More of God's hand in this...

The last post was so long, I had to end it somewhere... but I wanted to share another big way we've seen God in all of this in just the past few weeks.

A huge prayer request was our house.  We have gone back and forth over the past year about whether to sell it or rent it.  In January, we put it up For Sale by Owner.  We had it for sale for about 4 months.  Sean held a few open houses, we got a few calls from Craigs List, we even had a few very interested people wanting to do a lease to purchase option.  But in the end, nothing came through.  About ten months ago, Sean and his friend Jim talked about the possibility of he and his wife renting it.  But their apartment lease was not up until August 1.  Supposedly Tanya was pretty bummed because she said she would have loved to move in here.  So that topic was dropped.  Well a few months ago Sean and I had discussed that if nothing came open for him to promote then we would just move to DFW and he would take a transfer.  He wanted to set a date that that would happen.  At first, it was July 1.  Then as it got closer, I expressed to him that this was very emotional for me and, though it may seem silly, my birthday was coming up July 23 and I was signed up to run the Wharf to Wharf from Santa Cruz to Capitola with my brothers and sisters-in-law.  So he said ok then we'll say August 1.  Then only about a month before all of this came down with us moving, Sean and Jim talked again, this time more seriously.  But once again the issue of their lease came up.  We didn't think much of it until I was offered the job at Cook and as we looked at the calendar to see when my possible start day would be and therefore our possible move, would you believe it was August 1!!!!  We just laughed!  It is becoming fun to watch how everything truly is falling into place.  Well we soon found out that although their lease was up August 1, they were in contract through September 1 due to a required 60 day notice.  Although we stressed at first about this, we just knew it would work out the way it was supposed to and we had total peace.  Finally Jim came back to us and said they wanted to move in as soon as possible and they would pay be able to pay for August!  Praise God!!!  Just shows, we never have to worry when God is in control.

Every next prayer request we come up with, it is quickly answered.  First the house prayer was answered.  Then that Sean's transfer would be approved and it was.  Then that our bedroom set would sell and it did within a couple of days and on the first phone call!  Right now the big request for me is that my license would all come through on time so that I can start work August 13.  So please be praying for this.  I am choosing to not worry about it.  Just staying on top of all that has to be done, but beyond that, its out of my control.

So on to more fun things.... like packing!!!!  Oh my gosh!  I forgot how much work it is.  And Sean is doing the hard part!  I can't imagine if Sean had gotten a promotion and we would have had to do all of this and be out of here in two weeks!  There's no way!  All my pictures are down, my decor is down, everything is quickly being boxed up.  Its weird and yet so exciting too.  I keep waiting to freak out but it never comes.  It feels right.  I'm really excited.  Although I have had a couple moments so far where reality was a very sad thought... and brought my first tears.

Yesterday we had a yard sale with Brett and Mattie (Sean's brother and our sister-in-law).  It hit me all of the sudden, as I was sitting next to my 20-something week pregnant sister-in-law, that I would not be around for the birth of my newest nephew.  The tears began to come.  Later in the day, I read my friend, Lisa's, blog she did with pictures of our trip to zoo two days before.  But it was more than that.  (I copied and shared her blog here on mine.... check out the pics if you haven't already)  She posted all the pics Emery and the twins have taken together.  From newborn babies until today.  They've had St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, Christmas, weddings, and birthday pics taken together!  And I realized they would stop here.  The tears flooooowed!!  We are also their godparents but will relinguish this honor so that their godparents will be local.  I'm finding that dealing with leaving, and missing, all the kids in my life will definitely be the hardest.  Adults will understand and will not forget you, but the kids might.  :( I just want my nieces and nephews to know me and love me and have relationship even from a distance.  Its the youngest ones I worry about the most because they are still forming memories of you.  But pictures and birthday cards and skype! will be our best bet!  I know the Lord will cover their little memories.  And when we do visit, the time spent will be of much more quality.

That's it for now.... back to packing!

A Day at the Zoo with the Beau-friends!!!!

I completely copied this from Lisa's blog!!  But I couldn't lay it out and word it any better!  I cried for the first time looking at these pictures.  I am definitely going to grieve not seeing these boys grow up in person.  I had dreams of Emery growing up with them and they being best friends (and maybe marrying one of them!).  They are definitely one of the hardest ones to leave behind aside from my own family.  Lisa and I have gone through so much... from infertility to having these miracles and through the adjustment of life in 

their first 17 months.  I am so blessed to have them in our lives!  I guess they will come to dread visits back home because we will pick up where we left off and it will be hours of picture taking of the three of them!!!

