As many people now know, Sam was accepted into graduate school at the University of New England and we will be moving to Portland, Maine in less than 2 weeks (YIKES) for him to study occupational therapy. The journey leading up to Sam's acceptance hasn't been an easy one. Sam applied a few years ago and was not accepted into school and that was a very difficult thing for him to go through. While we now understand that it was not the right time for him to get into school, it was a hard time for our family as we were so sure that going to school at that time was part of the plan. For a while, Sam had given up on applying to graduate school again, or at least put it on the back burner indefinitely. At the end of last summer, he decided that he was ready to try again and this time, we were pretty sure it was the right time.
Sam worked extremely hard and after lots of prayer, faith, traveling for interviews, and tossing and turning, Sam was accepted into school in February of this year. He was first accepted into the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and then in April was accepted into UNE. We were sure that Wisconsin was the right choice for our family but, once again, God knew otherwise and it soon became clear that Maine was the right place for us to go. I have basically been on a rollercoaster of emotion in these last few weeks since making our decision. I am so proud of Sam, so excited for our new adventure, and at peace with our decision. I am also SO nervous (nervous doesn't actually begin to cover it) and completely overwhelmed. There is so much to do and the day of our move is coming up so quickly.
We have been savoring the last of our days in Southern Utah. While hustling to prepare for the big move, we are also trying to live in each moment that we get to spend with our family and in this beautiful area. Since it's been quite some time since I've written, I thought I'd write a little update of our day to day in the last couple of months.
Sam's mom was married in March to a wonderful man who is a great addition to our family! Emma loves her new grandpa, Grandpa Mike. Sam and I have been living with his mom for the last several months as we've been saving up to move for school. She has been kind enough to welcome us into her home for all of this time and when she and Mike were married, they welcomed us into their new home. It's helped us so much to be able to prepare for this next step and Emma has absolutely loved living with grandma and grandpa. Emma is blessed with so many grandparents who love her.
We were able to spend the week before Easter at a beautiful cabin in Soda Springs, Idaho with some of Sam's siblings and their kids. It was a wonderful, rejuvenating break for us and a special memory for Emma to have with her cute cousins. We had a great time together as a family-fishing, swimming, talking, and playing games. It was fun for Emma to get to hunt and paint Easter eggs with her cousins during the week too.
On the way home, we were able to listen to LDS general conference on the radio-it was so perfect to be able to listen over Easter weekend this year. We made a stop at Young Living farm in Mona, Utah in-between sessions for some more Easter fun. They throw a really cute Easter event and it was the perfect place for us to walk around a stretch our legs on the long drive home.
We have enjoyed living in Mike and Mary's new home in Ivins, Utah for the last couple of months. It's a beautiful home in a nice, quiet area. Emma likes to play in the backyard and ride her tricycle in the circle but, mostly she likes to hang out with grandma and grandpa. She throws them parties and makes them "food" in her kitchen. She brings them dolls to play with and snuggles up on the couch with them at night to watch movies and eat popcorn. She is a lucky girl.
My cousin, Zack and his wife, Ashley recently had a beautiful baby girl. We were able to attend her blessing at the beginning of April. Oaklynn is so sweet and it was wonderful to be able to hear my cousin give her a name and blessing. It also made me a little sad as I realized that I won't be able to attend family events like this very often in the near future. I will miss it.
I celebrated my 27th birthday. It was a fun day spent with family and I was spoiled with love. Emma was very sweet on my birthday and kept giving me all of her toys as presents. She was especially excited about my cake.
My sweet cousin, Mckinley passed away a few days after my birthday. When she was not quite two years old, she nearly drowned in a backyard kiddie pool. She suffered severe brain damage due to the accident. She was 16 when she passed away. We were blessed to have her beautiful spirit in our family. My heart continues to ache for her sweet parent's who have lost their daughter but, I am comforted by the knowledge that she is whole again and in the presence of many who love her. We attended her celebration of life and it was a beautiful tribute to her and to the strength and dedication of her parents who loved and cared for her throughout her life.
Emma had her first dentist appointment in April as well. I was a little nervous about how she would handle it so, I tried to get her pretty excited about it beforehand. I also tried to really explain everything that would happen while we were there so that nothing would seem scary. She ended up absolutely loving the dentist. She was so friendly with him and his staff and was really excited about all of the cool stuff in the office. Even more exciting, she got to have a book, balloon, and a new toothbrush at the end of her visit! Most exciting for mom? NO cavities!!
The next day, Emma was a champ once again as we had a well-check at her pediatrician. She asked the doctor if she could listen to her heart beat and was pretty excited to be able to hear it. Emma was perfectly healthy and we got to go get gelato as a reward. Win-win!
Emma has had some fun adventures with Stefan. Stefan is my cousin's son. I used to play with his dad all the time and it's so fun to watch Stefan and Emma play together so well. Their favorite thing to do is hold hands.
- She loves to talk! She will make friends at the grocery store, at the park, or really anywhere we go. She has no trouble introducing herself and will often compliment people on what their wearing or ask them all kinds of questions about themselves.
- She talks to kids her own age like they're much younger than her and she likes to "mother" them and be bossy.
- She loves animals. She especially loves dogs.
- Favorite TV shows are Sofia, Veggie Tails, Looney Tunes, and Baby Bums
- Some favorite movies are Moana, Tarzan, Mulan, Snow White, Trolls, and any of the princess movies, really.
- She loves to read books and be read to.
- She loves to be outside and hike. She loves to pick flowers, have picnics, spray grandma's flowers, go for walks with the dogs, and lots of other outdoor activities.
- Emma loves applesauce, bacon, peanut butter, asparagus, broccoli, mangos, and all things sweet. Especially, whipped cream, ice cream, and suckers.
- She is very mischievous and loves to tease. She also loves hide and seek. She typically hides in the same place.
- She loves spending time with all of her grandparents. She has some pretty awesome grandmas and grandpas. She also loves spending time with aunts, uncles, and cousins.
- She loves her dolls and stuffed animals, play dough, coloring, and beads.
Emma's party was at "grandpa's pool" where grandpa John works. She loves to swim there so, it was fun to be able to go with her whole family for her party. The theme was "Young, wild, and THREE" with jungle and safari animals as decor. With our big move and all the craziness going on, I didn't have time to do as much planning for her party as I would have liked to do but, I think it turned out pretty cute and more importantly, Emma had lots of fun. The wind and shade made it hard to take pictures of any of the decor but, I snapped a few.
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| gift bags |
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| Zebra cake |
The next day, we celebrated Sam's 29th birthday. My mom and dad were nice enough to take Emma for a sleepover after her party so Sam and I got to go out on a fun date. The next day we went for a family walk & picnic in Pine Valley followed by yummy cupcakes to celebrate. It was a nice weekend celebrating my two favorite people.
That's been our last couple of months! A whirlwind of fun, hectic, excitement! For the next two weeks, you will find us enjoying time with family and friends in-between packing and preparing (and totally freaking out!!). Sam and I have a week-long road trip coming up very soon. I am excited to keep everyone updated on our adventures on the road and life once we've settled in Maine.
Thanks to all of those who have expressed support and love for us as we've been on this journey! Something I continue to learn over and over again is that our plan is not always the same as God's plan. Sometimes we have to wait and look back to see why things had to happen the way they did but, His way is always the right way. We have been so blessed in these last few years and we are so grateful that things happened the way they did. His timing is perfect. We look forward to this exciting new chapter.
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