less talk....

Sometimes I don't have a lot of words, but have little memories I want to forever keep in my memory. Thankfully I always have my camera {aka phone} with me, so I get to capture these memories in an instant. So here is just a little journey of what we have been up to lately.

Snatching some family photos for our moving announcement invitations.

First time fishing

Father-son bonding

A slick new hair cut for the ring bearer in Uncle Andrew's wedding.

Spending a morning at the park with the little men. Pajama's are just too hard to change out of on some days.

Brothers in matching shorts- cool at any age.

Silly faces before bed.

Camden getting some love from Mama and Gg.

New clothes picked out by Cam

Sharing some hose water with Dada

Sipping on Mama's iced coffee, wearing Dada's shades.

Building his new money bank from Papa.

Warm day, afternoon Popsicle snack.

Smooches on Mother's Day.

Pool time is his favorite!

Handsome little man on Easter.

I love that I have so many hands to hold. I never feel alone with the men in my life.

Play time with Dada.

Papa snuggles.

Happy Easter!

Date night= happy parents!

Bedtime routine

Sharing lunch together.

My first post...

It has been a while since I've been on blogger.

So let's start fresh and pretend this is my first post. I would love to tell you all about what we have been up to the past few months.

Here it goes!

February 11th- Match Day!
This day is BIG! Anyone who has ever gone to medical school or is close with someone who has, you know how big this day can be. It is the day all med students look forward to during their 4 years in med school {well, except for graduation day, I think that is even more exciting}. It is the day they find out where they are matched {hired} for their residency. For Wesley, it was finding out if we are moving out of state, or staying in state. It was also the day we found out what our lives are going to look like for the next 5 years, yes, 5 years!!!!

We had decided we would find out together, since they send you the results in an email. Wes was scheduled to work, so I planned on meeting him at work and sitting down to find out at 10am that morning, the exact time they said the results are available. As he left for work that morning we were both very anxious. Would we be moving to Las Vegas, California, Ohio, Oregon, or staying here in Arizona??? Such a fun/exciting/nervous/scared mix of emotions. As I was getting ready that morning, Wesley called me around 6:45. He said: "Babe, I have the results. The email came early, its open on my phone, but I haven't looked yet. Do you want me to wait for you to come here, or should I look now?" Obviously, my anxiousness took over and I was freaking out and said "Look now, ahhhhhh!" He did, and it said...You have been matched in Mesa, AZ for a 5 year residency in general surgery!!!!!!!!!! We were sooooo excited. I started crying, he was fist pumping {I mean, I am guessing he was, I wasn't with him to know for sure}, and together and just couldn't believe after all this time of assuming we were moving away from family and home, we were now staying. Our prayers were answered and we were so excited to share our news with everyone! Wes was excited because this program was his first choice, and after meeting all the other resident directors and checking out all the other programs, this one stood out as his favorite, and happened to be in the place we wanted. God's plan and timing in all of this was amazing, and we are so thankful for His provision!

After Match day, we knew our next big thing was to find a place for us to move. The hospital he will be at for the next 5 year was a 45 minute drive from our home. Not a fun drive for a resident working long hours and being on call multiple times a month. So our decision was to rent out the home we own in north Phoenix, and move into a rental much closer to his job. We have lived in our home for almost 6 years, and when I started house hunting for a place to rent, I had no idea the task it would be. I would hunt online, on 5 different sites, all day!! I was exhausting myself. Looking for a place to live online, in an area you have never been too, and having to keep within a 12 miles radius, is tough. We spent a few Saturdays out looking at homes, all of which didn't meet certain criteria we were looking for. When we finally did find a home we loved, it fit all of our needs, was in the right location, but was lacking one necessity...our dog. They had a firm no pets rule, and even when we tried to talk them in to the idea of our little stuffed animal {shih tzu} they wouldn't budge. We felt defeated. After all of our efforts, the home seemed perfect, but was just out of reach. Through this house hunt, we prayed that God would send us to a home we could feel comfortable staying for 5 years {since we hate moving}, a place close enough to work, a place we felt safe, and something very family oriented since we love to be outside with others and enjoy community.