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Evan, Emery and Ryan- best buds!

Yesterday the boys and I spent the morning at the zoo with Amy and Emery.  Many of you know how Evan, Ryan and Emery are all long-awaited miracles.  After Amy and I walked alongside each other in our season of infertility, the Lord blessed us both with children that were born just 2 weeks apart.  So Evan, Ryan and Emery have spent their entire lives together (well, all 17 months of their lives.)  They are like three little peas in a pod.  Here's a quick glance back at the torturous pictures Amy and I took of them at nearly every major holiday or milestone of their first year of life...

First St. Patrick's Day

First Easter

First 4th of July

 

First Christmas season (playing with nativity scene)

Emery's First Birthday

Evan and Ryan's First Birthday

Playing together before heading off to the zoo.

Gotta love the minivan so we can all ride together!

Amy and Emery feeding the giraffe.

Watch out Em!  Ryan is after your bow AGAIN!

Snack time

We sat for a really long time in the rainforest exhibit so we could just talk and cool off near the waterfall.

We had such a great day!

Then it was time for another photo shoot.  We've always had a hard time getting all three of our children to look at the camera at the same time.  But, now we have the added challenge that they like to escape (it was so much easier when they just laid where we set them.)  But, they are ever so cute!

Evan, Emery and Ryan

Two of the three are looking....getting closer.

Ryan was getting a bit frustrated with his drink.

Lunchtime!

Em with her monkey she got at the zoo...oh I am going to miss this sweet face!!

We're moving to Texas!!!! Our story....

So the news is out!!!!  We are moving to Texas!  As this may come as a surprise to many, it has really been a long process and has really been a pipe dream for almost as long as we've been married.  We starting talking about it more in the last ten years.  6 years ago, the Lord began a work in us that would last at an intense level for about 2 years.  We felt at that point that He would be moving us away from Fresno though we had no idea what that looked like.  There were some things we felt pressed upon our heart then that I still will prayerfully wait to see if/when it will come about.  But about 2 1/2 years ago, Sean felt the Lord strongly press upon his heart Texas.  He didn't know what it meant and kept it to himself for about 6 months.  He finally shared it with me as we were in a place of feeling like the Lord was simply telling us to get our house ready (to sell, so we thought, but at any rate, we needed to get it ready to move out of).  So we were obediently working toward that.  Again we felt strongly about this.  Then in May of 2010, we found out that we were expecting!!  Sean continued to talk as if we were moving and I told him very bluntly that he was NOT moving me away from all our support and family now!!!  NO WAY!!!!  Well God is so good to be gentle with us.  After a few months I began praying about it and laying it at the Lord's feet.  And He slowly began softening and changing my heart back to desiring what He wanted.  And I was once again open and at peace to move.  But I have to be honest to say I pleaded with Him to give me some time.... time to have Emery, to get adjusted to this new life and allow our family to share in this glorious time with her.  Oh how faithful He is to fulfill our deepest desires!  Sean chilled a bit on being so quick to want to get things going and we settled back into life for a while.  But after Emery was born, Sean felt once again that he needed to go check out Texas.  He felt it so strongly in his spirit.  So we decided to be obedient to that and we flew out with Emery when she was only 3 months old.  We stayed with some wonderful friends and spent the week really checking out the whole Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Honestly, I was miserable the first 2 days because they were having unusually summer-like humid days in April.  But by day 3 (while it was still disgustingly humid), God began changing my heart as Kathy talked about the culture of the people as a whole there.  How they genuinely care about each other and each other's kids, the way they teach their kids morals, values and respect as a society.  I can't remember now all that she shared as we drove the long way through surface streets and neighborhoods on our way to meet Sean and Luke, but by the time we got there, I walked up to Sean and I said "we are moving to Texas!".  I just had so much peace about it.  We both felt it was a great place to raise Emery.  Of course, I always questioned whether it was the right thing vs just a great thing to us.  Mainly because we would be moving her away from extended family which is and always will be a tender area for me (I never grew up with aunts, uncles, grandparents...  and I so wanted that for Emery).  So back to the foot of the cross we went and kept putting it before the Lord.  But when we came home, we just knew we'd be moving.  Of course, in our human minds, we thought we'd be moving within a couple months.  We were ready to go!  But God definitely has his own timing.

