It's all good.....

On Saturday, I decided after many requests from my mother and several from friends that a blog post way past due!
The problem: after many failed attempts, I can't get even get one of the myriad of pictures to post on my blog
 while using this little tablet. It is frustrating and I want to just wait until I can a proper blog, but that might take eons. Instead, I will try to pluck out a bit of a story on this finicky little typing pad.

It is a long story, that can be summed up with one phrase you may have heard that has echoed through my brain many, many times in the past several months. Here goes:

"LIFE is what happens when you are off making other plans."

We had plans.


Those plans ended abruptly just two weeks after leaving Vegas on August 3rd in Medford, Oregon where we were staying in The Knight's Inn while our van's transmission amd brakes were being replaced.

Patrick was working as usual when his boss called to inform him that his job as a contractor for Fox would be ending that very week!

When hired, the job was projected to take 6 months to a year.

Things change!

The only thing to be done was to look for another job.

Amazingly enough, the very next day we had three job interviews lined up 5 hours North of us in the Portland area for the following Monday!

After a much needed weekend camping retreat im Sunny Valley, OR, we we were on the road to find a job and a place to live.

By August 8th we had a job offer in the Portland area.

We now live in a place with LOTS of trees AND LOTS of tech jobs....just like Patrick wanted to begin with.

I have Trader Joe's and a rental where we are allowed to get chickens AND an IKEA!


It is an absolutly gorgeous place to live....even if we were sort of placed here.

I know that it is where God wants us to be at this time.

It has been an adjustment for sure!

Much of the things we are adjusting to are wonderful but I am not going to lie or paint a perfect picture that doesn't exist.

Many things are dowright hard.

Thankfully there is so much good.

Pictureless.

An unfinished post from the middle of August...
I have a problem. I have a very, very hard time creating a blog post without pictures! I don't have a way to get the pictures onto this computer to help me write this blog entry and it's driving me nuts. BUT....
It's high time I put something down here anyways just in case you were wondering what in the world is going on with the Morris.'

First off. I just have to get this out in the open.
I "live" in a TRAILER PARK!
Just in case you are as clueless as I was before embarking on this epic adventure, lots of  people live, full time in RV's. I had no clue. But now I do, because that's just what we are doing! It's not half bad if you find a top notch RV park like this one, although I would NOT suggest doing it for long periods of time in a trailer that has only 84 square ft. of living space! It's a tight ship in here to say the least, but we are managing fairly well and are excited to say that we are in the market to purchase a home....or rent. We are not sure which at this point. I would have to say that after being here for 2 weeks now, I love it too..... I am just praying that when the rain comes (and it surely will) that I will maker sure I do what's necessary to cope with the clouds.

Last Chance....

My lovely friend Angie is opening her home for a farewell party!

to do:

a couple hours ago my husband no-schelantly asked, what are your plans for today???



my reply:



"to read all of the blogs i haven't read since devon was born over 5 months ago!"



thankfully he just laughed.



i'm ambitious sometimes but i need a BREAK from all of this productivity! 



my lovely mum has taken dallin and anna AGAIN to sleep over and play for 24 hours so you would think i would be wisely using my time by tying up all of the loose ends around my house in upheaval before some guys in the elders quorum come to help load the big trailer today before the baby wakes up but instead.....

.....i'm eating my delicious sourdough bread slathered with my favorite kerry gold butter, while listening to "journey" on someone's lovely blog music list, and enjoying all of the blogs i haven't read for the past 5.5 months when i was living under a rock!






while looking at all of your blogs for several hours since last night, i've laughed out loud, cried, been touched by the holy spirit and reminded that i need to be a nice mommy, even if i am a bit stressed out!






thank you!



(ps...thank goodness my mom found the time to come again to help a bit as well as the young woman from our ward whom i bought some cleaning help from in a camp auction. justin is here to help as well. thank goodness. )

(pss....i also fancied what it would be like to up and do what this lady did....but i don't think we're THAT daring!)



(psss while making the rounds, i learned that many of your blogs became private. i would LOVE to still read, so please send an invite!)

For the love of green.

Because I thought someone out there might be interested, I introduce to you:

The Green Drink

I'm not sure if anyone else has tried to concoct a healthy green drink on their own, but I did, many, many times without success.

