Our Housing Dilemma

Life around here has been a little crazy this past month. I wanted to journal a little bit about what's been going on with us and our little family.

I'll start at the beginning. When we first moved to Oxnard in August of 2009, we lived on the military base. The housing was nice enough, just kinda snug. We found out the end of that year that we would be staying in Oxnard for another two years, so we decided to move into something bigger off base. So, we found a home we really liked and moved into it May of 2010. We love our neighborhood! We got a great deal on a large home with plenty of room for visitors. It's a gated community, so I feel a little bit safer when Jason is away for work and there's a community pool just 1/2 block away.



Well, in January, Jason and I found out that the house we are renting was being put up for sale. Awesome. Our one year lease was up in May of this year, so we were told we needed to be out of the house by the end of April. We weren't way concerned at first because we figured it would take a while for it to sell and we would be able to decide what to do. We wrote a letter to the home owners (an investment group) and asked if they would consider taking it off the market until the summer of 2012, but instead, they just gave us one more month to find something to move into.



If this situation wasn't stressful enough, add to it that I still hadn't decided if I was going to move the kids and I home to Utah during Jason's deployment that starts the end of the summer. Many, many factors were being considered and it seemed like my feelings on the matter changed almost daily. We could save A LOT of money if I moved home, but I just felt that I should keep some continuity for the kids and stay here. But, now that we were going to have to move anyways, the decision was complicated to say the least. I felt very overwhelmed, knowing that ultimately it was my choice and my family would do whatever I decided. Jason offered advice and counsel, but knowing that I was the one that would have to deal with the consequences of my choice, we both understood that I would have to be the one to decide. Talk about pressure! This for a woman that has a hard time deciding what to have for breakfast or whether to wash a load of laundry in hot or warm water. Let's just say decision making is not my strong suit.



So, in the meantime, we started looking for available homes to rent. We really wanted to be within walking distance of Lucy's school (like we are now) and we wanted to stay in the same ward. We looked at some homes that were okay. Most of them were in the same ward, but most definitely not within walking distance. We just never felt good about any of them. All the while, we were praying to know what was going to be the best situation for our family in the coming year and a half. I had come to the decision that we should try to find a home here and stay in the area. I wanted Lucy to go to the same school for two years and even though I knew the support at home would be a huge help, it's more important that I keep life as much the same as I possibly can while Jason is away. We found out the end of April that the house had been sold and we would most definitely have to be moved by May 31st. This put the pressure to find something close a little stronger, but we both felt that something would work out. I felt we were continually blessed with a feeling of peace. Those that know me well can attest to the fact that under stressful situations, I don't normally "keep my cool". There were a couple small breakdowns that lasted just a few minutes (thanks, Mom, for listening to my rants), but I continually surprised myself with how unstressed I really was. I know that it was the Lord bringing me comfort and as we prayed, we knew something would come up.

I continued to look every day (sometimes 6 or 7 times a day) on Craigslist for a home. I would get my hopes up about a home, then go see it and be let down because the price was to high or it just didn't feel like where we were supposed to be. It got to be the first week in May and "crunchtime" was officially here.

A few days into the month, our neighborhood was having it's annual garage sale. We decided to go check them out and made our way up and down the streets. We got to one house and I realized that I knew the owner's of the house. We had visited at the pool a couple of times. We got talking and started chatting about how the house we are living in was sold and we're looking for something close. She went on to say that her elderly parents live around the corner and they were planning on moving them out to his brother's house in Somis. Long story short, they were going to start renting it out the beginning of June! We went and saw it that next Monday and felt great about it! We have somewhere to go and it's in our same neighborhood! The people we'll be renting from are absolutely fabulous. So kind and gracious. As we were leaving the house after we decided to start renting it, I told the owner's that we felt it was truly an answer to a prayer and we feel very blessed. They went on to say they felt the same way and knew it was meant to be.

I knew this is a long post, but I wanted to record this experience for my family. My testimony was strengthened through this small trial we were given. I have no doubt that the Lord is aware of me and my little family. He wants to pour out blessings to us, but first we have to come to Him and show faith. There are moments when I feel so confused and completely overwhelmed when I think about the future and what we'll face, but I know that He will provide a way for us to get through it.

So, we're throwing in another move, just for the fun of it. Now, if only I could get motivated to pack up some of the house.

