Merry Christmas 2015

     I have to tell you that between the unseasonably warm weather here in WI making it seem like spring and the late November trip home to CT, Christmas seems to have rushed up outta no where. I finally got our cards done but if I wanted anyone to receive one before Christmas I had to mail them and write the Christmas letter here. Of course I had to get inspired right before we left for CT as to what I wanted to do for our Christmas pictures. This was also a lot easier in my head than it was to pull off. We have been in WI now for 17 months and it has been 17 months of adjusting and finding a new normal. One of those new normal's is really taking the time to focus Christmas on the Savior. This year for our pictures I was sitting in Gospel Doctrine class (for our non-LDS family and friends this is our Adult Sunday School during the second hour of our three hour church block on Sunday) when I was inspired to ask our family two questions and their answers created their picture.

Our Family Trip this Summer to the Indianapolis Indiana Temple Open House

This year saw Ms Rowan turn 11 and begin her last year in Elementary School.

 

She also was in her first play, she was one of the Raccoon Twin Lost Boys in Peter Pan JR. She has done well being back in a normal school, and she has made lots of friends. She is a game leader at school, and she did a week at Poms camp this summer. She is in her final year of Activity Day Girls (LDS girls ages 8 till they turn 12) and it has been so great to be one of her leaders. She has the timing of a comedic genius and keeps our home full of laughter. For her picture the scripture that means the most to her about her relationship with Heavenly Father and/or Jesus Christ is the First Article of Faith found in the Pearl of Great Price which states : We believe in God, the Eternal Father and in his son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. The place she likes best in WI is the play ground in the back of her school.

This Year Saw Victor turn 15, and become a Sophomore in High School.

Victor also joined the Football team and is a Defensive Tackle. Much to my chagrin he loves it and has every intention of continuing to play. He is a great helper (most of the time) and his dedication to his church duties is humbling. He continues to attend early morning seminary and even made me drive him to the seminary classes while we were on vacation in CT. He continues to work toward his Eagle Scout and had a good time at Scout Camp this Summer. He also attended Youth Conference in Nauvoo, Illinois and had a great time. For his picture the scripture that means the most to him about his relationship with Heavenly Father and/or Jesus Christ is 2 Nephi 2:25 which says: Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. The place he likes best in WI is the football field at school.

Jessica and Kelton have gotten older and grayer (we almost have two Teenagers so...)

 Kelton has the advantage over everyone by having lived all over so adjusting has been easier for him. He is able to be home with us more and enjoys this extra time with his family. He likes his job and his 5 minute commute to work, gone are the days of the 3 hour drive. We were able to visit with his whole family in VA for Easter and Rowan got to meet his Grandma Bird for the first time. For his birthday (and our only week of summer without a child in an activity) we took an over night trip to Indiana to attend a Temple open house. For our non-LDS friends and family this is the time just prior to a new temple being dedicated to the Lord, that the church offers free tours of the temple to anyone and explains what a temple is. We are looking forward to traveling to Connecticut sometime this next year for the Hartford Temple Open House and would love to share it with anyone who wants to join us. I got the best Birthday gift this year in a plane ticket home to meet my one month old nephew. I also was able to take the kids home this November so they could get to meet him and we got to help celebrate his First Birthday. We have made great friends with a family that moved here around the same time as us and this has been a HUGE blessing for us as we adjust to life here. I also decided to get a little job at a local store to help with the winter blues that really hit hard last year. Of course we are having an unseasonable warm spell but it helps make me get off the couch and keeps me from binge watching Netflix. Between the cold and lack of sun last year there were weeks where I didn't leave the house. OF course for my picture I chose the local library as my favorite place here in WI, Kelton chose one of the local parks here in town, we have had many fun family outings here. I thought it was funny that we both chose scriptures from John, Kelton is 8:32 which says :  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Mine is 3:16 which says : For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

     So while we celebrate the birth of our Savior, and as we prepare to embrace our new normal, and begin the New Year, we just wanted to take a moment to Wish our Family and Friends a VERY Merry Christmas. We hope your new years are full of Peace and Happiness. 

