Halloween

The girls looked so cute on Halloween this year! Savannah was a flower, and Allie was Cinderella. We went to our ward Halloween party and Trick or Treating. It was fun to take them out. They loved it!

Beautiful Weather

These pictures were from one of our adventures at the park. They loved it! The weather has been so nice lately. It's fun to see them laughing and be out in the sunshine. 

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch with the girls. They liked playing with the rocks and dirt more than looking at the pumpkins!

We found rocks there too!

Patrick and the girls.

Savannah wanted the little one. :)

We found a scarecrow too!

Hair Cuts

Allie, Savannah, and Patrick got their hair cuts together at this cute place that is just for kids. I thought it was so cute. They have little cars to get your hair cut in. They play a movie while they're cutting their hair. They even blew bubbles for Savannah because she was crying. It was a really cute place. I loved the bows they put in their hair at the end!

Allie didn't want to smile

I can't believe how much hair Savannah has!

Allie carried her doll the whole time. :)

Sister Missionaries

We had the sister missionaries over for dinner a few weeks ago. I love having the sisters over. They always bring a sweet spirit into our place. I love it!

It reminded me of when the sisters came to our place in Utah last year. I wish I would have written down that experience then. It was such a neat experience.

I was thinking about quitting my job to stay home with my girls. I felt really strongly that I should after I'd watched conference, but I just couldn't do it. I didn't know how things would work out financially if I quit.

So I kept working. I loved my job, and it felt secure.

When the sisters came over one sister shared something with us that I will never forget. She was from Japan.

She shared an experience with us. She said she felt like she should quit her job. She wanted to be in a better environment to help her prepare for her mission. She didn't know how it would work out, but she knew it would. She ended up quitting her job, and things worked out in the end.

She had so much faith. She said sometimes you just need to have faith that things will work out. Trust Heavenly Father, and it will be ok.

I needed to hear those words!

I still didn't have enough courage to quit my job at the time, but I had a little more faith to do so.

I am grateful for the people Heavenly Father puts in our path. I am thankful for the things I've been taught by those people. He always lets me know he's there and very aware of me personally.

Our Place

The best part about our place is definitely the pool. We went swimming almost everyday when we first got here. It was 117 F at the beginning! That was so hot! It's cooled down now. It's in the low 80's. Much better!

The crew. :)

Here is a picture of the girl's room. I had fun decorating it!

I added flowers on the wall to make it more colorful. There is only one small window in the room. So there isn't much light. It is lit with lamps since our place doesn't have lights in the bedrooms. The flowers made it a lot better. 

New Friends

I have met so many awesome new friends through my Beachbody Coaching business. It has been an awesome experience. I've met people from all over the U.S.

This picture was from our 1/2 marathon in Utah on Sept. 8, 2012. I met Cathy and Melissa (the two on the left) through Beachbody. We ran this race together. It was awesome.

Cathy is from Texas. She said I was the first person from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that she's met. She has been reading the bible and searching for something in her life. It was neat to be able to share some things that we believe and bring her to church with me in Utah. I don't know what will happen, but I was grateful for the opportunity to share the gospel.

I love sharing the gospel with people. It is my most prized possession. It has helped me through so many things throughout my life. I don't know where I'd be without it.

General Conference

General Conference meant a lot to me this year. I really needed it. It lifted me up when I was in the slumps. I haven't been that down in a long time.

I don't even remember the details of all of the talks I loved or who said them, but I remember the feeling I felt. I felt peace, hope and that everything was going to be okay.

I really needed that.

For the first two months of living in Arizona, I didn't really leave my house. I left to go running, swimming at our pool, on a walk, etc., but I didn't really leave my house to do anything. I was depressed. It was hard not having a job. So I worked on my health and fitness business as much as I could to bring in some income. I make about $1200 - $1500 a month with that business right now, but it's not enough to support our family of four.

So after conference, and after talking to my dad, I made a goal to leave my house and do something. I did my hair and make up, and I went out.

Since I hadn't gotten ready in a while, I realized I needed to get my hair done. So I went to a hair salon and got my hair done.

It was a neat experience. Long story short, I ended up sharing the gospel with the hair dresser. He agreed to read the Book of Mormon.

I was glad I left my house. :)

Since then I've been leaving my house everyday. I went to a Relief Society activity, an outdoor mall, a pumpkin patch, to a park with a girl in our ward and to a Halloween party.

I am gradually getting out of the slumps, gaining more confidence, and getting back on track. One day at a time.

I'm trying to focus on what I have instead of what I don't have. That has helped a lot.

Arizona Sunsets

I love Arizona sunsets. The sky is gorgeous. It looks awesome with the palm tree silhouettes.

Sunsets give me hope. They are reminder to me of how much Heavenly Father loves us. He loves us so much that he gave us things like sunsets. We're pretty lucky that He gave us so many beautiful things.

On the Road Again

We went back and forth from Utah to Arizona several times. We flew to Arizona in the middle of August to find a place to live, then back to Utah to pack up and move. We drove to Arizona to unpack. A couple weeks later I went back to Utah for 10 days with the girls to run a race and finish up some things in Utah. Then we drove back to Arizona to stay. It was a busy time to say the least! Here are a few pictures from our trip back to Arizona the last time. 

Savannah was happy to be out of the car!

We got to see Austin in St. George on our way! 

 Allie did a little dance for us at the restaurant! She loves to dance.

 Allie was so good on all the road trips!

Making faces 

 Petting the pretend horse.

 Going in the carriage.

 A happy little girl.

 Allie, Patrick and Savannah.

Allie dancing.

On our way to Arizona

I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog!

On August 24, 2012 we packed up our home and moved our little family to Gilbert, Arizona. We moved so Patrick could go to a night MBA school at Arizona State University.

It has been a difficult few months. I've been trying to stay positive. So here are my positives. :)

The positives right now are that we have two beautiful little girls who I adore. For the first time since I've been a mom, I've been able to stay home with them each day. That means the world to me. It's hard being a working mom, and I'm grateful I don't need to do that anymore.

I'm grateful that Patrick can go to an MBA program he likes. We've been waiting for this for about three years. I'm grateful it is happening.

I'm taking it one day at a time. As I focus on the positives, the negative things we've gone through the past few months don't seem as bad.

I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is there for me. I don't know what I'd do without him in my life constantly.

Lots of updates!

It has been a long time since I've written on our family blog! Over seven months to be exact. :) A LOT has been going on with us over the past seven months. I'll gradually get you up to speed, but for now, here are the highlights.

Savannah turned 6 months in Feb.

I went to Washington D.C. in March to run a 1/2 marathon with Kelli.

Savannah Kept getting cuter in April. :)

We went to Arizona in May for Patrick's friend's wedding.

Cinderella came to Allie's 3rd birthday in June.

Patrick turned 28 in July, and we decided to move to Arizona.

We reached our weight loss goals and took our "after pictures."

Savannah turned 1!

We took our first family pictures in August!

So those are the highlights for now! A lot has been happening! We moved to Arizona so Patrick could go to MBA school at Arizona State University. So now that we're here, I'm made a goal to keep up with our family blog and take more pictures! :)