Moving Take One

I've called this post "Moving Take One," because in a few weeks we'll be moving again. For right now, we are living with Brad's brother and his family until we can find our own place. So, I'll take you on a little journey of our first move, and the past few weeks with our family.

Step 1: A visit with Grandma and Grandpa. The Sunday before we moved out, I decided to take a trip with my boys to visit their grandparents. Even though we're living closer to them now, I knew that it would be a while before we saw them again because of the chaos involved with moving our family from one end of West Virginia to the other. We had a fun visit, and are excited to get the chance to visit with them again once things settle down a little.

Joseph and Andrew, happy to be with the Grandma and Grandpa.

Step 2: Loading up the truck and heading across the state. Neither easy, nor fun. I much preferred spending a lazy Sunday afternoon with my parents and my little boys.

It turns out that it is not very easy to load a 75-year-old piano into a 24-foot moving truck. It took an hour-and-a-half to load the piano because the wheels on the piano happened to be a fraction of an inch too short to make the piano go over the lip on the ramp; thus, the movers (aka, the Elders Quorum) had to come up with a strategy to get a 1000 pound piano up a 10 foot ramp without killing themselves or my piano. Luckily, one of the ward members in attendance lived around the corner and happened to have a bunch of two-by-fours and a very strong son and they were able to get the dang thing on the truck.

Brad looking slightly unhappy about the delays caused by the piano, which he despised before he had to load it into the big ol' truck.

Elder Hester using Elder Van Lydegraf as a bench while he played the piano for the inhabitants of our street.

Once the truck was loaded, Brad and I got the house all cleaned out and headed on our 5 hour trek to Parkersburg. Manuevering the 24-foot truck which was also towing our pick-up truck was also not an easy task. I followed Brad in our Honda. The truck would only go 40-miles per hour over the steep mountains between Hancock, MD and Morgantown, WV (which is about 2 hours of the 5 hour trip when you are actually going the speed limit). To make matters worse, I missed a red light (without my knowledge) while trying to make sure Brad got through a difficult intersection, and got my first ticket ever. EEk!

But, we arrived in Parkersburg safe and sound. Quite a few members of the Parkersburg ward showed up to help move our belongings into my brother-in-law's basement. Amazingly, it took about five minutes to move my piano and about a half hour total to unload the truck.

Step 4: Chaos!!!!!!!!!! My in-law's home is constantly filled with new and interesting people (and a couple of pets, too). I'd estimate that on a daily basis there are about twelve people in the house, and it seems like someone new is there visiting/staying every single day. It's been quite an adjustment for our little family. Joseph and Andrew have been a little overwhelmed. I have been too. I actually think the boys have handled it better than I have. We're really enjoying our stay, but we're pretty anxious to have our own home. Hopefully we'll be in our own place by August 1. It's nice to visit with our family, but I'm eager to get myself and my kids back to our regular routine.

Emily - one of the many visitors in the home. She has actually been quite a blessing to us. We appreciate the endless hours she has put into drawing pictures for Joseph.

Joseph and Scotty (again, another visitor in their home) proudly displaying their superhero costumes that Emily lovingly made them.

Ian, the dog. Ian has been very subdued throughout this whole process. I guess he's used to the constant influx of new people in his home. He also seems to handle Andrew and Joseph pulling his tail very well. Overall, I don't mind Ian - although, I don't care for him so much when he barks his head off at 7 am.

However, Bella the cat does not handle her new roomates so well. Her ears are always slicked back whenever she sees Andrew and Joseph, in nervous anticipation of being chased throughout the house (which happens about every five minutes if she's in their sight). She's taken to hiding until they're asleep.

A little more chaos. My in-laws hosted a 4th of July BBQ at their home, complete with about 20 unfamiliar faces for Andrew and Joseph. It was actually enjoyable chaos, though. There was yummy food, fun activities, and our own little fireworks display. Andrew and Joseph got to enjoy their first sparklers. Joseph was much more interested in them than Andrew. By the time it was dark, Andrew was too tired to care. It was a fun day, though, and it was good to meet some of the families in our new ward.

