M.I.A.

...which stands for Missing In Action,
and it is so true.

So, we have moved here to the Gila Valley with my grandma for the summer, then we were going to move to Pinetop when school started and we would lived there for the rest of our lives (at least that was the plan...)and then we decided we would stay and buy her home, that was already up for sale. Well, that was our second plan, and it was good for about 2 weeks. Then my grandma changed her mind and decided she was going to go on a mission and that is when plan #3 started...we could rent it from her for 2 years, and then upon her return, we could negotiate terms then and buy the home from her then. But, then she decided she didn't want to go on a mission, so now we are onto plan #4, which is, we are just living with her until one of us decides what we are going to do. Great plan huh!! But in the mean time, the girls have started school as Thatcher Eagles and are loving it. Saydee has her cousin in school with her, and Kyla is so happy because she has gained a new friend who moved here at the same time she did. Dave and I both volunteer in our girls classrooms. I teach Art for both girls, and Dave teaches P.E. for both girls. It actually works out really great. I am also the new classroom mom in one of the rooms.
As for life outside of school, Dave is working his XPose LLC. company, which is a Search Engine Optimization company that also does Web Master Services, and I am expecting Baby #4, and we are all really excited for a new baby. Of course, I am completely terrified, because we had the one miscarriage 4 years ago, and then the still born 1.5 years ago. So I really work on staying hopeful and positive, but I am scared to death that the Dr. is going to tell me the heart has stopped beating and we will have another unborn baby. Terrible thought I know, but I am being honest here...the thought does go through my brain often. I am 15 weeks now and get to see the Dr. for the first time next week. We are due on Leap Year(Feb. 29th) of 2012, but I was really hoping for a March baby, so if everything works out, we will deliver a little late! (I know, it sounds crazy because everyone else wants to go early)
My sister is also pregnant and is 18 weeks pregnant and after having 4 girls, she too is hoping for a healthy baby, but a boy would be great.
Anyways, this post is really just a quick recap of life right now, and in the next week or so, I will do a few more posts of specific events that have been happening with our little family! Hope this finds you all and well!

No News

Well, I wish I had some cute pictures or something to announce, (it keeps things fun, because reading isn't very fun for some.) But anyways, if you are into reading....We have been living here in Central AZ for 2 weeks now and it's been great. We have visited a ton with Dave's family, and my sister and grandma as well. We went to the Gila Valley Temple with my Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt, and that was really nice. We have been to our nephews and niece's ball games as well. Grandma has a small pool and we have been swimming almost everyday, and the girls cousins come over and swim too! We have all been burned once or twice and so today we took the day off, hoping to give our skin a little rest. Being in Utah, and missing the sunshine has taken its toll on our skin and made it super sensitive. But I love all the vitamin D....it feels so good when I can feel the heat of the suns rays all the way down to my bones. I love it.
I know we have moved a lot and we have all met people who have touched our lives one way or another. Influential people like the girls friends and teachers, our neighbors and even individuals we have worked with in our church callings. I definitely miss people from each area we have lived in. So if you are one of those people, know that even though I am not there with you, I think of each of you often and miss you.
So.............as far as exciting news goes...............there isn't much to report. Just adjusting!!

