It is a new year and we have many adventures ahead of us!
We started the new year by going to the temple. Eve, Sterling and I were able to go to the Denver Temple on my wedding anniversary to do baptisms. This was fun for me to take the kids to the temple of my childhood and where Matthew and I were married 18 years ago. I smiled with fondness as I passed a new bride and groom.
We are beginning a new chapter in our lives as we move to California.
Matt flew to California shortly after Christmas, but the rest of us stayed in Colorado with family so that we could enjoy a bit more time with them. Also, we weren't going to close on our new home until January 4th. We flew to California on the 3rd where Matt picked us up from the airport. That morning my Dad and Mom were very helpful in seeing us off. We had lots of large luggage and it wouldn't all fit in one car anyway, so they both took us to the airport. We checked 6 bags, each person had one carry on and we had a few personal items as well. We are very thankful that we could make it work. I am very grateful for my parents generously hosting us and our cat, Callie for about 2 weeks.
I am grateful that Matt took Callie when he left, and that we could all be reunited again.
Once we got to California we stayed in Matt's apartment for a few days until we got the new home ready. Here is a fairy home the kids made to entertain themselves.
We had the carpets cleaned, scrubbed bathrooms/ floors and wiped out cupboards, etc. We also set up our new utilities, got new locks, and found our new grocery shopping areas. We moved out of Matt's apartment on the 5th and spent our first few nights in our sleeping bags as we did over most of the transition. We also purchased a used fridge (extra storage in the garage) and bleach cleaned it out. We also shopped for a new fridge for main kitchen use. We were excited to see fresh lemons and oranges on our trees. They taste so fresh and delicious! The oranges taste a bit like tangerines. They have amazing flavor!
We also love our beautiful flowers in the yard. We were greeted by some lovely long stemmed roses as well as a smaller rose bush and other flowers around our yard.
The weather has been much warmer here and we have been loving it! Throughout this month the high temps have been in the 50's and 60's. It has been more rainy (this is California's wet season), we feel like we're back in Dublin, Ohio, where we got rain so often. One thing we are still adjusting to is the variety of smells. Being in a more agricultural area we get more fertilizer smells as well as smells from a nearby vegetable processing plant. Lately it has been onions. The smell is most noticeable at night and in the early morning. No place is perfect I guess, and I am so grateful for the warmth and more sunshine!
Sunday the 6th we met our new ward. We were pleased that there are so many youth! Eve has lots of kids that attend her high school and so she will have an instant group of friends. The ward is well established with youth activities and strong leadership. We enjoyed great discussion in our Sunday school class. We are so grateful! Sister Tilby, the RS president has been great about checking in with me to see how she can help. She even arranged to have a dessert night at her house on that day. She invited 3 other families in the ward so that we could meet them and get to know them better! It was a fun night. So many new names and faces can be overwhelming, but again, this is a GOOD challenge! I also wanted to mention that our street has a member that lives 6 houses away from us. He kindly stopped by to offer assistance and even brought homemade bread later in the month that his wife made.
Our movers brought all of our things on Monday, Jan 7th. Wow, we have a lot of stuff. Most of it we use, but I know I will need to get rid of some of it as I try to find homes for everything. So far, I have 2 loads to take to Goodwill. It will also be interesting trying to store everything now that we don't have a basement. :( Thankfully we have a 3 car garage and that is where we will have to store our 3 pallets of food storage, our holiday totes, and our trailer. Matt plans to build storage shelves for the tools and extra totes. We also have some attic storage. Matt still needs to find a place to store his boat. I'm grateful for my problems. We are pretty blessed if storage space is our challenge! We spent the whole day with the movers unloading as we directed, unpacked, cleaned, etc.
Tuesday our new fridge arrived. Finally!
Wednesday the 9th I worked on getting the kids enrolled in school. Sterling is the only one that got to attend that day. The other kids needed records from their previous schools before we could start. This was a day of lots of forms, talking with secretaries, unpacking, etc.
Thursday the 10th everyone went to school. Eve will be having an extra early class period and so will be attending the very early morning seminary class (5:50 AM). She has been grateful to know kids in most of her classes and has been able to sit with her church friends at lunch. They have been instantly welcoming.
Eve has decided to join the swim team. This will be a great way to make friends and also great exercise! She has been enjoying playing in the band. They play at all the home basketball games. So although she gets tired, it gets her out in a fun/social way. Eve has also enjoyed many fun church youth activities, a BYD, a dance, and gone to the movies with friends.
Sterling has struggled the most with this transition. He is typically my most easy going and happy kid. He has struggled to be patient while he tries to make meaningful connections with teachers, friends, and adjusting to new classes. Fortunately he is in honors classes. However, he has been discouraged in Math (CA does Common Core and so they interweave the various topics.) He was in Algebra 1 back in Ohio (9th grade level material) and they won't move him on from his 7th grade level class until they are sure that they have filled in his gaps (Geometry etc.) I have spoken extensively with his teacher and I hope that she will continue to challenge him in learning Algebra as she works to fill in his gaps. We are hoping that next year he will be able to be at least one grade level above so that he doesn't lose all his progress. (His teacher is working toward this goal.) At this point I am more concerned that he learns everything he needs and does well, than that he is ahead. As I explained to him, BYU doesn't care how many advanced classes you take (they don't weigh their GPAs), they care how well you do and how well rounded you are. One great thing about school is that all the kids get recess/gym every day. Their campuses are outside and so they pass between classes and eat lunch outside Sterling has enjoyed playing basketball each day. Both Sterling and Eve are close enough to walk home from school.
