The house we now live in.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what the house looks like that we now live in. As you can see, there are many improvements that are needed. We won't be able to do them all, but when we are finished it will look totally different!

This is the front. This is the side you see from our old house. This is the living room.

This is the entryway coming down the stairs. You can see the front door. This is the bathroom. This is the kitchen.

This is the girls' room. This is the boys' room. This is mine and Charlie's room.

(Don't mind the laundry)

This is the pantry/toy room. This is the dining room. Sorry it's so dark.

Merrit's baptism

Here are the pictures from Merrit's baptism. We were sorry that you guys in Utah couldn't be there. It was a blast (at least for the kids).

To the right, was a string maze we set up for the kids.

One of the activities was for the kids to draw on Merrit's face. This is how he looked afterwards.

Picture from the Zoo

I finally found a way to download my pictures without the download cable. Now I can show you the pictures I have. I'll try to put them in slowly over the next couple of days so I don't overwhelm everyone. I'll start with the zoo pictures.

I couldn't figure out how to rotate the long pictures, so I'm sorry if you get a kink in your neck from trying to look at them. I thought I had some pictures from the polar bear exhibit, but they weren't on the camera so I guess I didn't have them.

Harvenshtein

Here are some pictures from the most recent ultrasound. They did some really cool 3D ones where he looks like he's sucking his thumb. Say hi to Harvenshtein David Hutchinson! (Harvey for short.)

Birds and the Bees

So, for your information, we had a nice surprise Tuesday morning when we found out that.....I AM PREGNANT!!!! WAHOO!!! If our calculations are right I'm about a month along and would give birth February or March. I know, I know they say you should wait to tell people until after the first trimester...but if something happens, I figured that my family would be my best support. So, ummm...that's all. OH and we're moving into our apartment this Saturday--YIPEE!!!!!!!!! We are soooo excited. I really love my job and Eric is soo excited to start his in a week from this Monday. So things are going great for us. We love you and please still pray for Eric that he will do well on the MCAT (on June 15). Thanks guys!

It'a a BOY!

We had our ultrasound today and found out that we'll be expecting a little Harvey David Hutchinson in October. They moved my due date back to October 30th so I'm actually a week less pregnant than I thought. Oh well, I feel great and am enjoying my good health through the pregnancy. We'll post pictures when we go visit for dinner this weekend since we don't have a scanner. We have a couple really cool 3-D pictures.

Summer is almost here!

Charlie's last day is June 8th. We've only been counting down now since the beginning of May, maybe even the end of April. It has become harder and harder for Charlie to stay motivated to work, especially since he gave his letter of resignation. But he's trying to hand in there and do the best job he can, because that's the type of person he is. His brother, Les, has his first interview on Wed. this week. They turned him down. He has several other schools he has applied for so we aren't worried for him yet. Ironically enough, Flat Rock is looking for a social studies/Spanish combo for the middle school. Charlie told Les to apply. We think it will be funny if he gets the job there. Charlie thinks Les has a better temperment for middle school aged kids then he does. I've been slowly working on the house we are living in. I have one bedroom almost totally painted. I only have the door, ceiling and closet to paint. It's hard since I can only paint when the kids are sleeping. I have washed the walls in the living room and hope to start painting it this weekend. I'm looking forward to having the living room painted so I can bring real furniture into it. So far, we've been sitting on camping chairs because they are easier to move around to paint.

For those of you who might not know, Jocelyn and her husband, Les, moved out at the beginning of April. They moved in with Charlie's parents. That is why we don't have real furniture in the living room. It's been nice to have a house to myself again. So, we are fixing the house up to sell it for Les and Jocelyn. They plan on staying with Charlie's parents or in their house for several years so they won't need this house any more. We just happen to have the skills and time to be able to fix it up. It worked out pretty good. I'm sorry if I've already told you about this, I can't remember who I tell and who I don't.

So even though the summer will be full of hard work on this house, I'm still excited for it to come because Charlie will be home. I'm feeling like my patience is running short. I'm definatly not cut out to be a single mom, and I'm sure my poor kids could support me in that. I'm afraid I'm not the nicest person too much of the time lately and I think it's just because I'm tired. I just hope it gets better when Charlie is here to help. I hate to think that this is who I am now.

Well, I should probably get to bed and get some sleep before my kids wake up in the morning. Take care everyone.

WE DID IT!

Eric and I both have jobs!!! Well, I know that Eric already has a job, but he has a new job. I got a job on the University of Utah campus. My official title is the Grades Clerk. I am part of the distance education department-they do independent study. I do things with grades and exams and putting together student's material for their course. I started on Wednesday. It's just a part-time job, but I workd from 9-1 so it will be perfect for going to school. And today we just found out that Eric got the orderly job at St. Mark's hospital. YEAH!! He will be in the operating room. We are super excited. We also move into our new apartment next Friday-YAY! So thanks for all your prayers and I would ask now that you pray for Eric that he does well on the MCAT (he takes it June 15 in the morning). We love you all.

