Current Events

The past few weeks have been filled with all types of emotions. To start off, we sold our house!! It was very close to being on the market for 4 weeks. Although our realtor didn't get the pictures up until a week later, and who's going to look at a house without pictures?? Anyways we close on our house April 30th. Yea!! We are super excited that we sold it! That chapter is done! We have six weeks until we close. The lady that purchased our home has given us an option to lease until May 28th- something we might consider if we haven't found a house in the next few weeks.

We had our eyes set on a particular house we noticed back in November. It has such a great layout for our family and we were really bummed that it went into contract two days before ours did. TWO DAYS! SERIOUSLY?! We are both convinced that as much as we loved that house it just wasn't the one for us. To watch it for three months and it go into contract right before ours..... it just wasn't meant to be. We were all disappointed but accepted the reality.

Spencer has been back and forth with a few mortgage companies about getting a loan. The laws change so frequently that it's hard to keep up with and gets really confusing. Anyways it's been a huge issue to get them to include Spencer's second job. Two companies have told him that he has to be employed for a year but Spencer's found several documentations that state as long as it's proven as secure income it can be included as income. So frustrating! He has provided documentation supporting the security of his income including a supervisors letter. So, it's just a matter of finding a lender that is willing to work with us and see that his second job will continue. By the way October will be a year.

We've driven through the neighborhood several times and have seen a bunch of houses with the layout we really like. We are positive that things will work out the way that it best for our little family. With Spring Break ending we are sure that people have been working hard on getting their houses ready to put on the market making it the perfect position for us to be in; looking for a great house for a family of six. This is the time when people put their houses on the market and I'm so glad that we don't have to wait for our house to sell. It's such a huge weight off to have it already sold. Now it's the waiting game.....

On another note, since we sold our home, I was released as the YW President last week. It was a very bittersweet moment. The weeks leading up to selling our house; the weeks of packing and keeping it spotless for showings was really stressful for me. Having four young busy kids, a husband who works an average of 75 hour each week and YW twice a week was A LOT for me but I was able to do it for almost two years. It would have been welcome with all the selling preparations but it didn't happen. Apparently I can tolerate a lot and I now appreciate having more time with my children that I have been released from my calling and have sold the house.

Rodeo

Last year Spencer went to the Rodeo with Avery, Jake, and Grandpa. They saw Rascal Flats and loved it. They look forward to it every year! I missed the Rodeo last year but we decided to go this year with all the kids. I can't believe we waited until Spring Break to go. NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT RODEO DURING SPRING BREAK! It was so busy!

We parked across the freeway and walked. And walked. And walked. The kids thought it was fun to cross the bridge over the freeway. I think I need to get them out more.

There is always a surprise of what food you might find at the Rodeo. You'll find the typical funnel cakes, hot dogs, chili cheese fries, etc. But there are some exciting things dipped in chocolate. Chocolate dipped pickles- Seriously!? That's disgusting! They also had a sign for deep fried Oreos. Deep fried cheesecake. Deep fried Snickers. I just can't do it. I think I'd gag watching someone take a bite. I think I'm too addicted to Biggest Loser. I love that show. I'm planning on starting P90X in two days.

And my boy behind the wheel. That's a scary thought. Ten more years......

They love the Texas Longhorns. Do I see Aggies in their future? I think I'd prefer Cougars.

We had a lot of fun and next year we hope to stay for the Livestock and Rodeo Show and maybe the concert too. Jake was really bummed we left before the concert. I don't even know who was playing that night. Would have loved to see Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, or Rascal Flats again. Until next year.......

St Patrick's Day

So for the first time I attempted to celebrate St. Patrick's Day by making green food.
YUUMMMYYY!

I started with breakfast. Green eggs. Green milk. Green yogurt.


Jake ate it. He still had a smile on his face.


Emily ate it too. She didn't like the eggs very much. I told her it was just because they were green. She really liked the green yogurt. She asked for green yogurt the next morning too.


This is how Josh is with me. He loves me I know it but.....

no one can bring a smile like this except for Jake. josh is looking past me at his big brother. Jake has always been the one to make us all laugh.

Fun with Josh

So Josh loves to climb. Everything.
His favorite is Emily's bed because he can actually make it on top.
Then there's his crib. He can't quite make it in but Emily's there to give him a good push up and over the side an I'm sure he's happy. He's in there with his binky. Silly boy!


This is a classic Allred look. "huh? What did you say?"
And he looks so much like Jake.

STEP 1: Climb and reach as high as possible with foot and puuush up. Try to keep head on the bed and don't let it fall to the side because that hurts and you will eventually hit the floor.

STEP 2: Continue to push up onto the bed and stay focused. Climb. Higher. Focus.

Another favorite past time with Josh is laundry time. And we have plenty of laundry with four children. He really is a good helper and understands when I ask him if he wants to help me with the laundry. He gets it. He's so smart!

