We're Moving!

Yep, after being on the wait list for over a year, we're getting a 3 bedroom! We're excited! We move in a month, so lots of packing to do. Because of the apartmant rules and regulations, we only have 24 hours to vacate our apartment once we receive our key to the new apartment. Our manager is hoping to have our new apartment ready (the current occupant has to leave first) by Feb 26th so that we can have the weekend to move (office is not open on weekends, so that's how we can get a couple more days). If not, then we will have to move on a weekday, have only 24 hours to move out and clean, all while Dave is in school and working. No matter what, we could use all the help we can get. Anyone want to volunteer? Please keep us in your prayers that we'll have the best scenario =)

Crib Recalls, Parents Lack of Common Sense, and Sometimes Duck Tape Can't Fix It

Last night we found out that our crib was recalled. Oh joy! Our first crib was recalled a month before Lara was born. It was recalled due to reports of the drop side falling on it's own. We returned it and got our money back. We then bought a new crib that was not a drop side and made by a different company. Problem solved, right? How about no. There have been reports of slats breaking...not so cool if it breaks and your child's head gets stuck in it. This company wants to replace parts instead of having us return the crib for a refund. Really Dorel Asia!?! You need to replace all four sides of the crib and we are not suppose to use the crib until we send you photos of the manufacture stickers and you verify that you need to replace the sides. Then we have to wait for you to send us the new parts. Luckily we have a Pack N Play for our daughter to sleep in, but what if we didn't? Yeah, try to figure that one out.
Unfortunately a child died because of this defect. Sad that a child died, but the parents should have used common sense on this one. The crib slat was already broken from a prior child using it; and a month before the death, the baby's head ended up stuck between the rails. That should have been a clue. Instead they used duct tape to "fix" the crib. Hmmm...maybe duct tape can't fix everything. The parents have been charged with child endangerment.
When it comes to equipment and my child's safety, I find myself fairly anal in being extra cautious. I'd rather not have my child's death on my conscious just so I could save a few bucks. But maybe that's just me.

New Year's Gratitude

With everything that is/has been going on, I feel I need to make a post about things that I'm grateful for.

• My husband's job. It's so nice that he has one and that we have full benefits even though it's part time.
• Our home. We love our apartment. We love it's size and how nice it is, and that rent is cheap.
• School. I'm glad that Dave is able to go to school and is afforded an education to further his educational goals. Financial Aid is great too!
• Family. I'm grateful that we have family and for the help they have given us.
• I'm grateful to those who opened their homes to us when we have stayed in Sacramento.
• My children. They are wonderful. They are happy and full of life. They can make my heart smile. I'm grateful for the days when they are not driving me crazy =)
• My husband. I don't know how he is able to do everything he does, but he does. He puts up with my moodiness when my hormones are going crazy. He takes care of our children when I can't. I don't give him enough credit.
• Heavenly Father. He loves me and has carried me through so many trials. I look back at events in my life and don't know how I've made it through, that's how I know he's taken care of me.
• The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful I have it in my life. I know I'm loved and I know where I can turn to for help.
• My Savior, Jesus Christ. Without him, repentance is not possible. Without him, I would not have the opportunity to return to my Heavenly Father.
• My Testimony.
• The Book of Mormon. It truly is another testament of Jesus Christ.
• The Bible.
• The Holy Ghost. I love that I can have him as my constant guide, to lead me on the right path.
• Being a full tithe payer. I know we have received so many blessings by making the sacrifice to pay our tithing. There's no way we could be where we are if we hadn't.
• My friends. I love all of you! Thank you for listening and being there for me!
• The freedoms we have by living in this country.