NO I Am NOT Ready For Some FOOTBALL!

     Victor has decided that, despite our best efforts to make him a just a Geek, he will be playing Football for his HS Jr. Varsity team this year. I have spent months trying to talk him into a no or low contact sport that would make for less gray hairs for his mother to no avail. Last week I drove outside my bubble area to attend a scrimmage. I am not a football fan and since I had no idea what was going on it was very different for me. Victor is a Defensive Tackle and is enjoying this thoroughly. He is playing for, from what we can tell after our parents meeting, a very good program, with decent coaches and a very strict code of conduct. We have been very impressed with his commitment and hard work. We look forward to attending some games and cheering him on.

Victor is in the silver shoes, and black gloves

Victor is the Left most player in yellow.

The Answer is 42

    SO you are the head geek in a geek family and you turn 42. What do you do? Well if you are a Mormon you take your family on a trip to the nearby Temple Open house. At least that is what we did. Kelton hit the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. To celebrate we took a trip to take a tour of the Indianapolis Indiana Temple during their open house. For non-Mormons friends and family the Temple is a separate place of worship for us Mormons. It isn't where we go on Sunday (that is a Ward House), but a place for us to draw closer to our Heavenly Father and where we go to have our Families sealed together for time and all Eternity, not just till death do us part. Normally to enter a Temple you must be a member in good standing to enter, but prior to the dedication of a new Temple everyone is invited to tour and learn about Temples during an open house. Our kids had never been to an open house, and this was an opportunity for us to share as a family the beauty of a House of the Lord with them. We hope to travel next year and attend the Hartford Temple Open House. But it was nice to end the month that saw our 19th wedding Anniversary, and the 15th Anniversary of our Family being sealed together for Eternity with this trip. On the way home we stopped and took the tour of the Jelly Belly Warehouse here in WI before it closes.

1 Year Mark!

     Today marks the one year anniversary of our huge life change. While no one in our family changed gender we did change where our family resides! To say that the move from New England to the Midwest has been a culture shock would be an understatement. We are definatly still adjusting everyday but I think we are doing much better then I thought that we would. The Kids have been not only happy go lucky and really a true example of rolling with the punches but they have thrived. I wish we had been more settled so I would have been better about documenting our adventure. As we finish the first month of summer break (which has been anything but a vacation) and find ourselves reaching this milestone I felt it would be a good time to recap.

      The kids and I took our time when we left CT. For four days we traveled a very round about the way to reach WI. Our first stop was Palmyra, NY and all the church (LDS) sites including the Pageant. For all my non-LDS (Mormon) friends and family the Palmyra, NY area is where many of the first events of the LDS church took place, including the publication of the Book of Mormon. The Hill Cumorah Pageant is an annual event put on by the LDS church which depicts the events of the Book of Mormon thru it being given to Joseph Smith for translation by the Angle Moroni. Day 2 saw us head over to see Niagera Falls before heading to Kirtland, OH for the night. Day 3 we spent the morning visiting the LDS historical sites before we headed to Indiana to visit some of our favorite friends. Day 4 was our favorite day by far, we spent most of the day with our friends in Indiana which after 3 days of driving was a bit of Heaven on Earth. We stayed a little later then we planned but it is always hard to part from friends. We headed for WI via a quick stop by the Chicago LDS Temple. I thought it was a good idea to get the kids familiarized with the places that would shape our life here.

 

     We arrived safe and sound before 10pm, exhausted and ready to not get in the car for a long time. Then we started the daunting task of unpacking. We worked hard and got unpacked enough to feel functional within a few weeks. By the beginning of August we were busy trying to figure out were everything was, checking out local events and getting the kids signed up for school.

