I have a lot to cover again! Brynlee has really been doing well with her letters. She has this book in her church bag that has helped her writing. She can almost spell out a few words. But why rush something that will be taught in school? It's fun to teach her and has the capacity to learn so much more than what I'm willing to teach.
We said goodbye to our cute, cheap duplex! I really liked it and have some good memories in that house.
Brynlee graduated from nursery. She was a little nervous to go into Primary the first time - meaning she gave me an extended hug before running to her small little chair. She went up the first sunday to participate up front and has loved Sunbeams ever since.
New Years was stolen from me once again by the youth program in our church. Dev went to the traditional New Years Eve dance for the youth. I made myself cookies and watched tv.
After going to Pam's (front desk at Hillcrest Dental) grandson's funeral we went out to a great mexican restaurant. We were trying to go to all the restaurants we thought we had years to eat at, and only ate at 1 or 2 in time! Bummer.
We also made a last minute trip up to the Dallas LDS temple. It looked a lot like the Boise temple where we got married but twice as big. It is so peaceful and comforting in there and it is always a good idea when looking for reassurance! Then we stopped at In and Out for Dev's first taste! Fries were a disappointment but the burger and milkshake was great!
Then it was back to saran wrapping and packing boxes. We are actually quite good at packing now. I bet we packed in under a week and unpacked in 48 hours this time. And Dev has always been good at packing the truck - and driving it - the whole way!!!
The park right down the street was renovated a few weeks before we moved. So we took a lot of trips before we left. I found a lobster in a stream a few feet from the park! Weird.
We had a few good bye parties. Man, we are going to miss everyone in Waco. I went to the last girls night. Those girls were so fun. I loved that we could start talking as in a few laughs it was already midnight! We went over to the Bowcuts for a generous and delicious meal and got a cute picture of the kids! And I will always cherish my last church meetings with the RS presidency/activities com!
Snatched this cute picture of the kids holding hands. Not staged.
We had so much help moving from Waco and Alamogordo. We will miss the missionaries ... good times Elders! The young men also helped us pack up and humble Devin a little! Devin was a great leader with the youth and they were really sad to see him go so soon. Brynlee experienced her first root beer float from the Linder's meal they gave us the last week. Thanks so much Olivia!
This picture was taken of Brynlee and I in an empty house listening to the carpet cleaners/pandora and waiting for dad to fix our power steering pump before we took off to NM.
I watched the scenery go from pretty to ugly ... pretty fast! Dev drove the truck with Brynlee because she wanted nothing to do with me and Callen and the treats in the car! We drove 7 hours the first day and stayed in a hotel (great hotel but I didn't sleep very well) and then 5 hours the second day. Brynlee is getting pretty good at games on our phone.
Brynlee was so good the whole move. She hasn't really acted up as much as she did with Waco. She has been really helpful. When we got to our town home (part of an apt. complex) it took Callen about 2 days to figure out the stairs. He had about 4 big bruises on his head from falling. That is the worst sound when they fall down stairs!
So small world and/or big family - my second cousin lives down the street! Stephanie is an Anderson! It was so fun to see her and find her our first Sunday at church! She acts just like my family with the same mannerisms and thoughts. It is so nice to move somewhere and already feel welcome. We had some food given to us, lots of people helped us unpack and babysitting volunteers. I Love Our Church. Instant friends and help anywhere we move. Anyways we had FHE together at a local park and here are the kids standing on the state they were born in! Stephanie's husband is a pilot on the base here. Next up is the Westovers. I knew they were a great family but now ....! It is so nice to have someone a call away to tell you where anything is, explain something, give a recommendation, remind you of a name, invite you to all the fun parties, feed you - basically solve all your problems! And I think the reason I'm in such a good mood today is because Lisa invited me to volleyball night! Can you believe it! It took everything I had to play on an intramural team in Pittsburgh and I searched and searched in waco and then here in Alamogordo there are a good 10 girls that play every week! I was in heaven.
Brynlee is clueless emotionally to what is going on. To her, her close friend moved a few months before we moved from Waco (Aevyn) and so she has been friendless for a little bit. So here she loved the sunbeams and is pretty content to play with mom. I've started devotionals once a week and one of my old Joy school lessons once a week. And shoot me now cause I said I'd never do this but I started trying to teach her piano. I'd never teach someone else at this age but I feel like I can control the environment her mood and attention well. She is doing great so far. We'll see. She is struggling with sleep. She cries every nap and nighttime and we are so sick of it (greatest weaknesses right now). She is still attached to Gerdy but her love is maturing and I don't think taking away Gerdy is a punishment now. So it might be Gerdy's time. She is growing tall and her hair is past her shoulders finally. She is a huge help around the house and a great sister. I've never seen her maliciously hurt Teddy. Brynlee is pretty good at communicating her feelings and is pretty polite (I think her 2 greatest strengths right now).
Callen has changed a ton. She is walking everywhere as his main form of transportation. He dances for us and is trying to make us laugh all the time. He can say see ya (eee ya), bye guys (bye eyes) , bird (bourrr), eat (grunt), all done (ah done), dog (dahh), ball (ball), dady (dady very clearly), he doesn't say mom hardly ever, growls and copies words or sounds you say when reading a book. His favorite past time is reading books. He isn't as nice to Brynlee as she is to him. He will pull her hair pretty quickly if her poof is too close to him. When he is mad - he is mad. He throws himself on the floor and does a full out tantrum. Oh and he can't stand it when Devin or I are playing with just Brynlee. He'll come over and sit on us and start yelling till we start playing with him.
So far Devin has LOVED work! It's a lot different than Hillcrest Dental. Even if Alamogordo was a tough place to live in, it would be worth it because of Devin's attitude Now this is solely me talking - not Devin (he would want me to mention). But we know Waco wasn't an accident. We have spiritually and mentally made every decision. Looking back, the lessons we both learned are SO VALUABLE! We couldn't have learned them without trials and in a tough situation. And we will have them as experience for the rest of our lives. I still don't have any regrets and I'm excited to find who I am and how I will change here in Alamogordo. I've changed so much from Waco and I'm sure Heavenly Father has a lot for me to learn and grow from here. It's sad to think that life will only get harder. After Moroni lost his father and All his kinsfolk in a battle. He admits loneliness but then bears his testimony that he would and will never deny Christ. Trials have never made me question God or who I am and where I'm going. I too will never deny Christ. I know who he his and love learning about our relationship. I've enjoyed BYUtv lately for my scripture studies. They have videos covering every chapter in the quad. It is insightful.
Can you guess Devin's drawing - it is the best one so far! We have loved our new phones. Worth the wait!
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