"Friends are the bacon bits in the salad bowl of life."

I saw that quote the other day. I don't know who said it... but I like it.

It has been a beautiful week here in Pittsburgh. Seriously. The weather has been in the mid-70s all week, not too hot, not too humid... and the leaves are starting to turn colors. And there are a LOT of trees here. It really is so pretty.

We have had a fun week. The Maddie and Addie duo have had plenty more play time - I'm pretty sure we hung out almost every day this week. We played at a couple different playgrounds, got crafty and made some Halloween decorations, and went to Phipps Conservatory for storytime, which was super fun. Our relief society has a "play group" where moms can take their kids and we play at a different playground every Tuesday morning, which is fun for the kids to play and the moms to be able to talk to other adults for a while. It's a great way to get to know other sisters in the ward. Janelle (Addie's mom) and I also took the girls to a big "Just Between Friends" consignment sale on Neville Island in the North Pittsburgh area on Friday - which was pretty brave of us (the checkout line was an hour long...) - and we got some awesome deals. It was like a really big yard sale. And I just have to add a side note of how super grateful I am to have this wonderful woman named Janelle in my life. We met only a couple weeks ago at stake conference, and we have already become the best of friends - I honestly feel like I have known her my whole life. I know it was no coincidence that we met and became friends, and that our girls have so much fun together (most of the time... they are two years old after all ;) ). I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves each of us and knows the desires of our hearts.

In other news, I had my first day as the primary music leader today - and it actually went pretty well! I think I am going to really enjoy this calling. There are actually two of us, which will be nice because we will switch off every other week so one of us can attend Sunday school and relief society every other week. Sean says that I got a "cushy" calling, and... he is probably right. But you will not hear me complain :) especially since my last calling was the Visiting Teaching coordinator of apartment complexes..... Sean has evaded a calling thus far, but he has been called a marked man, so I'm sure it won't be long. He was, however, asked to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting today. He is a great speaker, and even if he is nervous, he always appears at ease when speaking in front of others. I'm just a little bit jealous of that quality. He spoke about the parable of the talents from the New Testament, and did really well.

Sean is continuing to study his life away, but we did manage to find time to do some fun things this week - we went to dinner at Five Guys and a Pirates game with our friends (Matt and Kristen McCullough) on Thursday, and then Sean went with the McCulloughs again on Saturday to a University of Pittsburgh football game. Matt McCullough is a third year law student and him and Sean have become good friends. Kristen and I have also become friends, because having your husbands in law school has a way of bonding you together! :) I will be honest and say that I spent way more time chatting with Kristen than watching the Pirates game... oops!

We also had dinner with our friends in the ward the Bellistons last Monday, and then they were kind enough to feed us again Friday night after Sean helped them pick up and move a piano. They are awesome people, and Madison has fun playing with their two kids as well. We feel so blessed to have already made such great friends. There really are so many great people in our ward.

A couple other random things before I wrap this up...

My visiting teaching companion and I did our first visit this month, and it turns out the sister we visit teach knows one of my best friends' (Syd Landeen I'm talking about you!) little sisters (Jac) - they were roommates at SUU. I got so excited talking to her about this, and a little homesick. When you are a Mormon and from Utah it is definitely a small world!

Also, Madison loves to sing these days. Her favorite songs are "You Are My Sunshine", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," "I am a Child of God," "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man," and the alphabet song. She sings them all around the house, and it is pretty dang adorable. She was singing I am a Child of God as we were walking around Trader Joe's the other day, just having a jolly old time. She also snuggled up into my lap the other day and requested that I sing You Are My Sunshine to her, and it melted my heart right to the floor. As much as I need to get a job so we have income coming in (and I am definitely working on that)... I can't help but be grateful for this time I have to spend at home and enjoy these precious moments.

Pictures from this week:

Watching the Packers vs. Seahawks game! Too bad they lost...

Addie and Maddie play time at the "Blue Slide" playground

 

Pirates game, ice cream cones, and a dinosaur shaped like a ketchup bottle.

