Long time, no post

Here's an update on our life that we don't always think is blog worthy. I am trying to do it through pictures, but we are still bad a picture taking. This summer David worked with a judge in Asotin County and an attorney in Clarkston, Washington. I worked for the school district moving classrooms, cleaning, and lots of other dirty work.  I did enjoy my job though because I got to spend a lot of time with a good friend here in Moscow and the double paycheck was nice. My friend helped me win tickets on the radio to Rendezvous in the Park, an annual concert here in Moscow. It was a fun time!

David and his classmate won best briefs in Idaho ( I am too lazy to go look up what the real title is). They were presented the award at orientation this fall. I am so proud of how hard he is working. This year David is on law review, is a writing T.A., and does some research for an attorney all on top of his class load. I got a teaching job!! I had 3 interviews this summer in different neighboring towns and all of them ended with me feeling that I did really well and then I'd receive a rejection phone call. They always told me something like, "you were our next pick", or "we think you'd be fabulous on our team". Umm... So give me the job? haha It was pretty discouraging to say the least. The first week of school, the vice principal of my current school called up and told me they decided to hire an eighth,  sixth grade teacher. They needed to start the year off with a sub until they could hire for the position and asked if I would do it. I of course accepted and subbed the first week of school not knowing if these would be "my" kids.  That Friday was my interview. I was definitely a nervous wreck because I wanted the position so badly. I was also very nervous to discover that my friend was on the interviewing committee. Anyway, I don't remember the questions or how the interview went, but I was very relieved to get a phone call offering me the position that evening! I am teaching 6th grade geography and math. Middle school is a big change from elementary school, but I am happy for the experience and my great kiddos.

 

 

David and I got to visit Kallie and Rayden in Lemoore, CA for a whole week over Thanksgiving! We flew from Spokane to SLC to Fresno, where Kallie picked us up. Ben and Kamille drove all the way down from Moses Lake to be with us too. Ryan is in Afghanistan, we miss Kallie and Rayden, and we haven't visited since they moved to California, so we felt this trip was overdue. We had a blast! One day we spent at Fresno's Zoo. It was fun to watch Rayden's excitement! Rayden and Kamille fed a giraffe with Ben's help.

Rayden attacked  pet some animals at the petting zoo part.

See I am at the zoo too. :) Rayden loves Thomas the Train and kept finding all of the "tunnels".

Driving a tractor!

We also went to a yummy tepanyaki place for dinner. The chef was funny and entertaining.

Kamille and I went with Kallie to a doctor appointment. She got an extra ultrasound because we were there visiting. :) The doc even printed out extra pictures of baby Aleta for Kamille and I. I know that you can't see well, but the left shows her hand and the second is her face and normal heartbeat.

We did some sister Christmas crafting.

Thanksgiving spread. We made TONS of food and then all left the next day. Rayden and Kallie probably still have leftovers!!

Two turkeys watching the "puppies" out the window.

This summer I got two steals of a deal on Craigslist. I bought this piano from an estate sale for 85 bucks! It ended up being kinda a crazy experience and thanks to some incredibly nice people in our ward, we got it moved into our place.

I also bought this bad boy for 80 bucks and the lady brought it over in her own truck! Love it.

Christmas is here!

Another craft! Anyway, we are alive and well. David's first final is Monday and in three weeks I'll be on break as well. :)

Redo

David and I found some chairs when out on a jog that were free and decided to make them over. We carried them home. After much sanding, scrubbing, steaming, priming, painting, cutting, upholstering, and screwing back together, they turned out pretty nice! 

Mad Skills

idea

My relief society president asked me to update our bulletin board. I was slightly overwhelmed because the other ward that uses the same room put up a pretty impressive display. I saw this idea at http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRgHcdXKDAo/TGR1QsnIoXI/AAAAAAAAAIs/xbdkFjCNrrc/s400/bulltn_board_tree1.jpg that I thought would look really cute and I tried to mimic it. David cut out the bird and spray painted the trees I made. The printable I found here http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LRgHcdXKDAo/TGR1QsnIoXI/AAAAAAAAAIs/xbdkFjCNrrc/s400/bulltn_board_tree1.jpg. It had a bird, so I thought it was a match made in heaven (it also covered up a pretty bad glue mess..haha). It is a quote by Lucy Mack Smith that says, "We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another, and gain instruction that we may sit down in heaven together." MU2 is our ward... Moscow University 2nd ward. I feel like it turned out pretty great. What do you think?

my version

Spoiled!

David and I are really blessed. I am trying to be more grateful and notice all of the many blessings we do have. Today I will share a few with you...

• We live only 2.5 hours from our parents, grandparents, and other family members! Before August, we lived 12 hours away. Last weekend we went home for a visit. We saw The Avengers, my Dad took me to get my hair cut and for a manicure, we ate lots of good food, and were able to spend time with lots of family for Mother's Day weekend. 

I took this at church last week. David and Dad are both wearing gray suits, white shirts, black shoes, and light blue & gray ties.