So this picture is blurry but he's taking clothes from the washer and putting them in the dryer.

He leans into the washer to get all the clothes out. He likes to get the measuring cup out. There was a time when he was helping with the laundry and started whining. I couldn't see him when I looked around the corner but I heard him whine again. I went in there and he was inside the washer and couldn't get out because the washer would rock back and forth. Back and forth. I would have taken a picture but my camera was too far and I didn't want him to fall out trying to climb out. It was really funny.

He's putting all the clothes into the dryer here and is ready to close the door. He still has a few things in the washer. And a dinosaur sock on the floor.

Still my awesome helper. Love Josh!

GRATITUDE for the Past & Present & Future

So last night I stayed up way too late, a terrible habit I have, while Spencer was at the station. I got on Facebook (my first mistake which led to staying up too late) and started looking for family members, friends from my mission, and others I wanted to keep in contact with. While I was looking for a friend from high school I haven't seen since my wedding day I came across some of the other girls I'd gone to high school with. Now keep in mind I grew up in the same house with my mom and brother until my freshman year in high school then I moved an hour away (near the beach) to live with my dad. In the LA valley where I lived everyone is beautiful- and I'm talking candidate for Bachelor/ Bachelorette beauty. So looking at some of their pictures on FB, one had her perfect wedding pictures in a magazine (she married a producer), while others live lavish lifestyles in with one or two kids. I think, could that have been me? Could I have been one of those girls living the ways of the world and having it all? Who knows. Envious at all? No because I look at my life and think about all the blessings I do have. I may not have the huge beautiful house with the nicest car but I have an amazing family who loves me. I have four beautiful healthy children who are amazing in their own unique way. I have my own health and a strong mind and spirit that keeps me going in the right direction. I have an amazing husband who loves me more than I know and has a honorable job that makes me proud. I have friends and family near and far, that support me and encourage me to be the best I can be. I have a home that I love, even though we are moving, and look forward to making our new house a haven for our family- somewhere they will always want to be and feel safe. Although there have been rough times along the way, we've always been able to have food in our pantry and fridge and have never gone hungry. We have always had reliable cars to take us from one place to another safely.

I truly believe the reason I have these blessings is because of a decision I made July 14, 1996. That was the day I decided to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. My best friend from high school was a wonderful example to me and extended an invitation to meet with the missionaries at her house one night for dinner. We met weekly and as I did so my relationship with my dad, whom I was living with at the time, dissolved. We went in opposite directions and it's never going to be the same although I try to keep in contact with him. I served a mission in Ogden and came home and started working at Warner Brothers Studios while living with my mom. Again I was living near that "Hollywood" lifestyle and I was right in the middle of it with the amazing studio parties! I kept in contact with Spencer and we eventually got married after deciding to move to Texas. Do I regret anything? Not a bit, until I saw a profile picture of my friend in LA with the Rock (Dwane Johnson). She saw him at the gym she was working out at- Can you imagine seeing the Rock at the gym, working out??? Anywho..... I love that I am sealed to my family forever! I love the plan of salvation- it makes such perfect sense as I teach it to my babies. I am forever grateful for Christ and His role in my life and the sacrifice He made so all these blessings can be mine. I am also eternally grateful for the guidance of the Spirit. I would be lost without it!

I love my life even with all the mistakes I've made. I look forward to all the fun times with my children and the adventures we'll take. I look forward to our new house and making it a home. I will admit I'm super excited to be able to have a craft area where I can leave out my sewing machine, make fun crafty things with the kids, and I really want to refurnish old furniture for the house too.

I'm not sure how this post jumped around so much I guess that's how my brain's been working these days!

Lookin' like a Model

So I posted about us packing up the house and getting the house ready to sell.

I had a friend of mine call and offer to help a few days before the realtor was scheduled to meet with us and this is how she left the house.



This is the entry(we've put our shoes away since this picture)


Our living room. I love the high ceilings in this room! not to mention the shutters- we are going to miss those the most!


Another picture in the living room and of the kids sitting on the coffee table, something I never let them do but I have a picture of them doing it-go figure!


Here's the kitchen which flows right into the living room. Again love the shutters!


Clutter free and clean kitchen- Love it!


I think this was a night shot of the master bedroom. I really like how this turned out.



I hadn't put up the picture over the bed when I took this picture but it still looks nice.



This is the girls room. I need to take more of their room- this one doesn't do it justice. It's a hard room to get it all in one picture.

Yes there are a few things out of place that need to be put away which we have done. We've gotten into a routine of cleaning up immediately and before walking out the door I make sure the house looks like the model homes- or at least I do my best to keep it that way. With four kids it's really tough! We really hope it sells quickly so we can move into a house that has more room for the kids to play inside and out. I'd personally love to leave out my sewing machine so I can improve my skills there! I still have a quilt to finish that I started about 18 months ago!