Old home, new home

Things are happening fast! In December Josh was offered a great job in Billings, Montana, and of course when he accepted they wanted him there ASAP. The following week we were on our way to Billings to look at houses. Then the day after Christmas, our Midland home was on the market.

 

We are fortunate to be moving at a time when Midland is booming. Housing is outrageously priced, and there's not much available, so we were at a real advantage. Our house went for sale on December 26th, and my phone was ringing all day from relators wanting to come show the home. In 24 hours we had 7 showings lined up, and a full-price offer. Thank goodness I only had to keep the home clean for a day! And thank goodness my parents live in Midland...we camped out at their house for a day and a half.

 

At the end of this month the house will no longer be ours. As I think about how quickly it sold, I realize what a great home it is, especially for a family. As with every home we've been in, there are so many memories this place holds for us, and so many little things about the home that I didn't realize I would love so much. Like the wine fridge that we kept stocked with juice boxes, and the oversized laundry room where we dropped off all our shoes and coats.

This is the only home Scarlett knows. She loved her room so much that we just can't get her to move in with Claire yet. Lydia and Claire grew even closer as sisters sharing their room. The top bunk was rarely slept in because they always want to be with each other.

We loved our playroom. I have decided that every home we live in needs 2 living areas: one that stays clean, and one for the kids that will likely be always messy. The girls are never in their rooms, they spend most of their day in the playroom, unless they're outside. And our backyard was a perfect size - big enough for our two big dogs, a playground, and plenty of concrete to ride around on.


We will miss our Midland home. We will miss our Midland friends. We will miss West Texas. But we are looking forward to our new adventure in Billings.

My mom looked after the girls while Josh and I spent a few days in Billings. It was nice to be alone, nice to experience a little bit of winter and a change of scenery. We saw so many deer - even an albino!

Billings is small - about the size of Midland - but it is still the largest city in Montana. We look forward to living closer to more outdoor activities, and closer to the temple.


Billings, Montana LDS temple

We found a wonderful house just west of the temple, and we'll pass by the temple every day on our way to work or school. It's a great reminder of the strong Latter-Day Saint community in Billings, and a great comfort to us as we move so far away.
We are really looking forward to our new home. This is the dream home that I remember looking at online, dreaming about, and thinking...someday. But with the sale of our home, the ridiculously low interest rates (thank you slumping economy..) and low property taxes in Montana, it fit our budget. Josh said to me "baby, I'm going to make your dreams come true." Usually he's talking about something entirely different when he says that.

The best part is the neighborhood. There are green belts and play areas throughout the neighborhood, and it backs up to "the Rim"..a mountain ridge with trails for biking and hiking. Then last weekend I contacted our new bishop to ask about the church and the area, and he said that in our small neighborhood alone, there are at least 20 houses that are LDS. They jokingly call it "mormonville" or "new Nauvoo".  It warmed my heart to hear that, to know that I will be in good company among other families like my own.

So, now the countdown is on. Three more weeks and the movers come and pack up our life and take it up north for our next adventure!

Christmas 2012

It was a very busy Christmas season for us, to say the least. We were busy travelling for family and for doctor appointments, and now we are in the middle of moving! So we also fit in a house-hunting trip to Billings Montana the week before Christmas. The season is busy enough with all the Christmas parties and activities, which we took part in as much as we could.

 

First, the tree. While it seems most families are turning to fake trees, we are stubbornly loyal to our tradition of picking out and setting up a live Christmas tree. Even if it does take a whole day just to get it to stand up straight and get all the lights and decorations on, we love the smell, and we love the tradition.

 

Then, the company Christmas party. During the day there was a party for families, with a full breakfast, crafts, treats, a movie, ..and Santa! Then the couples party was held that evening.

 

And when your company is doing well, Santa doesn't send you home with just a candy cane. The girls each got a full bag of gifts!! Spoiled...

 

 

Here's a few pics of Lydia's school Christmas party. Unfortunately Josh and I were in Montana for Claire's, and Grandma Taylor went to her party.

 

Lydia's best buds Kate and Gentry. She has made such good friends here, it gets harder each time we move to take her away from her dear friends.  

 

We made gingerbread houses, ornaments, reindeer food, and decorated cookies!


On Christmas Eve our friends the Huffmans had a family party, and we had the kids do a Nativity.

