Incredibly Happy

Wow, what a last two weeks it has been! I had started a post last Sunday but never finished it. Much has happened, and I am feeling very blessed at this time in my life. Remember when I mentioned Kirk had scored a new job? I'm sure I mentioned it in my last post. Well, guess who found a full time stay at home job? This girl! I have a good family friend in our ward who currently works the same position (there's a dozen or so of this same job in the company), but she knew I had been looking for awhile. I actually wasn't exactly the first pick, and though don't know what happened with the first choice, I feel very lucky knowing that I was their second choice. It may sound embarrassing, but hey, I now have this job offer, and it is a blessing to our life! It will be data entry for now, and there is room for growth and transferring to different departments that could be office jobs! For now, I'm thrilled we'll be able to save the money from daycare and I can keep little miss Emma at home with me. It will give me a consistent pay check and a routine that we can stick too. Kirk and I are very happy with both of our new good fortunes.
As for what else has happened in our life in the past two weeks, we've officially moved our new inherited bedroom set partly to Kirk's parents place and here. I've been working on one of the nightstand and ...TA-DA! I finished it (basically). I am waiting to ploy the entire set until I have all of them together in one place. Or at least I'd like to wait, we'll see. I'm in love with the new look though, pictures are below for browsing. This is my very first furniture refurbish project if you don't count my clearance lamp make-over and the grill project Kirk and I took on last summer. Needless to say, that's a metal project and it's surprisingly similar to redoing furniture. There is a lot, a lot, A LOT of sanding involved. I accessed muscles in my arms I don't use often and they were very sore for a few days this past week. That was just the nightstand I working on...I have another, a long dresser and tall dresser as well. So this will be fun, and the biggest project I've taken on to date! It's exhausting but very exciting.
Emma is snuggled up next to me currently while I blog away watching Mickey Mouse Club House. She's a great cuddle buddy right now and I love every moment of it. She's been taking her diaper off recently..(oh, crap...literally), which is moving us into the potty training phase. I may have mentioned this awhile back already, I cannot remember. But regardless, now is the time I feel, because her bare bum was found being lifted up by my hand twice yesterday by surprise rather than the usual diaper in the morning. TWICE. I was hoping to hold this stage off for awhile longer, but it seems I can't control that...
What else...I found I new craft store. As if I needed this in my life with my addiction problem already. And...*coughs* I may have found three projects already that I completely *clears throat* finished in...*whispers under breathe* one week. It's bad. And they have a rewards program for every purchase. Want to know the place? Here is their Facebook link.

I LOVE some of their seasonal projects! I'll post the projects I finished. They have great sales and I would love to see them flooded with business after telling all the ladies I know who love to craft about them! Woodworks is an amazing, very cool little store.

I now am going to reply to my two close Sister Missionary friends I haven't talked to in two weeks. But updates will be coming in again soon!

