This is the Week

We have spent an exciting weekend living amongst box mountains in preparation for our move this week. Besides forgetting half of the stuff I had intended to pull aside from the movers, we've had a really fun weekend. We have made 3 course meals with one skillet and a cheese knife, played box hide and seek, mixed a cake up in a water pitcher with a flimsy spoon (which turned out REALLY tasty by the way!!), its kinda been fun! The truck comes tomorrow to haul off all our stuff, followed by a week of cleaning, girls camp, family camping and a 12 hour ride in the car to our new home in Provo Utah!! I am planning on sending out address cards with our new address and stuff once we get life stable again, so if you want one, be sure to let me know (either leave a comment or email me your address and such...)
We have had so many wonderful friendships and experiences here in Arizona and will miss them terribly. I cried when I walked into my boxed up house Friday realizing that this was it. I was leaving the home I have loved for 3 years and the state I have called home for 8! But, I am bravely standing tall and looking forward to the exciting things to come.

When God closes one door in our lives, He always seems to open another.

Opperation Cat Transportation

Have you seen the movie Bolt? In this Disney film there is a cat. This cat is quite bitter toward people because they seem to just pick up and move and leave the cat behind. Well, I'm starting to see why most people WOULD choose to ditch the cat when they move over states. It would be MUCH easier! Did we do this? Of course not! We had to make things extremely difficult and take the cat with us. What things did it make complicated? Well, first there was the complication of finding a rental house that would even allow a cat. Then there is the actual act of getting the cat to a place 12 hours from your home. And THEN there is the temporary housing for the said cat until you are able to move into your house. UGH! So...

Step 1: Convince the soon to be landlords that your cat is a sweet, loving and clean animal.

DONE.

Step 2: Buy $50 worth of supplies such as claw covers, kennel, hairball medicine and brush to help the temporary housing situation feel more comfortable.

DONE.

Step 3: Actually get the claw covers on the cat.

This almost worked. I think this morning there were 6 out of 10 still on her. Not bad for the first time applying them I think.

Step 4: Drug the cat with Benadryl to make her drowsy for the 12 hour ride in the car.

Now, this was only done by recommendation of the vet. However they failed to mention that it would make the cats mouth foam up like they had rabies and start spitting all over the place! Have you ever seen a cat spit?! It's very funny!

Step 5: Have the children reassure the crying cat that she would be okay and they love her.

Step 6: Send Dallan AND the cat (and the litter box, and cat food, and extra water and....) off on a 12 hour journey to Orem.

DONE.

So why do we love this cat so much? Oh yeah, because she's our cat and we'd never hear the end of it if we didn't do all this to bring her with us.

We're Moving!

Well, I haven't posted anything in a while because I've been running around like a mad women ever since finding out our family is MOVING TO UTAH.

Dallan got a job with Ancestry.com in Provo and starts work on Monday. Yes, this Monday. We are actually packing his car (cat included) and sending him to Utah tomorrow.

You know that image of a giant rock that gradually starts rolling down a nice little hill that eventually turns into rolling down a mountain? Well, I think we just reached the edge of a mountain, and we're rolling fast now.

We got back last night (Dallan and I) from a house hunting trip to Utah. What seemed like 50 houses later, we found one that I think is absolutely dreamy! We will only be renting not buying, seeing as we own our house in Mesa and aren't fully sure what to do with it. But this is a house I could see living in for a while. It's in the foothills of Provo, tucked away in a beautiful neighborhood, it has a beautiful yard, TONS of space, it's 5 minutes from Dallan's work and he never has to leave our street to get to work, just has to go down a mountain on his way to work. :) Anyway, I'll post pictures when we get there and have pictures to post. But now that we have a place to live arranged it all seems much more real.

Dallan leaves tomorrow.

Movers are coming a week from today.

In two weeks we'll be at the homestead for a brief family visit, and then...

Utah.

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

The Whiting Homestead.

This has come to be a place I truly love. We had a quiet, lovely weekend catching creepy crawlies, playing in the trees, picking flowers, canoeing around the pond, and just hanging out as a family. What can get any better than that? And in such a beautiful place, too... ahh, the homestead.

The Whiting Homestead.

What other place on earth can you enjoy the rain quite like this?

Arizona Creepy Crawlies

5 ft long Bull Snake

Horny Toad

Crawdad hunting.

Pretty brave, isn't she? And yes, THEY (Dallan and Amelia) boiled them and THEY ate them. Ok, just tasted, but she said she liked it. YUCK! I could hardly be in the same room as the things. She's braver than me, that's for sure. (or just crazier?!)

What Will Be, Number Three?

The question of the year has been: Will Amelia get a baby brother, despite all odds? Could she truly pray herself a brother to come to earth? It was interesting getting various people's reaction to this question. Honestly, I worried myself that she would be terribly let down if we got pregnant and it was a girl. We have spent the last 6 months listening to her prayers, "and bless us with a baby brother..." and the last 4 months hearing her say, "thank you for sending me a baby brother," and "bless baby brother to come out soon". How do you not worry as a mother about her being terribly dissapointed?! But alas, I believe I was the doubting Thomas, because GUESS WHAT?!

It's a little hard to read what the doctor wrote, so allow me to clarify:

Top: Left Knee

Bottom: Right Knee
Middle: Wee-Knee
(I'm sure my son will greatly appreciate this someday...)

We are officially 18 weeks pregnant with a baby boy!! Hooray! It was so fun to see him, and know it was really a HIM. I've been feeling him move during the past couple weeks, and I could tell he was sitting quite low just based on where I felt him. This picture above is him kicking straight into my bladder. Won't that be fun in a couple weeks!! Oh, I can't even begin to tell you how happy, and humbled, I was at this ultra sound.

Okay, now about the prayer thing. I really think God was listening to a little girls prayers. But my sister-in-law got me thinking when she said, "kids are too smart sometimes. Or just in tune." And I started pondering on Amelia's desire for this brother. Could it be that God had a brother waiting to send to us, and Amelia knew it was time for him to be here, she could sense he was missing? I didn't want to have a third baby yet, actually I was quite against it at the beginning of the year. It was all this nudging from Amelia that started me thinking about it, which led to praying about it, which led to it happening almost immediately... Could it be that she just knew? I am starting to think so. Thanks Amelia, for all your faith.

BirthdAY PartAY

Who: Kristen Yazzie

Where: Holbrook AZ
What: Turning 6 years old
We all got to participate in the festivities
and the next day...

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY DALLAN!

I love you, sweetheart. You are amazing in every way!
and it was quite the birthday party, homemade presents and all...