Happy Fall!

Happy New England Fall!!

We are trying to drink in this beautiful change of seasons. It isn't that hard when you live on this street...

with this yard and this beautiful baby who still likes to go for morning walks even though it is considerably colder.

Today Bella just took off into the trees because the leaves are so deep that the ground is soft and noisy. Don't you wish there was a whole yard full of leaves as deep as your knees?

Oh...I forgot to mention....SHE WALKS!!!!!!

Jordan

He is a hero...he was our student. We are grateful for the time that we got to be a part of his life.

Here is another news article on him.

Concord

Yesterday I visited Concord. I say "I" because, although my husband and daughter came, they opted out of everything so that I could enjoy the literary homes and sights. I will love Shawn forever for allowing me that pleasure.

We went to the city museum which provides an overview of the city and includes some pieces of interest, i.e. one of the lanterns used in the church tower the night of Paul Revere's ride, the entire study and personal books that belonged to Ralph Waldo Emerson, the chair, desk, and bed that belonged to Henry David Thoreau and that he used in his home at Walden. I visited Emerson's home, Louisa May Alcott's home, and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where the transcendentalists used to meet together and eventually turned it into a cemetery to keep the peaceful surroundings. I was amazed by how interconnected everyone was at the time and how they, together, were able to instill change in their community. They (Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott, Hawthorne, Carlisle, Whittier, Melville, etc.) could not have known how their talents would affect the rest of the country. Some of what I learned by touring the area made me understand the authors better, thus allowing me to understand their work better. (I kind of miss teaching...I could add so much after having this experience) The experience was incredible and I like them all even more! Next time we will visit Walden, the Old Manse, and all of the Revolutionary War history-cause it kind of began in Concord-bless their hearts!!!!

On the miracle note: We are seeing miracles unfold as we are here. This is an incredible experience.

Hot Days of Summer

Two weeks ago I complained about the rain and the clouds and last week I was praying for it to come back. It has been an average of 96 degrees last week and we don't have air conditioning. I have never sweat ALL DAY and felt like I was going to pass out by the time evening came. It has been so humid and SO HOT! We have passed the time with a little popsicle eatin' and swimming.

This was the first popsicle that she controlled herself. She, obviously, thought it was fantastic.

Heyah Mista Ferriola...you wanna soma pop sicle???

(We had students who talked to Bella like they were Italian and she thought they were funny.)

Learning Lessons

#1...Shawn has been super busy with two-a-days (including weekends) and has been leaving at 7:30 in the morning and not coming home until between 7:30-10:00 at night. He has seen Bella an average of 30 minutes a day and I have been worried. How will all of this affect them? I feel like my relationship with Bella is strong and we are happy, but she has seen less of her Daddy than she has in her whole life. Heck! I've seen less of Shawn than I have our entire marriage. On Sunday, she woke up but she wasn't quite the happy kid she normally is. I fed her some milk and put her back in bed by her dad.

I think they'll be okay.

#2...Change is good and wonderful and happy but it is also SCARY! We received our last true pay check and it hit me that I have got to put into practice those skills of frugality and provident living that I have been learning in Relief Society my whole life. This week I made homeade wheat bread. I have had everything I've needed for it for a very long time, I just haven't had the time. It is delicious and it will save us at least $2.50 per loaf! I also made homemade tortillas and homemade laundry detergent this week. It feels good to use the skills and the knowledge that I have been taught. It feels good to be home.

#3...This isn't actually a lesson learned but it is a picture of the gate to Shawn's school...where he will learn lessons! Isn't it beautiful?

There is a river that runs through campus. (This picture is just the run off from a dammed up area of the river) We are on a bridge that goes to the track and field area of campus. This river is used for crew...the sport...the one I never heard of before we came here.

#4...The other day Bella found her umbrella stroller. She actually hates the umbrella stroller unless she can push it, and it that case, she will push it around forever. Well, I opened it up for her to push around in our house while I was doing the dishes but she kept running into things and getting caught. She would fuss until I straightened it out and I realized quickly that this was frustrating both of us, so I decided we would go outside. I had to peel her away from the stroller to go get our shoes and she cried and kicked in her one-year-old tantrum way. I laughed to myself and thought, I wonder if we act like this towards God sometimes. How many times do we "throw a fit" when God is actually leading us to something better...we just can't see it?

I needed to learn that important lesson this week.