The Milnes, Tews, and Murdocks joined us. My girls were the angels. Scarlett didnt participate much. She's more of a crooked angel anyways.

 

Then...Christmas Eve!!

 

And Christmas morning

 

Santa brought the girls a new car and new play kitchen, along with some other things they specifically asked for (like Stompeez.....dang those TV infomercials!). Mom and Dad mostly got them stuff for the cold Montana winter. Grandma & Grandpa Taylor got them their guitars...which Scarlett is particularly fond of. She loves to rock out. And Mimi and Papa got them their cozy sleeping bags.

 

Some of the traditions we continue each year...

- The Elf on the Shelf "Sookie Cookie" is here for his 4th Christmas with the Viets. He doesn't show up until the tree is up, and he watches the girls every day until Christmas, and reports to Santa at night while they sleep. I sometimes catch the girls apologizing to the elf for something they've done, but in most cases they are tattling on one another.

- The first gift under the tree is our "Gift to Jesus". For family night we each think of things that we are going to do for others as our gift to Jesus, then write them down (or color a picture) and put them in a gift box. The girls usually have relatively easy ones. Lydia went through all her toys and filled 2 large bags of things to donate to Helping Hands. Claire picked out a gift to donate to the Angel tree at school. And Scarlett helped me make simple treats for the bus driver and the mailman. Josh and I try to push ourselves just a little bit more, and its very rewarding in the end.

- On Christmas Eve I prepare a batch of Debbie Viets's cinnamon rolls to bake in the morning. They are never as good as hers, but they're still pretty good.

- Christmas is always at our house. After 2 kids, we resolved to never travel for Christmas again, and it has been so nice. Christmas takes alll day long to get through, because we get to take our time and aren't rushed to be anywhere or host anyone. The house is a mess and we love it. Its ours. It's a very Viets Christmas :)

Yes, I have FOUR girls!

The week after Thanksgiving we had the most important doctor's appointment ever. We were going to find out the sex of our baby. We were very anxious about this because, as mentioned earlier, this is probably our last baby, and we really really hoped for a boy just so that we could have that sense of closure that we really are finished. We took the girls out of school so that they could come see a video of the new baby, and that made this very special for all of us.

Although common sense led us to believe we were having another girl, we still looked at ANY other possble signs that this would be a boy. My cravings were different, I was a little more sick in the first trimester, and - most significantly - my girls had prayed for a brother. SO I thought - well, there's still a chance!

The ultrasound technician started the scan and went right to the baby's bottom to check the sex.....It's a Girl! (and she really didn't sound excited either). Josh and I were just silent. Our hearts sank a little. Josh's only comment was "Well..guess we'll have to try again"...(to which I gave him a nasty glare). But then we pretended to be really excited because Lydia and Claire were there, and they were disappointed too. We watched our little daughter's movements on the big screen, watched her hiccups, watched her kicks, watched her scratch her little head, and are proud to say that she is a perfectly healthy baby, growing a little ahead of schedule. We are so SO blessed.

But...I still had to cry a little. Especially being so hormonal. I cried into Josh's shoulder. I cried into my best friends shoulder, who has all boys and understand what its like. What its like to have people comment all the time on your family. "Aww...your poor husband" or "So...you're still trying for a boy, huh". Or that everyone you've ever met wants to know the sex of your baby more than anyone elses, so there's about 250 people that I have to tell "No, we aren't ever going to have a son". And then there's my husband. I must admit that one of the great joys of having daughters is doing things with them that I did when I was a little girl - watching Beauty and the Beast, collecting Barbies, doing dance and soccer,..the list goes on. But Josh won't have a son to share his baseball card collection with. Or to coach his football team. We had a long drive to Dallas later that day and had time for all of this to sink in, and it really was a tough day for us.

Then our mom got sick. Very sick. We got word while we were in Dallas that our Mimi was in the hospital after having a stroke, and they had found a brain tumor. A malignant, cancerous SOB. We drove from Dallas up to Kansas to be with her. My mother in law raised 5 boys and never got the daughter her heart desired. When I walked into the room she just put her hand on my belly and said "Oh sweetie.. I've been there... I used to wear trench coats when I was pregnant just to avoid the comments".  As ill as she was, she was able to make me smile, and I couldn't help but think of her life and her amazing family. I realized in that moment that she hadn't missed a thing by having all boys. Her experience was different, but still just as wonderful and fulfilling as if she'd had a girl in the mix. Because she was a great mom.

