New Rental and Vacation Plans

Dear friends,

We are settling into our new rental nicely. I love how close it is to the park! It is great especially to walk our dog in. He loves going on walks and often marks his territory. I find it funny because sometimes he lifts his leg and nothing comes out. 

I am trying to keep our house organized during our move, and it is a lot of work, but I am excited to get rid of things that we do not need. I will be getting rid of a lot of clothes and hopefully other junk. I love my clothes but I don't wear everything. Ooo. Idea: I am going to put away my winter clothes in a bin until the winter because then my closet won't be crazy full. I feel good about that idea. AND in case you forgot, this will be our last winter in Rexburg so we can get rid of all the winter clothes we have after!

Our sunny California vacation is in less than 2 weeks which also means my last semester of classes ends in less than 2 weeks. Party! We will be spending Pioneer day in Utah which should be fun because it is a huge state holiday there. We should find some fun things to do. We plan on meeting up with Caroline and Anna for some hanging out. When we get to California we will be staying at my parents' until Aug 2 where we will be going on a cruise with my in-laws! I am excited because it is really the only chance we will have to go on a cruise until probably the children are older and grown. If we are making enough money by the time we are done having new babies maybe we can go on a family cruise. I know we would have a lot of fun. Mom and Dad took me and my siblings on a cruise when I was 13 and it was such a memorable vacation. I look back fondly on that time. Anyhoo, after we get back from the cruise we will spend a couple of more days with my fam and then head back to Rex. We then will spend a month of doing nothing at home. (I will be completing my independent study children's lit course). 

I feel fat which is weird because I have been working out lately. I think I am bloated and it must have something to do with all this stress! Oi, age you are not doing good things to me! Hopefully I will start shredding the pounds this week of my workouts. 

I hired someone to clean our other  apartment once everything is cleaned out. It is great not having to think about when I will find the time to clean. Hallelujah! I just need to keep our new place clean in the midst of it all... Plus my brothers-in-law are moving in for the 7 week break. I am exited because our house will be full and it will be fun and happy. I hope they aren't playing video games all the time. In fact, I am hoping to find George a job! Brian already has one. Jobs are hard to find here, and maybe he will have to expand his search to IF. 

I just want to jabber about everything. Tomorrow is Monday and I will probably just be moving stuff over. Here is a list for my own reference:

• clothing bin and basket
• the rest of the kitchen supplies

Okay, thanks for reading!

Love,

Christiana 

I will be their happy, mad, funny, hug-me-til-I-stop-crying, encouraging, always-there, always-listening, always-loving mom!

This week has been amazing. First, I only had school on Tuesday and Wednesday. Second, it was Independence Day which is one of my favorite holidays. Third, my in-laws came to visit.

1. I have been keeping a great countdown of the ending of this semester [my last]. There are officially only 17 days left and that is including the weekends! I feel so blessed to have made it this far, though student teaching scares the heck out of me. Can I really do what I have been studying for? It will take so much of my time (50 hours each week.) It is basically an unpaid internship and I even have to pay tuition for it. When I graduate I know I will have something to be proud of. It took so much time, money, effort, and endurance! Not to mention lost family time. After this, provided God and my will are aligned, I will not have to be away from my children again! I will be at the crossroads of their lives. I will be their happy, mad, funny, hug-me-til-I-stop-crying, encouraging, always-there, always-listening, always-loving mom. I will get to witness them growing up instead of relying on others to tell me. I know some moms have to be away, but that is not part of my plan or my happy. I feel that for me joy will only be able to be felt if I am in the home and making memories.

2. For the Fourth we went to the local parade in the morning and it was awesome watching Madeline laugh at the horses and clap to he music. I must say that my girl is getting some pretty good moves. She loves grooving but she only knows one move: bouncing up and down and waving her hands. She is my cutie pie. After the parade Marcus and I waited for our home to be filled with other Thackeray members. They came up for Anna's open house. We all went down to IF for the huge fireworks display, which was postponed an hour because two adults went for a swim in the snake river and one of them went missing. Whatever the circumstances, it was sad. Search and Rescue continued their search for hours and through the fireworks. They found the man at 1am, dead. It is unfortunate and sad. Rivers are not safe and especially not at night. Prayers of comfort go out to his family and friends. The fireworks display was amazing as usual. There were huge fireworks some of which sparkled like glitter nail polish in the sun. Those were my favorite.

3. It was nice having family over for a few days. I really do love my in-laws. I wish I could be with them and my family at the same time. I don't think that will ever happen unless Marcus and I plan something where both families can be present and it will probably be far in the future. One day.

4. Anna's open house was really nice. There was good food and company. It was easy going and the decorations were pretty; green and orange table clothes with flickering candles and round tables everywhere. We took pictures of ourselves in a the photobooth. Maddy had fun carrying around bache balls and rolling them down the grassy hill in the yard.