It wasn't pretty.
Nor was it tasty.

{I always drank my concoctions because I knew they were good for me, but my kids wound only drink the green if they were on the brink of starvation. }

Thankfully, I stopped guessing and began to use wonderful base recipe compliments of Oz for our green drinks that my friend Inez shared with me.

I'm not going to lie.
Drinking a green vegetable drink isn't always a culinary delight,
but I can honestly say that my body CRAVES the unique blend of green goodness, and so do my kids.

No joke.

 I have truly grown to love them, plus, they make me feel fantastic!

Thanks to Oz, there have been happy green mustache smiles in our home ever since!

Dr. Oz's Green Drink

Ingredients

2 cups spinach
2 cups cucumber
1 head of celery
1/2 inch or teaspoon ginger root
1 bunch parsley
2 apples
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon

 Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender. This makes approximately 28-30 ounces, or 3-4 servings.

Until I got the hang of things I followed Dr. Oz's recipe.
Now I just put whatever I have on hand....

Pictured is what happened to be in my drink that particular day.

Julie's Green Drink On a Random Day:
1 bunch of parsley
1/2 of a cucumber
3 chunks of jicama
1 teaspoon of jalapeno
1 inch slice of ginger
3 small celery stalks
1 lemon juiced
1 lime juiced
Stevia to taste
2 cups of water
1 cup of ice

Stuff it all in a blender and blend it all up until it is a lovely shade of spring green.
Add some ice and blend until smooth.


NOTES:
* When wrote this post for a Fitness Challenge a few months ago I drank it fruit free (asside from the low sugar citrus) since I was doing a candida cleans but I added 1 cup of fresh pineapple to my kid's drink, which I suggest you do if it's your first time!

*I vary the greens that I add, but strangely enough, my favorite green to add is PARSLEY. It has an interesting taste, but I love it! As a bonus, it's got an excellent amount of calcium in it!

*The lemon/lime are essential in my opinion.

*If your blender isn't as beefy as the Blendtec, I would definitely cut the vegis into smaller chunks. The less flecks of dark green, the better. ;)



Feeling gutsy?!?!
C'mon, give it a try!

Destination: unknown.

It's official.

In black and white.

WE ARE MOVING TO BOISE, IDAHO!!!

We think....

We think we might move to Boise, but one thing is for sure....

Are you as impressed as I am that all of these fit in my van, children included!?!

We are handing the house keys to our friends on July 6th, and we are moving out, because when we got  a call just over 3 weeks ago from our friends asking, "Do you still want to rent out your house to us?"  we said yes, but that wasn't the start of all of this.

It was last October when Patrick and I started talking about where we would like to live that was a little more "free range."  It definitely had something to do with the fact that we realized that having city chickens in our neighborhood wasn't in the cards even if the city laws allowed it.

Shortly after, we started trying to figure out where that might be. I mentioned our desires to several people.  It didn't take long, but we decided to move to Boise. I had been there once as a young adult and had nice memories of the place.

After we were moderately convinced that Boise was where we should go, we started looking for a job, just before Patrick's contract was up for his previous job. We stared getting calls from some employers up there. Thankfully, within a few weeks a job landed in our lap. But guess what!?!?

It was not a job in Boise, it was an excellent job ANYWHERE, 100% telecommuting.

After a few trips to LA, Patrick started his position, working from home, in May.

He interviewed in a suit....but he can work in his pajama's.

(He's only done that once, but it's cool to have the option.)

Having him work from home is wonderful.

Even better than we imagined.

Amazingly enough, my good husband can concentrate amidst the chaos in our home, which is impressive to me. He gets to visit us for short intervals throughout the day instead of seeing us at the end of a long day. It's been ideal. Gone are the worries of trying to find a job and a house at the same time.

Here's where he worked 7-3 the whole week we were searching for homes in Boise.

It's a miracle job.

Really!

 

We feel so blessed, but there's one thing about this job.

It opened up a can of worms.

From that can crawled the question that we can't get out of our heads,

 "Where do we want to live if we can live almost ANYWHERE!?!"

 

If you know me, you'll know that is a tough question.

It is VERY hard for me to make a decision when there are a lot of choices.

