A Foster Experience

Yesterday while the kids and I were driving back to Washington from Idaho we had an experience I'd like to share with you.  Normally whenever we go on long distance trips Tony does the driving, but with Tony working his new job in Idaho that wasn't the case this time.  There is a high mountain pass in Oregon refereed to as the Blues.  This stretch of highway often gets snow in the winter months and the roads can get pretty yucky quickly.  As I was driving through this mountain pass a snow storm had gone through earlier that day to make the roads a bit slippery.  All the truckers were chaining up and the traffic was a bit congested.  With all of these factors we weren't going faster than 35 mph.  I had the kids turn off their movie so I could concentrate.  Of course with us going so slow it was taking us a little longer to get to our next stop.  Charlie starting having a stomach ache which meant he needed to use the bathroom.  I was trying so hard to pay attention to the road and the traffic around me.  The poor little guy had to go poop.  He was crying in agony.  I was trying to drive and tell him I was going as fast as I could safely go.  Then all of the sudden the truck started to fishtail and the next thing I knew we were in the median stuck in deep snow.  Alaina is scared and crying.  Charlie is in pain and crying.  Lincoln didn't really know what the heck was going on and Carson was actually pretty chill through the whole thing.  I put the truck in 4 wheel drive but to no avail.  We were stuck!  I was now shaking and crying.  A snow plow stopped to see if we were ok and told us the State Trooper was on their way and that a tow truck was also on their way to pull us out.  I called Tony who got a hold of our insurance and was able to calm us down and help me to think clearly through everything.  Charlie ended up having to go poop in a bucket.  Which was super stinky and gross but what else do you do in that situation?  We managed to stay warm and surprisingly the tow truck was there in about 20 minutes.  He pulled us out in probably 10 minutes and we were on our way.  The State Trooper never showed which is fine with me.  As a look back on what happened I distinctly remember a few high points.  I had the impression to put the truck in 4 wheel drive a few minutes before the accident happened.  I don't have a good reason for why I didn't do it, I just didn't.  Even though there was a lot of traffic on the road when I started to fish tail and slide all over, there was no one around me.  The only damage to the truck was a little dent on the front bumper where we hit a road marker as we slid off the road.  The tow truck had the right equipment and experience to get us out of the snow quickly.  Our insurance includes roadside assistance which means the tow truck was covered.  And when all was said and done Carson made sure we prayed to thank Heavenly Father for keeping us safe and helping us through it.  I'm so thankful and feel very blessed!  I've looked back on that moment a dozen times thinking what I should've done differently to avoid the accident but in the end the kids I learned some pretty important lessons.  Follow the promptings from the spirit immediately and Heavenly Father watches over us and answers our prayers.  We've always made it a habit to pray before we go on long trips and now we all know why.

Our little dent above the licence plate

          

House Shopping

So this last weekend the kids and I made a trip down to Idaho so Tony and I could do some more house shopping.  Tony had been weeding out the too small, too beat up, too weird and too disgusting houses during the week.  (You'll have to ask him about the details of some of the "gems" he found)  On Saturday Tony and I went to go look at a house in Nampa that we both really liked but decided that it just wasn't right for us or our budget.  Throughout this whole process we had toyed with the idea of building a home.  But that meant waiting 6 months for our home to be built which would put us in an inconvenient living arrangement until then.  I was really hoping that the right house for us would just magically appear and with the right price tag.  But that rarely happens and Tony and I felt like with every house we looked at we were having to talk ourselves into it and into the price.  After our visit with a local builder, a lot of discussion, and prayer we've decided to build a home in Middleton, Idaho.  Middleton is a small town outside of Nampa.  We've lived in smaller communities for the last 7 years so this will be nothing new to us.  We've picked out a lot in the Kestrel neighborhood and I love the country feel!  Tony's parents have graciously offered to let us live with them until our house is ready.  It's never easy to live with family and have to share space but I'm hopeful that we'll be able to help each other throughout the whole process.  Tony, the kids, and I are super excited about our new house and I hope that it'll be done before we know it.  Here is a link to the builder's website with the floor plan we've picked.  If you scroll to the bottom of the page you can look at homes that are already built to give you an idea of what it'll look like.

