Kids were home all week for fall break, they had a blast! The house was a revolving door of friends and activities. Having cousins live right next door at our guest house has made after school and break times one big party. We also watched the kids of our close family friends, our kids have known each other for years and we call them cousins. Their Dad is getting deployed for a year and we thought they needed a night away so we had a slumber party. Our kids had a blast. Unfortunately the cousins move out next month November 1st, so the ongoing party will soon change. We are super sad about it especially since my sister in law, Suzie is my closest friend in the ward. All my kids would say the same thing, that their cousins are their closest friends in the ward, bummer.
One of our foreign exchange students, Cindy, moved out fairly suddenly. She met a friend at school whose parents are from China, she is also an only child and they live in a four bedroom house. We think she wanted space, her own room and Chinese food, all of which we couldn't provide :) we were sad to say goodbye. I personally love when preschool kids leave my house crying cause they don't want to leave, so it was sad that she could leave so easily. Luckily we will see her around school. So glad we still have Beryl, she is super sweet and has really joined our family in activities and humored us on our craziness.
All week Bella and a good friend have been fixing up my parents old Ford Explorer, Nana calls it Black Beauty she hasn't run for nearly 7 years. Bella's friend got it running! It still will need more work, fingers crossed we can get it fully running by March.
Benjamin is continuing to work crazy hard on converting our tack room into a preschool room. We have already replaced the roof, taken down all the walls, installed windows and doors, built up the walls, installed electricity, framed a bathroom and on Saturday we installed water! My pick ax skills are mad, you need a lady to dig a trench I'm your gal! Benjamin's handy man skills are never ending! This week we hope to install insulation and drywall. I can not express how excited I am to get the preschool in its very own location and not sharing it in my home. It is going to be so sweet.
On Saturday, Bella and Olivia and their cousins threw a bon fire party, it was "lit". They had about 20 friends come out for smores. They even convinced their Dad and I to hide in the desert behind what we call "the creepy gate." Just down the road from us is a winding path that leads to this rock gate with metal skulls a top the gate. Its super creepy because its in a tunnel of mesquite trees and beyond the gate the path turns so you can't see where it leads too. Anyways we sneaked over there and hid and waited till they got there and came out running. It was great! Even the kids who knew we were doing it got totally spooked.
It was a great break and I am looking forward to a quiet Monday. at home with kids in school and preschool that starts Tuesday!
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Sunday, October 9, 2016
18th Anniversary
Benjamin and I celebrated our 18th anniversary on the 19th of September. Benjamin was born on the 1st and I was born on the 18th and when you add that together it makes 19. Our family was born on the 19th....SO cheesy and truly romantic. Benjamin just pointed this out to me when I told him I was posting about our anniversary. Cause next year will be our golden anniversary, 19 years on the 19th.
We went to our friends ranch and road horses to celebrate. We later ate at a yummy restaurant and went to the movies. It was a great day. Can't find a picture of us on the horses so a picture of us at the U of A vs BYU game will do. We had awesome seats due to my Father in law Ron, padded seats are a must. The cats lost but it was still a great game and night.
We went to our friends ranch and road horses to celebrate. We later ate at a yummy restaurant and went to the movies. It was a great day. Can't find a picture of us on the horses so a picture of us at the U of A vs BYU game will do. We had awesome seats due to my Father in law Ron, padded seats are a must. The cats lost but it was still a great game and night.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
A teenage driver in the house!
Bella got her permit after much hilarity. To celebrate I took her to my favorite breakfast joint Gus Balones, it is the best in Tucson literally the best. Benjamin and I once did extensive research on this. We have eaten at 6 different mom and pop breakfast joints and Gus wins hands down! I LOVE cinnamon rolls and theirs are hands down are amazing. Whoever is the baker there should get a raise. Every bread product that is on the menu is homemade. Yummo!
I am really impressed with the patience of other drivers as Bella is learning to drive. No body yet has rudely gestured or cursed at us, not even a honk. What nice citizens.
Somebody who was not a nice citizen was a parent driver at my kids school. I went to pick up Bella and Beryl after school hours and wasn't sure where they were at. If they were in front of the school or at the QT. So I didn't enter the pickup line in front of the school and paused my car by a red painted curb to shoot off a quick text to see where they were at. This lady pulled up next to me and was gesturing out of control. I thought I was being reprimanded by the chief of police. I thought wow what was her problem?! Then I thought oh she was behind me and must have been frustrated that I was pausing, well go around!!! Well she did that! How hard. For some reason I could let her craziness slip. She pulled into a parking spot and I pulled behind her and unrolled my window.....
