Going to DC!

Thats right! We are going to Washington DC this fall. I have an internship with LDS Church Public Affairs through the fall. Michael is nice enough to let us live in his garage while we are there. JK :) Maybe he will let us stay inside when it gets cold.

Thanks to everyone that prayed for us. It was quite funny when we started telling people that I got the internship. Some reacted and said honestly they didn't think I would get it. (Or in Maura's, G & G Brewer's, and Maura's sisters case, they were hoping I wouldn't get it :)) I fink I ame smartre then thye tink I am!

We are excited for this new adventure in our lives.

THE END

the waiting game...

So, since the beginning of June both Ben and I have been unemployed.  Luckily, I got my "summer pay" at the end of May so we are ok for a while.  Ben applied for an internship at the beginning of June with the church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) in Washington DC. We have been waiting and waiting and waiting to hear back from them.  Ben has e-mailed and called multiple times...FINALLY last week they contacted him back and set up an interview almost a month and a half after he turned in his resume.  He had his interview yesterday. He feels like it went well.  We should find out by the weeks end.  More waiting. 

Meanwhile, I've been waiting to build up my piano studio and recruit more students because we've been waiting to hear about the internship.  I don't want to get a whole bunch of students and then leave them in a couple months. I still teach my two kids I've been teaching for 2 years. 

Ben is taking summer classes and is really busy with it.  He has been applying for jobs here and there, with no luck, mostly waiting for this Washington DC business.

We've been waiting for Merrilee to roll over on her own any day now.  She has rolled from her belly to her back a few times (a couple of which were when we weren't looking of course), but it seems like she's forgotten how now.  She is so close to rolling from her back to her belly! She will roll to her side and a-l-m-o-s-t but not quite make it to her belly. I think she likes playing this waiting game.  "Wait until mommy looks away for one second and THEN I'll roll over!" or "I think I'll wait to show mommy and daddy I can roll over until they find out about Washington DC, THEN I'll roll over to celebrate!". 

While all this waiting is going on, Merrilee is content to play all day and sleep all night.  She still likes to be swaddled up.  Here is a peek of her in the middle of the night.  The flash didn't make her flinch at all. I love the roundness of her cheeks!  More to kiss!

More things we've been up to while waiting...

Ben went to nauvoo for a week with BYU's Daily Universe and did some newspaper stories and played some golf.

Ben Ran in the Ragnar Relay on a team of 12 people for 188 miles...From Logan, UT to Park City, UT. He's so fast he is a blur in your vision field.

Merrilee has just been so happy that her daddy goes to BYU and her mommy is BYU Alum.

Fourth of July Festivities...Parades,food, and naps...

Pretty walks in Provo

And just enjoying Life! :)

UPDATES!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts lately...Here are some updates since the last post:

Baby Blessing!

Both sets of parents came down to Utah at the end of March for Merrilee's baby blessing! Sadly, we don't have pictures of this event on our own camera. We are waiting for other family members from both sides to send us their pics! (Hint, Hint). Merrilee was so beautiful in her little white gown that her Nana got for her! If we ever get pictures, we'll post them! Merrilee's blessing was lovely. She was blessed with lots of beautiful things, but some that really stand out to us (we already see them) are her happy countenance and spirit of love. She is so happy, smiley and giggly all the time! She is very calm mannered and just a joy to be around! She loves being around people and will give you a great big gummy grin! It just melts your heart! :)

Maura is a stay at home mom now

After Maura's maternity leave of 8 weeks, she went back to work teaching the little kiddos at the elementary school. She LOVES teaching music...it is one of her passions. She had to make the very hard decision of whether to keep working as a mom, or stay home with the little one. After a lot of pondering, praying, and heartwrenching processes, Maura made the decision to stay home with the baby! She was really torn, but we feel like it is the right thing. Every family should have a mother to stay home to tend and nurture her children if possible. She is at peace with the decision and knows other opportunities to teach will come! (Hopefully she can teach private lessons at home and maybe start up a music preschool on Saturday mornings or something. Those are some goals.) Here are a few pictures of her "Pirate" themed music classroom she is dearly going to miss.

Adam and Kylie got Married! (On April Fool's Day!)
Here are a few pics from their special day...

How Handsome...

It was so cold! Maura and Hoku were trying to stay warm, but to no avail.

Awesome...

Aww...:)

Merrilee is Growing up so FAST!!!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of months. Notice the growth of the chub cheeks...we love them! :)

What a Pretty girl!

Enjoying the canyon with daddy.

Merrilee with her uncle Jesse.

Merrilee sporting her Daddy's hat.

Daddy's hat just wasn't cutting it, so Merrilee had to get her own pretty little hat!

Merrilee is 4 1/2 months old already! Where does the time go? Merrilee has been sleeping like a champ! She started sleeping through the night at about 2 months old (as mentioned in previous post) and has let her parents sleep ever since! Instead of 6-7 hours a night, she now sleeps 8-10 hours! WOW! What a blessing! She talks and smiles and giggles all day long and is starting to hold toys (and put them in her mouth!) She is getting stronger every day! She used to HATE tummy time, but she is getting more used to it now and she actually SMILED during tummy time the other day! Next will be rolling over! She LOVES the outdoors. Anytime we are outside with her she just looks around with this sense of wonder and awe on her face and then she baby babbles to us about how much she loves it. Her favorite is when I put her on a blanket under a tree so she can look up at the tree and sky. This is when she is the happiest! :) So CUTE!

Well, there are more updates, but they will have to come later...I think this post is long enough already, plus...it is bedtime. Goodnight!

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!!

Hello everyone!

Our little girl turned 2 months old today. She was born February 4th. I can't believe how fast time has gone. As our little girl woke up this morning, she did some BIG stretches. You could just see her growing as she did this! She has grown so much since her birth-day. Of course she is still a baby, but I am afraid that she may wake up tomorrow as a toddler!

Merrilee has been sleeping very good. She averages at least 6-7 at night and a few extra after I leave for work each morning. Maura is especially happy with this....(all mothers will understand). She likes to smile and give little baby laughs. Having a baby is probably the neatest thing we have done in our whole life!

I didn't blog about our 3 week stay at the hospital after baby was born when she got RSV and Pneumonia. It was too depressing. It was hard to see her with those little tubes in and on her. It is so great to see her happily moving around and sleeping through the night.

Here are some pics!

The next conductor of the family!

Baby is home!!!!!

We brought baby home on Saturday night. It has been nice to have her home. Her and Maura have been resting well. Maura and Baby went out for the first time today to buy baby stuff! They are a cute pair and they are all mine. Baby slept pretty well last night despite staying up till 2:30 am. She doesn't cry very much...yet. We love her so much! I look forward to all the funny things that she does over the years. Maura and I are a little frantic trying to get everything that we need for baby. She come a little unexpected, especially after the doctor told us the day before her birth that baby will come on her due date. I hope to upload some more pictures soon!

BABY CAME EARLY!

I will keep this short. Merrilee Brewer came last night just before midnight on Feb. 4th. She weighed in at 6 lbs and 13 oz. She is a very cute baby and quite too! She let us sleep well last night.

Here are some pics and hopefully a video!