Fay’s birthday marked the beginning of a very large string of events that have led us to where we are now. I will give you the “bulleted” version

• May 7: Fay turned 3, Josh’s mom came to visit for graduation and help us pack
• May 8: My dad arrived for graduation
• May 9: Josh graduated with his Masters degree in computer science from UNC!!!!
• May10: My dad flew home
• May 12: Josh’s mom flew home and my Mother and sisters arrived in Durham by train to help us move
• May 13: We loaded a truck in the morning, turned in our keys, and started driving at about noon. We arrived in Union City, Georgia (just outside of Atlanta) and stayed the night.
• May 14: We drove to New Orleans, saw the city a little, ate some beignets and gumbo, and stayed the night in La Place, Louisiana.
• May 15: We drove to Austin, Texas to see my brother, Michael and his family. We also, filled out all our “closing” documents for our house and sent them to Utah. We had a fabulous weekend in Austin!
• May 18: We left Austin at 5:30 in the morning and drove to Lubbock, Texas where we stopped at a library to finish closing on our house, and establish utilities in our name. (The way timing worked on that was positively miraculous!) We arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico where we stayed with my cousin, Asael and his family! They took very good care of us!
• May 19: We left Albuquerque around 9:30 AM and drove to Monticello, Utah to visit my Grandma! Fay was able to meet Grandma Fay! It was very special! She also took good care of us, and we learned lots of family history!
• May 20: We left Monticello about 8:00 AM and made it to our new house (which we had never seen before) in West Jordan at about 1:30 PM! Our families came to help us unload our truck and give us hugs! We felt amazingly blessed by how everything turned out just right!

Since May 20, we have unpacked roughly 75 boxes, Josh has done a comparable number of home-fixes, we have been to a bunch of super fun family parties, seen some old friends, gotten a new library card(!!!!), done some yard work, been to our new ward, rediscovered the joys of Macey’s and WinCo, and are starting to feel at home in our new place! Oh yes, and Josh has started the new job that brought us all the way out here!

The best thing about our new life is that Jesus is the Christ and we are an Eternal family! That was also the best thing about our old life! It is just the best thing about life! We are SO grateful for the hand of the the Lord in our life!!

And here is some photo documentation of the whole thing!

 

Today, Fay turns 3 years old! The other night, I told her the story of when she was born. She couldn’t believe that she was so small and it is even hard for me to believe how tiny she actually was.

When she was born, I was convinced that she was the most beautiful thing that ever lived on the earth. And I recall hoping that she would not grow to look different. But as she grew, and continues to grow, she just becomes more and more beautiful–as you can see.

Anyway, enough about THEN. Let’s talk about Fay NOW!

Fay’s interests/likes include:

• Princesses—especially Belle, Aurora, and Odette
• Dresses—it is just about the end of the world if none of her dresses are clean
• Twirling and dancing
• Coloring
• Make believe going to her “class” or to her “choir”
• Singing
• Reading stories
• Racing with Mommy and Daddy
• Ramen–her request for food on her birthday

Some dislikes of Fay:

• Getting her hair done
• Wearing pants
• Fire alarm—the loud noise is absolutely terrifying for her
• Bugs on her
• “Going potty in the car”*
• “People pushing me”*
• “Bears, lions, and tigers who go rarrr!”* (she actually loves pretending to be all of those animals and scaring anyone who will be scared)

*From the mouth of Fay

Fay is always wanting to be a princess! She will allow me to do her hair only if it is “a bun like Tiana” or “one braid like Elsa” or “two braids like Ana.” She loves dresses because princesses wear dresses. But she also knows that princesses are brave and strong and she wants to be those things too!

Fay also loves helping! Last week, Fay awoke from her nap to find that I had cleaned the bathroom without her. She cried and sulked for quite some time because she LOVES to help with the bathroom!  She also loves helping in the kitchen and with babies! She will sometimes entertain Carter for me when she knows I’m busy or stressed. She is, in my opinion, the perfect first child!

She loves playing with the other kids in our neighborhood. I think it will be hard for her to move away from the land of a jillion families with young kids within 1/4 mile.

 

This video is just a tiny taste of the princess musical we live in daily thanks to Fay!  If you want to know what she is singing, just look up “Dare to Risk it all Sofia the First” on youtube.

One of the sweetest experiences I’ve ever had with Fay was just a few days ago. She woke me up for the day by climbing up on the bed and singing “We are a Happy Family” from the children’s songbook and giving me a little kiss on the cheek. She definitely has her moments of tantrum and deliberate disobedience from instructions; but on the whole, she is a sweet, loving little blonde angel. And we love her with all our hearts!

Happy Birthday, Faymous!