Snapshots

I had another online shopping mishap worth mentioning. At first, I was irritated, but I ended up laughing about it. I ordered a whole chicken in my online grocery order. Smiths ran out of whole chickens and asked if a substitution was okay. I said yes and didn't realize a Cornish Hen was so tiny! (Hopefully, the pic gives you an idea of just how small it is). Definitely not the yummy whole chicken I was expecting to feed my family for Sunday dinner. I got a normal-sized chicken and am already salivating thinking about eating it tonight.

We recently got our pictures back from the photoshoot with my family. Alexa Ditto is such a talented photographer and we're all pleased with how they turned out! 

He's the fun one. Always surprising me with things like this that embarrass me.

Poor James tested positive for Covid-19 today. He has a fever and is so exhausted. He's definitely not feeling well. I'm pretty sure he got it at preschool. Yes, Covid-19 is still a thing. In fact, the latest variant has been extremely infectious. Fortunately, the vaccine has helped ease the symptoms for people. Schools were closed here for a week this month and we have been doing a virtual second hour at church for the last few weeks. One Sunday, the entire bishopric was gone. I have had a lot of family members and friends get the Omicron variant. Even book club was canceled because the host had covid. 

Almost everyone is sick it seems. My family had tickets to see "Hamilton" on January 21 and it was postponed because the cast got Covid. Now it's our turn I guess. We'll see who else gets it besides James. I am supposed to start 3 new piano students this week. Having a first piano lesson over zoom will be pretty exciting! I have had a piano recital scheduled since November for this upcoming Saturday, February 5. Looks like the show might have to go on without me. Good thing we have that tasty whole chicken to eat tonight. Hello, quarantine! 

Apparently I Enjoy Decorating Now?

I'm a light snob. We changed out many lights in our PG (Pleasant Grove) home and here we go again. Once you do one light fixture, it's hard to stop. I think a couple of things play into my desire to switch up our light fixtures. 1) A new fixture can give a room new life for a fairly reasonable price. 2) Andrew and I are tall. We have bonked our heads on our fixtures a handful of times which gets old quickly. 

It doesn't help that I think our old light fixtures were eyesores and didn't match my style or the purpose of the room. For instance, instead of having a "formal dining room," we use that space as a playroom for the kids. We do not need a massive, dated chandelier meant to go above a table. Throwing this beauty in the trash brought me so much joy. You can still sometimes catch Andrew ducking when walking through this room out of habit. No need to slouch anymore.

Picking out a new fixture can be challenging. I instantly thought back to one of the lights we put in our PG house. I didn't want to do the exact one in our Sojo house (South Jordan), but I found a similar light that I like even more from Wayfair. It's so bright and flush to the wall, so our heads don't take a beating. Andrew and I have been married long enough so he knows that when a new light fixture arrives, I want it put up instantly. He's the best and just rolls with it. Andrew has had lots of practice with changing out lights and is quite the pro now.

To reign myself in, I have a budget category called "home improvement" each month. I will say I ordered the new playroom light with Christmas money we got (the last week of December) and ordered a new light for the piano room less than 2 weeks later in January. The piano room light is also found at Wayfair.com, but it was cheaper from Overstock.com, so I got it there. This light ties the room together beautifully. Surprisingly, it isn't flush to the ceiling and hangs down. It's for a more formal space though, so I am okay with it. We ensured that we were able to walk under the light without gaining any bruises and I couldn't be happier with how it looks.

Decorating my house hasn't always come naturally to me, but lately, I feel like I've found my niche. I know what I like and am learning to trust my gut because chances are, I will like how it looks.

That being said, I do still find some things stressful about decor. Note the curtains in the playroom pictured above. It took me 5 attempts to buy some that I approved of. I was frustrated to have to make so many returns, but I'm glad I held out for the curtains we ended up with. They provide the color and privacy I was looking for. 

Now that I've started, I can't seem to stop. I have all of these ideas flowing through my head and I want to make them happen! Note the curtains in the piano room. They have never been my favorite. They aren't long enough, are a bright white, and provide zero privacy. The curtain rod is also not my style and clashes with the new, elegant light. You better believe that new curtains for the piano room are up next. Can it be February already, so my budget can reset? I already have the new curtains picked out! They are peach and will look so classy.