Moved to The Gila Valley

Well, it's true. We now live in the Gila Valley for the Summer and it's been so wonderful! I wanted to take the time to jot down just a few things about our move, so I don't forget them in later years.
Our trip down went all right...Macy got a small flu bug 15 minutes after driving away from our home and puked all over the inside of the moving truck, so we pulled over in Spanish Fork for half an hour and cleaned that mess up at a gas station. But we arrived in St. George that night fine. We stayed at my bro-and sis-n-law (Ryan and Heather)'s home. Our second day of the trip we got pulled over within 10 minutes of getting on the road, due to Dave and I both driving through a red arrow on a green light. We just got warnings, but I honestly thought we were getting pulled over for possibly having immigrants in our moving trailer. I had no idea we drove through a red arrow, I just saw the green light and went for it. We just got a verbal warning, but then we were on our way again. Then probably 4 hours down the road, a huge wind gust and whirlwind came, pushing the moving truck off to one side of the road and then Dave tried to correct it, and the truck came off of it's wheels on one side. It looked like it was going to roll, and I was driving behind watching in utter shock, and praying so hard that they didn't flip. It was very scary because my husband and two youngest daughters were in that all most flippy truck, I had a good cry while driving, partly for sheer terror, and the other part for gratitude that everyone was safe and the truck didn't flip. But everything else went smoothly and safely. We went to Pinetop from there, and visited with our good friends, Bethany and Curtis, and then dropped all of our stuff off in a storage unit there. We then went to return our moving truck and there was a ton of drama around that. The return place was 10 miles outside of town, so we filled up in town and then drove the truck out to her, and she flat out refused to take the truck and so we had to drive back into town and fill it up enough that it would litterally spill out while driving, and then the lady that worked at the return location took it back then. Later that afternoon we drove to Strawberry and visited with my parents for 3 days, and my brother came up for two of those and visited with us at the same time. That was great to see his little family, and their baby Walker is 1 year now, and so chunky and cute. So, now we are living with my Grandmother for the summer. It is hot and I love it. The sun shines everyday, (I am burned front and back....I guess I got a little too excited about the weather being so nice...)temps have been in the high 90's and low 100's and unlike the Valley (Mesa-PHX area) it cools down really nice here in the evenings. It has also been such a joy and so wonderful to spend time with all of our family and friends here. Anyways, being away, really allowed me to appreciate being close to my family again. How very lucky I am!!

Allred Family Ditch Day

Unfortunately, I don't have the pictures uploaded yet, But I wanted to document the day, before things get too busy. (We are moving this next Wednesday...busy times)
So, on Monday, we had the kids get ready for school and then as we drove them up to the school, we said our prayer as we do most days before they get out of the car, and then before they un-buckled, Dave and I said,
"Happy Allred Family Ditch Day," def. a mouth full.
The girls were so excited, as we only do this like twice a year, and we haven't done anything really fun in a long time, since our job didn't work out and then starting the new business...needless to say funds have been a little tight, and are just now getting better.
But we had the whole day planned, and it turned out so great!
We started out by driving to Salt Lake City, where we went to the Hogle Zoo.
We had such a great time, because at this zoo, the animals are really up close and personal, unlike other zoo's we have been too. It also has a Jurassic Park type feel with all the new robotic dinosaurs. The girls loved that a ton. Some of the dinosaurs spit water, others growled really loud and moved certain parts of their bodies and eyes, making them seem very life like.
We saw the new baby elephant, and went on the carousel, and the little train.
The girls got to eat Pink Cotten Candy, and that ended the zoo trip on a high...a sugar high!
All in all, it was a zoorific time!!

Then we went over to Heritage Park, which has a small museum and lot's of sculpted monuments dedicated to the Pioneers, the Mormon Battalion, and Brigham Young.
This is the location marked for Brigham Young's, "THIS IS THE PLACE" inspiration.
It was very special for me to be able to share this with my daughters, and for them to be able to look out onto the Salt Lake Valley and explain to them, that there were no buildings or anything here before and that because of the inspiration from above, the sacrifices that were made, and the hard work of the Pioneers we have this beautiful place.

We then went over to Temple Square, where we walked around the Temple. All the trees and flowers are in bloom, which made for a beautiful spring afternoon. The Temple grounds were so quiet and peaceful and it felt so good to be there with my family and away from the rest of the world. We also toured the visitor center, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and the New Conference Center. The tours that were given to us by the volunteers were so great. Normally, we are the type, that just like to do things on our own, without someone else's help....it must be a mental thing....who knows. But we had two different men for two of the tours, and I am so glad we did that, because we got to see and learn so much more than we would have on our own.
Not to leave out, was the incredible Spirit that was with us.
I can't describe it in any other way, than just to say, we felt very peaceful, and calm, and for a few of us, there were times when we were very much overcome by the Spirit.
It was wonderful.

