The Search is on....

Shane, Bentley and Greyson hanging out on their aunt Lisa's couch.

After leaving Boise and traveling to Portland. We lived with my sister, Lisa for a week while we looked for an apartment. My mom and I packed up the babes daily to scout out our housing options. We were on a limited budget which minimized a lot of initial interests and made it difficult to find anything decent. Portland is slightly a different housing market in comparison to Idaho. Lets just say Idahoans have it good or cheap!!! After a few days of searching and with the help of family members, we found an apartment complex called Deveraux Glen. Our apartment is 1028 sq ft which isn't bad for an apartment but sad to have transitioned from 2453 sq ft of living space for just the two of us. Now we live in half the space with our numbers doubled. However, we already downsized in regards to our belongings so the transition didn't seem too bad. Interestingly it is on the top story. I'm not sure what we were thinking. I blame it on the fact that I still haven't recovered full brain acquirement because I am continually forgetting and having difficulty articulating and therefore couldn't have been capable of fully making such a decision shortly after having twins or I surely would have thought of the fact that i would be lugging twins up and down the stairs on a daily basis which would be horrific. I am sure if I had thought that one completely through the outcome would have been different. Our apartment has good lighting and several windows which is nice since I will be home a lot more than I ever have in my life.

MOVING... Portland or Bust!!!

Shane was laid off March of 2009 and as a result decided to change professions. After researching different options, he settled in on Nurse Anesthetist. He enrolled in pre-req classes during the summer and away he went. In January of this year he finished several pre-reqs and decided to apply for some fast track nursing programs, knowing that there would be minimal options due to the classes he needed to still complete. However there were a hand full of programs that he had completed the requirements and of those few, I believe just 1-2 programs that he hadn't missed the application deadlines. So with that, Shane applied to Linfield College's fast track nursing program, knowing that it started in June shortly after the twins were due. We just thought that it would be nice to at least attempt to apply to a program but knew more realistically that he would be applying to several schools in the fall when he had completed more pre-req's. However, I couldn't help but think that aside from the ISU program, that Linfield would be a great fit for Shane and so I kept encouraging him and he completed his application. We received a letter in the mail stating that Shane was put on the waiting list and aside from occassionally checking the status, we put it on the back burner as we prepared for the arrival of the twins. However, there must have been other plans in store for us because on May 28th we had the babes and then on June 10th we received a phone call from Linfield College, notifying Shane that he was accepted into the fast track nursing program. It actually made my stomach hurt. I was more disturbed than anything, however it is what Shane and I had been praying and hoping for. We knew it was what we needed to do but simultaneously I hated the idea. I kept trying to think how could we could make it work and move at a more optimal time, possibly when I wasn't just recovering from having twins. We had to make a decision ASAP and as much as I didn't really want to go through with moving forward... how couldn't we. I weighed our options which weren't equating to much. Unemployment, minimal income, mortgage, new parents vs. continued education/new career (never a bad idea), student loans (at an alarming amount), loss of support network (super sad). Either way it was going to be difficult and the reality of the situation was that we would be prolonging the inevitable. Shane and I had strategized for a while how to optimize on the opportunities avaiable prior to the phone call and so I feel like we were prepared in some respect. So ultimately we decided to go for it. Shane started his program June 21st and it has been crazy ever since Shane moved a week before us to get there in time for the start date and to allow for additional packing time. He left on father's day (his first) and then flew back the following friday to help with packing up the house and driving the U-Haul. It was sad to leave our friends, church, work, our home to move to Portland but we have felt so fortunate and blessed. Ultimately I am excited for the end result of the move but in the mean time it has definately been trying.

BABIES BLESSINGS

On June 27th we blessed the babies in Nampa, Idaho. Each of their blessings were so special and I could feel the spirit as Shane blessed Greyson and Bentley through the priesthood. There were a few things that stood out to me in each of their blessings that I thought were unique and special. In Bentley's blessing, Shane blessed her to continue to radiate Heavenly Father's love and sprit to others and through her smile, she will share her love and happiness to others and in Greyson's blessing, Shane blessed Greyson to have peace of mind, confidence and to have a sense of humor and to make many friends and have a postive influence over them. I am just paraphrasing a part of each of their blessings that stood out to me but I just thought that it was so precious and endearing to listen to those words from Shane's mouth through the gift of the priesthood and in regards to our children. I am in awe of Greyson and Bentley's countenance and can't believe that we have been so blessed. They are such beautiful individuals that I am so excited to watch grow and develop and build a relationships with. After sacrament meeting we met several members of both our families as well as friends at the park for lunch. Thank you Sondra and Jeanette for organizing and making all the food. It was fabulous!!

Baby Blessing Pictures

Those who participated in the blessing

Shane's siblings and their families

Lena, me, TeRonda, Richelle

The babes with their grandparents and parents

Just the four of us

Tiny Babes

The babes all swaddled and with their papa

I know this picture isn't clear but Bentley had such a cute smile on her face, I couldn't pass it up

This is how the babes sleep together. It is so cute and they look so peaceful. They look as though they fit together like a puzzle peice.

Home from the hospital

It was such a crazy feeling coming home from the hospital as a family. It was no longer just the two of us and not only that we are now responsible for these two little babies... AHHH. Aside from being overwhelmed it was such a beautiful experience to walk into our home as a family. I can't believe we have twins...it is crazy to think that I am a mom. Shane was so cute walking up the front steps of our home and such a proud papa. We are so excited for this adventure and have appreciated the countless meals and visitors in support of their arrival.