Just So You know...

I know my font is out of wack on the following post. For some reason Blogger is acting up and won't let me fix it. Either that or I'm just too tired and I'm overlooking the obvious. Oh well, read on...

Happy Birthday, Big Girl!

Seven years ago, at this very hour, I was sitting in my living room in full blown labor with baby #3. I was determined not to go to the hospital until absolutely necessary. I waited and waited, confused because even though the contractions were 3 minutes apart, I just wasn't in as much pain as I remembered feeling with baby #2. I finally decided we should head for the hospital. It was a 7 minute ride. 3 1/2 minutes into it, I felt tremendous pressure and advised Aaron that he'd better get me there as quick as possible. 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital little Lauren Elizabeth burst onto the scene. Literally. She was not going to stay in there one more minute, not even to wait for the midwife to put on her gloves. She burst into the world and directly into our hearts.

Once Lauren arrived I couldn't imagine how we could have ever existed without her. We loved her, adored her even, and in return she shared with us her amazing gift of love. Whenever someone in our family felt sad or upset, Lauren would sense this. You could hide it from anyone else but not from her. She would know. She would quietly come to you, wrap those little arms around you, and you would instantly feel love flow into your body.

When she was little I wished so much that I could find a way to keep her from growing older. Needless to say, I couldn't, but I am okay with that now. It is so much fun to watch her grow and mature. For a little girl who was literally attached to my body until she was almost five, she is amazingly independent. In the past couple years she discovered she has an opinion and doesn't mind letting it be known. She loves to work, something she genetically inherited from her Dad, and she tries to help me with most everything I do. She loves to learn and loves to read. She has a great imagination and can play make believe games for hours on end.

Although she is growing and changing at an incredible rate, there is one thing that stays the same. She still has the gift of love and we are blessed by it daily.

Just Call Me Boring...

I've become a very "blah" blogger. Try as I might, I just have nothing interesting to say. Not. One. Thing. Tomorrow I'm going to unpack my camera and then at least I can post a new picture or two. Stay tuned....

First Day

Today was the first day of "real life" in our new town. Aaron started his new job, the kids went back to school and I was left alone to hit the Walmart Supercenter in peace. Everyone survived their first day just fine. Aaron went to work, then came home, sat on the couch and had a look on his face that said, "What now?". For the first time in 4 years his mind was done at the end of the day. Maybe it will be kinda nice not being self-employed. Austin seemed to like his school well. It is very large and spread out compared to his school in Emmett but he found his way around okay. At one point he found himself surrounded by pretty girls who wanted to look at his schedule to see if he was in any of their classes. He was also impressed by the massive amount of food choices in the cafeteria. Food, girls... what's not to like? Amanda and Lauren had good days also although Amanda wasn't too impressed with her teacher. She says her teacher's mean. Both girls said the kids were friendly and neither spent recess or lunch alone. I hope all the kids make friends quickly. Having a friend sure makes a difference when you are getting used to lots of changes. My day also went well. I ventured out and found a Walmart Supercenter only 15 minutes away and was thrilled to find the prices pretty much the same as they were in Idaho. I was worried that they would be much higher here in California. After about three weeks of packing, house hunting, moving, unpacking and living without routine I am happy to be getting back to normal everyday life.