Milestone - 5 Years

I love this kid.  I have probably said it before but Ezra is a special kid.  I knew it before he was even born.  I knew when I was pregnant with him that I knew him before this life.  I knew his name was Ezra.  He was familiar to me in every way.

He is still our "baby".  I have a feeling he always will be.  We will have two "babies".  And not because he enjoys being the baby or acts like one but because he is such the dangest, sweetest boy you'll ever meet.

We celebrated twice this year, once at our new house and then again at Grandma Mikey's with the cousins.  I had envisioned an Indian themed, brave little warrior party for him this year but really who was I kidding?  Moving day to the new house was just days before his big day.

The Indian feather headbands were good enough for him.  He's not much for hoopla.  He just tells it like it is in his low serious voice, "Oh, that's not the [present] I wanted."  Then we all move on.

 We love you Ezra.  Don't ever turn six.

I can feel it

I have been feeling a little swamped lately.  Husband has been out of town.  It was my week to teach Young Women's and joy school for Ezra's little crew.  School projects are due.  Calves are dying.  And real estate deals are closing.

And this is actually the clam before the storm.  Within the next couple months we will:  move for the 16th time in 10 years, continue to renovate the new house (for years to come), celebrate Mikael's 1st birthday, Halloween, fieldtrips, Thanksgiving (that Jace says is at my new house this year), Ezra will turn 5 in November, Macy will be 10 in December, Christmas will come, and then we are on to 2 more birthdays and an 11 year anniversary.

Yikes.

I'm going to wade my way thru.

Wish me luck.

By the way....

We live in Heber these days. Jace sold my house in Chandler. We had talked about it for months and in the end he won. Again.


But the hotter it gets and the more pregnant I get, the smarter I think that man is and his decision to take the check and run. Home. To the cooler mountain air.


Life has slowed down. Most days we are bored to tears in Heber. Ezra wants nothing more than to "go home" on most days and "see his Imran" (our 35 year old Chandler neighbor). And the older children attempt to give each other wedgies all day. Long.



But life is good. I loved my barn house. My neighborhood in Chandler. My neighbors. My ward. My children's school. But I have had zero sadness (except for you, Addie). My children now swim in their underwear on our weekend fishing trips.


And one of the main topics of conversation these days is...

HER.

We are getting a "sister" baby. We can't wait to meet her and as Ezra says see her "tinsy toes."

Oh, what to name her?

This summer's forecast doesn't predict very many more bored days. Jace and I have purchased some fixer uppers. Oh, how we love a challenge. Before pictures coming soon. After pictures following soon after.

Greetings from Vernal.

The 2nd house deal in a month fell thru yesterday.  We found and offered our money and heart for this tiny, little, bank-owned house a couple weeks ago. (For those of you following this saga, and I know there are so many: the 1st big, bank-owned house did not come with water shares- so we walked.)  What was even cuter than the front corner window was the price.  The bank selling this house called yesterday to let us know that their Quality Control Division would need 1 to 4 weeks to "assign an underwriter and review the offer."  We replied it would take our Quality Control Division approximately 1 to 4 minutes to respond with "you can take your house and shove it."  Like the bank who has no sympathy for us, the family trying to live together in the same state, under the same roof, who needs a quick closing date and who would gladly rid them of the bad debt they had acquired.....we are having a hard time mustering up any sympathy for them, their divisions, procedures, and protocols.

Moving on.

Ezra has been puking since last Friday.

Jace has been on the same job for 2 days.

The temperature has not risen above 20 degrees.  It was something like -14 degrees when we arrived.  8 inches of snow cover the ground.  My "fashion" boots from Arizona are quickly going to be replaced with water proof boots.  Any suggestions?

Moving on.

Macy has discovered she does enjoy living with dogs (Porcha and Chang)and would like our Girl to move into the house with us, so that she can take her on "walks" every 4 hours.  Sounds fun to me. 

Cam Mosley is Noah's new found best friend.

Cramped as the living quarters may be, it is nice to have the Mosleys from Taylor here with us.

The Kelly's from our Snowflake ward arrived on Saturday.  It will be so fun to see them and have their girls over to babysit just like at home.

Moving on.

I am so glad to be with Jace.  Even if it is only when I sleep by him at night.

