so adam and eve are living in the garden of eden (california) when they are approached by satan (the entertainment industry). he tries to tempt them with a fruit desirable above all others (california strawberries), telling them that this fruit (along with a little whipped cream on top) will bring them happiness. and, of course, you know how eve really likes strawberries.

well, she falls for it and the rest is history. then Heavenly Father comes along and tells them to pack their bags and start walking. because the lone and dreary world (arizona) is right next door.

😉 🙂 😉 🙂 😉 🙂

NO!!!!!

i am completely humbled and grateful today for so many things. but i just have to document the events of this past weekend so that i may remember that miracles are alive and well working in our lives. sometimes they are more visable than others. and this past weekend was nothing short of a great miracle bestowed upon us.

it has been a topsy turvy few weeks but especially frightening was the thought of putting our house on the market at such an unopportune time. not only is the market soft right now but our next door neighbor’s house, the house next to them, and a house 6 doors down from us are all up for sale. talk about a buyer’s market! the two right by us have been on the market for a while and haven’t moved. needless to say, i was completely sick with the thought of putting our house up as well. surely someone driving by might thinking that a meth lab was discovered on the street and we were all trying to bail at the same time. 😉

well, as soon as i came to the realization that we were going to move for sure, i began to pray.
fervently. and as Enos would say, wrestling in prayer.
begging Heavenly Father to please understand my apprehension about undertaking this move and to let our house sell as quickly and smoothly as possible. now i think i spent many, many hours praying for this one thing but knowing that i would need to accept whatever he had in store for me. and truthfully, i expected that He would think, “now, Cherie, do you really think i can let you get away that easy without a test of your faith to help you grow?” but still i prayed.

fast forward to Friday. we had made arrangements with our realtor, Jeff’s cousin, to get our house on the market by that evening after all the paperwork was done. a while later, the sign company came over and placed the big white post in our lawn, but the for sale sign wouldn’t be there until later. we realized we’d better start getting stuff in order. i had MUCH cleaning, touch-up painting, and organizing to accomplish before our house was ready to be seen.

that afternoon jeff was out in the front yard putting bark in the flower beds. a car drove by once and then circled back around again and stopped in front of our house. the woman inside started talking to jeff and asked if our house was for sale because she noticed the white post in our yard. jeff told her yes, but technically it wasn’t even listed yet. she proceeded to tell him that her niece and nephew had previously made an offer on a home in our neighborhood but were outbid by someone else. they were devastated because they loved the home. when jeff explained that our house was the same model as the other, she said they would love to come and see ours as soon as possible. jeff gave her our realtor’s number and told her to set it up.

he came in the house and told me the details of their conversation. as you can imagine, i was flabbergasted–for more than one reason. first of all, because i couldn’t believe someone was already interested. and secondly, because our house was still not in “show worthy” condition. i began to run around frantically cleaning the bathrooms, scrubbing floors, hyperventilating, and marking the walls and baseboards where touch ups were needed. we had two hours to get it presentable. yikes!

as they knocked on the door to come in, we were rushing out the back door pulling tape off the wall as we went. we jumped in the car and just prayed our guts out that they would overlook what we didn’t get done and fall in love with the house.

that prayer was answered. the next morning we had a sealing and a stake meeting to attend at the temple. as we arrived and got out of the car, the phone rang and our realtor let us know that they did fall in love with the house and made us an offer at full asking price!!!!!!

**insert here the scene where cherie faints on the ground in disbelief**

i think we both had to pinch ourselves that this was actually happening. i sat there stunned. humbled. grateful. overwhelmed. and again humbled.

i have shed many tears since then. grateful tears. i have always known that He does hear our prayers, but He answers them in the way He knows is best for us. i sit here now knowing more than ever that He knows me. He knows my needs. He knows my heart. and He saw fit this time to give me a merciful miracle that i can’t deny. i have no idea what awaits us in arizona, but i know He wants us there and i trust that. i love Him. i trust Him. and i’ll move forward with faith.

thanks, everyone, for your well wishes! we are excited! had another little ultrasound yesterday and the little bug is so cute to look at. i am repeatedly amazed at the miracle of life. it is, undoubtedly, a divine process.

okay, so i have been missing blogging lately. i realize that collecting my thoughts on a regular basis is an extremely healthy activity for me. it keeps my mind alive, so to say. and it causes me to savor moments and experiences and gather them before they are lost in that dark corner of my brain where, all too often, i file things away and lose the key.

so speaking of things i want to remember. yesterday’s trip to the doctor’s office is worthy of recording. now, i realize this may be funny to only me. but some of you who have taken children with you to a ob/gyn appointment, might just know where i’m coming from.