(That's one reason I like In-N-Out burger: there are very few choices on the menu.

I know what I want pretty quickly.)

Having this option is like sitting down in front of a Cheesecake Factory menu.

When the waiter comes back after 20 minutes I usually have him or her help me make a choice from what I have narrowed it down to and hope it turns out delicious.

There are some requirements: there has to be tech jobs for Patrick if this position happens to end....

AND a place for us to have some wide open space where we could grow some real food (as opposed to our desert hobby garden) have chickens and possibly a few goats sometime down the road.

"Me Cowboy!" 

Boise has all 3 of these requirements and is a lovely place, but as a result of this "ANYWHERE" option, we are still not completely decided.

What if there is somewhere else that would be a better fit for us?

Patrick wonders if he could actually convince me to live in the rain so he could bask in some Pacific Northwest heavily forested environment where there are gobs and gobs of tech jobs.

I wonder if there is a city we would enjoy just as much as Boise that actually has a Trader Joe's less than 4 hours away.

Don't get me wrong, I love many things about Boise. Once we decided to go there,  we learned that many, many people we asked really like it there too. I can see why. Two weeks ago we spent a week there looking for house and even put an offer on a lovely home nestled amongst farms between Meridian and Nampa.  My favorite part of the area was the beautiful downtown area along the Boise River, but we're not quite ready to put our stakes down just yet.

We will really be ready to  buy a home in a few months when the right one in the right place comes along, but since we have good renters moving into our home on July 6th, a huge moving trailer that is parked in front of our house, some time our hands while we for sure decide on a final destination before we find out if they except the offer we put on a short sale, a wireless internet connection for Patrick's work laptop, some really excited kids, a TON of boxes (some full and many empty) and a desire to make the best choice about where our family should live long term, we are officially in the market for a 12 foot, single axle............

Vintage Camper Trailer!!! 

(Of course you could call it an old/cheap camper trailer, but Vintage sounds much, much cooler!)

That's right, We're going to be "Gypsies" 

(as my mum from England would say) 

for a month or two while we travel up the coast and beyond.

Better yet, let's call it an 

Extended Summer vacation!  

Of course we'll frequent a Hampton Inn to sleep on a real bed, splash in the pool and eat a fancy breakfast at least once a week, but for the most part, our temporary address will likely include the letters, K - O - A.

I will  continue to perfect my front seat lunch preparation skills. 

Did you know that a boogie board makes the most PERFECT on the interstate counter top????

We will also probably continue to take advantage of gas station blacktop dining where I don't have to worry if someone spills hummus all over the floor.

Oregon? Washington? Idaho? Colorado? Northern California?

We're still taking suggestions. 

can you believe that Devon is 5 months old already!?!?

I guess we'll just see where the wind blows us (better yet, where the Holy Ghost directs us)....which might end up as Boise, but we just aren't sure yet.

Are you shocked???

Well, so am I, considering the fact that I've only lived in the Las Vegas area,  but I'm not scared.

I am sad to leave family and many friends behind but I'm mainly excited.....AND dang ready to be done with this dreadful experience called packing (which has thankfully been made more bearable thanks to my mom, mum and m.i.l.)

Real life with my 4 kids.....

I have plans.
Plans to write lovely things down on this here blog.
Like...... the things I've been thankful these past 3 weeks and a great birth story but.....

Instead of long lovely lists, for the sake of time and because people have been asking "how it is with 4,"  here is a very small snip-it of my life.....

INTRODUCING........

The sort of pictures that rarely make the cut and make it onto a birth announcement.

You know what I mean.

The pictures of REAL life.

MY real life.



It started out innocently enough.

There I was trying to take a few shots while Devon was awake AND happy.
Along came the others wanting in on the action.
I decided to let them be part of the fun.

Who cares about uncombed hair and ketchup stained chins, right?

The only problem is that Dallin had other plans in his little mind.

He wanted to show some "brotherly love" and make the pictures more exciting!



Luckily my shutter speed is fast because this happened in about 20 seconds time:

See for yourself:

 

Needless to say, we didn't get "the picture" that day.

I'm just glad that he accosted him through a blanket instead of the typical bare fingered poke in the eye!

So there you have it folks.

The REAL thing.



And because we're on the subject of REAL life....