A Good Week

This upcoming week will be Kirks last week with Fredy's! I'm so thrilled for him, he put in his two weeks last Monday when he had an interview with a computer company that he'd become a tech for and they offered him a job on the spot! It's been an answer to our prayers that we've hoped for for quite some time! I interviewed with a new company myself this past week for a full time stay at home job, and I'll be waiting to hear back from them this Monday or Tuesday. There were quite a few people interviewing I think and it's only one available position, but hey, if it's meant to be, it will happen I believe. If not, there is another opportunity coming that will be better. I'm trusting this to faith.
I also found out I finally get to inherit  this BEAUTIFUL french provincial bedroom set my mom originally had for a few years in our first home, then it went to my cousin and stayed with her parens when she moved out, and now they want to get rid of it! I'm thrilled to say this least. I have so many ideas for how to fix it up (after natural ware and tare over the years). Maybe you guys can help? My main hope is to have the top part a dark natural wood close to cherry or espresso stain, then the drawer and body section I'm undecided on. I'll post pics of my ideas.
Kirk and I are also looking into getting house hopefully this summer. It would be a big big step! But financially, we're getting closer to being able to look into it. My car we paid off almost completely this past week, Kirk is finishing up paying off school loans from the past three years, and a few other expenses will be wrapped up soon. We're very excited.
Emma has been a little fire ball of course. She's learned the tongue spit thing and she thinks it's hilarious. She also recognizes when she toots and thinks it 'funny' or 'silly' or at least she says it is. Obviously she only thinks so because Dad, Mom and Grandma respond my laughing when she does it. She's huge on climbing...everything. All. Day. Long. I have to constantly tell her to get down, be careful or any of the other things parents usually say in this case. A phase I'm hoping she'll learn from sooner rather than later. Running is a huge energy burner for her right now. She'll circle the kitchen island about ten times yelling in excitement which has become pretty amusing! I keep asking her to give me some of her energy. How she has that much I would only understand if I were her age.
This past week I also got some bad news though. One of my good friends since high school passes away in a car accident with a power line. I've been so proud of him in the past few years because after graduating, he had some rough times but through a girlfriend and friends of his he actually found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was baptized about a year ago I believe, I've kept the program to his baptism for scrapbooking but have since packed away for later use. Our house his so cramped as it is, over half my craft stuff is in the storage unit. But back to Jeremy, he had so much going for him.  He was preparing to go on a mission, he was working full time I believe with Freddy's as well, even going to school. He was becoming a good young man, and I'll be proud of how hard he was working forever. Most of my life, I feel I'd be pretty sensitive with anyones death, fortunately not many people close to me died in my younger years. I can count on one hand, and even their deaths were when I was a child. I've been lucky, but unfortunately, we're to the point in life now where I'm afraid I may start to know more who will die. I'm not trying to sound depressing, but that's how it is as you age. The older you get, others get old to...But (I know we've all been waiting for the 'but' in this topic) as I said I feel I've been that way, until recently, when a few people all entered the hospital in my family alone with very serious conditions. So serious, death was thought to have occurred. It is still not being ruled out, but they've come close to. And in this time, I've felt sad of course, but a sense of peace is with me as well. A knowledge that I'll be able to see these loved ones again some day soon. I'm heartbroken I won't see them on earth again in my lifetime here, but when I die, guess who I'll get to see again? And guess who in the mean time I believe is so incredibly happy to be standing by their fathers side in heaven? Jeremy specifically, didn't believe in god or religion at all when I met him. I believe he was atheist even, but through good friends, he found the church, and a light was lit in his life that I saw made him so happy. He was a different person. He came from a tough, dark place after high school, he made some bad decisions, and I myself saw his relief and happiness when he came out of that bad place. I'll miss him, but I know I'll see my good friend again some day. I know he's so happy right now. I honestly believe that

This is Jeremy

 This is one of the fun times a few friends including Jeremy, Thalia, Justin, Clayton and I were at Walmart, messing around!

This is one of the ideas I have for the drawers, I love the white body as well!

I thought of a pastel blue as well, I'm a blue gal, but I'm eventually going to build or buy a rustic bed frame to match either of the stains I choose for the top of the dresser

 Love this dark Brown for the drawers as well, maybe keep the drawers and top a wood stain and the body white?

 A picture of the top of the dresser the way I'd love it

I think you can comment on this post, if you wouldn't mind leaving your opinion? I'm definitely sticking to this general idea for the bedroom set, I'm pretty stuck on it. But would still love input about it! How to make it unique. 

Thank you for reading this week! 

2016 is Looking Up!

It's been quite awhile since I have posted! As usual too, much has happened. To be honest, things are looking up between Kirk and I. We were struggling for awhile. That old saying or fact that the first year or two of marriage are the hardest, well I can live up to that enormously. They have been trying, and I'm so sure that will we still face challenges. It feels good though, how things have changed recently. It feels better, healthier. I see happiness in Kirk as well. We're more careful with one another and always try hard to share happiness with one another. It's starting to feel more natural. I won't spoil his fantastic news as there are family members reading this occasionally, but for him on the job front...well I won't say anymore until he announces it.
As for my job situation, I'm still awaiting a phone interview for a full time stay at home job that happens this coming Wednesday. I'm very eager and excited. If were to get this job, I wouldn't have to worry about waiting to have more kiddos once we're ready when we're in our own place. Speaking of, we're looking at houses! Not looking to buy quite yet with Kirk still in school till the end of April, but it's coming up quick. So we're keeping at eye out for houses weekly if not more (I should say I because I'm hounding realtor.com's selection daily). It's very exciting, imagining what we'll finally be able to do with our own place! So many pinterest possibilities! Oh, I meant possibilities, I shouldn't admit my pinterest addiction when it comes to new home ideas.
There are plenty of other things looking up as well, it's just been a good start off on the year so far. Kirk and I shared an amazing Valentines Day weekend together in McCall. I'm working on a video I've been putting together for it with all the pictures we took so instead of taking a half our to upload pics I'll upload that when it's done.
I'm so excited to see what the next few months hold! I'm sure I'll have plenty to post and write about coming up, but right now I want to read my two year some books she's flipping through by herself.
Thanks for reading!

