So I realize that I suck at this whole blog thing. But I'll go ahead and give it another try. ;)
We moved across town about a month ago now. It is a really nice place! Clean, friendly neighbors and management, beautiful grounds, gated, and not to mention Jonas' favorite the Coy Pond! Though it has been a month, we are still no where close to being completely moved in and unpacked. half of my living room is overrun by boxes, there is less storage in the kitchen than what we were used to so there is stuff everywhere in the kitchen, and don't even get me started on the bedrooms! It's tough to get it all done when Mike and I both work about 25-30 hours a week. And some days only see each other for maybe an hour or two. But we are slowly getting everything put together. (We may have to pack it all up by the time we get it all unpacked! ;))

Jonas is almost two years old. Can you believe it?! It seems like it was just yesterday that he was born! He eats everything! He loves fruits and veggies!! Bananas are his favorite! He also loves frozen peas, peanut butter, milk, and anything that mom or dad are eating. He helps me do some chores around the house like putting things in the trash, checking the mail, putting laundry in the dryer, picking up his toys (with MUCH guidance), and putting dirty dishes in the sink. he loves to race you places! He loves running and being outside. He talks way too much! ;) He is making more sense out of his words though now, but sometimes I still don't know what he wants.

Mike and I are doing well. Work has been a little hectic lately because they have fired a lot of people recently so everyone is walking on eggshells trying not to ripple the pool. But with that have come a few openings that we have applied for (all full-time by the way). So we will see where that takes us. Mike starts school this coming week and will be spending a lot of time doing his online studies. I am still Visiting Teaching Supervisor at Church and Mike is now the Second Counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. Jonas is loving Nursery and getting better at sitting still in Sacrament meeting. Our lives are pretty good at this moment in time and we can't really complain.

I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the healing power of the Priesthood. I am even more grateful to have my husband, a worthy priesthood holder, in our home. My Heavenly Father has blessed me so much lately and I haven't really noticed it or acknowledged it. I know that my Redeemer lives and that through Him I can gain eternal life! Have faith through these trying times and the Lord will bless you with what you need to get through!

Aubrey <3

What Is This Thing Called Again? ...A Blog?!

It has been WAY too long!! Sorry for my horrible blogging skills. Life has just been crazy busy in the Moran household this year!

To start things off on the update train, Jonas is almost 18 months old! So you know what that means? He's going to nursery in like two weeks!! Mike and I are so excited to actually be able to sit in class and get to listen to the lessons and get more spiritually fed on Sundays at church! For those that don't know, Nursery is a class for the 18 mo-3 year olds where they have little lessons about Jesus and how to be good kids and play with other kids reverently at our church. And as some of you may know, trying to keep an 18 month old occupied and not bored at church for three hours can be very challenging. So in two weeks Jonas will be going to nursery and we are so happy that we get to go to church and actually learn something instead of wandering the halls with a busy body 18 month old.

Aside from that, Jonas is doing well. He is learning so many new things everyday and is getting so much better at talking. He says probably close to around 50 words (I kinda lost count...), like mama, dada, mo (more), nana (banana), car, cup, pa (puppy dog), RAWR, ball, ba (binky), bye bye, bwa (bread), hhhaaa (hot), and the list goes on and on. He is walking like a champ and starting to run when he gets really excited about something. We went to the park the other day and he was running down the hill giggling (faceplanting every now and then), it was the cutest thing you have ever seen! He also drinks from straws and is learning to eat with a fork. He loves to help me clean. He especially loves helping me get the clean dishes out of the dishwasher and put them away! An interesting fact about Jonas: he wears an 18 mo size top and a 12 mo size bottom...strange I know, but he has short legs and a little waist.

Mike is still working at Home Depot. He works in the garden department now, and things have gotten really busy for them over there. It's pretty tough and physically demanding (loading 30 bags of mulch per customer). But he loves the fast past work and being constantly busy. He especially loves being outside. And seeing and having to water all the plants doesn't hurt either. ;) He's usually up at 5 am every morning. He such an amazing guy! Sometimes I wonder how I was so lucky. Mike reapplied to both BYU and BYU Idaho. He was accepted to both and decided to go to BYU Idaho. We have already been there so we know how the school works and the area. We also wouldn't have to worry about credits not transferring either. Mike was assigned the Spring/Fall track at BYUI and starts classes in Sept. So we are now faced with a dilemma. Do we leave our awesome jobs and move once our lease is up here in August? Do we stay and resign here for a whole other year (they only do yr leases...) while Mike does online classes for two semesters? Or do we find another place in Champaign that will sign a shorter lease while Mike does one semester online? The choices are tough. But I think we have decided to stay and Mike will do at least one semester online. I just don't know whether or not I want to move to another place in Champaign and then like six months later move to Idaho. But we'll do whatever we need to do I guess.

So moving on to myself I guess. I got a job. I am also working at Home Depot! I am a paint associate. I love mixing paint! When I worked for my parents at Longfellow Building Supply in CA, it was one of my favorite things to do! My dad would kind of put me in charge of paint stuff and have me make sure all our bases were in stock, the color chips were all organized and put in the right places, the colorants were all full and the machine was working properly, and of course I would mix the paint for customers all the time too. So I guess Home Depot saw all of my experience there and figured I was a good fit for the position. It is so nice having to paychecks coming in every payday instead of one. We are actually saving money now. We paid off our credit card debt with our tax return and actually have money in savings (which is kind of a first for us)! I really do like my job a lot. I get to interact with people and be out of the house for a few hours. But I will say that I do feel a little sad that I'm not with my baby all day everyday like I used to be. He used to cry when I left for work and it would break my heart every time I closed the front door. But he has gotten better and doesn't cry when I leave anymore. Which is good for him and his development, but makes me a little sad that my baby doesn't need me as much as he used to. He is just growing up too fast!!