Did you know that Carrots hurled with enough force have the ability to break a window pane?

You didn't?

Well, now you do!
 

Wonder no longer....

HE'S HERE!!!!

It's been a great day!

It "started" at 3:00 a.m. with a puddle on the floor next to my bed. 

It "ended" with a beautiful well nourished baby boy at 7:55 this morning when I received him into my arms. 

All 9 lbs and 4 wonderful ounces of him!

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect birth....

{Well, except for the stitches.}

We're pretty sure his name is Devon.

Now, let the real fun begin! 

Seriously?

On Saturday the 8th at 8 AM, the morning after writing my last post about wanting my water to break so I know it was time, it happened.... or so I thought.

I got up from sitting down and lo and behold, amniotic fluid!

It wasn't a ton, probably a 1/2 cup worth, but it was something to get excited about!

Oh the excitement!

I called the midwife and told her that there was clear amniotic fluid and some bloody show but that there was not real labor......yet.

It was just the sign that I had been waiting for so I would know when the time had arrived!

Yahooee!

I started calculating in my head what time the baby might be born.

If it went like Anna's birth the baby would be here around 3 o'clock that afternoon!

On Dallin's schedule, whom took 40 hours after my water broke, the baby would be here by Sunday night.

It was interesting how a friend Cassandra called at 9 a.m. and asked  how things were and to ask another question. I mentioned that my fluid was leaking and that I was anticipating the beginning of labor. It was nice at that time to hear of hear sister going to the mall and walking around while waiting for things to begin. She also mentioned that sometimes, the bag leaks then seals itself back up. That was something  I hadn't realized or remembered, but I was pretty sure that wouldn't be the case for me.

Luckily, I had work to do and a full day ahead to distract me from early labor!

Also, that strange nesting desire to have a clean house for a new baby whom could care less whether the floor had been mopped overcame me.

I busied myself once again!

First the kid's bathroom, then sweeping and picking up the house.

By 10:30 it came time for our families assignment to clean the church.

With a tiny bit of hesitance and a hand towel between my legs "just in case" there was a  loss of additional fluid, we proceeded to the church where I tidied the kitchen, scrubbed the door jams with vigor and methodically wiped chalk boards clean.

I even almost stuck to my plan not tell anyone there what I thought might be happening soon.

While working till 12:30 mild contractions continued and I kept wondering when it would be time for the "real" ones. Since nothing was happening and the "just in case towel" was completely dry (to my surprise), we proceeded with our plans for the day. To console myself I thought back to Dallin's birth and reminded myself that it might take a while for things to pick up.

Justin is on the far left....you know, the cute kid witht the confused look in his eyes?

We headed over to the rec. center where we got to watch Justin in his first ever basketball game.

It was comical to say they least. It will be even more interesting when he figures out that the goal is to stop the other team from making baskets and passes the ball to people on his own team!

He sure had fun though, and he and his team even started figuring some things out by the end of the game.

After the game and some fun at the nearby park and of course, some "last" pregnant pictures, we headed over to Trader Joe's to stock the cupboards one last time before the anticipated arrival.

I even got the usual stares and the, "looks like it could happen at any minute" stares.

Next we went to Cafe Rio for a filling meal to give me energy for the upcoming event.

{It was delicious of course.}

By 6:30 we were headed home where I could continue nesting and I could put the family to work with the anticipation of watching a movie together!

For the next 2 hours or more we did dishes, mopped the floor, scoured the sink with the beloved Mr. Clean sponge and cleaned out the fridge and the pantry so groceries could be put into an organized space, free of decomposing radishes that we hadn't consumed from out bountiful basket many weeks before.{These tasks were definitely something the baby would appreciate having done, right?} And boy were those contractions getting going from all of the work!

It was a lovely, productive evening, full of many wonderful yet inconsistent contractions, a sparkling kitchen and clean toilets.

Next, we sat down to watch a movie together.

It was very funny to me, but a documentary on "Absolute Zero" by Nova was the consensus. There I was, waiting for real labor to happen while watching some kooky scientist get REALLY excited about cold stuff. It was way over my head but I think the kids liked it though to my surprise. It was fine though. I just watched here and there, all the while imagining the upcoming birth and waiting for consistent contractions to begin. I'd even time them and try to discover a pattern, but a pattern never came. Pre-labor contractions during this pregnancy are not new to me, but I waited for the ones that I know are needed to move a baby out. 

