Helper

Mason has really enjoyed helping us pack. I guess he though he would save us the trouble of having to pack him, so he went ahead and packed himself in a box for us!

Boys

I had Julia's three boys today, in case you missed my post entitled "testosterone X 5", the five boys range in age from 6 months to five years old. These boys keep me busy, that is for sure. They also keep me laughing. I wish I had a tape recorder with me at all times.

I thought I would post a few of the funny things they did today.

On the way back to our apartment, (after picking Connor up from Kindergarten) Connor said, Hey Sir-Steen.... Mason immediately interrupted Connor and very matter-of-factly told Connor, "Her... name... is... Crystyne.........Borders..."

After getting the four younger boys down for their naps, I cooked up some spaghetti for my lunch and I used some left over meatballs I had from last nights dinner (meatball sandwiches). I sat down and ate about half of my lunch, then I remembered I needed to look something up on the Internet. I came over to the computer desk and sat my lunch down. Connor came over and said, "yum that looks good". I told him he could eat a bit if he wanted. I figured he would turn me down since he had just eaten a whole PB&J sandwich and some apple slices for lunch. Very much to my surprise he grabbed my fork and picked up a meatball. The next thing I knew all that was left in my bowl was these two meatballs and a few noodles. I know that boys have a HUGE appetite and will eat you out of house and home, I didn't think it would start this soon. Thanks for saving some for me Connor. :)
Benjamin's favorite toy is this set of rings.

Zachary didn't want his picture taken.

Connor really enjoys the two babies! He loves helping Cooper walk around the apartment. He is also a BIG help rocking and singing to Benjamin when I am busy tending to the other little ones' needs.

I can tell that I am going to have my hands full with Cooper. I left him on the couch for a second, came back in the room and this is what I found. He was actually all the way on the sofa table, but by the time I got the camera, he had climbed down.

Firsts and Lasts

Yesterday was our last Sunday in the Beacon Hill Ward. Jeff and I have been in that ward for 5 1/2 years. It was really sad saying good bye to our friends and fellow ward members who we have known for the last 5 1/2 years. I know we will probably see them on occasion, but it will be sad not attending church with them on a weekly basis. I remember when we moved into the Beacon Hill Ward I HATED the ward. I didn't have any friends and I felt like no one made any effort to get to know me. Then I realized that not knowing anyone and not being able to get to know anyone was my fault. Once I realized that, I reached out to others and made some really great friends. Two of my really good friends both moved out of state in July, I have had a really hard time with dealing with the emptiness their moving has left me with. Hopefully I will make some new friends and be able to fill that empty part of my life.

Today was Jeff's first day at Stat Medical. Yesterday, Jeff was nervous about starting his new job and he didn't know if he was going to be able to calm his nerves enough to sleep. In a way it was like the first day of school all over for him. His first day went well, he filled out all of the 'new employee' paper work. Jeff thinks he will be very happy with the change in employers, Stat is a very laid back, non-stressful, easy going environment. That type of environment is just what Jeff was looking for.

Manito Park

Saturday we decided to take a break from all the packing, shopping, and other stuff we are doing in preparation to move. We went up to Manito Park for a picnic with Jared, Michelle, and Ethan. While we were there we also took some family pictures. I don't have any of our family pictures, they are all on Jared and Michelle's camera. As soon as she sends them to me, I will post them for every one to see.

Just had to stop to smell the flowers

Looking for the fish in the Japanese gardens

Jared, Michelle, and Ethan

Too cute!

Where is Mason?

New Job

This may come as a shock to some, as we have not talked much about Jeff's recent desire to find a new job with very many people. Now that Jeff has a new job, and gave Preferred Medical his letter of resignation, we feel we can let everyone know what happened and why he chose to leave.

First, it all goes back to the middle of June. Jeff's branch manager Andy, one customer service person, and one driver, were all let go. The reason they were all let go? Preferred was not bringing in the numbers they were expected to by corporate. So basically the Branch Manager was blamed for Preferred not performing the way they should. Then Jeff's clinical supervisor, Dave, left Preferred the same day Andy was let go (Dave had already put in his letter of resignation and was planning on leaving at the end of June). With Andy being let go, the Branch Manager from Cour d' Alene, Scottie, was made the Branch Manager over both the Spokane and Cour d' Alene locations. Soon after Dave leaving Jeff was promised by Scottie that he would be promoted to Lead Therapist, along with this promotion in job title, it would also mean a pay increase.

