Keeps Me Guessing

Just recently I wrote this post about how Ben has changed since I married him. With so much evolution in such a short time, I thought that I was safe from surprises for awhile.

That is until last Friday, when he came home from work with this:

I believe the first words out of his mouth were, "Honey, what would you think if I took up archery?" I might have jokingly responded that it's cool because Katniss did it, but then I looked up from washing dishes and saw that his question wasn't rhetorical.

He reports that great hobbies aren't found, but instead that they find you. So when a coworker offered to let him borrow his compound bow, he said he couldn't resist. As a bonus, they have an indoor archery range at his work where he can shoot during lunch

Once again I ask, is this the MTC teacher, broadcast journalism student that I married? 

No, but that's okay. He keeps me guessing, in the best ways possible. Especially when I incredulously asked him, "Where in the world are we going to store that thing in this apartment?"

The next day I found it here, on top of the water heater in our laundry nook. I have to admire his ingenuity because even after four years of surprises, that is one thing that hasn't changed.

Where Are the Unicorns?

A while ago, this article circulated around the internet about how my and Ben's generation is unrealistic and unhappy. We believe we're special. We expect to have unicorns and rainbows in our careers the minute we graduate from college. We want a large salary, good vacation time, and professional recognition from the moment we step into our first job. We want to have all our parents have RIGHT. NOW.

The article was a great read for both me and Ben. We found that, although we didn't want to admit it, we sometimes fell into the category of those who wanted immediate career and financial satisfaction. We wanted our rainbows and unicorns from his first real job. We wanted to be able to buy a nice car, a big house, and vacation in Hawaii every year. Not really, but we definitely had greater expectations than we should have had.

Our conclusion after reading the article? Keep working hard, pay your dues, be smart, and then hope for unicorns and rainbows in 20-30 years.

Although, lately I've been aching to be a home owner. I've wanted so badly to be in an established place. I want to paint walls, build shutters and plant a garden. Ben loves his job here, and we've talked about buying, but we just don't think we can afford anything in the area. To give you an idea of how expensive real estate is here in Wilsonville, the 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,400 square foot condo near our home is for sale for $230,000. And no, it's not an anomaly.

Also, it doesn't help to live in a neighborhood with houses like this. This beautiful home is in the process of foreclosure. It's price? $850,000.

Anyway, yesterday I was feeling a little down. It was mostly just pregnancy hormones, but in my glum I sketched this picture:

 

My (feasible) current dream home

I don't think I'm asking for too much! It's just a small 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house people! That isn't being too greedy, is it?!

The problem is, I know that I'm being greedy. I know that I am asking for too much. Because I'm not appreciating the blessings that the Lord has already given me. 

In perfect timing, yesterday a package arrived from my father with the history of my great-grandmother and her family inside.

After my pity party, I read some of it. It was the best thing I could have done for myself. As I learned of their lives of sacrifice, I realized how much I truly have. Among other trials, they lived in adobe huts, buried spouses and children, lived through the depression and WWI, and worked hard their whole lives. Did they ever see unicorns and rainbows? If you think in terms of worldly wealth, no they never did. But they were happy. They trusted in God, kept his commandments, and were blessed.

I think I've determined that it's okay to be realistic, but not at the expense of being grateful. Yes, our apartment is small, but I'm grateful that it provides us a nice, affordable, warm place to live. Yes, it is going to be a tight squeeze having another baby in here, but I'm grateful for the laundry nook where I can put a bassinet. Heck, I'm just grateful for a washer and dryer. And although we aren't seeing financial rainbows, I'm grateful we have enough to pay the bills and meet our needs.

So in answer to the question, where are the unicorns? I have to respond that they're hidden behind gratitude. And that's truly the only place that I'll ever be able to find them.

The Evolution of the Man

When I first met Ben over four years ago, we were in the Missionary Training Center. He was teaching there, so naturally he was wearing a white shirt and tie. He wore glasses. His major was broadcast journalism and his minor was film. He looked something like this, minus the apron:

Over the years, I have watched the evolution of the man. This past November he went on a business trip to Texas to film a hunting video for work. While there, he sent me this picture:

If you had told me that that guy in the white shirt and tie would one day shoot a wild boar and text me a picture of it, I don't think I would have believed you.