So over the last year, Sean began applying for supervisor positions with REI.  The plan was for him to move up with REI and in doing so, they would pay for our move.  Otherwise we knew we couldn't afford to move.  We opened ourselves up to more than just Texas if that's what it took for him to move up.  He applied to Colorado, Tennessee, Seattle (twice), San Antonio and Austin, TX.  We would go back and forth between moving with promotion as the focus with REI ,and moving because we felt we were supposed to be in TX.  ...Move anywhere with REI?  Or move to TX? ... Each time we got to this point of questioning, we kept having the same deep sense of peace that it was Texas we needed to focus on.  But then another position would open up and Sean would go for it.   I will be honest in saying that the last year has been an emotional and mental roller coaster.  I won't lie.  And if I'm really honest, I was sometimes at my wit's end.  Not with Sean, but with the whole process of trying to promote in the retail world.  With all the ups and downs, it became evident to me that even as we seek God's will, we can definitely get off track, get distracted and slow or even stop God's work.  We learned to communicate with each other and we learned we had to keep taking it back to the Cross.  Because otherwise we could really screw things up! lol  We had our times of feeling like we were on track and other times when we would finally realize we weren't.  And many times that we thought it would never really happen despite feeling it deep in our bones!  God just kept asking if we trusted Him.

The first time we felt we had turned a corner, was the first couple months of this year.  We had gone from not being able to afford to move on our own to having all the money within the first two months without even trying!  We were starting to get discouraged because Sean wasn't getting the jobs he applied for (not even an interview sometimes).  And we didn't have moving money.  But money kept coming in out of the blue.... bonuses, extra paychecks, even "top of the scale" bonuses!  It was crazy!  I looked at Sean one day and said "We have the money to move!".  We couldn't believe it!  But God still had us waiting.  (we also learned we are not good with waiting...lol)

Sean continued waiting, applying, interviewing and getting turned down.  The frustration for him was mounting.  I felt so bad because I know his main heart's desire right now is to be able to solely provide for his new family.  He loves working with REI and would love a career with them.  But we couldn't help but wonder if God was shutting it down... closing every door he knocked on.  We even questioned and prayed whether God was not only shutting the door on a career with REI but on the whole move all together.  But we knew as time went o,n we would know the answer.  As it was, we never heard the Lord say 'no' to moving.  So we kept moving forward, getting our house ready, and seeking direction.

Well just 4 weeks ago, things began to come together, falling into place like pieces of a puzzle.  Sean had applied to San Antonio, a new store that was opening this fall.  With all the open positions, we were hopeful.  We figured at least it was in Texas, although not DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth).  But he felt if this did not come through, then he was done with seeking promotion and we were just moving to Dallas.  Well, word finally came that he did not even get an interview.  This was so clear to us that it was not God because supposedly he had a couple people, who knew the manager, really talking him up along with being an Anderson Award Winner (doesn't this count for something?!).  We thought for sure he would at least get into the interview pool.  But no.  But what followed was a process of anger, then despression for a day and then resolve.  Back to the cross we went.  Lord what do you want us to do?!!!  Sean, in the anger/depression phase, said "that's it! we're going to Dallas! You better start looking for a job too."  But the logistics didn't quite line up.  I was a little relunctant to move forward with that plan because of his state in making that decision.  (and he knew it for himself.  He didn't stay there long)  Well that was Monday.  On thursday, I decided to look up jobs at Cook Childrens in Fort Worth and Dallas Childrens.  First, let me say that two things have always worked against me in having hope of getting a job as perfect as the job I have now.  First, I had applied to a couple jobs last fall and never received anything more than an email.  I started thinking why would they hire someone from California with no TX license over someone who was ready to start work.  Second, every job that was ever listed was either night shift, full time, or in a department that I have no desire to work in.  I starting thinking that I would need to lower my standards if Sean got a job and I needed to find a job.  I've had it good here at CHCC for the last 12 years.  Maybe my "perfect job" streak would be over for a while.  Well when I logged on to Cook's website, there were two positions posted that sounded awesome!  One was full time (still not my first choice, but a start) day position on the surgical floor on.  The other for a half time day position in the OR.  So I made a half hearted decision to apply.  My main reason for applying was to show Sean that I really was on board with him and whatever God has for us.  (He agreed that he was encouraged by this small effort)  Sunday night we had a long, good talk about where we should go from here.  When we went to bed we had an awesome time of prayer together.  The Holy Spirit was definitely present as we felt complete peace.  The next day I get a call from the OR manager at Cook wanting to talk about my application.  I thought maybe it was an informal phone call.  To my surprise, it was way more than that and she stated she was very VERY interested in me and my experience and wanted to set up a Skype interview ASAP.  YIKES!!!!  I couldn't believe it!  But Sean said he was not surprised because we had prayed the night before.  (I love seeing his faith shine through!)  We were really excited and had so much peace in this possibility.  But later that day, there would be a wrench thrown in the mix.  Four positions posted for supervisor with REI!  Two in NC and two in Austin, TX.  We decided he would apply for all of them.  But this caused, at least for me, some confusion and ill feeling because I had so much peace about the DFW opportunity.  But we continued to pray.  After a few days, we decided we really did not have any peace about going to NC.  So Sean pulled his name.  But we both felt he needed to see Austin through.  Within a couple days we found out he got an interview.  I was so nervous.  What if we have to choose??  But I kept thinking that I KNOW God will show us and give us peace for one or the other.  I was able to schedule my interview for the following week buying us a little more time.  So I had my skype interview on June 13.  And Sean was scheduled for his on June 14.  My interview went really well.  They pretty much offered me the position and asked when I could start.  I told them our situation for timing (moving, etc) and told them honestly that Sean had an opportunity that we needed to see through and we should know in a week or two.  They were completely fine waiting for us.  Sean had his interview and it went as well as ever.  On that Friday we left for Seattle.  Saturday he got a call from a 512 area code.  It was Austin.  I was freaking out yelling at him to call them back!  lol  A voicemail finally came through.  I waited with great anticipation!  He didn't get the job .... in either store!!!  We knew this was God!  We were obedient to stay faithful and follow it through.  We both felt so much peace, excitement and joy at the thought of moving to the place we first felt God leading us!  Our family was wondering what the heck all the commotion was about.  So it was time to share. 

