The Details

Okay so I have a minute to breath so on with the girl version:)  So we have been looking for a house ever since we moved here, but our situation kept changing so we were never quite sure whether we were going to be able to buy a house, rent, or do a lease to own option.  The day that Garrett and I decided to just go for it with the firm, I felt very strongly that everything would work out just as miraculously with the housing situation as it did with the job situation.  So I never worried that it wouldn't work out, but I was very anxious to know what that actually meant.

Once we knew Garrett was going to be self-employed, we spoke with some private bankers and learned that it would be 18 months-2 years before we could get a home loan.  This was actually a relief to us in some ways because the law firm was a big enough undertaking for us so adding on buying our first house would have been major stress for me.  So we decided to look for a good rental option or if we found something we absolutely loved, we would do a lease-to-own option.  So we went through about a million (at least it seemed like it) rentals and none of them really felt right.  Finally I called the realtor who had shown us houses when we first moved here and asked her if this one particular house that we loved might be a possibility for a lease.  She said she would talk to the owners since the house had been on the market since April, and she thought the chances were pretty good, especially since we told her we would be willing to sign a two year lease.  So it looked like that was going to go through and I was feeling so good about it.  So during the waiting time we went to a party on Halloween night and Garrett's cousin's husband told us about a friend he had who might be wanting to rent his house due to some tragic circumstances in his family.  At this point I really just thought the other house was going to work out for sure, so I didn't really even consider it.

Fast forward a couple days and then we hear back from the realtor that the owners were all ready to lease to us and then at the last minute some people came in with an offer on their house!!  What are the chances after 7 months of being on the market?!!  So I was totally bummed and thought all was lost.  At this point we had to give our notice to our apt in order to get out by the end of the month when our lease runs out.  So I was especially depressed since the only thing I wanted for Christmas was to be in a house with our little family.

So last monday night Garrett's cousin's husband Geoff called us to tell us that the same friend had for sure decided to rent his house and that he really wanted a family to rent it.  He told us the guy would be calling us that night.  I was not wanting to get my hopes up yet again because I was so discouraged.  So Garrett talked to the guy and every time I came to see if Garrett was done talking to him he would smile at me and give me a thumbs up.  So that was encouraging.  After he got off the phone I was dying to know the details.  It was better than I even hoped for.  When he told me the neighborhood it was in I was shocked because it is brand new and so nice.  So then he told me that it has 6 BEDROOMS!!  with 5 all on the same floor.  That was huge for us when we were looking at houses cause all the houses with 3 or more bedrooms had at least one of the bedrooms in the basement and our kids are just too small to be downstairs from us right now.  So anyway it also had a fenced backyard and was on a cul-de-sac.  All the things we would LOVE!  So we hopped in the car and drove by the house and freaked out.  We were so excited.  We could hardly wait till the next evening when we got to go take a look at it.  I seriously woke up at 6 am just thinking about it.  So the next night we took the tour and it was just beautiful.  So amazing.  But the most amazing part of it was that the guy who owned the house was just so excited about a young family moving in and kept reassuring us that he understood that we were young and just starting out and that he would make sure we worked something out that we could afford. Then on top of that he said he would leave his awesome grill and patio furniture and dining room table and a bunch of other stuff that we need and can't afford to buy right now!

So within a week I went from no hope to the most amazing house we have seen in the six months that we have been looking falling into our laps.  Not to mention we got to sign a year lease (drawn up by Liberty Lake's new lawyer) with the option to buy the house at the end of the year so we don't have to throw away all our rent money.  We are just completely amazed.  It seems like I just have to exhaust all my efforts and get to the point where I say, "I give up and have no clue".  Then the Lord steps in and shows me what he has in mind and it is ALWAYS a million times better than what I could have done.  So for the first time in our 8 years of marriage, we will have our own house.  No sharing walls or ceilings or stairways!  (Not that I am complaining about sharing our house with the Poyfairs cause we love them:) but it is a big milestone for us.

So these are the things that we are most excited for:
Garrett: Having a lawn to mow (even though I know it will get old eventually). Having a toy room so we can keep some areas of the house free of toys.  Having an attached garage. Having a happy wife! (Happy wife = happy life!)
Rachel: Having a garage attached to my house so I can pull my car in and not have to worry about hauling groceries and kids up tons of stairs while leaving my car wide open to the world.  Also having a fenced backyard so I can let my kids go outside and play anytime and not worry about them getting run over or kidnapped.  Also an amazing kitchen with all new appliances.  Also central vac.  Also an extra freezer in the garage.  Basically everything!
Rylynn: My pink room!!!
Carter: A toy room!
Beckett: agooooo!

So much to say, so little time

This is where we get to move in two weeks!!!!

We get to have our own cute front porch!  This has all happened so fast in the last week.  It is truly miraculous how it has all come about.  We are just so excited!  Carter keeps saying, "we are going to have a toy room!!"  I will have to give all the details when I have more time because I feel like everything is going a million miles per hour right now.  But to sum it all up, we have been so blessed and the Lord is so aware of our needs.  The firm is doing so well, even better than we hoped for this first month.  We are just amazed.