Then Saturday we went on a date night. Before dinner we decided to peruse Goodwill (sans toddler). Amazingly, Ben found some camo exactly his size for $15. He told me, "If I don't buy this now, I know I'll regret it". I told him to go for it.

 He kept asking, "Can you see me?"

I didn't mind the camouflage; in fact, I thought it was a great deal in case he ever needs it for work. But then today I washed it and found this in the clothes I pulled out of the dryer:

(Placed next to a bobby pin for size comparison)

Thankfully my dryer did not get hot enough to ignite the gunpowder in this massive bullet and put a hole through the side. Sheesh. The hazards of buying camo at Goodwill.

But I digress. I'd like to make it clear that Ben was manly when we met. I wouldn't have married him if he hadn't been. However now he's a different type of man. He's a camouflage buying, wild boar hunting, nearly put a hole in my dryer with a bullet kind of man. 

And I love him more than ever. Who would've thought, huh?

Read Ben's hunting story from Texas.

Christmas 2013

This Christmas turned out great. Really, really great. But I can't lie, I initially had my doubts.

We decided not to go home to Utah for the holidays since Ben didn't have enough paid time off in his new job for a sufficient trip. I thought I would be fine, but as Thanksgiving drew closer I started to get homesick. That was remedied by a trip to see Mark and Malinda in Boise, however even after we returned I was starting to get nervous. What if Christmas was a flop? What if it didn't turn out to be everything I wanted it to be?

To combat such thoughts, I took preventative steps.

For example, I put up my decor early. We had no snow for Christmas so Nayeli and I stuck snowflakes on our windows. Well, I stuck them up and she pulled them down.

I made my mom's homemade potpourri and kept it simmering constantly.

We even cut our own Christmas tree this year! Ben's dream come true.

Near our home there are lots of "you-cut" Christmas tree farms but most close at dusk. That's a problem since Ben doesn't get off work until after dark and I have not the muscles, nor the patience, to haul a tree and toddler home. So I had a great idea to go pay for the tree during the day, then Ben and I could go cut and carry it home after he was done with work.

My plan was fool proof, especially since I picked out the perfect tree right by the parking lot on the afternoon when I went to pay. When Ben and I arrived later that night, he sawed down the tree and we carried it over to the car. I calculated it to be small enough to fit inside our CR-V, but I was pretty off. Really off. And we hadn't brought anything to tie it to the top. The solution? Cut off the bottom. Don't tell the tree huggers.

Our cute tree

Although, it would please the tree huggers to know that the tree itself retaliated and rewarded us with hundreds of little spiders in our home. Seriously. The hazards of cutting your own tree.

But back to fun holiday traditions. We made playdough and used Christmas cookie-cutters to make shapes. Nayeli even made up her own signs (ASL) for Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and candy cane.

I also took Nayeli to see Santa at the local library. This is the face she made. Do you think she'll ever forgive me, especially since I can't stop laughing?

The Friday before Christmas I made sugar cookies and we frosted them as a family. It was one of those nights where everyone is grouchy and all the effort doesn't equate to the fun that is had. I might have had a really good cry that night... one of those "Why am I even trying?" cries. But the next morning I felt fine and enjoyed the rest of the break without a single tear.

Monday the 23rd was Ben's first full day off work (he had to work the Saturday before Christmas) so we went swimming as a family at a local indoor pool. Nayeli had a great time and Ben was in his element in the water. We spent the rest of the day lounging and napping.

On Christmas Eve we borrowed some sleds from a friend and drove to Mount Hood. It's the place where all the Portlandians go to ski, sled, etc. We meant to sled in designated areas lower on the mountain but unfortunately there wasn't enough snow. So we rebelled and sledded near the summit. 

We may or may not have passed this sign every time we came down the hill.

But by the time we left, there were 20 other people sledding right where we were and no one had told us we couldn't. I think the Mount Hood employees pitied us, knowing there was no snow anywhere else.  

Sliding on our bums

 Nayeli's favorite part of the snow was eating it. She was like a kid in a candy store. I had some parents give me funny looks as I helped her find some good chunks, but come on people, didn't we all eat snow as kids and turn out fine? I guess you could debate that (ha ha)... but as for me, it's not a battle I'm going to fight with my children.

For dinner that night I cooked a full sized turkey for the first time. It was a holiday gift from Ben's work. I actually think it turned out pretty good. 

