Lately

Life has been so good lately, but extremely busy! I am now watching this little girl full time, plus helping another family in the afternoon three times a week. I get paid well and feel very blessed with not one source of income, but two. 

I successfully made Kade his favorite chocolate cake again. He is a chocolate lover...big time. We can't quite get the recipe for the frosting down, but one day it will turn out as good as Ann's.  I also collected pinecones with my friend Rachel and we made some pinecone wreaths! It was a very sticky and painful process for the fingers with the wire but I finished mine and it is now waiting on a cute ribbon...

We got this cute picture of Nick on his mission in Oregon.  What a stud.  Of course he would take a picture with a "bum."  That is so him, and such an example to us of pure love for people.  He always has a positive attitude...I need to be more like that.  I cannot wait to talk to him on Christmas day!

I had an extremely humbling experience happen to me last week.  The family that I nanny for in the afternoons have me walk their dog, and prepare dinner before I go and get their little boy from daycare.  They are very easygoing people, and don't require much for dinner.  They have started requesting that I make my own recipes for them and on this particular night, I was mincing some garlic with a knife for some tortilla soup. I was in a hurry because I went on an extra long walk with the dog and had to stop at the store for some last minute ingredients. (I actually paid a Mom and her daughter to go in and get some diced green peppers for me because the store obviously wouldn't let me take the dog in and it was crucial for my soup!) Well, let's just say that their knives are A LOT nicer than mine, and chop extremely well. Maybe a little too well.  Blood starting pouring from my finger and I had a huge bandage on it for the rest of the time I was preparing the soup. When they got home, I showed them my finger because they are both doctors.  They said that stitches was not an option because of the way I cut it..but to apply major pressure and see how it turned out in the morning.  It bled all night, and even got on our sheets :( I had a hard time showering, and doing the dishes, etc. Kade had received a few "no's" from some interviews, and we were dealing with mice in our apartment. It felt like the worst timing ever and I knew that I was being tested and truly humbled.  I prayed hard that night, and asked for help to deal with our trials.

I woke up the next morning and soaked the guaze off that was stuck to the wound, and was amazed that it was done bleeding. It hasn't been easy adjusting to not using my pointer finger, but I have managed and it is healing well.  It hurts the most when my fingers are cold and I accidentally bump into something.  Kade has helped out a lot more with the dishes which has been nice--the bandaid gets so wet no matter how hard I try.

...And two days later, Kade received his first full time offer with a company that he really enjoyed interviewing with.  With patience and faith, blessings come.  He has worked so hard and I am so proud of him.  He is waiting to give an answer until he goes to another interview in Houston this week, so we will see how it goes.  He had 3 really long nights over the weekend (12, 12:15, 3 am), and I woke up alone yesterday morning.  He had worked all through the night on a group project. He got home at 1 am last night, and has another meeting tonight to finish up before he flies out tomorrow. Dedication. Hard work. Persistence. He is amazing.

Our time together is precious to us right now, but I don't think I would have it any other way.  We are growing, and forming in these young stages of marriage and I feel like it is building us a good foundation. I love him more now than ever, and it just keeps getting better.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Last weekend, Amber and Jeff had their dads in town to see Jeff's football game. The morning before, they went to tour the old Philly prison and invited me along knowing that Kade had a busy day ahead.  When we pulled up, Amber and I could not believe how creepy it looked and how tall the surrounding walls were!! There were big gargoyles in the front that freaked us out--but we later found out that those were only placed there for the Haunted House they do throughout the prison around Halloween.  Woops!

The prison was built in 1829 and was used until 1971. They created it in a way so that the guards could stand in the middle and turn slowly in circles to see down every single hall.  They didn't have to move anywhere. When it was constructed it was the largest and most expensive public structure ever built. 

We then got some lunch and headed to the UPenn football game.  They won and Jeff scored a touch down!! After, Kade was still busy with a group project so they invited me to dinner at a delicious Mexican Restaurant and to see a play called 'Red.'  I am grateful for "the dads" who did so much for me, as well as Amber and Jeff for letting me tag along. It was a very eventful day! 

Snow

We had our first snow fall in Philly a couple of weeks ago.  It wasn't as big as the news described it to be, but maybe we are just used to Utah's snow storms.  It came on a Saturday, and of course it was the one day Amber and I had planned to go to Costco for the month.  It takes about 30 minutes to get there and the roads were pretty slick.  It turned out to be a longer trip than we expected, but we made it safe. The suburbs definitely had more snow than the city did.  It barely stuck on our street and by the time Kade came home from LA that afternoon, there wasn't much left. Definitely nothing like a Utah storm!  

Later that night, a few of us girls went to a Halloween party that a couple in the ward had at their house.  We were supposed to bring our husbands, but they were too busy with school stuff. The people that dressed up had such good costumes. 

Megan and her husband organized games to play and had a whole table full of treats. At one point we used two rolls of toilet paper and had a competition who could wrap their spouse first. Amber was my husband for the night, and she apparently would be way better at wrapping a mummy than I would.  

I am excited for days in the future when Kade and I will have more space and furniture to be able to host a fun party like this. We only have 4 chairs and a small two person couch in our small living room--that wouldn't work too well but it is perfect for what we need right now.  It was fun to get together with people in the ward outside of church to hang out and chat. One day the student life will be over so Kade can join me and not feel stressed about school.  I feel blessed to have other girls here who are in the same boat, and we can all enjoy the student life together!

Halloween Costumes

We didn't dress up for Halloween this year...but there were some good ones in the family to remember!