The last part of June and July passed without any word as to when Jeff would be promoted. August comes, still no word. Then Scottie, Joy (Cour d' Alene's Lead Therapist), and Linda (the Regional Clinical Manager) began having meetings together at Preferred (Spokane location). Jeff was not involved in any of these meetings, was not filled in as to why they were meeting, he was basically left in the dark. With out any explanations Joy began making changes to how Jeff (and the rest of Preferred) handle patient care. She changed how Jeff was to preform CPAP follow ups with patients who were recently set up with a CPAP, she also informed them that the Respiratory Therapist would no longer be setting patients up with oxygen or nebulizers, this responsibility now would fall on the drivers who were already short-handed.

Now, with Jeff under the impression that he was going to be promoted to Lead Therapist (over Spokane) he was, well, really ticked off that he was not involved in any of the decision/implementing process. The day Joy came in and made all these changes, Jeff got really mad at her, he told her he was not going to follow these new changes, said it was a bunch of crap and left to go take care of a few patients at their homes.

The next day, Jeff was called into the Branch Managers office. In the meeting was, Scottie, Joy, and Kathy, the marketing manager. Why Kathy was in the meeting is still beyond me, she had NOTHING to do with Jeff's issues with Joy. In the meeting Kathy did all the talking, she (as Jeff described it) ripped him a new one. Jeff was told that the CPAP follow up process was changing because the Doctors were not receiving the follow up information fast enough and so the Doctors were not giving Preferred any more referrals. So in a nut shell, Jeff was the one now being blamed for Preferred not preforming and bringing in new business the way corporate expects them to.

Jeff was also written up for swearing at Joy and walking out of work. He explained to Scottie that he did not swear at Joy, he said "This is a bunch of crap" and that he did not walk out, he had patients to take care of. Jeff was informed by Kathy, (not HIS Branch Manager), that Joy was Jeff's new boss- meaning that Jeff would not be promoted to Lead Therapist as he was promised.

Jeff came out of the meeting feeling betrayed, lied to, thrown under the bus, pissed, mad, and I'm sure may other feelings. I think it was at that point, in that meeting, Jeff decided he was going to look for a new job, he didn't care how long it would take to find one, he was not going to stop looking until he found one.

Two weeks ago, Jeff called his former clinical supervisor, Dave to basically vent to him. Dave completely understood where Jeff was coming from, validated his feeling, and told Jeff to hang in there, because there were going to be some major changes in the home care world. A few hours after Jeff's conversation with Dave, Dave called back and clued Jeff in on the changes he was talking about. Dave's wife, Deloah (who is also a Respiratory Therapist and was working for another home care company, Stat Medical) was approached by someone who wanted to start up a home care company who would only set up people with CPAP's. This person wanted Deloah to start working with him September 2nd.

This meant that if Deloah did decide to start up this new company, there would be a position for a Respiratory Therapist at Stat Medical. Deloah called Jeff the last week in August to let him know that she was going to take the job starting up another company, and that she was indeed going to start September 2nd. Deloah said she would put in a good recommendation for Jeff at Stat.

This week Jeff was on vacation, so Tuesday (Sept. 2nd) he took his resume into Stat Medical. While Jeff was there he was interviewed by Steve, Stat's Branch Manager, by the end of their meeting Jeff said Steve was making comments as if Jeff already had the job. Wednesday Steve called Jeff to ask if he could come in to fill out an application, background check permission form, and all the other legal junk. Steve told Jeff that the Manager in Seattle had already called him to ask what Jeff would want on his business cards. Funny, since Jeff really wasn't offered the job yet. But hey, I guess they just wanted to be on top of it.

At 8:30 this morning Steve called. He offered Jeff the job, asked if he could start Monday, and let him know what he would be making. Around 11:30 this morning, on our way to do a few errands, Jeff stopped by Preferred and gave Scottie his letter of resignation. Jeff didn't give Scottie two weeks notice, Jeff felt like the Preferred managment didn't deserve that respect, since Jeff was not shown respect from them.