So now we're "over it". Josh was over it a lot quicker than I was, as men usually are, and he is so excited about our upcoming move to Montana, and taking his girls hiking and fishing and camping. Now I do feel silly about getting so emotional over something that is so...petty. But a pregnant woman has a right to do that :)

Our fourth little angel will be here April 10th! (Well, probably a few days early)

Dallas and the Great Wolf Lodge

We made another trip to Dallas for Josh's follow-up appointment for his hip surgery. This time we decided to bring the kids and have a mini-vacation at the Great Wolf Lodge. There was much fun to be had this holiday season.

 

The hotel was just down the road from Bass Pro Shops - which is one of Josh's all-time favorite stores. Fortunately, there is also a lot there to keep the kids entertained.

 

They picked out their Christmas gifts

...in 10 years maybe.

 

They made snowman ornaments

 

and they went for a ride on the reindeer carousel

We then did some shopping at the Grapevine Mills outlet mall, and went to see The Rise of the Guardians in the dine-in theater

 

It was at the Great Wolf Lodge, however, where the girls had the most fun

Every night they had storytime in the lobby, where all the kids gathered in their PJ's to watch a short animatronics show, listen to a story, and meet a costumed character. And the best part was...SNOW in the lobby! They had "snowmakers" high on the ceiling that dispersed snow throughout the lobby, in the form of foam/bubbles.

Great Wolf is mostly known for its awesome indoor waterpark, which makes it such a popular destination in the winter months.

 

The girls tested all the slides..

and they floated the lazy river...again and again

 

And we made waves in the wave pool

And as often as they could...they wore their wolf ears and wolf tails... and howled like little wolf pups. Love it!!!!!

Josh's hip surgery

About 8 or 9 years ago Josh started having sharp pains in his hip joint. It wasn't constant - sometimes it would disappear for months or years and then flare up again. He's had MRI's done and nothing showed up. He went to physical therapy and that seemed to help temporarily. Then last year when he started training for triathlons he noticed it a lot more, and the pain was severe enough he wanted to finally do something about it. So he went to an orthopedic here in Midland and from his Xrays and MRI they noticed he had a torn labrum, and that part of his femur was irregularly shaped and cutting into the labrum and tissues of the hip joint. Or something like that...

 

So we were referred to a doctor in Dallas who would perform a hip arthroscopy - a procedure that few doctors are specialized in. It was a pain to get this thing scheduled and approved because our insurance company thought it was "experimental" or something, and also because the one doctor who did these surgeries was also the team physician for none other than the DALLAS COWBOYS. Yeah. As a true fan, Josh completely understood that Dr. Muller would be busy tending to Dez Bryant's ankle or Jason Witten's shoulder...so we waited months to finally set a date.

 

Josh went in for sugery the week before Thanksgiving. His mom came to Midland and stayed at our house with the girls, while Josh and I spent a couple days in Dallas.

The surgery was a success!

 

Of course, we were both a little nervous moments before the surgery, but had confidence in the surgical team. We said our goodbyes, and like 20 seconds later the anesthesia kicked in and Josh was out. He barely even remembers rolling out into the hallway to go the OR. I was anxious because it was a 2-1/2 hr surgery, plus extra time to let him "wake up" before they'd let me come see him. Lots of waiting in the waiting room.  

 

After the surgery, it took a while for Josh to recover. They couldn't give him a lot of morphine while the anesthesia was still wearing off, so he was in a lot of pain, and very uncomfortable for the 2-3 hours following the surgery. Then he was just tired. But we had eachother and that was nice.

 

We later met with the doctor to discuss the surgery and he said everything went well and is repaired, but that they found a problem that hadn't been diagnosed with the MRI and other tests before surgery. When they were repairing the labrum they encountered a lot of these little foreign bodies all tangled up in his hip joint. They're basically pieces of cartilage, but there's no clear explanation of why they are there. But thankfully they are gone now, and the doc says "..yeah, you had a reason to be in a lot of pain"

 

So now he has recovered. He was on crutches for only a week (one of the longest weeks of my life!) and now is able to resume all of his regular activities with the exception of running and certain exercises, which he'll take a break from for 6 months.

 

Then, its time to train for the Ironman :)

Family Pictures 2012

 

 
 

Well it's no wonder God continues to bless us with girls. We really do make little angels :)