By 11:00 we headed to bed when I thought for sure "it" would start sometime during the wee hours of the morning. We determined that since the baby wasn't born yet that Sunday would be the day.

When I woke up the next morning and nothing had happened it was obvious that Sunday wasn't the day.

Finally after reading "The Birth Book" I admitted to myself that my bag had not ruptured.....

For a few seconds I even wondered if maybe I had been hallucinating and had peed myself without realizing it. That's highly unlikely, but who said I am totally rational anyways!?

I'm pretty dang sure it was the sack leaking which had sealed itself up shortly after it had let out the fluid and that as long as fluid no longer leaked and the bag was sealed, I should just carry on as I have been. Fooey!

It was yet again, another something I hadn't experienced while pregnant that fooled me even more royally than the previous trick. 

AND I got to go to church, still pregnant, "expired" so to speak with a few folks having spread the news that i had "leaked" morphed into the fact that my water had "broken." Oh boy.

Not only did the contractions never progress, the midwife's assistant came to my home and confirmed with a test by Sunday afternoon that there was none of the aforementioned fluid leaking from my body like it had done briefly that Saturday morning.

I have been foiled...again!

In my womb I carry the ultimate prankster and I am the ultimate sucker. 

At least my kitchen is really organized and clean! And It was nice to hear that I'm almost completely effaced.

So here I am: still pregnant, still "patiently" waiting.

So is Anna as I was reminded with her comment this morning, "Mom, this baby sure is taking a long time!"

In case you were wondering......

40 weeks and counting.

And I'm not the only one counting.

It's not all my fault, but I convinced myself {and everyone else} that on Sunday, December 26th, I was in labor.

Starting during church at around 2:00 I began to have regular contractions while hoping that my bag of waters would stay intact.  It did of course.

Little by little I started realizing that they were pretty consistent, no matter my position.

Then by 8 or 9 they were about 5 minutes apart and getting stronger so I started getting excited!

Since I had made no accommodations previously I busied myself preparing my home.

Patrick pumped up the birth tub Angela lent me and got the hose connected.

I cracked open the birth kit, gathered old towels/ plastic cloths, pulled down the bins of newborn clothes, cleaned the toilets and scoured the stove top of course. ;)

I called my mum, Julie to tell her I would probably be calling her in the morning to come over to take care of the kids and I e-mailed my friend who is going to take pictures for me.

By 9:30 I called Sherry my midwife and her assistant Tiffany to let them know that I thought I was in early labor so they could be ready when the "real stuff" started during the wee hours of the morning.

I even had Patrick take one last not so flattering late-night picture of me pregnant....

Finally at midnight, everything was in order and I figured I should get some rest since I had probably had some work ahead of me in not to far from that time.

The contractions kept coming. Some quite strong but very manageable.

It was like going to sleep excited for Christmas as a kid......

Christmas never came.

Reluctantly, the next morning I sent Patrick off to work

But...
I kept thinking active labor would come at anytime because the pre-labor contractions kept coming just not as consistently.

It never came.

Since I have been pregnant 3 times prior to this, you'd think that I would know by now when labor was beginning, but apparently I have no clue.

This is the first time I've had consistent contractions before water breaking.

Talk about confusion!

I walked around for over a week thinking I was centimeters away.

And my family called every day, bless their hearts. Repeatedly they would inquire.....

Have you had the baby yet????

Eventually, I reminded, "Don't call us, we'll call you." 

When Sherry checked me this week the confusion ended.

The prognosis: Thinning and barely dilating.

It may sound depressing, but believe me, I have felt much calmer and less obsessed ever since.

Phew.

Now we just wait patiently for the REAL fun to begin.

I'll just wait for my water to break like it usually does. {Crossing fingers}

I'm not interested in being teased any more thank you!

Lady in waiting.

Let me rephrase that. 

LADIES 

in waiting!

I've realized that I'm not the only lady in waiting around here!

I think Anna might even be more excited for the baby to arrive than I am!

I'm due Jan. 7th but have gone a bit earlier in the past, so

to make it easier for my kids to understand when I was due, whenever they asked when the baby would come out I just told them, 

AFTER CHRISTMAS.....