I'm so grateful for everything. This is just a small list. There is so much more, but I'm keeping it shorter for tonight =)

The Quilts Are Coming Soon

I have mentioned before that I would post pictures of my quilts on my blog, and I have received requests from others to post pictures as well. Just letting everyone know that I plan on taking pictures soon and I will get the pictures posted soon...before I forget =)

Traveling Is Hard

Since moving to Chico 3 1/2 years ago, we have done A LOT of traveling. It was easy at first. Just Dave and I, no children to be responsible for. Then we had Jaron. At first, there was not much of a difference, just more stuff to pack. Then Jaron became mobile, enter responsibility. Still, with only 1 child, traveling is not bad. Then we had Lara. Fitting the 4 of us into a room is not fun. Dave has a saying for this, but I think it might not be considered PC, so I'll leave it at that. It's hard on our children being away from their own beds and in a new environment for too long. It's also hard to come home in the late afternoon/early evening and Dave has to go to work and school the next morning. So we started only staying one night when we would travel, giving us one day to recuperate. Now we have 2 toddlers. Traveling is just exhausting and stressful!
We have recently found ourselves with less options of places to stay when we travel. With our 2 active toddlers, people get tired of us quick. Then throw in an unfounded acusation against me leaving a bitter taste in our mouths, one less place to stay. With there being some family members who make us feel obligated to visit everytime we're in town, we often miss out visiting with friends. I hate this part. I want to see so many people, but miss out in order to maintain peace with others. I realized that in the 3 1/2 years we've lived in Chico, we have made a lot of visits to Sacramento, with pretty much no visitors to our place (except for special events). Of course, I can't expect our friends to visit us when we don't visit them. But what about the rest? We hear excuses of not being able to afford it, but we can't exactly afford to travel back and forth to Sacramento as often as we do either. On top of it, being away from our home as much as we are puts us behind on important chores, which has led to some problems for us as well.
So it comes down to this: we are very broke, negative in fact, so we will be hardly traveling from now on, probably only for special events. If you want to come visit, we'd love to have you. We have an air mattress we can throw down on the floor if you'd like to stay the night. If we make a visit to Sacramento, it will probably be only a day trip, and we will probably not be seeing the people we normally see so we can visit those we hardly see before me move. Day trips are hard on our children, so trips to the Temple will probably not include bringing them along.
We have our blog and facebook that we will try to stay up to date on for everyone. We love hearing from everybody and having "peaks" into your lives as well. Hey, look at this as a trial run for when we move far away =)

We're Going To Start Packing

We had a wonderful Christmas. We had late lunch/early dinner with my family on Christmas Day. We were suppose to go to a party with Dave's family for dessert and games that evening, but by the time we arrived there, everyone had left. So much for it going late, huh Shirley...lol =) We visited with Dave's brother Wes and his family the next day. That was exciting because we finally got to see our new niece Lucy (and hold her!) for the first time. Today was her baby blessing, and we missed it =( Dave woke up with a stomach bug this morning. We were late because he needed to use the bathroom as we were getting ready to leave (and I was making Jaron pick up the toys at Shirley's apartment because we were not going back to her house). We were 5 minutes late for church and missed the whole thing =( I'm sure Lucy's blessing was beautiful! Then we came back home. We were exhausted from the weekend. I'm so glad Dave has tomorrow off from work so we can recuperate =)
While with my family on Christmas, I mentioned that this might be our last Christmas with everyone. We're hoping Dave will be accepted to a pharmacy school, and depending on where, we might be moving out of California. My Aunt Lila informed me that we need to be more positive and act like this is really going to happen. I didn't want to sound cocky, that's why I tend to say "if." But she's right, so..."We're going to pharmcy school!" We'll be moving in 6 months, so we are starting to pack now. With 2 toddlers, we need all the time we can get =) We'll be moving to either Savannah, Georgia, Henderson, Nevada, back to Sacramento or into a 3 bedroom apartment in our complex (because Dave got into the online program at Creighton). Here's to our new adventure!

Cousin Loves

This weekend we stayed with Dave's sister Shirley and her family. It was cute watching Jaron playing with his cousins. It was especially cute at church today watching the Jaron with his cousin Anabelle. Here's their story:

It was love from the beginning...

(This was at Anabelle's 1st Birthday. Jaron was 2 weeks old)

That withstood the test of time (16 months)...

(so Anabelle not really happy about all the affection Jaron was giving)And more time...(So Jaron was actually wanting Lara and Anabelle was trying to stop him)

And then it blossomed.

(that's Jaron's arm around Anabelle too...and yes, he is resting his head on her shoulder)

After this, they walked hand in hand to Nursery. It was soooo cute! I'm glad Jaron and Anabelle get along. I hope they stay friends for a long time =)