It was a huge blessing to have been on vacation when all of this came down.  It gave us a lot of time to really talk things through with clear minds and none of the distractions that we would have at home.  We were able to go out in the backyard (which was like paradise!) and talk details, etc.  It was wonderful having family who care about us but has no emotional bias whatsoever in our move.  No matter where we live we still have to fly to see them.  So they were unaffected by it, unlike all our friends and family in our life. :(  (Which we know is and will be the hardest part of all of this.  Very bittersweet, for sure.)  so they asked questions and helped us talk through that first day that we found out about Sean's job and therefore made the decision to accept my job offer.  But I knew this vacation wouldn't last and back to reality we would go.  I was excited the first few days, but then doubt and guilt began to set in.  I voiced to Mary that I was afraid that it was easy making this decision because we were on vacation far away from home.  But she quickly reminded me that we had already made the decision before we arrived... that it was only confirmed after we got here.  She was right.  And I had instant peace.  The guilt of leaving behind my family (foremost) and friends was still there and will be there for awhile.  But I know God will be faithful to take care of that.  In fact, one friend shared with me later that the Lord told her, prior to us leaving for Seattle, that we would be moving to TX (she was one that was greatly involved and praying with me through the entire process) and so she had complete peace when I finally told her of our final decision.  Just shows that God is faithful to take care of every detail of His plan.

This move, for us, is a dream come true.  We went from living with our parents to being married.  We were married very young.  And so this move is simply us moving away, experiencing life outside of Fresno and all that is familiar... together.  It is so exciting and scary at the same time.  We know it will not be easy.  We know there will be stress and grief and times of tears.  But the Lord is faithful to keep us and hold us up.  Even if we find we made a mistake.  Even if we move back.... we will have no regrets.  Because we did it! We finally did it!  We took a HUGE leap of faith and stepped outside of our comfort zone, where it is safe and comfortable, out to where there will be much to explore and experience as a family!  How can you ever regret that??  

So here we are!  Our house is already in boxes!  Its a mess!  I keep thinking I'm going to chicken out.  But there is no need to when the Lord's blessing is on you.  And I do believe it is.  There's no WAY I would chicken out now!  Not after all the Lord has done to get us here.  It's awesome watching how He is bringing every thing together!  All prayer requests have been answered quickly in the last few weeks.  From Sean's transfer going through... to our friends renting our house... to our massive bedroom set selling for what we wanted on the first phone call... to my brother being able to make the drive with Sean... to a very successful yard sale today! hehe   EVERY... SINGLE... DETAIL... is coming together!  Every single one!  Praise God!!!  

