On the life change that is about to happen

As we're packing up our house and evaluating all we've crammed into the basement, attic, 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living room, foyer, porch and garage, it's sort of a weird feeling. When we moved in we didn't know that Ava would be born 9 mos. later, but it was a good "settled" feeling. We were employed, we had a car and health insurance. This is the opposite feeling I am experiencing now. I don't know exactly what is going to happen while Tyler is in school. What projects he'll be a part of, what grades he's going to get, what companies he'll end up working for, who our friends will be, if I'll be lonely, etc., etc., etc. And all of this is going to end in 2 years where I will once again be confronted with sort of the same questions: where will we live? what kind of job are we going to have? will we be able to pay off the massive debt we are about to incur?

So if you have any questions of me about these topics the answer I'm telling you now is: I don't know.

What I do know is that going to school is the right decision. We have prayed, studied and pondered our decision and know that it is the best option. We are blessed to have friends renting our house for a year so our family will all be living and going to school in the same city.

I am also increasingly thankful that we are homeschooling the kids for now. With all the pandemics and bad examples our kids have to face, I believe that although I will not shelter my kids, I will do whatever I can to make their life better. As someone said to me a couple weeks ago, "You're really lucky." Coming from a working mom with grown children that means a lot. I am lucky, or blessed, to be able to stay at home. A few dollars is not worth the time that I'm spending, and enjoying with my children.

More babies, bread, bikes, and bainbows, no ... rainbows

So another baby girl, Jady was born on Saturday! She is the one I threw the shower for. Megan was already out visiting members of our church with me less than a week later ... wow .. I'm impressed. Sounds like one baby is too easy for her.

In other news ... Tyler made some cinnamon raisin bread and it was a huge recipe! It made four loaves. Here he had to roll it into one huge snake and then cut it. It is quite delicious.

One of the reasons he has time to make cinnamon raisin bread is that he is now working from home. During the past three weeks I could have taken a picture of him napping with the girls, or us taking walks, or him going on stumbleupon.com, but that wouldn't have been exactly fair. He is working on building his networking business, and it has been wonderful. I actually remember why I married my husband, and enjoy being around him. Not that I didn't before, but I didn't remember what it was like to be around him a lot. Between a corporate job and a business, I didn't realize how busy he was and how little time we got to spend together. Welcome home daddy! We love you!

The theme this week is rainbows. Who doesn't like a good rainbow? But first let me talk about last week's theme: lighthouses. Lighthouses are great and all, especially when you live in a state that is full of them. But when it's cold and rainy, and you drive an hour to try to find one, then don't, it's a little disheartening. The location online was in a location called "old channel NE in Lake St. Clair." The GPS couldn't find it. Neither did we. We did find water and a huge barge was passing through. Very pretty. We got hot chocolate on the way home. Violet soaked herself with it, but a good time was had by all.

On to this week's theme. Below are some fun projects we've done:


Ava riding her bike with all the gear. It's funny how unheard it is to have a kid ride a bike without a helmet now. When I was little helmets didn't even exist. And if they did they would have been the size and shape of a basketball.
Pasta rainbows were a bit of a challenge. They lost interest, so mommy had to help a lot. I dyed the pasta really easily, just using rubbing alchohol and food coloring. Soak for an hour and then dry overnight. I got impatient and dried them in the oven, but I think they got a lot of fine cracks in the pasta.

Ohhh pretty colors. I love rainbows!! I also bought a ton of jello to make layered jello. We'll see if I get around to it as we disassemble our house. It's sort of like we don't even live here any more the walls are getting very bare.

Wedding Shower and another Baby Born!

Just because I think it's crazy, I'm letting my readers know every time a baby is born of someone that I know.  You'll see... it's a lot of people.  One was born on Saturday.

First things first though, it was my dear friend Heather's bridal shower on Saturday.  Amy and I threw it at Kruse and Muer at the Lake in Lake Orion, Mi.  She looked radiant and a good time was had by all.  Here she is.  This is getting real!

Heather is so amazing.  We met in college at the dorms, and were suite mates.  After that first year we decided to room together, as my roomate was disgusting (this is a whole nother story in itself) and hers was leaving the school.  After surviving two doomed long-term relationships .. that were crazy in themselves, she finally found her true love.  Hai and her are perfect and I can't wait to get to know Hai even better as our families grow.

The bride to be...

We had a drawing for a basket of goodies.

The tables.. Everyone got a vase with roses.

Yeaaa!! It's a crock pot! Probably the wife-initiation gift every bride loves.

Heather and her twin sister Rhianna.
Hai couldn't make it because he is suffering ... and working ... in India for a month.  Hopefully he is able to come home soon!