She came out and I said with sincerity not sarcasm "I am so sorry for stopping in the parking lot" To which she reply "Well it was a red zone!" again I said "I am so sorry I was trying to reach my kids I wasn't sure where they were at" To which she reply's "Its ok, I understand it could happen to anyone" I then said "I will try to be more considerate next time"
Why did I feel the need to apologize? Was it me not wanting someone to be mad at me? Or was my apologetic attitude a mockery of her over reaction?,,,, You decide.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
First Day of School and Foreign Exchange Students
Kids have been in school for almost 2 months. Crazy how fast times flies. Since we moved we thought we should add a little more change had added two beautiful, smart and talented foreign exchange students from Shanghai, China. They both are only children so they are experiencing more change than us! The two are easy to love and we feel it is a blessing getting to know them. Holman, Parkin and Adrianna are all learning Mandarin so having caring "tutors" in the house has been most helpful.
Isabella is in the 10th grade! She is 15 and attends early morning seminary every morning before school. She is taking 4 AP classes. Mercy that is commitment! Her friends at school who are not LDS think she is amazing for outing more "school" on her plate. We think she is too! After this year she will be over half way through school. Basis senior year is shorter. I am already getting choked up thinking this smiling giggly girl will be moving on to brighten someone else's life....sigh time does fly.
Jiating Tong also known as Cindy, is bright outgoing and funny. She is 16 years old and is a Junior at Basis High School. She jumps right in to new things. She speaks excellent English and is animated with fun stories. She has a heavy coarse load and is also on the Mock Trial team at school. We loved picking her up at the airport the excitement was tangible! She has beautiful long hair that I enjoy braiding, any braid looks good in it!
Adrianna is 6 years old and is in the 1st grade. Last year she was in half day kindergarten so I was worried how she would handle the longer day, but she has been doing great! Every morning I am at the church building running while Bella takes seminary classes, so Benjamin is left getting the youngest three ready for school. He does an awesome job on Anna's hair! She loves Mandarin, art and math but not humanities! 
Wenhui Sui known in America as Beryl. Not a very common American name! Beryl is fun and reserved at the same time, she expresses herself very comfortably and also speak excellent English. She is adventurous and has gone to two church dances and survived! She loves Art and is in the National Honors Art club as well as a Medical club that her and Bella take. Beryl also has a very hard course load, but even in a second language she is doing great!
Holman is now over at the secondary campus so he gets to go to school with his sisters although he arrives earlier and hangs out at the library till they are done. What a great kids he rarely complains about it :) Holman is 11 years old and in the 6th grade. He has transitioned to middle school quite nicely. He is mart and fun and always has something up his sleeve. He know owns an electric guitar so he will be pretty much unstoppable in a couple of years.
Parkin is 9 years old and in the 4th grade. He is the oldest at his campus, he is loved by all. He is clever and bright and very huggable. He loves the Chinese culture and would love to live in China some day and have a beautiful Chinese wife :) He wants Beryl and Cindy to hook him up. He is in cub scouts. Between Parkin, Holman and his two boy cousins who are staying in our quest house, they can play in the pool for hours. What makes them stay in there so long? We have a rope that expands the width of the pool and they just hang and hang. It is funny to watch!
Olivia is last just because she was the last person to take a photo. Olivia is 13 years old and in the 8th grade, I am not sure how that happened?! She will be 14 in December and able to go to the "lame" church dances! Olivia continues to kill school and I love reading her opinion pieces that she rights for archaeology class, she could have a blog with just those writings. Olivia taught her self how to play the ukulele, and has a most beautiful voice and talent. Poor girl, I make her play for me sometimes and find myself getting choked up at her awesomeness.
