Active April

It's almost the last day of October,

and today is our first day

of windows being open all day.

Kind of reminds me

of the other time of year

when windows are thrown open.

SPRING!

April specifically.

Our April this year

literally began with Conference.

I mean the Saturday sessions

were literally on April 1st.

We opened "Conference bags"

(actually this year it was a Conference basket)

that morning as the first session began...

Isn't it funny how you just know

which toys will speak to which kids?

Hahaha

After the morning session,

we headed over to my parents' house

for lunch and the

Baysinger Family Easter Egg Hunt!

It's the social event of the year.

Everyone comes.

We caaaarefully line them all up...

and then...

RELEASE THE BABIES!

No one's crazy and excited at all

during the hunt. ;)

After that, the adults

all stand around and talk...

...while the little ones

play on the floor with the eggs.

They each got 6 or 7.

I mean 12!

Okay, I'll stop.

New Job

I can't believe

January is over.

Seems like yesterday

we were ringing in

the New Year!

Holy moly.

My life is slipping through

my fingers.

WELL...let's get moving then

shall we?

January was a pretty darn

exciting month!

Besides it being

Maggie's birthday month,

I GOT A NEW JOB!!!

I was just a little excited

about it. ;)

I applied back in November,

and it took FOR-E-VER

to finally get the offer.

But get it I DID on Jan 8th!

Back story? Oh, why not...

11 years ago I started working for a company.

I worked there 6 years as a Computer Operator in the NOCC (big bat cave) before changing departments. I became a Business Analyst in the IT Project Management Organization.

I LOVED the change. LOVED my new boss. LOVED the fact that I could work from home part time! I worked in that space for a year before going on maternity leave with Maggie. When I came off maternity leave, I was officially FULL TIME WORK AT HOME! Never was required to go back into the office. HALLELUJAH! That was all due to the fact that our company got acquired by a larger company -- the new company had a more lenient Work at Home program.
I came back from maternity leave to a new boss and LOTS of changes. I rolled with it though...found a groove. I was thrilled to still have a job.
Seven months later (thanks to the recommendation of a wonderful co-worker) I was presented with an opportunity to become part of a separate new organization under the big company umbrella. I took it! And thus I stepped into the world of IT Auditing. That is where I have been for the last three years and have loved every minute of it. I loved the position I had as a liaison between the business/external auditors and IT. I was working with many people from the original company, and I was essentially back at the data center working in Infrastructure in a much less technically yet specialized and crucial area.
I learned a TON, was able to obtain a professional certification, and worked with a great team and a fantastic boss. The move, for me, was just FANTASTIC all around!
And I would soon find that it positioned me perfectly.
This past October the Parent Company initiated a huge reorg and let many people go. Although I escaped the chopping block, my role changed drastically and not in a direction I relished. I began looking around. I updated my resume and my online presence and even obtained a referral for a company that I thought would be a great move. I started to get my heart set on it. The only problem with it was that it would most assuredly take me out of the home. I told myself that it was a necessary evil and that it would all work out. Through a series of events though I had my eyes opened to the fact that I needed to re-evaluate my priorities. What was truly the most important thing to me? Was it excelling in my career? Or was it being in my home as much as possible at this crucial stage of life? Obviously it was the latter.
Heavenly Father blessed me years ago when, finding myself pregnant with twins, I tearfully BEGGED and PLEADED with Him to allow me to be in my home with my children. He heard my prayers then. Things did not change overnight. I did not magically never have to work again. Oh no, I still work full-time. But HE HELPED US! And he helped me grow as an individual! And Kent & I as a couple! He blessed us with family support when we truly needed it. And He blessed us with employment that would allow us to care for our children within our own home. He took my righteous desire and answered it in His own way and in His own time. I KNOW that God hears and answers the prayers of ALL of His children, if we exercise faith and patience.
He answered mine.

So all that being said,
when I felt and acted on a prompting to look internally and was presented with a position that was in the 
A few weeks 

Dec 2018 Recap: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Do you know

what gets me all excited?

Well...a lot of things actually -- 

Almost boiling hot

showers and bubble baths.

A really good song on repeat

turned way up.

Chips and salsa

and family around the table.

Takin' selfies with a bestie.

Just to name a few.

Another thing that gets me all excited

is looking back through December pics.

I get to enjoy everything

all over again!

The good days...

...and the bad days.

But mostly the good days.

Travel log time?

Yes...yes it is.

The first weekend in December,

I had a cousin get married and

Kent & I were actually invited to the marriage!

(Limited seating and TONS of family

means sometimes there's not room.)

I was super excited to attend

Josh & Heidi's wedding.

We wanted the kids to be able

to go to the luncheon that was right after,

so we brought them with,

and Uncle Shafer was so kind to watch them!

Super fun morning and afternoon!

Later that night,

the boys and I went to a

Mother-Son Glow Party

event at the school!!!

We all had so much fun

dancing and eating
and dancing some more!


After that,
began the typical
(but so looked forward to)
December activities!

Christmas cards started to arrive
in droves!

We discovered our fading popularity.
Or maybe it's the tradition
of sending Christmas cards that is fading.
Yes. Of course, that's it.


We took all of the boys
to go see A Christmas Carol
at Hale Center Theater!
(We decided Maggie was still just a bit too young to appreciate it.)

Just our luck,
one of the five Giving Machines
in the whole wide world
was located right across the street
from the theater!