Taken For Granted

There are so many things that we have in our everyday lives that we don't think about or maybe we do because we hate the way they function or don't function, depending on the situation. There was one inparticular thing that didn't really bother me in Troutdale, but now that I'm in Kentucky, I realize it should have bothered me.

My FAUCET!

In Troutdale, the water pressure was miserable. I don't know why, Kyle doesn't know why and we never did anything about it because it didn't bother me. My brother, Casey, hated it and told me every time he was at our house that he hated it, but it really didn't bother me. Once we got to Kentucky, the water pressure was amazing! So much so, that the water would shoot in all directions because it was a cheap apartment faucet that should have never made it into a house like this or lasted as long as it did in a house like this! So, after a few weeks with the awful thing, Kyle bought me a new faucet. It's beautiful. It has a long neck and when you turn the water on, it can be set to warm instead of trying to find the right tempurature with the hot and cold seperately. It's wonderful with the perfect water pressure to get the job done as well! 

Another thing you never think about when it comes to moving into a new place is the window treatments. I love the natural light that comes into our new home. In Troutdale, we had the windows in the livingroom that had a tree blocking. As much as I loved the tree during the summer for shade and privacy, it became a problem for bringing in natural light. In our new house, the light is fabulous, but something to think about, privacy, just a little! The window by our front door, at one time must have had a window treatment of some kind, but it had been taken down and nothing else was put up. The main problem with that was, our window looks directly across to our neighbor's front door. Not great when you have to get up in the middle of the night in your pjs or your son takes off his underwear to go potty and doesn't put them back on again! I've put up a window treatment for the moment. They need to be sewn properly (they are pinned right now), but we now have a little privacy when moving around the house!

I hate having boxes full of stuff all over the house, knowing that I need to put it away. It is so nice to look at the newly empty boxes and know that I have done something for the day! They are the perfect thing for the kids to play with as well until they are flattened! What has really been nice is being able to take my time and find the right spot for everything. My goal is to have a place for everything. If it doesn't have a place, it can't stay, so I'm taking my time and doing it properly.

Another thing that I don't feel I took for granted, but really appreciated, was having my mom close by to cut the boys' hair. They never sit still for me and are usually willing to sit still for her. Since my mom isn't an option anymore, we had to take them to Super Cuts to get their hair cut. Gordon didn't really care one way or another and sat perfectly still and Eddie thought it was so fun. They both look great, but we are definitely going to have to find some coupons or a less expensive place because little boys' haircuts shouldn't cost so much!

Some other things that I have found I took for granted in Troutdale? One would definitely be the distance to different places. I would think it was awful when Kyle had to run over to the Stake Center for church to pick something up or drop something off. It took up so much gas to go that 15 minutes away. Now, I will never complain about it again! We meet at the Stake Center for church now. The drive is just over 20 minutes away by freeway. We actually have come up with a new plan for getting up and going in the morning. We get up and dress. Then I prepare bagels and cream cheese that they have to eat in sandwich form on the way to church. Since we have 20 minutes, they can eat, and we can all relax and listen to church music. It's not a horrible way at all to start our day and so far, after doing it for a few weeks, we're getting into a good pattern.

Something else that I always knew I was blessed with and appreciated, but also knew that I was leaving behind and would miss completely was having grandparents close by. I know that many people don't live close to family, but since Celeste was just a baby, we've lived near our family. There has always been someone there to help out if I needed it. There has also always been someone there if the kids needed to get out of our house and have a new environment. Many times we would take a walk to Nana and Papa's house or to Grandma's work, just because we needed to get out of the house. There were also the Sundays when I just didn't want to cook and Grandma was willing to let us come over and enjoy the afternoon with her. I definitely knew then and I know now, that I was lucky. We're slowly learning how to deal with not having those blessings around. The kids are still in a good place where they have plenty to do. For them, going up and sliding down the stairs may never wear off. (Our carpet may shred into pieces, but the kids are happy!) We also have a basement and garage that they can ride their scooter or bike in, so even when it is raining outside, they can play. I must say, that after cooking for six days in a row, it was sure nice to go out for dinner!

We knew that we were blessed to have all of our family so close for so long. It was so nice knowing that there were people around that we could count on if we needed them. We also knew that this is where our Heavenly Father wants us right now. I love knowing that our family is just a phone call or email away. The blessings we have now of facebook and text messaging or google talk are amazing. We can chat with anyone, anywhere, at anytime if we want. I'm so grateful for the new blessings I have. I feel that if I need to live away from my family, it's REALLY nice to have a house that helps with the kids' energy levels, so life doesn't get too hard that we hate it.

I think everone has things they take for granted. What are some things you take for granted and are so grateful for?