Now that you've read this post, I'm sure you can understand why it's been a while since I've posted anything. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be posting some pictures of our new house (keep your fingers crossed). Until then, good night!

New Job!

I am so happy to announce that we are moving! YAY! Brad was offered a new job teaching for St. Mary's High School in Pleasants County, WV. I won't say much more than this has been a terrible year for our family, and we are happy to get a fresh start.

My in-laws, Darlene and Bryant, were gracious enough to allow us to live with them for a few weeks so that we can find somewhere to live. We are happy to be living near family. We are trying to find a home to live in a little town called Williamsport. It would be about 15 minutes from work and from our family!

We are also happy to have the experience of living with our Stake President's family -- Brad's brother Bryant is the stake president of the Charleston, WV stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will be a great experience to see how he runs his home on a daily basis. I know that they will be a good example to our family -- I will really enjoy learning ways to make our home a more spiritual place!

I'm grateful to Heavenly Father for helping us to learn and grow through our trials, and thankful for the new doors that he has opened for us. I know that this job is truly an answer to our prayers and I feel very blessed!

Lost in Translation

My kids have recently discovered the catchiness of the Five Dollar Footlong song. Today, Andrew came up with his own version: Three Dollar Foot Short.

When we asked him why, he said "because I'm free (three) and my foot's not wong (long), it's short. And it's on my weg (leg)." My kid cracks me up. He is so funny sometimes.

Then Joseph came up with another version: Six Million Foot Big. There is no explanation for this one. He just felt the need to compete with his brother. Like the title of this post says, the meaning of the jingle has become lost in translation.

Oh, my children...

Birthday Parties!

Just a little nod to The Office. If you watch it, you'll understand.

This week was a busy one. Two birthday parties in a row! Brad's birthday was on Friday. He turned 29 this year. I guess that makes it officially the last year he'll tell people how old he is on his birthday. It doesn't really matter how old he is, though. I'm pretty sure he'll always act like he's five. For instance, he asked for a Transformers birthday cake. So, I made an entire Transformers themed party for him. I made his favorite dinner: fish tacos with fresh mango salsa, and balck beans and rice. I got him a few presents: a Transformers t-shirt, and three books he's been wanting to read. And then we had our friends, the Clines over for Transformers cupcakes. I think he had a pretty good birthday this year. I love him tons, and I was happy to do something nice for him!

Then we went to a birthday for the Clines' daughter, Madison (Maddie). It was loads of fun for everyone. The theme was The Little Mermaid and there were plenty of "under the sea" activities.

Me and the birthday girl.

Yummy treats!



Making seascapes with foam stickers.



Doing a crabwalk!

The birthday girl being super cute!

Happy 29th birthday Brad and happy 5th birthday Maddie! Man you guys are old...I mean guy. Love ya Brad ;)

Techno Music

No, this post is not literally about techno music. Really, it's two seperate stories to tell; one about my little technological genius, and the other about a very special musical device.

So...

Techno:
It's unbelievable how "plugged in" my child is. He is a little sponge; he absorbs everything he hears. Naturally he wants to repeat it. Recently, my kids tore down the curtains in their bedroom, so I have a blanket hanging over the window. When the blanket fell down from the window, Joseph responded, "There's got to be a better way!" He then proceeded to do an infomercial for his own invention, the "Sticky Curtain." I am very glad that it is summer, so that I can entertain my children outside rather then having them be entertained by Nickelodeon and it's one and only sponsor, Billy Mays.

