BIG MOVE

When something big happens in my life, it always makes me look back over where I have been and think about our life.  I look at our life from every angle and try to figure out how we got to this place.

Those days when you know change is in front of you but, you need to sit in the past for awhile before the whirlwind starts and everything is different.  The whirlwind of change.

Bryan and I are good at change.  We actually embrace it, live for it.  It makes us feel alive.  It is only when we are not in constant change that we feel uncomfortable.  Anxious, antsy, uneasy.  We learned this about ourselves when we went to a marriage conference several years ago.  Very few people in the room shared our passion for change.  And, Bryan does more then me. 

I close my eyes and imagine something simpler.  A nice small house in Sheridan, Wyoming with 2 children.   Close to all our family.  Bryan would have a low stress job and be home at 6 every afternoon.  Ahhhhh, it sounds so nice.  So comfortable.  The whirlwind doesn't exist.

Then, I smile at myself for even thinking about this because Bryan and I had the opportunity to take that life.  We could have stayed close to family.  We could have stopped at 2 children.  We could have turned down Bryan's promotions.  We didn't.  With everything we are, we looked at our life and created what we knew would be best for all of us.  A whirlwind.  A whirlwind of change and chaos and in the midst of it all we knew we would find happiness.  Not the kind of happiness that we would have found in Sheridan but, our own kind of happiness.  And, he and I both know that we wouldn't have been able to live in that nice small house in Sheridan.

And, we have been so blessed.  Blessed beyond anything that I ever imagined.  I certainly didn't ever imagine our life today when I was in my 20's.   It is so much bigger then I ever imagined.  Our opportunities have been endless and our children have brought us so much happiness.  It has been incredible.

OK.  I have to tell you why I'm writing this.  What has started all of this thinking. My husband has been offered and accepted a new job.  He accepted the position last week and our whirlwind started.  We will be moving to Phoenix, Arizona.

And, like each move.  Each new baby.  Each new house.  We know this is right.  We know it's the next step in our lives.  We also know it's not going to be easy.  It will be hard to leave Colorado.  To leave our friends and move further away from our family.  It will be hard to start over with 4 small children.  It will be hard to be the President of a large company.   But, we haven't been concentrating on these details.  We are concentrating on what God has in store for us.  God's plan for us and all the blessings we have been given.  All the opportunities and what our new life will be like.

And, looking forward is so much more exciting then looking back.  Embracing each new opportunity we are offered is our focus and we are very excited.  Excited and blessed.  Did I say blessed yet?  I am overcome with thankfulness for everything that we have and all we have to look forward to.  No words can express my thankfulness.

Thankfulness for an amazing husband.  A young man with a biology degree who decided to take his first job in the construction business, as a laborer, with shovel in hand.   I remember going with him to buy his first pair of steel toed boots.  But, he didn't stay there long, he quickly moved his way up to backhoe driver and I was proud of him.  And, soon after that he started supervising crews on the road.  He traveled all over the country with clipboard in hand.  Staying in hotels and changing cities every few weeks. I was proud of him.   After several years he soon became an engineer and started working in an office (I think he enjoyed the air conditioning).   Again, I was so proud of his accomplishments.  And, as the years passed he continued to accept promotions and change positions.  Never second guessing himself or feeling content with one thing.  He embraced each new challenge and excelled.  And, today he starts as the new President of Pauley Construction.  Wow, it's all I can say.   I have never been more proud of him.

So, today there is no looking back...I looked back and I don't like what was there.  No regrets or we should haves.  Just contentment and thankfulness.  I know that Phoenix, Arizona is the perfect place for our family.  This is the perfect job for Bryan.  It's all a new adventure and I am ready.  Ready to start something new (again).

My bath

I'm telling you what.  This is the life.  I just love it when my mom starts getting my bath ready.  I start squealing and giggling.

I love my bath.  Hot, soapy water.  I get to splash and play with my brothers.  They dance for me and make all kinds of funny faces.  And, I just sit back and relax and enjoy all the entertainment. 

There is nothing better in the whole world.

photo shoot

Having a girl means I get to dress her up.  It is so much fun!

Grace Marie Dahl

5 months

And a little color (pink of course)

(more) snow

April 23rd.  3 inches of snow.   Hmmmmm.  I am ready for spring.  Green grass, warm sunshine, and time outside.   Not today.

  

So, I bundle up my little girl and get her ready to take Owen to school.  Hat, gloves and coat.   We are ready to go.  We are patiently waiting for him to finish a quick lunch before we head out.

 

Isn't my kindegardner so cute?  I cherish this time with him at home in the mornings.  Time that will soon be gone as next year he will be at school all day.