Thats my kiddos! Now before you think wow what a perfect family, make sure to remind yourself that everyone has struggles! This blog focuses on the things/events that bring me joy with the occasional affliction :)
Sunday, September 11, 2016
A birthday to remember. March 18th 2016
A couple of months ago my sisters and I were having a discussion on dreams that we always wanted. One of them asked me what my dream was. I was surprised by how choked up I got and I remember saying "some dreams have experations on them." I think some times its hard to identify what your dream is and for other people they think of their dreams non stop. My dream isn't some unrequited career (I do love my job) it isn't an academic goal ( I got by Bachelors, no small feet from a girl that had learning disabilities). I have 5 wonderful kiddos and a complimentary, compatible and uncannily devoted husband (both dreams that have come true). So my dream that had yet to be achieved was to own a bit of land and have a farm of sorts. Well we tried that dream and it crashed. Bought land, lived on it without electricity and running water for over 10 months. We had an army tent and small travel trailer and a port-a-potty. Then the bank industry crashed and they pulled our loan (even thought we never missed a payment, they just stopped offering us money to finish our house). We then sold our land at a loss and returned to Tucson with a mountain of debt and no land.
Little that I knew a couple weeks after I wrote my last blog post "a red letter day", we would have a new day to remember. I use to search real estate relentlessly. I always searched for properties in Tucson that have 3 acres or larger. I found one that I loved and had to see it. It was way over our price range but I had to check it out in person because it was in my favorite area. I talked with my fabulous sister in law Robin who is a realtor and showed her the property. She agreed that we should take a look. She called the realtors and it was being shown by appointment only. Robin also told me this was a serious listing and that the owners were only wanting to show the property to serious buyers and that we needed to have the financing approved before looking. So what does a phone call to a bank hurt? I talked to the bank gave them all our info and they ran the numbers. Since we knocked out our debt and like my last post said, saved a good chunk of money our credit scores were excellent. We actually qualified to buy the house! Thus we were able to look at the house. Convincing my husband about looking at this however was a different story. The house was listed on Wednesday March 16th. I talked to the bank on Thursday March 17th and my birthday was on Friday March 18th. Benjamin was serving as Bishop and had no intention of releasing himself with a move, and honestly I didn't either but something in me never wanted to give up on my dream. Since Friday was my birthday Benjamin consented to go look at the house. I loved it from the start from the drive up, to the house, the kitchen, living room, all of it! Benjamin thought is was cool looking but wasn't feeling it. Then we walked out to the back pasture and that is when I got him. He was like Lesley we can't afford this, right? I told him how I ran the numbers talked to the bank and we actually could. That is when the wheels started to turn and my dream became our dream.
We wrote our offer and a personal letter on Saturday and submitted it that Saturday evening March 19th. My brother John helped us write the personal letter and we hoped that by knowing us a little that they might see how much we would cherish their property We gave a full price offer but needed help with closing costs and also asked for time to sell our current house. They came back with not helping with closing or helping with closing but increasing the sale price and not making the sale of our home conditional on us buying theirs. We couldn't do any of their scenarios. So we didn't counter, The realtor called Robin and asked why we didn't counter she told them we gave the best offer we could from the very beginning because we loved the house. Their realtor suggested the owners hold an open house on Easter Sunday of all days March 27th and see what other offers they might receive.We prayed for it to work out but also wanted what God wanted for us so we were at total peace and believed if it was meant to be it would be.
The very next week Easter Sunday March 27th we got a call from Robin who said is Benjamin with you ? I said yes she said put the phone on speaker. Robin told us that the open house had over 30 families come and view it. But before they even opened the open house the owners met with the realtors and told them they didn't want to have the open house because they wanted to sell to the Howe family. They told the realtors that they are a prayerful family and feel like God wanted the Howe's to have the property and that there was no reason to have the open house. Are you kidding me?! We felt that God wanted us to have the house too! They took our original offer! The husband was nervous about waiting for us to sell our house but the wife insisted that it would all work out. And it did!
According to our contract we had one week to get our house up and listed. We had to have it listed by April 1st and we had to have it sold by May 31st. We were right in the middle of a kitchen remodel so we had to get the kitchen ready, paint all the rooms and bathrooms and replace carpet in the master bedroom all in a week! By another miracle we were able to do it! In large part due to Robin(the realtor who also paints) , John, Hillary and Barbara, Peter, Dan, Melissa, my Mom and Dad (my dad helped us bang out the kitchen his expertise was invaluable!). The house was ready but would it sell? And in sell in time of the May 31st due date?