 

 ...or is it a ketchup bottle shaped like a dinosaur...??

Downtown skyline

Tried out a new hairstyle and played dress-ups

We got to watch Addie for a couple hours at our house. Sean is always a favorite with the kiddos - he is the fun one around here. Especially when they get to ride the "bear!"

Storytime at Phipps Conservatory - they got to make apple trees, and plant basil! (That's what's in the paper bags)

Madison's homemade Halloween decorations we put on the fireplace - a pumpkin she colored/put stickers on, and cute little ghostie footprints! (Credit to Janelle and Pinterest for the ideas)

Videos

We have a super fun playground by our house - Madison loves the "circle" and the swings! (Please excuse my annoying noises in the background...)

Future soccer player in action!

Feeling more settled

Let me start out with saying that I hope nobody reading this is expecting long, insightful posts each time... if at all! This blog is more of a family journal than anything. But feel free to join us as we document some of the good and not-so-good that comes our way, and we try to figure it out.

Well, it has been a good couple of weeks. A bit less crazy than our first week here -- thank goodness. We are feeling a bit more settled in - most of our stuff is unpacked and put away, we have pretty much all our furniture except for like a nightstand and a side table in the living room - so we are feeling much better.

We must be feeling settled, because we have even ventured to have people over for dinner! We had the sister missionaries over last Monday. We love them. They live right down the street from us, so we have had the fun opportunity to get to know them and see them walking around town! We also had our cousins Erin & Rico (and baby Eloise) over for dinner tonight, which was so much fun. We have already planned our next get together which will most definitely be a Mormon Bridge game night (for the Merkleys that may be reading this - virtual high five!) It is so nice to have family in the area, and we are so very grateful for them.

A few fun things we have done the last couple weeks - Madison and I have visited a few playgrounds, a couple farmers markets, and we went to the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in Oakland (a couple blocks away from the law school) and the Water Steps in downtown Pittsburgh with our new BFFs, Janelle and Addie. (In case grandma and grandpa are reading this, BFF means "best friend forever." ;) ) Addie is Madison's age, and she and Madison hold hands and love each other half the time, and spend the other half the time yelling "MINE!" and swatting at each other. Overall, it's pretty dang cute.

We had a family date night last Friday in Squirrel Hill (right next to Swissvale where we live) at a place called the Cake & Cookie Stop and got some 60 cent cookies. They were yummmy! I splurged a little and got a "glob" which is essentially a cake cookie - two pieces of cake together with frosting in the middle. Yum.

The next day (yesterday) we worked off the cookies at our stake softball tournament though, which was really fun. Our stake (the Pittsburgh stake - there is also a Pittsburgh North and a Pittsburgh West stake) covers part of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. It was double elimination and unfortunately we lost our first two games..... but that's not what really matters, right?? We traveled about an hour to get to Washington, PA where we got together for softball, potluck lunch, and ice blocking. Madison even rode on an ice block, and I am so upset that I didn't get a video! I think the sister missionaries got a picture of her though, so we will have to get a copy from them.

We also got to talk to the Soderquist/Peterson family (my side) today, which was so great. I was so happy to see the faces of all the people I love so much, and to help sing happy birthday to the family birthdays this month (including Sean!) We love and miss all of our family so much. But we are so grateful to be here and we know that this is where our family is supposed to be right now.

Sean has now attended three weeks of law school (four if you count orientation week) and is hanging in there - there is so much reading to do! Luckily we have netflix to keep me occupied. :) He is a trooper though and is doing his best to stay on top of things, and somehow manages to still be a wonderful dad and husband. Madison loves when he comes home from school and wrestles her around for a while - I think it's a good outlet for both of them!

Madison is getting so big, I can't believe it. She came home from nursery a couple weeks ago singing "the wise man built his house upon the rock!" doing the motions and everything. It is so fun to see her learning and growing. She learns new things and says new sentences every day. I find myself just laughing at her all the time (in a good way!) because I just think she is hilarious. Two year olds can be stinkers for sure, and Madison is definitely not an exception, but it is also such a fun and hilarious age. It is hard to describe the joy that she brings to our lives.

