Ye of little faith...

I have/ had the calling in our church of primary pianist (I play piano for the little kids). I am not a very good piano player, and I don't know the primary songs very well, so it makes it interesting. The only stressful part of that calling comes once a year in primary program, and it sure came fast; just two months after I received the calling. Through all of our life commotion it really came up fast! So realizing that I was just not able to learn all of the songs well enough for the program (I can play the right hand,but not so good at the left) I decided to split the program in half and have some help. But the only other person in the ward that played wasn't going to be there that Sunday...so I started praying, and practicing...but my piano was in storage! Then we moved into our temporary house, and guess what...it had a piano! So now the program was in two weeks and I had 10 songs to master...up to this point I only played the right hand of these songs! So practice, practice, practice! The day of the program I knew that I would make some mistakes, but the kids look so darn cute that it shouldn't matter what I did. The bishop came to me with some words of comfort right before the program..." If nothing else, you can at least play the right hand!" Well the program went great. I did make some mistakes, and I had times where I felt a warmth and as if someones hand was on mine...not necessarily playing the right notes...but letting me know that it was okay. Afterwards with much praise from my loving family, the best validation came from the bishop. He came up to me with the most shocked expression on his face, and just said..."Wow, you must have really been practicing, it seemed like there were 30 songs in the program! Good Job!"...his expression really said it all :) Even though it was very stressful thinking that I wouldn't learn the songs, but it gave me something else to focus on through the hard times, and it felt great to really feel live I gave 110% to my calling! Now we are moving to a new ward...and I don't think I will go around advertising this particular talent :)
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Mi Vida Loca

Why are there no pictures on my blog...let me tell you about our crazy life....
We have been trying to buy a house, and on Aug 1 we found out that our lease was up...what better way to get our butt in gear to buy :) So we figured we would be in escrow by the time we move, live temporarily with Brian's parents and move into our new house in time for Turkey Day. ...Well 12 house offers later and our Sept 13 move date upon us, we regrettfully put our stuff in the garage and moved in with the in-laws for the weekend so we could find a house. And we did! The day after we moved we put our 13th and final offer on a house, which was accepted... with a 60 day escrow! We could not hang out with the in-laws that long...instead, we decided to keep the family relations happy :) After three weeks we found the perfect situation, a friend renting out his fully furnished home month to month! All this time our external hard drive is in a box and we haven't uploaded pictures to our computer since our desktop is in storage....SO, no pictures. Ok, so now you all know where we are living, and everything is going great with our house! We close on Nov. 13 and we hope to move in Dec. 1 after a little remodeling. Here are a few highlights of the last month or so...
Max:

• Started preschool and loves it!


• Our big boy turned 3...where did the time go!


• Went on our first "field trip" to the pumpkin patch


• Loves our "temporary" house, and can't wait for our "real" new house :)


• Is almost tall enough for the BIG rides at Disneyland...he is 39in and you need to be 40in


• Completed swim lessons and he now willingly puts his face in the water. He just started pee wee soccer and after will do tumbling/gymnastics.


• Oh yeah...he decided he is too big for naps, so we are keeping him busy :)

Amy:

• She is growing up WAY too fast!


• Started solid foods, and she is just like Max...eats a ton and we can not get it in her mouth fast enough.


• Said Ma Ma this week as her first word...we are now working on Da Da


• She can scoot, flop and crawl backwards, and can crawl one step forward...almost there!


• Still has a dark brown Mohawk, and where she was bald, hair is growing in blonde...it's an interesting style, but very cute!

That is some of our life in a nut shell. We all had some not so happy times...losing our beloved dog Pippin, that same week, my mother was in the hospital, and my dad found out he has cancer...when it rains it pours :( I am just very thankful for the power of prayer, and especially to have an eternal and gospel perspective on life. Not that I haven't had a few crazy days, but I have felt an ease and comfort through it all.
We will try and get some pictures on here soon, especially of the two cuties in their Halloween costumes.
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Pippin

Our beloved dog Pippin was hit by a car and died on Saturday. Pippin was a very special pet to us and will be sorely missed. We bought Pippin just 4 1/2 years ago when we were told we could not have children. Pippin helped fill that void in our life, and even after the kids came along (when he did not get much attention), he always was a source of happiness to our family. The things we will miss most of all are: Pippin snuggling us in bed, making Amy laugh, playing with Max in the backyard, cleaning up under the table and all of his love and devotion to us. We will miss you Pippin. Here is Pippin on the first day he came to our home.

Max and Pippin: Best Buddies

Pippin used to sit up on our shoulder like a little parrot.

Christmas

Meeting Amy for the first time.

You have left an indelible mark on our hearts and lives...goodbye Pippin, we love and will miss you!

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