Opinions Wanted...

We just moved to a new state, and we are renting a home for now.  This is the family room on the main floor, it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door, and I can't quite decide what to do on this wall that faces the door.  And you must know that unless I can sell that huge behemoth of an armoire to the back right, it's not moving.  It's the only place in the house I can put it.  So keep that in mind!  Here's the view from the entryway.





 First I hung this clock to the left of the windows, sorry for the glare, didn't realize what a bad picture it was until after I moved and rehung stuff.  I was too lazy to re-do the wall for a better photo, and I'm still limited to the camera on my phone for uploading on the blog.  oh the joys of moving!


I like the dark clock next to the white of the window and on that light tan wall, but I don't love that empty space to the right of the window.  So,  I hung these pictures of our kids to the sides of the window.


And I'm not totally in love with that either.  But if I don't hang these here I don't have another place to put them on the main floor, and don't really want to send them to the basement.

I am so decorating challenged it's not even funny, so please...opinions wanted and needed, even if you don't like either!  Tell me what would look good on these walls.  Honestly, this is the worst part of unpacking for me!  I love the organizing and abhor the decorating....HELP!

This post inspired by the letter "O"

Take a Walk Around My New Neighborhood

There were lots of dark gray clouds when we woke up for everyone's first day back to school.  It was kind of eerie, but mostly burned off by 9 am and was a gorgeous morning to take a stroll around the neighborhood, and show you where we live now!  Something I really like about this neighborhood is the variety of home styles.  Lots of new subdivisions are full of homes in one particular style, not this one.  I think it has almost every type of home you can dream up.  Here are a few I passed on my little tour this morning.

This one makes me feel like I should be in the mountains cozied up by the fire instead of being in the suburbs.  I love it, notice the "U" flag?  The first time I met this neighbor she said she hoped I wasn't "offended" by their flag & neon "U" in the window.  Silly Utah Rivalries!

I snapped another one from my car window, you just don't get the full effect without seeing the garage doors!

I love the more craftsman style of this house (at least that's what I think it is-maybe it's  not-maybe it's more Arts & Crafts style-tell me if you know!).  I really like the garage doors and the combination of wood and rock. 

Here is a completely different style-more Victorian I think, notice even the gingerbread details on the eaves, and the white picket fence.  Makes me smile.

 This next house is a very popular combination in the newer construction around these parts-combinations of rock, brick and stucco.  I'm divided in my appreciation.  You decide if you like it or not.

 And a totally typical brick and stucco Utah style home, although I've seen these lots of other places too.  I like it, classic style, and nothing that screams the era or trends when it was built.

 Another example of the popular combo of rock, brick& stucco.  I wanted to snap a picture because I really like the dark color of the garage doors, for some reason that really makes a difference in the curb appeal of the house for me.  I love nice garage doors-quirky, huh?

 Another classic home, I like this one because of all the trees in the yard.  I'm a sucker for lots of great trees.  Especially when you can enjoy fall colors, and I love the evergreens too. 

 I forgot to take a picture of our house, so you get this one snapped from the car window.  The worst picture of the lot I'm afraid!  Jeff says it is by far the weakest house in the neighborhood.  I don't really care!  It seems like just where we belong right now.

Hope you enjoyed this tour of our new neighborhood!  Next time we'll try for some indoor pics and an update on everyone's return to school.

Updates, but no pictures

Today marks 3 weeks since we loaded up our trucks and moved from Mesa to Kaysville.  It feels much longer, and yet I can't believe it's already been 3 weeks.  Life has been a constant teeter totter, shifting from one side to the other.  With both good and bad, often equal, sometimes unbalanced.

On the good side:

• really friendly neighbors, with multiple kids Thane & Sage's ages within a couple of doors of us. 
• Welcome to the neighborhood treats and loaves of bread coming out our ears!
• Sage & Thane both love their teachers & classes at school, and have made a pretty painless transition.
• Snow has it's own kind of beauty.  There's a tranquility that comes in sitting with a steaming cup of cocoa, snuggled in a warm sweater or throw, and watching those fat white flakes float down in the darkness of the early morning that's hard to duplicate.
• I had lots of help unpacking-the three oldest kids still haven't started school.
• The house we found at the last minute has everything we need, and some things we didn't need, but wanted!  What a blessing finding this home was.
• There are loads of youth in our neighborhood-so many kids, and teenagers it's a great place for our kids to make new friends.
• Quinn was DELIGHTED to discover he can get his driver's permit NOW-you can get it at 15 here in UT, guess where we are going tomorrow?
• Wrestling season doesn't even start here for another month, they are just doing conditioning workouts right now, happy happy Quinn!

