Life as of Lately

How could so many things change in one week?    We are in the process of finding new office managers for our apartment complex.  Which means Trent and I are basically in charge of everything at the moment. With very little help.  I never mind stepping up to the plate and filling in when needed.  I am just bummed that now I am spending my summer working 23 hours a week.  Poor Porter.  He always gets the short end of the stick.  But we definitely explore until 2 o'clock when the office starts.  Some of our explorations include Rexburg Rapids, Splash Pad, Porter Park, play dates, Farmer's Market, and everything else Rexburg has to offer.   I keep deleting sentences because I don't know how much I want to write about what is really going on.    So, I almost took the office manager job.  If you combine the residential and office manager positions, you almost get the amount I make as a teacher. But ever since I became a teacher we have had that salary + half off rent + our hourly salary. So obviously we have had a little more than just my teaching salary.  But if I was taking this job, it would be less than my teacher salary (by like $100), and there wouldn't be any of those other bonuses on top.  But I would be at home with my baby. And the thought of that pulled at my heart strings more than I could bear.   But with this Manager position, we wouldn't have insurance.   So we would have to rely on the government. And I am totally fine with using government aid when needed.  But the problem was, I had a job that provided for insurance and all of those things.  And I would be purposefully choosing to forego paying our own bill and having someone else pay them for us. And that doesn't feel right either.    But despite all of that, I still chose to take the office manager job. So I called Trent and told him my decision. And he basically said - you need to go back to teach school next year.  And I knew he was right.  But I also thought, maybe if we pursue this righteous desire and have faith, it will all work out.  Then Trent reminded me that he has two semesters left.  Next semester, Porter is being watched 10 hours a week, and the following semester it will be five hours a week.  So its basically 1-2 hours a day that he is away from us.  That's really not that bad.  So, I signed my contract, and I will be back to work in August.   ----------------   So last Sunday, I got called to be in compassionate service committee member.  And I {very very selfishly} was not happy about it.  Before Trent and I became married, I had callings that pushed me to develop spiritually.  Since I was a beehive, I was always in the presidency - and most of the times the president.  Then I went to the singles ward and I was FHE leader which required me to put on an activity with 5 committee members every Tuesday for 80+ single adults.  Then, after a few months, I was put into the RS Presidency and I seriously have never felt so close to the Lord.    And then I got married.   And my callings have included emergency preparedness assistant, compassionate service committee member, visiting teacher supervisor, and those sort of dealings.   Those callings have usually been because I have been supporting Trent in larger callings.  Some examples include Elders Quorum, Ward Clerk, Bishopric, serving on Singles Ward on campus and things such as those.   But Satan got to me last Sunday.   So when Trent set me apart, I bawled through the whole thing.  And then as we sat in Bishop's office {Bishop has been out of town for a few weeks so Trent has been filling in,} I just lost it.  I asked him when would it be my turn to have those spiritual experiences he has been having. I asked him when would it be my turn to grow like he has.  I told I have supported him through school for two years now, and I am going on a third year of supporting our family.  And I will probably support us through his Masters, and I have supported him through all these callings the past {almost} four years.  I asked, "When will it be my turn to be supported?"   I cringe at writing this. I truly do.  I want to delete the whole stinking paragraph.  But I really do need this, because I am afraid with Trent's track record, this will not be the end of my supportive role. And I don't ever want an explosion like this again.   Of course, this made Trent feel terrible. Which I should NEVER make my husband feel terrible for supporting the Lord and trying to build a life for his family.   I felt awful leaving like that.  Trent was pretty worried about me. So what do you do in a situation like that? You call your mother.  Immediately when she picked up the phone I said, "Mom, I need you to chastise me.  But I need it in a loving way."  I told her everything.   She reminded me that I am so very lucky to have a husband who is worthy to do whatever the Lord asks of him.  I knew that.  I was lucky.  But here is what I want to remember:   We talked about Mari Calhoun, and how her husband had been a bishop for a very, very long time.  And Mari, if you have ever met her, is a force to be wrecken with.  She is straight as an arrow and has so much to offer. My mom reminded me that when Craig, her husband, had his calling, Mari found her "nitch" instead.  She invited families over on Monday for FHE and found her way to spread light differently than just through a calling.   When Trent came home, he opened the door and looked at me so serious. "Chels, I am really worried about you. Are you okay?" By then, I had thought about what my mother had said and realized how stinking foolish and prideful I had been.  I immediately apologized, over and over again.    To be honest, I think Porter is a slight reason at my negativity.  He is the only walker not in nursery. And that boy is so stinking active. Ask anybody in my ward. Anybody. He will not sit still and I feel like I am at a constant battle with him and myself. Do I just let him walk around? Is he being too much of a distraction? Should I be teaching him to sit on my lap and stop moving? And I just want to ask Trent all of these questions and get his opinion, but he isn't there. And I get a little discouraged.    Because I seriously have no idea what I am doing.   Anyways, in reality, I feel very optimistic about my calling now.  I am in charge of birthdays for Relief Society. And I making cute gifts to hand deliver to sisters on their birthday! That is right up my alley. And tonight was the start of our weekly dinner/dessert with multiple families.  Although, it is a little rougher with children, there is never a dull moment. That's for dang sure.   It was a weak moment.  Maybe induced by some hormones. But I love our life right now, and I know the Lord is watching over this little family of three.   

