Life is Good

Cute boys :)

Movie night :) Luke was laying down with the girls so cute and as soon as I got the camera out he started to roll around and get up :( But it was so dang cute before I interrupted.

Okay, so I just have to tell you all how grateful I am right now. There have been a number of things the last few days that have totally "worked together for our good". It's been a really stressful last few months (mostly because I am so impatient and lacking in faith) but the Lord has totally shown us His love these last few days. I just wanted to share of few of them with everyone, and get them written down so that I don't forget and get impatient and worried again.

So first- I found out we don't owe as much on our van as we thought. We are not upsidedown in it as we had been thinking, and we may be able to get some money out of it when we sell it to move. This was starting to really stress me out just because it was more money that we were going to have to come up with either to sell it or to ship it. So anyway- that was a huge relief and a total blessing.

Then we got the great news from my awesome sister Sarah that our tickets are going to be a LOT less and this means that we will for sure be able to move in December as planned! It's incredible to me that this could happen. It's a total miracle, and I am SO amazed at how the Lord works. I think I'm still in shock with it all, feels too good to be true :) But it's taken a huge load off. Thanks again Sarah!

Then, almost seconds later, we got the letter from the FAA for Nate to make his appointment for his ATSAT. This is the huge test that he has to pass in order to be a completely certified Air Traffic Controller. They use his score on this test when deciding who to hire. It's an 8 hour test and is a pretty big deal- obviously. Can you imagine going through all of this moving and schooling only to have him fail!! It's kinda crazy when you think about it that way, but no pressure Nate :) We know he will do great. He's got a few ways to study for it although it's really just about how smart and observant you are. They told him to play tetris to get ready for it :) Good thing he perfected the art of Tetris attack all those years ago- it just might come in handy now :) But anyway- we were waiting for that letter for quite a while now and wondering if it was ever going to come! The sooner he takes that test the sooner he can be considered for employment and now we know that it will be between the 22nd and 26th of October!! Such good news! We were also surprised to find out that he gets to take the test here in Anchorage afterall. We had thought that he was going to have to take it in Utah and that would mean coming up with the money to fly him down for his test, so we were very excited and very relieved- another huge blessing!

Another thing that I consider a miracle this weekend was the General Women's Conference meeting. I had so many thoughts and feelings during that meeting that really comforted me and settled a lot of things in my mind. I feel so much better about this move and I really feel now, like it is the right thing for us to move back to Utah. I wondered if it was before, but I didn't want to know because it was what I WANTED to do. So it was really wonderful to have that feeling and to know that it is what is best for us as well. There were a lot of other things weighing on my mind that I will not go into, but were completely eased last night. I feel like Heavenly Father is really in charge. He really does have a plan for us, and he will help us to carry out that plan. It's so amazing to me the blessings and miracles that I have been given in my life. My mind was just flooded with things that Heavenly Father has made possible for us. Even down to the fact that we have almost never had to buy clothes for our kids because of everyone else being so generous and sharing. We have done nothing on our own. No matter how far away we are; we are not alone. I hope I have never been ungrateful for the things we have received, but right now I am completely overcome with gratitude. Thank you to all of you. I hope someday to be able to "repay" all of you although I don't think there is anything I can do to match what has been done for us.

Anyway- I feel really good, and I feel really full of hope and excitement for our future. I feel like things are on the right track and we are headed toward that light at the end of the tunnel :) It's a really great feeling. I promise to be more uplifting and less negative and worried when I talk to you all. I really wish I had just shown more faith and not let myself get all stressed out about these things, I always know that things are going to work out, it's just being patient until I know how. That is the hard part for me. Things are good though and all is well.

Something else that really touched me yesterday---
When I got home from the General Women's Conference Charity was still having trouble with an earache that she had had the night before. At first I felt really bad that I had not been there for her all day (we had a big all day program thing for the conference), but when I sat down with her and was talking to all the kids I found out that Kelly had been her little Mommy while I was gone. I just about cried listening to all the things she had done for her big sister to "take care of her". Kelly is one of the most giving people when it comes to taking care of her siblings. She seriously spent most of the afternoon and all of the evening just making sure Charity had everything she needed. She passed up a walk with Daddy and the boys to stay home with Charity and then go to the Instacare with us. When we got to the Instacare she totally babied her- getting her books and helping her to be comfortable in the waiting room. Then when we got in the actual room Kelly was trying her best to distract Charity and help her take her mind off things- pointing out things in the room and stuff. It was absolutely adorable! I really appreciate my kids and what special spirits they are. Children are just so perfect. They are so innocent and so forgiving. It just about made me cry to think about how much Kelly loves Charity and how much she would sacrifice for her. It was neat. I love these moments because they help pull me through the times when they are not like this :) We all know those happen :) But it was nice. It was really the cherry on top for my weekend.

So I hope all of you down there in Utah are enjoying your SNOW!! I can't believe you guys got it before us! Can't say I'm jealous :) Lucky for you though, it will probably melt :) Lots of love!!