At Stat Jeff will be preforming essentially the same duties, except he will now have the opportunity to do sales as well, with the possibility of making bonuses. He feels that this will be a stress relief and feels it is the best decision for us right now.

Monkey Man

Here is yet another example of why I believe Mason is 1/2 boy, 1/2 monkey. He climbed on Jeff's shoulders without any help, and held himself up there by squeezing his legs around Jeff's neck.

Standing Man

While I was out shopping with Michelle on Monday, Jeff said that Cooper stood by himself a lot. So here is a video of him standing. He only stood for a second before trying to grab the camera.

Shopping again

I decided to return the khaki colored curtains that I had purchased for our sliding glass door and went with more of a bold color. While I was shopping with Michelle on Monday, we decided that we should put some burnt orange accents in the kitchen. I knew I wanted khaki colored roman shades in our family room (which is right off the kitchen & dining area where the slider is). I didn't want to have all khaki colored curtains in that room, so I went with these "cinnamon" colored curtains. I am not sure why they are called "cinnamon" because when I think of cinnamon, I think of red, but these curtains are burnt orange. They are just like the blue curtains I got for Jeff and my bedroom. I am sure some of you will not like this choice in color, if you are one of these people, please don't tell me you don't like them, because I don't care.

And here are the roman shades for the family room.

Moving date

We have had several people ask us when we plan to move into our house. So to answer every one's question- we will be moving in on Saturday September 13th. If you would/could help us move- please meet at our apartment at 10:00am!

We will be having Jeff's 26th Birthday Party/Open House the following weekend. (September 20th) The time and other details will follow soon. So if you will not be able to help us move, do not fret, you can just come to Jeff's B-day part/Open House.

Shopping

Yesterday Michelle and I went shopping for curtains for our new house. We went to Bed Bath & Beyond and Target. We were not able to find curtains for the informal living room or the kitchen, so we will have to make another shopping trip in the next week or so, or buy the others online.

We got these roman shades for the formal living room.

And these are for Jeff and my bedroom. We also got this same curtain for the back sliding glass door just in khaki. This picture really doesn't do the curtains justice. The rings where the rod goes through is rustic and has a cool design on them. The curtains have a neat design on them. The main part of them is blue. Then they have brown thread going vertically, about every 1/8th of an inch and thicker blue thread going horizontally also about every 1/8th of an inch apart. The curtains for the slider are the same, as I said. They are just khaki were the others are blue.

We got the curtain rods at Target. The rods are thick with big balls on the ends. The rod for the slider is black and the rods for our bedroom are chrome.

Thanks Michelle for lending me your decorationg expertice!

A new language

Are you having a bad day? Do you need to have a good laugh?

Mason has a new language!

Of course!

Mason has a new saying for EVERYTHING! It is his new way of saying "yes".

Mason do you want some breakfast? Of course!

Mason do you want me to help you with that? Of course you can!

Mason do you want to watch Bob the Builder? Of course I do!

Mason do you want to go to the store with me? Of course I do!

Mason do you want to take a nap? Of course!

Mason do you want to read some books? Of course!

Mason do you want a drink of water? Of course!

Mason can I drop you on your head? Of course!

Anyways I think you get the picture. I hadn't thought much of it, but today when I was at my parents house, they, along with my sister DeAnne picked up on it and thought it was pretty funny.

This first video is of Mason through a fit. Yes, Mason does throw fits, can you believe that?

I was trying to get him to say "of course", but he didn't want to be videoed. Later after he calmed down I showed him this video of him throwing a fit. He told me he never wanted to see that again. Well that makes two of us, I thought.

I was able to sneak up behind him later in the day and get his "of course" response on video.

Home furnishings

We went out early this morning to take advantage of the Labor Day sales that are going on now through Monday. We knew we were going to need to buy a refrigerator before we moved in to our new house. We also knew that eventually we would need to purchase some more furniture to fill our home.

We purchased a refrigerator similar to this one. We have been shopping around on the Internet and at various stores, trying to get the best deal. Well I think we did pretty good. This one is "top of the line" and was one sale for a little less than what a "middle of the line" refrigerator goes for normally.

