Catching up

Gosh, It has been a while since my last post. I so wanted to be better at this and was for a while, but things have gotten pretty heavy here over the last week. There are so many things that have happened. I will go threw a few here to update: Starting with happy or light hearted news to the hard news.

1.Jacob has been wearing me out. He is definitely ready for school or something of the sort. He wants to learn to read so I will start teaching him now. He has his numbers down, colors, and is quite a critical thinker. You would not know that when he is doing swan dives off of the side of the couch into a nearby chair, but he is. I guess it goes to show that he is quite a balanced little booger. He says something brilliant and then does something insane. Somehow I identify.

2. I got my hair cut last Saturday. I loved it in the salon, hated it a day later and now love it again a week later. All in all, exactly the way my haircuts go. The length is still long, and I am still my dark color, but I got bangs and I think that they are pretty cool. I think I look international with them. Ha, don't make fun of me saying international. Maybe even Italian.. Magari (I wish)! Be kind if you disagree. I cant glue the hair back on.

3. Rick got to go back to Seattle to do recruiting at the University of Washington (His Grad School). I was jealous but I just rented tons of movies, shopped a little and played with Jacob for the 4 days that he was gone. I can always keep myself busy without Rick but I so prefer to have him with me. I miss my best friend when he is gone. He got to stay with Kevin and Steph (friends there) and see Geoff & Kim, and his buddy Kevin. I wish I could have gone to see everyone too but I could not make the trip. I would have spend the whole time talking to friends and walking on the beach! He had a ball and it made us both miss Seattle. This is Jakie sending Daddy off to Seattle:

4. Saddest News: Rick got a call while in Seattle that changed us forever. His father (mentor, leader and hero) was diagnosed with Cancer (not sure which kind yet) in an advanced stage. We are not sure about all of the major details (those will come shortly) but just the knowledge that He is not well was enough to send us to our knees. Rick has been so lucky to have a person that lead him and guided him along side his Mother. He has been a true example of what a father should be. We are all hoping for the very best and thank all friends (that know already) for their prayers and support. We have a unique situation because his father is every bit as much of a father to me. I worry for him the way that any daughter would worry for her own father. I was blessed when I got Rick and double blessed when I got Rick's family. They have been wonderful and made me feel truly Shumway!! I have a special connection with Dad and have always adored him. His motto when I dated/was engaged to/ and married Rick (all about the same time!) was "whatever Sarah wants she can have". Who could not adore that! Just kidding. I just love when I get to sit and talk about things. I always learn something from him. I am praying and having faith that I will have much more time to come. Rick and I will be flying home to Utah on the 21st of this month (Oct) to spend time with the family. We will be there together for a week or so and then Rick will return home for work, etc. I will be staying in Utah until the 19th of November to allow Jake more time with the family and Grandpa. Jakie has a gift for cheering others up and Grandpa sure loves his little Jakie boy! I am looking forward to getting to see Dad and soak up time with the family. We will keep you posted on progress, etc as I know many know Rick's Dad and have loved him when they got to know him.

Wouldn't this face make you smile!!!

5. Sad News again: Rick's Grandfather (his name sake: Richard Phil Shumway) passed away in the early morning. Rick is devastated to miss his funeral but knows that the family with know how much we miss him. He has been a wonderful influence on our lives and a bright spot in the family. Grandfather will be missed and we will rush to see Grandmother on arrival in Utah. We love her and know that she misses him dearly. I have not doubt that we know exactly where he is though. A righteous man of his caliber could go no other place. He will do for us on the other side now and I feel lucky to have known him while on the earth. I wish to be like him and I wish to make others feel loved as he has. I will have Rick blog about a few stories that I am sure will make you laugh. He was a wonderful man.

My Little "Fly Boy"

So, if you are laughing at the picture I posted here then you are just like me. I had to go and look for a scarf at a store near by store today and as I contemplated the impact of each colorful scarf, I heard a little voice say, "hey momma, I am coolie". I looked around and this is what I saw:

Ha!!!! I laughed so hard when I saw him that the whole store turned around and laughed as well. In case you cant see very well, he has 4 pink pimpin' hats on (stacked) and a pink peace chain around his neck!

He thought he was so funny that he went and put on a pair of black heels and walked around like that for a bit. He makes me laugh every day. How did I ever get so lucky to have such a funny, sweet, and utterly adorable little boy??!!

Other than that little moment, there is not much going on. I am following Fox news every day to see where this darn economy goes, cleaning, banking, disciplining and working out. Sounds mundane but I am always busy and love what I do. Rick is gone on business until tomorrow (4 days total) and we cant wait for him to come home. I miss my best friend when he is gone! I feel so lucky that he is mine! Mushy, I know, but true.