-Aubrey

Here we come 2013!

Well it has been a LONG time since I have updated the blog!! Life has been so crazy that I can't keep up! So let's see...what has happened since the last post? Here are some pictures from throughout 2012 of our family.

From left to right/top to bottom: Me and Jonas when he was about 6 months or so, Jonas riding Mike's shoulders in the park (he loves being up there!), Jonas lookin sharp for church, Jonas showing off his pumpkin on Halloween, me and Mike on the beach in Alabama, daddy holding Jonas after a tiring walk around the park, and us looking at the Christmas lights in Alabama.

 

Let's see this summer Mike lost his job at Chase bank. Long story short he didn't smile enough...whatever. So he then got a job working in the lumber department at Home Depot and is still there and enjoying it tons! He now works in multiple departments and loves the work and enjoys the people there too (which is more than he can say about any of his other jobs here in IL). Mike also is reconsidering his education. Not whether or not to pursue it, but where and what kind of degree to pursue. Being here at the U of I has been a real eye opener for the both of us. We didn't realize how good our lives were at BYU-I until we left. The schools themselves are complete polar opposites of each other. I guess I could say that we miss the safety of "The Bubble" that we lived in. Though we enjoy being out in the world and not completely surrounded by members, it's still nice to be in a place where you know your standards won't be questioned or anything. Along with that, finishing his undergrad here makes other things like putting food on the table and a roof over our heads a little difficult. Mike is a non-traditional student. A university like this one is not meant for non-traditional undergrads, not to mention the cost!! Mike has also taken some of the classes required for food science degrees and he has realized that there are a lot of things that go into food science that he isn't quite interested in doing (like all the chemistry...he has recently discovered is dislike for the subject...) So we've been doing a lot of thinking and praying to decide what we should do. Mike has re-applied to BYU-I and BYU. We are in the final stages of the application process and hope to hear back soon as to where he gets in (I'm feeling pretty confident he'll get into both :) ). So it is a pretty likely possibility that we will be moving back out west again, though we don't know exactly where just yet. There are a lot of things to take into consideration once we get the news. So suffice it to say Mike has dropped out of the U of I and will be continuing his degree at either BYU-I or BYU.

So on to myself I guess. I am hoping to finish up my Bachelor's. I am going to wait until Mike gets settled into a school (whichever it may be) and then figure out online or actual classes (depending on where we end up). I am also currently seeking employment right now so that we can save up enough money to make the move out west. I have a few leads so we'll see how they play out in the next week or so. The extra source of income will help a lot, even though I do not want to spend any time away from my baby. But it is something that is quite necessary at this point so I;m gonna have to buck up and do it. I spend most of my time playing with Jonas and feeding Jonas. And when I say feed I mean FEED! He eats like crazy!! But we'll get to him in a moment. I'm hoping to start some new sewing projects soon and make some fun toys and gifts for all my friends that are expecting. :) But basically I am a stay at home mommy and I love every minute of it! :)

So the moment you all have been waiting for....(drum roll please)....the Jonas update.

 I mean let's be honest, he is way more interesting than we are. Jonas turned a year old on October 21st. Mike's parents came for his birthday from Virginia. We had a fun weekend! We went to Springfield to go to the zoo, but they were having a Halloween carnival thingy and all the animals were put away...and there was no way of knowing that until we got there...so that was a bummer. So we found a cool pumpkin patch that was on the way home that we stopped at and picked out a few pumpkins. Jonas loved riding around in the little wagon along side the pumpkins. The next day after church we packed up a picnic lunch and went to the park for a birthday picnic. After we ate lunch, we went for a walk around the park and Jonas played in the grass and had a grand old time. Once it started getting dark we headed home and opened presents and ate cake. All in all Jonas had a pretty fun first birthday!

So moving on, Jonas is a walking fool. He walks all over the place and has this sense of independence these days. He has to do everything by himself. He doesn't want any help, but if he somehow gets in a pickle and needs help he isn't afraid to let you know! (If you know what I mean...) He still only has his two bottom front teeth so eating can be a challenge, but he acts like he has all his teeth and can eat anything he wants. Jonas has started dancing recently too. Whenever music comes on the radio or the tv he bounces a little and sways from side to side. It is actually quite humorous, but every time I try to take a video of him dancing he stops and looks at the camera with a look on his face like, "What are you doing mom?"

I cannot believe how much has changed in our life since last year. How much each of us has changed and grown and developed. Obviously the physical growth of Jonas and the way he becomes more and more aware everyday. His growth and development amazes me! Mike and I have learned a lot this last year too. There were some things we had to learn by moving 1,500 miles away! But if we were given the opportunity we would do it all over again...probably :P We have had such an amazing year and we can't wait to see the adventures that lie ahead in 2013!!

Above: Christmas 2011 Right: Christmas 2012
The change and growth is just amazing!