School House

Last month we had our "Christmas" with the Mills family. We rented an old school house in Soda Springs. It was so much fun! The school house had lots of rooms and beds so we were all comfortable and we even had our own gym. It was nice to have somewhere to have all the kids go and play. We rented snow mobiles also. The day everyone went snowmobiling was actually TOO snowy so it was pretty short lived. There are a lot of changes happening with everyone in the family right now and it was nice to have the chance to get us all together one last time before we all go our different directions. We had a very spiritual devotional on Sunday morning before we all went home. Each family had a part and I think it is one of those moments we will all remember. I loved watching Grandpa Butch as he got down on the floor and had all the grandkids gather round while he gave them a lesson and bore his testimony. I hope that we will find time in the future to make more memories like this one.

North Dakota

So...we are moving to North Dakota! This is a crazy thought to me! I feel like Ivan and I should be a lot more stressed out about the whole thing. There is no doubt in our minds that we are making the right decision. We drove the 13 hours to Williston on Sunday the 3rd. Ivan had an interview with them on the 5th. We were able to spend monday looking around the town and getting a feel for the area. It seems like a nice place to live and the people are very friendly. It is very close to the Canadian border and the people there have very strange accents...they probably think the same about us! Our biggest concern so far is to find somewhere to live. We didn't find a single apartment to even look at while we were there. We have some really good frineds that live there, Mandy and Logan, and they have been a great resource. I'm sure that something will work out. In the meantime the company is going to pay for Ivan to live in a hotel. Ivans interview went very well and they seemed to be impressed. They came back with an offer two days later. It feels like we've been talking about this job possibility forever but now that it's here it seems soooo fast! I guess I should mention what the job is. Ivan will be the assistant manager at a Viterra plant. They process peas and lentils. He will be training to take over the position as manager in the next 5 years. I'm not sure exactly what he will be doing, but he is very excited about the job. Now he will be able to get to work on his Thesis and graduate by the end of the year. As soon as we find somewhere to live we will have everything moved out there and I will probably just stay with my parents. We also have to find someone to rent or buy our home here as well. It is going to be an exhausting couple of months! It feels like pretty horrible timing. Ivan starts his new job on February 1st! I am going to hang out in Utah until I have the baby the beginning of March. Hopefully my doctor will induce me so that Ivan can try to make it here in time. If he doesn't make it here I am confident that I have lots of family and friends that will be here to help me. Ivan really hates hospitals anyway and would probably prefer to show up afterwards...he nearly passed out when I had Emma and was getting my epidural! We are looking forward to this new adventure!

Happy New Year!

We had a fun New Years Eve this year. We just went and hung out at my parents house with the fam. I think the best part was the silly string. That should be a tradition for sure. They had it last year and Grandma made sure to pick some up this time as well. The kids had so much fun and made a total mess! Emma has never seen silly string and was a little shocked at first and couldn't get hers to work...but Jake helped her and she had a blast. We had tons of great food and just played games, hung out, and rocked out on guitar hero on the wii. Emalee made her own little drum set and played along...way cute! Then she decided to help Jamie by sitting on her lap...that was about 2am! Fun times. We are looking forward to a wonderful and adventurous 2010.

Ho Ho Ho!

We had a wonderful Christmas. My dad came and picked Emma and I up on Tuesday so we could spend some extra time down in Pleasant Grove. It took us 3 hours to get there in the snow instead of the 1 1/2 hours it usually takes....fun times indeed! I offered to wrap presents for my mom cause she had to work. I might reconsider that offer next time. She basicaly buried me in a pile of toys for the grandkids. I wrapped from 1pm to 6pm. That's right! FIVE hours. I did a marvelous job though and I am pretty sure it was appreciated. My mom usually waits til late Christmas Eve to get the job done. This year our Christmas party at my aunts house was early so we were home hangin' out by around 7:00pm. It was unusual but lovely! We had a good time at the party and Emma had one last chance to sit on Santa's lap and make her requests. Of course our disk ran out on our video camera just as it was her turn...go figure. We got lots of pictures though. Emma asked for a mermaid and a pink soccer ball. She is a funny girl. She also asked for kitty earrings...this was a challenge...but Aunt Trisha came through and found some Christmas Eve. Emma was completely spoiled on Christmas and loved every minute.
My favorite gifts are my new down pillows...thanks Ike...and maternity pants from Trisha. My belly is super happy! Emma seems to love EVERYTHING she got. She has played with it all over and over. Callie and Bobbie got her a baby alive that poops and pees. I think Callie wishes it was her present! Emma slept with it Christmas Eve and played with it all day on Christmas. She loves it! We just came home last night from Pleasant Grove and found that Santa had left Emma a new dollhouse by our Christmas tree. It is HUGE! It comes up to my shoulder. She can't even reach the top level. Hopefully she will get lots of use out of this. So far it is her new house for Snow White and all seven dwarfs that she got from Grandpa Cashew. We were all very well fed...thanks Mom and Dad...and spoiled...again, thanks Mom and Dad. My parents favorite gift had to be Guitar Hero World Tour! Jake and Jamie, Maryn, and Ivan and I went in on this gift for them. As Maryn said, "it's the gift that keeps on giving!" I think they were surprised if nothing else. haha
Sunday was the two year anniversary of Joey's passing. It was a tough day. Christmas was hard for me also. We got a digital picture frame and decided to try it out. My dad put in a memory stick and the first pictures that played were of Joey on the four wheeler with all the kids. That brought every emotion to the surface. It feels like it has been forever....yet it feels like it happened only yesterday. Once again we are all grateful for this time of year to reflect on the birth and life of the Savior. It is such a comfort knowing that we can have a forever family. Yesterday we went and visited the cemetary. I like going there. Sometimes it is good for us to just take a minute to remember. I sure do miss him.
This year has been good to us. We are grateful for all that we have and are looking forward to the new year with all the adventures it has in store for us. A week from tomorrow Ivan has an interview in North Dakota. It is frightening and exciting all at the same time to think we might be taking this next big step in our lives. I am proud of Ivan and all that he has accomplished. He deserves a good job that he enjoys. I hope that we will find some answers. We are also looking forward to "Christmas" with the Mills family the end of January. We have an old school house rented that we are staying at and have some snowmobiles reserved. It should be a great time. I guess I will get to just sit back and watch the fun since I will be 8 months pregnant by then. We had a great time when we did something similar to this at Bear Lake a few years ago. Can't wait!