  https://cbhhomes.com/FloorPlans/columbia-2530

The Great Foster Migration

 So as many of you know by now we are moving!  It came out of the blue and it's been a bit of a whirlwind!  Tony had been struggling with his employer here in Moses Lake.  The last 18 months have been pretty difficult.  He had started to look for other job opportunities.  Then our summer was super crazy so we decided that we would give his employer one more chance to do what they've been promising him.  We said we'd wait until April 2018 and make a decision then about what to do.  Once we decided to stay I said to Tony, "Now you just wait.  Now that we've decided to stay in Moses Lake something will happen."  My famous last words!  In October Tony was contacted by a previous employer in Rexburg, Idaho.  The next day he was contacted by a previous manager in Nampa, Idaho.  Both were unsolicited and both offered him a position in their companies with similar salary and benefits.  We were surprised to say the least.  I had always heard of this sort of stuff happening to people, but never to us!  It was pretty obvious to us that the Lord was providing a way for us to move back to Idaho.  After a couple weeks of prayers, pondering, and a lot of discussion Tony accepted a mechanical engineering position with a company in Nampa, Idaho called House of Design.  The next week we showed the house to a coworker of Tony's.  The next day we had an offer and a few days later we had the house under contract.  As long as everything goes well we'll close on or before January 5th.  Over Thanksgiving weekend we drove down to Nampa to spend the holiday weekend with our family.  Tony stayed there to start his new job.  The kids and I came back to Moses Lake to get the house packed and let the kids finish up the couple weeks of school before Christmas Break.  We are still trying to find the right home for us in Nampa, but thankfully we have a lot of family down there willing to help us out until we're able to get into our own home again.  I have to admit that my emotions have been all over the place during the last few weeks.  I'm happy, sad, stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, excited, etc..  I see that the Lord's hand is truly in this whole process and I have to remind myself to put my trust in him and everything will work out and be ok.  So here is to the end of another chapter in our lives and the beginning of another one. 

I was feeling a little sad that we won't be able to decorate for Christmas this year and our holiday celebrations will be a little different.  So I got a little tree with some lights and ornaments so we could still have a little bit of Christmas while we prepare to move. 

Teenager!

Well Carson is now 13!  We have a teenager and it certainly comes with some difficulties.  But all in all Carson is a pretty great kid!  I'm so thankful for his affection forgiving nature.  He wanted a transformer cake this year.  And I have to admit that I find myself wanting to put less and less effort into each birthday cake I do.  So I did it free hand this year and was surprised at how well it turned out.

 Carson is very musical.  He plays the drums, trumpet, piano, and now is learning the Ukulele.  He sings too!  He'll be doing a solo in the upcoming children's choir Christmas Concert (say that 5 times fast).  Happy Birthday Bud!  We Love you! 

Halloween

Halloween this year was busy like always.  We had our ward Trunk or Treat the Saturday before.  Sunday night we carved our pumpkins.  Carson and Alaina are old enough to do their own which is nice.  Tony "helped" carve Charlie and Lincolns.  While I spent the entire time carving my warty Frankenstein pumpkin.  I will never carve a warty pumpkin again!  Monday we celebrated Carson's birthday and Tony took the kids trick or treating.  Tony said that Lincoln was adorable!  He's at the age now that he knows you get candy by saying "Trick or Treat" at each door.  He even said "Thank you" each time.  We are just now finishing up the candy from Halloween!

 Carson dressed up in his dad's leathers to be a biker.  Alaina was a cat (which she's been planning for months).  Charlie was Darth Vader, and Lincoln dressed up as a Ninja Turtle.  During the Trunk or Treat he absolutely refused to put on a costume.  So I put a sign on his back that read, "I refused to dress up!"  Everything thought it was cute and he got just as much candy as the rest of the kids.

Soccer Picture

Alaina chose to do soccer again this fall which make for a busy couple of months.  But she loves it and we love her, so we support her in it.  I did the team pictures again this season.  I was able to get off the hook from doing a cake for her team party this year.  Which is fine with me!

Summer 2017

Oh what a whirlwind of a summer we had!  It was wonderful and I was glad to spend the time with my family!  So that we don't end up having super long post I'll give you the reader's digest version with some pictures.

Tony, Carson, and I participated in our first Trek.  It was the hardest thing I've ever done and we learned a lot.  We really loved our "Foster" kids and created lifetime memories.

 We took the kids to Silverwood Theme Park again to use the tickets they earn through reading.  It was awesome this year because Lincoln is 2 and free so we only had to pay for Tony and I.  The weather was great.  The lines were short and I even helped with the magic show.  It was pretty cool!

 I did a wedding cake for my neighbor's daughter.  It had been a while since I'd done an all real cake, but I was really happy with the way it turned out.

 The kids and I watched the Eclipse.  We were not in the path of totality but it was still pretty cool.

 Charlie celebrated his sixth birthday!

Charlie's cake with strawberries and Lego toys he picked out.

 We visited the cabin as part of a family reunion for Tony's family.  It had been over 6 years since we had been there and so Charlie and Lincoln had never been.  It was so nice and I hope it won't take that long for us to go up again.

 For Labor Day Tony and I took the kids up to Leavenworth for the day.  It was super smoky from all the wildfires but it was still pretty cool.  We spent the morning going through the shops and the afternoon swimming in the river.

When we moved from Rexburg 3 years ago we left our barbecue with the intention on buying a new one.  Well we never did and I have missed it.  A ward member gave us their "broken" barbecue.  After some major cleaning up it was as good as new and enjoyed some of Tony's super delicious ribs.    

Alaina turned 10! 

And Carson kissed the sidewalk!

In the midst of all this there was also scout camp for Tony and Carson.  A trip to Utah for the funeral of a close family friend.  A couple trips to Boise for a baby blessing and a family reunion.  We did some camping in there too, but not as much as we would have liked.  The kids and I visited the pool at least once a month and Alaina overcame her fear of the water slide and loved it.  As it always does summer seems to go by way too fast and I'm already missing the warm sunshine.  But I do have something to get me through the upcoming cold months as Tony and I are planning a trip to Hawaii for our 15th Wedding Anniversary!  To say I'm excited is an understatement.