Welcome to Paradise!

Well, we packed up our things and made a sudden move to Scottsdale, AZ.  We co-purchased a 1964 ranch style home with my mother -- a multigenerational property.  Mom has been a very helpful supporter in the move and we couldn't be more excited and grateful!

I must say, we are thrilled with the education the kids are now receiving.  Their new school offers a remarkable music program so John is learning to play the trumpet.  Administration immediately doubled John's services and they have a specially assigned teacher working with him one on one to catch up to grade level.  He has a mentor that oversees him and they have social skills practice during critical hours like lunch and recess.  Everyone in the school really watches out for John and he is surrounded by girls in his class who LOVE him.  John really enjoys school now...WOW!  Ella is making friends fast and we are so happy to finally be called as her primary teachers in church!  We pass a nearby horseback riding facility on the way to school and she really wants to learn how to ride a horse.  This makes my heart sing because I love horses!

It's not all fun a games here, though.  The house is old and needs major upgrading.  Air conditioning units, plumbing and water heaters, landscaping, mold, tree removal...  There is a lot of laughter going on around here...but also a lot of frustrations too.  One minute we're on edge, the next minute we're laughing about the new boat we acquired:

This thing needs some serious help.

Any ideas for a name?

 

Ok, so let's do a sneak peek...

 

So this is the kitchen.  The backsplash is a lovely wine bottle and veggie basket display.

It actually looks better in this picture than in reality.

I could talk about our plans...but I'll just show before and afters as they occur.

Mom, Adam, and I have some great ideas but it's going to take TIME and WORK!

 

A hall?  A laundry room? 

No...the dryer is in the garage. 

I really like the 60s style cabinets so we might try to save these bad boys.

 

This is the flooring.  We ripped out nasty carpet.

Flip flops are a must.

The previous owner had parrots that were pretty destructive.

This is one of the two sheds.  At first I really didn't like it, but we have some fun ideas.

We have a nice large yard now and a big pool!  The main house has 6 bedrooms so we hope to fill it with kids one day.  Mom's house has 3 bedrooms and she is wisely holding off on moving here until her place is complete.  There are large shade trees which need to be trimmed.  Mona is having the time of her life chasing lizards.  We hope she will be kind to the chickens we would like to have soon...just a few because I'd like to have fresh eggs.

 

Overall, we are happy to be here.  Some folks warned us about "Snottsdale" or "Snobsdale" but it really is very diverse and I like that!

There are wonderful families we have met at church that live in apartments and other wonderful families with large homes.  I think the house we visited last night was around 9,000 square feet and the family was so kind.  One would think this type of diversity would cause disharmony, but the people are more powered by the work of the Lord. They emulate the words of Jeffrey R. Holland, "We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin"(Laborers in the Vineyard, April, 2012).

 

I was humbled when I met our Relief Society presidency which consists of all sisters who are the only members in their families!  They are really incredible women.

 

We heard that Elder Bednar is coming to our stake in a couple of weeks and Adam and I almost jumped out of our seats at church on Sunday when we heard.

 

We're missing our friends and especially my dad in Surprise.  Even though things are better for our family in many ways, we still feel the utmost gratitude for our golden friends.  It doesn't seem like time allows for enough reunions but we hope to hear from and see our friends soon.

Make new friends but keep the old.  One is silver and the other gold.

 

This new turn in our family will be a great opportunity to grow.  I know there are also many challenges ahead.  One thing is for sure -- John and Ella are worth every effort to me.  And I know you feel the same about yours!

 

This was a previous photo at the Orange Tree Golf Resort we stayed at (before we closed on the house).

First day of school!

Ella is now in 2nd grade.

John is in 4th grade.