Grateful for Summer

We have absolutely loved our summer in Oregon so far! It is so beautiful here. Hillsboro is a small city bordered by never-ending waves of wheat fields. The city itself is covered in colorful roses and surrounded by gigantic pine trees. It is usually overcast, but warm and hasn't rained a single day that we have been here! It definitely is a perfect place to train for a marathon and Benjamin has accompanied me on several runs. Sometimes while running, I just have to stop so I can admire the stunning scenery.

There are little trails going through wooded areas all throughout the city, so you can feel like you're deep in the middle of nature just a few feet from leaving your apartment door! It's incredible. We have been on a lot of little hikes to different parks around Hillsboro. There is nothing I like better than lying with my family on a blanket on the grass, staring up at the blue sky through green leaves. We always take a book with us so we can take turns reading a chapter out loud to each other. It is heaven.

The community pool has become a favorite for our family too! We go several times a week, sometimes in the heat of the day and sometimes to enjoy a late evening swim. We usually see several families from the ward while we are there. Benjamin loves staring at the kids splashing and jumping in the water and has begun to relax a bit himself in the pool. At first, his entire boy would be so tense the whole time we were in the water, but now he will smile and giggle when we bounce him up and down to create little waves. One evening at the pool, when Benjamin was long overdue for a nap, we began to practice floating on his back. He looked so calm and content floating in the water, with only Ammon's hand under his head for support. After several minutes, we noticed that his breathing was slow and deep. Benjamin had fallen asleep in the swimming pool! Haha, it was too adorable to wake him up, so Ammon held him for his entire 20 minute nap in the pool. Benjamin is definitely turning into a little fishy!

I am so grateful for beautiful summer days with my little family!

Four months!

Benjamin James - 4 months old!

I cannot believe how much Benjamin has changed this month! It seemed like over night he went from a cuddly, quiet newborn to a bouncy, giggly, playful baby!

The first thing that Benjamin discovered this month was TOYS! We had a few toys that we had been given at baby showers, but he had never shown any interest in them so I thought he was just to young. But this month, when Benjamin and I were living at my parents house, my mom would watch him sit calmly and quietly in his bouncer and would say, "That boy needs a toy!" So the next day at Walmart she marched us to the baby toy aisle and we let Benjamin pick his favorite, a squeaky smiley-faced giraffe with colorful plastic rings instead of legs. I was so surprised how much Benjamin loved his toy! He quickly learned how to grab onto the plastic rings and he refused to let go. He loves sucking on his new friend's nose and bursts into a grin whenever someone makes it squeak. Thank you, Gigi!

Benjamin also discovered his feet this month and it is the cutest thing ever! When you lie Benjamin on the ground, he immediately swings his feet up by his head and grabs them with both of his hands. This boy is incredibly flexible and he loves sucking on his toes.

I am absolutely in love with my little cutie's laugh! When Benjamin first started laughing it sounded more like an old man wheezing. It was so hilarious! But after just a few weeks he figured out the laughing thing, and now he has the cutest, happiest belly laugh in the world! Daddy is the best at getting him to laugh. He walks in the door after work, takes one look at Benjamin, and immediately gets him to squeal and laugh in delight! I just love watching my two boys and seeing how much they absolutely adore each other!

Well, summer is here! And for Benjamin and me that means a lot of free time to snuggle, play outside, go for beautiful runs, and escape the heat at the community pool. It has been so wonderful to have a little buddy with me wherever I go this summer. Now that we have a running stroller (thank you, Grandma Gruwell!) Benjamin has become my running buddy! He is so patient and sweet while we run in the hot sun for miles and miles every day. I thought I loved running before, but now whenever I get discouraged or tired I can look down into my little boy's sweet face, smiling up at my from his carrier. After our runs I like to take him straight to the swimming pool, so we can both cool off.

I love swimming with Benjamin! He looks so adorable and chubby in his little swimming suit. Benjamin is still getting used to the pool. He never complains, but he always curls his hands into tight fists and keeps them right against his chest and just stares with wide eyes and all the kids splashing and shouting in the water. Lately he's started to relax a little bit more and last time we were even able to get a genuine smile!

Life is so fun with Benjamin James! We're so glad you are ours!

Grateful for God's Tender Mercies

This month our little family began our summer adventure in Oregon! I was nervous to leave family in Provo, but we have absolutely loved it here.

The story of finding a place to live out here is an incredible example of Heavenly Father's goodness and tender mercies. I had been looking online for an apartment in Hillsboro, but all that I could find were modern, luxury apartments in fancy neighborhoods that were waaaay out of our price range. So I began searching in surrounding cities, like Beaverton and Tigard. This would mean about a 30 minute drive to and from work everyday for Ammon, and would also mean that I would never be able to have a car during the day, but they were sacrifices we were willing to make. I found a couple of apartments that were more affordable for us, in the $900-$1000 a month range, though they were still much more than we had ever paid in Provo for an apartment! However, when I called to check for availability, I was informed that any contract less than 6 months would have an additional $300 monthly fee. And then we realized that moving all of our furniture to Oregon for the summer was kind of unrealistic, so we were going to have to add on another $300 a month for furniture rental and $100 a month for a storage unit in Provo. After adding up all the math, we realized that we were looking at more than $1,600 a month, just for rent!

