Settled and enjoying things

This blog is boring.  I need to change it up or do better about writing.  My will is not great when it comes to this one.

We left Utah a bit late, partially because we ran out of time and partially because  we had to fight an evil man for our deposit back. That was a nightmare.  The days before we left, we ecaluated how long the pod would take to deliver and switched to a 10 foot truck instead. It all worked out well and we made it to San Diego by dinner on the 12th. We spent just over a week at the lovely Mission Valley Extended Stay. Immediately we began to pray about our new home. We asked Omar the desk clerk to pray. We asked David the Uhaul manager to pray. We went to the Mormon Battalion and asked all the missionaries there to pray.  We asked random folks at the grocery to pray.  We needed a prayer army. It took just over a week, but we finally found a place.

We are nestled near the 805 freeway just off Market Street in a house we feel so blessed to have. Everyone is settling nicely. We are loving the beach.  We can see the Coronado bridge from our bedroom window. We are blessed beyond measure.

Thank you to all that prayed for us.  Now on to making this blog more interesting.

Getting close to time...

This is it... or at least one like it.  This is the size of the pod we are taking to San Diego with us.  Just one. 5 x 8 x 7.5 is the size of the pod.  I have been behind on posting how it is going for us as we are sorting through the *things* of life, but in a nutshell, it has been pretty uneventful.  The children are on board, they are happy and excited.  Right now I have very little furniture left, the rest should be gone by the first part of next week. Our departure date of October 9th is quickly approaching. 

So a little update on everyone... HeMan is staying behind.  He has been living with his dad since last November and it feels like the right thing to do - for him and for us.  I will miss him terribly. He is happy, attending seminary each week, he works, has a girl he is sweet on and he is homeschooling through a charter. He and I have been meeting each week to keep up on school and he is doing great so I am not worried.  We will change to video chats once we move.  We are already planning his first visit this winter.

The Dr. and Lala are doing great, just being teens... or teen and wannabe teen. They will miss friends but they are excited to start something new.  I have been very impressed with their willingness to purge belongings.  I know I have laid this foundation in them that people are more important than things, but they have really risen above.  I don't know that I could have done it at their age.

Super Sam and Baby Bird are silly as usual.  Keeping us in stitches.  Super Sam is a big first grader finally and he is zooming through his lessons.  I am very proud of him.  Baby Bird is continuing to get better, move ahead and while she isn't fully talking yet like her peers, she doesn't seem to be far behind.  Gotta love that preemie stuff!

Erik and I are great... ready to get through this move to the other side.  We still don't know exactly where we are going, but we have faith that God will provide as always :)  Things are falling into place and we are looking forward to the transition.  Love and hugs everyone!

Change, Choice, Accountability... and a lot of Faith

Here we are.  Ready for more change. A friend asked me today... "Are you always so..." long pause.... I said "nomadic?" She laughed.  I told her that it wasn't about being nomadic really but more about moving when we feel called to move.  On our recent trip to San Diego, Erik and I were walking through a little shop in Old Town and found this...

Erik squeezed my hand and we promptly purchased it. This is our motto. We aren't lost.  We aren't even really searching.  We are just walking in the path that we feel called to walk. One thing I am learning after the last three years of moving, is that the answer to "are you staying for a while?" is "Maybe."  We love our lives.  We love what we do.  We are following the Spirit.  Right now the Spirit says it is time to go. So we are listening. Where?  We are finally answering the call to head to southern California. Our aim is to settle in San Diego.  When? Soon.  Our aim is October.

When we left Idaho, our dear friend and land lady gave me a big hug and also the sweetest compliment. She called us pioneers. This time I really feel like it.  We have decided to tow a 5x8 trailer behind our van and that is it.  Crazy?  Yeah my mom thinks so *wink Mom*.  We have been working to purge and downsize for the last three years, now we are getting real about it.  My big kids are excited at this prospect.  Starting over.  We would not be doing it if we didn't have full family buy in.  Everyone is excited to start again.  We will each take a few boxes of personal items and of course our clothes. 