Kurt and Heather--

I've been wondering how it has been in your new house. I haven't heard anything about it! Do you have any new pictures? How has the adjustment been? I'd really like to get the scoop.

What lovely people! This is from a picnic we had back in April or so.

The happy Utah Valley State College graduate.

Makayla, Jana, Mom and Dad at the zoo under the seal and polar bear tank. I thought I took a whole bunch more pictures on our trip to Michigan, but I guess not! Bummer.

New Direction

So I quit my job...I know, I know, I just started on Monday, but it was a bit too much on my back and I came home sooo sore both nights and we found out that the summer math class that I needed to take was at the same time. So, today was my last day and I start my math class tomorrow. But, do not worry, I have already put out 6 or 7 applications and are planning on doing more when I find good jobs. And since we will be living with Eric's parents for the next 3 weeks, that's how long I have to find a job. But, we're not worried about it-just please pray that I will find a great part-time job so that I can still go to school. Just thought that I'd let you know what's going on. OH, and we still don't know about the orderly job for Eric, but he's pretty certain that he will get the job (pray for that too, please :)

Muffin Mini Meatloaves

This recipe is delicious and SOOO easy! Thanks to the Kraft Recipe Magazines, we've had it several times and lovelovelove it. We've also passed it out to several friends and each has given us great reviews.

Muffin Mini Meatloaves
1 lb. ground beef
1 box Stove Top (6 oz)
1 cup water
1 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
3/4 cup shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and the garlic powder until well blended. 2. Press evenly into 12 medium muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray; make an indentation in center of each with back of spoon.
3. Spoon BBQ sauce evenly into center of each with back of spoon.
4. Bake 30 min. or until meatloaves are cooked through. Top evenly with cheese; continue baking 5 min. or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 min. before serving.

**OPTIONAL** Jazz it up: For a little kick, add 2 Tbsp A.1. Original Steak Sauce to meat mixture before shaping into meatloaves.

Spring

It's been so pretty here the last week. The lilacs are out and smell so good. The tulips and daffodils that Merrit sold me last year bloomed and are so colorful. The grass just keeps growing and growing. If we could find a good deal on a tractor, both Dad and I are ready to buy one. We're getting to old and feeble to walk behind the old one anymore. Dad even borrowed Molly's tractor last week and mowed our backyard. He says that it isn't as easy as you might think, since it doesn't turn on a dime and takes some maneuvering. We'll see how long it will take to talk ourselves into it. Of course, if we get a tractor then we have to build a shed to put it in. One thing leads to another in the way of home ownership. The play is over. The second weekend was totally sold out all 3 performances! Everyone who saw it really liked it. On Saturday night there were a number of people from the ward who went, so we meet at Riffles before hand and had dinner together, then went to the play. The week before, Castros had gone to Northville High's production of The Sound of Music. Susie said it was really bad. She was glad to go to a good high school play. Anyway, on with life! Dad still hasn't heard about the new job, so we still don't know what we're going to do about a summer vacation. We've thought of several options, and we'll just have to wait and see which one it will be. Enjoy the spring while it lasts, summer will be here soon enough.

Finally!

So, we have FINALLY moved completely out of our apartment. WOHOO!!! No more stink! :) Today was our last day and now we are at Eric's parent's house for the next 2 weeks. Because....we found another apartment! YAY! It's in a duplex almost in downtown Salt Lake. The tenant in front is a single man who runs a salon out of his apartment. The manager says that it's quite and we even have a little back yard all to ourselves and the parking in the back is ours too. We even get to paint! YIPEE! Also, I took the custodian job working for the Church as a custodian, I start on Monday. It will be a great job to have during the school year because it only goes from 5-8:30pm. And, yesterday Eric interviewed for an orderly job at a different hospital and he said that he feels good about the interveiw and he's really optomistic about getting the job. It doesn't pay as well as the job he has now, but it is full-time, with benefits and the chance for a pay increase. He would be an operating room orderly and the lady that interviewed him said that there would be chances for him to help out in some surgeries-something that he was super stoked about. So, we are both pretty excited and we should hear about the job (hopefully) next week sometime. That's all our news on this home front. It's all pretty exciting! We really do miss all of you back in Michigan, and like Heather hope that it was easier to get there, but hopefully by next summer we will be a lot closer and can see you all more frequently. But we had fun playing Boggle and cards and going to the zoo. But now it's time to get back to life and get on with being an adult. We love you!

Everyone home safe?

