Camel Friends

There are a few classic Egypt pictures that I didn't have in my last Egypt post. Funny how they all include camels. Not only is it weird to be driving down the street and see a camel as the passenger in the car over...

but it is even weirder to see how they transport them. Yes, in the back of a pick up truck, tied down, because if they stood up they would be three times the size of that puny truck.

Tyler's great friend, the gimpy camel. Every third step of our 15 minute ride Tyler almost fell off the front of this camel due to the camel's leg almost giving out. This picture was obviously taken before he knew this fact.

And this one is just a great picture of all of us.

Oh, and I forgot to mention throughout my sulking from my last post, we can see the Empire State Building from our apt.

A week

We have almost been in NJ for a week. It has been an interesting week. Here are a few details.

Plane ride over...

No TV's for kids.

I was using the nice little "get sick" bags they provide in your front seat pocket. Therefore, Ty had all 3 kids without a movie. They were actually pretty good, right Ty?

Got here Saturday night...

Our apt is actually pretty big, which is nice, but with a few little problems. No bakeware, balcony door doesn't open, leaky toilet, and NO HIGHCHAIR. (all of which have been taken care of).

They had to search for a corporate housing apt with 3 bedrooms for us and the only one they could find is not in the greatest of towns. We also had no food and no car. We had to walk to a market (if you want to call it that-more like a 7-11)...we were slightly nervous during our walk. Ty was ready to get us moved the next day. But we woke up and things seemed a ton better so we will deal with not walking the neighborhood at night for the next couple months.

We got ready for church and called about our rental car reservation, which they had not reserved until Monday. After getting the car re-set-up church was half over. We got out of our church clothes and went to Costco. We then had to explain to the kids why were shopping on Sunday.

We drove around and saw how beautiful the area we will be living in and it made us feel tons better.

So Monday came. Ty headed to work. Ty found out that he entered during a "busy" week. Most weeks he will have very normal hours. But every couple months he will have a busy week. He got home at 1am last night. awesome.

All our temporary housing boxes arrive Monday as well. Not exactly all of them. We didn't get any of our spices, sauces and baking good that were supposed to be sent to us. Hmmm...what to make for dinner? Anyone with simple recipes calling for salt and pepper only? Although, what difference does it make, I don't have anything to bake it in.

I've been at home taking the kids swimming and to the park. We have had only minor problems...

Ava opened a door at the pool and her entire big toenail came off.

Lots of blood and tears.

Then the B man has the big D to all extremes.

No one wants to deal with this...Then, an hour later, find this
That same day, we were headed to the park. On our way to the parking garage, which is a quick 3 elevator rides away (usually done with 3 kids and a mountain of stuff to carry), we met this door. Ava met the door more personally as she tried to run through the side window.
More blood and tears.

We did go to the park and I met a friend. Of course, I may have talked to a tree at that point. :)

Before Ty left for work today, he mentioned that we wouldn't be able to celebrate his 30th birthday on Tuesday, his actual birthday. He has a banquet to go to that night. Sweet. It is not like his party is the only thing I have on my look-forward-to list.

This sounds like a downer post. In reality, I have been laughing the whole time. It is going to be great here. We just need to get in the groove and what not. Anyway,

What a week!

Egypt

We just returned from an amazing and exhausting trip to the Middle East with our good friends, the Picketts. It was seriously NON-STOP! We saw Egypt in 2 1/2 days, which, as wonderful as Egypt is, was enough for me. That may have had something to do with the fact that I was hungry the entire 2 1/2 days because I didn't dare eat anything. We did see all the things we learned about Egypt in Elementary school. Here is a brief (only compared to the total pics I have on smugmug) summary of those short days.

The Pyramids

I am pretty sure I sang "Arabian Nights" from Alladin and "Walk like and Egyptian" the entire time I was there. Which is exactly what we were doing below.

Amazing view as we rode camels across sand dune hills.

We did go into one of the pyramids. The pyramids are definitely cooler from the outside, but I am glad I did it. ;)

Pretty cool spot. This was before we really got to know the Sphinx...

