I wanted to document a moment I had with Keenan. His primary teacher called the other day and left a message hearing we were going to be moving. I called her back because she wanted to know our new address to send Keenan a card for his Birthday and also wants to know when he his baptized to come! She said to let him know she was going to miss him. He was standing right there so I said she could tell him! It was a sweet moment. When he got off the phone, " I think im going to cry." Then the tears started to fall. Hes going to miss his friends, his neighbors, school friends, and teacher at school! Poor guy was feeling all the emotions! He is so excited to move to the new house but nervous too! He will be shocked how many new friends he'll make!

Buying a house!

When you think back on moments in your life where there is no question that the lord is on your side its an incredible testimony builder. The last month and a half there have been so many miracles in our family that I wanted to document a few to remember.

Juan and I have contemplated selling our home for about a year now, but it just never felt like the right timing. One week it would be brought up, then forgotten. It has gone on like this for quite some time. The thought of having an increased mortgage on top of an already tight budget just wasn't something we wanted to do. We were comfortable in our small payment. But what was getting tight was the house. A family of 6 in a 1524 sq ft home was getting cramped. Adalyn in our room, not even in a bed or crib, but a bassinet chair to sleep in. Rubbermaid drawers to hold her clothes. Damon is an absolute must to have his own room. With him waking up at night, machines and equipment for him, he just cant share a room. If that wasn't the case, we could stay here longer probably. I went home to Washington to visit for a week with the kids while Juan stayed and worked. I would bring up the idea to my family that if we sold we could make a decent amount of money on our home. As I was driving home, about half way there, it hit me. If we sell out home, we can make enough to pay off every little debt we have including car payments and student loans, and have money to put down on a new home, and put money into savings. It seemed like a no brainer and stupid not to do that. Because isn't that what our goals are? To be debt free? I messaged Juan and his response was, "So now you want to sell again?" I mentioned above and he was onboard! This was the only way for us to get a bigger home and mortgage and be able to afford it. He immediatly starting looking online and sent me a link to a home on Ash street in Yamhill. Absolutely perfect home for us! Having Damon makes home buying just that more stressful! We need a bed/bath on the main living floor. In this area in Oregon, most homes are two story with all the rooms upstairs. Wont work. If they do have a master on the main, then that leaves Juan and I to take a room upstairs and share a bathroom with the kids. Doable yes, ideal no. So when he sent this home to me, 1000 sq ft more then our current home, 3 bedrooms on the main level, with a master and a full bath for the other two rooms and two bedrooms down stairs. PERFECT! I was instantly in love with the new build, the open floor plan, and that it was in the country for the most part! Something we have always wanted to be, in a small town, country setting. But it was thrown out when it would add another 20 min or so to Juan's commute. If anything he wanted to move closer to his work. With home prices creeping up, and offers going over the original asking price we didn't want to delay. 

Before we could actually go out and seriously start looking, we needed to know what we could sell our home for to see if it was what were thinking. Because this wasn't going to be something to we could do so pay off part debt. We wanted out completely.That week we had a realtor come to our home check it out, and then send over a CMA which lists properties in the area and what they have sold/or selling for. We were right where we wanted to be and what we were expecting! It was GO time! We started getting listings from the agent, Randy Thiessen. Who is awesome! That saturday, June 27th, that house came back up as we were searching again. Juan mentioned that he had a co-worker who bought out in Yamhill a couple months ago and loved it! So Juan was open to the idea. So we packed up kids and went for a short 20 minute drive from where we live now! The home at this time had dropped $10,000. We drove the area,drove past the home, and then went and talked to his co-worker. We called Randy and let him know we wanted to go look at that home. We were all set up for Monday. I asked a friend who used to be in our ward who recently moved out to Carlton which is about 3 miles from Yamhill how she liked the area, school, ect.. I also mentioned we were going to look at a home. Come to find out, its the Relief Society Presidents house in that ward! 

We loved the home! We put in an offer by Tuesday, and there was another offer also. Then as our offer went in, a family went in and looked for a second time and put in an offer. We came in low the first time, then came in at asking for our second offer, and then because the competition was so high, we went in at the original asking price! We were not the highest but because we had a mutual friend helping us out through facebook messaging, we were able to get an accepted offer! I remember being on the verge of tears that week. I wasn't eating like I should have been because of stress, our offer was contigent on the sale of  our home, but I just kept going back to my faith that everything was falling into place then why wont it work out? But because the process of offer after offer after offer, it was hard! I very vivid remember pulling out of the garage, and a voice loud and clear, "Trust Him" I felt so much peace come over me that all would work out. Was it still stressful? Absolutely! But there was more of a reassurance that it would work out in our favor. Sure enough it did! 

