What A Difference A Year Makes

So I thought I would post tonight about where we were 1 year ago, and how far we have come since then. Last year we were living in California, for the 2nd time, and loving it. We really did love it there. The beautiful weather, the great ward, and the most awesome friends ever! I have a few great friends here, but I do miss my friends in California. It wasn't just my friends, but my girls had such great friends too! We had the Redfern's, which are family to us. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with them last year. Oh, I sure do miss them! It seems so weird sometimes to think about how many times we have moved in the past few years, and all that comes with that. I am grateful my kids have adjusted well and are just happy to have each other. We have had a few job changes, school changes and so on. But we all seem to be doing good. Last year at this time, I really didn't know where we were going to end up. Were we to stay in California or go back to the Pacific Northwest? We prayed and waited, and waited and prayed. Finally an answer came that we were to pack up again(10 months after we had moved back down to Cali.)and go back up north. I am so thankful that we got an answer to our prayers.
This year our Christmas might be a little smaller, our tree might be a little smaller, but I think our girls will be just fine! The picture above is of our tree last year in our 2nd Cali. home. The girls have grown so much since then! It's amazing how fast they grow-and you don't really notice it until you see old pictures!

Molly-1 year ago. She wasn't walking, in fact, she had just started crawling a few months before! She has always been such a great baby! Can't believe how much she has grown!

Here we are last year in front of The Oakland Temple during the Christmas Season. They decorate the whole grounds with lights. It really is a sight to behold! We have some great memories of the Oakland Temple! Making a goal of going every month-and doing it, waking up way too early to go with the sisters in our ward for a very early morning session, spending time with my eternal companion in the most beautiful place ever! We sure do miss it!

The girls in front of The Oakland Temple

Here are my girls, last Christmas, waiting to be able to go down stairs to see what Santa had brought them. I know we were not in that house very long, but we sure did make some great memories! Christmas mornings are always good memories! They had such a great time last year! Opening presents, playing with presents and doing fashion shows in their new clothes is etched into my memory. Like every other place we have lived, memories. But if we hold onto those memories, we can always go back and be thankful for that time in our lives. No matter what our trial is, always try to create memories, and hold those ones from the past close. I know we no longer live in Cali. but we are grateful to have had that opportunity to create so many wonderful memories! I can't wait for this upcoming Christmas Season, to see the excitement in my children's eyes, to feel the cool crisp air, to spend time with family, to make memories that will last forever.

Bring It On!