We are still here...

Just a quick note to let everyone know we are still alive and well. We have many pictures from thanksgiving and other events last week. We would share them but first we must find the camera :(. Tomorrow Blaine will hear from Utah and December 2nd he will know about Cali. Just waiting....

A visit with "The Fam" ....

Blaine's family came to visit yesterday afternoon and brought us dinner! We had a blast and from the looks on the kids faces I am pretty sure they had a good time also. 

Trying to hit Blaine with a gushy ball.... Blaine finally missed... once....

Waiting for the ball to return.... they just look sooo happy! Loved watching them play with their big brother!

Landon and Uncle Luke

Playing with Grandpa's watch

Landon and Maryann

In the Zone with Grandma...

Waiting...again...

We can't believe that it has been four and half months since Landon was born. He has grown so much! Some days we don't notice it as much as others but lately it has been hard to ignore. Several of our friends have recently had babies and Landon is HUGE compared to them! It is hard to believe that just a few months ago he was the same size or smaller than them. He is now a happy, healthy and growing baby. 

7 lbs 12oz 21 1/2 inches

17 lbs 27 inches

Blaine completed two interviews this week. One interview was in Vacaville, California and the other in south Jordan, Utah. He was given compliments on his performance in each. He will find out if he was chosen for Utah on Tuesday. We will have to wait to find out about Vacaville until December 2^nd.  He brought back a few picks from California. The sunsets are pretty but the traffic  doesn’t seem like it would be fun…. We are still praying we get to go to Utah...

He's back!!!!

For those of you that were wondering.... BLAINE IS HOME!!! It was a long trip to the airport (with one uncharacteristically screaming, crying, upset baby) to get him  but we are so happy to have him back! We are all safe an happy and ready for bed! Good night all!

Blaine's two day adventure...

Today Blaine has an interview in Vacaville, CA.  . Actually he is in the interview right now. After he finishes there he is flying to Salt lake City, Utah for an interview in South Jordan tomorrow. When we first started this process Utah was the one state that we did not want to move to… then Blaine had an interview there. Now we are actually excited at the possibility of moving there. This position would also be a huge blessing. Usually Blaine is only allowed to apply for the SSP position (one position above the one he has now) but every now and then a asst. manager position opens that he can apply for. If he was chosen it would cut 2 years out of his training and allow him to advance in his career more quickly. The really amazing thing about this interview is the manager called and asked him to apply… he said he had heard good things about him! I am so proud of him! He was in Utah 1 day and he left a good enough reputation to get him this kind of attention. I think that really says something about his work ethic! (Sorry bragging moment!) I am so thankful for a hard working guy!!! 

Here are a few pics he brought back from Utah last time....

Ok... so Blaine just got out of his interview in Cali .... the manager there will not be making his decision until December 2nd... bummer! The good news is Blaine says the area is nice and he likes it more than he expected. At least if he gets that position we will be in a nice sunny place! Now on to Utah! If you think of him would you pray for safe travels and great interviews?!?!?

Landon and Daddy...

Landon LOVES his daddy!

Good morning tuesday!

One thing we have enjoyed most about our time here is Blaine’s short commute. Often I will load Landon up in the stroller and we will walk Blaine’s lunch over to him. This has allowed us to spend a few minutes with him in the early afternoon. I am hoping we will still be able to do this wherever we end up living next.
Just a few pictures today of our little town and our little boy….

It does not look like it but he LOVES his walks.... I think he just thought that the suit was a little over the top !!!:)

One of our favorite paths... we love walking this and watcching the fish jump and the birds fish... Every now and then we see an eagle...

Everyday we hear these church bells playing hymns every few hours....

Lovin' the lack of sleep...

The past few days have been an encouragement and a challenge. Landon has been waking up every hour at night and only taking one (good) nap a day. Now you can see how that would be a challenge...but there is also a huge blessing there. One year ago last month, we were praying for the sleepless nights and icky diapers that come with a baby. God has given them to us! God answers prayer. We used to wonder why people complained about being drenched in spit up, baby blow outs, lack of sleep, or crying babies. We now understand that it was because IT WAS A CHALLENGE! We hope never to forget how truly blessed we are to have these little challenges in our lives. Landon is worth every one of them!  Although it is hard to remember at times they are some of the littlest problems we will face as parents. We often catch ourselves praying away these moments rather than remembering to enjoy them. They make moments like this so amazing!!!

God is working in our lives in so many ways. We are excited to see what He does next! We are quickly learning that he knows best.  This week Blaine has an interview in Vacaville, CA.  On Friday a manager (from a store in Utah… close to one that he interviewed at two weeks ago) called to ask him if he was planning on applying for the assistant manager position he had open. The manager said he had heard a lot of good things about him and was very interested in interviewing him for the position. Blaine will be getting a call to schedule a time fir that interview today… So we will see what happens. Maybe we will live in Utah after all. It is all in God’s hands!

One day...

Our little motto has always been "One day". We often use this little phrase when there is something we would like to have but cannot at the moment or if there is something we have been praying about but have not yet received an answer for. Knowing that “One day” God would answer our prayers got us through a time when we thought we never have the blessing of a child. God gave us our wonderful little son, Landon. Not only did he give us a baby, he gave us a WONDERFUL baby. We have had our little challenges but nothing unmanageable. He has been such a great source of joy in our lives! We now use the phrase when asked when and where we are going to be moving. All we can say is “One day we will know…”. Blaine’s promotion has been and continues to be quite the adventure. It is, however, not entirely without its own little blessings. We have been able to travel as a family to his interviews at all but one store. (The longest trip was 38 hrs. of driving in 3 days and the shortest 2hrs driving.) It has been a fun learning experience for all of us. We are praying, however, that he finds his new store soon! Our latest trip was to Springfield, OR. Landon was only 8 weeks old when we took our first trip (38 hrs. to Jerome, ID and back) so he is becoming a pro at this traveling thing! Here he is this last trip playing with his favorite toys… his toes!!!!

Just had to put this one! Think the flash may have had a just a little bit of a stunning effect!

MOM, what are you doing with that camera?!?!?!

Here... my eyes are open... can we be DONE now????