But before we even looked at this home, we listed our home on Zillow For sale by owner. Knowing we would have to list our home with Randy within 24 hours of accepted offer. We wanted to keep as much money in our pocket as possible. So we went on a limb before we even looked at the new home! It took TWO days to get an offer. Scary thing because we didnt have an accepted offer on our new home yet! So either ways, we were going to be moving. Where we didnt know! We were just hoping that things would work out!

There have been a few hiccups along the way as far as repairs go on our home to fix. Because we put in an insert in the fireplace that needed to be repaired and usable again. We had to fix insulation under the crawlspace, reattach the hose bib outside, and put in GFCI receptacles in the kitchen and garage. Our new home needs a new roof. Funny thing is though the house is only 2 years old! Something with the shingles not being good so that will be covered by the builders insurance and a new roof will be going on our home, as well as the others that were built when out home was! And he also redid the water route outside so that no water draines into the crawl space in the basement! 

Adalyn

Where are the months going! Here we are and Adalyn is on the brink of turning 5 months old! Everytime I think about going through those first few months with my others, it seems that it was much harder with them then with Adalyn. I don't know if its because she spent that first week and a half in the Nicu and I was able to refresh my self without a baby there, or if she has just fallen so well into our schedule it doesn't seem that hard. I have loved every minute of having her in our family! She is an absolute joy and just waits for you to look at her so she can give you the biggest grin! She is a social butterfly for sure and wants to be wherever people are! The second you walk away from her, or mostly even put her down, she starts to cry. As she has gotten older, she can last longer on her own playing on the ground but still isnt much longer then a few minutes usually. I stopped nursing about the middle of July. It was just too stressful. She was never getting enough so she wanted to stop and nurse quite often, and she was just so tiny too! It has been a complete burden lifted! I have been able to leave her with babysitters when I take Damon to dr appts, or when Juan and I go on dates! It has been great! She is the darkest child we have so far which is fun to see! She gets comments how dark she is! I think that Daddy is her favorite! She will just stare and stare at him and loves to give him lots of smiles!

Niko Time with Adalyn

Yes she is getting a lot of FaceTime around here! Having cell phones with apps to post quickly sure makes it easy to snap lots of pictures! It's not like When Damon and Keenan were little when we used an actual camera, upload them on the computer and pick the one we like. I still do that every once in a while. Niko has loved snuggling in bed with her most mornings why they wake up together.

First Sunday at church!

She made her debut at church and everyone was smitten by her! She was just too cute not to be! I had to take her out to feed her during sacrament meeting. Juan asked where I was going and I told him to get used to it. What a nice break to go rock and feed a baby with other moms while Juan wrestles with the other 3! I came back in rigjt before it was over and he was just layghing. Here he is 3 crazy boys, and the family behind us with 3 very quiet kids reading the friend and listening. Yep that's my family! Always loud and disrupting.

A Daddys girl Already

Juan has nicknamed her "Mad-Alyn" because she's mad a lot! But he loves this little girl like crazy! She spots him and recognizes his voice quickly! It's amazing to watch. She smiles for him everytime! She has finally started smiling for me now too!

A bad idea maybe...

I was so over going to and from the hospital and Keenan was on spring break, Damon at the child center still so I wanted to venture out with the boys to a park. I had intended to go to Washington Park by the zoo but my friend Kimberly said let's go to a park in Mcminnville. Terrible idea since I was already planning to go to the library to a minecraft activity and they were in completly differnt directions. But I had already let her down the other day. So I said yes and as soon as I did I regretted it! Why do I want to drive 45 minutes to a park opposite direction of where I want to go? But like I said I had already let her down. So off we went. I was about 15 minutes later then I told her. I get a text from her "I take it your bailing on me again" and that was it. I wanted so bad to turn around and drive home! I had a new baby that came home the day before and I was actually getting out and going places. Not only that but it had been a week and a half since birthing a baby! So I wasn't in a completly normal state. Why am I so bugged by this? But I am! And it still bugs me. I don't have time for  a needy friendship. That's hard. I hardly have enough time for my own family! But we dis it and then we went to minecraft activity at the library. That was a disaster too. So many kids, not enough craft peices, and Adalyn needed to eat! I kept my cool and we just took it home and did it there.
My main thing I was worried about after having a baby was being inpatient with the other kids. I felt like I was starting to get a grasp on that part of my life and it would all start over again. I feel so blessed to have not had those feelings. I have tried to be patient and go on my clues of needing sleep and knowing when I'm going to lose it. Life with 4 is not any harder then it was with 3. Three was a hard adjustment.