Besides creating his own infomercials, he has also been creating his own websites. He LOVES the computer and all things technological. I encourage him to use the computer. He uses art programs, plays learning games, and listens to good music and he learns a lot! In this learning process, he has already discovered that you can find/learn/do anything with the power of the internet. So, yesterday, our swimming pool opened up. One of the neighborhood children was telling Joseph that he learned how to swim last summer, but he didn't remember how anymore. Joseph told him, "If you want to learn more about swimming, you can just go to pool.com." I about died...seriously. So hilarious! Also, he'll tell us things like, "go to joseph.com/andrew." But this is how it sounds -- joseph dot com splash andrew. Ha! We've tried to explain that they are saying slash, not splash but he doesn't know what a slash is, so we just let him call it a splash because it's really freaking funny.

It's amazing how technologically proficient an almost-five-year-old is. Brad was quoting the commercials (or commer-shun-als, as Joseph calls them) for Windows -- He said "I'm 5 years old and I'm a PC," because Joseph had figured out how to turn on music on a website, then minimize the window and turn on one of his computer games so that he could listen to his music while he played with his paint studio. Pretty soon, he's going to be teaching his parents how to use the technology instead of us teaching him!

Now...

Music:
I got a piano! I got a piano! I got a piano! I have been desperate for a piano since before I was born, I think. I love to play the piano. I'm not great -- I'm self taught. But I could be great with a piano to practice on daily. And now I have one!!!!!! I just can't believe it. I got it for free. It's an old upright piano and it still plays beautifully. It needs tuned, but every piano does after it's been moved. She (yes, it's a she) is PERFECT and I love her. I am so thankful for programs like Freecycle -- which is how I found my piano -- and I am so thankful for the church that was giving her away. This has forever been a dream of mine, and I thought that it was a long way off. And, I love you Brad for not complaining too much about moving the piano. Thanks for letting me live my dream.

Feeling Old...

I registered Joseph for kindergarten today. I went into his school and I just felt overwhelmed with emotion--particularly feeling OLD! Where did the time go?

Time for an update

Wow. Time has really flown by these past few weeks. We have been a really busy family. I'll give you a list of reasons why my blog has been neglected, accompanied by a few photos!

Reason #1: I did photography for a friend whose family was sealed in the temple. I devoted a great deal of time and attention to finishing and retouching photos for them. Here's a little sample of my hard work:

Reason #2: I have been in a spring cleaning frenzy. My house was a disaster. It is no longer. Here is what our spare room looked like (sorry I don't have an "after" photo).

Reason #3: Mothers' Day. I wanted to put together an extra special present for my mom on her special day, so I put photography skills to good use and was able to present her with framed photographs of her beautiful grandsons.

Reason #4: Television. The Office, in particular, has had a PHENOMENAL season (as if it wasn't amazing already). The season finale revealed that Jam is going to have a little Jambino. Squee!

And American Idol has been top notch as well. I am very sad, however, that my favorite did not make it to the finale. Sorry Danny! You and your many pairs of eyeglasses will be missed.

Reason #5: The Cookbook. My bestest pal just had a birthday and I decided to put together a cookbook for her as a birthday gift. Here is one of my favorite recipes that I included:

Orient Express
Marinade:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chicken broth
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
Stir-fry:
8 oz cavatappi or penne pasta (really, any hollow pasta tastes good)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. broccoli florets
8 whole canned baby corn, cut in half
1 red sweet pepper, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
½ c sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules, dissolved in 6 tbsp boiling water

Marinate chicken for about 30 minutes. Cook pasta; drain and set aside. In a non-stick skillet, fry eggs until set. Slice into small pieces and set aside. Heat 1 ½ tbsp oil in wok and stir fry chicken; set aside. Add remaining oil to wok. Stir-fry onion and garlic until tender. Add remaining vegetables and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Add a few tbsp water to wok and cover; let vegetables steam for about 5 minutes. Uncover wok and add chicken, eggs, pasta, soy sauce, and bouillon. Cook until heated through.

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Add these on top of my job as resident laudress, dishwasher, cook, maid, nurse, childcare provider, bill-payer, etc. and you have one busy woman!

Things seemed to have slowed down some for now, so hopefully I will be less neglectful of my blog. Thanks to all of you out there who actually read it! You'll be hearing from me again soon, I promise.