After we purchased the refrigerator, we called my parents to see if they were home so we could go spend some time with them. They were on their way out to go to Furniture Row Outlet. I thought it would be nice to go up to Furniture Row to look for a new living room set, figuring that they would also be having some great deals for the holiday weekend, so I said we would meet them there. Well, we got to Furniture Row before them. We looked around and found two sets we liked. The first, we liked to price, but the furniture was not comfortable at all. The second, was very comfortable, it was a sleeper sofa (I really wanted a sleeper sofa), but was a little more than we wanted to spend.

I was not satisfied with just looking at one store, but it was getting close to Mason and Cooper's nap time. I asked my parents if Mason and Cooper could take a nap at their house so we could look at some of the other furniture stores. They said that was OK, so we took them there for their naps.

We then went on to Mor Furniture where we found this set. This set is actually really close to the second set we found at Furniture Row. There were four main differences: 1) this set has more of a modern feel to it 2) the price was better 3) not only was the sale price better than the set at Furniture Row, Mor Furniture was also discounting double the amount of your sales tax, and 4) this set was on sale as the 3-piece set (reclining couch, reclining love seat, and a recliner) I didn't want all three pieces. I wanted the sleeper sofa and the reclining love seat. I mentioned this to the sales lady and she automatically said she could probably put those two pieces together in a "package" and for a better price than the 3-piece set, and sure enough she was able to. Over all we spent $450.00 less on this set then we would have on the set at Furniture Row!

After we purchased our living room set, we figured we better stop spending our hard earned (saved) money. We went back to my parents house to pick up our boys and ended up staying there for dinner. Thanks Dad and Debbie for dinner, it was great!

Two weeks and counting

Ahhh..... I can feel my stress level beginning to decrease by the day.

The house is all done! The appraisal on the house was done yesterday, we received a copy of that today, and the appraisal came back at WAY more than we expected it to.

We had our final walk through today and everything looks great! There are just a few minor (paint) touch ups that need to be done and the tile back splash in the kitchen was STILL not completed. The site manager who completed the walk through with us did not realize that the back splash STILL had not been done. He assured us that it would be completed this next week. So we will see. All that is left to do is to wait for our closing date. (and pack, clean the apartment, shop for a refrigerator, furniture, curtains, decorations, etc)

These past few weeks have been really stressful! I have been dealing with all the stuff that goes along with acquiring a new mortgage. When I first checked in with our mortgage specialist a few weeks ago the interest rates were 0.75% higher than they were back in April when we talked to her about how much our payments would be if we built this house. I just about freaked out! Well, actually I did freak out. A 0.75% increase means roughly a $100 difference in monthly payments (not to mention the enormous increase in interest you will pay over the life of the loan).

Anyways, so we have been monitoring the interest rates for the last few weeks. This Wednesday we felt like the interest rates were not going to get any better, so we decided to lock in our rate. The rate had dropped in the last few weeks to just 0.10% higher than it was back in April, so we figured we could handle that. I called our mortgage specialist literally five minutes before 3:00pm to have her lock in our rate (3:00pm is the deadline each day to lock in rates). Around 4:30 that same day our mortgage specialist called me back and let me know that she found out that a sister company of hers was offering a better rate that day. Her sister company's rate was 0.25% better than what we were going to lock in at, so she had already gone ahead and locked in that better rate for us.

This has been just one of the many blessings we have received from our Heavenly Father in the past few weeks. The lesson I have learned from all of this is to continuously have faith, have patience, never question Heavenly Father as to why you have not been blessed with what you need- you will be blessed- just in HIS time.

Vacation!

Yeah! Jeff is on vacation from tomorrow through September 7! I usually love/hate it when Jeff is on vacation. I love it because we get to spend more time together as a family and I get help with the boys during the day. I hate it because I don't get much house work done because I don't want to get up and do house work while Jeff is sitting back relaxing.

This vacation will be different though. It won't be much of a vacation. (Sorry Jeff) Jeff took this week off to help pack up and clean the apartment and do all the other things we need to do in preparation for moving.

I have already gone through our garage here at the apartment, sorted through the array of boxes, found all the empty and half empty boxes and have brought those inside, and I have already began to pack pictures and other decorations.