One week later

One week after all the craziness things aren't quite settled yet, but almost.

I got home from California last Thursday at 11 p.m. Friday morning 8 a.m. was the home inspection for Green House. We will have some work to do once we move in (including LOTS of yard work since the house has been vacant for a year), but fortunately the inspector didn't find any deal breakers. Hooray! We went ahead with everything, transferred some funds this week, and we are signing closing papers TOMORROW (Friday, April 22) at 3:30!!!

I know some of you are dying to see pictures, but I'm going to be mean and save them until we actually have the keys in our hands and it's officially OUR HOUSE. That should happen next week sometime. But here's a sneak preview:

This is the family room and kitchen. Notice the multi-green walls? And yes, that is green marble tile around the fireplace and green granite in the kitchen. This lady REALLY loved green.



Friday night, Brad and I went on a much needed (after 2 weeks apart) date. A sitter came at 6:30 p.m., dinner at Goodwood BBQ, minigolfing (I beat Brad by 1 stroke :)), and then strawberry-banana shakes from Burger Bar. Fun night.

Dad is also doing lots better. His scheduled checkup with the surgeon on Tuesday went great and the surgeon removed the wound-vacuum (the black sponge thing in his leg in the pictures from last post). YAY!!! That was a huge boost for Dad. He said it's really nice not to be hooked up to things anymore. (The hose from the sponge was attached to a bucket he had to carry around with him everywhere.) He is also getting stronger everyday. We are all so glad things are looking up.

This Sunday, which just so happens to be Easter Sunday, will be Connor's first Sunday in Nursery! He will be 18 months on Saturday. We have been sitting in nursery with him for the last couple weeks because he's only 17 months and he just can't handle our Sunday School classes anymore, so I'm hoping he will do ok. Our little boy is growing up so fast.

Also, some other exciting news that just came out in our families - my sister Ady and her husband Jono, as well as Brad's brother Brandon and his wife Jenn are both expecting their first babies!! Ady is due in October and Jenn is due in November. I can't wait to meet my new nephews/nieces and for Connor to have more cousins!!

It's so nice to have some good news in our family. It makes up a little for the last couple weeks. :)

And here's a cute picture of Connor from this week. He walked around half the day like this because he kept tugging at his diaper. I just love those baby buns.

Fantastic Article

"The Rise of a New Generation of Mormons" - This is a really great article that my mother-in-law showed me while we were in Utah last week. This is an article published in the Financial Times on July 9, 2010, written by James Crabtree from the UK. It's also worth noting that James Crabtree is NOT a Mormon.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/938ff454-8a32-11df-bd30-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=79169f56-17f0-11df-91d2-00144feab49a,print=yes.html

With all the bad press we as Mormons have gotten recently over Prop 8, it's really nice to see that some people notice the good we do and still hold a high opinion of us.

And I really love that he gives BYU the credit it deserves. So many people think that just because it's a "church/religious school" it isn't tough. Let me tell you, it's tough. The average ACT score and GPA for admitted students is 28.2 and 3.8, respectively. And many people I have talked to (including my husband, sister, and several friends) say that BYU was much tougher than the schools they are currently attending (which include USC for a Master's Degree, and Cal. Poly Pomona - another very tough school to get into). BYU demands excellence, and high moral and ethical behavior from its students, and I think a lot of people write off BYU before looking at the stats of BYU's programs in comparison to other top schools in the country. If you care, you can check out the BYU Wikipedia page under "Rankings" a little ways down the page, or the BYU Facts Page - BYU Rankings 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University

http://yfacts.byu.edu/viewarticle.aspx?id=181

Anyway, I love BYU (if you couldn't tell). It has prepared me for my career as an engineer and for life. But even more than BYU, I love being a Mormon. It doesn't matter what others say or think about me or my religion, I know it is true through my own study and prayer and I will continue to stand by it.