Quick Move

So at the beginning of the month we moved units in our duplex. Our old unit had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and was a great fit for the 4 of us but with baby girl coming in August and our lease ending September 1st I was a bit stressed. I'm a pretty good organizer but I was kind of at a loss of how to fit a baby into our place and the thought of moving just a few short weeks after having a baby and then having the girls and Jacob in school was just too stressful. Then a beautiful thing happened. Our neighbors were moving out of the unit next door and that unit had 3 bedrooms. After talking with our landlord we agreed to just sign a new lease starting June 1st and we could move into the bigger space. They gave us the keys the end of May so we could slowly start moving stuff over and we agreed to be out of our unit by June 1st. In total I had a few days notice about the move and I moved most of the stuff over by myself during the week and then on the 1st Jacob and some guys from church moved all the big stuff that I couldn't pick up. I really didn't box anything up, I'd just fill up laundry baskets and carry them next door. I'd unpack what I took over and then do it all again. We are in love with our new unit and its amazing how much bigger it feels by just adding 1 room!

(All of the mess of "packing".)

(Our new living room.)

(Kitchen, complete with the new washer our landlord was putting in.)

(Master bedroom.)

(Savannah and Olivia's room.)

(Hall bathroom.)

(A horrible picture of the extra/baby room.)

(Master bath complete with a candid pic of me looking my best.)

If you know me then you know our house was pretty much all put together within 2 days of moving in. I took my time this time though with putting up pictures and Jacob kind of dragged his feel about hanging up the curtains for me in the living room and kitchen. Now that we're all settled I'll have to take some after shots. We still have some things that will change, like when my parents come out in August they're bringing out a set of bunk beds for the girls so their room will look different and I'm still putting together the babies room but I have gotten her some fantastic new sheets and a fun new baby bumper. All in all I'm more then ecstatic we moved when we did and got this unit especially since we like our landlord and the rent increase wasn't horrible.

Our Kitchen

Have I mentioned before how I hate the lighting in our new house? Its nice for us but for picture taking purposes and wanting to use natural light its a nightmare. Well I know some people have been curious as to what our new place actually looks like so I thought I'd start with our kitchen because it was the cleanest room the day I decided to take pictures. Its nothing spectacular by any means but I like it and it serves its purpose which is the most important thing after all. Also in each picture you get a glimpse of a project I've done since we've been here. You can see the new cover I made for our ottoman, how I repainted our bookcase, and our repainted computer desk. I'll cover all those more in future posts so get excited! Actually don't because I didn't take before or after shots or anything because I was just too stinking excited to get the projects done!

And We're Off

Well we finally have the Internet again after 3 1/2 weeks without it so now I can finally get caught up with our blog. Since I'm a pretty organized person we'll start at the beginning...Jacob left for Prescott on the 9th of August which was kind of scary because we had no idea when we'd see him again. We had to wait for Jacob to first find a job and then a place for us to live before the girls and I we going to head down. Around the 20th of August Jacob found a job which we were so excited about, he started on the 24th and so far it's been a good fit. The next step was him finding a place to live which he pretty much needed to do before his first day of work because of his busy schedule. Jacob has work from 6am-1:30pm and then his classes are from 2pm-9pm Monday thru Friday. Luckily things were in our favor again and Jacob found us a place and signed our rental agreement on the 28th. On the 29th we loaded up our moving truck with the help of Jacob's wonderful family and we were off the next morning at 3am! My amazing brother in law Scott was sweet enough to help us with our move and he drove our moving truck for us and the girls and I drove down in our car. I was a bit nervous embarking on this adventure mostly because the girls have NEVER been in the car for that long ever and I was going to be driving in our car alone with them. I know I'm crazy right?! Well our trip was way better then I could have ever imagined. The trip was suppose to take 16 hours but it ended up taking 19 since we made some longer pit stops. Now we did have one bad hour where Olivia pretty much cried the entire time but 1 bad hour out of 19 really isn't that bad. I think the reason our trip went so good was because we left at 3am. That way the girls got to sleep for a few hours and when they woke up they were much more willing to stay in there seats and be in the car.

 

 

 

 It really was an overall good experience. The girls watched movies and the scenery was pretty nice too. Since the girls did so well Scott and I decided to make the trip in one day and I'm so glad we did because I was pretty much done being in the car and driving. Plus it was fantastic to see Jacob again and the girls were ecstatic to see him too. The next day Scott and I started unloading the moving truck, we were lucky to have 2 of Jacob's friends help for a bit and we got more then half the truck unloaded. Then the fun started...unpacking. I love unpacking!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacob had the weekend off and that Monday for Labor Day, Scott stayed for the weekend and helped us to finish getting settled. It was a great start to this new amazing adventure that were on.