Lulu as the cookie monster. Hannah as an 80's chick.  Brody as Justin Beiber.  D and Hols as David and Victoria Beckham.

P and Rhy lookin a little freaky!

Ster and Calaigh making their little bun with a real ultrasound pic.  Mom and Ron-self explanatory!

Abby as a gypsie. Rub as big bird.

And last the best of all the game. Ann sent this picture to us on Halloween and I about peed my pants laughing. I love him!!

Philly Boat Tour

Back in the Spring I worked full time as a nurse assistant at a rehab center here in Philly.  Because I now have a nanny job, I am not able to pick up many shifts for them but they know I am back and call me randomly as needed.  Well, I got lucky a few weeks ago and was asked to help escort about 20 residents on the Spirit of Philly Boat Tour. I could not pass the offer up and immediately said yes! We got a buffet style lunch, drinks, dessert, and live entertainment all while they described to us what we were passing by. I have a deep love for the elderly, and thoroughly enjoyed myself! 

The residents started dancing to the music...it was SO cute. 

Oh, it was so much fun.  Some of them got all dressed up for this outing...it is a big deal to them! They don't get out of the rehab center much so they get very excited for activities. I would have loved to go and be part of this even if I didn't get paid.  I love being there to help them, and have grown a great love for elderly people.  I could talk to them for hours, even if I know they won't remember me or any part of our conversation.  There is a lot to learn from just listening to them talk...some are very wise and are usually more "with it" than you would think!  The oldest resident we have in the facility right now just turned 112. Another one just turned 109.  When I asked her the secret to a long life, she told me "to always think positive and don't waste time not being happy." Simple as that.

75th Anniversary

This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Church's Welfare Program.  What an incredible organization.  In celebration, our ward took a Saturday afternoon and cleaned up part of a local cemetery that the city has abandoned.  We weren't sure how much we would get done, but finished the section you can see from the street.  When we got there, you could barely see the headstones and many of them were knocked over.

All of us had bright yellow shirts on representing who we were--members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We had people honking as they drove by giving us thumbs up...and one man stopped to express how much he admired what we were doing.  When asked what he could do to help us, someone mentioned that we needed more water.  When he returned, not only did he bring tons of  water bottles, but he brought boxes of juice, cinnamon rolls, boxes of donut holes, and much more! It was cool to see first hand how truly inspiring giving service is.

The missionaries and the men of the ward picked up a lot of knocked over headstones.  There were also little mice running around everywhere and I picked one up with my glove to show Oliver. Kade is pretty embarrassed of this picture of me below but he couldn't help but laugh. He said the bishop showed it in a slideshow in Sunday School at church yesterday, great!

Rachel and I tried to get a normal picture of Michelle, but every time the picture was about to take she would turn her head thinking she was so funny.  Finally I gave up and told them to make a funny face for Michelle's sake.  Guess what she did in the funny face picture....yep.  Smiled nice and big. If she wants to smell my armpits after working in a graveyard pulling weeds, raking, and moving wood piles... she can be my guest :)

We had a great day and made a lot of progress.  It was fun to watch the transition of something that looked so horrible and run down, turn to something presentable. I am grateful that I was able to be apart of it, and am excited for the days when Kade doesn't have to live in the library and can come too!

Fall Time

The air is getting colder around here and it makes it pretty hard to ride a bike to work at 6:40 in the morning but hey, it's free! What am I complaining about?!  I complained about the sticky heat and have chosen to enjoy the cool weather before the snow comes! A couple weekends ago, the Barton's had a little Halloween party at their house.  Kade was busy with an interview and school work, so I hopped in the car with Michelle and headed over.  I give the best costume award to the Tuckers...who came as protestors haha!

Alli dressed her little girl Haddy up as a unicorn. Whoever was holding her throughout the night got a good  poke in the face or two! 

Cute, pregnant Lindsey dressed up her baby--"First Halloween!"

Oliver thought this homemade mask was pretty cool--and kept dancing for our entertainment.  The Bartons made homemade donuts and apple cider.  There were fresh sugar cookies, caramel popcorn, and some chocolate.  We had a great time and it was fun getting to know some people better that I didn't know before.

The leaves are starting to change, and even though the sight isn't half as beautiful as looking at Utah's mountains covered with colored leaves...it is still exciting. I am hesitating pulling out my boots just yet, knowing that I will over wear them when the real cold starts to hit. 

Kade is still working hard and just finished his midterms--phew! So glad they are over!! He has been so busy, and has worked so hard.

Little Violet rolled over yesterday when I had her on her tummy... I was pretty excited, but also sad that her Mom wasn't home to see it.  Next time I will have to try and get it on camera--it shocked her when she landed on her back and realized she had a whole new scenery to look at.  Being with her makes me so excited for what future kids are up there waiting for Kade and me to bring into this world.  Hopefully they are proud of us and the way we are living our lives so far! Even though I have only been with Violet for a month, she has already started finding out what her hands are and bringing things to her mouth--it has been pretty neat to watch her develop.  

I always need to remember to find joy in the small and simple things in life, instead of looking back and wondering why I didn't take advantage of something while I had it. Fall, student life, living frugally, making new friends, being a nanny, cuddling while watching $1 redboxes on laptops, finding the "perfect" chocolate chip recipe, quarter laundry machines, no kids, bikes and buses, big city, full size bed sharing, meal planning, date nights, job hunting...the small and simple things right now in life will all change when graduation comes in May. Sometimes I wish I could freeze life how it is right now :)