Further proof that it was all meant to be is that a friend heard on Facebook that we were moving and called to talk to Benjamin about coming to see the house because his family was looking for a new place. This friend came and saw the place before it was listed and put an offer on our house just days after it was listed. We had one person look at the house! We had others call to come view it but it only takes one and Heavenly Father helped put that one early on in our count down. The best part was that this family would join our old ward. Benjamin as bishop would always joke, families can move out of the ward but please replace your family with others members so that the ward won't get smaller.
Appraisals of both places came in exactly where we needed them and we closed on May 31st! These are pictures of our dream house, better than we originally imagined. We have a pool, stables, a guest house and its even in Tucson not on the outskirts of town...Our dream come true. My daughter Olivia thinks I am bragging with this post, but I just never want to forget the miracles we have received. These pictures are the listing pictures so just picture our current house with not as cool of furniture :)
The main house has four bedrooms
Pictures of the guest house
Little that I knew a couple weeks after I wrote my last blog post "a red letter day", we would have a new day to remember. I use to search real estate relentlessly. I always searched for properties in Tucson that have 3 acres or larger. I found one that I loved and had to see it. It was way over our price range but I had to check it out in person because it was in my favorite area. I talked with my fabulous sister in law Robin who is a realtor and showed her the property. She agreed that we should take a look. She called the realtors and it was being shown by appointment only. Robin also told me this was a serious listing and that the owners were only wanting to show the property to serious buyers and that we needed to have the financing approved before looking. So what does a phone call to a bank hurt? I talked to the bank gave them all our info and they ran the numbers. Since we knocked out our debt and like my last post said, saved a good chunk of money our credit scores were excellent. We actually qualified to buy the house! Thus we were able to look at the house. Convincing my husband about looking at this however was a different story. The house was listed on Wednesday March 16th. I talked to the bank on Thursday March 17th and my birthday was on Friday March 18th. Benjamin was serving as Bishop and had no intention of releasing himself with a move, and honestly I didn't either but something in me never wanted to give up on my dream. Since Friday was my birthday Benjamin consented to go look at the house. I loved it from the start from the drive up, to the house, the kitchen, living room, all of it! Benjamin thought is was cool looking but wasn't feeling it. Then we walked out to the back pasture and that is when I got him. He was like Lesley we can't afford this, right? I told him how I ran the numbers talked to the bank and we actually could. That is when the wheels started to turn and my dream became our dream.
We wrote our offer and a personal letter on Saturday and submitted it that Saturday evening March 19th. My brother John helped us write the personal letter and we hoped that by knowing us a little that they might see how much we would cherish their property We gave a full price offer but needed help with closing costs and also asked for time to sell our current house. They came back with not helping with closing or helping with closing but increasing the sale price and not making the sale of our home conditional on us buying theirs. We couldn't do any of their scenarios. So we didn't counter, The realtor called Robin and asked why we didn't counter she told them we gave the best offer we could from the very beginning because we loved the house. Their realtor suggested the owners hold an open house on Easter Sunday of all days March 27th and see what other offers they might receive.We prayed for it to work out but also wanted what God wanted for us so we were at total peace and believed if it was meant to be it would be.
The very next week Easter Sunday March 27th we got a call from Robin who said is Benjamin with you ? I said yes she said put the phone on speaker. Robin told us that the open house had over 30 families come and view it. But before they even opened the open house the owners met with the realtors and told them they didn't want to have the open house because they wanted to sell to the Howe family. They told the realtors that they are a prayerful family and feel like God wanted the Howe's to have the property and that there was no reason to have the open house. Are you kidding me?! We felt that God wanted us to have the house too! They took our original offer! The husband was nervous about waiting for us to sell our house but the wife insisted that it would all work out. And it did!
According to our contract we had one week to get our house up and listed. We had to have it listed by April 1st and we had to have it sold by May 31st. We were right in the middle of a kitchen remodel so we had to get the kitchen ready, paint all the rooms and bathrooms and replace carpet in the master bedroom all in a week! By another miracle we were able to do it! In large part due to Robin(the realtor who also paints) , John, Hillary and Barbara, Peter, Dan, Melissa, my Mom and Dad (my dad helped us bang out the kitchen his expertise was invaluable!). The house was ready but would it sell? And in sell in time of the May 31st due date?
