Lost and Found!

First off, I just want to thank everyone who shared their sympathy and concerns for us when our car was stolen. We truly have amazing friends and family, who I know would be more than willing to help us out in our times of need. Most of all I want to thank those who prayed on our behalf. On Monday of this week those prayers were answered.


Kyle got a phone call from a police officer in Chandler on Monday afternoon saying that our car had been located. We didn't get any information aside from the address during that phone call. So, we braced ourselves for the worse case scenario. I kept telling Kyle on the way, " they would tell us if it was in usable condition on the phone, right?" and "the only reason they didn't tell us more than that is because they want to break the bad news to our faces, it's more harsh coming from over the phone." I kept looking at the address though and thinking, this sounds like it's in a residential area. Why would someone leave the shell of a car tucked in some residential area. Wouldn't they want to leave it somewhere secluded and less frequented like a ditch or a canal? There was a lot to think about during our 20 minute drive to meet the police officer and assess the damage. When we finally got to the car it was parked in front of a house in a residential area, as I had suspected from the address. I looked it over right away and from what I could see it looked just fine. Completed untouched from the outside. The seats were still intact. Of course the inside was a different matter. Every paper that had been in the car was scattered all over the place, and the license plate was missing. There were little white pills scatterd all over the passenger seat and the floor, which ended up being mints that Kyle had gotten from the marketing department at his work. The ignition had been filed down in order to hotwire the car and the steering column had been tampered with for the same purpose. That's it though! We could not believe it when Kyle went to start the car and it worked! The engine was completely intact, the car ran, we had it back! We thanked the police officer a billion times. I seriously almost cried and just wanted to hug her! She had told us that ealier that past weekend the Chandler PD busted a Honda chop shop very close to that location. She believes that the address our car was at was a drop off point, and that our car had been meant for that shop. The woman who lived in the home it was parked in front of said that she had seen a caucasian male park the car there on Saturday. He had told her that the car was broken down and he was going to get some help. She had never seen him before, and she never saw him after that. We have no idea what they did with our car during the entire week that has not been accounted for, but we're glad we have it back.


We took it into an auto shop and they fixed the ignition, steering column and a bunch of other things that have needed to be fixed for awhile now. We got a club for the steering wheel last night which we're hoping will deter any further theft. Of course anything of value was still taken from the vehicle. Chase's stroller is gone and most likely lost forever, and all of Kyle's sporting equipment. I have a bit of a hard time when I think about the man who stole our car sitting in our seats, and rummaging through our stuff, and driving it for a week. He had gone through all of our papers and he knew what we looked like from our picture. There was a deposit envelope that had been tossed on the ground with Kyle's full name on it and our bank account number. I still feel violated to some extent because of what he knows about us. Luckily Kyle primarily drives it, and he doesn't seem to care about that stuff as much as I do, so he's just fine! We can't hardly complain about any of it though, when we think about how blessed we are that at least we have it back! We consider ourselves very fortunate, and extremely blessed.


So that's the story! Sorry it's a long one. I was going to take a picture of our little Accord, but I forgot to do it yesterday when we got it back from the shop, and Kyle took it to work this morning, so no picture of our car. Posts are always more fun with pictures though so I thought I'd post one of a similar Accord!

Photo Shoot

Then...

(Above)I think this is about as young as you can get. Chase at only a couple minutes old. (Below) Chase about 1 week old.

and Now...


What a cutie!

Look at him gripping the lace, getting ready for the big throw!

With his best toy friend Eeyore! He goes crazy whenever we show him Eeyore, and if he spots him across the room, his eyes light up and he scoots right on over to him to give him some squeezes and smooches!

We got Chase's 9 month pictures on June 6th . Ya, I know that he was only 2 days away from being a 10 month old but technically he was still 9 months old when these were taken. So don't judge me! When we got them back I just couldn't believe how grown up he looked in them. I guess you don't really notice how fast they grow when you see them everyday but, goodness me! My little man is growing up! I was looking at him today when he was standing up and just thinking how tall he looks, and how thick his golden reddish locks are (yeah, red. What the?) Then I had to break out the newborn pictures so that I could compare. I'll post a couple of those too. These past 10 months have flown by! Anyways here they are...

Rolling With the Punches

Another bath picture of Chase, he's just so cute during his baths we always end up taking pictures!

Outside Chase Field

Inside the ballpark, it wasn't a very intense game

Chase being cheesy after his nap!