#5...You aren't weak if you need help...sometimes you just need it. I have needed more help these last few weeks than I have in, seemingly, my entire life and I have felt stupid asking for it. I have felt humbled. I have always had a sense of independence and I have always had the means to take care of things myself. Things have changed. Let me repeat... I have been humbled. I am aching for the opportunity to serve someone else.

Just to Share a Little Miracle...

Shawn's coach gave him to morning off so that he could go to church with us. We didn't ask her to do that. A week ago he asked her for a ride to the church building (today) after morning practice got over and she said she was happy to do it. Yesterday morning he walked into her office and she told him that he needs to go to church with his family and that it shows an example of priorities and responsibility to the athletes. We were floored and grateful.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Do you see what I see? It has turned rainy and a bit chilly and we suddenly have leaves falling on the ground. Holy Smokes! I don't know that I am ready for fall quite yet! I was just getting used to the humidity.

Bella has truly been a champ with this whole "change your life" business. She was excellent in the car. She has been very good while we've unpacked boxes and moved things around. She is thrilled to have her bed! (She kind of crawled around like a happy dog in the back of a pick-up when we first put her in her crib.) We are loving the silly things she has learned to do.

I have started to find her just looking through books. I love it! I can't tell you how much I love it! She has also started humming when I go to put her to bed. I love it!

She has also started climbing. I don't love it. She knows that she can move things around and crawl up on them to get to something higher. She has stopped going up the stairs though. Shawn fell down the stairs last week while he was holding her and they both got some scrapes and rug burns. I think she might be afraid of the stairs. It helps me keep tabs on her better but I don't want her to be afraid of them forever!

The following pictures are what happen when you give a couple little pieces of an E.L. Fudge cookie to a one-year-old and run to get something while she is occupied.

Tender Mercies

This past week has been a week of tender mercies.

Last Sunday our things finally arrived but with a warning call the night before that we might have to have our things "shuttled" from the convenience store on the corner of our street. The driver was certain that the semi truck wouldn't fit up our street, let alone in our driveway. I agree with the fact that he wouldn't make it in the driveway, but he certainly would have made it up the street. He didn't believe us and cautiously said he would think about coming up the street after we begged him to at least look at the road before making a decision. Not knowing what he would do, we called the bishop to ask for some help. He immediately sent out mass emails and made some calls and, lucky for us, ten people showed up at 7:00 am on Sunday morning. They all knew they could possibly be carrying our things from the convenience store!

It all turned out so slick. The driver did come up to our driveway and we were able to get our things into our house in an hour and a half. They were certainly moving angels that day. It was important to me to go to church to start meeting people and I not only met all of the people that came to help us, but we were able to quickly get the moving done and we were all able to get ready and be at church on time.

Overall, I think the people of Western Mass are a little more laid back and a lot more kind than I expected. My prayers have been answered by the appliance repairman named Bob who gave me information over the phone so he wouldn't have to come out and charge me. (He thought we had a connection because our last names are both Italian! I'll take that-I'd be his friend.) The RMV (DMV) was much quicker, kinder, and more patient than I expected-even after I had to leave and come back! A postal worker stayed after closing for twenty minutes to help me with a money order. (I had been driving around for an hour looking for the post office and I arrived five minutes before closing. The GPS and Google maps failed me.) Shawn's academic department has been making up jobs for him so that he can earn some money before the school year starts-and the chair of his department told the secretary to make sure she hired the "Utah boy with a kid" in October when the department could actually hire grad students. (There is some rule about undergrads being hired first and then October is fair game.) Note that Shawn is the only student who is male in the department.

It seems that things have opened up like we have been promised they would. It is funny how I know that God keeps his promises-I've seen it over and over-but I start to panick when my timing is different than His. Silly me. People have been placed in our path this whole time to make this transition work. We have truly been blessed.

The Big Move

I am currently blogging to you from our home in Massachusetts. It is weird to say that and weird that it is true. Monday of last week our moving company came and cleared out all of our things in Utah and Tuesday of last week we began our Great Eastern Migration. We took our time to allow for Isabella to be okay with the long car rides and to allow the moving company to have enough time to get here. Bella did awesome but our moving company has still not come and we have been here for four days!!! "Maybe Sunday," they say.

We have been blessed with awesome landlords who offered their home to us. We have been blessed with a good bishop and ward members who have fed us and given us an air mattress. Even though this is a rocky beginning, we are so excited to be here. The people have been very kind-even with my Utah accent and sweaty demeanor (it is humid this week and air conditioners are not commonly in homes). Shawn's academic advisor and department have been very welcoming and kind to us.