We're Here!

We're here in Prescott, we made it safe after a 19 hour drive. I really like our house, Jacob did a great job picking it out. We're learning our way around and doing well so far. We still don't have internet at the house so this post will be short and void of pictures. At least now you know we're alive and well and hopefully soon we'll have the internet and I can post some picks of our new digs.

Life

Life around here is busy. Busy is actually an understatement but it'll do. We are constantly doing something and amid all the packing and rearranging I have to do we've also had something every day this week. Olivia started Occupational and Speech Therapy last week and we're so excited she finally got in. We were on a  wait list for 6 months for occupational therapy. She's doing so well already and we have some good plans in place to help her progress even more. One of those plans is to go to occupational therapy twice a week and so far Olivia loves going but she's only been 3 times. Another exciting thing is Olivia will be 2 on Saturday!!! I don't know where the time went but I can't believe my baby will be 2. I'll post more about her on her birthday but all I can say is that these past two years with Olivia in our family have been wonderful and she is the sweetest thing in the whole world.
I've also been thinking about life. About where it takes us, the decisions we make, and the talents/personality traits we have. Life has most definitely thrown our little family some curve balls the last few weeks. These curve balls have made me happy to have certain talents/personality traits. When I think of talents I usually think of physical talents like singing, dancing, being athletic, you know things like that. Mine aren't like that and that's fine because I've learned that you can be talented in other things. Right now I'm thankful for my optimism. If you didn't know that about me I'm pretty optimistic. I really like that about myself. This optimism has really come in handy because our plans to move have been tweaked a bit and it totally sucks! Things didn't go as planned, decisions had to be made, and the outcome is not ideal. Jacob is still going to school but he'll be going to Arizona by himself at first. Once he's found a job and a place for us to live the girls and I will follow. It sucks right? We're hoping to follow Jacob in September but it could be as long as January. The thought of that almost brings me to tears and on occasion has. I know everything will work out, I know things happen for a reason, and I know I can't always see the good that will come from the path that I'm on. There are good and bad things to this decision, obviously being without Jacob is less then ideal or desired but Olivia can now continue with therapy a bit longer and get the help she's been needing. It will be nice to have Jacob in Arizona while looking for a place for us to live, it was very challenging to find a place while not living there. It will be an adjustment living with my in-laws, they come home on the 8th and the girls and I will continue to live in their home once they return. I also think this will be an oppertunity for Jacob and I as parents to learn and grow for the better. To learn to appreciate each other, our roles as parents, and our  little family even more.
So there you have it, that's my life right now. Our plans can change in a moment but we just need to adapt and make the best out of what's thrown at us. My days are still filled with packing but now I'm setting up a room for myself and rearranging our furniture to make room for my in-laws and the girls and I. My life is full of surprises and keeps me on my toes but its also a good life that I would never change.

My Life Right Now

This is my life right now. We're moving again, in 3 weeks actually and this is our biggest move yet. My in-laws are coming home from their 18 month mission to Zimbabwe, Africa on the 8th of August. By that day my little family and I will be in our new home in Arizona. You read right, Arizona. Right now my days are filled with going threw old boxes to see if after 14 months of living without these things if I really still need them. Some things I do but about half of it will not be making the trip with us. Then I have to get started packing everything else. Jacob's last day of work is August 3rd and we're packing our moving truck the 4th. Now why Arizona some may be asking? Well that just adds to our adventure. Jacob has worked for the past 7/8 years for a company that promised  a future but we came to realize it would never come to pass. His job couldn't give us what we wanted and needed and Jacob became more and more unhappy where he was at. He went from loving getting up and going to work to absolutely HATING it. I love how for the past year and a half or more he's continued to put everything he has into his job while feeling that he is unappreciated and undervalued so that he can continue to support us. About the time we moved into my in-laws Jacob started considering going to school. We both felt like this was a really good idea and Jacob took off with it, this act alone showed me how serious he was. If you know Jacob at all he always spouts off ideas of things he can do but that's all he does. With school it was different. He researched it, applied, found out all he needed to do to be prepared, and has just taken the lead which is usually what I do. Jacob decided he wanted to go to school to become a Gunsmith. When I tell people that I usually get a look that says oh really? Then I'm asked, "So what do you think about that?" I could actually care less what Jacob does for a living as long as it supports our family and allows me to be home with our children and depending on what career path he chooses in that field after he graduates he'll be more then capable of doing that. I don't have a sense of absolute dread or fear, I actually feel excited and at peace. So unless everything goes completely wrong in the next 3 weeks it looks like we'll soon become residents of the great state of Arizona for the foreseeable future. Most likely for the next 4 years while Jacob gets his Gunsmithing degree along with is Associates and after that who knows. Like I said its an adventure and as of now I have no idea where it will take us or how it will end.