Hope all your travels went well. Did everyone arrive home safe and in a timely manner? It was great to see everyone. I wish we all lived a lot closer or that airline ticket prices would plummet. Such is life.

it's Jason's birthday, shout hurray

we want to sing to him today

one year older and wiser, too (ahem, ahem...)

happy birthday

TO YOU!

Finally Draft

Just wanted to share the good news that I sent in a full draft of my thesis today to my committee. I'll probably get some edits back before the presentation but I don't know for sure. Now I just have to get my presentation together and try to think up what sort of questions they'll be asking so I can have some thought out replies. Kurt and I think we'll be driving straight through on the way back so we should be around for most of Saturday. Yay!

happy birthday KURT!!

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY, ANOTHER YEAR
LET'S ALL GIVE KURT A GREAT BIG CHEER!

HURRAH!

Quiche recipe

Here is an easy recipe I found in the Parade magazine.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

1 9" deep dish pie shell (thawed)
2 cups shredded sharp cheese
1 cup chopped ham
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper (optional)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup evaporated milk


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss together cheese, ham, onion and green pepper. Spoon in pie shell. Whisk together remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over ham and cheese mixture. Bake 45 minutes, or until golden and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Recipe is easily double and extra can be frozen.

We tried it with green peppers yesterday and it was great. Preparations go a lot faster if you buy the ham already cubed.

SOMEONE IS ONE YEAR OLDER!

Just wanted to wish you heck of a birthday tomorrow, Heather!!! Hope that it's fantastic!

Another Update

I am happy to report that things are going well. For a while there I thought I was going to lose my mind with all the things that we were trying to decide. But, yesterday we went and put money down to hold an apartment. The apartments we are going to move into are brand new and they aren't yet done building them, so we put the money down to secure an apartment. To view the apartments, click here. All you can really look at are the floorplans, we are moving into a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment. They are not sure when we can move in because it is still being built, but Eric's parents have graciously let us live with them until then. It will either be the middle or end of May. And, I told some of you that I was quitting my job, but today that planned changed and I will be keeping my courier job-it was just easier that way. Eric is still looking for a different full-time job, but until he can get one, he will keep his job at LDS and just move from part-time to full-time. I will be staying at part-time so that I can take some summer classes. I also told some of you that we were thinking of me not going to school in the Fall, but I will be. So, I am taking this summer class so that I fulfill the pre-requisite for the math class I need and not have to spend 8 semesters in math classes. Eric is re-taking the MCAT in June and start applying to medical schools again shortly thereafter. They have changed the format so that you get your results in a month instead of three like before. He has decided to apply to osteopathic schools as well as medical schools. He graduates in 3 weeks and we are soooo excited! Also, for those who are popping out babies - and those of you who aren't or can't - we have decided to try for babies next March. This is when my birth control perscription runs out and we are just not going to renew it and see what happens :)! Ummm...primary is going great. On Sunday I'm going to start teaching the kids how to sing "I Know That My Redeemer Lives!" in sign language. The church's website has a link to learn the hymns in sign language and I watched it like one hundred times before I got it down. I am just going to teach them the first verse, but I have the fourth verse written down in case they are really good at the first. We will see how it goes, I'm kind of nervous. We are having Easter by ourselves and are glad it will be a quiet day. We miss you all, and Hillary good luck with moving...should be pretty awesome! BUT don't worry we will be there in 19 days from tomorrow! WOHOO!!! It should be pretty awesome. We couldn't be more excited. We hope you are all well and that you do all have an awesome Easter. John 20 (the Easter story). WE LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Easter! I hope you all will be spending your Easter in a nice relaxing atmosphere.

I get to move Les and Jocelyn into Charlie's parents' house. It's been pretty stressful so far and tomorrow is the big move with all their furniture going. I will be so glad when this weekend is over. I'm trying to keep a Christ-like attitude, especially with it being Easter and all :).

Love you all.

Why did the girl fall off the swing?

Because she didn't have any arms.

Ha ha!

Baby pictures!

We had our first pregnancy exam last Tuesday. Heather has been doing great so far, and the doctors say that there's no reason that won't continue. The obstetrician we met with specializes in high-risk pregnancies (due to Heather's heart condition), and he said he's assisted several women with the same condition whose pregnancies went smoothly. He was very nice and professional. Due to the high-riskiness, they did an ultrasound even though it was just the first exam. It was very exciting to see the bean shaped person, especially the heart beating. Last night at Mom and Dad's, we scanned the ultrasound pictures they gave us. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure.

update time

Hello everyone. I just thought I'd update you all. Charlie and I have decided to put off looking for a house for a while. We think Charlie will probably have a different job this fall, but we don't know where yet, so we felt like we should wait to find out where before we buy a house. So I'm going to stay in Jocelyn's house with the kids so they can finish up the school year at their school. Charlie will continue to live in his brother, Les's, basement and come home on the weekends. It sucks, but we only have a couple more months.