This was after...

and, as always, Jeff takes it to a whole new level.

The step pyramid, and as we establish, the oldest building.

We headed down to Luxor to the Valley of the Kings, where King Tut's tomb is and TONS of other king's tombs are as well. King Tut's mummy is actually being kept inside his tomb so we got to see him. Then we went to Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. This was one of my favorite things because of the story behind it, but I won't give you a history lesson. It is pretty cool that the walls of the tombs and the temples still had original painted colors, which is crazy. We are talking like 3500 years ago.

Then at the Temple at Karnak, we became one with the sphinx.

The Luxor Temple

The Citadel and the Mosque. We were able to sit in the famous mosque and ask any questions to our Muslim tour guide. It was really great to hear all about their religion. There are actually a lot of similarities in our religions.

View from the Mosque. If it weren't so hazy you could see the pyramids in the distance.

So Egypt was amazing.

Lessons from a Boy

This particular post has been on my mind for about three months now. Oooo, it's gonna be a good one, right. Truth is, I've sat down to do this post about three times now and am finally getting any words out. I guess there is just a lot of emotion behind it, that is all. So here goes...

I believe I have mentioned once or twice that I really enjoy the work that I choose to do. My business has been wonderful for the past 5 years, although there have been many times I have discredited it, putting myself in the "stay-at-home-mom-making-crafts-into-business" category (the successful side at least). Well, it wasn't until the beginning of this year that I began to see it all a little different.

When we decided to move, Tyler and I debated for a long time about how to deal with the business. I really felt like I wanted someone to have someone run the business for me while I was gone, but I didn't want to sell the whole thing.

During this time, my friend, Lindsay's little boy suddenly got very sick and passed away within a days time. Her little Cooper was only 19 months old. It was tragic, a little boy so full of life taken back to his Heavenly Father at such a young age. After hearing the shocking news I mentioned to Lindsay that I would be happy to do imprints for Cooper. I had done his imprints once before when he was a newborn and even featured them here on the blog. I had never done a deceased child before, yet alone a child of someone I care about. Lindsay gratefully accepted and I was able to join them at the mortuary as they said goodbye to Cooper's little body. I felt privileged to be with them on that day. To be able to feel of the love of parents for their only son. To be able to feel the strong spirit of one righteous little boy. And to feel the witness of the spirit teaching me many things, one of which is the body's complete insignificance without our spirits. Lindsay and Patrick amazed me that day and many of the days following.

(Is that the perfect background for Cooper's print or what???)

During the week following Cooper's death while I was trying to keep my mind focused on the figuring out what to do with my business, Lindsay kept coming to my mind. I couldn't possibly mention anything to her at such a time in her life, yet at the same time, it was a just the right time to do so. Luckily for me, Lindsay mentioned one day that if I needed any help with business stuff, she had plenty of time on her hands. She opened the door and I knew that she would be perfect for it. Within the next two weeks we had both, Lindsay and I determined that she would be the person to take over my business and become my "partner" (that sounds so official).

I spent a TON of time with her over the next couple months, teaching her all the ins and outs of the business. I am so grateful for this time. Not because I was able to successfully pass off my business, but because I learned and grew, and I made a wonderful friend. Lindsay is a strong and faithful person and the way she dealt/deals with such a tragedy leaves me in awe. Really.

A couple weeks after Cooper passed away another friend of ours, Jen, delivered a baby that she knew would only have a short life here on this earth. I was able to do imprints for baby Corinne before she passed away. I received a similar witness as I did imprints of that baby girl. Her spirit was so big. I didn't want to leave that hospital room. It felt so good to be near her.

After 5 years of doing imprints I realized that I really have a wonderful job. I create something that allows people to cherish a moment. Even though I am blessed with believing in eternal life, remembering these little hands and feet bring joy, and that is pretty cool.

Lindsay is doing fabulous things with the business already. We had a photo shoot for our products recently. Here is my head shot and a "partners" photo :)

As we were saying goodbye to some good friends from California the other day I asked Tyler, "Why are we moving away for a few years??" As I thought about it, I really believe that this was one of the reasons already portraying itself.

