December

What about the holidays you ask?

We had a lovely Thanksgiving Dinner with our friends Chris, Hillary, Cade and Brix and we also had the missionaries. It was a delightful New England celebration!

Bella and I went to Utah for a few days. On the day we left, we went to a tree farm and equipped Shawn with a fresh Christmas tree while we were gone. That was a great experience.

Bella's hair is long enough for little tiny pig tails.

Shawn's parents helped me surprise Shawn with a trip to New York City. It was our Christmas and birthday gifts and it was delightful. We actually had Shawn packed and everything without him knowing until he and I were halfway to the train station in Hartford.

We saw the Rockettes, Wicked, we went to the temple, had date night in Little Italy, rode a carriage in Central Park, walked down 5th Ave and shopped for a little person we really love at FAO Shwartz and the Disney Store. It was a fantastic vacation!

Cousins in Utah! We really love them and miss them like crazy!!

Bella just began talking while in Utah...I think it is thanks mostly to Abby!

Decorating before Grandma and G-Daddy came to stay with us through Christmas. They watched Bella while we went on our vacation and then they both got terribly sick. Christmas was low-key and nice-except for the sicky bugs!

Helping Dad put the lights on. She was intrigued and learned quickly how to make them turn on and off...

Massachusetts Fall...

This Fall seemed to be shorter than last year. The colors didn't stick around as long and then we had the terrible storm on Halloween. For our family though, we had two straight weeks of visitors and it was delightful!

Grandma came for a visit to spend some time with us. I didn't take any pictures but we had a great time! One day we went to Salem-it was so fun around Halloween. We loved visiting The House of Seven Gables. We spent time in Boston and visited the Boston Children's Museum-which Bella adores-and then we visited the northern part of the Freedom Trail.

We visited the Emily Dickinson museum and enjoyed the opportunity to be together.

The following week, my sisters, Emily and Kristina, and my niece, Leah, came to visit for a few days. We mostly hung out in the Pioneer Valley, but we did take a quick trip to Plymouth.

The Rock...
Governor Bradford's grave marker. We are his 10th great-grandchildren.

The Mayflower-which I thought was very well done by the Plimouth Plantation people. We also ate the most divine clam chowder I think I've ever had.

Emily and Kristina also helped me with a few sewing projects. I needed their help with a couple of blankets I had pieced together, as well as my first attempt at sewing something besides a blanket...Bella's Tinkerbell costume.

I'm so dang proud of myself for having the ability to sew the costume, but I cursed it everyday. Will I do it again? Probably-it was so satisfying when I finally finished it. It was all for naught; however, the "Halloween Storm" started on Saturday and knocked tons of trees down. We went to the ward party for an hour or so and then hurried home in the terrible storm. By 9 pm we were out of power and it didn't come back until Thursday around 7 pm (we were one family of 300-500,000 homes/businesses). Halloween was cancelled and, in the end, I spent weeks on that silly costume so that she could wear it for a couple of hours.

I think I have been traumatized by the event. Thanks to a very kind family in our ward and the Smith College Athletic Department, we had warm places to sleep and take showers after Monday, but it was terrible!

The view out of our front door.

Playing Saturday afternoon-while we still had heat/power/water etc.

Bella was given this cute dress and the cowgirl boots from a family in the ward. She calls them her "doots" and she loves them!

Lovey, Love, Love!!

Summertime cont.

What else did we do this summer???

We drank milk in the playhouse!

Rode our bike that is a teeny bit frustrating because she desperately wants to touch the pedals!

We ALWAYS wore our sunglasses. They were integral to every outing.

Mom made her first pieced quilt that she put together all by herself...um, with a lot of help from Aunt Emily and Aunt Krissy.

We played and played!

Beach Vacay and Birthday

For Bella's Birthday/ Shawn's family get together we went to New Jersey! We stayed in a beautiful beach house with very fun people-and of course-our family. We swam and swam.

We went to Seaside and were treated to some great boardwalk rides and food!

Bella had her first experience on a carousel and yelled "Yehaw! Yehaw!" as loud as she could. She screamed and laughed and as it slowed down she yelled, "No!" "No!" "No!"

I attempted a monkey cake for a little girl who loves monkeys! Especially books about monkeys jumping on the bed! She was spoiled rotten with very fun gifts and we had a fantastic trip!

Utah

We spent a little time in Utah this summer and tried to drink in family time. We were so happy to be there for a little while!


Could Bella be a cowgirl?



Loving Grandpa Ron and Grandma Kris.

Salem Pond with all of the cousins. It was somewhat inpromptu and so much fun!

We love and miss them soooo much!

I'm Just So Grateful... (This was written on Mother's Day-but didn't post)

Today I am just so grateful I get to be a mother. I know what it is like to really have a hard time on Mother's Day-I have been in the trenches-but today I am going to soak up the joy and the gift of it all. This particular part of my life is evidence of God's miracles-I don't deserve her, but I'll take her and love her!





Bella's schedule has been altered for the past four days and she is "a donkey on the edge" in a lot of ways. We made it through the first hour and some of church but there was a great meltdown in nursery. To save everyone from emotional trauma (Bella and her nursery leaders) I picked her up and she came with me to Relief Society. Within minutes, she was snuggled in to me, wrapped in her favorite blanky, and snoring loudly. She never falls asleep in my arms and so, today, that was the greatest gift I could have ever received. I drank in the opportunity to have her in my arms.





Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Easter!!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Tonight I was taking the trash out when I cautiously took a breath. I realized that it didn't bite or sting my lungs, so I tried it again, taking a deeper breath. The air was not cold at all and I smelled dirt. I thought, Yes! We've made it! We have made it to Spring! As I returned to the house, I realized that thought not only expressed my feelings about nature, but also my feelings about this journey we are experiencing in beautiful Massachusetts.

This adventure has been driven by faith that the Lord would provide. We have lived in constant cyclical unknowns since we have been here-when one thing gets figured out, another goes uncertain. But through it all, we have indeed been provided for. We have made it! Today we know how we are going to pay for next year's tuition, our summer's rent, where Shawn will coach next year, and, most importantly, how we are going to pay for another adoption. This stress ball that has been tightly wound around our little home is beginning to loosen as unknowns become knowns. We feel so very blessed.

I cannot begin to recap the last few months, but I will share some pictures and a promise that I won't let it go this long again!

Bella and I were blessed to go home to Utah for a week in December and then we came home to Grandma and G-daddy staying at our house through Christmas.

The end of December began a several week long slam by mother nature who buried us in snow and ice. I have not fallen on the ice as many times in my whole life as I have this winter. I have not pushed stuck cars as many times in my whole life as I have this winter-including ours-several times. I have never felt defeated by snow, but this year, I respect its presence and can't wait for it to all just go away!

Hello Spring. We are ready for you!

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.