Les and Jocelyn are going to move in with Charlie's parents next weekend. That will leave me and the kids here on our own. I'm actually looking forward to it. I can't believe how hard it is to live with a different family, even when you get along pretty well. After they move out, Charlie and I will start to fix up their house and then try to sell it. We hope to have it sold by the end of the summer (we know it is a pretty high hope, but I don't want to be discouraged). That way we won't have to leave it vacant in order to move into our own home before the beginning of the next school year. We really hope to be able to live together as a family for the whole year next school year.

I have a new calling at church. I'm the 2nd councelor in the Relief Society presidency and am over the Enrichment meetings. I'm excited to serve with the women again. I really love them, especially in Flint. Charlie doesn't have a calling still, but the bishop assures us that he is working on it now that we know we will be around for at least the next couple of months.

Charlie still doesn't like his job too much. He really struggles with the middle school aged kids. He knows for sure he doesn't ever want to teach that age group again. I'm glad we have other opportunities so that he won't have to. He is going to a job fair at Eastern Michigan in April. There are several schools that will be there looking for math teachers. He will talk to as many as he can.

The kids are doing well in school. This week was their school spirit week. Every day they have had a different way to dress. Today they got to wear their pj's to school. Makayla, in particular, was so excited for today. The kids have enjoyed getting to wear something other than their uniforms everyday.

The weather here is finally starting to be nice more than not. We've been able to go outside more, which I am so happy about. I heard that Utah had a blizzard this past couple of days. Must have sucked to be you guys out there! I've felt really couped up in this house all winter. We played at someone's house on Monday and went on a walk on Tuesday. It's really nice again today, but I don't know if we'll be able to do anything special. So I should probably stop babbling.

We're Moving

So, we've finally had it with this place. Everybody smokes around us and it has started pouring in at all hours. I can't sleep and there is no place to hide from the smell. Plus the people down stairs and next door party. ALSO the people next door got a dog that they do not take care of and leave on their balcony in the snow and the dog lives in its own urine and feaces. We called the office and let them know, but so far, nothing has changed. So, we have decided to break our lease and move early. We will be moving out the 2nd week of May and moving in with Eric's parents until we find another apartment-hopefully it is soon. To say the least, we are very excited and should have done this sooner. But we thought you all should know and would you please pray for us that we will find another place and that we won't be duped again. Thanks for all you guys do, we love you! And we cannot wait to see you all in 28 DAYS!!!

High School Festivals

I had a weekend of high school music festivals. On Friday I chaperoned 3 of the high school choirs at the regional choir festival. Lyon Singers got straight I s as did one of the 2 girl groups. On Saturday I played for 2 band students at the state solo and ensemble festival, one of them got a I and the other one didn't do as well. Now the choirs will go on to the state competition, which one of the parents said is the same week as the play. It should be fun!

a big KICK

I had a neat experience this morning. I jumped out of bed rather quickly and must have startled our baby because...WHAM...what a kick! I've been feeling her move quite a bit lately, but her movements are usually small and easy to overlook, so it was cool feeling her so strongly--hopefully she doesn't have an attitude in the making!

Li'l Grape

According to this description, our baby is about the size of a grape. That's right folks, Heather is pregnant!

As you can see from that article, she's about 9 weeks. We've been waiting to tell everyone, and it's been tough keeping the secret. We told Heather's parents and family at her mom's birthday party on Saturday. She thought it was a great birthday present. We told Mom and Dad last night as we were coming home. They are very excited, too. And now that the secret is out, we can spread the news!

The due date is October 23 for now, although one of the ladies at the birthday party said her due date changed twice after she starting getting the ultrasounds.

Yay for babies!

Jimmy's Almost a Legal Adult!!!

I know the event was yesterday, but it still calls for some serious celebration. Our little brother, James William, is now, officially, SEVENTEEN!!!! I have a few pictures for all you that do not remember what he looks like-I wish I had baby pictures because then we could do a progression, but this will have to do.
Here are the two boys on Mom and Dad's new porch and don't they look happy.

This is Jimmy doing what he does best -wink ;)

And here is Jimmy just being plain scary...but we still love him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE BROTHER!!!

We all can't wait to see you rock the house as the world's coolest Beast. LOVE YOU!!!

My friend Wendy visited me this last weekend. She was here for about 3 days and I thought you might like to see some pictures from our adventures.

Wendy in Salt Lake City. We took a tour of the Conference Center (which was cool) and tried to find her family in the Family History Center (but didn't have much luck).

This is me on top of a cliff up Rock Canyon. You can see Provo and Utah Lake in the background. I like this picture because you can see how pregnant I am! It was quite a hike for me, and I was VERY sore the next day.

