My Home is a Place of Peace and Comfort

While I loved being in Canada with my family, I find so much comfort and peace being back in my own home.

It has been very busy since we have been home, but Emily came back to Utah with me and spent the month with us. It was amazing having her here. Leaving my family was the hardest thing I have done in a while. They were such help and provided so much love and support while we were there in the summer.

Emily was here for the month of September, and while she was, she attended two institute classes, we took various hikes throughout the canyon, attended the USU rodeo, the demolition derby, watched Alex play soccer, shopped, floated the river in Lava, ID and just hung out! It was so fun, and I loved that she had that time to really connect with Brooklyn :) 

Emily is the most chill and sincere girl I know. She is low maintenance (minus her need for snacks, we've never had more food in our home then we did that month), and just goes with the flow. And Alex loved having someone here to tease, other than me. He loves having a younger sister, especially when he can try and place limits on her dating life!

We also had the opportunity of showing off Brooklyn to everyone here in Utah! Alex's family came to Logan to visit on a few occasions, and Brooklyn finally got to meet her American cousins! Cindy threw me a shower at her home to debut little Brooklyn and welcome her into the family :) Everyone loves her of course, and people started calling her "the china doll". Brooklyn has been very spoiled, especially from her Grandma Cindy. On a few occasions I have found outfits in her closet that Cindy has put in there haha 

 So at the end of September, my parents came down and babysat Brooklyn while Alex and I went to Tijuana, Mexico with Vivint Gives Back. During the summer, salesmen were given the opportunity to donate a certain number of sales in order to go to Tijuana and help build homes for people in need. We flew into San Diego, were able to go to the beach and enjoy the weather before we drove across the border the next day. We stayed in Tijuana in the LDS church building's gym haha Alex and I had the brilliant idea that we would share a sleeping bag... it sucked. However, the experience was amazing. 
We were able to build homes for three families. These families had built their homes out of scrap pieces of cardboard and whatever else they could find lying around. One of the daughters had commented that she is most grateful that she will no longer get wet inside her own home when it rains. We provided shelter, comfort and a sense of security for these families who had no means of achieving it on their own. It was such a rewarding experience to be able to forget about ourselves for three days and serve complete strangers. I have been on service trips before, but it was such a different experience being able to share that with Alex :) While we were there, they hosted a fiesta type night, we danced, were entertained by locals, and one of the best parts of the trip; having all our meals made by locals! SO good. 

The welcome home however, was not what we expected... Brooklyn was sleeping and so naturally I went and woke her up... Well she was not a happy girl after that. She was a bit weary with me and Alex claims he scratched her face with his whiskers and so the entire night she would burst out in tears whenever he looked at her. 

It was really sad! For about a day, she acted a bit strange, but then things were back to normal after that. Then I again had to say goodbye to my Mom, Dad and Emily as they headed back home the day after we got back. They loved having the week with Brooklyn and I loved them for coming to babysit. Although I would like to think that they made the trek just to babysit, I can’t. They had tickets to General Conference which was the weekend we were gone, so it worked out perfectly!

Alex was able to get his schedule worked out so he only had class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and one night class Wednesday. So we have been able to have a long weekend every weekend! It has been so nice to have Alex around so much. So when fall break came up he had five days off class, so us and the Huish's decided one night to pack up and leave to my parents place in AZ! We were literally sitting in our living room discussing the trip when we booked a hotel in Vegas, and left within the next couple hours haha love it. We had such a fun time. We stayed in Vegas the first night, then to Surprise AZ the next and even had the opportunity of going to visit Shane's sister just a couple hours away from my parents place. We stopped at Hoover Dam, played cards, laid out in the sun, swam, the boy’s hunted scorpions and geckos, and mostly just relaxed! It was so nice to get away somewhere warm. Oh, and the Huish's told us that they are expecting a baby! Her due date is May 28th! The same as mine, how fun! Some good times with good friends :)
 
It has been so fun to be back with our friends, going to the pumpkin walk, celebrating birthdays, USU basketball and hockey games!! Brooklyn loves the games haha It is way loud so we bought her ear protective muffs which are HUGE because I couldn’t find kid ones, but hey they work and she doesn’t mind :) She is such a content baby. She doesn't fuss when we are out and about, and falls asleep when she’s tired without whining haha 

Brooklyn has now experienced her first Halloween in which we dressed up as ballerina dolls, Alex's birthday, her first Fall, and her first snowfall! She absolutely loves being outside, and is even more intrigued by snow, it’s really fun to watch her as she stares out the windows. 

And of course as we all know, babies need their immunizations, so again lucky for us, Alex had a work meeting/year end party in Calgary so we were able to get Brooklyn's shots done. My family was able to come to Calgary and we went to the Telus Spark center. I had never been and it was so fun! So many cool things to explore and I loved seeing Emma, Crystal and Tanner. Ella is so big and so funny! Loved seeing them again. I honestly have the best siblings for being willing to drive two and a half hours in a snow storm to see us! I love them so much. 

And Brooklyn sits! She is 5 1/2 months and she squeals constantly, loves to play with her toys, and can sit up :) She is getting so big so fast... I can’t handle it! I still think she is the cutest thing alive and am excited to spend my days with her every morning. I am the biggest suck. 

But now, I am hoping we will be home for a while. I love my house so much and love that it is now snowing. My favorite thing is sitting inside a comfy and safe place, with my slippers and blankets cuddling and playing with my baby as the snow falls outside. I am so content and happy here. 

I could not be more grateful for my life, for my husband, for my faith, and for my daughter. I am so blessed and grateful for everything that I have and for everyone who has been placed in my life.