It's A Wonderful Life

October....seriously....That's the last time I posted?  Life has been a blur since then.  I can barely even remember November.  I do remember flying to Las Vegas to meet Bob (he'd been in California to deliver some bathroom cabinets to his brother) and spend a "pre-Thanksgiving" dinner with Tim and his family. It was fun to share part of the holiday with them.  It had been a long time.  We had so much fun spending time with the girls.  The visit was short, but we packed a lot into the couple of days we were there.  They took us to see some beautiful Christmas lights and it really helped me to feel the Christmas spirit.  Sadly, I totally forgot about taking pictures.  

Our actual "Thanksgiving" was spent in Pendleton, Oregon eating a hot turkey sandwich at the local Shari's.  We'd had offers from our family in Salt Lake to share dinner with them, but we didn't think we'd mind that much being on the road.  We were in a hurry to get home because we had so much to do before our house closed. I felt like we were eating in a soup kitchen. It felt very sad. We'll never do that again.

November and December brought two new special little boys into our family.  Dallin Thomas Grover and Benson D Robison.  Bundles full of sweetness! 

When we got home we began packing up the house.  We were leaving for Arkansas on the 4th of December and not coming back until the 13th.  We knew we'd need to have most of our packing done before we left.  Those few days we were home were a whirlwind.  But we got it done.  We got it done enough that we could leave for our trip and leave our worries behind....kind of!  We'd been planning this trip for a long time.  It was for a special occasion....two special occasions!  Baby Dallin's blessing and Seth's baptism. Nothing could have kept us away.  Not even the fact that when we got home we'd only have 5 days to be totally packed up, out of our house and on our way to Utah and our new adventure!

We had tons of fun in Arkansas.  We went to a new art museum in Bentonville.  It was great fun!  We took 6 little kids under the age of 6 to a fancy art museum full of expensive art that no one could touch and you had to be quiet as a mouse!  Did we ever make the security people squirm....I love it!

My niece Devon and her family moved from Jacksonville to Bentonville a few months ago.  I was so excited about that because it meant that, not only would I get to see her when I came to visit, but we could coordinate visits with my brother and Pam so we could be there together, too.  That's what happened this trip.  We took them to Eureka Springs, one of my favorite places to go when I go to Arkansas. 

We took a trip up to Branson, Missouri for the day.  Silver Dollar City was a blast.  A very cool amusement park.  It was freezing cold, but it didn't seem to matter.  It was beautiful.  All decked out for Christmas....it was amazing.  We rode rides, saw shows, a parade and ate some fabulously yummy food!  I'm pretty sure we saw the real Santa too.  The place just oozed Christmas and it made me feel good to be there.

We had our traditional "decorate cookies" Family Night.  Messy, but fun.  There were actually very few cookies left when we were done!

Then there was the reason for the trip.  Andy gave Dallin a beautiful blessing.  It was so special to see Danny baptize and confirm Seth.  I'm so proud of my boys and the way they honor their Priesthood.  We were so glad we were there.

 

It was a Tuesday when we got on the plane to fly home.  It was great to get away and rest a bit, both mentally and physically, from everything that had been going on.  But, we were reminded of all we had to do as soon as we turned the corner into our cul de sac when we were greated with this!

Selling your house in three days sounds like a dream come true, but, it does have it's drawbacks.  We were just not mentally ready to leave.  Nor were we prepared with a place at the other end!  It's had us feeling very displaced.  But....no time for that....the choice had been made!  So, we left....

But, since we had no home to come to yet, we went to Robyn's for Christmas!  Great choice.  We were anxious to meet baby Benson!  It was so much fun spending Christmas with two excited little girls.  Excited little kids makes Christmas fun for everyone.  Bob and I had no time to shop for each other, nor did we have any place to put any gifts we would have bought for each other.  It didn't matter.  It was a perfect day.  We dwelted on the "reason for the season", and it was good.  We may never buy each other gifts again!  It was much less complicated!

On the 26th of December we left Rexburg and headed on down to Salt Lake.  Lehi to be exact!  Aaron and Courtney got here a couple of days later on the 28th and we all moved into their house.  Three semi trailers full of stuff!  It was crazy!  It was hard!  We were so tired we couldn't think!  But we got it done!  With the help of great friends and wonderful family...we....got...it...done!  Things have actually turned out better in the basement than I ever believed.  It ended up being pretty cozy!

The middle of January we headed up to Rexburg for baby Benson's blessing.  We all went up and spent few days.  Robyn's house was full!  Kids everywhere!  Saturday, Uncle D had special plans for the boys.  Tractor rides...they even got to drive one!  They were smiling from ear to ear.  I'm sure he's pretty much their favorite uncle!

Sunday, D gave Benson a special blessing.  It was sweet and sincere.  We were glad we could be there for it.  Life is good and we are thankful that our children love the Gospel and desire it to be a part of their lives and a part of their children's lives.  Our cup runneth over. 

Bob left with Aaron and his family and I stayed on in Rexburg to help Robyn while D left on a business trip.  We had good fun spending days in our pajamas, eating cereal for dinner and doing lots of crafting.  Our biggest project was Benson's bedroom.  Sewing bedding for his crib, curtains for the window and painting the walls took the whole time.  It felt good to be busy doing something creative.  The room turned out great!  We were proud of our efforts....we just kept sitting on the floor looking at it! 

So....I'm caught up.  Kind of.  I'm sure I've left somethings out, but if I can't remember...oh well!  I guess I remember what's the most important.  As always, spending time with family is what means the most to me.  Even though November, December and January were crazy hectic...and some if it I'd just as soon forget...we saw all of our kids and their families.  And that...makes me happy.