Overall, we are doing well and time seems to be flying already. I can't believe we are already halfway through September! We are so grateful for our wonderful ward who has welcomed us in with open arms, for new friends we have made, and for the tender mercies we receive daily.

Here are some pictures and videos from the last few weeks...

Cousin love! Madison and baby Eloise - her second cousin, once removed. Eloise looks frightened.

Caught in a rainstorm at the playground - we got soaked!

Madison and a huge fish at the zoo

Wearing a Badgers football jersey and snowpants... don't ask

 Madison and her new friend Addie at the Water Steps

Me and Addie's mom Janelle. I pretty much love this woman.

My two favorite people ever.

Got a new toy for the backyard (thank you craigslist once again) - and it was a success.

First day of Law School

Sean's first official day at Pitt Law!

(Madison was tired...it was early!)

And mom/Grandma left for the airport!

Panther Pride

Moving to Pennsylvania

WARNING: Long post ahead! Proceed with caution! (My posts will not all be this long I promise...)

Well... we made it.

We are here in Pittsburgh, and have made it through our first week. To say it has been interesting, would be an understatement.  We have spent a lot of money, a LOT of time driving, taking wrong turns and getting lost, and a lot of time cleaning and unpacking.  But I guess that is probably normal when you move across the country to a new place!

Sean and Clark (aka Super-Dad) got in late Friday night (the 15th), after driving for two days straight.  Saturday they unloaded the moving truck (a very quick deal with help from the awesome Elders Quorum here in our new ward!), at which point I sent them on a wild goose chase getting furniture off Craigslist from people in the surrounding area. And by surrounding area, I mean at least a half hour from where we live in three or four different directions... (oops!)... so they got to see a lot of countryside!

Madison and I flew in Sunday, leaving at 7:30am Utah time (9:30am Pittsburgh time) and walking off the plane at 11pm Pittsburgh time (5 hours after we should have arrived).  Let's just say it was a looong day, and I realized that it was possible to board a plane, and after sitting there for some time, be told to get back off the plane due to no pilot or crew. I also found out that I have the ability to carry a heavy sleeping two-year-old all the way to the back of a plane along with a diaper bag, backpack, two neck pillows, and a stuffed bunny.  So there's that!

(Let me mention I am very grateful that I didn't have to drive 28 hours with Madison. I would gladly take the flight delays over that! Sometimes I wonder just how in the world the pioneers walked across the plains with their babies, children, the elderly... I can't even imagine.)

The next few days were a whirlwind.  One of our first priorities was to buy a car, since we were currently renting one.  It turns out you have to have a Pennsylvania driver's license to register a car here, so after three trips to the driver's license division downtown, a lot of time and anxiety trying to figure out where to park in the city, and a trip to a credit union since you have to have either check or money order to pay for the license, I got my license.  And then after an hour-long drive to Apollo, PA to look at a car off Craigslist that we didn't end up getting anyway (and then driving back with a cranky toddler), turning up at a used car dealership that was randomly closed all day, and then driving to another one, we finally got our car. Pictured below is our 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe.

It ain't a Mercedes-Benz, but it is ours and we love it!

(The whining is almost over, I promise!!)

Then there was our duplex which, as much as we love it... was an old, dirty mess.  The kitchen cupboards, the fridge, the basement (oohhhh the basement...), the windows... not quite what I expected. Not to mention a broken hot water knob in the shower, no bathtub plug, a cobweb-infested unfinished basement with a hole in the window, a leaky faucet, many burnt out lightbulbs, doors and doorknobs that stuck, etc.  A lot of small problems, which all added up, and seemed very overwhelming to us.

Even trying to get our internet/TV set up was a joke due to some crazy old-home wiring in this place. We tried it on our own, and it didn't work, so Friday we had both the plumber and the cable guy here at the same time trying to help fix our problems!

