Where do we go from here?

Lately, well for months now, I have been wondering what direction we are supposed to go. Colin has wondered that too. As we have searched for some answers we have been blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. It has really been a true test of our faith and continues to be. Without searching we have found encouragement from the Lord at times when I thought I wasn't being heard. I pray a lot to find comfort in the unknown and have such a great desire to know what direction to go, which ones will be fruitful and which ones won't. I hate the thought of "spinning our wheels." I like to know what is going to happen and the sooner I can get it on the calendar the better. I know that the Lord works on his own timetable, not mine and I should be prepared for what will come or what may not. I was reading the Ensign, a magazine our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, prints monthly, and read an artical by our prophet, Thomas S. Monson. It was pieces of a "treasure map" that will help us "guide you to your eternal happiness."
1. Learn from the past.
2. Prepare for the future.
3. Live in the present.

Here is the full article if you are interested
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=f3677e6832ce8110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1

Just the other night we were reading from the Book of Mormon in the book of Alma. Colin was reading, I think, and as he read this I thought of how this scripture applied to us.

Alma 58:11 "Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our soul, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him."

I didn't mention it to Colin but at the end of the verse he stopped reading and said, "Does that sound familiar?" I didn't make the connection at first and he explained it to me and of course, he said just what I thought. I didn't feel like it was ironic but felt strongly that it was the Holy Ghost speaking to both of us together

Even though we struggle every day, waiting for an answer or direction to go we know that God is listening. We receive this "peace to our souls" and have "great faith" that we will be "delivered" from this unknowing time in our life.

Colin has been more than diligent about searching for a residency checking out the websites often more than once a day, when time allows. We do realize that it is possible that we won't get a residency this year and have to reapply for next year so, in preparation for that Colin has begun the process of applying for his medical license. The unfortunate side to this is that it can/will take up to 12 weeks to get it. Therefore, finding a job as a doctor will be pretty difficult and internship is over the end of June which will leave us jobless and insurance-less with a baby due in August.

Despite this and some amazement from friends, we have been able, through the Spirit of the Lord, to have peace in our lives, with some anxiousness or moments of waivering faith. We are certainly not perfect. I have such hope and know that we are being watched over with our best interests in mind. The Lord has blessed us in life so far. I hope there is no reason for the blessings to cease. Thankfully He's not like that.

Oh, how we love to paint!

It was a very boring day in April. The kids were super bored and if they didn't have something to do I was going to go crazy. Colin first supervised them, they made a mess and then they started again and I led them to this mess. They had quite the time! Colin was so sweet and cleaned up this mess too. However I did find paint on the chairs a few days later. Thank goodness for washable paint and really, Crayola, by far, has the best washable paint, markers and other things. Ya get what ya pay for!

Before you watch...

a little warning about this video of my silly kids. Mia uses the actual word for the male anatomy. If you think you might be offended please don't watch but we think it is pretty dang funny! Mia made this song up by herself and sang it the whole time she was in the tub. I think it is time for them to start bathing separately which only means more work for Colin and me.

Poctello trip.

Mia just adored holding her new cousin.

Going to Pocatello was just what we needed. I love going to our parents homes and being "taken care of". I don't know how much they appreciate it but for me it is such a great time to not feel like I have to do everything because I don't. It was such a great time. We stayed in Pocatello for the whole vacation, saw some friends and are amazed at the growth and how things have changed in just 5 years. It was great to be with family. Abby, who lives in DC was there to have her tonsills out and recover and Dana and Jason with their 3 kids, currently live there too. We seemed to pass around a cold bug while there. Debby was sick in bed for a day and her cough lingered for days after that. I started getting sick Saturday night and by Monday I was miserable! I just wanted to take Nyquil and die in bed until I was over it. Since I couldn't do that I took Tylenol and Sudafed. I had so much junk in my chest in the morning I would have to get in the shower right away just so it would loosen and I could stop coughing. I would also have to take a bath at night to relax my chest enough to go to sleep. If I never eat a cherry menthol cough drop again in my life I will be so happy! Finally on Wednesday I began to feel a bit better but I still called my doctor to see if I could take some Mucinex. That helped so much as well as the antibiotics. I was much better Thursday for the flight home. The priesthood blessing was of course the most helpful. I was so grateful that I was sick when Colin, Abby, David and Debby were able to help out and do all of the work for me. It really was so much fun and very relaxing.

