Some random stuff

There's been a lot going on lately so I'll just post some pics so people can know we're still alive. We're getting moved in and unpacked, still no job but lots of leads, everyone here is very friendly and welcoming. So now onto the pictures because we all know that's all most of us look at when we go to a blog anyway.

We found some little guitars at Target for like $7 so we got them for the girls and now they love playing them along with Hannah Montana music.




We've spent a lot of time around the house trying to get everything unpacked so we decided to take a walk at the beach today and remember why we chose to live here. This pier is only about 10 min from our house.

Something I never thought I'd hear coming from Dave...

"It's too bad this didn't come in pink."

We're loved already! :)

So there was a delay in our truck getting to the house, so we ended up just coming to stay with my sister for a few days. I let our landlord know that we would be waiting a few days to get there, and then while we were driving to Orange County I got a phone call. It was the primary president from the ward! She had walked some cookies over to our house and our landlord was there, and she let her know that the truck was delayed. She got our phone number and gave us a call to make sure everything would be okay. And on top of that, when I called the trucking company that was supposed to deliver the truck I ended up talking to a man who is in our ward! He looked at the address and said, oh-my scouts were going to be helping you move in! It has felt so nice that people are looking forward to our arrival. When I spoke to the truck company guy again today he was so accomodating about delivery of the truck and let me know that the elders quorum would be there tomorrow night for us. When I asked for help I mentioned that just a couple guys to help with the heavy stuff would be plenty, but they're sending more than that!
It feels good to know that the ward knows we're coming and is ready to welcome us in! That makes the whole moving process that much better!

some pics

ahh...if I just had Lauren's talent. :) Here are some of the pictures we got and I love them so much that I needed to share!

This is SUCH a Bree face.

In a funk

Anyone else in a blogging funk? Maybe it's because we're trying to pack up. But yesterday we had Emma's 5th Birthday Tea Party! It was pretty fun. Lauren came and took pictures, we had our camera out, and Anna brought her camera too. I'm excited to see what kinds of pictures came out of it! We painted nails, had a fashion show, read a "tea party" book, and ate all sorts of mini foods and treats. Oh, and of course, they drank white grape juice "tea". And I am DEFINITELY going to post the pictures I took of Dave demonstrating how to walk fancy during the fashion show. I have to say-I usually plan the logisitics of the birthday parties, but he always ends up being the fun host parent. He has the best imagination. Just the other day we were with a few people at the Jacksons, and the boys kept bringing him all these outdoor things they found and he was telling them what the leprechauns did with them. Some were leprechaun napkins, chairs, light bulbs, etc. The kids loved it!

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!