The only difficult part was that it weighed 20 pounds. It was huge! I had to have Ben help me lift it. Plus, we had soooo much meat left over. Good thing it's freezable.

We decided to start the tradition of eating Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight.

Of course we had to act out the nativity. Nayeli was Mary and Ben was the donkey. I played most of the other parts.

Before she went to bed, we had Nayeli put out a cookie for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer. Ben explained that Santa would come into our house that night and leave presents. I didn't think she would understand, but she got really afraid and ran to me. Even as I put her to bed, she was muttering the words, "Santa, afraid" over and over. Apparently she had a deep rooted fear of Santa that we weren't aware of.

Christmas morning Nayeli awoke at about 8 (we're enjoying the late sleeping while we can, trust me) and we went out to see what Santa had left. As soon as Ben showed her the bite taken from the cookie and carrot she panicked and ran to me, just like the night before. Luckily her fears quickly subsided as we showed her the presents and her stocking filled with toys.

Opening gifts. This year was the year of the dog because Nayeli is obsessed with all things canine.

Notice the pajamas and towel.

We then did Ben's family's traditional Christmas breakfast of breakfast casserole and a berry slush that is delicious.

The aftermath

Ben and Nayeli playing with the blocks and crowns she got for Christmas. She wanted the crowns worn this way and since it was Christmas, she got what she wanted :)

She's at that phase where everything becomes a hat.

Some friends in the ward invited us for Christmas day dinner so we and three other families all gathered for a meal and chatting that night. It was really fun to spend time with other families that do their own thing and the kids had a great time playing together.

So like I said, overall Christmas was a great success. Although we missed our families, it was great to be our own family unit and create our own traditions. We love being together and the time off from Ben's work was just what our family needed. 

I love Christmas and appreciate the time I had this year to ponder the Savior's birth. We are so grateful for the gift his life was to this earth and for his tremendous love and example. Because that's what it is really about, isn't it?

The Goose Was Getting Fat...

I was supposed to post this video weeks ago but, in the rush of the season, I didn't get around to it. It's a little long, but hopefully you can enjoy the first minute of Nayeli's cuteness and get a feeling for how fun it was to prep her for Christmas.

This year she was really into the songs Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, the Little Drummer Boy, and Rudolph. The video shows a little bit of her "enthusiasm" for two of the songs.

Thanksgiving in Boise

Before Thanksgiving, I started to get really homesick for Utah. For family most of all. So I asked Ben if he'd be up for driving to Boise to be with my brother Mark and his wife Malinda for Thanksgiving. He was game, so we called Mark and basically invited ourselves to their house. Luckily, my brother and his wife are really fun and love company so we didn't have to be too pushy.

On Wednesday we drove the eight hours to Boise. The weather was good, Nayeli was great, and by night we arrived. On Thanksgiving day Malinda's family was gracious enough to let us come to their home for dinner. Malinda's mom is a phenomenal cook and the turkey was the best Ben and I had ever tasted.

The rest of the weekend was a blur of naps, movie watching, going to my niece Makayla's tournament basketball games, and spending time with Mark and Malinda and their wonderful kids. We also got to see Catching Fire while Makayla stayed home with Nayeli. That was a treat. Ben and I hadn't been to a movie since last Christmas when we went to see the Hobbit together. Yeah, we don't go to movies a lot.

In between naps and movies we went to go see Malinda and my nieces perform at the Boise Festival of Trees. They did a great job.

Watching the performers

Nayeli loved the trees. And sitting on dad's shoulders.

We drove home Sunday and by the time we left I felt like my homesickness was just a memory. Being with Mark and Malinda and getting out of Oregon was just the remedy I needed. Thanks Mark and Malinda for a great time!

Boy oh BOY!

On Wednesday we had my 20 week ultrasound. I went into it feeling pretty sure the baby was a boy, but I was going to be grateful if it was a girl, and especially grateful if the baby looked healthy. Having a few miscarriages does that to you- it just makes you grateful to be pregnant.

I'll refrain from posting the picture that proves he's a boy and just show you this cute profile pic. It's so funny- when I look at Nayeli's 20 week ultrasound profile picture I can see her face in it. She already looked like herself when she was just so little. It makes me begin to speculate what this little boy will look like.

But no matter what he looks like, he will be loved and welcomed into our home. We're ready for another set of feet to pitter-patter on our floors :)