Then, we ended our day at IHOP. Our family loves Breakfast, so IHOP is perfect for us!
(also kids eat free Monday-Thursday from 4pm-10pm)

Anyways, we all came home, showered, and conked out.
It was the most wonderful Ditch Day Ever!

Ohhh Macy

Macy K loves shoes, generally sparkly princess shoes, but today, she is sporting her daddy's shoes. She is silly.

We Are Moving

Yep, it's official, we are moving again...........7th time in 3 years! We found someone to finish our lease and are moving back to Arizona. And it will happen one more time before the end of the summer. So, here is the plan. We are moving from here in 2 and half weeks to The Gila Valley (Central to be more exact) where we will stay for the summer while my Grandma does a bunch of traveling, and then we will move to Pinetop, where we will hopefully live for the rest of our lives. We will rent for a few years, (just to make sure) and then hopefully buy a home there. (It would be great if that was the last time we ever move) but so far, that is not how are lives have been. But we are really excited to be back in the sunshine and warmth and to be near our family. The girls are counting down the days until they get to see their cousins and grandparents again.

EASTER 2011

Well, first thing Sunday morning, the girls woke up and ran into the Living Room, where Dave and I had laid out a small puzzle, 3 sour sucker things, and a bag of jelly beans.
(These were just a few nice things from their parents, the Easter Bunny hides their baskets, so there was more to be found.) When Macy saw what type of candy we had given her, she started crying saying, "I don't like that kind." It was a wonderful way to start out our morning!!
Not really!

Kyla found her basket second, in the back coat closet under her dad's coat.

Saydee found her basket last in the front coat closet under a long formal gown.
She said "it was hid really good!"

Macy found her basket first in the quilt rack in the living room.
She was really thrilled and her tears went away!!

The girls in their Easter Dresses.
Grandma Neene had purchased these for the girls last year and they still fit.
They were all so beautiful in their white dresses.

To end the day, Macy made herself a little bed in between our couches and fell asleep.

And while Macy slept, Kyla, Saydee, and myself decorated Easter Egg Sugar Cookies to take to our neighbors. Aren't they cute!!All in all, it was a nice Easter!
(despite the fact that I miss my giant family events in AZ!!)

EASTER Eggs 2011

(ps....if you want to see any of these pictures closer, just click on them!)
This Easter, 2011, we are in Utah with no family (which is crazy hard for me) so we decided to make the best of it while we are here. Saturday was cold and rainy, but it was beautiful because all the flowers and popcorn trees were blooming. We went to a small area across from the Mount Timpanogos Temple, where the trees are huge, the grass is green, and there was tonz of room for the eggs to hide. The girls actually hid inside one of the giant pine trees, while Dave and I hid the eggs. It was a good day.

Here we are coloring eggs. We tried a new technique this year that we won't do again. So we ended up resorting to the old school way of putting water in a cup with a few drops of food coloring. It seemed to do the trick!

Dave and the girls love the boiled eggs and after hiding them a few times, they ate them all up....yuck! It was still fun to practice these traditions with the girls. I hope, they too, will one day practice these traditions with their own children!!

Cute Bunkbeds

This is what my girls bunkbeds look like.
They are queen on the bottom and an extra long twin on top.
But my girls have decided they like these ones...

or these ones...

or these...and lastly...I seriously love the idea of them being built into the wall.

Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas

Have you ever made Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas without the Chicken? Well I did tonight, because I had already started, when I realized I was missing Chicken. Guess what? They were still yummy! Yeah hooray for me!