Well, it's after Christmas and Anna is ready! 

I tried to explain to her that it would be born SOMETIME after, and we don't know exactly when, but it's no use. 

On Christmas Eve after she had a delivery of her own with daddy's help she announced,

"Tomorrow after we open our presents, the baby will come out!"

If only it were that simple Anna. 

She just keeps asking and I keep wondering as well.
When is the baby going to come out?

It's not that I'm in a hurry.

For me, it's WAY easier to have the baby inside than out.
From experience I've decided that waiting is way easier than the alternatives!

It does help that this pregnancy has been an absolute dream. 

When Anna stuffs her baby under her shirt, you can still hear it's recorded cry.

My baby is silent.

And content.
And fed automatically....
{with no effort on my part, except for the fact that I get to eat and I'm a pro at that already.}

I still even sleep through the night!

We also could use more time to decide on a boy name....if it is a boy that is.  We've chosen the name Ella if it is a girl. 

Plus, the longer it hangs out in it's cozy womb, the more time I  have to recover from:

the Night AFTER Christmas

{which isn't nearly as  lovely of a scene as the Night BEFORE Christmas.}
 

Soooo, until the awaited birth occurs, I'm sure she will continue to choose clothing that will accommodate her "baby to be" each day.

And she'll continue to ask Dallin to check the baby's heartbeat.

 

And I'll continue to wonder with excitement whether these contractions will be THE ONES! 

Us.

Our family of 5.95! Taken Dec. 14th. Justin-6 Anna-4 Dallin-2 Baby-37 weeks

On second thought......

I had no clue how much ENJOYMENT a few paper bags and some duct tape could bring!

Maybe I should just return their Christmas presents and save some money!?!?

am i the only one?

do you sometimes wonder, 

am i the only one?????

today i happened to look up at my ceiling and lo and behold, there it was.

a  blob of butter, about a tablespoon worth, on the CEILING.

SERIOUSLY!?!?

then i asked a question i never, EVER, imagined i would ask as a mother.

"uh....who on earth threw a blob of butter up on the ceiling???"

{i'm pretty sure i'm the only mother on the earth today that asked her dear children that question.}

i'm not sure WHY i bothered asking, especially since nobody ever fesses up, but i asked it nonetheless.

 and since i got no answer, the only thing i was left to do is wonder.

who done it!?! 

maybe it was dallin???

hmmm....

it couldn't have been dallin! 

 {this is him with the piece of bread he buttered all by himself just the other day....i'm pretty sure he loves butter way too much to be throwing it up on the ceiling.}

what about anna? 

i guess it could have been anna, but i'm pretty sure it wasn't because the only thing she is good at throwing is a tantrum.

that left me with one final suspect.

justin

this a picture his dad took of him weeks ago...

 

am i wrong to be instituting the guilty until proven innocent policy???

for some reason he tends to have guilty written all over his forehead more times than not. 

i've yet to get a confession. 

but believe me. 

i am NOT holding my breath!

Learning.....

Some highlights 
from the school of 
LIFE!

 LEARNING.......

At La Jolla Children's pool beach!

{Justin LOVED the mini tide pool and even nominated himself as the "tour guide." AND we learned that Chinese tourists are REALLY fond of white little children.}

At the Mormon Battalion 

Visitors Center.

At the beach!

{We learned the most from our new fisherman friend.

Dallin also learned that sand coated pears are not a delicacy!}

At the S.E.E.K. Co-op!

 At the Police Station.

 In the living room and outside.

 At the Goat Milk Guy's "homestead."

{We learned that fresh goat's milk tastes WAY better than the stuff in the store, but yes, it still has that "goaty" taste.}  

 Lessons the hard way!

{Anna found out about what happens when you twist a comb one too many times around in your hair (ouch) or put scissors to your hair!
My favorite quote as she was walking into great clips with her allowance to pay for a "real" haircut... 

"See this money I have??? I'm buying 100 toys with it! NOT a haircut!"}

How to smile "pretty!"

{Dallin has officially mastered his cheesy camera grin!} 

 

In the Pumpkin Patch at Gilcrease Orchard.
{Some things DO grow in our desert!}