The other side of the teeter totter:

• Jeff's still working in Denver for most of week
• It took me 3.5 hours to register 2 kids for Jr. High last week, still have Kiefer to register tomorrow-ugh!
• None of my technology has been working properly since we moved here-not satellite, not internet, not phones, nothing! (Hence the lack of blogging & the continuing absence of pictures!)  It's been driving me batty, obviously I was way too dependent on all that to keep me busy.  I even find it harder to focus on studying my scriptures without the handy lds.org just a click away.
• It has snowed 2-3 times a week since we've been here-this weekend was a first-it rained instead, melting some of the snow.  I won't let Kiefer drive on the icy roads yet- got to get some practice in-so I have an unhappy 16 year old.
• 4 weeks of no school makes for VERY bored 13, 15, and 16 year old boys!  They are soooo ready to get back to doing something besides sitting around this house.
• Graduation requirements are different here, making registration for school somewhat of a maze.  Even non graduation standards are different-like science.  Biology was a common class for 9th graders in Mesa, it was offered at least 5 out of 6 hours of the day, here there is only 1 class.  In contrast, most honors 9th graders are in Algebra II, Geometry was the standard in Mesa for those same 9th graders, making Q feel like he's behind his peers.  World History is a 9th grade class in AZ, it's a 10th grade class in UT.  They also have required Financial Literacy, Keyboarding, and Fitness for Life classes most kids take in 9th or 10th grade that Kiefer will have to fit into his Senior year.  Not making for a happy kid to think of taking those classes with 10th graders instead of crusing through his last year.  I'm looking into summer classes and on line classes to take care of those, we'll see.

All in all we are moving right along, and I'm sure will continue to catch our stride as all the kids get back in school and involved in activities.  I think I'm going to look for a job, I already shudder to think of how long Wednesday will be with all the kids in school and no activities, committees, classrooms or callings to help fill my time.  So, if you know of anyone hiring around Kaysville, give me a call! :)

Just What I needed to Remember!

I came across this on Christie's Blog at These Are A Few of My Favorite Things and could not believe how perfectly it fit into exactly what I needed to remember right now, at this exact point in my life.  Life *is* good, and there are more good things ahead!  The past is behind us, and our whole future lies ahead. 

Peace

I love a clean fresh start, I love new beginnings and fresh possiblities.  I don't always love the process of ending opportunities, or saying good bye to comfortable places in my life. Sometimes it's hard to see past the warm and cozy seat by the fire, and understand that while you don't know what lies outside the front door, it just might be even more fabulous than your warm and cozy seat, and if not better at least worth learning about and exploring.  And who's to say you can't return from time to time to snuggle up next to the fire for a bit?  Not me.

This new year brings lots and lots of changes-big and small to my life & my family's lives.  Lots of chaos, lots of swirling emotions, and a great big kick right off that cozy seat and out the front door to discover what's out there waiting for us. Whether or not I want to find out.

For most people the new year also brings to every desk a list of goals or resolutions on ways we will reinvent and improve ourselves.  Becoming everything we ever dreamed of.  Then the rush of life takes over, and slowly we lose the enthusiasm amidst the toil of everyday life.  At least that's what always used to happen to me.  So I stopped writing new year's resolutions.  I found a new way of starting fresh each year, and it really works for me.  It's changed my life.  Seriously.

I simply choose one word to focus on (or refocus as the case may be), and it becomes my mantra for the year.  Here are the last couple of years if you want to see what I mean 2009  and  in 2010 .   I can't honestly say I perfected either area, but I sure did improve, and even more I found what I was looking for.  It's been an interesting evolution, I often find my "new" word is simply an elevation or more refined version of the previous year's mantra.

That's never been more true than this year.  You see, in 09 I wanted to LISTEN and in 2010 I wanted a more active role, and I decided to SEEK.  What comes next?  PEACE  That's really what I wanted all along, I just didn't realize it.  First I had to learn to LISTEN to what was really happening, and see past the motion and excitement of the world.  Then I needed to be proactive, I needed to search, ponder and truly SEEK out what I needed to do.