I decided it would be best to take a small break and pour my efforts into getting our own home rented out. Thankfully we rented our home very quickly. And we were left with about a month to now find a place to live, since our renter need to move in to our place in exactly 4 weeks. This meant the house hunt was on, and I was prepared to finally find the place. I spent a few days again just searching online in a new area I hadn't previously been looking, and I found 3 homes I wanted to see. Wesley's Mom came with me, and we found a neighborhood we loved, but non of the rentals were the right size/price. So that night I went online and searched the neighborhood extensively. We found a beautiful home, the price was a little higher than we could afford, but the owner had a "special" on their listing that was misprinted. It made the price right in our range, so I emailed them asking to verify if that special was correct. It was in fact a mistake, but after emailing back a forth a little bit, the owners decided they liked us, and wanted to rent to us, so they lowered the rent to what we could afford. After 2 years of renting from them they will raise the rent a little bit, but it will be in our price range for all 5 years! Seriously amazing, and something God had in store for us this entire time, even when I was stressed and tired of looking for a home.

We found the house on Wednesday, moved in on Sunday {in one day, since I hadn't packed a thing} and have now been here for 3 weeks and we couldn't be more excited about this home. It is big, spacious, in the cutest neighborhood, 8 minutes from Wesley's job, a few steps away from the community park, pool, and splash pad coming soon. We have already met some great neighbors and we feel totally at home. We recently visited a new church in the area and we are pretty sure it is the place we want to call our new church home.

Through the entire process we have learned so much. We know that even when life is hard, and we are stressed and nervous about the big decisions we have to make, we need to trust in God, have faith that His plan is greater than our own, and let Him do his work in our lives. We are so excited about the next 5 years. Wesley graduates next month, then begins residency at the end of June. We will have a little bit of time off to do family things, learn more about the new city we live in, and maybe squeeze in some date nights. 

This new chapter is an exciting one, and we are excited to see how the Lord uses us in this new community we are a part of.

Finally....

Finally we are done with.....

 january! 

having sick kiddos in the house.

residency interviews.

a teething baby.

auditions for residency.

having a 2 year old...well almost. in 1 week he will be 3.

paying off my car.

Whew, that is a lot of stuff to be done with. To elaborate just a bit;

We had a rough January. Both the boys and I were sick off and on for nearly the entire month.  Colds, fevers, coughs, sore throats, sinus infections & grouchiness. We are all finally past it, and so glad to be feeling better. 

Wes finished up his last audition for residency, and sat in on his last interview. Such a relief to be done with that part of his final few months of school. And in just 10 days we find out where we are matched for residency, and where we will be living for the next 5 years! 

Grayson popped in 2 more molars, and 4 I teeth this month {on top of being sick}, so he is now a new & happy kid! 

Camden will be 3 next week and I don't even know how to understand how that happened so fast!

My last car payment is set to go through, and I couldn't be more excited. It took us 6 years to pay it off. Only because the original 4 year plan had to be changed when I quit working and we had to refinance to get a cheaper monthly payment. All that to say, we are done!! Now, the only debt we have left to our name is our home {obviously} and the medical school loans that we won't have to start paying off until after residency. We feel so blessed to have made it through 4 years of school, neither of us working, and acquired no extra debt, while still owning our home. We are thankful our parents raised us to be money savvy, and we hope to use our knowledge to make smart choices in how to pay back Wesley's loans someday. 

Ok, so now on to some cuteness.

After being cooped up in the house for so long with being sick, we decided to catch some fresh air over at my parents house. Camden's poor little nose was still raw from being sick and he got his clothes wet from the water balloons Wes was filling up. He stripped down to his skivvies and high top chucks, and really, it just made for some adorable pictures.

Grayson loved the water balloons. The one in his hand sprung a leak & he loved it spraying all over him....then it popped!

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After a few days of rain {yes, even in AZ we sometimes have rain for a few continuous days} the wash by our house was totally flooded. Wes decided it would be fun to take our toy boats sailing. So we did! Camden thought it was the greatest thing ever to be able to wade in the water in his rain boots and not get wet. The boats did a pretty good job of sailing. This is something we will definitely have to do again, next time it rains, probably in another year or so.

***Giveaway!***

My friend Adrianne over at Dream Book Design is doing a $75 Shabby Apple giveaway. To enter, just visit her blog and follow her guidelines to enter!! 

with a thankful heart

I've been feeling overwhelmingly thankful during this season of Thanksgiving. 

I always feel thankful this time of year, but something is different this year. 

I used to always say I was thankful for family, our home, our marriage, our kids...yadda yadda, the basics in life. {which I am still thankful for}

However, this year I am thankful for the things I fear.

Let me explain.