And then there is this adorable boy!  He is so much fun.  His little personality is shining through more and more everyday.

He is such a little giggler and smiler.  We just love little Beckett boy!  Videos of him giggling are on their way!

And then there's this boy.  Carter is growing out of his naps so everyday he is falling asleep in a new random place at a new random time.  He definitely still needs them, but he fights then if he takes one he stays up so late!  I did NOT love this stage with Rylynn, but we'll survive.  He is also in the stage of never wearing clothes.  As soon as we walk in the door from anywhere he immediately strips down to his diaper.  Why do all my kids go through this in the middle of winter?!

Speaking of Rylynn.  I just had to laugh and take this picture the other day because she was explaining to me how she was organizing all her dolly's outfits according to categories, i.e. this pile is for the hats, this pile is for the gloves, etc.  She is a clone of me!!  She said to me, "Mom I just love organizing!"  There are so many things that she does that remind me so much of me.  She has a great little memory too which she also inherited from me.  I am really not trying to brag, I just think it is amazing to see characteristics so small as these passed from generation to generation.  New pictures of the office to come soon too!

Happy Halloween

This year Rylynn decided to be a fairy, or as she would tell people, she was Tinkerbell, even though her costume was all pink and was in no way Tinkerbell.  I was not going to spend the twenty dollars just to get a green fairy costume with Tinkerbell's face on it.  Luckily she didn't seem to mind.  I told Garrett before we went trick or treating that I'm pretty sure she has worn that tutu for every halloween since she was born.  Maybe next year we will splurge and get her a different costume:)  She had a great time at her preschool Halloween party.  I made cupcakes for the class which she loved helping me make.  They decorated trick or treating bags that were so cute!  They also played lots of games.  She got lots of candy and fun things and told us all about it when she got home.

Carter has been telling us for months that he wants to be a "gary, gary ghost!"  That means scary scary ghost.  Then he follows that up with, "I'm gonna gare you!  Booo!"  So I tried to find a ghost costume, but no one makes those so finally I bought a pillow case and just cut it up.  It worked out great!  He loved his costume!

So on Halloween day, we tried so hard to get Carter to take a nap (he is in the growing out of naps phase) since we knew he would be staying up late that night, but he refused.  So as usual when he refuses to take a nap, he just falls asleep where ever he happens to be around 5pm.

I was getting Rylynn ready and came into my room to find this.  Seriously how uncomfortable does that look?  At least he was already dressed, but I still had to do his face makeup.  So I laid him on the floor and managed to get it all done while he was sound asleep!

Then we were off to our friend's house, the Jensens for some soup, cider, and trick or treating!

We had a great time with friends and they live in a great neighborhood so the trick or treating was lots of fun.  Garrett's cousin Stacey and her family were there too and a couple of other people from the ward.  I stayed behind with our little sleeping cub where it was warm and ate lots of yummy food.

The kids got lots of candy and then came back to the house and ate it all night long!  They had a great time with the Jensen's toys too.  They got to play with their friends and eat as much candy as they wanted, I'm pretty sure it was the best night of Carter's life!

Carter on Reverence

Last night before family prayer, I was lecturing Carter and Rylynn on being reverent during the prayer.  Then we said the prayer and they did a very good job.  After we said amen, Carter says to me
"Mama, I only opened one eye, but not two!"  He was dead serious and so proud of himself.  We all laughed so hard.

2 1/2 months

Today Beckett did his first full bellied laugh!  That has to be one of my favorite sounds in the world.  He did it when I was singing popcorn popping with him and do the hand motions with his tiny hands.  I can't believe this baby is going to be 3 months old in two weeks.  I wish babies could stay tiny forever, but then every new thing they learn is so fun and exciting too.  I just love everything about this sweet boy!

He Passed!!! (And Other Exciting News)

I am happy to announce that Garrett PASSED the BAR exam!  It took for stinkin ever to get the results but today they finally came!!!  Though Garrett had several anxiety attacks in the last few days, I never doubted him for a second.  Congratulations, honey!  We are so proud of you!

Now for the really, really exciting news!  Garrett is opening his own law firm on November 2nd!  He has been planning and preparing since early in September.  We realized in September that we had been pushing this idea off over and over again hoping that a job would come along and then we thought maybe there is a reason that this idea keeps coming up over and over again.  So we just decided to go for it!  From that point on miracles have been happening left and right.  We feel so blessed and know that this is the path that the Lord has set out for us from the beginning, it just took us awhile to figure out His plan and forget ours.  Among many other miracles, we found a great building in Liberty Lake and got a fabulous deal on the lease.  The inside was just a vanilla shell so we got to design the layout and we have been able to watch them build it out step-by-step.  Here are some pictures of the office...

This is the waiting room/reception area.  The window in the wall looks into the conference room.

This is the hallway from the back of the office looking towards the lobby.  There is a conference room, an office for Garrett, and then a second office/copy room.  Then in the back there is a kitchen area and bathroom.