Christmas Fun!

We had such a fun night last night. Ivan really needed some new shoes (he said he lost his soul...haha) so we started out at Smith and Edwards. He found shoes in about ten minutes. I was impressed. Then we headed to Jumbo Burger and got some dinner. Next it was the lights at Willard Bay. We drove through and looked at all the beautiful lights. Emma loved it! Then they had horse drawn wagon rides. We had to wait about twenty minutes for that but it was worth it! We got to go around and see all the lights again. When we were done on our ride we got to meet Santa and Emma was able to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. She told him she wants a pink soccer ball (I discovered this just means a ball to kick) and a mermaid. She should be a happy girl on Christmas morning. We figured this will be our last year with just one kid so she will be spoiled rotten! After Santa we had hot cocoa and headed home. I wish we had more time to do things like this as a family. We had so much fun!

Thanksgiving

We had kind of a crazy Thanksgiving this year. Callie and her husband Bobbie came from Colorado to visit so we did Thanksgiving dinner with the Workman side. We had the usual fantastic dinner at Alenes house. I took Callie's family pictures on Thanksgiving, which was a little crazy, but we got it done. They turned out so cute! I was so happy to get to spend some time with Callie and Bobbie and the girls. I hadn't seen Callie in about six months since she moved away. I love that girl!

The day after Thanksgiving Ivan had to work so we headed back up to Corinne. The Mills family had a Pheasant shoot in Promontory that day. The boys and older kids spent the day out there and the rest of us met up with them for lunch. It was a fun day spent with the Mills'. I was just sad that Ivan couldn't be there. Emma had so much fun with her little cousins. They are all around the same age. That night we had to head back to Pleasant Grove. On Saturday morning my sister in law Jacky went through the temple. It was such a great day. We have had a lot of opportunity recently to attend the temple. We were able to go when my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Layne went through and were sealed in July. Then on our anniversary in August we attended the sealing of Ivan's cousin KC and his wife Wendy. I was able to be there last month in the Draper temple as my cousins Nikki and Ashley went through. Then we attended Nikki's sealing in the Salt Lake Temple. We had quite the experience that day. My parents were both there. I noticed as the sealer began talking that my parents were acting strange...more than usual. :) My mom pointed out that the sealers name tag read Don K. White. My dads name is Don Keith Barlow. He was named after one of the missionaries (Don Keith White) that introduced the gospel to my Grandparents in Georgia before my dad was born. We were all in suspense as we waited to find out if this was that same man. He mentioned as he began that his middle name was Keith...Daniel (the groom) also has the middle name of Keith. When we finished up in the sealing room my parents walked up to this man. My mom asked if he had served a mission in Moultrie, Georgia a LONG time ago. He responded that he had. My mom looked to my dad and said "this man is named after you. His name is Don Keith Barlow." The sealer looked at them and said, "Lincoln?" That was my Granddaddy's name. He remembered after 60+ years this couple that he had taught the gospel to. It was such a great experience for all of us to witness as my dad met his name sake and the man who was responsible for bringing our entire family to the gospel. I am so grateful that I have the gospel in my life. I can't imagine not having the knowledge that we can live together with our families forever. This time of year is hard in our family. We are coming up on two years since Joey passed away. I think the only thing that gets us all through it is our testimonies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am grateful for the holiday season and the time we get to spend with family and to remember the Savior.