Sweet little baby!

It's been awhile since I've posted and I promise I have a good excuse. This past weeekend was a lot of fun for us. We got to attend a D-Backs game, Kyle's first one, and we both really enjoyed it! Then we had Father's day which was so much fun for all of us! Chase and I really enjoyed pampering the daddy in our home and Kyle and I loved calling home to our wonderful fathers to let them know how much we appreciate them. Needless to say we were sad that Monday was right around the corner and we'd be back to work, and the hustle and bustle of the weekdays. Well, Monday morning we go through our routine. Kyle gets up and showers, then dresses for work. Then he goes to get some breakfast. At this point, I wake up to prepare his lunch while he eats his breakfast. We talk, and at some point during all of this Chase wakes up to join us (we're probably not as quiet as we should be). Chase is usually still tired so we feed him a bottle and send him back to bed. I usually get back in bed also, and take advantage of some more zzz's while Chase is sleeping. Kyle comes in after getting his stuff together and brushing his teeth to give me a hug and a kiss goodbye. I hear him collect his stuff, leave and lock the door behind him. A few minutes later I hear him come back in. This is what is going through my mind in a very short amount of time...maybe he forgot something, or what if the car's not starting? In all reality ever since our car got broken into when we were here on the internship, I always get a little rush of adrenaline and think, oh no, the car got broken into! I'm usually not much of a worrier but Kyle is NOT a forgetful person, so I know that the latter assumptions have more of a chance of occuring than the first. He walked into the bedroom and asked, "hey Jess, where did you park the Accord when you came home from work on Saturday?" I told him I had parked it right next to our Sonata. I already knew this was not a good sign that he hadn't seen it where we almost ALWAYS park it. Fear set in and I started freaking out "WHAT?! Where is it!? It was there when we left for church yesterday and there when we came home, and we didn't take it anywhere else! Are you telling me it's not there?!"


If you haven't guessed it by now I will tell you, our Accord was stolen. Yep, GONE! You always hear about auto theft happening to other people, but if you're anything like me you never think that it will happen to you. I was completely and utterly floored and just plain hurt! I kept thinking about what we had in the car and what kind of person would be so heartless. Chase's Graco stroller was in the trunk along with a ton of Kyle's sporting equipment from softball bats, and tennis rackets, to balls and mitts and other various items. Kyle kept a picture of he and I when we were dating in the front seat where the speedometer is. Just to think that the guy knew what we look like and that we have a baby just shot my senses. I really couldn't think straight, we were both just seriously shocked. At any rate Kyle snapped out of it and got the police report in, and things were sorted out with the insurance company. We're definitely sad that our little Honda is gone (especially Kyle) but we just realize that these things happen and there are worse things that could happen to us. We won't be getting another car for a long time, unless we meet desperate times. We are trying to follow the advice of Dave Ramsey though, and save up to buy our next vehicle in cash (thanks Christy and Ben for recommending that book to us). I had to quit my job, because we really depended on a 2nd vehicle for that, and we've decided to rent a home for the next few years instead of buy one now. So this caused us to take a major step back, but we feel it will be the best for us in the long run.


Anyways, I thought I would post some pictures of some of the good times we had this weekend and I hope you all enjoy!

Belle!

You Are Belle!

Intelligent and kind. Your beauty goes much further than your apperance. Also, you make judgements of people based on their personality and not their looks. Attaining all the knowledge that you can is one of your major goals in life, but you are also a person who can make things happen.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

I know I'm a little bit of a nerd, but I actually like taking these little quizzes. I mean, come on who doesn't like answering a few simple questions about their likes and dislikes then have the results compare you to one of the beautiful, perfect little disney princesses. FUN, I know! Anyway, I totally thought I would be Jasmine but I suppose I am more like Belle. I am okay with that though because I've always loved Beauty and the Beast and Belle is one of my favorite disney princesses. My sister took the quiz first and she got Pocohantas. It was pretty fun and interesting to take. I wonder which disney princess Kyle would be?

