Seattle.....

Well, I suppose its time I share whats been going on here. I wanted to wait until I told my work to announce it. So here it is....

We had taken a trip to Seattle in January and it was a fun family trip with the intention of introducing the city to Tom as he had never been. We thought one day we may move up there. He fell in love with the city, as did I. I lived in Bremerton from the ages of 17-20 and always wanted to move to the city.

We came home and found out we were pregnant and though that it was a sign that we were staying in Reno. Well, as you can see, circumstances changed and we began putting more thought into a move. Tom soon got word that St.Marys (his employer) had got bought out and it is uncertain if he will keep his pay grade, let alone his job. This made our decision a bit easier.  We sat down and talked about some more and spent many hours in thought and we have decided that with me graduating in December and how unstable his job is and the job market in Reno, that now was a good as time as any to go. Sam will be in first grade so its really the start of his schooling and we wont be ripping him from his friends in the middle of school as it would be if we waited a few years. The job market for someone with my degree is plentiful and really, Seattle is our happy place. We really felt like it was home. Everything about that city is us and our family. Our kids could not be more excited. Sam loves it there and if it were up to him we would have never left!

We know its going to be hard to leave our friends and family, but we know great things await us there. It is an easy 12 hour trip by car or a quick flight back to Reno. We have gotten a ton of support from our family already and will continue to need it as we begin this adventure.

The move is not planned til January of 2013 as that is when our lease is up and we can make a clean move. Tom and I are planning a trip in October to pick out a place to live and start applying for jobs. I plan on keeping everyone updated on our move through the blog, so please stay tuned so you don't miss a thing!
For now we will enjoy our last summer in Reno and spending time with everyone before we go.

Here is a little montage of our trip this year... and some of the amazing things that will become our home!

Its a new day

Its a brand new day and a brand new stage in my life. Those of you who read my blog know how much I struggled with infertility and how much work it was just to get the two beautiful kids I have. Its hard to say were done and to be honest, I wasn't sure we were done. We have tried for this past year and without success. Its a giant struggle in our daily life. Seeing women get pregnant so easily and even though you are happy for them, it still tears a bit of your heart away.  We had done ONE last round of meds and were Hoping that this would be the cycle. I had perfect progesterone levels and even thought I HAD to pregnant. I was feeling sick and nauseous just like I had in the past. But something was different. I just didn't know what that would be. Sunday at church I was a bit stoic as I sat there after seeing yet another negative pregnancy test, and yet I was still sick and even a bit loopy or spacey. I forgot my password for my work computer, I never do that.

Tuesday was supposed to be normal doctors appointment. Well it wasn't. Turns out I had some elevated levels that a previous doctor failed to look into. This doctor was not happy and could tell that something was wrong (even threatened blood transfusion). We drew some more labs and all though they are not all back, we do now know that its more likely that I do in fact have Lupus or some other AI disease and its not good. The good news is that I wont need a transfusion (I credit organic eating on that one!) The alarming one is that my kidney functions are off. So we need more testing for that too. There will be lots and lots of testing to come. I simply can not take a pregnancy at this time in my life.

So we are done. I am trying to look at all the good in this. Like, hey no more diapers. Or how about we can get a smaller more efficient car! We can focus more attention on the kids we are so lucky to have.  etc etc etc.. Its never easy.

Perhaps in the future we will adopt, I don't know. I don't even know if I will have the energy to get out of bed tomorrow. 

The red brick wall

So I got to take pictures of a beautiful family (and wonderful friends) this week. And what is exciting is that I was dying to shoot in this location. I had seen other local photo shoots here and LOVED the bright colors. If anyone is wondering, its down at West Street Market.

They were so much fun to shoot, even though Danny was off in 2 year old land. It was like shooting my daughter. You have to run to keep up. I call it the photog workout! enjoy! and thanks to Zach and Jeni for letting me take photos of your beautiful Family!

Meatless Monday on the fourth!

So we have been doing meatless monday for a few months now ( actually we do more than just mondays) and this holiday I wasn't sure that we would continue this tradition. Usually we BBQ on the 4th, hamburgers or some other juicy protein. So I looked into the history of meatless mondays and found it to be suprisingly patriotic.

First a little background. Going meatless at least one day a week will lower your risk for cancers, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It also helps reduce the carbon footprint on the planet. How you ask? Well its an entire movement and if a buch of us do it.. it matters. Visit MeatlessMonday.com to find out more.

On that site I found the history of Meatless Monday.

During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration urged families to reduce consumption of key staples to aid the war effort. “Food Will Win the War,” the government proclaimed, and “Meatless Monday” and “Wheatless Wednesday” were introduced to encourage Americans to do their part.