Wrapping up 2015!

A year full of memories, events and milestones! 2015 was the year I went back to work at Fred Meyer, Emma took her first steps, she turned one year old! The year she first played in the snow without someone holding her, her first swim, first time to McCall, Kirks and my 2nd Anniversary, Kirks first year of his program behind him! Kirk transferred to the Fred Meyer I work at, we got a storage unit for the first time. So many big and small things happened in just a year, good and bad! But life needs to hand us the bad to help us appreciate the good. 2016 will be a year I hope to have more happiness. I'm twenty days late in admitting my resolutions, but in all seriousness, happiness is most important to me this year and all that it entails. So here is to a better new year!

**This post I would like to not officially mark my first post of 2016, even though it technically is**

My White Room

I need my white room right about now. It's been a shaky few weeks. Longer, really, but taking it a day at a time fades the image of how long it's actually been shaky. I'm scared and anxious, fed up and patient, tired and determined, basically I have very mixed emotions about now. My white room is a place where if my thoughts where actual objects I could see, I would push them to the outside, where I could only see them through what I imagine as fogged glass. They aren't in focus, so I don't focus in on them. I choose one of them to think about and sit in infant of me in this room. It's just myself and the thought, starring each other down to figure in out. It's a silly imaginary physical metaphor, but it helps sometimes. I wish life could just feel a little more predictable in ways that it should be. It's not at this time in my life, so I'm affected by it as I believe anyone would be.

Emma Rose

Now-a-days, Miss Emma has grown quite a bit since my last journal entry (I have one for her I'm writing in until she graduated or turns 18 years old that I'll give to her full of her life memories and milestones from my perspective). So I thought I would include what I would write in her paper journal in my blog as well, just so you folks can hear what experiences we get to have with her these days.
Her words include: Mommy, Daddy, Grandma (pronounced "gram-ba"), as well as Grandpa and Cita (Grandma on Dads side), Puppy, Moon, Star, Plane, Car and Cars (the movie she loves), Outside, Shoes (she pronounced them "shoes-eez"), Toys, Socks, Please, Sorry, Thank you, You're Welcome (a rare word), Cassie (Mommy's cousin we see every week or so), Kenzie (Mommy's friend we see multiple times a week), KK's (Kirsten is her babysitter during the day, she calls herself KK to make it easy for the kids), Lucy, Archer, Thomas (all are kids at daycare), Binki (the cursed and blessed object we're currently working on getting her weaned off of), Up, Nemo, Bath, NO (great...), Cup, Thirsty, Poop,
Words we are working on now: I love you, You're welcome, (basically more than one word phrases and daily used objects), garbage, Ew!, Hungry,
New things to learn that we'll be teaching her soon: Being Potty Trained! As well as staying in her bed at bed time(upgraded to toddler bed as of Oct. 8th 2015) instead of getting out to play and falling asleep on the floor. We are currently working on staying close to mommy in the store when we are shopping instead of running off,
She loves to hand us her cup and plate when she's done using them right now which isn't a bad thing, but funny when there is a table right next to her. I will be encouraging this as well as teaching her to take them to the kitchen sink if she's done. I'm a lucky mama here. She hates blankets that constrict her, but loves them when we're cuddling. It depends on the time I guess. She likes to take her socks off (I say this as she sits next to me as is doing exactly that) instead of keeping them on her feet to stay warm. She LOVES to put her blanket on top of her covering all of her but her feet and lay on floor while saying, or rather, yelling "Mommy!" till I come to get her and play with her. She likes to throw things sometimes (again, I type this as she now chucks her socks she just took off across the room), She likes to say Mommy or Daddy on the mornings she gets to sleep in at home when she wakes up until we come to get her. She even knocks on the door some times, and it's so quiet and soft its heartbreaking to think about her doing that just to come out with us. She has a bed time routine she loves and is good at sticking to. Here's how it starts:
-Mommy says "bath time" and she drops what she is doing and runs to the closed bathroom door
-Bath time commences, she asks for Toys.
-We unplug the tub and she helps put bath toys away, then plays hard to get when I bring the towel in for her
-She escapes the towel and runs naked sometimes
-We range her, lotion her legs, diaper and dress her in her jimmies, dry her hair, and put away lotion and hang towel. She helps with the lotion being put away ALWAYS
-We brush her teeth, get a blanket and head to mom and dads room for a movie before stories and/or cuddles before bed. Say a prayer
-Goes to crib (but sometimes gets out to fall asleep on the floor)
It's a very sweet and nice routine I love myself. She's a little bundle of joy!