i was hoping to leave ella with someone but it didn’t work out. so i packed her up with plenty of snacks and a toy to keep her entertained at the doc’s office. i figured it would be pretty routine. questions, belly check, and nothing more.

everything started off just fine. leaving the urine sample got a little crazy, but i managed to get it in the little door before she knocked it over. once i was in the exam room, the nurse informed that i would be having an internal ultrasound and i needed to undress from the waist down. yikes! i wasn’t planning on that!

i managed to get myself situated and then ella by giving her a little baggy of cheerios. we were doing okay for a while until she decided to dump them all over the floor. panicked, i started picking them all up, meanwhile trying to keep myself covered so the doc doesn’t get mooned when he walks in the door.
phew, i got it cleaned up and back into a safe position.

after about 20 minutes, i began to get antsy. ella was rolling on the floor, turning on the ultrasound machine, twisting around in the curtain, and tearing my paper cover-up to shreds. then i saw this look on her face. you know, that look. and i thought to myself, “please not right now.” but then the smell wafted my way. and…i knew the deed was done. hmm…what do i do now? the diapers were out in the car and the room was quickly becoming gas-mask worthy.

surely the doctor should be coming soon right? i heard him talking in the next room. after a few more minutes, i made a command decision. i would quickly get dressed, run her around the corner to the bathroom, take off the diaper, dump the “treat” in the toilet and put it back on her. could i do it fast enough? on your mark, get set, go!

the nurse saw me out in the hall with a bewildered look on my face. i told her what i was doing and she said she’d let the doctor know. great! well, by the time i got back to the room, he’d moved on to the next patient. so here we are waiting again and it has been an hour since we first arrived. and still more excitement in the room: ella is opening doors and cupboards and pulling things out on the floor and i’m attempting to corral her all while trying to keep the moon to a minimum. then something foul tickled my nose. could it be? no! oh yes, she pooped again!

well, folks, this time i gave up the fight. not leaving the room again. i saw some sort of spray bottle on the counter and sprayed it frantically into the air hoping it would dilute the smell. hah! fat chance! luckily i jumped back on the table just as the doctor came in. i apologized profusely for the smell. he chuckled. and i think it is safe to say that i was his quickest patient visit of the day.

um, i don’t think ella will be visiting the ob/gyn again anytime soon. 😉

for slacking in the blog department.
and this is it…

mask–party of 5. coming in august!

whew! what a doozy this one has been so far. more tired. more yucky. more running for that porcelain bowl of terror. but i’m crossing my fingers that things will start looking up (instead of into the bowl).

i am a firm believer that Heavenly Father softens the memories of previous childbirths so that we will, in fact, choose to do it again. now that i’m pregnant, i find myself thinking, “am i crazy?” “am i ready for shots and bruises and panic attacks and another c-section?” luckily those feelings were no where to be found before this all began! i am grateful for that.

and i am grateful that all that fear is overshadowed by the sweet and peaceful feeling of a new spirit waiting patiently, just for us.

so with that, i’m off to give myself the first poke of the pregnancy.

one down, 210 to go! 😉

i just read this headline today: Family Kicked Off Plane after Toddler’s Temper Tantrum

apparently the little girl (named Elly) and her parents were removed because she was “she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn’t get in her seat” during boarding. the flight was already late so they just decided to give the family the boot.

hmmm…does this cause fear and trembling in anyone else besides me? 🙂

there is an effectual struggle going on in our home that i now consider an out and out war.
sadly i am outnumbered 20 million to 1. my enemy–dust! arghh!

since returning home from utah, i seriously feel as if my life is covered in dust. i have been trying to convince jeff throughout the past year that a dust fairy secretly comes out at night and blasts our house with enough dust to create our own moon sand. just recently this week, i think he finally believes me. he even changed the air filters just to see if she might be hiding up in the vent.

we’ve lived in a few different homes but for some reason this one seems “haunted,” if you will. we don’t have construction going on. no fields around. no particular reason why we should have more dust that accumulates in one day than should happen in a month. i’m telling you, the dust fairy is busy!!

so tonight i have been on a manhunt to fight her. i just spend the last three hours armed with my handy dandy vaccuum trying to rid my world of dust for just one night. now, lest you think i am a clean freak, i surely am not. it’s all or nothing for me. i clean like a maniac for a day or two and then i tuck that genie nicely away in her bottle for another month or four. just until the dust fairy has rubbed me long enough to release my fury.

however, i am sorry to admit that this war will never end and i will not be getting more troops anytime soon. just me. alone on the battlefront.

jeff and i have agreed on one thing though. as long as he is still mowing the lawn, i will still be scrubbing the toilets. and that, i guess, is the state of our union. 😉