For Sale: 07 Buick Rendezvous

2007 Buick Rendezvous CX SUV $14,899

33,500 miles
7 seats
black exterior/gray interior (cloth)
6 cyl/automatic

Comes With:
Cargo Rails
80 in-car phone minutes
rubber mats
carpet mats

This is a great vehicle for anyone downsizing or upsizing! We are going to graduate school and need to go down to one vehicle. Please contact me with any more questions or if you want to see additional photos or get the VIN. The pictures I used are pretty low quality so I could fit 4 in the listing. thepaxtons@gmail.com

• Airbag Deactivation • Automatic Transmission
• Air Conditioning • Vanity Mirrors
• EBD Electronic Brake Dist • Power Steering
• Power Door Locks • Power Windows
• Clock • Tachometer
• Cruise Control • Reclining Seats
• Rear Window Wiper • Adjustable Head Rests
• Bucket Seats • Child Safety Locks
• Front Wheel Drive • Fog Lamps
• Auto Headlight Delay • Anti-Theft Device(s)
• Folding Rear Seats • Auto Express Down Window
• Door Pocket(s) • Adjustable Lumbar Seat(s)
• Power Driver"s Seat • Center Console
• Rear Center Armrest • Roof Rack
• Privacy Glass • Illuminated Entry System
• Rear Window Defroster • Reading Light(s)
• Power Outlet(s) • Anti Theft/Security System
• Keyless Entry

Easter 09

It had been a long time (since last July 4th) that we visited my mom and step dad, so we headed to PA for Easter. It is always so refreshing to go to a place where the pace of life is slower. The girls really enjoyed seeing horses and buggies and sheep, horses and cows everywhere. Although they did say occasionally that it was "stinky."

Our first day we went to the local park, followed up by a photo shoot. The pictures are really really good, but we just got prints. So unless I scan them, which I may, you'll have to be in suspense.



Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt with cousins. Ava was really into it, Violet just got one and loved shaking it so much she couldn't put it down to get another one.

Violet LOVES candy. She will do anything for a treat. Including go potty. Ava was not convinced with treats at all, but somehow we got lucky with Violet. They scarfed chocolate and jelly beans until they were sick. Ava said, "My tummy hurts," I felt bad for her, but in a way I wanted her to learn what happens when you eat too much candy.


Sorting the eggs. Ava ate her jelly beans according to color.

Violet smiling
Easter morning we hide the girls baskets and tie them to a string. So they simply have to follow the string. The girls got the hang of it a little more this year, but we're still a long way from them really getting it. Church wasn't until 1:30 so we had a full morning to play.
Ava got some poster paints and a felt book. Violet got a buckle, zip and snap puzzle.
A highlight were the "Zoo Pals" plates, cups and bowls my mom got for them. Each had a different animal and they loved picking out what animal they were going to eat off of.

We also went to the "Please Touch" Museum my mom saw on Jon and Kate plus 8. It was fun, but really really busy. I definitely recommend it though if you're ever in Philadelphia.

We have been continuing our "letter of the week." Here is a crocodile we made. I drew it, the girls glued the paper on it, then we measured how tall each was compared to the crocodile. This week our letter is "D," which seems to be much easier than C for some reason. The vocab word is Iris, and we played "pin the eye on the girl," tonight. It was really fun.

Two baby showers, one baby born, and General Conference weekend

Twice a year our church has a General Conference, where selected leaders of our church speak on many relevant topics. There are five 2-hour broadcasts, so it is a very long weekend, but just amazing. I am so thankful we get to hear our prophet and apostles speak and uplift us.

We had a few friends over to listen and make food on Sunday and then we went over to the Wiebe's house on Saturday night. Tyler coordinated the menu on Sunday and we had home made cheese and spinach tortellini, sweet and spicy sausage with peppers and onions, bruchetta, and apple tarts. On Saturday Jenny made us an authentic vegetarian Thai food. It was awesome, complete with a sweet sticky rice recipe for dessert.

Jon and Steve
Left to right - Bella, Jewel, Tyler, Jenny, Jared, Sierra, Jon and Steve. The kids had their own picnic table.

On Friday night I held a shower for a good friend from church who just moved here, Megan. She is due with a baby girl the first week of May. It was nice to pick up the house and have a few friends over and ooohhh and aaahhh over cute stuff. They're more than likely naming the baby Jady Lynn. In total there were four pregnant people at the shower. Crazy!! One due with a boy, two due with girls, and one unknown.




A girl I visit teach also had a baby on Thursday, a boy, Michael Tate. Then the weekend was rounded out by an amazing baby shower for my friend Lindsay. She is due with a boy in early June. He is still unnamed. :)

Last Thursday and Friday we also spent in Ann Arbor at something they call the Go Blue Rendezvous. The first day was pretty much just tours of the building, campus and speeches by the dean, dir. of admissions and financial aid. We finally figured out how loans work and we actually will get money in our bank account. The second day the partners and prospective students were separated and each group got more specific information. Tyler got to visit a couple profs, do a team activity and check out the clubs and career groups he was interested in. I got to talk with a lot of "parners" of students and listen to a panel answering questions about the program and what it's like to live during school.

Our letter last week was "B." B is much more difficult than "A," but we did a few fun activities. We also read about jungles :) Pics to come.