We continued to search for another solution, but as the time drew nearer for Ammon's internship to begin, we realized that we really didn't have another option. The main purpose of the internship this summer was to help us save enough money to help us get through the next two years of graduate school with neither of us working. I had prayed about continuing to teach next year, but felt strongly that I should stay at home with Benjamin and that Heavenly Father would help everything work out. I was sad that our apartment situation would end up cutting what we had hoped to save in half, but Ammon and I decided we just needed to do the best we could and go forward with faith.

 The morning that we decided to sign a contract, I prayed to know if we were doing the right thing. I felt such a strong feeling of peace and comfort to go ahead and fill out the paperwork. I knew without a doubt that, even though it didn't seem perfect, it was what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. That morning, during the last 15 minutes of 1st period, I began filling out the paperwork while my students worked on their math homework. My co-teacher, Jill, saw what I was working on and asked me about it. When I told her how expensive it was going to be for us to live in Oregon she asked me, "Have you called the bishop in the area yet? You should call and see if they know of anyone in their ward who has a basement apartment and is looking for renters for the summer!"

That thought hadn't even crossed my mind, but I immediately knew it was worth a try! I looked up Hillsboro on LDS Maps to find the bishop and was surprised to see that there were 7 wards in just that city! I began to call them all, one by one. I mostly got a lot of voicemails or wives telling me that they didn't think anything like that was available, but they would have their husbands call me back later. After calling all of the Hillsboro bishops, I began calling the bishops of the wards in Aloha, Beaverton and Tigard. Finally, after calling about 20 bishops, one of them told me, "I wish I could help, but this isn't Utah. No homes in Oregon even have basements." Discouraged, I decided to give up on the idea. I told Ammon I was going to wait 24 hours, just to see if anyone would return my call. If not, I would go ahead and submit the paperwork for the apartment contract.

That night, just before going to bed, Bishop John Dungan called my cell phone. "Is this Larissa Gruwell?" he asked. Haha, I think my sister-in-law's name still shows up as my caller ID since I have her old phone number! I corrected him and then excitedly listened to him as he told me that they often had foreign students stay in their basement for the summer and that he had been talking to his wife just the other day about whether or not they were going to do that again. He told me that they had a basement that they could rent to us for $400 a month, as long as we didn't mind sharing the laundry room and kitchen with his family.

It seemed too good to be true! Not only would that be a huge financial blessing, I also was so excited to think about living in a home with a family! I had been worried about moving away from my own family and being isolated in an apartment while Ammon was at work all day. I told him it sounded perfect and he put me on speaker phone so I could talk with his wife, Annette, and his 16 year old daughter, McKenna. During the conversation, Annette mentioned that there was even a community pool less than a block away that I would be able to use all summer! Bishop Dungan asked which campus Ammon would be working at, because apparently there are dozens throughout this area. I wasn't sure, but he told me that they were all relatively close and would be within a 15 minute drive.

That night when Ammon got home, I told him the good news. We found the address of his Intel campus and typed it into Google Maps along with the Dungan's address. 1.5 miles away. A 2 minute drive or a 20 minute walk. At this point, I knew without a doubt that Heavenly Father was guiding us and showering down his tender mercies. I realized that He had given me the assurance to move forward with faith that morning, even though the solution we had found seemed far from perfect. But He had a plan that I didn't even realize, and if I hadn't been filling out the paperwork that morning, I never would have even thought about calling the bishops in the area! Heavenly Father is so good and kind and is always waiting to bless us as soon as we turn to Him and humbly ask for His help, and then do our best to trust in Him and move forward!

Ammon drove out here first while I stayed behind with my parents in Utah. He told me that the first week he was here, he kept getting tiny confirmations and tender mercies from the Lord that assured him we were in the right place. The first night he arrived, he walked down to the basement and into the guest room where we would be sleeping. He stopped in surprise and then grinned when he realized that the comforter on the bed was the exact same red and brown flowered comforter that we have had on our bed since we were married! The next morning, he opened the cupboards where the Dungans had told him to help himself to breakfast, only to find a big box of Reese's Puffs (his favorite cereal).

Then later that day, as he drove to work, he noticed a street sign just a block from where we live labeled Jamie Dr.! Haha, I have always wanted to find a street that shares my name!

 Finally, that night while making dinner, Ammon began to make his famous Mexican Spaghetti and said he was sad that he had forgotten to buy his favorite brand of garlic salt, an absolute necessity for any dish at our house. He opened the cupboards to see what he could use instead, and sure enough, a big jar was already waiting.

 These may seem like small and silly things, but to me and Ammon they were just another proof that Heavenly Father knows and loves His children and He delights to bless us.

I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for His love and kindness. I know He is my Father and that He loves me. We are excited to be here in Oregon and for a summer of family adventures and fun!