It's time to fess up....

We're having ANOTHER baby! After everything that happened with Logan in Manila that's pretty shocking, I know! Believe me, I was as shocked as most of you will be...if not more so!! We thought we were done, but apparently the big guy had other plans, which really shouldn't surprise me. We haven't planned any of our pregnancies. They've all sort of snuck up on us. Honestly, I can't say that I'm completely thrilled at the thought of being pregnant again, and all the issues it "could" bring along with it...but Brett and the kids are ECSTATIC!! I'm hoping some of that will rub off on me once I'm feeling a little better! :o) We're due Dec. 3rd, which according to my history really means the middle of November. So....ready or not, here comes Baby #5!

Moving again.....

A guy from the ward called Brett last night and said, "So I heard you guys are moving again." What?!? How did that rumor get started??? I guess I shouldn't have said that I was ready to move again out loud...apparently the neighbors heard! That's why I hate small towns...everybody knows everything about you, except none of the facts are right! Brett told the guy, "That seems to be a theme in our lives...but NOT this time!"

I hired a new "helper"

He may be small, but he's a mean little sweeper!!

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Spring means yardwork...and LOTS of it!

Our backyard is a MESS! I don't think the previous owners ever trimmed a thing, or worked in the yard. The neighbor told us, and I quote "They weren't really outdoorsy people!" Uh, yeah...I can tell!! We were amazed to find several flowerbeds (with lava rock) in our grass! We only realized they were flowerbeds when the tulips started coming up in odd places. Needless to say, we've got many weekends worth of yardwork left! Here's a picture of just one of the 5 loads we have already taken to the dump. Remind me NEVER to buy a house that needs so much yardwork again!!!

I'm freezing!!!

It's about this time that I'm wishing we would have just stayed in Manila! I miss the palm trees and sun! Brett and the kids took a nice dip in our hot tub for Family Home Evening the other night....it was a balmy 30 degrees outside at the time!! They tried to convince me that it was warm and to join in, but I know better!!! After over an hour, Brett had to bribe the kids to get them out! Am I the ONLY one that hates (despises may be a better word!) the cold?!?

I thought they would give me a little time to adjust...

But no! I got called into the Primary Presidency only a month after our return to the States. Welcome back, huh!!

Between Primary meetings, morning preschool, afternoon Kindergarten, a 3rd grader/cub scouter, and dragging a baby along to all of the above....I am simply BEAT by the end of each day!! Is this really what American life is like? Did I just forget how crazy it is??? How do all of you do it?

The adjustment to being back Stateside has been EXTREMELY difficult to say the least. Everyone expects us to be "normal" now that we're back....and I feel FAR from it! In Manila, I only had to worry about the basics...that in and of itself was stressful enough in a third-world country! But here, I feel like everyone has so many expectations of me. They expect me to be "normal", and I'm not. They expect me to be able to do everything, and I can't. They expect me to just fit right back into an American lifestyle, and I definitely don't!

Don't get me wrong, I am definitely glad that we took the giant leap of faith (and it WAS giant!) and went overseas...I learned and experienced more than I ever could have imagined!! I grew immensely! I am just a totally different person now...and I'm not sure where I fit into this fast-paced American lifestyle anymore. Since being back, our life hasn't slowed down enough for me to wrap my head around any of it. It's almost like I have to re-learn how to be American again. That probably sounds odd to most of you, but I'm sure my fellow Expats can relate! Re-adjusting is hard!!! Now I know why returned missionaries are so "weird" for awhile when they come home! Adjusting is a long difficult process for anyone....but try having 4 kids in tow while doing it! I can tell you from experience that having a baby in a third world country has got noth'in on this adjustment stuff!!! They say it takes a good year to feel "normal"....and I definitely believe them! The funny part is that we had to take hours and hours of classes to prepare to go overseas, but no one prepares you to come home! Kinda ironic, don't ya think?!

On the upside, I can tell you that I am LOVING doing my own housework (minus the toilets of course)!!

House update:

Our hurricane ravaged house FINALLY got fixed (3 adjusters and many hours of hounding the insurance company later). Having an insurance claim is definitely a FULL-TIME JOB!! As it turns out, we had the insurance company with one of the worst track records on paying out claims. So I'm going to save you all the trouble of having to go through this yourself and tell you NOT to go with All State!! You've seen their ads: "You're in good hands with All State"....WHATEVER!!! Our roofers told us that All State is the absolute worst when it comes to claims. They also said that State Farm and Farmers are some of the best insurance companies to work with as far as claims, and they close the claims the fastest. And I'll tell ya...saving a little on your insurance premium each month by going with another company IS NOT worth it! After this ordeal, I'd much rather pay a little higher premium to know that if something does happen, I've got a good insurance company behind me! At any rate, the house is fixed and we sold it to our house-sitters. We closed the day before Thanksgiving....what a GREAT Thanksgiving present!!! After buying 4 houses and selling 3 of them in under 6 years....I hope I can safely say that we are staying put for a good LONG time!!!

I know I've been MIA, but there's a really good explanation...

We've moved back to the States!!! It was a VERY unexpected move (since we had unofficially extended our contract in Manila to a 3rd year and didn't expect to come back until Fall of '09). It has also been a very L..O..N..G move! We flew to the States in August for Parker's baptism, and while we were there Brett got the unanticipated job offer. So we left the kids with grandma and grandpa (except for the baby of course), and Brett and I headed back to Manila to sell practically all our belongings there and pack up what little we could bring home. It was an exhausting process, and I'm afraid it hasn't slowed down much at all since then!

While we were flying home for our last time from Manila, we watched helplessly from the Tokyo airport as hurricane Ike headed straight for our house in Texas. We got word a few days later from the couple living in our home that the roof was completely damaged and had leaked water in nearly every room of the house. So not only did we have 3 moves to deal with (from Manila, from Texas, and our stuff from our families houses), but we also had to deal with trying to get our Houston house fixed to sell. It has been a nightmare to say the least!! We have been through 3 adjusters so far, and 2 months later it still isn't fixed and there is a blue tarp still on the roof. Ugghhh!!

And I thought moving to a third-world country was hard.....

Parker's Baptism

We took our home-leave trip to the States in August so that our families could be at Parker's baptism. It was a great day with lots of family around to celebrate with Parker! Here's a few pics:

We were also able to attend Brett's nephew's wedding while we were there. The girls got to hand out mints. Their grandma did a great job on their dresses!! I think they felt like real princesses!