, who's a dentist. And he realized that his job probably wouldn't allow him to be with his family. People are willing to leave work in the middle of the day to visit a dentist, but most are only willing to see a therapist after work and on the weekend. After a week or so of contemplation about what he wanted for our family and time together, he decided to change career paths. So back to school for all the pre-reqs for dental school!

So, this "education" road in our marriage has been a long one, and it's finally coming to an end, 8 1/2 years and 2 kids later. I'm so proud of Dave and all he has accomplished. He has always given his best effort on his schoolwork and clinic, while making time for our family, and that's not something a lot of people are able or willing to do. We love him so much for that-anyone who is around us knows that he is obviously the favored parent at our house :)

Congratulations Dave!! Sorry if you're embarrassed that I'm tooting your horn :) I love you so much!

Burger Showdown

Five Guys and In-N-Out. Sorry, but Five Guys didn't even stack up. Dave likes it better, but not me. No sir. Give me In-N-Out anyday over Five Guys. Sure, the burger was okay. But it didn't have any "secret sauce." And the fries didn't even come close.
Nice try Five Guys...nice try.

When you think you have it bad...

...just know somebody always has it worse. I actually don't think things are that bad for us. We're healthy and happy, we sold our house, and we're moving. Somewhere. Don't know where yet, which is a little stressful, but I can't complain. Dave got his braces off today (YAY!), we had a fun-filled Easter evening with friends last night (my abs still hurt from laughing so hard!), and Bree behaved the whole day at the outlets today (yes, jaw-dropping, I know), and I had a great time chatting with Alison while we sat on the couch at the bookstore...without kids. Life is wonderful.

But I'm always even MORE grateful for all I have after reading Nie Nie's blog. I know a lot of people have read about her and read her blog over the years, and I've been silently following her blog since I found it. The entries previous to the accident were inspiring. They reminded me of how I should be a better mom and the things to look forward to everyday. They also included things to just ponder on and think about-not necessarily "mother" things, just things in general. The entries during her coma were heart-wrenching in the sense that I knew her children were suffering, but they were also so hopeful because they reminded me of the goodness of people in the world. Now she's awake and she writes about things that we would never even realize would be important. Like being able to pick up our child, or even having our child love us and not resent us because of what we look like (burns and scarring to her face). The love between her and her husband is an example for all marriages. And if I ever think I have it hard, I just need to read about her happiness at finally being able to lift up her child and have his head rest on her shoulder.

We are so lucky.

Mommy Daughter Date!

The pictures from last night are too cute not to put up right away! We first went to Coldstone with Nancy, Bailey, Anna, and Elizabeth. Then we met up with Lauren and Avery at the HANNAH MONTANA MOVIE!! I was a little hesitant about taking Emma to it because it IS a little old for her. But she LOVES "Hannah Batana" (that's how she says it). I don't even know how she ever discovered who she was because we don't have the Disney channel. But somehow she knew and I got her a t-shirt a while back and she loves it. She always talks about how Hannah Batana is a ROCKSTAR. And she air guitars. Yep, my little girl AIR GUITARS. It's hilarious to watch. So, off to the movie we went. And it was so dang cute. These little girls were glued to the screen and every time a song came on they would get up and dance and try to mimic the lyrics. There were a few moms and teenage girls that were commenting the whole time on how cute they were. When the movie first started, it was all quiet in the theater, then Bailey screamed out HANNAH MONTANA!!! That got us some laughs. Then something funny happened on the movie that made everyone kind of just chuckle, but our girls were just laughing their heads off, which made everyone laugh some more. It was a really well-made and appropriate movie, which I was really happy about. It made me want to live in Tennessee :)
Haha, maybe we will!!!

tub time

Here you go Grandmas & Grandpas :) Here's a little glimpse into what happens after the bath. Notice how Bree calls Emma "Demma." It's very cute.