All honor and praise and glory to our God and Saviour!!!!!!

This is our life.... new, exciting and adventurous!!!

(when I chose this title for my blog, I knew, in my spirit, it would mean BIG things!!!)

More to come!!!  Watch the blog!

Seattle Vacation... last and final post

Well Emery and I are back home... safe and sound.  The last few days of our trip were great and relaxing.  I already forgot what we did Saturday night... I think we just made dinner after eating some sushi for a late afternoon snack. :)  As the girls hung out, the guys watched a guy movie, Act of Valor, up in the media room.  I had found this recipe on Pinterest for Cake Batter Martinis.  And although I'm not a huge martini fan (not a huge fan of vodka) I couldn't resist these because they had a sprinkles rim!  And if you know me at all, I have a huge infatuation for sprinkles!!!  Well, I honestly would probably have never made these because I'm cheap and would not spend the money on the liquor.  But Mary came home with the ingredients and put me to work!  We made a few changes to keep down the cost, and also use what she already had (whipped cream vodka vs cake vodka).  They were sooooo YUM!!!!  We dipped the rim of the glass into this whipped frosting Mary had made for a cake and then hand sprinkled the sprinkles to make the perfect rim!  Mary, Leigh and I all had one.  I had to show Sean my creation but he refused to try it because it would ultimately ruin his 'Man' movie!  lol  It was a fun night with the girls!

The girls!!!!   sorry for the blurry pic again :(

My grown up niece, Leigh

Sunday was a relaxing but kind of long day.  The family headed up to Bellingham for Mary's brother's 60th birthday party.  Sean and I really wanted to hang out with Chris and Alissa one last time and they really wanted to meet and spend time with Emery.  So we stayed back.  We went to church with them at Mars Hill downtown Seattle.  It was a great message!  Very different feel as it is very urban.  They actually took over what used to be a very hot spot club in the area!  Praise God!  They are doing awesome things down there!  After church we walked down to Pike Place and got grilled cheese sandwiches and soup at Beechers Cheese and then walked to a park on the water.  I suggested we sit on the grass but Chris quickly warned me that it was wet and NOT from rain!  I did smell a slight stench of pee.  hmmmmm.....  So with a leery mind, we ate at a table, not letting Emery touch anything.  But the place was full with unsuspecting tourists, I suppose. lol   It was a wonderful time with them, except having lunch with Emery is anything but relaxing these days.  It was a very distracting and somewhat unrestful lunch.  But they were very understanding and loved on her so much!  What a blessing!  They are getting married Sept 28 and I'm praying we can make it out there.  If not both, then definitely Sean!

Mars Hill Church downtown Seattle

Our view from our lunch spot on the water

Alissa played with Em!

We got back home around 2pm and Emery was out!  We just chilled around the house but we were a little antsy as we anticipated getting on with our week... me back home and him at his REI event.  The fam got home at 8pm and the girls and Daniel headed off to watch a movie together and eat ice cream.  It was a great, fun end to a long day!!!!

 These were Daniel's photo session with Emery!!  He had so much fun with her!

Here's my funny story of the week!  Sunday evening we decided to get pizza.  I offered to go pick it up because driving around in unknown cities is one of my favorite things to do!  So I took off on my 7 min drive.  However.....  at the bottom of their hill, I turned right instead of left.  And by the time I realized I was completely wrong, I was in Federal Way, about 15 min out of the way!!!  I started driving back but accidently veered to the right unknowningly.  Then I was really lost.  With the help of my Maps App on my phone (which was near dead), I was able to cut across to the road I needed to be on, through hilly neigborhoods.  I finally got back to the bottom of their hill after about 30 min and began my way (the right way... or left, actually, lol) to Trackside pizza in downtown Puyallup!  I think I was gone about 45 min.  I have to laugh because this will be my daily story for awhile in about 5 weeks, I'm sure of it!  lol  But I'm glad that I enjoy the adventure of strange and new places.  yikes!!

Monday morning, Emery had us up at 4am!  She was wide awake, playing, laughing hysterically, and talking very loudly when we tried to ignore her, hoping she would go back to sleep.  We finally gave in and got up at 5am.  I went downstairs, poured myself a cup of coffee and watched the news with my brother.  It was a blessing, after all, since he is up and off to work way before we wake up.  So I got to see him one last time to say goodbye.