Our house is coming together and it makes me so happy. I love our space. And who am I? Apparently, I enjoy decorating now (even though it isn't always easy for me). 

Mission Leaders

Right before General Conference in October of 2021, we got some big news. My parents told us they had a zoom call with Elder Rasband. Following that chat, they had an in-person meeting with President Oaks. My parents were asked to serve as Mission Leaders (aka Mission President and Companion).

I remember the night they told us about their call vividly. It was actually the day that our new flooring was finished being installed. My parents were over to help us move our furniture back. They came early and said they had something to tell us. My initial reaction was excitement for my parents. They will do a wonderful job and the missionaries they serve will be blessed immensely by them. As this news has had more time to settle, I've realized what this call means. My parents are leaving for 3 years. I will miss them more than I can say. When they return, James will be 8 years old which kills me. 

My parents were told there was a good chance they would serve in a Portuguese speaking mission. They had to wait to get their call and found out in December that they're headed to Brazil. Their call was very specific about keeping the location of their mission (only telling immediate family) confidential until it was announced in the Church News. The Church News featured all the new mission leaders today, January 7, 2022, so the secret is out! My parents will leave on July 1 and are headed to Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. They are so cute and have been studying Portuguese like maniacs. Fortunately, my dad served his mission about 40 years ago in Curitiba, Brazil, so I expect the language will come back to him fairly easily. My mom is so studious, that I think she'll be fluent in Portuguese soon.

The timing of my parents call is truly miraculous. In preparation to leave, my parents had to have physicals and several medical tests. This is why my mom's cancer was discovered. She had to have a mammogram. After the mammogram, the doctors said they almost didn't call her to come back in for a follow-up because the results seemed nearly normal. Thank goodness they called her back. If my mom hadn't had to do all the mission paperwork, her cancer wouldn't have been caught and would have been much more advanced. She has now had 2 surgeries to remove the breast cancer and will start radiation next week. We're all extremely grateful that she gets to skip chemotherapy. Blessing of the mission call!

My parents have always had good health. They workout very consistently. Around the time of their big news, my dad found out he tore his meniscus. Surgery is usually the solution to fix a torn meniscus. It seemed like my parents were falling apart. After no medical problems for years and years, suddenly my mom has cancer and my dad is limping around. Fortunately, my dad's doctor suggested a steroid shot in his knee to try to avoid surgery. So far the shot has helped and surgery seems less likely. (fingers crossed) 

My parents have to sacrifice a lot to fulfill this call. They both have their dream jobs. My mom recently packed up her office at BYU which was a sad day for her. She will leave a big hole in the BYU English Department. I mean, what professor brings In-N-Out and Krispie Kreme doughnuts to their students? Apparently my dad even got choked up telling people at work that he's leaving. He was nervous to notify his work, especially since he recently signed a 5-year contract with them. Things went smoothly though. It helps that the owners of the company are religious. My parents are wonderful examples. 

You might not recognize my cheery dad pictured below. We tease him about the gleam he has in his eyes. We have even gone as far as calling him a "fraud" because he never smiles so big. He's excited to serve in Brazil again. He has already taken this calling seriously and has spent hours tossing and turning at night. He has even lost weight and who knew there was any weight to lose?

Thinking about saying goodbye in July is devastating to me and breaks my heart. I know I'll bawl my eyes out and I'm not a crier. For now, we're enjoying every second we can with them. Just last week, we had professional pictures taken of all of us. (Thanks to my niece, Alexa who saved the day when our other photographer was hospitalized). And yes, I'm still glad we moved to South Jordan, even though my parents are deserting us. I love where we live and we have taken advantage of living so close to them. We plan to visit my parents at some point during their time in Brazil which will be a once-in-a lifetime experience. I've always known I have the best parents and now they get to go parent hundreds of missionaries. What lucky missionaries. Wouldn't it be neat if one of my nieces or nephews (on the Ditto side) gets called to their mission!?