We ate at the No Name Saloon in Park City, UT. I had to get a membership in order for us to eat there (it was free) and I'm holding the membership card in the picture. We thought it was funny because I am the most unlikely candidate to join a bar (not only do I not drink, I'm pregnant!).

Wendy and Jason with a beautiful, dolled-up moose in Park City. All Park City souveniers have moose on them, which was funny, because this was the only moose we saw!

Wendy and I at the Great Salt Lake. She wanted to stick her foot in, just to say she had done it, but when she saw how icky the lake was she quickly changed her mind! I got my foot stuck in the mud, though, and sort-of lived her dream. Overall, it was a great weekend with lots of laughs and new memories.

Break in

Somebody broke into our apartment Thursday while I was out to lunch with Kurt, however we didn't notice anything was missing until around noon on Friday. Well, break-in isn't exactly the right terms since they appear to have had a key to our door. The apartment complex has had some trouble keeping track of all of its sets of master keys. Anyway, they broke in and took our Wii, Game Cube, all of their accessories, and our digital camera. The cops have told us we won't be getting any of the stuff back even if they recover it. We are very bummed. I also think I got one of the worst nights of sleep ever last night. Our locks were re-keyed last night but they had also been re-keyed on Tuesday so it doesn't make us feel all that secure. There is an alarm system on the door and we are supposed to be getting that activated today. In the end it was all just material stuff that we can replace eventually but it is unnerving.

We Got a House!

We put an offer in on this house Monday morning and, after some negotiations, our offer was accepted last night! We'll go out with the inspector in the next couple of days and then things will be official. We originally had proposed April 6th for closing but they couldn't make that so we pushed it back to May 4th so it would be after my thesis was over. I would have liked to have gotten into the home sooner but at least this way I don't have to pack and move while writing my thesis. It will be nice to deal with that after I'm done with my school responsibilities.

easy recipe

I found this recipe in the magazine that comes with the Herald newspaper and it got rave reviews from Dad and Jim and the people at the storehouse. It's called Beef Taco Skillet and here it is;
1 lb. ground beef 1/2 cup water
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's Tomato Soup 6 flour tortillas (6"), cut into 1" pieces
(Regular or 25% Less Sodium) 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup salsa

1. Cook beef in 10" skillet until well browned, stirring to break up meat. Pour off fat.
2. Stir in soup, salsa, water, tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 min. Stir. Top with cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Creamy Mexican Fiesta: Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream with soup.

Ranchero Style: Use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas and shredded Mexican cheese blend instead of Cheddar.

Thesis Date Set

I've set up my thesis defense date for April 25th. It will be the culmination of three years of work on this project and I'm already nervous. Thought you guys would like to know. I think it will go OK. Kurt and I are going to be in Greenville for the beginning of the week. After the defense I'm hoping to go to the beach for a day or two and then head home. We will definitely be back in time for the big Gala event.

SURPRISE!!

So, today started out like any other Saturday; we slept in, took a shower, went grocery shopping (where we, by-the-way, bought the new DVD Clue game and it is totally rad). On our way home from shopping we were listening to the radio and they were talking about how we could win Rascal Flatts (one of our favorite country bands) concert tickets at this furniture store in Sandy (about 10 min from where we were). Now, the concert is in two weeks and we were going to buy tickets until we found out they were $65 a piece...so I've been trying to win them by calling the radio station at those certain times of day-no luck. So, anyway, we were driving and I looked at Eric and I asked him if he wanted to try his luck and he said sure, so we went. There wasn't a huge amount of people there and the next drawing was in 20 min. so we entered and just hung out, looking at furniture. At 3pm they had the drawing and we actually almost left before it happened, but they CALLED ERIC'S NAME AND WE WON 2 TICKETS TO SEE RASCAL FLATTS MARCH 9TH!!!!!!! Can you believe it? Well, it's true and we are so excited about it that we just had to share in our good fortune. Just one of those random things that makes life a little sweeter.

baby pictures

This is a cute picture of her sucking her thumb.

Here is her profile and her two little feet crossed at the ankles. It's amazing what they can see!

The closeup: What a frightening first picture!