On our way to the airport, I experienced a reaction in my body to the impending next few hours and days.  I, all of the sudden, felt nauseous and anxious in my chest.  I have not felt that before and I knew, partly, it was my flight home with Emery.  As confident as I felt flying home alone with her, I now felt very nervous.  But more than that, it was the beginning of an insane month of July.  So much to do, so many people to talk to.  Two families I am most nervous about.  But I know God will take care of these.  I'm sure you are lost right now.... but I will explain in my next post.

My best friend picked us up from the airport and kidnapped us to her house to have dinner with her family.  Again, I am more than blessed in my life!  We had a wonderful time catching up, hanging out, sharing stories from our vacations (they just went to Kauai).  I love her more than words can say.  And that really goes for the entire family!  I love love LOVE them!!!!

And now.... home at last.... but not for long.... for a new home awaits!

Seattle Vacation Part 3 :)

It's Saturday now.... so I have some catching up to do!  So Tuesday night I left Emery in the arms of her Auntie and drove 45 min into Seattle to meet up with Sean, Chris and Alissa.  We had a great time!  I instantly loved her!  We had talked a little on FB so I felt I already knew her.  We went to Paddy Coyne's, an Irish Pub on the waterfront.  It was a beautiful night to have dinner on the patio, eat some beef stew (or the most amazing fish n' chips) and enjoy a beer (yes, I had a beer... lol).  Afterward we walked along the water to a park and hung out a little while then drove to BlueBird Microcreamery for some of the best homemade ice cream!  Soooooo good!  We had a wonderful evening!  I am truly so excited for Chris and Alissa.... for the plans that God has for them!  Alissa made a comment at one point about how could I know I liked her before I met her.  I said that was easy because I just knew she was the one when Chris met her because I knew God would bless Chris with an amazing woman after committing himself to the Lord and be obedient to what God was calling him to do.  As I saw Chris' life changing, I knew God's blessing would be all over him!  (just to note.... God does not require us to obey and change before He blesses us.  But you can be sure that blessing will always follow when we do!  Just wanted to make that clear :))

the soon-to-be Chris and Alissa Rickert ;)

And the long-been Sean and Amy Noble!  (still proud of that)

Wednesday was pretty low key.  It had to be because I was exhausted for some reason.  I woke up and decided I had no energy to make it back to bootcamp. :(  Instead I laid back down in bed after Emery fell asleep for her a.m. nap.  One hour later, she woke up but my body could not.  She whined for probably ten min until her cousin Mitchell came and rescued her (and me!) from the room.  I slept for another 2 1/2 hours!!!!!!  I guess I needed it!  Didn't do much the rest of the day.  But that evening I jumped in the car with Leigh, Annie and Mitchell (who was driving! yikes! these kids grow up too fast!) and we drove back into Seattle again, picked up Sean and headed to the Sounders game, Seattle's Pro Soccer team.  We had a great time!  That is.... after we finally made it to our seats.  It was a long walk to the stadium, then up 10 ramps just to get to the bottom of our section and then 128 steps to the top of the nose bleed seats!  We were 2nd row from the top!  Yikes!  It was quite a workout!  And we were looney enough to journey the steps again for food!  I definitely got my workout!  But we had a great time with out nieces and nephew.  Mitchell and Sean picked up Gary and drove home with him.  And us girls headed for Capitol Hill to Molly Moons Ice Cream (another GREAT ice cream place!).  We had a fun time together.  Just the girls partying in the city!  (well.... not quite... but our own kind of party).

 A blurry picture of us before the Sounders game

Nothing much to write for Thursday. lol  But we did have more of a family bbq together that night.  It was the first day my brother and I finally sat long enough to chat a bit.  :)

Yesterday, Mary and I did another 4 1/2 hilly miles while Emery took her a.m. nap.  Then after lunch we took Mitchell and Sean to the Le May Car exhibit.  Looked really cool.  We left them there for a couple hours.  Mary, Annie and I drove around for a bit, finally found some pulled pork sandwiches on the side of the rode at this small meat market in Tacoma (so yum!) and then Annie and I got manicures while Mary took Emery shopping.  It was good girl time!  It was a quiet afternoon back at the house and then we had a double date night!!! I left Emery home with the kids, who by the way are amazing!  Let me just take a minute to say how fun it has been for them to be able to hang out with, and get to know, Emery.  They are so natural and initiating with them.  I would even say the boys initiated more with her than the girls.  It was hilarious!  Mitchell and Emery just love each other!!!  He has really taken to her.  He really takes charge.  And Leigh is such a natural, being that she worked in a daycare since she was 14 and is a nanny to a few families.  She's a professional!  Daniel had no problem taking her straight out of my arms and into the other room to play.  And Annie played with her more as the week went on.  So I had no qualms about leaving my little Love with them.  We headed out with Gary and Mary to their country club for dinner.  It was a nice evening of good food, good wine and the dreaded (by Gary) deep conversation.  lol  But I know he liked it.... deep down he did.... :)

Emery and Leigh bonding! So sweet!

