HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Columbus, Ohio doesn’t celebrate Halloween on a weekend. At first I thought that maybe it had something to do with safety. You know, less hoodlums out on week nights. But then I learned the truth. This city refuses to let anything, Halloween included, get in the way of it’s COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!! Oh boy. Too funny. So needless to say, our Trick-or-Treating was tonight. And what a fun night it was. The girls had a ball! Anika didn’t want to stop! She ran from house to house. Everyone LOVED Anika’s outfit. However, when they saw Avery’s they were less enthused. How dare we dress our child up as a cheerleader for some other college. I mean, really, do any other colleges even matter? I don’t think so!!! At every home I had to say to Anika, “Okay, what do you say?” The response I was looking for was “Trick-or-Treat,” but the men handing out candy said things like, “You need to say, ‘O-H-I-O!’” Another one that we heard a lot was “GO BUCKS!” One guy asked Anika if we (meaning good old Ohio State) were going to win the upcoming game. The look on her face said it all. “Uh…sir…I don’t care about college football, at all. Please just give me the candy that you are holding. Thank you.” Anyway, we had a great time. The girls were too cute. Here are the pictures!

PICTURES OF THE HOUSE!!!

Here it is. Home Sweet Home! We still have two trees coming in the front yard, but this is it! I’ve realized after having taken the pictures of the inside that they’re all a bit redundant. I mean, every empty room looks the same. However, I did promise the pictures, so I will post them. Maybe in a few months, after we are settled and decorated for Christmas, I’ll post more pictures. We’ll see.

Now, without further adieu, our house.

1 – The stairs, located to the right just as you walk in.  2 – The front room, located to the left just as you walk in. It’s supposed to be a dining room, but we’re going to use it as the piano room.

3 – The kitchen. Oh what a glorious kitchen!

4 – The living room

5 – The loft, just at the top of the stairs.

6 – The Master Bedroom and Bathroom

(Anika loves playing in the shower.)

7 – The Girls’ Bathroom       

8 – Avery’s Bedroom

  9 – Anika’s Bedroom

10 – Sean’s Office / Angell’s Scrapbook Room

11 – The Basement

12 – The Backyard

    13 – The view from the porch.

That’s pretty much it! Unless you want to see the front closet, the pantry, or the laundry room! There’s also a half bathroom on the main level – just a toilet and a sink. Very convenient. :)

So this is it! Again, we couldn’t be more grateful or more excited about being in this house. It turned out better than we could have ever imagined. We just love it! It will be a while before we’re settled ( I had NO idea it would take so long) but don’t let that stop you from visiting any time soon!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Oh, and Mark and Mary, sorry that I couldn’t swing the virtual tour of each room! Maybe next time.

It’s CHRISTMAS!!!

Well, it feels like Christmas at least. And I’m like a six year old girl, just loving every second of it. This morning, Sean and I officially purchased our very first house. We signed the papers (many, many papers) and then they gave us the keys! CRAZY! We even have garage-door openers! Putting aside the stress that I feel from needing pack and get our belongings moved into the house, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We have been incredibly blessed throughout our four years of marriage. Things haven’t always gone as planned, but they have always turned out way better. This house is just another example of how things have fallen into place for us, better than we could have ever imagined for ourselves. The neighborhood, the neighbors, the area, and the house itself are all unbelievably wonderful. We’ve received so much help and support from family, which has made this whole dream a reality, and we are simply thankful. I know that our Heavenly Father is looking down on us and is blessing us way more than we deserve! I’m just so excited!!! I took a bunch of pictures of the house this morning and will post them later today or in a few days. We love you all and hope that you come visit! There is plenty of room for friends and family!

Priesthood Blessings…

Just before Sean started Dental School, his father gave him a priesthood blessing. I also had Sean give me a blessing. (Let’s be honest, I need added strength during this period of “single-parenthood.”) The cute thing is that this had a huge impact on Anika. So huge in fact that she has taken it upon herself to give her little sister blessings. Yes, you read this correctly. About every other day I walk into a room to find Anika’s hands placed on Avery’s head as she says a prayer. It really is the sweetest thing ever. I’ve tried to teach her that only Daddy gives the blessings in our family. However, she insists that she has the priesthood too! :) As much as Sean and I giggle about this, it really is so tender to see the impact that these blessings have had on Anika. I love her so much!!!

DENTAL SCHOOL!!!

 

White Coat Ceremony…

So the craziness has begun. Sean is well into his first year of our big adventure called DENTAL SCHOOL! I am in awe of my husband. He continually amazes me. When we first got married, dental school wasn’t even a thought. It wasn’t until eight months after we had graduated from BYU and started a job in business that we decided to make a career change, resulting in six more years of school, (two for pre-reqs and four for dental school.) We packed up our family and moved back to BYU for Sean to take his science pre-reqs for dental school. It had been years since Sean had taken even a basic science class, but he did so well in his upper level sciences, like Organic Chemistry and Micro Biology and Anatomy. And now we are here, The Ohio State University Dental School. The overwhelming stress of the course-work has set in. The girls and I don’t get to see the man of our house as often as we are used to (and as often as we would like to) but we are all so proud of him. I feel so blessed to have a husband who is motivated, hard-working, and dedicated. He is a great student, and I know that he will be very successful in dental school. I love you, Sean! Thank you for working so hard for our growing family! Heaven knows I couldn’t do what you’re doing! I am so proud of you!!!

Happy Birthday Avery!

 

Avery had her first birthday on October 10th. I can’t believe my little girl is already a year old. Where did the time go?! We had a fabulous birthday party for the little princess. The whole family was there…Mommy, Daddy, and Big Sister Anika.

Avery wasn’t too sure what to do with all of the presents. Luckily Anika was there to help. Oh boy. Here’s the problem. All of Avery’s new toys (minus one) were Anika’s old toys that I have kept in storage for the past year. Well Anika definitely recognizes the toys, and is convinced that they are hers! Poor Avery hasn’t hardly had a chance to even play with the “new” toys. Teaching Anika how to share is going to be more challenging than I ever imagined!

As you can tell from the next two pictures, Avery LOVED her birthday cake. Holy cow. She didn’t waste any time diving right into it. She’s had a few little tastes of ice cream in her young life, but other than that, no treats. With the first bite of her birthday cake, it was like I had opened a door into a whole new tasty world. I’m afraid that Avery has inherited my sweet-tooth, just like her sister.

We sure do love our Avery. It really is amazing how things work. I remember one year ago being worried that I would never be able to love my baby #2 as much as I love Anika. It’s incredible how the heart grows with the birth of a new baby. When Avery was born, our family felt that much more complete. She brings so much happiness and joy into our home. Happy Birthday you big girl! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!