Further proof that it was all meant to be is that a friend heard on Facebook that we were moving and called to talk to Benjamin about coming to see the house because his family was looking for a new place. This friend came and saw the place before it was listed and put an offer on our house just days after it was listed. We had one person look at the house! We had others call to come view it but it only takes one and Heavenly Father helped put that one early on in our count down. The best part was that this family would join our old ward. Benjamin as bishop would always joke, families can move out of the ward but please replace your family with others members so that the ward won't get smaller.
Appraisals of both places came in exactly where we needed them and we closed on May 31st! These are pictures of our dream house, better than we originally imagined. We have a pool, stables, a guest house and its even in Tucson not on the outskirts of town...Our dream come true. My daughter Olivia thinks I am bragging with this post, but I just never want to forget the miracles we have received. These pictures are the listing pictures so just picture our current house with not as cool of furniture :)
The main house has four bedrooms
Thursday, March 3, 2016
A Red Letter Day
This week has been a week. I had the privilege of teaching 33 of the best preschool kids in the city. I had a YCL meeting on Tuesday at my house, an Activity Day meeting at my house on Wednesday, Thursday night I had a Relief Society meeting where I played a part in a play and interpreted (rather poorly) for a deaf sister. Poor Benjamin has been putting long hours in at work racing to get a program done which his team has been under the gun for. Friday night I get the honor of babysitting overnight four cute kiddos and feed four Elders dinner. On Sunday we have a Sunday Evening Discussion for the youth of our ward at our house....Its been a week.
Its also been a week because 16 months after we paid our last payment to the bank that shall never be mentioned... We have managed to save 6 months worth of monthly expenses. This is a day that I thought was near impossible. We had of course unexpected things come up, the biggest being the need to replace our roof, ouch that one hurt. But we have learned AGAIN "with God all things are possible."
I started this post off with marking all the things we had to do this week because I don't want to forget the sacrifice needed for great things to happen. I want to remember years from now that anything worth achieving takes time, sacrifice and hard work. Life is hard it does take work, but miracles happen along the way especially when you help and serve as much as possible. Its been a week.
Its also been a week because 16 months after we paid our last payment to the bank that shall never be mentioned... We have managed to save 6 months worth of monthly expenses. This is a day that I thought was near impossible. We had of course unexpected things come up, the biggest being the need to replace our roof, ouch that one hurt. But we have learned AGAIN "with God all things are possible."
I started this post off with marking all the things we had to do this week because I don't want to forget the sacrifice needed for great things to happen. I want to remember years from now that anything worth achieving takes time, sacrifice and hard work. Life is hard it does take work, but miracles happen along the way especially when you help and serve as much as possible. Its been a week.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Its great to be 8, especially when you're Parkin!
Parkin is a love. He is so good at showing affection and sharing it. I hope as he matures that he still can be so honest with his feelings. Right now he does not get embarrassed or hold back. He is genuine and full of love. Parkin's birthday in May 3rd the baptism for our stake were held on May 2nd, he missed it by a day! So he had to wait a month, that was very hard for him. June 5th was when he got baptized, luckily it took place in the morning so he didn't have to wait too long that day.His baptism was surrounded by friends and family who came to support him. We were able to hold a celebration in the church gym so that everyone who came could enjoy a cinnamon roll and light brunch.
Parkin I love you and am so glad you are in our family. You have been known to ask real deep questions about the gospel and you want to make sure that your beliefs are sincere. You have walked by faith, don't forget to keep doing that! Parkin share his growing testimony often in church what a great example you are to me and your siblings. One of the best examples you are to me, is in your diligence in prayer. You cannot go to bed without saying your personal prayers. That is an act of faith and diligence. We love you, we love how you love and I look forward to seeing you grownup into a compassionate, strong, faithful and intelligent man. You are doing great and are more than good enough!
Parkin I love you and am so glad you are in our family. You have been known to ask real deep questions about the gospel and you want to make sure that your beliefs are sincere. You have walked by faith, don't forget to keep doing that! Parkin share his growing testimony often in church what a great example you are to me and your siblings. One of the best examples you are to me, is in your diligence in prayer. You cannot go to bed without saying your personal prayers. That is an act of faith and diligence. We love you, we love how you love and I look forward to seeing you grownup into a compassionate, strong, faithful and intelligent man. You are doing great and are more than good enough!
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