Falling . . . . . . .

Have you ever had that feeling in your life like you took one step in a specific diretion and all the sudden you are falling someplace much different than you ever planned on being?

This past week we started thinking seriously about moving out of the apartments we are in and finding a house or another place to live. I think that the place we are in is making the girls and I sick. We have had coughs since we moved here and they just keep getting worse. It really worries me. We want to rent for a while until we can get some debts paid off and then buy a house. The market is definitely a buyers market here and the way things are working out we are looking at perhaps buying a lot sooner than we thought. It's all been a whirlwind lately and I am feeling pretty overwhelmed. All the sudden I am feeling like I have to be an adult much more than ever before. It's kind of scary. It is exciting, though. We want a house so badly.

I actually found one house that I really like. We are going to go see it on Monday. The people who are selling it are in a divorce situation so they really want to sell it. Right now the price is a little above our range but like I said, it is a buyer's market and I am certain that we can talk them down. We are also going to meet with teh owners and talk about renting it for a few months until we can get everything settled to buy and then take care of that. I am really scared that things aren't going to work out well but the one thing that gives me comfoft is that I know God's hand is in this. Too many things have worked out so perfectly that I know God has to be involved.

Is it really December?

It is a beautiful day. The birds are singing, flowers are blooming, there is a light breeze, and it is halfway through December. It is really hard for me to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree and decorated it (all 3 ft of it.) We also put up our stockings. Our house looks a little festive now but it feels like May outside. The craziest thing for me is all the geese here. There are hundreds of geese everywhere. As a little kid I always wondered where they migrated to. Now I know where . . for the snow geese, at least.

On Saturday we went to a Christmas parade. It was pretty good. Violatte and Annalee enjoyed it (especially the horses). They both were so excited to see them!

Annee stands up on her own, now. She started doing it yesterday. She hasn't tried taking a step yet but I don't think it'll be much longer. She also said three words yesterday that I really understood . . . "da-da," "ma-ma," and "stuck." She learned that third one from her sister. It's amazing what they pick up. She also is learning sign language so we can all communicate a little better. Violatte is teaching Annee some really cute ones and I love watching the two of them together.

Violatte is really excited for Christmas. She finally figured out that Santa Clause is coming. She keeps saying, "When does 'ho-ho-ho' come?" She tried saying "Santa Clause" once but gave up on that. Now she just says, "ho-ho-ho" instead.

The most exciting thing this week that we are preparing for is that our friend, Mary, is going to be baptized on Saturday. This has been such an amazing experience for us and it is so exciting to see it all work out. She has been calling me every day this week. She is so happy and so excited. I love talking to her and I love what a change I've seen in her since the beginning. I hope more than anything that her husband will eventually investigate. He is supportive but I don't think this is the right time for him.

This week has also been busy with other things. I taught in Relief Society on Sunday, I have been asked to speak at Mary's baptism, and I have also been asked to speak in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. I also have rehersals for the Nutcracker pretty much every single day and I am beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. I love Monday nights because it gives me an reason to tell everybody that I can't do anything else because it is time with my family. I really look forward to Monday nights.

Our Thanksgiving Trip

I wanted to write about our Thanksgiving trip. We loved it and had such a wonderful time. We flew out to Colorado on Thanksgiving day and got there about 9 am. We were so tired because we drove through the night and flew out early in the morning. After a nap and a shower we all felt a little bit better. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner with Jim's parents, and many of his siblings and their families. It was so great to see everybody again! It has been such a long time.

We stayed at Jim's sister's house. Jen, Dave, and their family were so kind to us to let us invade for such a long time! We were especially grateful to our niece, Stephanie, for letting us use her room. I felt bad for the whole family, though, because Annee was teething through pretty much the whole trip and had some really tough nights. She kept everybody up and I felt terrible. All I have to say is thank heavens for orajel!

While we were in Colorado we got to do some great things. We played in the snow, Jim and I got to go to the temple, we spent a lot of time with different members of the family, we got to go to our nephew, Harry's 8th birthday party, and we had such a great time.

We flew back on Tuesday, Nov 27 and drove the rest of the way home. It was nice to get home even though it meant coming back to real life.

I just cannot believe how big our girls are getting. Violatte seems like she has grown two years in the past week. Yesterday she changed Annee's diaper for me (with a little bit of help) and she is even picking toys and messes up on her own. Also, a couple of days ago, she insisted on praying by herself. She didn't a pretty good job and it was really cute!

Annee is getting close to walking every single day. She tries really hard to stand up by herself and it is just a matter of time now. She does really well at the actions for the song "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" and she absolutely loves Patty-cake. She will have you do it over and over until you are so tired of it. If we stop she will grab our hands and try to do it herself.

Now, it's December. Can you believe it!?! We are excited to get our tree up and to start feeling a little more in the Christmas spirit. We were able to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional here tonight and we had Mary and Meagan over and had some food. It was a great night.