Mitchell taking a break by the fire with Emery.  She especially took to him and he to her!

I've been up since 6am this morning thanks to Emery who would not go back to sleep! ugh.  We haven't slept in once this vacation!  That's the bad thing about having her in the same room.  But how irresistible is she when literally wakes us up, looking over the top of the pack n' play at the foot of our bed saying "hi. hi. hi."   Who wouldn't love that?!!!!  Every morning we pull her into bed with us for about 30 min before heading downstairs.  She is the sweetest!!!!

No plans as of yet today.  Its a chill morning so far.  Getting anxious though to get home. I have a quickly growing list of things to do when I get home.  Its going to be a whirlwind!!!!  I guess I just need to soak up the relaxation these next 2 days!

Seattle Vacation Part 2

So I left off on Sunday afternoon.  I already can't remember what we did the rest of the day. lol  (It's Tuesday now).  But I think Sean and I stayed home all day.  In fact, I think once the whole family came home from their friend's grad party, we all chilled the rest of the day.  We had some kind of dinner.  Lots has been happening with me and Sean regarding our future plans so we've spent some time both Saturday and Sunday night hanging out in their gorgeous backyard talking about everything (more to come on that soon).  They built a fire in their fireplace on the patio and we relaxed.  I even roasted a few marshmallows.  Then Mary and I watched Safehouse with the boys in the TV room.  Besides Emery waking up constantly for some reason, we had a great evening together.

Yesterday I went with Mary's friend, Mary (haha), to a bootcamp at Bethany Baptist.  Okay, so you may be thinking what kind of bootcamp is at a church?  A wimpy one?  NOPE!!!!  She kicked my bootcamp-loving butt!!!  Literally... it was all legs, so today my hammies and butt are killing me! lol  It was awesome!  So glad I can keep up my training for the Tough Mudder!  So far I've had 2 GREAT workouts in 3 days!  Sean left in the morning with Daniel to head into Seattle.  Mary, Emery and I made our way to Seattle later in the afternoon.  Gary's office was honoring him for 20 years of service.  It was pretty fun to see where he works, mingle with his coworkers and drink some wine! :)  I thought I wanted to walk around downtown a little and shop, but it was kind of tiring and Emery was past needing a nap.  Since we stayed a little while longer, Gary ended up catching a ride home with us instead of taking the train.  When we got home Mary says what she really wants to do is just sit and watch TV tonight.  I was like "YES"!!!!  After going into Seattle two days in a row, I too just wanted to veg out in front of the TV.  So she, Leigh and I watched the Bachelorette together.  I haven't been watching it but it is always a great girls night for TV.

This morning, as I said, I could hardly get out of bed.  This afternoon I was going to join Mary for a walk to work out the pain, but she reminded me I was driving into Seattle again in two hours.  So being that I feel SO tired today, I decided resting with some brainless TV sounded a little better.  I will be driving in and then home tonight.   I'm really looking forward to that quiet time alone on the 45 min drive.  And Mary and the kids get Emery all to themselves.  (they will love that!)

I'm really excited about tonight because I finally get to meet Alissa, who is marrying Chris.  Chris lived with us for 6 weeks two years ago.  I tell him its because of him I got pregnant.  lol   But really, its because he left for a week to go visit family before moving to Seattle and so Sean and I were really excited to officially be alone in the house.  So we 'spent a lot of time together'.  And because of that......  Emery came about!  Oh how perfect is God's timing.  Had Chris left any sooner or later, we could have missed our open window.  Well, his time with us became, what we later realized to be, a time of discipleship for him.  We was a very new believer in Christ.  He began questioning life itself and what its all about, searching for Truth on his own.  And being the intellectual he is, he came to his belief in Christ.  And little did Sean know that he played a huge part in that mainly because of his daily life and testimony to what a true Christian looks like (per Chris).  Well Chris moved on to Seattle and met the love of his life, who is also a believer.  And now.... they are getting married Sept 28!!!!  We are super excited to hang out with them and get to know her.  I haven't seen Chris in two years.  I really felt a kinship with him as a brother in Christ when he lived with us (which was unexpected since he was just some guy Sean worked with).  But what is even more special, is Alissa is really excited to meet us, who she says played a tremendous part in his coming to Christ and becoming the man of God that he has become and that she now gets to benefit from.  How sweet is that! (tears)

Tenative plans for tomorrow are maybe bootcamp again in the morning or a walk with Mary, and then me and the kids are meeting Sean and Chris for a Sounders (pro soccer) game in the city.  Should be fun!  Unless I'm too exhausted to go. lol

That's all for now!  TTFN!

