On the road to a new chapter...

Well, its been a while since I last blogged but time surely has gotten away from me. This semester has been quite busy for Brody and I, and I am anxiously anticipating its end. This is Brody's LAST semester! Yay! So it has been filled with 19 credits, a TA job for an old professor, job interviews and lots of decision making about the future for Brody. It has been quite stressful, especially for Brody, to have to make such big decisions about our future based on job offers. With all the opportunities in front of us we considered just about every situation. But from our experience in NY and realizing just how much we love being around our family, we tried hard to find a good job that would keep us here. With the options Brody considered it didn't look likely as he flew around to different states and interviewed mostly with national companies that would send you where they needed you. But our prayers were answered when one of the national companies called EcoLab offered him a sales position that would soon open up here in Salt Lake. Hurray! Though the decision was still hard, we ultimately decided that was our best option. And the even better news is that we get to stay in my grandma and grandpa's house in Bountiful while they are serving their mission for 18 months! We feel so blessed! So now we just have to finish off the semester strong and then Brody will be starting work January 3rd and I will be able to stay home with Lydi full time! I couldn't be more thrilled!

Another thing that has heavily occupied my mind lately is my current job as a private nurse to a little girl I take to school. To spare you too many details, I'll just say that it has been a very hard year for me emotionally. I have been very concerned about how the classroom I work in is being run and how the kids are being treated. So many difficult conversations have taken place, and it has made for some difficult days. So needless to say, I'm not too sad about leaving my job in December. I have tried to make a difference where I can, and I want to leave with a clear conscience knowing that I've done everything that I could have done for the kids in that Life Skills class. But I'm almost done there! My last day is December 16th!

Despite the stress, Alydia has kept our spirits high! She is the perfect cure to a long hard day! She is such a joy to be around and always has smiles and laughs for us each day! She is now 5 months old and is sitting really well on her own. She doesn't like to be on her belly, so rolling over has only happened a few times. When we put her on her stomach she lifts up her arms, legs and head as high as she can and grunts or cries until we pick her up. So, she may not be on her belly much until she can get there herself. Some of her favorite things are sitting on the couch with a book to look at, playing in her ExerSaucer, taking a bath, peek-a-boo, her "snuggle" (a little soft blanket she holds), going outside to the mailbox or on walks, and going to the grocery store. She is now trying lots of new foods too. That has been so fun! My friend Miriam always made her own baby food, so I thought, "I bet I can do that too!" So I've made a few things so far that she's tried including yellow squash, carrots, apples and banana's. She also likes eating little pieces of bread and rice cereal. It is so fun to try new foods and see her reaction to each of them! So far, she loves apples the best! The only hard thing is that she thinks it is hilarious to blow raspberry's right after taking a bite of food. So that has resulted in many sprays of baby food on mommy. Haha! Its hard to be too upset though when you look back at a cute smile or laugh afterwards. She is always so happy! Even being sick this week she has still been very happy.

In October we went down to White Wash with my family. It is basically just desert area where you can ride dirt bikes around. We stayed in my parents trailer which made for some long nights with Lydi, but we loved being with family for a few days over Fall Break. Brody rode dirt bikes with the family while Lydi and I rode with my mom (who had a hurt foot) in the Ranger. Lydi did great in the Ranger which allowed us to go on all the rides with the family. For Halloween Brody and I were invited to a birthday party for one of our married friends that was golf themed. So we decided we'd just make that our costumes for Halloween. So Brody and I went as golfers and Lydi was our golf bag! Brody and I actually made her costume with some things around the house and a few items from D.I. which was really fun! I know, we're kind of weird. We didn't just put her in some cute fuzzy costume like everyone else. But it was fun and we had a theme!

Brody and I have also had our birthday's come and go in these last few months. Its been simple this year and we've stuck to dinner, a movie and some presents together and with family. Its so interesting how your mindset changes about birthday's the older you get. It is still a special day, but the day doesn't have to be extravagant to be wonderful. Still in the position of going to school and saving every penny we can, its just nice to get anything for yourself and not feel guilty about spending the money. Birthday's have become more a day of gratitude for me now. I'm just so grateful that we have always had jobs, that I have a great husband and a wonderful baby girl and especially that we have the gospel! Those things are much more precious than any present that I could receive!

Now, Lydi and I need to get feeling better, Brody and I need to finish up school and work and then we can move on to the next chapter of our lives! Although we will miss being close to BYU, and our ward we are very excited for the future. Here we come Bountiful!