2014 in a nutshell

2014 in a nutshell 
(add pictures later)

February 25th- Jason was offered an awesome job opportunity in Joseph City (his hometown) and we decided it was worth terminating his contract at Duncan early and moving across the state with a 36-week pregnant (slightly emotional) mom, a very spirited and then sick two-year-old, a happy little four-year-old, and a giant dinosaur u-haul full to the brim with all our junk possessions. We had three weeks from Jason's official "you're hired" call until his start date, so it was a tad bit crazy trying to pack, find a place to live, move and start work. It was also, surprisingly, really hard to leave Virden. We'd planned on it being a temporary location, but in the two years we spent there I fell in love with the people, the dirt roads, living right next to cousins, and only an hour from my Momma. The new job and move was definitely an answer to prayers, but I still cried. a lot. 

Things I loved about Virden: The sunrises & sunsets, morning walks with Debbie, running with Kristin (first time I actually learned to LOVE running), our awesome rent price, getting to fix up the trailer we lived in, story time at the old Virden church, playing in the irrigation water, living next to Dan & Kristin, Karly, Ky & Kale, Football games, getting to see my family on an almost weekly basis, playing tennis at the old court on the hill, and getting to know all the AWESOME people that live there)

March 18th- Jason started his new job as the Tech Admin for JCUSD and we moved up to JC into a little rental house on the end of Randall ave. I unpacked what we needed, spent hours and hours on the phone working out all of the crazy last minute insurance changes & changing our address everywhere, found a new OB in Showlow, and tried to get ready for our new baby that was due any day.

April 15th- Our third little red-headed boy, Logan Leon Gardner, was born in Showlow, AZ and we all immediately fell in love with him. He is the sweetest, easiest, happiest baby ever! He's been a HUGE blessing in our lives and a source of so much joy.
End of May- I was called to be the new Primary President in our ward. Awesome calling, but super overwhelming and lots of prayers and tears involved. It has definitely been a growing experience for me. Thankfully I've had amazing counselors and some awesome primary teachers and it's been a beautiful opportunity to get to know all of these awesome kids in our ward.

October 27th- I started working part time as an interpreting/teaching aid (American Sign Language) working in Mrs. Dewitt's first grade classroom with the sweetest little deaf girl. Working part time was definitely the last thing I wanted or planned to do, but the little girl was in foster care, had just been placed in Joseph City, and the school couldn't find anyone to take the job. So to keep her from spending most of her days with a coloring book when she should be learning to communicate, my mother-in-law and I agreed to go in and sign for her (teach her ASL) part-time. The boys would go to Jane's house while I signed, then we'd switch off and I'd take the boys home while she signed. I've loved the opportunity to learn more ASL and loved being able to help and get to experience the excitement of a little girl learning to communicate, but it was also REALLY hard to leave my boys when I knew the most important place for me to be was home with them. So I told them I'd have to stop after Christmas even if they hadn't found someone full time yet, and that I'd only be able to come in once in while. It breaks my heart to think about the little girl being sat in front of a coloring book while the rest of the class is learning and she's falling farther behind, but my first priority needs to be my family.

December 20th- We bought our very FIRST HOME! I'm absolutely in love with it. We've been renting for six years, and since Jason graduated in 2011 we have spent hundreds of hours looking at house plans, drawing our own house plans, walking through homes for sale, looking at property and praying to know what was right for our little family. I honestly can't believe how perfectly everything suddenly fell into place for this first little home of ours. I have been in love with it from the moment I set eyes on it. The Bryant's were friends from Pima and had it built in 2011 so it was fairly new, absolutely beautiful, well taken care of, and just perfect for us. It had almost everything from our "wish list" (open floor plan, high ceilings, gas range, big windows, separate tub & shower in the master, and a big back yard to play in) and it was actually in our price range (definitely a huge blessing and wonderful miracle). It's perfect for our little family and I still thank my Father in Heaven for it every day. <3
December 25th- Our FIRST Christmas in our new home, FIRST Christmas with Logan, FIRST Christmas staying home with just our own little family, and FIRST real Christmas tree. I absolutely loved having just our little family on Christmas morning. It was such a sweet experience to get to really focus on our little boys and their reactions to everything. I love that Justin was most excited about his new toothbrush with lights and Kayden was super excited about his new super hero underwear. They liked the legos, balls, candy, angry bird bean bags, play dough, pajamas and paints too. Oh, and the trampoline that Santa almost lost his fingers to frostbite setting up on Christmas eve.