Here is a little recap of our trip in pictures. We thought that we would visit church history sites since they were exactly on our routes:

The statue outside of the Winter Quarters Visitor's Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Carthage Jail in Carthage, Illinois. The Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred here.

We found where my ancestors owned property in Nauvoo, Illinois. This might be a little too west of where their property actually was but it was neat to be this close to where they would have been. I also visited the Old Nauvoo Burial Ground where my Great Great Grandfather is buried. My Great Great Grandmother sold their farm and went west to Utah with her small family-her husband having died nearly two years before.

Newel K Whitney store in Kirtland, Ohio. Kirtland was a neat place to visit-probably my favorite.

After Kirtland we went to Palmyra, New York where we visited the Hill Cumorah, the Sacred Grove and the Smith family homes. The Sacred Grove was such a beautiful, sacred place. I know that what happened there actually did occur. I am so grateful for my ancestors who made so many sacrifices that I might have the life and the knowledge that I have.

Home Sweet Home! We are surrounded by trees. Heck! Everybody is surrounded by trees. It is almost like we're all camping in our cabins. (Well...we actually are still camping out!) I have squirrels as my closest neighbors. No one needs to water and so many people have these lovely flower gardens. It is so beautiful.

Our library is an old church. When you drive past the signs marking cities, they were established in the 17th century. I was lost today and just happened to drive past Emily Dickinson's home...just happened to drive past...can you believe it? I am going back for a nice little visit. (Oh and Concord...just you wait. I am 90 minutes away and it is not only rich with American revolutionary history, but it is also replete with American literary history.) There is so much to do but I can't do much until my stuff gets here. I'm praying for moving angels...and "work from home" job angels.

More to come...

So Much Has Happened...

Holy Smokes! It has been a long time since I have posted anything new. School ended in a flurry with the play, the move, and graduation. I was so honored to have had the opportunity to speak at this year's graduation. I will always have very fond memories of Dugway. It was so challenging at times but I will always love our friends in the community and my students.

We were blessed this summer to live with my sister Kristina. She let us hang out at her house and we helped her with her recovery from heart surgery. The best part of living there was being able to be so close to all of my family.



Over July 4th we went to Colorado for our first Ferriola Reunion of sorts. We had ten days to play and we had a wonderful time! We spent the first few days up near Rocky Mountain National Park and then spent the rest of the time in Denver.

We had a little something in the way of three birthday parties!!! On Monday of Bella's birthday week we went up Santaquin Canyon with my family. We roasted hot dogs and had cupcakes galore. On Tuesday we met with her birth family in the park. Her birth mom gave her a darling little dress and Bella was so good even though we hadn't seen them in a while. Then on Saturday we celebrated her birthday in the mountains with Shawn's family. She was not so enthralled with the cake but she loved (and I loved) her gifts.

A little hike to Angel Falls.

Aunt Gina. Bella doesn't like grass on her legs...can you tell?

Go Rockies! She loved it! Everyone was cheering and yelling and she played right along!

Words That Start with "M"...

March Madness

This is a little glimpse into our life during March Madness. Daddy's eyes are glued to the TV and the girls need to find something else to do. We decided that maybe Daddy would pay attention to us if we began our own game of b-ball.

Monkeys

We now have a crawler/scooter/swimmer who has decided that it would be fun to start pulling herself up. Oooo! She is delightful and busy.

Happy Easter!!!

Massachusetts

(This picture has actually nothing to do with this category. Perhaps it is foreshadowing our future!)

In January we applied to a graduate program at Smith College in Massachusetts. Shawn has been accepted and he will be an assistant coach with the volleyball team. We are completely pumped, and a bit anxious! We think this is an amazing opportunity and we are so excited to jump into this crazy life change!

We're In Love!

On January 25th we were able to go to court to finalize Isabella's adoption. It was less scary and more intimidating than I thought it would be. We are so grateful for her birth parents and their selfless and difficult gift!

Her beautiful dress is a gift from her birth-great-grandmother. We received it in the mail soon after she was born.

We were sealed on Saturday, January 30th in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.
It was a beautiful day!

Bella was blessed by her dad on Sunday, January 31st. We had an AMAZING week!

Happy Holidays!

I am a slacker. I know, but take a gander at this beautiful girl!

A Turkey? Me???

We had breakfast with Santa. She was exhausted but liked his beard.

Our pseudo-Christmas morning on the 22nd. We tried to incorporate all of the holiday traditions but she needed a snack before we could celebrate.

I loved how her eyes lit up when the toys she received lit up and made noise. Her face is worth the annoyance.

We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season!