Twinkle Twinkle Little **Star**

Dave is teaching the girls to play a few songs on the guitar. First up was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and both Kyla and Saydee picked it up super quickly. So, Saydee played it for her class talent show, and then she followed it up with the ABC song, which is super funny because they are the same song, so same notes played, but the kids in her class thought she knew 2 songs. Anyways....super cute to me!!

Cute Easter Wreaths and Blocks

If you haven't been by the craft blog in a while, you should.....I guess only if you are in a craft mood that is. I just featured a bunch of Easter Wreaths and Easter Blocks that you could make to spruce up your home for the coming holiday. Anyways, just a mention!! Love ya!!

Random Ramblings of a Crazy Girl

I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts(ps..they are kinda long and a little up and down, so maybe you don't want to read)...first off, I know my readership here has gone down quite a bit in the last few years, so I know this isn't going to be read by a ton of people, and I hope those that read it don't judge me for my crazy ideas and thoughts.

1)I miss AZ so bad. Utah is just not for me. But there are reasons, and here are a few. *I miss family...there is nothing that can replace that. Even just knowing that I could visit them within a few hours, feels so much better, than knowing it would take me a whole day of traveling time, and a small fortune in gas to get there. *I miss the people of AZ...enough said about that. *I miss the sunshine of AZ, not so much the heat, but the actual sunshine. It must do something to me, but it makes me feel good inside, like it gives me life in my soul when the sun is shining. Our first few months here have been so dark and gloomy...yuck. Also, earthquakes scare me and we have had 3 since we've lived here. I hope we can move back to AZ this summer, and hopefully to Pinetop is our goal.

2)I feel fluffy. I have started working out again, which is a terrible thing to say. Like I haven't been doing it, but I haven't. I have a good reason though, that I will talk about in #3. I have dreams that I am this amazing runner with a long and sleek body, that runs so gracefully. But the truth of the matter is, when I actually go outside and start to run, it looks terribly painful, my butt jiggles more than a bowl of jello, and I am huffin' and puffin' so hard that I give up because I think my heart is going to stop beating. Anyways, I want to get pregnant in June, maybe mid-June, after we have hopefully moved back to AZ, so I don't put my self in harms way by moving during early pregnancy. I just know myself too well, and I will try and do it all on my own, and I just can't jeopardize a pregnancy. But my point here is this, I have a few months to lose some weight so I can get preggers. Some people don't care about being smaller when you get prego, but I do, because I know what happens to my body, and it BLOWS up, so I don't want to be the ultra-fat prego chick. So that is my plan there.

3)We just passed our year mark on March 23rd of losing our last baby due to still birth. I can honestly say, that this last year has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I never thought that I could be a depressed person, but I believe this last year I experienced some degrees of that. I was just so sad and pissed for so long, that I felt distant from my Heavenly Father. I know he was with me and loved me, but I didn't feel close and I seriously can't express this enough, but my heart ached so bad, and I was full of sorrow, sadness, and frustration. I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks before Macy was born, but this still born was very hard on me. I came to learn that my distance between God and myself was my own doing. Did you know that the Holy Ghost does not want to hang out with a bitter soul? Well it is true. I had to come to a place of peace myself, and choosing to be happy on my own. I also had to do a lot of praying and apologizing for my bitter attitude during this time. After much pleading for forgiveness on my part, I feel a closeness to my Heavenly Father and Savior, and Holy Ghost I have not felt in a long time. I feel like I am starting to recognize inspiration and revelation again, which I don't think I had felt in over 3 years time. I also was too afraid to get pregnant again, not because I didn't want a baby, because I really did, but I was too afraid of losing another one. I knew that emotionally, I could not take that heartache on again. My mom and My sister were so amazing during this time and I just want to thank them for understanding. I am also grateful that I am starting to feel better about all of this.