Forbes Avenue

We said goodbye to our life on Forbes Avenue last Friday. What a sad day. We sent all our belongings in this...

to be reunited with us across the country in a few months.

We are going to miss California SO much. I shed many tears as we left this place, for many reasons.

The weather, oh, the weather.

The beauty. So green, so many trees. Just beautiful.

The convenience. Any store I want, so close.

This list could go on and on, but the real reason I shed tears...

The people.

Hands down the most wonderful friends. We have experienced a lot the last five years and these "people" are who have been there with us.

Helped us,

Laughed with us/cried with us,

Raised our children with us,

Taught us,

Partied with us (I have pictures to prove it coming soon),

They have been our family and I LOVE them.

The only comfort I have is knowing I will be back with them in a few years. So no one go moving on me! Oh, and the visits (a 5 hour flight isn't too bad).

We did a visit to NJ this week. I felt like I went to another country...so different! more to come on that!

For Him.

Christian is 3.

Wow. We did some serious celebrating. Cousins, Courtney and Carter came with Grandma Nancy for their big days. We were happy to have them and the kids were sad to see them go. The kids were really sad to see grandma go. Sometimes it takes Christian awhile to realize that someone has left. So the day after grandma left, he was a little sad. He insisted on calling her. So we called. The conversation went something like this:

Christian: Damma, did you go home?

Gma: Yes, I had to come back to Papa.

Christian: I miss you. I want you to come back.

Gma: Why do you want me to come back Christian?

Christian: Because I love you Damma, and you forgot your bra.

It was pretty funny. Humor aside, he did indeed miss his damma (not to be confused with damn-ma).

He is a sweet boy.

Though, he has not been only sweet lately.

He has had some..."moments". You know, the times when you have to stop and tell yourself all the reasons you don't want to sell him to the gypsies. But the other night he was the last to fall asleep (which his sister has on him 90% of the time). He snuck to the edge of him room and asked me to come tickle his back. Yes, I have created a monster. His preferred way of falling asleep is, like his dad with soft tickles on the skin, not over clothes of his back.

There are a handful of nights that I promise to return after a minute to conclude the tickles, knowing he will be fast asleep when the dishes are done. Not this night. I laid down on his toddler bed with him and tickled his back while he jabbered off never-ending stories to me. He finally finished his elaborate tale and said, "I wuv you mom."

Well, Christian, I love you too. I get sad thinking about the days this kid won't be a toddler anymore. I am sure his life to come will be wonderful. I just want to freeze him as he is right now, because I love him.

The sweet sound of his voice brings a smile to any strangers face. I am tempted to keep a voice recorder on him. He shows the most genuine joy over simple things. We could have given him a piece of paper for his birthday, with nothing on it and there would have been joy. He has a friend with a nickname of BoBo, which has now turned into a term of endearment at our house. It is completely promoted by his uncle dog as together they call each other bobo-heads. There is always at least two pairs of shoes in our car due to his dislike for having them on his feet. He is brave and daring. When he does something wrong, the first thing he does is comes to me and says sorry (before he tells me what he's done). While I was writing this he did that exact thing. It is impossible for him to tell a lie if you sing the song, "I told the TRUTH". What a boy. He's hard not to love.

So here's to you buddy. Happy Birthday!

Sink or Swim

Christian's now in swim lessons.

It has been an anticipated day since he watched Ava throughout her last session.

He watched her cry.

He said, "You can do it" and "Good Job" with a little brother thumbs up.

He nearly fell/jumped in the pool on a regular basis.

He knew his turn was coming when he was almost 3.

So the time came.

First lesson: Super excited.

No tears, despite his 3 classmates screams...

until the 2nd lesson. Now, instead of 3 screaming kids, there are 4.

For about the first 2-5 minutes then he calms down and rather enjoys himself.

It is weird, I don't get it. Oh well, it'll pass (after many torturous days of throwing him in the pool). Ava, on the other hand is swimming like a champ. Who would have known that last session she was just like Christian's class.

Thanks for the pictures Alie!