"We're Hooommmme!"

This is what Savannah says every time we get close to the new house. I love that she remembers the way and knows when we're almost home. Now our new home is new to us but its technically not our home. Like I've said before we moved into Jacob's parents house and will be living here for the next 14months while his parents are in Zimbabwe. We've made a lot of changes to make the house even more child friendly and to help save my nerves. By that I mean we've used a lot of our stuff so if my kids do something to it I don't freak out as bad as if they did something to my in-laws stuff. The three biggest changes are that I repainted both the girls rooms and the girls bathroom. We also turned their formal living room into an extra storage room for furniture that we weren't going to use like our kitchen table and their dresser. That's the second entry way picture with the table in front of the door, I was pretty happy with how that turned out. My most favorite thing in this house is the bench I made for Olivia's room, I think it turned out way cute. I've done tons of little projects to make the house look like ours and to function for our little family. We're so grateful to Jacob's parents for letting us live here and we're still sometimes amazed that they trust us to take care of their house. We've been here a week now and we all LOVE it! I told Jacob yesterday in the car that this is the happiest I've been yet in Idaho. I never thought I'd like living out here, we went from a city with 80,000 people to one with 3,000. But I'm already in love and I hope the next 14 months go by kind of slow so I can enjoy the time we have here. I of course miss our old house and having our friends so close by but it hasn't been as hard for me to leave as I thought it would. I think its because I am so happy here already and I know that this is what's best for our family. The girls have transitioned VERY well, Olivia has only had a few problems with sleeping but they're already starting to work themselves out. Our new ward seems really nice too and Savannah didn't have any problems going to her new class. She just walked right in and fell into her usual routine and didn't even look back to see if Jacob or I was there. When we went to pick her up they said she was great so we were very pleased with how well she did. It seems the only negative which isn't really a big deal is the extra time it takes to get some places but soon enough I know that won't even matter. Overall we're all really happy with this move and are excited to see all the new adventures that it brings for us. Here are some pictures of the new house, if you put your mouse over the picture it will tell you what your looking at.

On a different note, on facebook I posted that Olivia is being scheduled to see a neurologist because of some issues we've noticed with her right side. As she's getting bigger and becoming more active Jacob and I have just noticed that she really doesn't ever use her right side. She'll push things over to her left side so she can use her left hand and she won't eat with her right hand at all. Her right foot is also almost always balled up and rarely relaxed. I mentioned this at her doctors appointment on the 3rd and after some basic tests her doctor decided to refer us to a neurologist. He suspects Olivia may have had a stroke sometime and that's why she doesn't really use that side. She's progressing along really well and you really wouldn't even notice there was anything wrong just by looking at her. She has her appointment on Tuesday and we're not really sure what we'll be doing at this visit but I'll keep you all updated. So far I don't really have any prodominent emotion regarding this. I think I'm just taking it one step at a time and I'm waiting to see what we find out. There is a chance that it could be something more serious but I'm really not even entertaining that idea. We'll most likely have Olivia go to physical therapy to have her work on using her right side more. Anyway, there you have it so I'll write more about it when I know more.

And so it begins...

In 4 1/2 weeks we're moving! Its crazy and I know the weeks are going to fly by. I had grand plans of being so prepared and in my head I already visualized a good portion of our stuff out of our house and moved into our new house. I know I still have time to be quite organized with this move and that I will have quite a bit moved over to our new place before June 1st. That's our goal, we will have everything out of our old house and into the new by June 1st. I think one of the reason's I'm having a hard time getting motivated to start packing is that I have such bitter sweet feelings about us moving. I know this is a wonderful opportunity for our family. I'm really excited to move too, I'm one of those people who actually like moving because I love decorating a new space. I also really like packing when I can take my time because I like going threw our things and deciding if we really need some of the things we have. What am I sad about? I'm going to miss being in our first house. I'm going to miss all the friends I've made here. I know I won't lose them as friends but I'm also realistic and I know it won't be quite the same. We all lead busy lives and have different things going on. I won't be able to just run a few houses over and play a game or watch a movie. We won't be that far away but now getting together will have to take a bit more planning. I'm also comfortable here. I actually really like change, when I know its coming that is. I almost crave it like I'm sure most of us do. I usually end up feeling like my life has become stationary, like I'm not moving along my path and am stuck where I'm at. Like I've done everything I can where I've been. That's how I've felt lately, like I've grown as much as I'll be able to here and now I need to move on to the next place to grow a little more. So now to the title of the post, and so it begins...Today I start packing. My eyes fill up with tears just typing the sentence and letting the words sink in because it makes it even more real.