Now, now I need PEACE.  I want to be at PEACE with myself, at PEACE with the Lord, at PEACE with my spouse and my children, and at PEACE with my life.

Maybe it's because life is so chaotic, and has been for the last couple of years, never knowing what was coming next, always carefully balancing on the edge, desperate to find my path and keep from toppling over the cliff.  I can honestly say 2010 was the single most challenging year of my life, and if you want to extend it 2009 wasn't such a cherry on top either.

So how does listening and seeking bring me to peace?  I understand now I wouldn't know how to find PEACE if I hadn't first learned to listen and then learned to seek.  I understand now, or am beginning to, that the PEACE I seek comes from living in Harmony with the Holy Spirit, and submitting my will to my Father in Heaven.  I can never find the peace I so desperately need if I am not listening to the Holy Ghost, and to the desires of my family's hearts, not just their words.  I must also take an active role in creating this PEACE in my life and in my home.  It will not simply come, I must seek it out with every choice I make, every action I take must be focused on the end goal of having PEACE.

So it is my goal to remind myself that I seek PEACE in all I do.  I crave harmony in my home and the strength that comes from knowing I am living in harmony with my Savior's teachings and my Father in Heaven's will.  These things can only be found from finding His Peace.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The Move To the Frozen White North

The physical moving of our family from sunny Mesa, Arizona (temp. approximately Heaven) to frozen Kaysville, Utah (temperature much colder than I can currently handle), is finished.  The actual loading went great, aside from a temporary panic when it appeared all our junk wouldn't fit into TWO 26' moving vans.  Things were unloaded, and reloaded, and we were happy not to be forced to choose between our dining room table and our food storage.

Tons of help showed up, and we were loaded and ready to go within a couple of hours.  We have the best Mesa family, women were scrubbing and cleaning inside the kitchen and bathrooms while men were loading boxes and furniture outside.  It was hard to leave.

image found here We got on the road around 1 pm on Monday, a funny little caravan.  Jeff driving one of these lovely trucks, then Kiefer (our 16 year old) in our Honda Odyssey, and then me driving another of these 26' massive motors.  I won't lie, I was freaked out when we picked them up, this truck was huge!  I had never in my life been behind the wheel of one of these.  We racked our brains to try and come up with another solution, after all having our son who's only been a licensed driver for 4 months drive our children through questionable winter weather for 14+ hours was not our first choice.  We just couldn't find another solution.  I prayed, and prayed hard all would go well.  And it was a great drive!

Each car had a two way radio, with Quinn operating the radio in the van with Kiefer driving.  It was better than I could have hoped for, Kiefer far out performed our expectations-driving for 7 hours a day without problem or complaint.

The only hitch in the drive was waking up to a dead battery in the van on the 2nd day.  Someone (who was not Kiefer or Quinn, but shall remain nameless) left the lights on in the van all night.

 Thankfully there were two United Moving Lines drivers who had extra long jumper cables & helped us jump the van, and then we used the moving van to jump their truck's dead battery.  A win-win situation.  And, Kiefer & Quinn got a first hand lesson on how to jumpstart a car-important life lessons-learned on the road!

We arrived safely, and had tons of neighbors show up to help unload our trucks.  It only took about an hour and a half to unload both trucks-amazing!  Our neighbors across the street also made dinner for us & had us over to eat in their home.  Their 16 year old daughter invited Kiefer to go hang out and play games with her friends  that night, and we deemed the move complete & a success!  We're doing well on the unpacking, should be able to post some pictures in a couple of days.  Mostly just have the basement, guest bedroom, and of course our Master Bedroom to finish off.

 If only I could find a way to jumpstart myself as easily as this battery was re energized.  I won't lie, Church was hard yesterday.  Sitting alone, wishing I was back surrounded by friends I know and love.  Missing out on all the shared inside jokes and laughter, not understanding the locations of announced activities.  Mostly just feeling alone.  I knew it would be hard, and it was.  I asked Jeff if I can just fly home to Mesa every Sunday.  He gave me a hug and didn't answer.  I know it will get better, just wish I could jumpstart it.