House update

So, the new blog is a bit different and took me a little bit to get used to. Anyway, I promised an update, so here we go. Charlie and I decided after many prayers to withdraw our offer for the house in Maybee. When we went with the inspector to have the home inspected, we walked in and the kitchen ceiling was on the floor. The realtor selling the home didn't winterized it and the water pipes for the upstairs bathroom burst causing a lot of water damage. So, because we were there, the inspector inspected everything else that he could and told us that he thought we were looking at about $50,000 worth of work. That sounds high, because it is, but it's high because that is what we would pay if we hired out most of the work. We were planning on doing most of the work ourselves and knew that we would be paying a pretty penny for the updates and repairs. With the water pipes broken we couldn't qualify for a loan on the house because it wasn't livable (I mean, jeez, why would you need running water to live in a house anyway?). The realtor selling the house was pretty rude to our realtor when she called to tell her about the water pipes and our not being able to get a loan for the house. Their realtor, Jean, told our realtor, Brenda, that if we didn't do something that week that she'd re-list the house. Well, we couldn't really do anything so Charlie and I prayed about it and felt like it didn't matter if we bought this house or not. So we felt that logically we shouldn't. We told Brenda that we didn't want it and she formally withdrew the offer. Since then, Jean has left the company she was working for and the house has been reassigned to a different realtor. That realtor has been calling Brenda and asking whats been going on and why we haven't closed yet on this house. So she called me yesterday and wanted to know if we were sure we didn't want this house. She said that the plumbing was to be fixed by this Friday and we could walk back through the house if we wanted. I told her I'd talk to Charlie and he and I decided that we were sure. So I called her back lastnight and told her we were sure that we didn't want this house. Maybe, if it's still on the market in a couple of months we'll re-evaluate and offer a lower bid but for now we are going to look elsewhere. We are kind of in the position of Kurt and Heather and waiting and hoping that more houses will come on the market in the spring. We are also looking at the possiblity that Charlie may change jobs so we aren't sure if we should buy right now anyway since we aren't sure where Charlie will end up. He really doesn't like his job. It's really hard for him to split time between the two schools and the subjects he's teaching are not his favorite. We know that he could get a full time high school teaching job somewhere else but we don't know if that's the best thing for him. He has started coaching in Flat Rock, something he's always wanted to do and we aren't sure he'll be able to do that somewhere else. We're trying to weight the pros and cons and praying a lot. We want to make sure we do what the Lord wants us to. So I'll try to keep you guys posted as well as I can. Take care all.

It's a GIRL!

We had our ultrasound this morning and we're having a little girl! The ultrasound was amazing, they are able to see so much (kidneys, brain, lips, diaphragm, stomach, even the four chambers of the heart!) and everything was healthy and normal. It is now starting to sink in that we're really going to be parents. Jason and I are feeling very blessed, overwhelmed, and excited!

Congrats Jana and Jason!!!!

Jana and Jason
Congratulations on your wonderful news. It is always good to have a girl first because she can baby-sit when she gets older and you really don't have to pay her. Good luck figureing out a name. I think Erica is good name for girl, but that's my opinion. We are so excited for you and hope that this news eases the stress a little bit. Kari and I are planning on a big present that will take up your entire moving van, sorry.

birthdays and valentines

I hope Dad had a great birthday yesterday (the big 53!) and that Alexis has something wonderful planned today (the big 10...double digits!).

I would like to hear what everyone did yesterday on Valentine's Day. I always have a difficult time with this particular holiday, probably because I feel I'm already out of ideas of things to do. Jason and I made pink rice krispie treats (we had intended to pass them out to our friends, but that didn't end up happening), I sent him on a little scavenger hunt for candy, and he brought me home a rose. We also had take-out for dinner. Nothing extravagent, but nice. I'm curious what you ended up doing...

We're starting to look forward to our ultrasound, it's this Tuesday. Even though I didn't want to know what we're having, now that I have to know, I'm starting to get excited about it. I'll keep you posted!

Guess What?!!!

Soooooooooo.....I was just dinking around on the internet and I thought I would check my application status before we went to bed and so......I GOT IN!!!! So, this fall I will be a full time student at the University of Utah. This is to make Dad proud :) But we still have yet to hear from Creighton so we could be moving-but we aren't holding our breaths. Anyway, just thought you all would want to know. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY...WE LOVE YOU!

Super pretzels!

Here's an update on the house stuff.

Heather said a bit about the house before. The list price was $160,000. We put an offer on it for $125,000 last Friday. We knew it wouldn't be accepted; we were using it as a negotiating starting point. The house had an open house on Sunday, and today we found out from our agent that they got an offer in the $150s. That's higher than we were willing to go for this particular house, so we're back to the hunt. We have some more houses lined up to look at later this week, so hopefully we'll find something soon. As it gets closer to spring, more houses are coming on the market, so we're not worried. We'll keep looking until we find the right one.

Super pretzels rule.

