Adventures in Diaper Changing

Ellie doesn't really like having her clothes changed...


so you would think that she would do more to prevent this terrible thing from occurring so frequently! I know, she can't help that she spits up all the time or when her diaper leaks. But lately she has taken to peeing just after I pull out the old diaper and reach to put the new one under. It's hysterical! Today she did it twice! I've been cautious about wiping her off with the old diaper underneath, just in case. But when I look away for the briefest moment, I turn back to find the changing table wet, along with her entire backside. And she just lays there, looking innocent (which she does exceptionally well).
So she got two mini-baths, which she loves...perhaps that is why she does it. At any rate, it really doesn't matter. She's cute. She's cute when she smiles and makes faces, when she cries (throwing back her head so you can see her, as if to say "Look at how sad I am! Don't you want to comfort and love me!"), and even when she pees all over herself.

One week in Texas

Well, we have been in Texas for one full week now. We are officially members of the Melissa Ward, as our records have arrived. Here is Ellie all dressed for her first foray at church. This dress was mine when I was a baby. My mom can correct my if I'm wrong. I just love how she looks like she's posing for this picture, but in all reality it is a suspended moment of her random arm failing. Ben taught Elder's Quorom today, so that makes it even more official. I can drive myself to Walmart, my in-laws, and church (though I haven't actually done that one yet), and probably Target too. I can turn off and on the alarm system, use the fancy "high efficiency" washer and dryer, and the dish network TV at the house we are staying at (we are currently house sitting).

I cannot, however, find a satisfactory substitute for the bread we used to purchase in Provo. This seriously irks me. It's a problem I didn't really forsee-that we would have to find new staples for our food. They don't have the same tortillas, bread, applesauce, or western family brand foods(at least I can't find it). It's strange. Margarine comes in a different shape. Why is that? Why does it matter? How much does it cost Imperial margarine to produce two different shapes of the same product? I can't fathom the reasoning behind it. Luckily these aren't life and death matters. Just strange little things I hadn't thought about. So if anyone knows were you can purchase a multi-grain bread with plenty of dietary fiber that is larger than the palm of Ben's hand for under $2, please let me know. I'm missing my bread.

Eleanor's Blessing

I just laid Ellie down to sleep after a few hours of fussing. And there is no better way to deal with the frustration of that than by remembering why I love her so much. So, here is to Ellie, in all her fussy, adorable glory...(being held by her Grandpa Brown)
We blessed Ellie on our last day in the Provo 4th ward-really our last day in Provo period. (as a sidenote, after living there for nearly 8 years, it is really strange to leave. I lived there longer than I ever lived in Pahrump, though not as long as Panaca). Because my Aunt Lisa got married the day before (yeah!), a lot of my Konold relatives were in town for the blessing. A tradition has developed in my family with the middle name Lee. My Grandma, Sunny Lee Konold was the oldest girl in her family. The middle name Lee was taken from her Grandmother Emma Lee. Liking the middle name of Lee, Sunny Lee named her oldest daughter Diane Lee Konold who named her first Daughter Summer Lee Brown (that's me), so I thought I would keep the tradition alive and name my first daughter Eleanor Lee Lewis. Below is the four generation of "Lee Girls" Sunny Lee, Summer Lee, Eleanor Lee, Diane Lee.

I had just finished nursing before we took pictures, and she wasn't too happy that she didn't get her normal rocking to sleep. Oh well, grin and bear it.
Don and Deon had driven their truck up from Texas to help us move down there. Here is a picture of them with Ben, Eleanor and I. It was wonderful to have family there for this special day. And my best friend Tiffanie came with her niece, Holly, who was in town for EFY.

The Things We Do On Faith

Eleanor is only 3 weeks old and so much has happened in that time! Ben flew to Texas for some job interviews July 25-28, leaving me at home with a two week old alone. It was good for me though, because I became a lot more confident in taking Ellie out of the house. Thank goodness for my wonderful cousin Crystal who let me spend a lot of time at her house.
While Ben was interviewing in Texas he discovered that most of the ews teacher trainings would begin August 5, just a week away! So we prayed and decided to pack up and move to Texas August 3. Ben's parents drove up their truck and we rented a trailer and packed them and our Corolla to the brim. To give you an idea of the insanity of last week, here's what our schedule was:
Tuesday July 28: Pick up Ben from the airport (I had to nurse Ellie in the Park & Wait and Ben walked to us. It was an adventure)
Wednesday: Ben's parents, Don and Deon, drive all day/night from Texas and arrive...
Thursday: We start packing, and get a lot of it done with Don and Deon's help. A farewell dinner at Olive Garden with Crystal and Aaron King (my awesome cousin). We even tried to go see Harry Potter 6, but Ellie only made it half way through before she was throwing a fit. I forgot how deafening movie theatres are.
Friday: More packing. Dinner in Sandy with Ben's grandfather, parents, and aunt and uncle who were in town also.
Saturday, August 1: (here's where it really goes nuts) I go to my Aunt Lisa's sealing at the Provo Temple (which was a beautiful occassion) at 11:30, and then Ben brings Ellie up afterward for pictures. Then we race back home to make sure we are set for loading up the trailer. Don and Deon arrive with the truck and trailer at about 2, along with some men from our ward who tackle the herculean task of loading all our stuff into such a small space. It was like a bad jigsaw puzzle, but they did it! At about 5:30 we head over to my Aunt Rachel's house for the reception. I discover that very rich chocolate cheesecake doesn't really agree with Ellie. Nor is she up for sleeping in strange places (namely my cousin's crib). But the reception was wonderful and was a great opportunity for spending time with my Konold relatives before we left.
Sunday: Eleanor's blessing. Surprisingly, she was the only baby blessed this week (our ward is notorious for 2 or 3 blessings every fast Sunday). She was cute adorable in her dress and Deon gave her some very cute socks and shoes. But more on that later...
After the blessing we went back to our house, and I loaded up my stuff with my parents to drive down to Vegas. And Ben and his parents loaded up the rest of our stuff and drove up to Sandy. They will drive back to Texas and I'll fly in on Wednesday. It's sad to be apart again, but we know it's short term!

So here is the faith aspect, we still don't have a job. But we feel that this is the right move to make. Things have fallen into place, and though the Lord hasn't let us in on the whole plan yet, we are certain that He won't leave us high and dry. I know each one of us are His children and he looks out for us. He may lead us in directions that we didn't expect, but as long as we follow faithfully, He will guide our steps.