• Our apartment is spacious (compared to our last one ;) ). We have everything we need and a lot of things we don't need. We are even attempting a garden in the tiny space we kinda have (maybe I'll share that story another time). 

Ace, our pepper plant.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our potted flowers

 

Our garden isn't much... We'll see what happens!

• We now have two cars! Since we moved to Moscow, we've been a one car family. It forced us to be strategic, but I enjoyed spending car time with David dropping him off, picking him up, or usually him dropping me off, or picking me up.

 

Our new-to-us 98 Honda Accord Ex. The previous owner took good care of the car and we hope it will serve it's purpose!

• David has finished his first year of law school! That's 1/3 of the way done people! He is doing very well and enjoys it. He got an A in his two-semester Legal Research and Writing class, which is 5 credits and his teacher said his final brief was the best in the class. She's entering it into some kind of competition... I am really proud of his hard work. Getting an A in law school is pretty tricky stuff! He currently has an internship with the superior court judge over Asotin, Garfield, and Columbia Counties in Washington and is working hard.
 

• David's parents were very generous and bought us an air conditioner! I can't wait to use it... we just need to figure out how to install it.

•  I have a job. Although it isn't the job I want, I know of many others in this area that don't have any income. I am also fortunate to have a summer job lined up that will give us extra income (I still get paid for my current job through the summer). 

One of the things I don't need, but have... David got me a Kindle for our anniversary. I am enjoying the free ebooks from the library.

• We have the gospel of Jesus Christ! I am so grateful for the temple and prayer. mormon.org

 These are just a few things... We really are fortunate. What are you feeling blessed for today?

3rd Anniversary

 Then...

Now...

I love you, David!

Chelsea's Baby Shower

I helped my friend Thuy throw a baby shower for our friend, Chelsea. You can see some more pictures at http://atnelsonnest.blogspot.com/2012/04/chelseas-baby-shower.html?spref=fb
Congrats Chelsea! We are excited for you and Daniel!!

 I found the idea for the party favors on a blog.. and I can't find it again to give credit. It is brown paper with a cute stamp that I sewed jelly beans inside of!

Spring Break

Spring Break was a while ago, but we were able to go and see Brian Regan! We loved the show and had a good time.
We also got to spend the weekend with the Moses Lake family, which is always a treat.

Best part of my work day

My favorite part of the workday is when I am greeted by the happiest first grader in the world. He always says, "Hi Law", waves at me with the biggest smile, & points for me to sit down next to him. My little friend finishes his lunch and then we blow & pop pretend bubbles while we walk down the hall and out to recess. He says with great enthusiasm, "Oh no!" when we come to cracks in the asphalt, puts his arms up like, "what do we do?", and then jumps over them. He likes to count things, but gets bored after five or so. He pulls out his make believe map and we hunt for treasure and escape from Hook. He is Spiderman most days and shoots his web at crooks and other bad guys. He likes to tag other first graders (or me), but doesn't liked to be tagged. He likes to roll down the "hill", which is really a very gradual slope. He always has a gaggle of girls following him around and is constantly laughing and smiling. 

Today my friend ate lunch very fast and was outside before I was finished with the student I work with before him. When I got outside he handed me the tiniest flower bouquet. "Here Law. For yo-ou!" (Like these http://www.satsig.net/cycling-hungary/small-white-flowers.jpg). Then he motioned for me to follow. What a charmer. 


What is your favorite part of your workday?
 

taking the competition out of marriage

I saw this article and thought it was good advice.  I have the hardest time "doing what is right and good for [David]" when I am tired, grumpy, and/or had a bad day.

/http://drkellyflanagan.com/2012/03/02/marriage-is-for-losers/

Our Latest

David....

• made the Dean's List his first semester of law school and is ranked number 17 in his class of 126. 
• has applied for an externship in the area (we want in-state tuition for the next two years, so we are hanging around this summer).
• has taken up wood carving.
• still let's me cut his hair.
• rewarded himself by buying a new video game. I am just glad that he only plays occasionally.  :)

David's first carving project.

 Deidra...

• is still working as an instructional assistant at Lena Whitmore Elementary (I do Special Ed. math, reading, and writing pull-out groups with mainly 4th-6th graders).
• applied to work for the district as an Adventure Club leader for the summer. It's an after-school program and summer camp program for k-6 aged kids to have a safe, enriching environment on week days.
• is still hoping for job openings in the district, so I can teach next year!
• made some "baby aprons" aka bibs for friends who are new moms. I even made the bias tape on my own. Go me! 
• made some Valentine crafts to decorate our house this month.
• has been doing some card making.

We...

• gave talks in church a couple of weeks ago. Mine was on spiritual and physical preparation and David's was on the courage to stand alone. 
• started participating in ward choir.
• started counting calories and have a workout schedule... We are using www.myfitnesspal.com to track our calories and exercise.
• are enjoying being closer to Moses Lake. It's a 2.5 hour drive.
• got to visit our family last weekend for the long weekend. We loved going to the temple with my parents, visiting the Kofoed grandparents and the Law grandparents, and spending some time with our nieces and nephew.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is my valentine! :)




 

the week without work

It's true, I didn't work one day this week. I know that sounds really nice and in some ways it was, but in other ways it kind of wasn't.

