What does our future hold? Here, let me tell you.

So we made some major decisions lately!

We were struggling with what to do for a summer job before law school starts in September. Not a lot of summer jobs pay well for for an employee leaving in a few short months. We were stuck with, where do we go? How do we make the most money? What is the easiest move? And what just makes sense? Then we were hit in the head with the obvious move to Calgary to install for my brother in law's team at Vivint. Easy move. Near family. They only employ in the months we need employment. Seems too perfect. Done. 

Then we decided on the law school Alex is going to attend. Drum roll please....

Detroit Mercy Law School and Windsor Law.

Confused?

I know you are thinking, why there? how can he go to both schools? why not here (fill in the blank)? What are you thinking?

Yeah, well believe it or not, we thought about this decision a considerable amount. These are the reasons that Detroit is the right move for us:

-70% tuition scholarship. DUH.
-Culture. Yeah okay, it's still America, but living on the opposite side of the country will be a drastic change for our little family. Temporary adventure.
-The dual JD program. This school is the only school in the nation that offers a dual JD degree.  He will attend both Mercy Law(US side) and Windsor Law(Canadian side) throughout his program. The two schools are connected by a bridge from city to city which happens to be closer than I thought. This allows a unique opportunity for Alex to work on either side of the Canadian, US border. The program is more rigorous, but what a cool degree to have! One of our main concerns with Alex attending a US school was having to take the NCA national exams to be able to practice in Canada. This school eliminates this fear. I didn't want him to feel the pressure of passing hard tests designed to discourage lawyers from crossing the border in order to provide for his family the way he imagined. He has already been through a lot of stress with the LSAT and school applications. Enough is enough. The poor guy still has law school ahead of him. After hearing horror stories, we weren't ready to take too many risks and Detroit just made sense.

What I know about the city of Detroit:

NOTHING...just kidding. But almost true. I know that....

They make a lot of cars.

It is the home of the Detroit Redwings baby. Hoping to score tickets to some games.

The city is known for it's high crime rate.

Windsor is only a 10 minute bridge ride away from Detroit.

It can get extremely cold.

That pretty much sums up my extremely uneducated knowledge of Detroit. 

Sometimes when I picture us moving to Detroit I envision this...

I sincerely hope it's not all like this...

We also planned and BOOKED our better late than never....HONEYMOON.

We never got your typical honeymoon paradise because we had to be back at school a few days after we were married. Then that cute chubby little baby happened and before we knew it, we were caught up in life. Which is wonderful but you know what else is wonderful.....Cancun!! April 6th can't come sooner.

Hedley Concert

For Alex's birthday, I splurged on some Hedley concert tickets. My rationalizations for this expenditure are legitimate.

1. We love music. It brought us together.
2. Hedley is so talented and Alex and I are both fans.
3. It's a Canadian band tour and since we are living here, it would be our only chance.
4. I have no self control.
5. I like excuses to spend alone time with my best friend.
6. Nothing beats live music.

Hedley didn't disapoint. They were so good and we had the best seats possible! Front row and dead centre. I started out acting like a teenage screaming fan to be funny and ended up being exactly that. It was so fun! I got Jaccob Hoggard's sweat on me! I even got a guitar pick! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD1ohF9O05U

Updates on the husband.

Alex could NOT put his soccer shoes aside for even a couple months and begged me to find him a soccer league to play in while here in Med hat. So finally we found a team for him to play on. Most of their games landed on Sundays so he only got to play in two games. Kind of a disappointment but you gotta be grateful for what you got right? Enjoyable while it lasted.

Alex is really enjoying working for my Dad and his law firm. At first Alex didn't feel very useful but he is slowly starting to feel comfortable. Every day he feels more and more confident in his career choice. Alex and I often talk about how blessed we are to have the opportunities we have. We will always feel like we can't repay my parents for the foundation they have made for us.

