Anxious

anx·ious

/ˈæŋkʃəs, ˈæŋ-/ Show Spelled–adjective

1. full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous.

2.  earnestly desirous; eager

3.  attended with or showing solicitude or uneasiness

People lately have been asking me how I'm feel about moving.  I think it can all be summed up in one word.  It's the first thing that comes to my mind... I am ANXIOUS.

1. I am full of mental distress and uneasiness due to the fear of packing up my house, unpacking in a new place, having to leave my Okie friends, trying to make new friends, having the kids make new friends, settling into a new routine, and on and on and on.  I like to hold on to old friends because I feel comfortable with them.  I can be myself.  I know what to expect.  I am worried about having new people get to know me and my quirks and put up with the antics of my cute, but crazy kids.

2.  I am earnestly desirous and eager about the new an unknown our Iowa home holds.  I can't wait to see what kind of changes are coming our way.  In a way, I love love love change.  I like things new and fun and exciting.  Will we love being in a branch vs. a ward?  Will our children thrive and grow to love Iowa like Dennis and I do?  Will they look back at this change as a great thing in their lives?  Will Dennis love his new job as much as we think he will?  Are the kids going to love that they get the opportunity to grow up close to family... grandparents less than an hour away, and tons of cousins as well?

3. I am uneasy about getting our lives in order - getting the girls in school, Andrew in preschool, and getting involved in the community.  I am especially uneasy that my parents are leaving on a two-year mission to Papua New Guinea the day Dennis starts work at his new job.  I won't get to call my mom any time I need to vent or ask for advice or ask about a recipe, or when I just want to tell her the cute things Sarah/Emma/Andrew/Jared just did.  

My life is about to turn up-side down.  I am eager, uneasy, and desirous.  I am ANXIOUS.

Three-Year-Old Antics

Andrew may be short, but he is not short on personality.

  

Stop looking at me

Anytime Andrew has the sun in his eyes, he says the same thing.
It makes me laugh EVERY time.
"Mommy, the sun looking at me!"

Happy Trails

It only took us 4 1/2 years, but we found the best, #1, numero uno, supreme, most wonderful trail to walk/bike/scooter/stroller along.

For the last two Sundays, we've decided to use up the kids extra Sunday energy by taking a stroll and a scoot along our new-found trail.

We've found caterpillars, sticks, rocks, ticks (on Sarah's back tonight), new bushes and trees, wild flowers, and smiles.

In true Emma fashion, she crashed and burned at one point.

Not only did she get a little road rash on both knees and an elbow, but she hit her neck on the handle bar of her scooter as she fell.  It left a nasty little mark.

Emma rode the rest of the way with Jared in the stroller, while Sarah and Andrew posed for my camera any chance they got.

 

I need to get some family pictures taken while they are in the picture-taking mood!

Tie One On

I started making ties for my boys lately.

It makes dressing them for church so much more fun!

My favorite are the bow ties...

Andrew called his, "My BOY tie"  

This little feller got his very first tooth yesterday!  At 7 3/4 months, that is super early in our family.  The rest of the kids didn't have any teeth until at least 9 months.  Love those baby blues... L-O-V-E 'em!

Let's Review

In the past week, quite a bit has happened.

We have some friends that we used to double date with all the time.  They abandoned us last year and moved to Wisconsin.  They were in town for the birth of their first grandchild last week, so we went on a date with them on Friday night.  It was fun to catch up!

Saturday, the kids and I went to a birthday party for a friend.  On my way home, Dennis texted me and surprised me telling me he'd gotten a sitter and we were going out again for our anniversary that night!  I thought since we'd had already gone out that weekend, that was it, but I was very excited to spend the evening with just Dennis.  It was a great anniversary, and my favorite kind of date.  We celebrated eight years together by going to Red Robin and shopping together.  It's nice to go to a store without being distracted by little people!

Sunday was Sunday, so we went to church and had German pancakes for lunch.  After naps, we found a new walking trail where the kids rode their scooters and burned off all their extra Sunday energy.

Monday was uneventful as far as I can remember.

Tuesday was a normal day until I picked up the girls from their schools.  Severe weather was all across the state of Oklahoma, and headed quickly our way.  After making a homemade pizza for dinner, Dennis scooped us up in the car and took us back to the hospital.  The kids and I went down in to the basement while Dennis was upstairs helping the staff get patients to safe places.  A tornado touched down just west of us, less than a mile away.  It destroyed a few homes and businesses and damaged some of the schools in its path.  It also left many trees looking like this:

And even more looking like this:

We lost power that night from about 5:00 pm until just after 11:00.  We were told it could be days until the power was restored, and I was beginning to get worried because we have a water well that only works when we have electricity.  I can go without power, but water is a whole other story!  Luckily, about two minutes after Dennis and I turned off the last flashlight for the night the power came back on.  We were laying there discussing how incredibly dark it was without the street light outside and how quiet everything was, and then it flipped on.
I am so grateful my family was kept safe and our home received no damage.  There are many others who were not as fortunate, and it breaks my heart to hear story after story of children missing, injured, or dead.  I hope those people have the comfort of our Father in Heaven to help them through.

Wednesday was quite the day.  Dennis announced to the administration and staff of the hospital that he has accepted a different position.  After more than 4 1/2 years, our little family will be saying good-bye to Oklahoma.  We are moving to Iowa!  Dennis will be a CEO at a hospital in a great place that I've fallen in love with.  We will be living less than 30 minutes from some of his family, and no further than 2 hours from the rest.  We are very excited, and I am anxious and a little stressed about packing up a house, finding a new home, and moving our family to a new place.  The funny thing about our location is that Dennis and I attended church in this town for about seven months before we had kids.  When we first got married, I was finishing my Bachelor's degree and Dennis was working while completing his dual Master's degree.  We were in a student ward near our university.  After a few months, the stake presidency asked us if we'd be willing to attend church in a branch south of there.  Well... this place is the branch we attended!  I'm sure there will be different people, but it makes me feel like this was in the plan for us from the beginning.

Today, Emma had her very last day at her Mother's Day Out/Preschool.  She had a great time playing with friends and hugged her teachers good-bye multiple times.

The Graduate

Emma has been going to pre-school twice a week.

Each morning as we get Sarah ready for school Emma asks,
"Do I have school today???!!!"

She loves being a big girl and independent.

She's never shed a tear, never been nervous about leaving me, she just wears her own backpack, holds her lunch box, and walks in like she's in high school.

Her favorite thing to do all year is to "sneak" in so her teachers don't see her. As we walk down the hall close to her room, she asks me to be quiet. We then tip toe into her class and surprise her teachers.

Miss Michelle and Miss Jessica play along every day until I announce, "Emma! You did it! They didn't even see you come in!" Then, they say hello and Emma beams from ear to ear. I love it.

To celebrate the end of the school year, they held a graduation for her class. Each child received two awards - one for schoolwork and one for their personality.

For schoolwork, Emma got the "Love of Reading" award because she is always choosing to read books during playtime.

And for her personality, Emma received the "Good Manners and Patience" award. Her teachers said she is always sweet and kind to others and she patient about waiting her turn. Dennis turned to me when they announced it and said, "That's a GOOD thing!"

Her teachers told me they also considered giving her the "Sneaky" award for the way she comes into class each day, but they thought the other parents wouldn't understand and would think they were just being mean calling her "Sneaky."


We're so happy that Emma has enjoyed school this year. I know that Andrew has thought it's pretty nice to have a little extra attention...

Great job, Em. We love you!