I am going to try and document our journey here.  Stay tuned.  Feel free to comment :)

Love and blessings.

Six months? Seriously? What a ride...

Life is a journey.  Sometimes it is bumpy. Sometimes it feels like smooth sailing. Sometimes we see the hole in the sidewalk and think we know better. Sometimes we think the hole can be magically filled in by our love, ethics and hard work. When that happens, someone should beat us over the head and knock some sense into us.

It was me.  I walked into the hole.   Thankfully I am out and walking down another street.

When we moved here last year, I was so excited.  So gung ho to get busy and learn from those here.  So thrilled to be with "my people" as my mom puts it.  So eager to share my talents.  It took me six months to realize that I didn't need to walk down that road with the hole. I should have realized that if they wanted the hole filled, they would have hired a contractor. They like the hole. So where does that leave us?  Well we aren't sure right now.  Lately we are just focusing on the priorities that took a hit a bit while we were trying to repair the hole. Our work projects are running behind so I have been working harder than ever to get caught up and bring more to our Waldorf friends.  Thankfully no holes there!

What have we been up to?  I get that a lot. I feel very blessed to work with hundreds of women each month and many of them genuinely want to know how we are doing.  I know that for every family I pray for, there are five praying for us and I am ever so thankful.  I think those prayers are what brought us through these last six months. That hole was deep and the prayers definitely helped lift us out.

We did a lot through the last half of the winter. Easter took us back to LA to play for a few days and we attended WonderCon. Lala start shooting her film (shooting has stalled due to some issues with the director) she also just completed a commercial. She is super cute... she is hoping for more work soon.  Papa is trying to use his film connections and industry know-how to get her into some things here.  She is also eager to attend some auditions in LA on some of our trips that direction. She has been busy.  We finished up sixth grade.... holy cow... how can that be?  We have a few things we need to come back to in the fall and a few things this summer, but overall she is in good shape.  I love meeting the needs of each of them individually!

Super Sam is finishing up his second kindergarten year and is super excited for first grade in the fall. He is turning 7 this week!!  Where has the time gone?  He is so big.

Baby Bird is finally talking. I figured she would be about six months behind her peers.  She has fought us on signing and has preferred to scream instead, but thankfully that is settling a bit now that she is talking more. Her sensory stuff is still weird and after mothering The Doctor, I know that it could stick with her for life, but if we work to give her enough movement and keep her environment calm (haha!  We have five kids remember?!) then she is pretty good. As I type this, I can hear her laughing as she chases Sunbun.  They are peers these days.  I have to work to keep her out of his food.  She crawls on all fours and talks to him, wants to eat her food on the floor with him and generally loves on him more than I have ever seen a child love an animal. He is such a good sport.  Although some days I have plotted his demise. He can be quite a pill at 3 a.m. He is getting old but he is still catching birds and snakes and other things I wish he wouldn't bring me. He is very excited to visit Grandma Catherine for the month of July so he can try his tricks with bats again.

The Doctor is busy.  He just finished his last merit badge before starting on his Eagle project. It was swimming and dang... he is braver than I am.  He had to jump in the water with all of his clothes on, take off his shoes, turn his shirt into a flotation, remove his pants and turn them into a flotation... then a bunch of laps practicing different strokes. Wow.  I couldn't be more proud.  He had some pretty big opposition and struggles with his leaders over this one.  Now he can just scoot along and get going on that Eagle.   We made the decision to let him get started working toward his GED too.  He finished the 10th grade this month and we all feel like he is ready to do more.  He will be leaving on his mission in about 18 months and he would like to get a little college in there first.  He's got a lot ahead of him!

He-Man has been busy working.  He has settled in with his dad and they are getting along pretty good.  I am just glad he is happy and thriving.  He is still homeschooling, but with a charter, he tells me all the time that he misses my lessons!  LOL.  I miss him, but he is here often and I talk to him almost daily so it is all good.

Papa and I are good.  We have weathered another storm and are stronger for it.  We love what we do and are excited for a fun summer.

Thanks for reading!