Herbert Hoover, then head of the Food Administration, spearheaded implementation of the campaign. In addition to advertising, his office created and distributed recipe booklets and menus in newspapers, magazines and pamphlets.

The effect was overwhelming. Some 10 million families, 7,000 hotels and nearly 425,000 food dealers pledged to observe national meatless days. In November 1917, New York City hotels saved some 116 tons of meat over the course of just one week. According to a 1929 Saturday Evening Post article, “Americans began to look seriously into the question of what and how much they were eating. Lots of people discovered for the first time that they could eat less and feel no worse – frequently for the better”.

The campaign returned during World War II and beyond, when Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman used rationing to help feed war-ravaged Europe

and in 2003 the meatless monday movement resurfaced, and its growing each day.

With that, I decided that of all the days to go meatless, today was a good one! So what did I make? A delicious Quinoa stir fry.

Started with some beautiful veggies




While those cooked (sauteed (sp?) a bit I cooked the Quinoa *just look at that mmmmmmm


then I seasoned the veggies and tossed in the quinoa, and look at the beautiful dish that came out of it.. served with a sangria on the side.. delicious meatless monday meal.

Adventures in Canning.

I couldn't take it anymore, I had to try and can. I have to wait 24 hours and see if it sets, but as of now sadly the jam is still syrup.

well lets begin.

First I cut the berries

 Then we chopped a bit

She was so excited to help

mixed with the pectin

While that boiled, I sterilized my jars

you can see it in full boil here

Then poured it into the jars

while I did that, little miss was busy with the spoon!

Then in goes the jars 

Boiled to seal and preserve 

The final product Sam got to name!

 Heres to hoping it will be a jam not a syrup:(

Summer!

I'm way to wedding'd out to even start the wedding photos. So today I blog about summer. While its supposed to be a relaxing vacation, I still find myself busier than ever. The head doesn't help either. Having and AI disease, the heat exasperates it and causes what I like to call flare ups. My body aches and I get over exhausted and end up spending the day in bed if I over heat. So I'm really trying to stay cool. No AC in either car stinks though, because driving anywhere just wipes me out. If I remain indoors, or in the shade ( if cool enough) I do okay.

Anyhow, speaking of busy. Sam started his summer school this week. He is enrolled in the Nevada Virtual Academy and they have different classes the kids can take throuout the summer. This weeks theme is art. He is learning all about the different types of art, ( expressionism etc...) Then they submit some artwork and it gets displayed the next day to the whole class ( about 250 kids). He loves it. He gets to do it in his jammies which he thinks is awesome!

You cant tell, but the teacher is speaking through the mic. 

 here the teacher was telling him to relax his eyes! 

Next week is another theme...cant wait to see what it is.

Now also this summer I have decided to give canning a try, Im super nervous and have NO clue what I'm doing. Im hoping to find some friends to do it with me too. But to make things easier I got a great party to host and here are some things that were included.

Im hoping to make some Jams and Tomato sauces to start, we tend to use those things in our house the most. I know its cheaper to buy the already pre made jellies and sauces, but if I can make my own and know what goes in it and where the food came from ( local farm!) it would be even better. And if I get good. Yummy gifts!

Family Dinner

So I was watching Jamie Olivers food revolution and not only do I love the show but certain things hit hard. I know that the change we made at the beginning of this year was the right thing for our family and recently we've been so busy that we let that slack. NO MORE! On tonight's episode he talked about having family meals. We just don't do that often. I'm usually eating in front of the computer, kids at the table and tom with them.. mostly then Its my fault. I feel like I'm too busy and need to multitask, eat and work, my kids are too young to get the family table so why bother... etc.. you know EXCUSES! So tonight as I write this I made the decision (with my husband) that we for now will start with one night a week having a family dinner at the table. The way it should be. I can work from there, but it has got to start somewhere right?

and on that note, we need to get back to the way we used to feel about food when this journey started, We were so concerned about hurting peoples feelings that we got lazy, and so we started adding the GMO foods back in, then it was the excuse of well we already did that so a little drive thru treat wont be bad.. but then it just piles up and before you know it, the whole week has gone to crap.Our health has gone to crap, our energy has gone to crap and we just plain ol feel ucky!

NO MORE.

It starts now, I fully believe in my heart of hearts that Gods desire is for my family to eat the food he gave us, not the GMO stuff that isn't healthy and in fact the effects are so unknown and recently shown to cause birth defects. How severe is yet to be determined. I will NOT let my children learn about food the way we did, I didn't know where my food came from, I didn't know what the ingredients on the box were? I want better for my kids and I'm going to do just that. This is my blog to remind me to STAY THE PATH.

Keep reading, and PLEASE keep encouraging me on this journey. I know its not an easy one but If God could bring be through drug addiction, abuse, and infertility he can get me through this! YES HE CAN. ( he he get it )