Anyone else get stress bumps on their scalp? They’re painful. This week I got a patch of them. I handle stress fairly well… I think… and sometimes I don’t realize that I’m stressed until those annoying little bumps appear on the edge of my scalp. This week they were so bad they made the smooth skin around them irritated just by a slight touch. I was better by the morning from the irritated skin, but the bumps are still there, though not as painful. I really enjoy organizing so I am not sure what was stressing me out. I had a decent week. Bev was feeling better (until she puked on me last night, but that was an anomaly, she bounced back from that fast). I took her to her 15 month checkup which went well, except for the shot, which she was ticked about. She is so funny though. She is really growing fast. Even her vocabulary is increasing every day. Her new words this week were, “I love you, Grandma, papa, birdie, kitty-cat, treat, please, cheese,” and a few others. She is definitely my fastest talker and walker. They say that’s usually the case with girls, but it could also be that she has her two older brothers for examples. She has no problem keeping up with them, just tonight we had to yank her off of Mav’s head, because she thought they were having fun wrestling, but he wasn’t too keen on it. Mav has been a delight this week. The previous week I struggled with his epic tantrums every time I turned his screens off. This week he got off with an “Ok, mama.” I was so shocked the first time, it made him laugh. But he’s mostly continued with that good attitude and has added, “Yes, please” any time he agrees with a question asked. Such a good southern boy. That’s another thing. I’ve come to realize that I’ve spent more of my life in the south than in Utah, which is probably why I feel at home here. I miss my family like crazy, of course, and I love to visit them, but I feel like my little family was meant to be out here in the mission field. I love sharing the gospel, and while you get the opportunity in Utah, it isn’t as often. Max is learning to read very well. He is starting to enjoy it, which I think is the first step to literacy. He’s always enjoyed being read to, but now he takes turns reading a book at night. I love this sweet, helpful boy of mine. He has enjoyed the organizing too. Yesterday, while “marie kondo-ing” or in Andy’s words, “Maria Carrie-ing” the office I had a bit of work left to do while Andy had finished up his section, so he went in to help the boys fold their laundry and put it away. When Max found out Dada was helping and not me he made sure that Dad folded the laundry the correct way. I assured Max that Dad knew how to fold the shirts too. Andy got Max a cheap little tool set from the clearance section of walmart. It’s kind of turned into the indoor toolset and every time Andy uses it, Max says, “make sure you put it all back when you’re done.” Andy replies, “I will, don’t worry.” Max replies, “ok…” with an unfair amount of skepticism in his voice. Andy has gotten very good at putting away his tools and things. He said I’ve ruined him with this Marie Kondo thing. “I see an unorganized drawer and I just can’t deal with it anymore.” Okay, those aren’t his exact words, but he did say something along those lines. We are getting close to being done with EVERY drawer, closet, cupboard, and room in the house. I’m still chipping away at the crawl space with all of my memorabilia from my mission and scrapbooks and photos, and most of it will stay as it is, but I am trying to get rid of duplicates and minimize space. I’ve already packed up a few boxes of things we are moving ourselves. We leave in two weeks to search for a home. We’ve found a few that would work for us, but I think there will be more on the market by the time we get there. A lot of sellers put their home up for sale in March for the summer buyers. I am excited and nervous, and to be honest I think a lot of the stress I’ve been feeling stems from that. I am nervous about moving for a few reasons. What if I move there and no body likes me? I sound like a high school student all over again, but it is a legit fear! I need friends like Marni Burke to help me and for me to serve in return. Another fear is what if we can’t find a house we love. But I think I over came this fear when I reminded myself it is only for three years. We really could live in this house for forever if needed, it suits us quite well, so whatever we find there we will make a home as well. I posted on someone’s facebook post today one of my favorite scriptures. The Lord tells the saints to live upon the land as if they would be there for years. This group of people had been pushed from their homes and driven more times than you could imagine, and the Lord expected them to literally build a home and community. I won’t have to build a home, but I will build our Home in this new community and act as if I would live there for years. It may be more than three, but it may not, either way it will be our home. Hope y’all have a good week!