     

Family Photos

 

We had Porter's first year/family pictures taken while we were in Utah by the lovely and talented Abbie Martinsen. You guys, just look at these pictures.  Porter is such a heart throb.  But he was also a miniature Wreck-It Ralph the entire time. And she was SO patient! Not only with Porter, but with a frustrated mother and father who just wanted their little boy to behave for 45 minutes. She was so optimistic and would let him play between photos. I think they turned out wonderful.  Oooooo I love my wittle family!

 

 

 

 

 

Utah

I know I have said this before, but being in Idaho has really made me miss my family.  It is happening even more often now that we are missing mission farewell/homecomings, priesthood ordinances, endowments, birthdays, family reunions, you get the idea. But this weekend I was able to be with some of my favorite people.  If Nolan, Dallin, Adam, Andrea, and Ethan were here, my heart would have exploded with happiness. 

On Friday night, we partied for Porter's birthday with my family Friday night. I love them, I love them, I LOVE THEM!

This is a winning group of people right here. Obviously. 

It was so funny! He took the longest time to start eating the cake. But once he finally got the courage to eat that first bite, he couldn't stop.  
Over the next two days we had weddings, family photos, fishing, and one heck of a good time.  Then, the Thompson's joined in and that's who we are partying with now!
Porter met his Uncle Dallas for the first time today! He has been on a mission in Georgia.  It probably would have been a more sentimental moment but Porter was too busy running around to care.

His shirt said, "I have waited my entire life to meet you." *cue awwwwww and heart melt

Goodness. I love all of these boys so much. Every single one. 

Splash Pad - Take 2

I thought that the second time at the Splash Pad would surely make a difference.  I have been waiting for this wonderful free park to open since Memorial Day.  It needed some maintenance repairs and every day for two weeks I drove by hoping it was fixed.  Now, it's finally here and Porter absolutely HATES that place.  

  Consistency. I am a believer in consistency. One day this summer, he will just start loving it. Or he will just hate splash pads. And I will never get my tan. It's fine.   But we had fun anyways.  Porter went with one of his new {girl}friends. He obviously didn't impress her by screaming in her ear. But we are hoping for a second date regardless.

I just love being with Porter all day long. And, I have made dinner EVERY day this week.  Miracles are happening folks. If only I could keep my house clean, then life would be absolutely perfect right now.   Hey, clean eating is only fun sometimes. Like right now, Trent is eating a pizza right in front of me, and I just want to join him so bad. Call me vain {I know I am}, but I really really want to loose all of the baby weight before our next kid. Although we don't know when that's going to be {we are not on the same page for that topic}, I just want to be healthy.  My body has changed so much.  I basically ate whatever I wanted {in somewhat moderation} and stayed at 125.  But after Porter, my metabolism seems to be different and not as fast.  I thought that happened when you turned 40? Not 23. Anyways, I guess learning how to eat healthy now will really benefit my family in the long run. We definitely did not eat healthy growing up as a family.  The only vegetables we ever ate were green beans or corn from a can.  Asparagus? What the what?  Cauliflower? Weirdo. Oat flour? Crazy town.   It has only been 4 days. Nothing to brag about. But it's the step in the right direction.   And a step in the right direction, is always something to celebrate!