This is Garrett's office.

Obviously there is still a bit of work to do, but everyday they get closer.  We get to pick out the paint and carpet this week.  We are getting so excited!!  There is currently no lawyer in all of Liberty Lake which has a population of about 17,000 people so the client to lawyer ratio is amazing.  We just feel so blessed to see how every door has been opened to us.  It seems like every person we come in contact with after learning that Garrett is opening this office tells him that they have some legal work that they would love for him to do.  We will keep you all posted as the progress continues but for now you can check out his website here.  Thank you ALL for the support and prayers during the Bar, it definitely paid off!  Now we're off to celebrate!

UPDATE:

The Bar Association provides for a formal swearing-in ceremony for all the new lawyers, but you have to wait a few weeks.  As Garrett hates formal ceremonies and is in a hurry to get started, he drove to the courthouse after getting his results and managed to get a judge to swear him in as a lawyer on the same day he received his results.  Here are some pictures:

This is Garrett taking the oath.

This is Garrett shaking hands with Superior Court Judge Harold D. Clarke.

He is an official lawyer now and we are so proud of him!

Leavenworth and POYFAIRS!

On Saturday we drove for a few hours to meet up with our favorite POYFAIRS in Leavenworth for Octoberfest! It was so much fun to see them and to spend the day together. I wish I had taken a picture of Rylynn jumping off the curb and almost tackling Oliva with her hug, but I couldn't get the camera out fast enough.  The weather was COOL but beautiful! I love Fall, it is definitely my favorite season, and Leavenworth had such beautiful fall leaves and mountains for us to enjoy. Leavenworth is a little German style town and all the buildings look like they are old fashioned swiss or German chalets.

Beckett was so difficult and slept almost the whole time in the stroller, which is why he isn't in any of the pictures.












Rylynn was loving all the flowers everywhere. If you look at the Bavarian Lodge pictures you can see the same pretty flowers in flower boxes on every window. I felt like we were in Europe for the day!

The kids were loving the street clown performer!  Carter's favorite part was when he juggled with fire.But the highlights of the day for the kids were the bouncy castle and obstacle course.  This thing cost 2$ to go through it 3 times.  I'm pretty sure that for every 2$ we spent for Carter he made it through about 8 times without the lady noticing.  She was NOT paying very close attention.

After the bouncy fun, we went to lots of fun shops around the town.  There was a really cool Christmas shop called Kris Kringle's that had really cute decorations.  We also went to a chocolate shop and a cheese shop.  For lunch we had brats and apple cider.  I have to admit, I expected a little more from the Brats being that it was a little German town.  Oh well.  After the kids had had enough of shops we drove down to a little pumkin patch place that had lots of fun things for the kids.

The boys were loving the airplane swings.

We tried to enjoy our McDonalds dinner in the cold even though we could barely feel our fingers

Rylynn liked this giant tire but I think she liked getting totally dirty even more!

Then the kids and Dads went on a cow tractor ride all over the little farm.  They loved it!

I have a great video of Rylynn squealing with delight, but my computer hates me when it comes to uploading videos.  Any suggestions?

Rylynn was so sad to say goodbye to Olivia.  She is trying to smile through her sadness.

The moms warming up by the fire pit.  I promise the Dad's were there too, but for some reason I have no pictures of them.  They had a lot of fun being goofballs together as usual.  It was so much fun to chat and catchup.  We had a great time.  We love you Poyfairs!

2 month stats

Beckett had his two month appointment the other day and he weighed in at a whopping 13 lbs 6 oz and 23 1/2 inches. Over the 90th percentile for each! As you can guess he is a great eater.

Preschool mini concerts

Rylynn's pre-k class has a mini concert every month to get the kids more comfortable performing in front of large groups. Her first one was last Friday and we all got to go cheer her on.

Carter was so excited to see Rylynn that they hugged for a long time and then Carter just stayed at the front of the class like one of the big kids. They sang four songs for us. I loved hearing the songs from beginning to end since I have gotten random snippets of all the songs at home and they haven't really made much sense. Rylynn did a great job and had so much fun singing with her friends!

Here is a little snippet of her performance. I tried to upload the best video but it never worked, so this one will have to do.

Beckett is two months old!

Well actually he is two days shy of two months old, but he's basically there. He loves to goo at us and smile. He is such a sweet boy. He is the first of our children that does NOT like binkies. I never thought I would have a child that didn't totally depend on those things like the other two did. I was really scared at first that it would be hard to have a baby who didn't take a binky, but he is so calm and easy most of the time that he really doesn't cry unless he's really tired or hungary and then I just feed him or put him to bed and then he is perfectly content. His reflux is getting a little bit better. The medicine seems to be helping a lot with the pain for him after eating. We still have spit up on most things but that won't kill us.

Carter loves his "baby brudder"

I love this little outfit. He looks like a little elf with his pointy hood!

This picture is so sweet. Beckett is gooing away at Daddy.

I love this crooked smile!

This little munchie is in heaven with a baby in the house!

We just love our baby Beckett!