Jace likes his new job.  I am grateful.  We can almost see the light.  We are almost done chasing checks and jobs.

Mike Mosley set me up with Skype.  Family and friends, what is your Skype name?  And don't give me email addresses (that didn't work, Kirsten).  I need your Skype account name.

Now if you'll all excuse me, I have another appointment with my realtor.  Maybe today will be the day someone in Utah will get serious about selling their house.  The one with a For Sale sign in front of it.

I'll be seeing you. Some of you thru my web cam and some of you back in lovely Arizona.

Wait a second.....

Did it seem I was complaining (whining) in the last post?  Can I explain?  

My friend Jace Baum wants to feed me, clothe me, place a roof over my sorry head, love me, grope me, and most of all wants to see me HAPPY.  He tries.  Real hard.  When the tears were falling in Utah last week and I was begging him to "just get in the car with me and come home with me.....We tried it.  We saw it.  Can we just call it a wash?"  I could see it on his face and in his eyes.  He thought about it.  Long and hard.  It kills him to see me sad.  He would've got in the car.  He would have put a stop to the tears right there.  

Do you know what that tastes like?  Guilt.

Do you know what the best find in Vernal, UT is that I forgot to mention?   That I continually forget about?  The paycheck.  The one that will be deposited into my personal checking account tonight around 12:01 am.  For heaven sakes.  I think I'm going to survive my little transfer.  Jace Baum has yet to drive my life into a ditch.  I have had to reach over and grab the wheel a time or two (or three, or 37) but all in all we have been abundantly blessed.  Hello, have you seen our kids?  Oh, you forgot how sweet they are?  

They don't come sweeter than this.

Well OK, maybe this one does.

Seriously?  I know I will love Vernal.  I will love Utah.  I will love the people.  I'm sure I'll even grow to love Jace in camo and the pink dinosaur greeting me on Main street.  I will come to find why Heavenly Father opened this door, at this time, for us.  The tears are not out of fear, anger, or desperation.  The tears are for what I'm leaving behind.  Life here was good.  We have had a hell of a run here the White Mountains.  We made some really good friends, memories, and choices.  And I'm not planning on changing that......just location.

By the way, our new realtor called today.  The homeowners accepted our offer.  The offer is now on it's way to the bank.  We hear banks are wanting to get rid of houses and bad debt lately.  We shall see.  We are one step closer to homeownership again.  In Utah.  My heart has been racing and my palms sweaty with excitement.  My brain refuses to stop building porches, tearing down walls, picking out wall colors, adding trim, and planting grass.  

What I'm getting at is....I'm really moving and I'm going to do with a smile on my face.  Husbands and wives should live in the same state.  Just know I'm going to miss you.  Sisters.  Parents.  Wards.  Taylor Elementary.  Eva's.  Blossom.  Sonic.  Friends.  Mrs. Larson's Preschool.  Bashas cub house.  Aerobics.  Pioneer Park.  Neighbors.  You know who you are. 

Rumor has it....

Jace got a new job.

In Utah.

He starts a week from Monday.

We are moving again.

Jace told me last night the rumors are true.

I cried.

One more time now....

No, Jace didn't buy that ranch. No, I didn't find that perfect, charming fixer upper. And no, Macy did not click her heels 3 times and a tornado uproot our home, belongings, and selves. I wish.

The REALITY facing us is this:

1. Our landlords, namely Ira and Melissa Parry, sold their house by the golf course and want to move into the OTHER house they own, namely my rental home.

2. My sister Kirsten recently laid down the shocking news that she will be packing up her family and belongings and moving to Wisconsin. (I had to get out a map).

3. The closing date for the Parry's is Sept. 30th. Dan's new job begins Oct. 1st (you see where I'm going with this?).

4. We will be moving once again. Back to Snowflake. Into Kirsten's house.

One might think that I am good at moving, noting all previous experience but really I just lose my mind, don't sleep, walk in circles, and wait for the movers to show up.

So, this should be interesting right? I'll keep you posted.