Seattle Vacation Part 1

We were off to Seattle at 7:45 friday morning.  Flying with Emery was quite different from last year when she was only 3 months old.  So we were a little nervous.  But Sean downloaded some Bubble Guppies on his phone, I had games on mine, books, food and drink!!!  We hoped that was enough for 2 hours. lol   As it turned out, it was.  She did great!!  Although with Sean and I being so different....  He is a little more stressed and I'm a little more chill.  But I guess we balance each other out.  So I think it went well.  

Emery in the Fresno airport awaiting takeoff!

Emery loved her Bubble Guppies!  And so did we!!!  :)

Well we are on day 3 of our vacation as I write this!  It's been so wonderful to be back with my brother and family.  I only get to see them every few years.  The last was when we came for my oldest niece's HS grad.  This time its Daniel.  And then two more after that!  Whew!  And the weather has been fantastic!!  I hear its 108 in Fresno today!  ICK!  So glad I'm not there for that!  But I'll have worse to look forward to in TX I suppose. lol

Well we rolled in Friday morning.  We went home and got straight to working on the grad party for Daniel that night!  I was made the baking queen!  I made red velvet bars, lemon bars, chocolate dipped strawberries and cookies (ready-made dough though... lol).  I took pictures but don't have them now.  Wish I did because the dessert table turned out beautiful!!   Mary's close friend Anne came over to help too and the three of us had a fun time hanging out, baking, cooking, and decorating for the party!  They had 100 people come through that night!  It was a huge success!  Great fun!  Mary is such the hostess with the mostess!  lol  And of course everyone loved Emery as she jammed around like she owned the place.  She was a constant ice breaker. :)

Yesterday Mary and I started the day out with a 6 mile walk/run.  Ok, so we mostly walked the 5 mile route but threw in a mile run around the track to make it 6.  However this walk through the mountainy terrain was a great workout as if I ran 3 miles.  On one hill I even sprinted to the top and bear crawled back down it!!  (yep, my arms are sore today!)  But best part was just the priceless time spent with my sister-in-law.  We got a late start, so it was back home to Gary making breakfast burritos.  We got showered and ready and hit the grocery store then home for a quick dinner and off to graduation.  I was dressed for beautiful weather only to get out of the car into rain.  And it was a long walk to the fair grounds. ugh!  But luckily we were under cover but he poor grads were not.  It was a light rain the entire time!  We ended the time watching Safehouse and then hit the sack.

I promised myself I would enjoy my coffee on their front porch in this beautiful weather!  

Unfortunately this first morning was the only time I did it. lol  But it was most enjoyable! What a view!

Yummy pear Martinis by my sis before heading out to Daniel's graduation... still can't believe I'm drinking with my niece!  They grow up so fast!

My new niece (there's actually two of them! adorable!)

Today we went into Seattle (we're actually in Edgewood) to the City Church.  It was a great church.  But a long 45 min drive with 8 kids and adults and one baby crammed into the Armada!  I wonder if people were thinking "how many are coming out of that car?" as we piled out at church! lol  It was extremely uncomfortable!  But what a great way to get to know each other better!! hahahaha  I was hoping to have a relaxed lunch in downtown and then hit Top Pot donuts on the way out (that was Sean's one request for father's day).  But instead we only picked up the donuts and headed home.  Another long, cramped ride!   We were all so glad to be home!  Gary immediately left for a run and the rest of the fam headed out to another grad party.  The kids are back now,  Emery is sleeping and its just a nice quiet day at home.  Aaaaaahhhhhh......  I love the energy of my family!  They are ALL like the energizer bunny!  Its good for me! :)

Emery playin it cool at Top Pot donuts after church!

That's about it so far.   Sean is heading into downtown Seattle tomorrow for the next 3 days while I spend time with the girls.  I'll post again in a few days!