Ladies Lunch Date

My mother, Shelbee and I went to the city sans babies to have some girl time. We ended up meeting up with Heather at an adorable tea room called Inspirations. They had delish scones and salad and soup and everything else. It was so nice having spending some time as normal human beings and not having to wrangle little ones. I am so blessed to have these fine women in my life! It’s something that needs to happen more often…. which means Evan and Shelbee need to move here, stat.

Furs

Some memories stored in my brain about Jennifer, my sistah. It’s her birfday!

I remember growing up that Jennifer and I always hung out. We shared a bedroom for a while. She also hung out with me and my friends a lot, and we loved it. She was willing to give us rides to the gas station (or as we’d call it when we were children, the candy store), to rent a movie, or to go get something to eat. I’m still not sure why she was so willing to take us places or hang out with us, I wouldn’t say that we were the coolest kids around.

I remember my dad wrote a song that was going to be recorded in a studio for a cause he was involved in. He chose Jennifer to do the song, and I was soooo jealous. I went to the studio with Jenn and my dad, and she sang it so cutely. I, being the youngest and wanting/needing attention, asked if I could give it a go. I got in place, waited for the cue, and only remembered the first 5 words. Yeah, I think Jennifer deserved the gig more than me.

I remember going to girls camp for church one year, and while I was gone – Jenny and Evan were in a car accident. It was raining pretty hard and they hydroplaned into a tree. Both heads hit the windshield, and the car was totaled. I wasn’t informed this happened until the day I got home. I ran into the house to find Jenny in our green recliner all bandaged up… yet she still was smiling. That’s Jenny. She’s smiling, even when going through something hard.

I remember when Jenny was pregnant with her firstborn, and my mom called me to tell me the baby passed away. 5 days before the due date. I was heartsick. I immediately broke down and was pretty inconsolable for days. I was at work when my mom called, and I had to run into the break room to get a hold of myself. Moments later, I saw that Jennifer was calling me and I tried so hard to keep my composure while talking to her. May have been the hardest conversation I’ve ever had. She was trying to make ME feel better.

I also remember when she announced she was pregnant again not too long after that and how thrilled we all were. She had a healthy, beautiful baby boy. That was an amazing, joyous day.

Jennifer is determined.  She can scrimp and save like nobody’s business. She doesn’t like to ask for help. You sometimes have to pry information from her. For years, when my mom would ask her what she wanted for Christmas or her birthday, she’d always say ‘a necklace.’ That was it.

I remember when Jennifer said she wanted to serve a mission. We all were pretty floored. Jenny has always been the quieter one, and so we were pretty taken back by her decision to leave home for a year and a half to preach the Gospel. She was called to Detroit, Michigan. Jenny in Detroit? Quite the surprise!

Jenny met her husband pre mission. They dated for a while, Willis went on a mission, so did Jennifer. They came back and married pretty soon after. What did I tell you about determined? She was a beautiful bride in my mother’s wedding dress. (She’s the only one who could fit in it. Darn that body.) It was a great day. Alex and I were able to come and be there for the blessed event. (We had just been married ourselves weeks earlier.)

Basically, I love Jennifer. She’s a great sister. And I hope she has a fabulous birthday!

A New Stage

For the past 4 1/2 years, I’ve worked at Jordan Credit Union. It is where I met my husband, Alex. Working has become my identity to a point, and now I have the opportunity to stay home with our little girl and be a mom. I am so excited. It is a bit bittersweet, but at the same time – I am overjoyed! I have made some great friends and some great memories, and now we’re entering the second phase of our marriage. For the next foreseeable future, I will be tending to children and being a homemaker. It’s pretty exciting! Since we plan on having 4 children, it will be quite the adventure.

Aurora is so fun! She is starting to smile a lot (not on cue, of course) and her dimples melt my heart. She is also plumping up so she can actually fit in some of the millions of outfits we have hanging up for her. She has on occasion laughed (barely) and she is sleeping like a champ. We love her. Pictures of her don’t do justice to how adorable she really is. I think I understand now why parents think their children are the ‘cutest baby ever’.

It has been crazy busy this past month while both of us were working and Alex taking three classes, but now that I’m officially done with work, life may start to return to our version of normal. It is now time for me to begin cooking dinner every night and keeping the house together. I can’t WAIT. After we became a one car family, it was highly difficult with both of us working. Or rather, it was hectic. Lots of dropping off, planning way in advance, waiting for rides… it is nice to know that unless I need to go grocery shopping or have some other errand, he can just take the car. When we are at a point where we can afford two cars again, it will be a glorious day. But for now, we’re happy to sacrifice.