Very Thankful

As some of you know, we have been tossing around the idea of getting out of the Coast Guard for a while now. Sean has been looking for a job since the first of May and he has accepted a job with the O'Brien Group out of Plainsboro, New Jersey. So, a-packing we will go! It has only been 11 months since we moved to Naperville but we have felt very impressed that we needed to move on from the Coast Guard at this time. I'm not one for good-byes, so I hope that I haven't offended anyone but I couldn't cry because this has been a very difficult decision and true test of my faith because I haven't been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel like Sean has been able to with this move. We are in the process of trying to get to family reunions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Utah in amongst all of this moving and I just have to say that I am so grateful to everyone who has helped or will be helping us as we try to accomplish this monumental task of moving for the fourth time in 4 years and doing it with a 3 year old and a two year old (who is cutting 4 molars at once!) while driving across the United States from Utah to New Jersey (Crazy, I know!) I have a bunch of pictures that I will upload once we get to our new place in NJ. I just wanted to say thank you for all of the help and prayers we've received over the past 6 weeks.

Fun in the Sun

We got this awesome bike trailer and have been waiting for good weather to use it. We bought the kids new helmets and sunglasses and here is the end result. Every morning, I hear, "Can we go for a bike ride, Mom?" We've had a lot of fun exploring the fun trails around our house and it has really helped on the gas budget, especially since gas has been up to almost $4.25 a gallon here. Crazy!

Jaxon was trying to go through the sliding glass door and didn't realize it was closed. It was a totally "Bee Movie" moment. We bought this pool last summer for the kids and it was the perfect size. But apparently, it's not big enough for the two of them to play in now, especially with the slide in it. Abby was protecting her territory with the garden hoe.

Even the dog gets into it

The kids love to dance to music and I had the soundtrack to "Curious George" playing in the background. Our dog, Sadie, loves to "dance" with Sean so he and the kids, plus the dog, were getting their groove on.

Endless Entertainment

Who says you need to buy expensive toys for your kids to play with? Just give them a broom and a mop and let them go to town "cleaning"! Abby and Jaxon would "clean" the kitchen floor and then fall down because they were "so tired" (as Abby put it!) They literally played this way for almost an hour--I got so much done!

Trip to the Zoo

We had the opportunity to go to Brookfield Zoo with Sean for one of his work "Morale" days. We had a lot of fun and the kids loved being able to go in and pet the animals whenever it was possible. From the "giraff-es" that we saw to the goats that we got to pet, it was a very fun day and the best part was getting to spend a "work" day with Daddy!

Our Sunday Easter

Hunting for eggs at our home today was hilarious! Sean had hidden the eggs the night before and had them hidden all over the place--in the couch, on the bean bag, in the plants, in the kids' boots--you name it, there was an egg in it! Abby knew what to do and wasted no time in hunting for the eggs. When it came time to open the eggs, she got really mad and wanted to know why there wasn't any candy in them. We had made the decision to not do candy, but to do stickers instead and that wasn't good enough for her. But once we got going with putting stickers on things, she totally forgot that she didn't have any candy in her basket. However, I now have stickers all over my house!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and was able to reflect on the reason behind it all. It's not about the Easter bunny and the candy but about how our Elder brother, Jesus Christ, gave his life for each and every one of us as payment up front for our sins. How grateful we are for His sacrifice and we hope that we can, in some small way, begin to pay back the debt we owe Him.

Happy Easter!

We did an Easter Egg Hunt at a friend's house this year and had so much fun! Abby was totally into it, especially when she figured out that candy was involved. Jaxon was having more fun playing on the swingset and in the mud but once Sean showed him the chocolate, he was out to hunt for the eggs.