     Once the kids went back to school life got pretty busy, between church activities and school activities and community activities we really had lots of chances to make WI feel like home. We did make a quick trip back to CT to celebrate my sisters pregnancy in October and I got a great birthday treat in a trip back to meet my nephew. We spent most of our Spring Break visiting Kelton's family in VA. The kids both had great years in school. Victor turned 14 shortly after we arrived and was off to high school. We are super proud of how well he did. Not only did he have to get up every morning to be ready to head out the door at 5:30am to attend Seminary, which for our non-LDS family and friends is a one hour religious class he will take before school every year while he is in high school, but he took a full load of honors classes. He also volunteered with a local youth group, attended several after school clubs, one of which was building battle bots, and took part in lots of church youth activities that included scout activities as he continues to work toward his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout. Rowan turned 10 last fall and had a wonderful time in 4th grade. She made lots of new friends and enjoyed living in Packer Country. She had fun with activities like Pom Pons (cheerleading), gymnastics, and having mom called as one of her Activity Day Girl Leaders (non-LDS translation- girls 8 to 12 have Tuesday night activities twice a month to learn about gospel center ideas in fun and creative ways while they work towards earning their Faith in God award). We are proud and very relieved with how well the kids transitioned. We grownups have made the best of it. Thankfully Kelton really loves his job and since he grew up all over moving wasn't outside his comfort zone, although he handled it much better once we got here. I have done my best to stay positive, especially when the thermometer was so very negative. I feel super blessed that shortly after we arrived here another family moved into our Ward (non-LDS = Church Congregation) from Arizona. We have become very good friends as we have lived this transition together, which for us mom's has been extremely helpful. We have had fun adventures exploring, hanging out, and hitting rummage sales while the kids are at school. I know that this blessing has been what made this year survivable and I thank my Heavenly Father for it often.

     WI is beautiful but as much as it annoys some CT and NE will always be home. If I had to choose one thing to complain about it would be that the pizza here is not NE pizza. Crust here is like a cracker and considering I am not a New York or wood-fire pizza fan it is down right awful. But when you think of all the things I could find fault with pizza isn't too bad. They do have Pizza Hut so I will survive but as I proved to my family when I visited in January, every chance I get to have real pizza I am going to take it. I will never delete the numbers for Georgina's or Willington Pizza from my phone because I will be using them ever time I visit!!

     This last year has flown by. I can hardly believe we have been here a year already. There has been lots of things to learn and do. Surviving winter was a challenge for me but everyone else seemed to take on the WI attitude of life goes on no matter how cold it is or whether the sun shines or not. My travel bubble gets bigger little by little, and we are making WI a comfortable place to live as time goes on. The kids have had so many activities already this summer that it maybe a break from school but it certainly hasn't felt anything like a vacation. I am sad that we had to decide to push our visit home till the fall because of activities but I would rather enjoy it instead of feeling rushed because someone had to be somewhere. If I could only talk the boy out of Football life would be pretty grand here in the Badger State for us Nutmegers!!

We found a frog bench and couldn't help but think of home!

New family activity, Disc Golf!

Cut off all her hair!!

Fun activities at the park before the outdoor movie!

Highland games were lots of fun!!

 

Checking an IMPORTANT item off my Bucket List

     So 9 years ago the world changed. The Boston Red Sox won their fist world series in 86 years. Huge as a house I laid in bed at night watching the games just rubbing my pregnant belly telling the baby over and over it was for good luck. Well it worked and out popped my little princess about a week later into a world where the Red Sox were the CHAMPIONS!
     Unfortunately because of that pregnancy I was unable to attend the celebratory parade. Just 3 years later with two small kids and a crazy life I was yet again unable to consider going when they won again!
     Fast Forward 6 yrs and add the fact that we found out at the end of September we would be moving to Wisconsin and what do you get? A desperate woman hoping and praying for a THIRD World Series Championship. I actually had an older lady stop me in BJs (I was wearing one of my Red Sox Jackets of course) and ask me if I thought they would win, I answered her the only way I knew how. "YES, they have to win for me. My husband just got a job in WI, as a matter of fact he is already there, and we will join him at the end of the school year. So this is my last fall here and I HAVE to go to a parade, it's on my bucket list, this is my last chance."
    SO Win they did!! And yup off Victor and I went to Boston to see THE Parade. So here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.