How January Went Down for Us

 One thing I can definitely say about this winter: we have had plenty of snow! These pictures were taken way back when we still thought it was fun to go out and play in the stuff. We're well past that now.

 In an attempt to be Awesome Mom, I made a fort for Eve and Max. It was pretty fun to snuggle in there and read books together. Until someone accidentally knocked over Anna's teaset that was on the bookshelf.... then it was just shattered shards of Strawberry Shortcake teapot and many, many tears. Have not attempted Awesome Mom since.

This is Eve and her BFF Brianna. These girls are so cute together, they always seem to come down for lunch in these dressups.

 Anna got a sewing kit for Christmas and she made this stuffed animal all by herself! Kate made one too, but her picture turned out kind of wonky.

 We can't seem to keep teeth in our heads around here.

 Travis had a birthday and Eve enthusiastically helped me prepare the cake.

For Trav's birthday, I made/purchased all his favorites: buffalo wings, potstickers, smoothies, sushi, ice cream cake. It was a mighty tasty, mighty unhealthy night. Sure am glad to have him in my life and maybe one day I'll get better at making special occasions special.

We took a field trip to the aquarium with Eve's preschool group. These kids are so flippin' cute. I had a great time teaching preschool in January. (Please don't judge me because Eve's clothes don't match. I feel like any day that she dresses herself is a victory.)

Max is a bit of a terror. One night while I was at Scouts, he poured all the Rice Krispies into Daisy's water dish. Trav found him in there mixing it with his hands and shoveling it into his face. MAx also obsesses about wearing shoes, loves his navy blue sweater, and says "Go!" really loud if I'm holding him and another one of the kids comes near us. He loves to point to his body parts on command and to play "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands." I think we'll keep him.

New Year's Eve

 January started with our New Year's Eve party-- just our family this year because I was too overwhelmed by life to throw a party. We watched "James and the Giant Peach" (because Kate just finished the book and really wanted to see the movie) and played Spot It.

 Dancing during the song after the first movie.

 Silly string fight

Kate is an animal with this stuff.

 We told the kids they could stay up till 10, but around 9:30 Anna was losing steam. She asked if she could go to bed, but we made her do the silly string fight with us first. (She cried through the whole thing.) She crashed immediately, lights on and everything.

Just evidence that around here, we are truly not capable of welcoming in the New Year at midnight. It's our season of life right now.

Tacy's Wedding

 My cousin Tacy got married in January, on what had to be the coldest day of the year. She asked my girls to be her flower girls and they looked so darling! And see those cute little pomanders? Tacy made those herself, as well as her own bouquet, bridesmaids/groomsmens flowers..... all of it. They were all made of fabric flowers and vintage pins and they were absolutely beautiful. She has an etsy shop selling them and I hope she makes millions off it because they are so great.

 Anyway, as I said it was crazy cold that day, so the flower girls didn't last long outside. They had to huddle with their grandma to stay warm.

 The reception was really pretty too, at that place in Provo that used to be Los Hermanos. My cousin's family was super sweet to make sure there were gluten free treats for my girls, which we totally appreciated.

 A couple weeks before the wedding, I hung Tacy and Rex's invite on our fridge. Eve looked at it for a minute and asked "When's Tacy gonna marry Shrek?"

Here's Tacy with Kate, Anna, and Eve. She was absolutely beautiful and I wish her every happiness. I love that she has always been so sweet with my kids-- she loves to play and be silly with them and they love it. I love that she is spunky and confident and has an awesome sense of humor. I feel like it's been my privilege to see her grow up the past few years and she really has turned into a beautiful woman.

In Which We Do a Lot of Praying and Waiting

I've been looking forward to this post for a long, long time. I felt like I had a story to tell, but was just waiting to make sure it had a happy ending.
Almost exactly one year ago, Travis applied for a corporate counsel position at a company where he had clerked during law school. Spiritually,we felt like it was the right thing for him to do, but after a month of waiting, the company decided they weren't going to hire anyone at all.
Then began our debates of joining up as a partner with his firm and moving to St. George. After months of back-and-forth, we ended up deciding to stay here. And we are so glad we did, but we knew that Trav would need to find a different job at some point. He really wanted to switch into a corporate counsel setting if possible.
All through the summer and fall he applied for different things but nothing panned out. It was one of the most trying times of my life-- just waiting and waiting and waiting. My faith wavered as I wondered if Heavenly Father was hearing our prayers. I was consistently reminded by the Spirit to "Hold on, the light will come" and to just endure this trial because eventually something would work out. 
General Conference in October was especially meant for me. Remember President Eyring's talk "Where is the Pavillion? . I needed this. I needed to hear him tell me about times when he thought he knew what should happen in his life better than God did, and how it all worked out when he listened to the Spirit. I also needed to hear him say "In the depths of his anguish in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out: “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”¹ Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done,”² create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time.". That was exactly how I had been feeling, and I realized that I needed to humble myself and have greater faith that Travis would be able to find another job.
Funny enough, a few weeks later, the same company that had been hiring previously again posted a position. Travis applied, and during the process felt like he should contact a person he knew that worked in the legal department when he was there. He found her through the law school alumni network (yay BYU!) and she was super helpful. She told him she no longer worked at that company (turns out it wasn't a great place to work), and asked him to send his resume to her and she would pass it on. He did, and she sent it to someone she knew at Usana, who sent it on to someone he knew at Albion Minerals. Nathan, the General Counsel at Albion, emailed Travis and wanted to go to lunch, even though he didn't have a position available at the time. 
So they went to lunch. Nathan liked Travis and told him that there would be a position open soon. It was posted the very next day, and Travis applied. As we prayed about it, we felt peace. He had one interview before the holidays and then we waited and waited again, this time with faith and hope that things would work out. Even after the holidays and another interview, we kept on waiting. I was trying so hard to be patient, to focus on the good things I already had in my life, and not waste my time wishing. Nathan told Travis they would make the decision at the end of the month, so we agreed not to talk about it until February. 
On January 25, Nathan called Trav first thing in the morning. They planned to make the decision that day, but first he needed a reference, hopefully a current supervisor. It was a little scary to give that, because if things didn't work out it could be bad at his current position. But we just tried to have faith some more, and then waited and waited again. Finally Travis came home from work, without hearing anything, and we resigned ourselves to waiting over the weekend to find out. 
Luckily for us, in the middle of dinner, Nathan called Travis and offered him the position! (insert angels singing here) He will be in charge of litigation for the company which is something that he enjoys and is good at. He will also get PTO, insurance benefits, and off by 5 pm! We couldn't be happier!
We are so grateful for this blessing! So grateful to Heavenly Father for having a plan for us, for hearing and answering our prayers, for helping us to learn faith and patience and humility. And for providing little assurances along the way to let us know that things would work out. I really hope that I can remember the lessons learned from this experience so I don't have to repeat them!