So here's little old naive me, from little old Utah, I'm 23, having lived only 3 places in my life--home with my mom and sister, Sean's parents' basement apartment, and a nice apartment complex--and here I was, realizing for the first time I have to take care of a house, and having no idea how to go about tackling the job. And with Sean being in Orientation all week, I was feeling extremely overwhelmed.

Okay, now here are the tender mercies.

My wonderful, amazing, fabulous mother.  She flew in Thursday, and basically saved our behinds.  And/or kicked our behinds in motion.  What I was expecting: to fly in Sunday, get a car Monday, be at least half unpacked by the time I picked my mom up Thursday, and do some sightseeing with her over the weekend. What actually happened: we spent Friday and Saturday cleaning and unpacking just the kitchen, and she basically cleaned the entire nasty basement all herself.  I am totally kicking myself for not taking before and after pictures of our home!! She also helped with Madison, helped us figure out what we need to be aware of in a home, what we need to watch for, clean regularly, etc, and much, much more. We did get to go to the Pittsburgh Zoo on Saturday with Rico & Erin Snow (our Merkley cousins that live out here) which was super fun. Rico & Erin have definitely been another major blessing to us - they helped us get our apartment, looking through it for us and taking pictures, picking up our key, helping us move, giving us endless useful advice and information, and much more. We are definitely blessed with amazing family, there is no doubt about that.

Other tender mercies: the cable guy came out and got us all set up free of charge. The plumber also didn't charge us for the visit, and since he showed Sean what needed to be fixed and how to turn our water completely off (different in these old houses!) Sean was able to fix it himself and saved us the $250+ it would have cost to get that fixed by the plumber. Sean also fixed the hot water knob, and has become quite the handyman around here!

We also had some people stop by.  First, a couple from our ward came over to bring us a treat and welcome us to the ward, which was super nice of them. And then, the missionaries came over - and one of them was a cousin of mine! Elder Stowe (my second cousin I believe--Aunt Karen's grandson), along with his companion Elder Bailey and a set of sister missionaries stopped by to say hi, and we chatted with them for a while. It was so great. It was good to be reminded again of what is really important--the gospel, missionary work, service--and the little frivolous things I had been getting all worked up about seemed a lot less worrisome.

Other tender mercies include realizing that we had $100 on an IKEA gift card that we got when we were married (this helped with buying supplies since we sold everything before we came here!), kind people that helped me with my bags and with Madison on the flight over here, and many, many more things.

The last tender mercy that comes to mind is our great new ward, and especially a talk that was given on Sunday. One of those talks that I felt like was meant just for me. I have also been stressing out about the fact that I don't have a job yet, and wondering how things are going to pan out for our family. This talk was given by the bishop's wife, who is also a nurse, and she spoke about their move to Pittsburgh from Utah. How they dropped everything and sacrificed a lot, how neither of them had jobs for a while (and they had two kids), how hard it was, and the miracles that occurred and how much they have grown. I know Heavenly Father is mindful of my concerns and that He knew I needed to hear this talk. He knew I needed to be reminded to to put my complete faith and trust in Him. In this sister's talk she quoted scriptures from 3 Nephi 13:25-33. It says:

26 Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;

 29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.

 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

The job will come. We will have food, clothing and that which we need. We spent three years living with parents to save money for our time of need, which is another immense blessing. We can deal with whatever lies ahead, with His divine help. I know that if we are prayerful, faithful, and strive to do all we can to keep the commandments and build His kingdom, He will provide for us. Apparently I just need reminders every now and then. :)

I am so excited for this new experience and the challenges, growing experiences, and fun times that are ahead of us. I have stopped freaking out (to an extent) and have accepted the challenge ahead. Pennsylvania is a beautiful place to live, and it is filled with great people. And I can honestly say I LOVE our new home. I am super excited that Sean has embarked on his law education, and we will be here to support him every step of the way. He is my best friend, and the most wonderful, hard-working man I know. He is going to kill it.

Here we go!