We moved into our new home in the first weekend of March. I was so (over dramatically) worried that we wouldn't find a place in time. Thanks to the help of so many kind friends and family members, we were able to find a wonderful new home that we love. It's the perfect place for us, has all of the things we wanted and needed for our little family, and it is miraculously located only a few streets away from where we had been living for the last 5 years.
Even though the distance we moved was pretty insignificant, the change has been enormous in the best way. We have been doing a lot of de-cluttering and organizing and we are blessed to have more space to work with than before. The last house we were in was great for Sam and I as a young, newlywed couple but, even then it was a little snug. (I mean, the kitchen had ONE DRAWER for crying out loud!) Emma may be small but, she comes with a lot of "equipment" and all of that stuff takes up a lot of space. We were starting to get pretty cramped in our cute little home. Our new house has plenty of space for Emma to play. The back yard is the perfect, kid-friendly space for her to go "running and chasing" as she calls it. I love the open concept living room and kitchen that lead into the back yard so that I can have my eyes on Emma wherever she's causing her mischief. (and YES. The kitchen has more than one drawer!!) We feel spoiled to have a garage to park our car in and for extra storage. The whole place has a really abundant amount of storage which is a welcome change for us. We've been pretty creative with our storage for the past 5 years. We are feeling much less cramped in our new home. We planted some strawberries in the back yard and potted some cute flowers in the front. I've enjoyed setting up our new space and making our house into a home.
Besides setting up a new house, we have all been keeping very busy. Sam is still working as an exercise therapist at IHC in St. George which means he does a lot of driving back and forth from Cedar City to St. George. His department recently extended their hours which meant that Sam's hours increased significantly. That has been such a blessing (moving is expensive!) but, it also means that Sam is away more often and doing more driving back and forth. We miss him! Sometimes we opt to travel with him and stay a night or two to be together and save a little gas money. I'm so grateful for his hard work and that he understands and supports my desire to stay home more often with Emma.
I have been working on building my bath bomb business and have enjoyed adding some new products and scents and trying new ways to get myself out there like the Tuacahn Saturday Market and my Etsy shop (etsy.com/shop/bathbombsbynatalie). Some weeks are slow but others are really busy. I've enjoyed doing it and am excited to continue adding and growing. I'm grateful that it's something I can do to help support our family without being away from home more often.
Sam and I continue to enjoy serving as cub scout leaders in our ward. Emma knows our scouts by name and gets excited every time we tell her that we're going to see them. They are such fun, sweet boys that are excited to learn and try new things every week. They are rowdy and goofy and just plain fun.
I am still working part time (mostly from home) at Discovery Ranch for Girls as the admissions coordinator. I have worked there now for nearly 3 1/2 years and I have enjoyed working in a few different positions during my time. I have been lucky enough to get to learn a few different positions and I continue to learn constantly in this one. It's nice to have a few hours out of the house each week and I am grateful to get to work from home most of the time. I have enjoyed seeing a new side of the business and love the people I work with. They are talented, driven, and passionate about what we do. It adds to an already busy schedule but, I am blessed to have the experience and income.
I am, of course, constantly busy taking care of my little miss sassy pants. Emma is getting close to her second birthday and I am struggling to keep up with her growth and energy. She is all go, all the time. Emma's hobbies and interests include "running and chasing" (especially when we're in a long line at the post office), coloring on the walls of our new rental, telling mommy and daddy "NO!" or "SHOO!", and hanging with her grandparents. She also loves Disney princesses and knows them all by name. She is a really big Sofia the First fan as well as Winnie the Pooh and Curious George. She loves going to church but NOT going to nursery. She loves being outside and exploring. She likes to whip up treats for mom, dad, and dolls in her play kitchen. She adores her dog Daisy and really any animals that we come across. She has no fear for animals and will pet (and boss around) any dog, no matter the size. She loves her cousins, aunts, and uncles. She likes to get the mail with grandpa-She really prefers to be with her grandparents more than anything most of the time. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family support system. I get the whole "it takes a village" thing now that I have a child of my own and I'm so grateful for the love Emma receives from many family members and friends who care about her and for the lessons she learns from them. It's so important to me that she gets to spend time with family. I know it will be of great value to her throughout her life.
I love how aware Emma is of people and their emotions. She really is a "people person". She's so friendly and outgoing-she will introduce herself to everyone we pass in the grocery store. "Hi! This is Emma and this is mommy. Daddy's at work", she'll say to each person. The other day, as we were leaving JoAnns, a woman shouted "bye Emma!". I didn't know who she was so I was a little taken aback by it until I remembered that Emma had introduced us earlier. She makes friends wherever she goes. She has a gift for lifting those around her.
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| This is Emma's "grandma" Bonnie. She is a sweet lady in our ward who loves Emma and Emma loves her! They have become fast friends. Emma loves to visit her grandma Bonnie. |
Emma loves to sing and dance. She likes to mother her dolls (and other babies!). She still LOVES her books. We recently started going to story time at the public library and she is really into it. It's so fun to watch her listening so intently to the songs and stories or see her shout out answers to questions they ask during the story hour. She's getting so grown up.
We are getting excited for spring and have already been out enjoying the warmer weather whenever we can find the time. We had a lot of fun visiting the chicks and baby bunnies at Cal Ranch this year as is our yearly tradition. Emma was fascinated.
We are pretty big on holidays of all kinds over here so, of course, we had some fun with St. Patricks Day. We spent the night before at Grandma and Grandpa's house and the next morning, we found that the leprechauns had paid us a visit. They left some fun little surprises along with the traditional Lucky Charms for breakfast. We dressed up in our green bling complete with green mani's and pedi's.
It's hard to believe how quickly this year is already passing. We are nearing the end of March already and spring is fast approaching. This time of year is my favorite for a lot of reasons. It makes me think of my grandma to see all of the colors of spring. The flowers blooming, brightly colored easter eggs, and pastel, spring decor. I get excited for our family "birthday month" where we will celebrate all three of our birthdays. Easter is my favorite holiday so that's always something that I look forward to. I love the warmth after a long, cold winter and the opportunities that we have to get outside and be together as a family. Life is good and we are so blessed. It's easy to get caught up in the challenges but, I prefer to notice the good that is all around us every day.
God Bless!