4)I just want to add that part of my bitterness, was because of our business failing, and us losing everything. We invested all we had, money and time and lost it all. We still had each other, which is the most important thing, but we lost our homes, our cars, and we had to move. Our names were flung in the mud all over the internet, it wasn't true, but it still resulted in me feeling like a big fat failure. We moved to Payson and Dave took a job in the valley and started commuting every day until we finally decided to just move down there. Right when I thought things were starting to turn around, because of a stable job and us expecting our baby, that is when we lost the baby. Ironically enough, the same morning my grandmother passed away. I just felt like I was already so low, and I was being kicked while I was at my lowest point. That is when intense bitterness overcame me.
But I have since moved on, and am just chalking it all up to refinement. Because of my trials, I am becoming who Heavenly Father would want me to be. (Especially when I come to understand that being bitter doesn't help anything. haha)I have been doing my very best at serving others whenever I can, and this too has helped me in so many ways. Just seeing others trials, and being grateful for mine. It also takes my mind off of feeling sorry for myself. We are all instruments in the Lord's hands and are here on this earth to do what he would do. "I am the Lord's Hands on this earth."

5)Since then, our job in the Valley wasn't paying enough for our monthly survival, so Dave started a business on the side doing peoples SEO (search engine optimization) and web design. But we were offered a job here in Utah that would double our income of that in Gilbert. So we came, and guess what.....it didn't double our income. It reduced our income into less than $1000 per month. Which, most families, including ours, can't survive on. So I have been bummed again, because we moved here for this job, and now there isn't a job, and that is just frustrating.

6)Anyways, Dave took his side business and made it full time, which is actually working. So he gets to be home with me and that is so wonderful....I love having him here with me. Even if he is working the entire time, it's just nice knowing he is here. We are blessed with a super duper fantastic relationship, and so being together is absolutely the ideal situation for us!!

7)I am so grateful to have such loving family members who call, write, skype, or even visit us. I feel so loved by so many and I know that is a huge blessing from above. I live for that communication, and am so blessed to have it in my life.

8)The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Gospel are such a huge part of who I am and I love being part of that. I love having family prayer, Family Home Evening, Scripture study, and even couple prayers and individual prayers. I love attending my meetings and the spiritual nourishment I get there. I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father's Plan and what that means for my family.

9)I love love love my little family so much. Getting to be a mother and a wife are so fulfilling and wonderful to me. I love baking cookies for them and doing things that make their day better. I smile so much and am overwhelmed with love because of them. Yes, there are those days in every mother/wife's life when we wish we could turn the arguments/and or crying into giggles and loving smiles, but for the most part, being a wife and mother are wonderful.

10)I want my girls to stop growing. It seems that every time I turn around they are growing taller, eating more, having pre-teen conversations, or just smiling at me...and it's those moments that I want to freeze time. I know it's part of life and everything will grow and change, but I just want them to stay little longer. I haven't been able to do everything with them, while they are little, that I wanted to. I was thinking the other day, that I would love to get them a nice swing set and play house when we move back to AZ, but Kyla is going to be too big for that soon and won't ever want to play with it. I wanted to have them in Dance and Gymnastics, and all kinds of sports while they were little, so by these ages they would be well on their way. But things have been so crazy, and we haven't been able to do that, and I keep thinking, they are growing so fast and all the things I wanted for them are passing by so quickly before I can give it to them. I think often about the temptations and trials they will have as they grow into their teen years and I wish I could keep them safe from all of that. Anyways, I just want them to stay little, so I can protect them, spend more time with them (I feel like school gets so much of their time,)and give them more opportunities while they are the appropriate ages.

So, those are some of my thoughts right now. There are so many more, but I will bore you half to death if I keep going.

Magnetic Macy

Macy loves her fridge magnets. She mainly organizes them by color, or makes beautiful necklaces out of them.(put all the magnets in a big giant circle and calls it a necklace!)

Macy is Rockin'

Macy was helping me fold the laundry and wanted to wear my bandana!! (ps...Macy and I hang out all day while her sisters are at school, so she gets lots of pictures taken! hehe)