Fast Forward...

When our house closed in July, we temporarily moved into a friend's vacant house around the corner.  We literally lived on the bare minimum, stuffing the garage full of boxes with the anticipation of moving again once we'd find something to accommodate my parents and my family.  We spent just 2 and 1/2 months there.  When we discovered that our friends received an offer on the house that we were occupying and expected it to close in just a few weeks, we began a hasty new search for yet another home.  

As if by miracle, a home for rent went on the market that week.  It was exactly what we were looking for: BIG, duel master bedrooms, a large yard, and the neighborhood in which we were hoping to live.  Moving into the rental right away would allow my parents to move in with us when they're ready.  And the 10 month contract that we have here will be long enough to allow us to decide if we want to buy a house or build one from the ground up.  

As my strong husband reminded me so many times, It will all work out.  And it did. 

One Chapter Closes as Another Begins

We've lived in the same house since Branson could barely walk.  It was our first house - and it was perfect.  I loved our little neighborhood, the corner lot that our home sat on, our tiny backyard, the stairway banister, and the fact that each of our kids thought it was the best place on earth.  But I realize that change is inevitable.  And I embrace each new chapter of our lives as an adventure awaiting us!

My parents are not in the best health and they're only getting older.  In a perfect world there would be no sickness and eternal youth.  But I know that with each passing day they continue to age and I am at peace with the process.  While my dad continues to work at 78 years of age, I felt impressed to do something to help alleviate his burden.  We chose to sell our home in hopes of finding something that would accommodate my parents as well as our family.  The home-selling process went much quicker than I imagined!  We closed in short order and found ourselves renting until we could find a home that would suit our unique circumstances.  With home inventory very low in the Las Vegas market, we were discouraged by how little there was to choose from in our area.  So we've recently decided that building a home to meet our needs might be a more viable answer.  

Here's a glance at the home we've left behind...

front gates

community picnic area

Our first home

This is where our kids used to ride their tricycles

We designed our little backyard, and picked all the plants and trees

My brother bought us this barbecue when we first moved in

Living Room

Toy closet - under the stairs

Dining Room/Kitchen

This is where my kids used to bounce rubber balls to see who could hit the 2 story ceiling

3 daughters, 1 large room

1 son, all Angry Birds

We called this The Froggy Bathroom because it had a frog bathmat

(I didn't photograph the extra bedroom/craft room because it wasn't too exciting.)

Master Bedroom

Loved the duel shower heads

This is a photo of me and the kids the day our house closed and we turned the keys over to the new occupants.  You can't tell from this picture, but it was a day of splotchy eyes.  :)  

The whole process was very bitter-sweet.  We loved our little home, but we knew that leaving was key to taking care of my parents.  With no downstairs bedroom or bathroom and my dad not able to walk up and down stairs easily, this was the logical step to take.  We knew that the Lord supported us in our decision making and would provide a way for us.  He has not forsaken us and continues to bless us daily.  

The End of Another Season

June 5th and 7th 2012

Our kids enjoyed another season of soccer with Brian as Coach and me as the manager.  We kept a very busy schedule!  I was SO done by the end of it all.  Haha!  But we had a great time with the kids - and we loved watching them improve.

We had a team party for each team at the end of the season...

Dynamite, team 144

(Natalya's team)

 One mom provided this awesome cake!

Noah, Olivia, Natalya, Dominick, Diego, Gage, Kaden, Liam, Ashlyn, Douglas, Luke, Joshua

Natalya's last game

Angry Birds, team 86
(Branson's team)

Joseph, Calais, Boston, Radley, James, Brenden, Talae, Branson

Not pictured: Aiden, Preston

Both teams were so sweet and gave gift cards to Coach! So Coach took me on a date :)

Our kids LOVED soccer and excelled at it.  I think Natalya improved immensely and was a force to be reckoned with by the end of the season.  Meanwhile, Branson was our little MVP and scored the most goals for his team.  

Natalya is now thinking about trying volleyball and Branson seems interested in martial arts.  We'll see...

Natalya Gets Baptized

I am so proud of our daughter for choosing to be baptized.  She is an extraordinary girl with an outstanding knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Natalya has more faith than most grown adults.  She truly has a testimony of precious, sacred things.  She knows her Father in Heaven loves her.  She knows Jesus Christ lives.  She knows prayer is her lifeline and utilizes it daily.  She reads her scriptures and not only understands the stories, but she has an inspiring way of applying each passage to her own life.  

May 21, 2012
Just like our parents gave to us before we were baptized, we gave Natalya two special gifts before her baptism...

...Her very own special CTR ring.  CTR stands for "Choose The Right".  Now that she is old enough to be held accountable for her own sins, she will always have a little reminder that will help her choose the right.

We also gave her her own set of scriptures.  (She loves that her name is inscribed on the leather cover.)  She reads them daily and treats them with the utmost respect.  

Here are some photos we had taken of her in her special baptism dress.  My friend, Chelsea Allred, took her pictures and did a beautiful job!  Chelsea is our family photographer and has been taking our family pictures for the last few years.  In these pictures I felt like she really captured the spirit of baptism.  Natalya is a clean, pure, sweet and angelic and it shows in these shots.  Thanks for another job well done, Chels! 

This was the picture we chose for her invitation.

And this one we enlarged to an 11x14.  She looks so angelic to me!

This is her butterfly CTR ring... because she's a free little spirit who is also free to make her own choices.  And it's beautiful - just like her.    

June 2, 2012

The day after her 8th birthday Natalya was baptized by her daddy. Brian has baptized many people before, but baptizing his own daughter was a first!  It was a special experience he'll not soon forget.

When Natalya was 5 years old, we were driving home from visiting my sister in California.  A song was playing in the car and she spoke up from the back seat, "Mom, can you sing this song at my baptism?"  It was a song about 3 white dresses: a baby blessing dress, a baptism dress, and a temple dress.  Of course I agreed knowing that she would just forget in 3 years time.  So it surprised me when about a month before her baptism she asked me if I remembered that I would sing the 3 white dresses song that she heard so long ago.  (Leave it to Natalya to never forget anything!)  That night I located the sheet music online and quickly agreed that I would be honored to sing it at her baptism.  As a visual I brought in her baby blessing dress, her baptism dress and my wedding dress.  

My dad gave the talk on baptism and Brian's mom gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.  They both did an exceptional job and were really good about keeping it on a child's level.  Grandad and Granny Kim gave our opening and closing prayers.  And Grandaddy and Grandad were the witnesses when she was baptized.  My cousin Merrill joined the circle when she was given the gift of the Holy Ghost.  We were blessed to have so many people there who love her.  

We were blessed to have had all of her grandparents in attendance! It was a beautiful day that we truly enjoyed spending with so many people who cared.  

Congratulations, sweet girl.