I could go on and on about our life with Emma on a daily basis, but I don't want to make this post to long to read. You've been given a glimpse though at some of the fun things we get to experience with Emma. We are very blessed and lucky to have this little girl.

"Pane!" She says (Plane in the sky that Grandma is sharing enthusiasm about)

Mommy wore this coat at about the same age Emma is now (22 months and counting-almost 2yrs)

That first hair bun!

Mothers and Plumming

The two aren't a common pair, nor are they talked about in the same conversation, at least normally I would think. Today, unfortunately, I was scheduled to work. How I feel about working on Sunday: It feels like any other day when it should not. Sunday is my day I spend with family only. If I have a visitor, it's extended family, home teachers, visiting teachers, or my closest friend who is basically as close as a blood relative. I don't shop, eat out, or go anywhere that requires others to work or serve me if I can help it. It's the Lords day. I want to spend it like the Lord would. With loved ones, resting, making memories, appreciating the weeks work I had done prior to that day. It's simply an intimate day for me. When I work, I don't get to take the sacrament in the first hour of church, and I don't get to see Emma spend time in Nursery with other kids her age. I don't get to be around my family. It don't feel special to me as I intend for Sundays to feel. But, I am not a negative person, I'll have you know, I was just as friendly with customers as I was any other day. I made coffee as I would any other day, and I was just as relieved to see Emma as soon as I walked in the door as I would be any other day (if not more so today).
So why plumbing? And why mothers? Well my mother called me in hysterics at work about an hour and half before my scheduled time off because of a plumbing issue between her room and the washroom. I come home to find torn up carpet, a mess I'd rather not go into detail about because it makes me sick thinking of it, and my baby watching 'Cars' and playing with her toys in the family room. My poor mother has been slaving over what seems to be clean up of the water damage to her part of the house for the past three or four hours, and she's heartbroken feeling like she's been neglectful towards Emma as she's been watching her since Kirk left for work only a few hours prior to my coming home. She's an excellent, loving, oh so thoughtful and caring Grandma, and my reassuring her of this barely did any good. I don't need to go into detail of how much spoiling and love is exchanged between Grandparents and Grandkids on any normal day. So all in all, my mother has had a fairly horrible day. I came home to the 'rescue', and now I am blogging next to my sacked out daughter. She hasn't been feeling so well either in the past few days with a nasty case of diaper rash and a selective diet. We've been doing to best that we can lately. Life can just hand us that one thing that triggers a whole mess after we've tried to stay strong for so long. It's how we stay humble.
I don't know where I would be without my mother and the help she gives me personally. She has been the ear to listen to my woes from the very start, but especially in the past few years she has really had strength that no other person on earth can have than a mother. It's a special title given duties along with it that no other can replicate. I feel so bad that I wasn't here earlier to help with this mess today, but I'm here now to help. I just want to help.
Happy November to you all!

Here is something random: My Public Announcement in Fred Meyer for Starbucks

Fred Meyer shoppers, it's all Hallows Eve!
So come by to get coffee before you all leave.
We have a new trick, or is it a treat?
Well either way, it is awfully sweet.
Our Frappula Frappuccino is a drink to die for!
So come by to grab one on your way out the door.
It's been such a delight to hear you all scream,
and by all means, have a Happy Halloween!

Yes it's November 1st, but hey I forgot to include this in yesterdays post. I loved this creative rhyme :) It was fun to make up and say to all the FM folks in the store over the intercom!
Hope you all stayed safe and had a Happy Halloween last night!