It started Friday. Our kind friends invited us to McCall to their parent's sweet cabin. We rushed home from school and work and 15 minutes later they picked us up and we were on our way. Relaxing away from home is always nice. Saturday evening my throat started to hurt. Oh no! I am with a friends and their family members and I am sick. I don't want to get anyone sick, so I try to be extra sanitary. The weekend was still very fun... We played lots of Strut, Wizards, and other card games. We hot-tubbed, slept in, watched TV, played pool, and lounged around. Our friend's car couldn't make it up the driveway when we arrived and when we headed down to church on Sunday we slid off the road and got stuck. After we headed back to Moscow we had to go back because we forgot to turn down the heat. Good times! We really did have a fun time and I hope I didn't infect anyone!

MONDAY

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

No school

I am SO glad we had this day off because I woke up feeling awful. My throat continued to get worse, I now had a fever, headache, chills, and congestion. Darn viruses! It was so nice to have my sweet husband home with me to help take care of me. He made me herbal tea and soup. I didn't feel any better that night, so I put in for a substitute and whipped up some quick sub plans and emailed them to my supervisors. 

TUESDAY

Sick Day

David went to school. I stayed in bed. I drank massive amounts of herbal tea. I thought my fever was gone, but then David arrived and crushed those hopes by being realistic with me. I guess it was just wishful thinking. Who like being cooped up in the house?!

WEDNESDAY

Sick Day

Still feeling like death I stayed home again. Luckily for the kids they got the same substitute. This is the day our winter storm started going crazy! As I watched the snow continuously fall ALL day, I was shocked that school was still in session and nervous about the roads. Later that evening we were pleased to find out that it was a SNOW DAY(!!) for David and me on Thursday! My voice was basically nonexistent at this point.

 SNOW!

 Out our back door

 Out the front

 Measuring approximately 13.5 inches

THURSDAY

Snow Day

Although I wasn't feeling fabulous, it made me feel better to have David home with me. My fever was gone and we even got to run a couple of errands! Except the roads were crazy. You'd think that by 2011 a northern Idaho town would have figured out how to plow roads, but you'd be wrong... Part way through our errand run, the ice on the top of our car roof cracked and slid down onto our windshield. It was a lot of ice and I couldn't see anything. David kept driving, but I was nervous so I made him pull over. Bad idea! He cleaned it off quickly, but we were stuck. David dug around the tires with our scraper for quite some time before this nice lady and her two kids stopped and gave us a push. It was so nice! It took probably five tries to get up the hill to our house after that...

 It was snowing still when we got home. David quickly ran in to cut up and get all of our newly purchased meat in the freezer. I decided to chop away at all of the ice on our long, wooden staircase up to our doorstep with the snow shovel. I got it all off and cleared away, came inside, took off my coat and boots, and noticed my hands were REALLY red. I thought it unusually red, but tried to ignore it. I used the rest room and my hands started burning! I looked down and they were swelling super fast before my eyes. I was so freaked out! I hurried and got my rings off (thank goodness!) and put my hands under cold water. I slowly turned the water up until it was lukewarm, but not much was changing. My hands were huge, red, and shiny. It was the scariest thing. I tried to call my mom, but she was working. I called my dad and he was busy, but said to just warm them up gradually under water, so I kept doing that. The pain went away and slowly the redness, but the swelling took a lot longer to go down. IT WAS SO SCARY. I am happy to report that my hands are fine now, but I guess winter and I are bigger enemies that I had before thought.

My companion of the week

Later that evening we finished our puzzle of Las Vegas. I think we were dreaming off warmer places... :) Then we started watching a Red Box we'd rented when our power went out. I saw a huge flash of green light outside. It was crazy! We sat in the dark with a couple of candles lit for about forty minutes until it came back on. My school got cancelled again for the next day, but not David's. :(

 Our finished masterpiece

FRIDAY

Snow Day

The power had gone out again during the night, but was back up and going. I woke up able to breathe through my nose! I had missed that so much. haha David told me that he was so glad that I almost had my real voice back because it had been pretty scary. haha

I got up while David was clearing off the car and steps of the new snow and ice and made some french toast and more herbal tea. David ate and got cleaned up. He had an assignment due at 9:30 and class at 10:00. David tried to leave at 8:30, but our private drive hasn't been plowed at all since we've had all of this snow. Thanks property management! We have done our best to keep as much snow out of our walkway and drive, but there are 4 other duplexes on this private drive that haven't been so helpful. David got stuck. He dug around the car and moved a little, but wasn't getting far. At about 9:00 he decided to put chains on the front tires. He was soaking wet, but finally got everything situated and got going at 9:30. I ran him out a dry pair of pants before he took off. I called our property managers and complained about the snow. They assured me that there will be someone out to plow today... So I am going to hope for that and some above freezing temperatures!

Now that I am feeling much better,  I am ready to spend the weekend with David!