Back To School

For a long time now Kyle and I have talked about me going back to school to finish what I started and get my nursing degree. We first decided to hold off so Kyle could obtain his Master's degree. Lately I would think yo myself , this is what I love and what I really want to do, and it's only going to become harder to attain the longer I wait. So, needless to say we talked about it again and Kyle and I agree the timing couldn't be better! So we are planning on staying in Mesa so that I can get into MCC's nursing program. I am hoping that the application process won't take to long but there are a ton of steps I have to take before I can even be considered. I already had my transcripts from BYUI transferrred and when they receive them I'll meet with a nursing advisor. I'm starting to study for the NET (Nurse Entrance Test), after which I will need to get a fingerprint card, background check, and much much more. The good news is I have already taken all the pre-requisites and all but 2 of the co-requisites. I hope and pray that they will transfer over. I am so thrilled to be doing this, it's been a dream for so long. My mom said that when I was little if someone in our family was sick I would ask them "what are your symptoms"? Then I would try to come up with a diagnosis and then deliver the prognosis to my family member. It was serious stuff. I've always loved working in medically related fields, Bio Medics for example, was and still is the best job I've ever had. I loved that place, (aside from the drama). At any rate I am very excited one, to be going back to school, I actually miss taking classes quite a bit (I know I'm weird). Two, because I'm following my dream and I am determined to achieve it, and that is a great feeling. It will be slow going because I don't think I can manage being a full time nursing student with clinicals and have a small child at home, but in the end I know it will be totally worth it! I'll have to get a lot of advice and pep talks from my wonderful aunt, who is a registered Neo Natal nurse in California. Last but definitely not least, I want to give my mom a gigantic congratulations! She just found out this morning that she has been accepted into a very competetive nursing program! Way to go mom, your extremely hard work has paid off! I know you'll do an excellent job in the program and become a wonderful nurse! You are such a great example for me, and I hope that I can follow in your footsteps and make you as proud of me as I am of you for your achievement!

Weekly News

Chase spoon feeding himself

The newest addition to our home



Well it's sort of becoming a once a week routine to update our blog. Where is all the time going? Not too much is new, and maybe that's why I haven't been more motivated to update. I did get reprimanded by Kyle for putting up a picture of the house we'd put an offer on. I thought it was pretty though, and a lot of people had asked to see a picture of it, so I put it on our blog (kill a few birds with one stone). Apparently there were many others that thought that the house was pretty also, because we got outbid. It's been a good thing though because we saw about three others that we LOVED this weekend! I believe it was for the best! It is most definitely a buyers market, no question about it. So in the future if any of you want updates on the house search I'll email you, because I guess that posting pictures of "could be" homes is not proper house hunting etiquette!


On another note Chase is a mobile monster! He gets around really quickly, and it's just made a world of difference for him. He loves to explore and he relishes in being able to be independent and entertain himself. He also pulls himself up on things by himself (which is tough for him, he's a big boy at 21 lbs)! He shakes his head "no" when he's done eating or doesn't want to do something. He tries to spoon feed himself, and he can actually do really well most of the time, he still gets pretty messy though. He's also started dancing when we sing to him, and he growls at us when he's angry about something! We took him in for his late 9 month old pictures this last week and we were so proud of him. He finished his photo session in about 5-10 minutes flat! He was all smiles anbd we got in some great shots. We're really excited to get them back! He's got such a little attitude and he's just so spunky, we enjoy every minute of being with him and watching him grow.


We are enjoying the new addition to our home, our treadmill. We are planning on running in a 5k when we go to Idaho for the 4th of July so we've been trying to train a bit for that so we don't make fools of ourselves. It's actually been a lot of fun this past week and I've enjoyed the challenge, hopefully it'll reap big rewards!

A Walk in the Park

Chase!

Payton!

Cousins!

The house (and me). This is it! This is the one we put an offer on so we'll see if we get it. We'll let you know if we do!

Kyle made me take a picture of Chase like this. He thought it would be funny to pull his pants up like a nerd and maybe use it for blackmail later. I thought he looked like Tweedle Dee!




I haven't been the best at blogging lately, these past couple weeks have been busy ones for us. We put an offer on a house, Chase finally figured out how to move around, we bought a treadmill (which is really exciting for me, I've wanted one since we got married), and Chase has been sick (a not so great thing). This is the first time he's really been sick since he was born. He had mild congestion for a day when he was about 3 months old but other than that the kid has had an immune system of steel! He's had a runny nose and has been sneezing and just started coughing recently too, poor littly guy. We've still found ways to have fun around our house though, despite all the excitement and added stress of the new things taking place in our lives. We had a little play date with our little nephew Payton last weekend so Nick and Brent could make a trip to the temple and we took the cousins to the park near our apartments. They were so cute playing, we just couldn't resist snapping some shots of the handsome boys!