the relatives came. part two: food and f-u-n.

Okay, so we really like food.  Of course we had to get in as many food experiences as possible when my family was here.

I had my first true Texas BBQ with them and I was pleasantly surprised;  not being a huge meat girl with an added pretty strong dislike for all things BBQ, I was shocked to genuinely like a lot of what we tried at Rudy's BBQ. (it doubles as a gas station)
*note: I'm not a hater, red meat usually makes me feeling pretty sick and I just don't love that BBQ flavor.

matty obviously can't get enough.

 

Blue Bell has long been a favorite of my Dad's. (we lived outside of Houston for about four years when I was young.) And he was quick to load up on as many varieties as suited his fancy when they came so we could sample them all. 

well hello heaven...

here's dad trying my personal favorite: cotton candy.

Such incredible deliciousness. I think my new tied-for-first-place flavor is actually Neapolitan.  It's definitely a flavor I usually pass up but, oh my goodnight, from Blue Bell every flavor tastes like homemade.  Makes me crave it just thinking about it.  

We also had good home cooked meals as well and, as always, breakfast was my FAVORITE. It's probably a good thing we never make "real" breakfast like this.

Kevin is always looking for an adventure so, he took the boys to a spot he goes fishing and they  "skim-boarded" on a boogie board on a sandbar and had a riot, of course.  

Have you noticed that people who make fun for themselves are generally pretty happy? Me too.

 

This is a hilarious video clip Kevin caught of Dave the first time he inadvertently ventured into the murky "unknown", man, we sure miss this kid.

One of my favorite twiner pictures of all time:
 

Lee's face KILLS me.

We had SUCH a good time, man, it went by way too quickly. Good thing there are many good and beautiful days ahead, here's to a "Tuesday Monday". (much better than a "Monday Monday", right?)

beat the heat.

We have kind of been melting a little bit here in humid and hot Houston.  Other than staying inside with AC and fans (and popsicles) we have been trying to do other things to cool off.  Luckily there are a ton of pools and splash pads in the area.  We finally made time to visit one this last Saturday.

Lee was really hesitant at first.  He wouldn't even touch the water in Kevin's arms.  He did warm up to it a lot though.  By the end he was crawling around to play in the water by himself.  So fun to see him grow up.

Just In Time.

our moving trailer at our house in Spanish Fork.

Driving through Houston after landing.

It already seems like a lifetime since we moved from Spanish Fork (Utah) to Texas.  But in reality it's only been...two and a half weeks... I can't say that our moving experience made me super keen to move again any time soon.  I know part of what made it so crazy was everything else we had going on at the same time; trip to Arches, Kevin's graduation, Lee's birthday, family events, lots of goodbyes, etc... But I found myself seriously wondering if I was going to make it through sometimes.  To spice things up we also seemed to have every step of the process be up in the air until the very last minute; we got the ok from the landlord here at our furnished apartment AFTER Kevin was on his way to Texas, just in time.  I was cleared to leave by my OB/GYN a few days before my scheduled flight, just in time.  All in all it was a really crazy, emotional time.  It was really hard to leave, not only were our two years in Utah most likely the only time we'll live close to most of our family and lots of close friends, but we really loved our ward family (church congregation) too and it was hard to leave them as well. I didn't even get to "goodbyes" with some of my closest friends.

*sidenote: I worked in the YW Presidency and I can't get it out of my bones, the youth in our new ward did a musical number during church last Sunday and I had to remind myself that I wasn't working with them. (maybe I'll get a chance to someday soon.)

I fight anxiety and pessimism and, of course, a cross country move, new job, house hunt and a new baby on the way all at once in a new and completely foreign place gave me lots of things to want to feel anxious about.  I can say that though I've had and have my very anxious and stressed moments I have felt such overall peace come as I've daily turned to the Lord in prayer and scripture study.  More peace than I could ever hope to have on my own.