This is nice to see when we meet Sterling as he walks home sometimes. I'm glad these guys have each other!
Sterling has been unhappy a lot regarding friends, but I think we are turning a corner. He was able to spend MLK day with Landon Tilby and his family playing games, and going to Get Air (trampoline park). He was also able to go on a camp out the following weekend with the scouts (we made cinnamon rolls for their breakfast). He had a great time catching lizards, having campfire activities, and hanging out. The next day the Tilbys invited him to join their family on a temple trip (Sacramento) where they were able to do baptisms. That evening he also had a play date with Landon (Tilby). I think he has also started to make more connections at school, but it takes time and sometimes that is hard for kids to hear.
Sheri has been gradually making friends, but wishes she were more challenged at school. We are currently waiting to hear if her previous advanced placement classes will qualify her for the Gifted and Talented (GATE) program here. She is also testing in math to determine if she should be taking 6th grade math (since she was in 5th/6th grade math prior). If she qualifies, she may have to attend a different school to be in the program. She doesn't have a lot of girls her exact age in our ward, but has had fun Activity Day activities and seems to be enjoying church well enough. Sheri has been invited to tutor others after school and she will be doing this Friday afternoons. She seems to be connecting more with her classmates and her teacher.
Christian has been taking most of the transition in stride. He is generally happy and enjoys his church teachers. He has also made a friend at school. He struggled a bit at first to know his school teacher's expectations regarding when he can talk. I think they are on the same page now. She seems to be nice enough, but he still complains that she yells more than he is used to. On an exciting note, his reading has really taken off. He can read many simple books and often surprises us by deciphering a really tough word during scriptures.
Here is Christian dressed up for the 100th day of school. Sterling helped him use 100 Legos to make the number 100.
Another highlight for the kids is that the younger 3 have started gymnastics at a full gym. They have been enjoying all the new activities (balance beam, rings, bars, vaulting prep,) and of course all the acrobatics. They look like little monkeys. :) I am glad for their previous experience which has given them a basic level of strength/skill. I love seeing them challenged in new ways. They all seem to be happy to be using all their energy in such a fun way!
We live close to a park and that has been fun for the kids to walk or bike to.
I have been unpacking everyday and have gotten through almost every box in the house. We still have some in the garage. :) I was able to join Planet Fitness which is a very basic gym that is very low cost. It us great for the 3 days a week when I need strength training. On other days I have been running or doing yoga. I plan to decorate one room a month (or more) to try and pace myself. I feel grateful to be mostly organized and back in my routine of things. Here we are amid our boxes having family scripture study.
On Sunday, Jan 20th Matt took the family on a Sunday drive to Gustine see where he works and the beautiful county drive along the way. It was lovely as we listened to "Saints" in the car. Can you spot the rainbows in some of the pictures? It was kind of like God was saying "Things are going to be okay here in California."
The last weekend in January Matt flew back to Ohio to retrieve our cat, Rascal who was missing when we had to leave in December. This was not a cheap or recreational trip. This was our last chance to reunite him with our family. The new Ohio home owners have been feeding him and agreed to try and catch him. They set a trap for him and had still not captured him when Matt got there. He camped out in his car as late as possible Saturday night and then came back early Sunday morning. No Rascal, though Matt did follow his tracks in the snow but couldn't get him that way. Matt went to church and was able to bring Alex Klein with him. This was a special opportunity and we feel very grateful that he could do this. Matt also was able to share some of our lemons and a Book of Mormon with him afterward. When Matt got back to the house Rascal was in the trap. Rascal was very scared and Matt had to fight to get him out and into his rental car. Matt got multiple deep bites in the process. Gratefully, Matt was able to go to the Thomas' home to get cleaned and bandaged up. They had previously invited him to join them for lunch which he gratefully accepted since he was able to find Rascal. His bite wounds were pretty bad and took a while to heal. His hand was swollen for at least a week. :/ Matt was also able to stop by the Hoyles who helped him get Rascal into his cat carrier (with gloves on of course). .
We feel such an outpouring of love from our Ohio friends. Rascal has been very nervous and easily spooked in our new home, but has been happy to see us and Callie again. Callie and Rascal had such a sweet reunion including kisses, smelling, and lots of meowing until they were reunited. Rascal is learning his new environment and we are sure that he will be happier here in 40-60 degree weather than in the single digits Ohio has been experiencing. We were praying hard that Matt would be able to bring Rascal home to us and that Matt wouldn't miss his connecting flight home. We feel that God heard and answered our prayers. This is definitely a tender mercy since there was no way we could bring Rascal to Matt on our own
To finish off this post I want to share a fun photo I caught one morning of our back yard before taking the kids to school. It represents the beautiful life we have despite challenges. As a side note, the ducks left shortly after I took this photo and thank goodness for pool chemicals!