Easter

Easter came so quickly this year. We had Jack's 2nd birthday one Sunday and celebrated Easter the next. Of course, it snowed and was cold. This is our 2nd Easter in Cleveland. Last year we were here in April looking for a place to live. I think it snowed at least 2 feet. Saturday we went and decorated eggs with friends. Acutally, the kids decorated them and the Dad's supervised. It was so nice!! We had a little egg hunt here at home in the morning, went to church then had dinner and more egg hunting with friends. The kids all loved it! It was pretty darn fun to watch them. We are going on a candy hiatis for a long time, at least the kids. They don't ask for it unless they see it.

Mia and Molly love to play together! They were in heaven with their creations.

Jackson, as usual, went for a ball theme. The kid just likes all things sports. His Dad has a bit of influence regarding that passion.

100% BOY

We will be welcoming a boy into our family in August. We are very excited. I am glad that Jack will have a brother to hang out with and play with in about 2 years. I am happy that we won't have another drama queen just yet. Two is about all I can take and often I can't handle myself let alone Mia. I know Mia will be a big helper. She is very excited to have a baby to help take care of. I am excited to shop for some baby clothes. I will have to dig out Jack's stuff and see what we will need. I get an itch to reorganize and Colin comments on my nesting instinct. I rather enjoy it though.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jack - March 16th

Baby Update

I had my 16 week appointment today. All is well, at least that the heartbeat could tell us. 157bpm. I haven't felt the baby for sure. I think I have but I know I am within completely normal limits of when I should feel movement. I scheduled our ultrasound for March 25th. I think if this baby would have been born in a cold season I would wait to find out if it is a boy or girl but since it is going to be hot, hot, hot I want to be able to plan ahead a little.

I am debating between putting Mia and Jack in the same room or Mia and the baby, but only if it is a girl she said. If anyone has an opinion on this please comment. I am sure whether we are in this house or another it will be 3 bedroom. I think I would really like to put Mia and Jack in the same room and the baby in his/her own room. Let me know what you think.

Tag- Now you're it!

I have been tagged by my friend Jessi.

6 Non-Important Things About Me.

1. Colin recently got me hooked on LOST. We managed to watch 3 seasons in about 2 months and we are current with season 4. That was a lot of late nights and who knows how many hours of TV watching.
2. After living in Cleveland for just 7 months I have decided that I really dislike the cold/snow/freezing rain/the heating bill.
3. Mia acts just like me, in every bad way, and I really hate that.
4. Even though I could get cancer I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to be tan, I do still use sunscreen and never use a tanning bed, mostly so my kids have a good example.
5. I have the lowest pain tolerance of anyone I have ever known. Just ask Colin.
6. I hate fixing dinner. I would rather fix a huge breakfast or lunch anyday than I would fix dinner ever. Even when I have a menu.

I tag Melanie and Alicia.

I'll deal with it later.

Have you ever chosen to ignore what your child was doing because you knew it wouldn't harm them and they were being quiet even though you knew it was making a big big mess? I did that the other day with Jack. He was sitting at the table with a bowl of apple sauce, I was blogging or reading a blog, he was being quiet, I knew it was going to be all over. I had taken his clothes off earlier because the kids had painted and he had paint all over his clothes. Needless to say I had to change his undershirt and get him dressed again. Ironically he had a bit of a blowout that evening, thank you Colin for cleaning that up, and he had to be changed again. The many joys of motherhood!