Welcome Home!

Cute little sign I made as I waited for them to arrive, professional, I know ;)

Yes, it is true, my family is back from Russia! ...for good! 

Welcome home!

With some legal adjustments through Russian companies, needing to be run by Russian natives at this point, my dad was released from his ExPat duties. He is continuing to work with XanGo, just at their local office down by Thanksgiving Point. He will be weaving himself back into HR along with some other things as he gets settled. 

My mom will do her best to become reacquainted with Alpine, as she adjust to being away from her missionary experience. It has been hard for her to have to adjust so quickly to the idea of moving home, but she is excited to be closer to family and friends. 

She looks too young to be my mom

Meggy will be going to Timberline Middle School and will be in 9th grade! So crazy! She has grown a ton and has become quite the beautiful young lady :) Watch out boys! She's a heart breaker ;)

I swear she is not old enough to be ALMOST a high school student :s

What a BABE!

Shaun got back from Russia a few weeks ago, right after his high school graduation. He needed to be back here in time to attend the lovely Heritage Tours trip. He is having a great experience and gets home this Saturday. (P.S. his call comes tomorrow! I can't even stand it! It has to sit in our house unopened for 3 whole days! Ahhh! Heaven help us restrain ourselves from opening it. haha) 

For REAL???

My mom, dad, and Megan (and Beau of course) got home really late Saturday night. Zac and I bonded at the house, eating Taco Bell (thanks Zac) as we waited for the family to arrive. They got here about 11:30. We ran outside to help them haul in all 9! of their suitcases. So much stuff! They have an airplane shipment due to arrive in about two weeks that will have a lot more of their stuff. They also have a "ground shipment" coming by boat that probably won't be here until the end of the summer. 

Some fabulous souvenirs came home with them:

Matryoshka Dolls 

St. Basil's Music box 

Father Christmas

Along with a very jet-lagged dog named Beau :)

So cute!

Thank heavens for summer sales! With Brad and I being gone, this will provide a bit more space for my family to crash in furnished and fully equipped basement. So soon, but not soon enough I will be reunited with my hubby on the east coast! Only 2 more weeks love! 

I love him more than ANYTHING!

 I spent all day Saturday pulling the house together, which was actually quite enjoyable to me. I just finished my semester on Thursday, so it was nice to be able to clean and not have assignments or due dates in the back of my mind. Man I love a clean house and am so sad I didn't snap any pictures of its perfection.

I really wanted to be able to have the house look fabulous when they got home. I wanted them to be able to come home to a clean, familiar place, where they could relax right away after the ugly flight :s 

Not to mention that fact, I knew it would never be that clean again with so many people living down there for now. 

Exhibit A

I did the cleaning up to mama's par (thanks for training me well mama), went grocery shopping to make sure they had a fridge full of food to come home to, running some last minute errands, putting gas in Daddy's car for the last time such a beast to fill up, but a beauty to drive. 

One downfall to the parents coming home early is that Brad and I are now out a car. My parents generously allowed us to use Dad's car while they were gone. With them coming back we are back down to one car, for a couple that goes to opposite ends of the valley for work and school. Anyone have connections for hot deals on good, reliable cars??

Needless to say, we are happy to have the family close again and looking forward to the new adventures that will come with it. 

My family had an AMAZING experience in Russia and will forever be changed because of it. They met so many incredible, strong people that they developed such strong friendships with. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow closer and stronger in the gospel. I am grateful for their example as they lost themselves in the work as member missionaries. I know they have truly been blessed and have gained amazing life experience. 

WELCOME HOME!

Almost all together again... what a good looking bunch

Live Intelligently

So this may be a little late in the game, but I've had enough people ask about it so I might as well just put it out there for people to read on their own.

Yes it is true, I am currently living away from my hubby and best friend. It truly is tragic. But through much prayer and inspiration, we discovered this is what Heavenly Father has planned for us for whatever reason.

I needed to complete 6 credits worth of classes before I jumped into my Fall semester in order to stay on track for graduation. With that getting in the way, Brad and I have been forced to be separated until the beginning of July.

Brad left me here in Utah on May 6th to join the VIVINT sales team he joined last minute out in Greensboro, NC. Our dear cousin Jason Deelstra was recruited to work with a team out there and extended the invitation to both Brad and I. We had no intention to embark on this so-called adventure, however, once again, Heavenly Father had different plans for us. Once we found out this was what we were supposed to do, we jumped into it wholeheartedly and began to get very excited for the adventure. Before heading out Brad and his dear friend Austy-Poo Slade did some practice sales here in Utah County to get a better feel for the experience. Pai and I were so proud of our men as they diligently prepared.

The job description for these hard working boys is as follows: work LONG days in East Coast HEAT and humidity. They walk and go door to door the whole time, selling home automation systems, upgrades, etc. In other words, they work REALLY hard! I am so proud of everyone on their team. They are a great group of guys that sincerely want each other to succeed. I LOVE it! 

Since Brad has left I have tried to find ways to keep busy with school and work. I haven't exactly found a need to jump back into the social scene as I have discovered it is just plain awkward to hang out with single people when you are married and by yourself. My cousin Shaylee (Jason's wife) also had to stay back for a little bit so I may or may not have had a few sleepovers at her place. Thanks Shay! I have also enjoyed spending a few late nights chatting it up with the Tuttles (our upstairs neighbors)... more on them later.

 Needless to say, it has most definitely been a great challenge, learning to live absolutely alone, for the first time in my life and hopefully the last. Doing it just 9 months after being married is no fun. It's awful lonely sleeping in a big bed by yourself after having a cuddle buddy for so long. However, Brad and I both know Heavenly Father has created a learning and growing experience and we are trying hard to learn everything we can through this trial.

Don't you worry tho! I just finished my semester yesterday! So after doing a few catch up things, some extra work for extra money, and attending a family reunion, I will be reunited with my hubby again, never to do this separation thing again. I truly am so grateful for Brad's diligence and hard work. I know it is hard for them out there, I can't even imagine how draining it can be. But I know Brad is determined to succeed and is doing the best he can to provide for this little 2-person family of ours. I love you Bradley and I am so blessed to have such a perfect hubby! You are the best thing!