a little bit of this and that, yada, yada, yada

Okay, lets see if I can collect all of my thoughts and write them in any kind of an order that will flow, let alone make sense.

This past week was a celebration of Thanksgiving. We have SOOOOOOO many things to be thankful for, where do I even begin.....

We were blessed with a two week visit from my mom. We shared a wonderful meal and spent time together, that I would extend to months if I could. We spent a couple of days just exploring Cleveland, and I am now fully aware of the areas, I am NEVER aloud to travel again. We also spent days discovering the beautiful things about this city, especially the history in Kirtland.

We found a Jo-Ann's, bought fabric and patterns and re-ignited my fire and desire to sew. We discovered several parks, that Chandler did NOT want to go to, but enjoyed EVERY minute of each of them.

We have also learned that deer, LOVE to wander through our yard. This is so delightful and I get excited every time I see them pass through. Yesterday, there were 4 together, so Awesome!
I have learned that my van does NOT fit in the garage- apparently two car, actually meant, small compact cars and use the other side for storage. :) lesson learned- and the passenger side of the van is once again- tainted with more love.

I have struggled getting the kids registered for school in a timely manner. They (the school district) just like to take their time, and the paperwork.... HOLY batman!! there is a lot of paperwork, Then I had to swear to an oath and sign in front of a notary, just to have them even registered. After all that- it will still take them 3 days to determine when the kids will start school. I have the luckiest children alive. No school in November except for about 10 days.

Don't even get me started about the things needed to register your car here. Since my van was purchased by my mother, you would have to give the BMV your first born, all of your mental ability to understand their process and then just give up and license your car in Washington. Haha- that's the truth. Well, most of it.
Again, the paperwork, the notary, and nothing was in one location. You have to pick up the forms from one, take your car to be inspected by another, go back to the first one, pay some money, then go to another location and finish. I am tired just thinking about it. And if you think that any of these locations are close to where I live, or even to each other, again, I will just laugh.
It must have been someones evil plan to mess with people in a way that makes absolutely no sense. Call it a governmental agency and Wala! you would have yourself your own DMV.

All kidding aside, I really do like it here. We have lived here Two weeks and it is so great!!! The ward is just fantastic, the house is wonderful, the ........ ya, that might be it- but I LOVE it!! no sarcasm there. seriously :)_

So in amongst our crazy, busy, no routine, need a routine, but still don't have one lives- we're good. Looking forward to the Christmas Holiday season. Reminding the children of the true meaning and sharing new traditions with them, in a new home, in a new city, far far away from the rest of those that we love and miss so dearly.

oHIooooo!!

We made it. We survived another move, despite my believing that TWO (big) moves in a 5 month period could be a breaking point for some. We survived. BUT not without the love and support of our friends and family. Being a part for 6 weeks, was definitely a trial. Two days later, Cory was in a car accident and suffered a concussion, which is still affecting him. I took him to the ER today to get checked out. He will recover, but it could be a long one.

We went to church in our ward today for the first time. It was nice. It felt so good, and welcoming. I am happy here already.

I am also learning to not see so much difference. I am not a racist, but I have also never been the minority. My first trip out to the grocery store was a shock. It was me and the white security guard in the entire store in amongst a sea of African Americans. I have to admit, I was uncomfortable, but only because I have never been that kind of minority before. Being the only woman, the only Mormon, the only mom with 4 kids, that is the kind of stuff I am used to. Being the only white person, was sadly a little bit of an awakening for me.
I have started to feel better about it now. There are a lot of really nice people around here- We live just outside the city limits of Cleveland, so there is still a lot of "inner city" attitude, and I struggle to understand what they are saying to me at times, but I am sure that with time, I will also get used to that too.

Tomorrow I sign the kids up in school here. I decided that with all the changes, they needed some time to get back into what would be their new routine, they will go back to school after the Thanksgiving Holiday and hopefully it will be an easy transition as the other kids are coming back from a holiday too and it will hopefully make it easier.

We have been blessed with Grandma Wise for the next two weeks. We couldn't be happier, we love having her here and taking her around to get to know this place. We are planning on going to Kirkland this next weekend to see the temple and the museum of church history, this will be a lot of fun.

I know that we are blessed to be here and I am thankful for the blessings we have received, We thank all of our friends and family, you have been amazing!!!

Next update with pictures - I promise! :)