Oh So Busy

So I feel like I haven't posted anything in forever and even though I've been super busy doing things I haven't known what to write about. There are changes going on in the Jefferies household and they seem to occupy all my time so I've decided to finally share our news over the internet since many of you probably know our big new anyway. We are moving. Its not a big drastic move, we're only going 30 minutes north of where we are now. We are moving to a new city though and it will be quite a change. I'm really excited though and I've been really excited since we decided to make this move in January. Let me tell you our story...Jacob's parents decided to serve a mission and knew that they would either have to sell their home or find someone to rent it. Couple missions are anywhere from 18 months-2 years. At the time they were waiting to find out where they were going and when they would be leaving Jacob and I were making quite a few changes ourselves. We decided in November that we wanted to put our house on the market. Jacob's job has been a huge blessing and has provided for our family but we knew he needed something better and that our options were limited due to his lack of education. He applied for a job that would take us out of state and he was also considering going back to school (also out of state) so that he could work in a field that he enjoyed more. Both options are still on the table and we most likely won't know which path we'll take until later in the year. In the meantime we knew we wanted to sell our house now and just get that done with since we would have to sell it anyway. Jacob's parents found out they were going to be serving their mission in Zimbabwe, Africa and that they were going to be gone for 18 months and that they were leaving in February 2011. Jacob's sister and her husband were living in his parents house at the time and would continue living there till the end of May but after that they needed someone else to live there till the 18 months were over. Enter our little family who knew they didn't have much longer in their home and was in need of a place to live. After quite a lot of thinking we decided that we would move into Jacob's parents house at the end of May once his sister and her husband moved out. Our house was put on the market and we currently have an offer on it which the bank will hopefully approve. Regardless at the end of May we will be moving out to Middleton where Jacob grew up and living in his childhood home. Ever since we decided to make this move I've been quite excited about it, actually wishing it was May so we could be moving in and getting settled. Once a decision is made I have a very hard time being patient for it to finally happen. Hence the time between me meeting Jacob, getting engaged, and then getting married was only 4 months. So why have I been busy? Well Jacob's mom was very kind to me and said that I could paint and do what I wanted to make the house our home so I have been busy this past week painting. The room we are putting Savannah in was quite an undertaking. Each wall was a different color ranging from light brown, dark brown, striped, and a deep red. The ceiling, trim, built in bookcase and doors were all also painted either a light or dark brown. It took an entire gallon of primer to just take care of that room alone. Olivia's room also required the walls to be primed due to it also being a darker color. Both the girls rooms were then painted a VERY light pink and the ceilings were both painted white, along with the trim, doors, and bookcase in Savannah's room. Those two rooms alone took me 4 days and I ended up having help 1 day for a few hours which was nice because Jacob and his sister painted the trim, doors, and ceiling for me. Jacob and I really wanted to get the girls rooms done before we moved in so that it wouldn't be as big of a transition for Savannah when we moved. Their rooms will for sure be the first things we unpack as well. Savannah already knows which room is hers and always tells me how beautiful it looks and how she loves her pink room. I'll post before and after pictures once we're all done. If I end up painting anything else it will most likely be after we've moved in or during the in-between stages. Now we just have a few things left to finish the girls rooms and then I get to start packing up our house little by little. We also wanted the girls rooms painted and finished because we plan of moving boxes over now and storing them in the girls rooms so that when the big moving day comes we won't have as much work to do. So there you have it, that's what we've been up to painting and packing and more of the same. Jacob and I are both excited to move I think I'm a bit more excited then he is actually but we're also sad to be leaving the friends we've made here. We've lived in our house for almost 4 years, we brought both of our girls home to this house and have had so many wonderful memories here. We are of course though excited for the memories we'll accumulate over the next 15 months while living in Middleton. As a side note I find it amusing that we'll be living there, it seems that I keep getting further and further away from where I pictured myself being. It just goes to show that we don't always know what's best for us and that the path we end up being led on can be even better then what we imagined.