Goofy Graham

What to say about my little guy Graham. This guy is as crazy and intense as ever. Ever since he was a baby, it's been all or nothin' with this kid. He's either all happy or all mad and occasionally all sad. No middle ground. The beauty of this sensitive little man is that he can go from one emotion to another at the drop of a hat. It's actually quite impressive.

I love it when he wakes up ten or fifteen minutes early and comes and lays in bed with me for a little while. We sometimes talk about what he dreamed about or he tells me stories he makes up. He asks for breakfast and I tell him that we'll get up when the clock says seven, zero, six (or something close to that). Graham gives me the play by play as the digital clock changes with each minute. Then we get up and tell Lucy it's time for breakfast. We grab Ben (if he hasn't already joined us in bed) and head downstairs for some eatin'. Graham always has one or two waffles with peanut butter and syrup. He's always ticked when they are gone and begs me to make them. I, as previously mentioned, always say no. Then he has to settle for toast with PB and dry cereal (he hates milk on his cereal, but likes to eat it with a spoon).

After breakfast, we head back upstairs and I begin the constant nagging for Lucy and Graham to get ready. Lucy and Graham always seem to play together best in the mornings when they are supposed to be getting dressed, not playing. Graham always wants "help" getting dressed. I pick out an outfit and assure him that he can do it himself.

Eventually, we get Lucy off to school and I load up Graham and Ben to go to the gym for a bit. Graham always wants to choose a little toy to bring with him in the car and to the gym's Kids Club. I love our conversations on our drive to and from the gym. Most of the time it's about whether or not he can go to Grant's house to play or if he can play the computer when he gets home. He prefaces a lot of his thoughts with, "Oh! I have a good idea, Mom!" or he follows his thought with, "Did I have a good idea, Mom?"

Graham is always ticked off when it's time to leave anywhere. If it's time for me to check him out at the Kid's Club or I'm picking him up from a friend's house.....there's always drama. I'll give him a pep talk before I drop him off in hopes that when I come get him he won't make a scene. Sometimes it helps, but not usually.

On Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursdays, I drop little buddy off at preschool on the way home from the gym. It's just a few blocks away at Oxnard High. The high school students run the program with a great teacher supervising them. He loves it! He gets lots of attention and gets to play with kids that think he's hilarious. We're going to do one more year of preschool next year before kindergarten. I think we'll try a school with a little more structure and curriculum, but this one has been great for now.

Graham loves to play on the computer. He usually plays on playhouse Disney, but occasionally he'll do pbskids.org. It's a fabulous bribery tool and it works well for punishment purposes, too ("If you don't do _____, you won't get to play on the computer today. Ya' know, that kinda thing.) He always wants to play on Jason's IPhone, too. Quite the gamer. For this reason, we will not own a Wii for a looooong time. I don't want to deal with that fight every day.

I wish I could get a dose of the confidence juice that Graham is drinking. He has no doubt in his mind that he's "better at this" than everybody. Today, I did my workout at home with the help of a Jillian Michael's video. Graham popped down on the floor and started trying to do the exercise I was doing. I told him he was doing great and he rebutted with a, "I'm better than you at this, huh." If you tell him he's doing a good job, he assumes that means he's better at it than everybody (namely Lucy, Dad, or myself).

His latest thing is that he thinks all girls love him. I'll ask him, "Graham, what did you do at Tylei's house today?" He'll say, "I played with Isabel and Carson. Isabel loves me." He went with me to pick up the babysitter this weekend and as she and I walked out of the house, Jason heard him say from the backseat, "Oh! I know her! She loves me!" Graham offered the family prayer before bed on Saturday night. He said something like this, "Thank you that we got to play at Katelyn's house and thank you that she loves me."

We signed Grahammer up for soccer this month. I'm actually going to coach his team. Hopefully, he'll survive the season. Our first practice is Friday. Eleven 4-6 year olds. Wish me luck!!

Here's some of my favorite Graham-isms as of late:

• He says "actually" instead of "accidentally". For example, I might ask, "Why is Ben crying?" He would say, "I actually stepped on his head." Ya. I'm believin' that.



• He calls the remote, the "greemote".



• Instead of "without", he says, "about".



• He calls earrings, "aliens".


• He asked the other night, "Why are there so many Jerusalems in the scriptures?" What?




• Last, but not least: About a month ago I heard Lucy yelling for help. I went upstairs to check it out and I heard Graham say, "I'll get off of you, if you would just give me a hug!" When I reached the bedroom, Graham was laying on top of Lucy and wouldn't let her up.

Life with Graham is never boring. We love our Graham Cracker!