This past year has definitely been one of the hardest, most challenging years we have experienced. 1 year ago we still had our newborn baby in the nicu. That was a very hard thing, and you can read more about me reminiscing on that time here. So this year, I am thankful we went through having a nicu baby. I used to fear the thought of having a baby be admitted to the hospital. I know that I appreciate having healthy children even more now than I did last year. That experience taught me so much! This year Thanksgiving falls on the same day we brought Grayson home from the hospital exactly 1 year ago. What a great day it will be this year to celebrate having him home with us!

This year has also been one of Wesley's busiest years since starting medical school. He has worked with a different doctor each month since he started last fall. He has a new schedule every 4 weeks, and a new location to work. This has been exhausting. Not just for him, but for me emotionally. He had to work on Mother's Day and Halloween. Clearly they are not super important holidays, but not having him there for little celebrations is always tough. He has worked out of state for 2 and a half months total in the past 4 months. He has been so busy that I sometimes feel like a single Mom. I simply adore my husband. I would be with him all day, every day if I could. That is not an option, obviously, but if it was, I would have it that way! After this year, I have learned to be thankful! Thankful that we made it through. I cried when I learned he would be working out of state for almost 3 months. I was heart broken. I was scared to be home alone with the boys. I was afraid I would miss him so badly that it would hurt. I was afraid I wouldn't do a good job. I hate sleeping alone, and I have only been apart from him for 4 nights total in 5 years. Yet, I was so thankful. I was thankful for what Wes was doing to better his chances for a great job someday, and for him to be accepted into a good residency program. I am thankful that the time apart has made us appreciate and value our time together so much more. I have fallen more in love with Wes during our time apart. I realize how much we are one. When he is gone I don't feel like myself. We are definitely a union and need each other in this life that God has given us. 

One last thing I am thankful for is that we have to move. Yes, I am thankful for that. I am also terrified. I am a homebody, I love my family {who lives 5 minutes from me}, and I have never lived out of my little 4 mile radius. But I am thankful. I am thankful that we have the opportunity to experience life in a new place. We will join a new church, make new friends, live in a new home, have new neighbors, and make new memories. I have been praying like crazy that the Lord will send me an amazing friend where ever we go. I am surrounded by such great friends here at home, but when we move, I know that I have to make new friends. I am very outgoing, and making friends isn't hard for me. But I want to make a great friend. A best friend. {to my closest friends: I am not replacing you! Promise!} I want a friend who will love me and my family, challenge me in my faith, laugh with me, and someone who will be there for me when I need "family" since mine will be far away. It might sound silly, but I have been praying for this friend for a while now. I can't wait to see how the Lord works in our lives next summer as we pack up and move. 

What are you thankful for? Are you thankful for the things in your life that you were afraid of? I am so thankful that our life has been a whirlwind this year and I know the year ahead will be just as busy. But this is the life we have been given, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

in the last month or so....

 in the last month {or 2}, we have been so busy. 

Here is a short list of things we have done:

Took some pictures of Grayson to use on his first birthday invite.

Our {theme} was bow ties. I use the term "theme" lightly, because I don't like themes, so I typically just do fun colors and patterns and add a little touch of a theme...like the bow tie.

We have gone on a few family bike rides now that the weather is beautiful here in Phoenix.

We have played outside a ton!! And even took a few trips to the zoo.

Wes had a little time off, which was much needed!! We were able to go out on a few dates which were so refreshing!

Wes competed in his first half ironman.

70.3 miles total! 

He is amazing.

 We spent a weekend in {chilly} Prescott as just our family of 4. Such a fun and relaxing getaway. We visited an adorable pumpkin patch, and we were the only ones there that day.

On the day we came home from Prescott, we stopped by the pumpkin patch one last time to take a few family photos for our Christmas card. My parents happened to be coming up to Prescott for the weekend, so they met us at the pumpkin patch. My mom doesn't quite know how to use our fancy camera, so I would set the camera, tell her how I wanted the shot, and she would shoot it. She did an amazing job!! We got some adorable family pictures and some perfect ones to use for our Christmas card.

And last...2 weekends ago we celebrated Grayson's first birthday. His real birthday is not for another week, but we had to celebrate it early because of Wesley's schedule. 

and that is the quick version of our lives right now. 

Also, I just purchased more picture storage for my blog, I had run out and couldn't load any more pictures until I did. So now my blog is ready for updates and pictures like crazy!! So glad I finally got that all settled.

More to come soon!