One of the most anxious things for me since we got here has been looking for a house.  So many factors to consider, things you can only guess about, AND a seller's market. Literally just in the weeks leading up to us coming, I noticed that houses for sale in the area, in our price range, that we liked, would be available for sale for one day at the most.  Well that has continued to be true.  Of the 4 houses we liked well enough to put an offer on or try to put an offer on, each seller received multiple offers within the first 24 hours of putting it on the market.  What an emotional roller coaster; like a house well enough to be willing to buy it just to find that we're never going to be able to compete with a cash offer or an offer 2 hours after it's listed without the buyers even seeing the house first. Most of the time there just wasn't anything worth seeing available.
We of course, really wanted to have an accepted offer in on a house Before Kevin started working if at all possible since otherwise, in this market, not only would I need to see a house "we" liked alone, but I'd have to put an offer in on it before he'd even be able to see it after work.  Well, as per standard for this moving adventure, we saw a house we really liked (REALLY liked) come up online on  the Sunday before Kevin started work, we decided to see it first thing Monday morning (holiday) and when we saw it, we loved it.  Well, by the time we got an offer in, we found out that two other offers were also made and that the sellers would let us know their decision by noon the next day. We adjusted our offer a bit, considering the competition, but again we're really not in a spot where we can be very competitive. I thought for sure we had no chance. I didn't doubt that we'd get into a house in the area we were supposed to be but I did doubt that a house we liked in an area we loved would be that house, something I continue to struggle with, believing that God wants to bless ME with miracles.
I went to bed so frustrated with myself for my faithlessness, "how could I be this doubting?" I kept thinking, we have a huge miracle sleeping in the other room and another that is about to join our family.  WAY bigger miracles than getting a house.  As I was expressing my frustrations in prayer I had the feeling that I needed to believe that God could/would bless me with this miracle when it was right. 
Well Tuesday morning, to my complete shock, we got a call from our realtor telling us that they'd accepted our offer.  So, just in time, if all goes well, we will be first-time home owners at the end of June. (just in time for baby Drew to join us.)

Parts of this talk from the latest General Conference from our church have been so timely for me.
Here's one of my favorite quotes;

"Brothers and sisters, do we really think the critical factor in the salvation of our children is the neighborhood where we live? The apostles and prophets have often taught that what happens inside the home is far more important than what our children encounter outside. How we raise our children is more important than where we raise them."

-Elder Stanley G. Ellis


Beginning to love it here;
We feel so good about being here and, because of the distance from family,  having a chance to establish ourselves as our own family unit.  The independence and freedom that results from living far away from family has already been really good for us.  We're excited to be able to make our own family traditions and schedules. (though this doesn't keep us from missing family quite a lot sometimes...we're so grateful for technology that makes "seeing" family and keeping in touch so manageable.)

greenbelt by our apartment.

park in the part of town we'll ^^hopefully^^ be living in.

Overall, we are LOVING it here. (In spite of the challenges that have come with the move.)  We love The Woodlands.  It is one of the most beautiful places I've lived. (And hottest, one of the hottest for sure. Not used to the intense humidity yet.)

Things that have made us love it;
*In spite of the humidity we've been trying to go for walks out on the greenbelts or at one of the (literally) hundreds of parks here in the city.  It is such a change from the mountain and dessert landscape of Utah I'm accustomed to.
*As always, it's really good for the soul to get out and about in nature for at least a little while every day.

At a pond our first day here.

Evening greenbelt walk.

*Getting to know a place with a different climate is really fun.  I can't believe how different it feels to live in the middle of a forest.  We always hear birds chirping and see them in the parks, at the ponds and on the greenbelt trails.  It also makes for a whole new adventure trying to get my bearings here.  There are no landmarks, only trees, you can't see anything from the road except trees, even store signs and street signs are right off the ground. (thank goodness for GPS)
I'm sure it will all become so commonplace that I won't think about it eventually but for now I'm enjoying the newness of it.

The apartment complex we're staying in.

Driving down the road.

Parking lot.

* We have loved being able to spend our free time taking Lee to playgrounds and parks. He loves being out and playing with us.

swinging.

Slide with Dad.

* We are trying to find humor in all the things that have come with living in a different place and being in a transitory state until we move into a house. Like Lee's constant sweaty status.  He is a champion about it, but he almost always looks like he just got out of the bath. Getting lost consistently. And the "classy" furnishings in this furnished apartment.

matted, sweaty head.

shower curtain rings.

* In spite of the stress of house hunting it Has been fun to see lots of different houses and think of putting down roots in a more permanent way than we've ever known.

Lee in a model home.

* Time with friends has also been SO good for us.  We have a friend from our mission that works as a Geologist for the same company as Kevin and having a few dinners with them and getting to know them better has been a great outlet for us. We've also been able to see Kevin's best friend from his undergrad in Rexburg. (who is interning for the summer in Houston)

ice cream mustache on Memorial Day.

yum.

