Welcome...

Baby Anderson Cordell, born March 17th, weighing in at
8 lbs 11 oz(well his dad did play college football),
and measuring 19 inches long. He was truly an angle to hold and I was so happy to have been there(Austin,TX) to help welcome him into the world. You did good little sister. I miss you guys.

She's 7

I cant believe my Molly is 7. Man am I getting old. Molly had a few friends over for a beading party and it was really nice. Grandma and GG where in town, which was even nicer. You can get a general idea of how the party went by looking at the pictures below, so I want to use this time to talk about my sweet Molly.

So full of love and laughter, Molly has the sweetest personality around. She loves all things living and is always trying to help the environment and various endangered species. Molly has never really been into dolls or toys that much, but she loves stuffed animals and any type of craft. She is often found carrying around a notebook and pencil to write down her thoughts or doodles.
Molly would like to be an artist, veterinarian, and a doctor when she grows up and I wouldn't be surprised to see her accomplish these goals, she's very determined and independent. Molly is a fantastic sister, most of the time, a wonderful daughter, a great student, and her testimony in her Heavenly Father is a sure example to me. Someday I hope to grow up to be just like Molly.

A Step Away

WOW! These last few days have been really different. I'm here in Austin TX without my family, visiting my parents and siblings, and after four days I am really feeling it. I find when I keep myself busy I do OK, but if I dare do anything fun I can only think of how much more fun it would be with my kids and husband here. When did I loose my identity, my ability to just enjoy MYSELF?

There have been many late nights filled with games and laughter. I was able to catch up with some old friends on Sun. Today I was able to welcome a new nephew into the world.
And tomorrow, sadly, I will have to say goodbye to them all.

This trip has been fantastic... rejuvenating and enlightening. I have been able to rediscover a little bit about myself. This hasn't prevented the heartache I have felt daily being away from my husband and children. I cant wait to be with them again, to see there smiling faces.

All said, I will do this again. A trip away, by myself, might just be the annual cure for the identity check I often need. A step away to appreciate what you have stepped away from.

I have many pictures to post... soon.

A Great Man

I was lying in bed last night thinking. Thinking about how crazy/wonderful life is. Thinking about how busy everything has been lately, but how wonderful the weekend was. Thinking about how lucky I am to have married such an amazing man. But mostly thinking about how luck doesn't really have anything to do with it at all.

Thursday night we received a phone call from President Stacey asking us to brunch Sat. morning. We gladly accepted. Needless to say I couldn't sleep that night wondering what this "brunch" was really all about. Being good friends with his daughter and son in law back in WA we could only hope that they were in town and wanting to surprise us. Or maybe this was purely social. We wondered if we might be asked to speak at stake conference... but why us??? We wondered about new callings, mainly for Travis, something stake related. After a wonderful breakfast and a great time visiting (the kids are still talking about it), the truth comes out and Travis is extended a calling as the second counselor in the bishopric. Definitely not expecting that one.

The next few hours were pretty difficult for me. I struggled with seeing Travis, my husband, in this capacity. I wasn't putting my faith in "the process", for lack of a better term. I assumed the fact that we are permanent here must have had a big impact on the decision and wondered if he would have been chosen otherwise. I wasn't putting my faith in my husband or the hands that had chosen him. These thoughts, while I couldn't escape them, were breaking my heart and filling me with guilt. Through prayer and other reflection I started to understand what the Lord wanted me to understand. But it wasn't until Sunday, when Travis was sustained and stood to talk to the congregation, that I truly KNEW he was called of God. When he spoke and the spirit filled the chapel, I could feel the blessings that would come into our lives through this great service that he would participate in.

After the service yesterday Bishop Huxel sat down with Travis for a while to discuss things. He told him that while deciding who to call as his counselor he wasn't on his long list or his short list. He said it wasn't until last Sunday when he was scanning the congregation at church that he saw Travis and was strongly prompted that he would be the next counselor. The same day Brother Chipman came to him and said he wanted to add a name to the list and that it was Travis. The Bishop told him that that had already been confirmed to him. Hearing this information just reaffirms those feelings I got after hearing my husband speak.

Travis truly is a great man. The kind of man that gets up at 5am every weekday to catch the train and be in the office two hours earlier than anyone else just so he can be home by 6pm to have dinner with his family. The kind of man who will always make himself available when needed and thrives off of helping others improve their lives. He is an amazing father and a devoted husband and I count my blessings every night for having him in my life.

Which one are you?

I'm thinking I'm a combination of a few.
Some of them I'm not so proud of.

Chuck E.

Definitely NOT my favorite place, however, as luck would have it, I had to be there two Saturdays in a row. Once for a birthday party that Dillon was attending and the next weekend for a birthday party Molly attended. The kids where in Chuck E. heaven! I, on the other hand, was in Chuck E.... well you get my point.

Anyway, after the second party, and on the way home, Dillon was making a comment about one of the "prizes" he claimed with his few tickets and how it was kind of shaped like a heart...

Dillon - My toy is kind of shaped like a heart, I think that's because Chuck E. Cheese loves us.
Molly - Chuck E. Cheese loves everyone in the world Dillon.
Dillon - No he doesn't Molly... he's not Jesus.
(Pause)
Dillon - (while gazing out the window towards the sky in some kind of dream land)
I wish I was Chuck E Cheese.

Now there are many things that Dillon wants to be when he grows up. He wants to be an astronaut, he wants to be in the Air Force (to fly a fighter jet), and in the Navy (to drive a submarine), a doctor, an archaeologist in ancient Egypt, an inventor (mostly of robots and fighting machines), a police officer, and the list goes on and on. Never did I imagine that Chuck E. Cheese would be an addition to this list. I guess there could be worse things than making millions of children happy everyday right?