Law schools are overwhelming us. We have a big decision to make and a couple options to discuss. Where do we go for 3 years? Many factors fill our mind and cause the struggle to choose. Location. Money. Education. Across border possibilities. Safety. Scholarships. Start date. End date. Cost of living. We decided to make our decision by this coming Monday. We are feeling the pressure to accept a law school, plan and get excited about it.

We both got called into the Nursery at church. We love it because Jade gets to play and I don't have to juggle her around for all 3 hours. And another plus is that those kids are AAAAAHDORABLE! Snack time is a obvious perk.

A letter From Mom On Your 1rst Birthday!

Little Jade at the hospital...

Birthday girl saying Happy Birthday!

It's fun to see Jade so little and then a year later, SO BIG!

My sweet Jade Marie, today is your first birthday! A year ago today, we were meeting you for the first time. Meeting you was the most spiritual experience I have ever had. Nothing prepares you for this moment. The moment, you see life in an entirely different way. With more surety than ever, I realized that God has to exist. Life is too intricate and complex to be a mistake. There are no words created to describe the moment you were born. We were overcome with love, compassion, protective instincts, happiness, strength and purpose. God has a purpose for you, me and everyone here. God entrusted me and your Dad with one of his precious children…you. My heart stopped when our eyes met. Suddenly, I had a person that needed me. Needed me for everything. One day you won't need me. This reality scares me. But hopefully it also means you have found your eternal companion who takes care of you and loves you an incredible amount.

I can honestly say that this last year has been my favourite. I know that every year will become my new favourite.  In the first year of your life you have lived in Rexburg Idaho, Orem Utah, back to Rexburg and now Medicine Hat Alberta Canada. You have flown on an airplane from Canada to Utah. You have seen all the seasons. You love eating new things. If I ever find you aren't eating well, I just introduce a new food and you are eager to eat it. I will do what ever it takes to hear your laugh or get a cuddle. You are the definition of sweet. Your presence makes everyone in the room smile. You enjoy life but I can tell that you are a thinker too. You think before doing anything. You like people. You smile at anyone with your one tooth sticking out for all the world to see. 

It's hard to believe a year ago, I didn't have you in my life. Thank you for being a constant reminder of the Saviour's love. Your presence reminds me daily of my life's purpose. Your smile reminds me that happiness is right in front of me, and never behind me. This year has flown by so fast. Only a couple more before you think you don't need me. Before you start making decisions on your own. Before you take what we have taught you and test it out on your own life's adventures. Please remember that I love you. That I don't have the ability to stop loving you. It became permanent the day you came into our lives on March 5th, 2013. No letter, no words, will ever adequately represent how deep my love is for you. Happy 1st Birthday Jade! I can't wait to see what another year will bring! Keep lighting up the room.

Love, Mom

We are celebrating Jade's birthday next week when my parent's are back from Hawaii. So expect another post with pictures of her and her smash cake. 

Waterton and Temple Day!

Last weekend we took my parents up on a full day babysitting offer! We went back to the Cardston temple for the first time since we were married there for allllllllll (is that enough L's?) eternity. We very much enjoyed spending our family day in the temple and even got to see some old friends there. After the temple we continued onto Waterton. We met up with my cousin Matt and went on a quick snowshoeing hike to Crandel Lake. After, the owners of the famous "Weiners of Waterton" cooked us up a feast. Then we left Waterton only to run into a white out. Our vision was completely fogged by snow. We couldn't tell if we were on the road or off in a ditch. We couldn't stop because that would be dangerous for other travelers. We couldn't turn around because we were surrounded by the storm. A million prayers later, the storm cleared and we made it home safely! Minus the storm scare, we thoroughly enjoyed our day together and are extra thankful to have such fabulous babysitters. 

I also would just like to add an explanation for those of you who don't know a whole lot about my church's temples. The tithing that we pay to the church all is for our benefit. In return, we get beautiful temples and meeting houses that we are able to retreat to and worship in. The money or tithing we give, I like to think of as an investment. We don't make much as a young couple, that much is obvious. So the little money we do give is turned into something much more beautiful than we ever could have turned it into on our own. I would also like to say that the temple is not SECRET, it's SACRED and all are welcome to go there. It isn't put up on a high shelf, so only a few can access it. In fact we want absolutely everyone to come and join us! There are however some steps you must take to attend. And if you meet them, you are able to enter. I can't think of a better place in the entire world. I always leave the temple with the motivation to better my life and pure happiness written across my face. 

