Update

Wow! It's March and I haven't given any sort of an update for months. Obviously it's been busy. If you haven't heard already Rusty accepted a permanent position in Waxahachie, Texas. That was were we went for our very first temp job and he loved it so much we decided to come back for good. Of course it helps that the pay is so much better and housing so much less than Utah, but we were really sad to move so far away from family. Now I am a flight watching junkie- I spend time every day checking on prices to fly so we can go "home" a couple of times a year. That said, once we decided the move to Texas was coming I went up to Salt Lake to spend some time with my family. We were able to be there for my niece, Ryann's baptism. Which was great- you should see the dress my sister sewed for her! To celebrate her birthday we went ice-skating, which was a first for my kids.

Then we spent a few days visiting friends in Cedar City (well the kids visited, I packed and packed and packed). I was determined to make this move a smooth one. Our last move was a crazy disaster and I didn't want a repeat. After visiting it was back to Arizona to pack and clean, and then we took a week off to visit Rusty's family in California.
The kids and I made drawstring bags for an organization that sent supplies to Haiti and received 4 free tickets to Disneyland!Rusty's mom (as a retired Disney employee) had two more free tickets, so we spent a fun day together with Grandma and Grandpa Clarke in Disneyland for free. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the kids. When we arrived they gave them each a roll of quarters to spend as they chose. Then they bought them fun gifts as well.

Then the fun was done and it was time for serious moving. We were so blessed to have friends and family come and help us. Unfortunately we had to load the truck on a Tuesday so that it would arrive in Texas on Saturday so it was a major sacrifice for people to help us. Tim (Renee's husband) and a friend Matt drove down from Salt Lake to help and Gary Arnell (another great friend) took the day off work - which is a big deal since he works ALL the time. His wife Liesl had our kids for days and days while we packed and loaded. We also had some friends from our ward show up to help- my new neighbor Debbie (whose mother in law I met in Maryland) came first thing even though she had only known us for a couple of weeks. The move went so smooth and we were able to finish by lunch.

The next few days we "did the drive," and of course stopped at our favorite museum in Albuquerque. We arrived at our home on Friday evening and although the home itself was great- we hadn't seen it before we rented- I was not happy with the cleanliness. In fact I was ready to walk out and find something else, but Rusty reassured me and we stuck with it.

The next morning our new ward showed up in droves to help us unload the truck. In about 1 1/2 hours the truck was completely empty!! Of course then we had to sort out the house and unpack- which we are still working on finishing. So we have been here in our new home for a little over 2 weeks, and everything is going really well.

The kids are settling in and making friends. We are loving our ward and the home really is a good fit for us- probably the best fit possible in our price range. We are in a great location close to Rusty's work, close to the church, and close to shopping. If only there was a temple (its about an hour away) and Costco (about 30 minutes away) here we would be set, oh yeah and our family and friends too. Anyone want to move to Waxahachie? We'll find you a good house and job :)

Last week was Ben's birthday- he's 6 now! My babies are getting so big. To celebrate we went swimming and had a little party. As you can see by his gifts he is all boy!