 

 

The nightly game

When is Daddy going to be home?  When is Daddy going to be home?  When is Daddy going to be home?

The boys start asking me this question about 5:00.  They ask until I can't hold them off any longer.  I tell them they can call him to see if he is coming soon.

You see, there are some things that a mommy just can't do.  The nightly basketball game.   These boys wait all day just for a few minutes of basketball with their dad at the end of the day.

The minute he comes home.  Game on.  My nice sitting room turns into a basketball gym.

 

Eli usually plays with us, and loves to put the basketball in the hoop after his dad lifts him up.  But, he's not anywhere to be found.  I run upstairs to see where he is. 

Have you ever seen someone sleep upside down?  I have to say, this is a first for me.  A little 3 year old sleeping upside down in the recliner.   To cute.

 He missed the game on this night but, a nap was way more important!

A little Easter

On Friday, we arrived safe and sound in Denver from our big adventure in the motor home.  Guess who was waiting for us to return?   Yep, Auntie Megan and Adaline.   They came to the big city for a few days and we were really excited to have them.

The first thing we did was get ready for the Easter Bunny.  We had some eggs to dye and decorate.

Gracie really wanted to help but, she just isn't quite old enough.  So, Grandma held her up so she could watch all the excitment.

 

After all the excitment, I think Grandma and Pop were ready for a little down time.

Easter Sunday was a wonderful day.  Filled with family, easter egg hunts, and candy.  We even dressed up for the occasion.  And, yes, getting a good picture of all 5 kiddos is almost impossible.  So, we will take this even if it's not perfect!

Happy Easter 2013!

Our Hosts

There are times in your life when you meet people that make your life so much sweeter.  The kind of people who love on your children like their own.  That open their homes and hearts to you.  That even take you out on a lake fishing in freezing temperatures early in the morning.  Rick and Sharon are those kind of people.  The most kind and generous people that I have ever met.

They invited all of us to their lake house for a week and were the most generous hosts.  I don't think they will ever know how much we really appreciated all they did for us on our vacation.  We had the best time and have memories that my boys will take with them for a lifetime.

I'm pretty sure that we wore all the grandparents out on our week on Arkansas.      But, nobody said anything and I just hope that they had as good of a time as we did.  From the horse races to the 40 pound catfish, we couldn't have had a better time (even with the cold weather).

So, here are a few pictures from our vacation.  One that we will never forget and we feel so lucky to have been able to share our time with such a wonderful couple.  Thank you so much, Rick and Sharon!

As we were leaving the lake house, I turned around and took a shot of this sign on Rick's deck.  It made me laugh and I just thought about Sharon....Yep, I think Rick has found the perfect woman.  One that can do all of this and has a boat, a motor, and a lake house in Arkansas.  Just perfect!

 

What a wonderful Spring Break!

 

Spring Break 13

There were no palm trees and golf this year.  No beaches or ski resorts.  Our spring break was even more exciting than all of those things.

It involved a motor home.  A baby.  A toddler.  3 school aged kiddos.   A grandma and pop.  A mom and dad.  We all piled into the motor home and headed south.  South to Arkansas.   On the fishing adventure of a lifetime.

We had to travel for 18 hours before we would arrive in fishing heaven.  So, we all settled in for the long drive across the country.

We kept ourselves busy with our Kindles, books, a few games.  We watched out the window as the wind blew and the snow started to fly.

 

And, we were so thankful that Pop was driving.  Navigating that beast of a vehicle.  Through the long straight roads of Colorado and Kansas and finally Arkansas.

We took turns helping him navigate as the minutes turned to hours and we came closer and closer to our destination.

We couldn't forget someone's 11th birthday.  So, we stopped beside the road and picked a few roadside flowers.   Beautiful flowers for a beautiful little girl.

And, we were never so happy as when we arrived at a small mobile home park around Lake Ouachita, Little Fir Landing, Arkansas.

We all piled out a little bit ragged but, our excitment couldn't be contained.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate the first couple of days. As the cold wind rocked the trailer we pondered what to do.  So we loaded up into the Rick's van and headed to Hot Springs for the horse races.  Everyone had a great time picking their horse and betting.  We didn't win any money but, the kids loved it.

We continued to wait for the weather to clear.  My boys could hardly wait to get out on the boat, fishing rod in hand.  And, even in freezing temperatures they ventured out.

 While the boys were out on the lake...I took a few pictures of the lake from our front deck.

And, the first few minutes out on the boat.....they caught a Monster.  A Monster Catfish that is.  I think everyone was a little surprised.

After all that fun...Rick showed us how to skin and filet him.  We can't wait to have a fish fry.  What a fun first couple of days in Arkansas.  A trip the boys will never forget.