Old friends reunited.

Lately I have met up with a lot of old friends. It has been great fun to see where life has taken them! 

We love hanging with Keith and Steph!

I haven't talked to Robin in FOREVER but was able to meet for lunch with her and Steph. It's nice to see people not change. This means they were true to themselves all along. Don't get me wrong, she has changed but her core values, personality and bubbly nature has remained. I hope to catch up again soon. 

What can I say about Carly Caixiero. Uhm...she is perfection. Most people lose their "shine" once you know everything about them. Not Carly, she only gets better. We know each other so well it's probably weird haha. 

Kenzie has wandered over to see me a couple times too! I honestly love this girl. She ignores my lame excuses and shows up to make me party with her. It's exactly what I need. Someone to be like, "Tiff, I don't care you haven't showered in a week, get your butt out here and do cartwheels with me." K, she has never said that but it is a likely statement to escape her mouth. 

Nothing like meeting up with old high school friends to make you realize how much you have changed in the past couple years. I graduated in 2010. NOT THAT LONG AGO. Yet...it seems like a different life ago. I hated highschool. I loved highschool. Both statements are true. People always tell you that highschool friendships don't matter because once you graduate, life happens and you won't remain friends. They are right. They are wrong. Both statements are true. You won't always remain friends. True. High school friendships don't really matter. False. I have drifted from so many of my best friends who once consumed my young mind. BUT if I would have thought logically, that these friendships weren't worth cultivating, I would have missed out on having those memories or the feeling of love and happiness that I felt. Daily. My friends back then were loyal, funny, caring, compassionate and beautiful. We would have taken bullets for each other. For those of you I haven't talked to since we threw our grad caps together, I still value you. Because you created my childhood. A great one! For those of you I still talk to. Thank you for sticking with me, despite my flakey appearances and lame distance excuses. I still love you. Life happens but friends are always important, no matter how temporary they could be. 

Canada Adventures starting with STOMP

From now on I am going to start doing my blog by activity rather than a jumble of a whole months worth of activities. That way i can find old posts easier, and it's more focused and organized.

My Mom and Dad were informed of the death of my Dad's aunt and last minute drove to Utah to attend the funeral. My Mom was planning on going to the STOMP concert that weekend, so I got to use her ticket in her place. Stomp was unblievable. Making songs from wacking ordinary objects at incredible speeds. I couldn't blink the whole time. I was in great company too! :)

After this concert and with the olympics going on, I can't help but think about MY talents and all the talents I have left on the shelf to get dusty. Guitar, singing, flute, drawing, reading, piano, basketball, running...the list goes on. Motherhood has shifted my priorities. For a second, I let myself feel bad about it. Then I took the next couple days to slap myself in the face. Motherhood is my most important talent that I will always be working on.  An intricate talent to say the least. A talent you can never just put on the shelf and forget about. It's too important.  Every day I find myself grasping more and more balance in my life. This week, Jade and I ventured over to the public library. We both picked out books to read. For the first time in a while, I find my nose in a good old fashioned book. Refreshing. Balance. Joy. Love. Happiness. Everyday I find more time in my day that months previous I didn't feel I had. Mothering Jade is starting to feel...easy. Yes, knowing Jade inside and out has taken me almost a year...but i'm okay with that. I guess that's how motherhood works, just when you master a child, you add another, take on a new project, school or all of the above and then more adjusting has to be made. But for now, I'm happy with the peaceful months ahead before guilt sets in and exciting yet scary family addition decisions need to be made. Then, I will bask in the phenomenon that my heart can expand even more without bursting. I love motherhood. I love my family. And I love that it can only get better (bigger)!!!