Scary Times!!!

Having just moved into Bryon's house, Halloween quickly came upon us. So quickly, in fact, that I didn't have time to get Jonah a new costume...so he was Donatello, no wait, Raphael, um...well, one of those green turtle guys, again for 2010. He didn't seem to mind (although the outfit was a little short on him! Shhhh...). He still looked adorable! Ash was just Ash (ok, I know I totally botched it, but didn't really care!). They both still got lots of candy and ate way too much. But had a lot of fun.

Superteacher Continued!

This class (Jonah's) really touched Jase's heart during the time we spent in the Cactus Lane ward in Surprise, AZ. Not just because his son was in it, but because of how he could see his influence in the hearts and eyes of those he taught. It was especially apparent the last Sunday we spent in the ward. Beth Mortensen, the conductor for the Primary, had asked Jonah and Jase to come to the front and pick their favorite song so that we could all sing it together. Of course, they both picked "I Know He Lives," everyone's favorite that year. Everytime the kids would sing the chorus, you could feel their testimonies coming through loud and clear!

Anyway, Jase happened to look at one of his kids, Isabelle, while singing and she had tears in her eyes. She was truly going to miss having Jase as a teacher and he could feel it right then in that moment. We truly loved this ward and the Primary especially. We'll also miss the Berrys. Brother Berry was Jase's teaching assistant and we experienced a lot with their family as they struggled with autism and their first-born son as well. We will miss it greatly!

One Lone Photo

I didn't realize at the time, but I was extremely busy late Fall of 2010....Asher's medical visits and supplementation, selling off everything we own in a string of garage sales after garage sales, putting our Surprise house up for sale multiple times throughout the entire year (with two different realtors!), getting an offer from Bryon to live with him and help watch his kids at night while he worked security, changing wards, etc., etc. And in all this hussle and bussle I neglected to get a nice shot of our old home, the moving process, etc. I think I have more pictures on my phone somewhere, but this one will have to do for now. Actually it kinds of sums up how I felt during this whole process...alone, empty, frazzled, trying to accept the black-and-white truth of life. Yep. This one lone photo seems to say it all. Making this move was going to be the turning point of our financial lives. We had taken those hard steps to make a change. And make it we will.

(Singing) These Are a Few of our Favorite Things!

Ash--Don't EVER say we don't love you, k?

After the Blessing

Vera's baby blessing was so sweet and touching. As I said before, Zeb gave an amazing blessing that he obviously had spent much time pondering on. V has some pretty great parents and I hope she appreciates them someday! Anyway, we all got together after the service at Dad and Neva's community center and had really yummy food. I sort of designated myself as the local photographer and was snapping away almost the entire time. My stay in Utah was coming to a close and I was going to make the most of it. I also enjoyed taking a drive with Fred and Mom up the canyon afterwards...along with Sophie. The mountains were gorgeous and I was determined to see some fall color. Well, I got my wish!