R&R

Good morning! A morning that I got to sleep in.  Ah! It was so lovely! That is something I don’t get to do very often.  It is so beautiful and yet, so lonely at the same time.

I am on a week vacation without my family.  Miracles have fallen into place to let me come and be here in Los Angeles.  Heike sent me and our former BYU roommates a message a few months ago proposing an “epic” 30^th birthday get together aka a girl trip on a cruise.  I considered our situation and closed the computer without responding.  There was no way in our current circumstance that I could afford that.  But Blake saw the email and made the choice for me.  He insisted that I go, and he would find a way to make it happen.  I am so grateful that he did!  What a blessing to have a husband who is so ready and willing to put my happiness before his. I responded that I was in!

I had some doubts however when I researched plane ticket to LA from Bozeman.  They were consistently $500 or more and I knew we couldn’t afford that.  I ignored the problem for a few weeks. We were able to use a voucher Blake received this summer when flying to buy his ticket to St. George for Amberly’s sealing.  While Blake was getting his $500 ticket for free, I felt frustrated about my ticket prospects.  As I showered that evening, I poured my heart out to my Heavenly Father about everything we were working so hard on.  I expressed my gratitude for being in Bozeman and for everything that had fallen into place for us to be there.  I then prayed for his blessing to find a cheaper plane ticket to LA so that I could take a much needed vacation. As soon as I got out of the shower, I got on the computer and began another plane ticket search. After some time, guess what I found?  J A plane ticket to LA for $210. 

I know there are many who would consider that a lucky break, but I know better.  That was an answer to my prayer.  I felt Heavenly Father’s love for me at that moment and I knew that I was important to him.  This trip was not the most important thing going on in the world, but it was very important to me.  And He blessed me with that ticket.

I cried while I bought the ticket.  It wasn’t a red eye or a 3 stop ticket either.  It left early morning and had a layover in Salt Lake where we got Heidi on the same ticket to fly to LA from there.  And then has a direct flight home leaving just an hour before Heidi will leave to get home.  It was amazing. A real miracle.  The next day when I pulled up the same ticket, it was priced at $480. And that is how I was able to come here. Heike also got an amazing deal on a cruise that will go from LA to Catalina Island, Ensenada, and back.  It all came together for us.  How blessed and loved I feel!

Our plane got into LA yesterday morning.  I only got a few hours of sleep the night before, so I got quite ill with all the turbulence.  Ya know, I just don’t love flying.  I love to get to new places, but man, I hate being on the plane.  Yesterday was worse than usual and I felt quite silly that I was sick most of the day.  I learned a few things however:

1. I should always get lots of sleep the night before flying or I will be very nauseous.

2. Dramanine puts me right to sleep

3. My friends are awesome because they had a good laugh with me instead of making me feel pathetic.  J

I will get a chance to spend the afternoon with Shawn after church and we embark on the cruise tomorrow afternoon. 

So! Now, time for kiddo updates.  I am months behind, but better now than never. 

Collin

I just can’t believe how our little baby is now such a big boy.  He was thrilled to get a hotwheels track for Christmas along with his favorite present of all, a scriptures case with a Book of Mormon with his name on it.  He loves to carry it around and then look through his scriptures and have us help him determine the chapter and verses he is on.  He also got the whole set of Little House books that both he and I have enjoyed reading together. 

Collin and I have started having a lunch date once a week at school.  He gets really excited and I love how he will run to me when I come to pick him up.  We eat yummy things, like veggie sticks, and watch videos from Youtube on how different things are made.  This week we found out about pepperoni and tortilla chips.  We also used a microscope to see different cells.  He hides under my desk when anyone shows up in my office. 

Collin is a fantastic brother and is always telling Avi, “You are the only baby I need!”  And, “He is just so cute!” They play really well together.  Collin will ask Avind. “Do you want to play in the loft with me?”  and Avi will nod his head and run up with Collin.  Collin is still a tender heart, too.  He genuinely feels bad if he does something to make his brother cry and does what he can to make it better.

Collin and I had a movie date the night before I left and watched “Kung Fu Panda.” We cuddled up together and I loved to hear him laugh.  When I carried him to bed he told me, “I wish you weren’t going mama, cause I like you best.”  J  My sweet boy!

Avind

We like to call Avi our menace.  He loves to make a mess.  You should see him in action when he gets upset about something.  The other day, he wanted some cereal and got upset with how long it took to get it.  By the time Blake filled his bowl, he was quite unhappy and started swinging his bowl in an attempt to throw the cereal around.  Blake got a hold of the bowl, too, to try to stop it.  I watched Avind in almost slow motion, his face scrunched up in his efforts to teach us a lesson.  He is so funny!  And exasperating! He poured out all my salt on the counter, smeared yogurt on our couch, and threw and crunched cherrios all over our floor in a weeks time.  When he gets in trouble he self imposes time out and puts his head on the wall with a scowl on his face.  J

He is also our cuddler. He would love to be held and rocked to bed each night.  Or have his belly rubbed for an hour while he drifts off.  I had to wean him over the last few weeks and I am so sad!  I love nursing my baby!  I am not even sure how to describe how he says “milk.” It is this glutteral sound that only he can do.  But I love it.  I am going to miss holding him and watching him nurse.  He would hold my breast with both hands while nursing.  I cried Friday when I nursed him for the last time.  How is it already time to be done with that? 

Avind has an infectious smile and loves to be silly.  He does things deliberately to make us laugh. He loved Thomas the train, Mickey, and books.  And still likes to suck his thumb.  I hate missing so much time during the day with him, but I love when he runs to me when I visit him. 

Blake and Liesel

We are not kiddos, but I wanted to put our update in, too.  We have spent a lot of our spare time (Ha! Spare time!) building our new website couplesagainstpornography.com.  It has been a long plan in the making, but we finally did it.  We have been so amazed at the emails and messages we have gotten from so many thanking us for what we are doing.  It has been amazing to see our difficult trial become a way to help and lift others.  I love it!  I am so proud of Blake and his willingness to put himself out there to help others.  We are hoping a few books will follow soon.  When we have more spare time we will get to it.  J

I also decided to continue working for the rest of the year.  It was a hard decision, but I had to work at something to make ends meet and it seemed if I kept on, the kids would continue the routine they already have.  I am grateful to have good coworkers that make working a positive experience and to have the kids so close by.  Blake’s work has been especially busy too the last few weeks, but he also feels he is blessed to work with great people. 

We celebrated Blake’s 30^th birthday last week.  He and I had a special date night out to a nice restaurant and enjoyed a cheese board and dessert board.  Oh, it was delicious!

Well, I can hear the others up.  I miss my family, but am excited to have an adventure!