Decisions, decisions

Thought I'd add my two cents to the updates. Our life is pretty much the same as it has been for the past few months. Eric has heard from 6 of the 7 schools he's applied to and none of it has been good news. We still have to hear from Creighton, but he's not optimistic. But he's doing okay and is already planning for the applications this year. He is going to retake the MCAT, probably at the beginning of April or after we get back from Michigan. But, with dads urging, we have researched both him becoming a Medical Doctor (MD) or an Osteopathic Doctor (DO). So, Eric is going to apply to both schools. It you want to know more about DO's-we didn't know much-here's a website: click here. So we are making plans to stay here in Utah. I have applied to the University of Utah and are still waiting to hear back but Eric's pretty certain that I'll get in. So then we are planning that in the fall I will be going to school full time and he will be hopefully working full time. We are going to move too-probably to live in downtown Salt Lake, we have found some cheaper apartments there and are hoping that will still be true in July when we will be moving. Ummm....that's seems to be the gist of the news. Oh, except that yesterday was our one year anniversary of getting engaged so Eric took me to Park City-where we got engaged-and we practically relived the night. It was a lot of fun.

These are the flowers he bought me yesterday-the first flowers he has ever bought me. Aren't they pretty?










And this is a picture of us on the bench where we got engaged. If you click on it to make it bigger you can see the snow falling.

Plus now you can remember what we look like-just in case you were having a hard time remembering. Well, that's all from us. We wish everybody who has a birthday this week and who had one last week and good and happy birthday and a warm congratulations to Merrit for getting baptized, we hope that it was a wonderful time. We love you all and are SUPER excited to see you guys in a couple of months.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MERRIT!!

Merrit is now 8 whopping years!!

Merrit is getting baptized!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we've got Merrit's baptism set for this Sat., the 10th at 3 pm. I can't believe he is going to be 8 already! He's pretty excited and so are we. I need to go to bed and I have a house update, but it's too long of a story to write now so I'll do it latter.

Tom and Ethel's

Thought everyone might want to see the house we are looking at. Follow this link to see the pictures.
It needs a lot of TLC but we should be able to get it at a reasonable price. Hopefully when we move we'll be able to make a tidy profit to put towards a longer-term house. We've named most of the houses we were interested in. This one we named Tom and Ethel's because it looks like a widower has lived there alone for the past twenty years. Ethel made some top of the line design decisions back in 1950 but they are a little out of date now. We're waiting to get some market information from the realtor before we put an offer in. We'll keep you updated on the progress.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HILLARY

Hillary is now the big 29!!

Let's all gather together in a loud birthday SHOUT while we celebrate Hillary's last year before she enters her 30s. HURRAH! I hope you have a great birthday and get to do something fun. Now I hope I can just remember when all of your kid's birthdays are...it all gets so confusing when they're this close together!

house news?

Kurt, Heather-- I was just sitting here wondering if you had started looking for a house yet and if you've had any luck. So, what news, what news?

Jim's the Beast!

This is what Dad emailed us this morning...YAY!!

I tried to post it on the Blog but for some reason I can't get into it (the Blog appears to be down or my company firewall is preventing me from getting into it). Jim was selected as the Beast for "Beauty and the Beast." We'll plan to make it a festive occasion and bring everyone together for a family gathering. I'm thinking it would be fun for all the siblings and their spouses to go to Gala together. I'm sure Hillary's children will want to see the play as well (with the exception of Jaxson maybe) so we can do that on another night. Anyway, we'll see how everything works out.

finding out the gender

Well, we're finding out the gender of our little one on February 20th. As you know, I don't want to know, but Jason does, so the only fair way we could decide what to do was flip a coin. The big flip happened yesterday and (dang it!) I lost.

It will be fun to know, I just have to get used to the idea. I've always wanted a big surprise right there in the hospital room, but I suppose it's not meant to be. *sigh* I'm worried that by knowing that far in advance we'll accumulate a lot more things than if we didn't know--and the more we accumulate, the more stuff we have to move to Memphis. It's a lot easier to buy stuff for babies when you know the gender, so not finding out was another tactic to save us money on moving costs! Oh well.

Jason and I did decide that we'll find out the gender every other baby, so at least in another 2 or so years I'll get my surprise...

update on the house

We are still in the process of buying the house I wrote about before. Our realtor is trying to coordinate with the other realtor to have the utilities turned on so we can have a proper inspection. After that, we will have the house appraised. As long as those two things go well, everything should be smooth sailing from there. We already have financing so closing should not be that difficult. I'll keep you posted.
We've discovered mold growing in Jocelyn's house. I don't think it's serious. It's just around the windows and doors because they have poor air ventilation in their home. We think we can clean it up ourselves. I've researched it online and went and bought some mold killing cleaner yesterday. You know you aren't suppose to clean mold with bleach? I didn't know that until my research. This is such an interesting experience; one I never pictured myself as having. We think that this is part of the reason we have been sick so much since moving into their house though, because really it has been one thing after another and it's not usually like that with me or my kids. I just hope what we see is all there is.
I'm excited to be in my own home again. It hasn't been too bad here. Les and Jocelyn have really been very accomodating to us. But there is something to say about having your own home. I've really come to appreciate that by living with them. I've also come to appreciate my relationship with Charlie as I've watched, up close and personal, someone else's relationship. Charlie and I are so perfect for each other and I can't wait to be living with him full time again.
Love you all and take care.