There is more to write and now that my Primary calling is on track, I am sure that I will blog more. I have missed it and I miss all of you!

Angry Blogger

Sorry for the amount of time it has taken to get back to blogging. I have been so busy with my calling and just trying to keep up. There has been so much going on that I could not possibly catch up. Suffice it to say that I have mostly been listening to FOX network (I am super into the political shows), cleaning, cursing Obamas campaign, enjoying new friends, adoring Jacob, disciplining Jacob, and trying to convince him that if he would just crap in the potty his bum would not burn. I don't get why he wants to go in the diaper and cry when I change it. Anyway, Good times folks!

Caution: This is an angry portion of the blog!
The biggest thing thing for me this week is the realization this week that we are freaking poor!! Yep, it took until now to realize that. It took finding a house that I love that is totally in our "price range" and wanting to buy it to figure that out. We went and looked at it, dreamed about it and came home to do the finances to put in an offer before we realized that we can't afford it. Well, cant afford it and keep savings and be responsible! We could swing it but life would suck after ward.

I was so bummed, then angry!! Angry that we have done everything by the books. School, working, paying taxes, working so hard and then when we should be able to make it, the economy screws us. The very day that I find a house, the economy goes in the tank and all funding that would have helped is gone. I resent our leaders that made this happen. I so hope that McCain and Paylan are elected (Sorry to our democrat friends and family, but it is true, I am republican)!

I am sick of government saying that if we work less, do less, and stay needy that they will fund us. What is wrong with working hard in life?? It is never easy. We have sacrificed more than should have been possible at times, but we did not give up and suck the system. Working 15 hours with a new born and never seeing my husband to both work and make the bills is a major sacrifice. School debt to be self sufficient is a major sacrifice. It is just frustrating to see folks that took the easy route here afford homes, new cars, etc. on tax money and we cant afford a home. I am so afraid of a system under Obama that offers more government involvement and less incentive to do well. I don't dislike Obama the man, I dislike Obama the mentality. I really hope people become aware of what we are in for if they win. I have a feeling that we will not have a home for a while if they do.

I don't want to disrespect anyone choices politically if there is a reader that disagrees. I just needed a forum to vent. Rick is sick of hearing about it already! Ha! At least I have the faith that tithing and obedience to the gospel will offer blessings and eventually we can have what we want/need.

My mom said something wise: "the worst thing you can do is force things! You don't want to do something that wont just work out". She is pretty smart so I think I will take her advice and go in to the 3rd stage of denial and finally just accept it. Anyway, hope your home hunts are going better than ours. Wish us luck. Love you all!!

Oh Deer!

Hey Everyone!

I was doing the dishes this morning and looked out of the window to see this: I love Pittsburgh. I live in an area that is surrounded by woods and it is no strange thing to look out of any window (or as you are driving) and see wild turkey, deer, bunnies, bull frogs, robins, butterflies, fireflies and all sorts of wild life that I never saw in the west (near home atleast). Jakie loves it and looks for animals everyday. I saw one, then the second, and then the third. Arent they beautiful. They were about 4& 1/2 ft tall. Quite large for females. We love our little animal wonderland here. I would say my favorite are the deer. I probably see them on a daily basis. Awe, arent they cute?

Lions And Tigers And Bears, Oh My!

I was able to take Jacob to the Zoo today for a "Safari," as Jake would call it. Jacob loves it there and it is so fun to see him get excited. He loved seeing the animals play and just enjoy the great afternoon outdoors. I had a great time too until lunch, or, otherwise known for us as danger zone. Danger of melt downs. I am 90% happy during this time as Jakie is such a good boy, but man, that 10% of the time that Jake looses it sucks. Well, today was the worst of the 10%. Jake fell and scraped his knee pretty badly and I ened up with a crying mess. Oh well, atleast it was just at the end of the day. Here is a look at what we got to see on our "safari".

Grandma And Grandpa Visit

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit us a week ago (August 30-Sept 4th) and it was so fun. We love to have family and friends come and see us. It is always amazing how comforting it is to have parents come and stay. I feel so protected and like everything will be just great. Thanks for taking the time to visit Mom & Dad! You can come back anytime. That extends to all friends and family. Here is a run down of the fun that we got to have at home, Gettysburgh, PA and Valin (Amish country). Wish you were there too!

Blonde Joke

Hey everyone,

So, I have been so busy and just wanted to say that I will blog later today. I have a ton to tell about. I just wanted to post this funny joke that I found on a friends blog. Isn't it hysterical. I think this is my favorite blond joke I have ever heard. Do you know any funny blond jokes? Talk to you again soon!