 

* Being able to try new foods and see some family has been a blast.  Kevin's cousin and his family are in Fort Worth while he goes to med school and they happened to be in the area this weekend, it was so fun to see them. The food and atmosphere at Snookie's Fish Camp and Grill was awesome too.  We had the most attentive and kind server I've ever had, true Southern hospitality.  (and we loved the greasy food, even though our stomachs didn't quite as much) The deep-fried cornbread balls, known as "hush puppies", served with spicy nacho cheese sauce were surprisingly delicious. And I loved the fried catfish, which I did NOT expect.

Cousin Dan, baby Mason, baby Lee, Kevin.

All of us outside the restaurant.

grilled catfish=delicious!

all you can eat appetizers on the house.

blackened, grilled tilapia and onion rings.

Lee totally soaked himself at the splash pad across the street from the restaurant.

sweaty head syndrome.

Lee has what we like to call *sweaty head syndrome*. Ever since he was first born his little head (wait..big head.) could really sweat.  A lot. Wet circle every time we take him out of the carseat. Wet circle in the crib. Wet circle on our pillows. Basically wet circles are always found when Lee has been sleeping somewhere.  I don't know what he is going to do in humid, hot Houston when we move this summer.  Just wanted to make sure I documented it before it's a forgotten baby memory.

(use Lee's hand for scale.)

changes BIG and small.

So once again I find myself wondering how to say what I'd like to.  As I talked about when I was reviewing our last year, I have felt so incredibly overwhelmed with God's goodness, mercy and miracles in my personal life the past year and in this new year.
Most especially having our little miracle baby Lee join our family last year.

Not so little "little" changes.
We found out in December that another miracle baby would be joining our family *mid-July* this year.  It is still hard to believe sometimes.  I remember so distinctly when I was in labor with Lee, wondering if I'd ever have that experience again.   We are SO excited and overwhelmed by the coming miracle.
Through the months of non-stop sickness that accompanied the first 16-ish weeks of this pregnancy I felt so much anxiety about being able to be a good mom to two when I felt like I was failing so miserably with just one.  Once again I found myself (and find sometimes) struggling with guilt because of my fears of inadequacy when the blessing of children is something I waited and longed for.  I again find myself struggling to be fair to myself and the fact that the miracle of pregnancy and child raising is also a tremendous opportunity for personal growth. 
I've had a lot of fears about this baby's health and wellness. (again) I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father that wants us to come to Him (again and again) for peace and guidance and strength.  For me, it's so easy to get into a "if I need help I don't have sufficient faith" mindset.  I know deep down that ultimately God is in charge but sometimes it is so hard to give up the control that comes with worrying about it myself and wanting things my way.

*baby boy*

 
We found out today, most importantly, that this baby is developing healthily thus far AND that Lee is going to have a *baby brother.*
I hope that they are the best of friends, growing up myself directly in-between two boys, having two of the same gender so close together makes me a little nervous since it's unknown territory. (They will be 14 months apart.)
 




Big changes.
We also have been blessed with a job offer from one of Kevin's top company choices for when he finishes his Master's Degree this April.   This job (that we are honestly really excited about) will take us down south to the Houston area in Texas.  Kevin starts the end of May and so we'll be moving just in time to have our baby. 
I'm so excited for Kevin to be done with school and have a "real job" that we both feel so good about but I'm also pretty anxious about moving across the country to a completely new and foreign (to us) place just in time to have a baby. :)
Moving to Colorado for the summer just after we had Lee proved to be very difficult for me which makes me all the more anxious about doing it again this summer and permanently this time.  I know that we'll (I'll) be just fine and I'm confident that we are going to love where we live.  We've felt such good things about the community, city, etc... but I also know that it takes time to feel at home and comfortable in a place. As my cousin and I remarked (often) after moving from an incredible university ward to a much less incredible one..."change is hard!" (of course we ended up making some fantastic friends as the year went on.)
We've been so blessed during our time in Utah, not only to live close to a lot of family but also to have an incredible neighborhood and church community where we are.  We have loved living here and love the people who live here.  We are so sad to say goodbye. :(

Mostly though, I feel SO blessed.
Challenges, I know, will come during times of "drought" and "abundance" because we all desperately need to remember how much we need our Savior's Atonement in our lives, we  really can't do it alone.
I am so grateful that through it all God has set up a plan (with clear guidelines for us to follow) so that we can live "after the manner of happiness*" as Nephi (a prophet from the Book of Mormon) taught.

*2 Nephi 5:27