Swensen Sentral

Some things I have noticed about the culture here in St Louis: 1. People are so friendly. Seriously, almost everyone I met when we first got here, from the car rental guy to the shuttle driver to the ladies riding the shuttle, has been over-the-top friendly. People at the grocery store are friendly, and even the auto repair shop fixed my tire problem for FREE because they said they "felt bad for me".  What a beautiful thing to live around such friendly people.  2. Having a big family here is quite average. In fact, I don't think 4 kids is considered a big family.  When I told the car rental guy I needed a van because we had four kids, he didn't bat an eye. He just said, "Cool, I've got four too."  Rick joked with one of the realtors showing us a house about our big crew of four running around and she said "Oh no problem, I know what that's like. I raised six."  And the people at the grocery store don't look at me with wide eyes. They do...

Quick post of some pics I haven't had time to do anything with.  Stopped at a playground to let the kids out for some much needed running around.  Soleil climbed this Rick wall like a champ! No help from anyone. It was pretty impressive.  And she climbed to the top of this awesome 3 story slide and went down by herself without a second thought.   Sawyers favorite thing is climbing Our neighbors have two huge Great Danes!  They are seriously so big in person. This pic doesn't do them justice.  I think they stand at about Amelie's shoulders. And the more amazing thing about it is...they live in the same tiny 2 bedroom apartment as we do! Took the kids to the science museum. We had to walk from our car to the front doors. I think it was like 10 degrees outside but the wind was blowing so it had to have taken that down like 50 degrees!  Chase's face will give you an idea of how cold it felt.  Yeah! Auto place called to tell me my van tire was fix...

I hope I never forget these morning snuggles. When they are 17 and 11 they won't find as much joy out of snuggling in bed together.  And it's a perfect morning for snuggles when it's 3 degrees outside. 

I wonder if they're going to like these goofballs?! That's better.  I was surprised to find myself a little nervous this morning, wishing that I was going to see all the familiar faces that I love, instead knowing I would be amongst strangers and having to make friends all over again. But I remembered last time I did that, and how wonderful it turned out to be to meet so many great new people that became my lifelong friends. I knew The Lord would take care of us today, and He did.  After I dropped Soleil off at nursery, a very sweet woman walked right up to me and said "You are someone I don't know. What's your name?" She walked me to Sunday school and then sat with me all through Relief Society. Several other women introduced themselves to me during and after Relief Society and I felt so welcome. I also had a tender mercy. I've been a little worried about the kids and school. I don't want to start them in school until we buy a house and know where we ...

I feel like I have so much to update and don't know where to begin. So I guess I'll start with whatever comes to mind.  Finally did a full grocery run tonight. Feels SOOO good that we have real food to eat now. We've been living off fast food and Nutella sandwiches for the past several days and it's getting old.  Our cars arrived yesterday. We were happy to see them. It was familiar, like a little bit of home came with us.  We decided to skip church yesterday. We were just too tired to go and felt like we needed an extra day to catch up. Plus with Rick starting work Monday, I knew Sunday would be my last day to have him help me get our apartment put together so I wouldn't go crazy this next week with the kids. (He has learned that my mood sets the tone of the home so he was very willing to help me with that, thankfully.) So we headed to Rick's favorite store, Costco, and bought a rug, a couch, and a TV. Yeah, it was a big trip. We sold a few things before we lef...

I feel like I have so much to update and don't know where to begin. So I guess I'll start with whatever comes to mind.  Finally did a full grocery run tonight. Feels SOOO good that we have real food to eat now. We've been living off fast food and Nutella sandwiches for the past several days and it's getting old.  Our cars arrived yesterday. We were happy to see them. It was familiar, like a little bit of home came with us.  We decided to skip church yesterday. We were just too tired to go and felt like we needed an extra day to catch up. Plus with Rick starting work Monday, I knew Sunday would be my last day to have him help me get our apartment put together so I wouldn't go crazy this next week with the kids. (He has learned that my mood sets the tone of the home so he was very willing to help me with that, thankfully.) So we headed to Rick's favorite store, Costco, and bought a rug, a couch, and a TV. Yeah, it was a big trip. We sold a few things before we lef...

Sooo....lots to catch up on, but no time to do it now. Here's a quick peak of our fancy new place.  Family/Dining Room (complete with folding table and chairs aaaand...nothing else.) Kids bedroom (they each get their very own bed! and colorful clothing chests) Kitchen, small but beautiful Master Suite (so happy we have a bed and not just a floor) Just the beginning of a grand new adventure. 

(For some reason this never posted either, so here it is late) So many things to update on.  Bowling for Tylers Birthday Santa Claus at the mall Reindeer at Thanksgiving Point Horse-drawn carriage ride at The Riverwoods Snow!! Swimming at Dallins pool Listening to Dallin sing at The Awful Waffle Welcoming baby Scarlett Best buddies on the couch watching morning cartoons Duct tape for dinner finally got him to finish eating and stop falling off his chair Putting up the Christmas Tree