Settled In

Well, we are finally getting settled in at the apartment in Ann Arbor with Joe and Michele. I've been here for almost a week and Kurt arrived Saturday evening. Our boxes are mostly unpacked and, other than some lost keys and medicine, everything seems to be in order. Pretty good for such a disjointed move. We haven't introduced all 4 cats yet so Kurt and I are sleeping in our room with our two cats. Tons of fun, let me tell you. Hopefully the intros will go smoothly and our 4 people/4 cats arrangement will work out for the duration.

Kurt and I are going to start looking into local real estate options this week, as well as all the other fun chores that go along with moving. Kurt starts work on Monday. Hopefully everything will be unpacked and orderly enough by then that I can start thesis work then, too. So, things have been very exciting for awhile but hopefully life will settle into a little more routine soon.

A Hairy Update

Over the weekend we had an exciting experience...both of my ear drums burst! If you haven't had your ear drums burst before, it is very painful. On Saturday one burst, on Sunday the other. I must have a fairly low tolerance for pain, but it really killed. Thank goodness for epidurals! Anyhow, I am now on some antibiotics, very expensive ear drops, continual doses of Sudafed, and Extra-strengh Tylenol. That's right, I am a walking pharmacy.

As for Jason, school has started again. He's taking less credits and what he hopes are easier classes this semester. We are excited to have him graduate from UVSC this summer, he'll be the first college graduate in his family, and I am so proud of him! We have decided, 100%, that we're moving to Memphis and attending SCO in August.

Our big ultrasound is scheduled for Feb 20th, but we are still undecided whether or not to find out the gender. I don't want to, but Jason does. My thinking is this: how many good surprises do we get in life? Might as well make this one last as long as possible. His thinking is just like everyone elses--practical. But I don't care if our kid wears green for the first month! I honestly want to buy as little as possible before we move since we'll be moving about 5 weeks after we the baby. We have sort of decided that he'll find out and not tell anyone (including me), but I don't know how long that will last. Hmmm... I'm still trying to convince him that a surprise is so much more fun. Your thoughts?

Directions

I guess I didn't know that you guys were going to need to register to see our pictures. So, I'm going to give you my id and password. To log in my email to use is kartright@juno.com and the password is fish13. And, mom, we didn't tell you guys because we wanted to surprise you guys after the vacation with pictures on the blog. We just thought it would be a fun surprise-sorry if you felt left out. But, anyway, if you guys can't see the pictures after you use my log in, let me know. Love you guys!

New Years Adventure

Soo...can anyone tell me where you might see something like this?
Any sort of a clue????? Well, you might know if you've ever been to...
DISNEYLAND!!! That's right, Eric's family sponsered us to go to Disneyland over New Years...this was our Christmas present from them. So, we all went as a family...us, Eric's parents, Eric's brother and his wife, his other brother, and his sister and her family. We left Sunday morning for St. George to attend church with his brother and then to Vegas to see his sister. Then we drove to Pasadina, CA and stayed with his uncle. Eric's uncle works along the parade route for the Rose Parade and so we went to the 9th floor and watched it from his office.














This is the view from his office and the parade was coming toward us. These are the only pictures we have of the parade because the camera died. But, these are pictures of the people lining the streets....it was crazy and they were soo loud. Then, we drove to our hotel in Anahiem and watched the Rose Bowl...Eric was crushed, but we did get to go to the ocean and ate at this cute restaurant on a pier and took some awesome pictures (all other pictures will be later on). Then the next day was Tuesday and we went to Disneyland. It was pretty amazing and I had tons of fun. We were in 70 degree weather and it was beautiful and we got back today and it was snowing pretty hard...Eric wanted to cry, but I was just happy to be home. In other news, we bought me a car today. It is a silver, 99 Hyundai Accent...just a small, fuel efficient car. I love it. Plus, we heard from Iowa University and they have denied Eric for medical school-but it's okay, it was his last choice. So, we're still waiting to hear from 4 more schools (WI, PA, OH, and NE). Cross your fingers that we hear soon. Anyway, here are our pictures from the "Happiest Place on Earth" and we hope you enjoy them...we really enjoyed taking them. We love you and hope that your New Years were just as "magical." (Gosh I'm corney).
*Note...all Disneyland pictures will be veiwed on an album, I just had too many to put them all on the blog, so to view them click here and then open the album with the pretty castle on it. But if you want to read any of the captions, do not put on slideshow, just go one by one. Thanks!