2720 Bourden Ranch Rd.

My new address! We are just moving right down the road. Same ward. Same school. We get to rent Ira and Melissa Parry's brand new spec home. We couldn't be more thrilled with our future residence. The Baums will not be homeless after all. Come and visit us but please don't mail us a letter to this address, as Taylor still does not provide mail delivery to your home. I'm nominating myself has head chairman for the "not a fan of PO Boxes" committee. It will happen one day.....just like the "coming for 3 years now" Wal-mart. I wait with baited breath. I have to pack. I'm out.

The Panic is Starting to Set In!

And the new address will be......? Come on, you know we Baums don't roll like that. We like to keep it suspensful until the very end. With the closing date 7 days away and not one box packed, we still have no permanment residence figured out yet. I have done this enough times now that I know it will all work out. I still can't believe that I won't be coming home to this house next week. We spent countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears looking for land, designing house plans (way to go Jessica!), building the house, moving in, landscaping, decorating, ect. And did I mention I was pregnant the duration of the construction phase? Never again.

This was the house we brought Ezra home to 8 weeks after we moved in. He moved into his bright, white, front bedroom that was designated "the nursing baby room and then the guest room when nursing baby gets shipped upstairs." The house where he learned to crawl and then finally walk.

This is the house Macy learned to ride a bike without training wheels, this is the place she rode the bus home to with Alvie the busdriver on her 1st day of kindergarten, and where she played countless hours of Rapanzel off her 2 story balcony.

This is the house Noah befriended the hand-me-down weiner dog, that still goes by "girl", "riff-raff", "hot dog", and "you DA_ _ dog." The house where he slept by his sister every night only because he loves her so much (and because one of Jace's employees/relative needed to use Noah's bed).

This was the house of countless Baum and Seaman family parties, 2 funeral luncheons, 1 baby blessing brunch, 1 memorable Thanksgiving, 2 Christmas mornings, 1 baby shower for baby Liv, approx. 8 birthday celebrations, and many unannounced (to Lindsay, the cook) dinner parties with friends.

This was not only our home but a home for our favorite roommates as well. Josh and Camryn moved in last May to our apartment above the garage. Baby Liv joined them last September. Camryn has not only been a polite tenant but a great friend, babysitter, and my personal consultant for decorating, cooking, parenting, ect. I will truly miss my roommates when they are no longer a flight of stairs away. I'm sure baby Liv will miss Noah squeezing her hands at every encounter and I will miss no longer have 2 fridges/pantries to pick from.

Are we attached to this structure that has sheltered us for the past 18 months? Maybe a little. But we are getting the opportunty to start again, learn from the lessons we've learned here, see the world from another angle (and street), and cherish the memories we've collected here. And seriously......you can only live at the end of a long dirt road for so long.

We like it short and sweet....

As some of you may have heard already, Jace sold my house. We have to be out April 18th. A Dr. from Payson and his family will be the lucky new owners. We built this house ourselves (with the help of many) a year and 1/2 ago . I really love this house and living here in Taylor. It has been such a fun house for our kids, animals, and family parties. I love our spot - it is so quiet and private. I will really miss the ward too. I'm trying to convience myself that I'm not attached to the house. If I've learned anything trying to keep up with Jace these past 7 years -its that it really doesn't matter where we're at as long as we are together and my kids feel warm, safe, and secure. Jace has been bugging me for months about selling. I finally said do it, thinking it was going to sit on the market like every other house in AZ. Well, that didn't work out to good for me - 3 weeks later we had a buyer. Another hard lesson we've learned in the past is that it ain't a done deal until the check is in our hands. One minute I'm crying and stressing about moving again and the next I'm trying to remember that the sooner we get to a mortgage free life the more opportunities we will have - Jace has to remind me of this on a daily basis. Jace is so worried about the economy and how it will affect our lives and business here in the White Mountains. So far our phone has not stopped ringing but you never know. It should prove to be an interesting month. Jace had an accident with a zip line and won't be able to put any pressure on his foot for 6 more weeks. He will be no help moving. His cousin Taft has literally saved our lives. Not only is he keeping our business afloat but he's chopping wood, lighting fires, finishing our house projects before the inspection, carrying kids around, you name it. He was saying the other day how sad it will be when we sell the house. Jace said, "Just another chapter in the Baum's lives." Taft said, "Wow, you guys like short chapters." Yes, Taft, yes we do.