A massive, semi-boring update

The pictures have been few and far between recently. Here's one from Memorial Day.

2014 has been a whirlwind of a year!  Jack has a new job and is doing well and liking it. He works on the Paramount Pictures lot as an assistant to one of the business affairs executives. It's not the most exciting job, but it's a fun location. The studios are super beautiful and have a really fun atmosphere. And he gets a lot of down time and can work on his writing, which is really the reason we came to LA, isn't it?

This job came at a critical time. We were days away from making the decision to plan the move to NC where we would make a Plan B for life. By a complete miracle, Jack was offered this job which he didn't even apply for. He had applied for another job at Paramount which was not in his area at all, and was turned down. But they liked him (he's a highly likeable guy, in my opinion) and kept his resume, and a few weeks later called him when this position opened up. It really just fell straight from heaven into our laps, and at the very last minute. We have come to rely on miracles a little bit (or a lot), which is both completely nerve wracking and incredibly humbling. I'm getting more and more comfortable with thinking about LA as a long term plan. I agree with what I heard one of my friends in the ward say about this ridiculous way of living - it was something along the lines of...I do feel rather uncertain about the future, but when I look at the past, I stand by every decision we've made along the way. No regrets so far. I just can't deny the multiple miracles that have allowed us to stay here. We felt right about moving here and we still feel right about staying.

Jack's new job is an especially perfect fit for our family because it pays enough for me to not work anymore, and the studios have amazing employee benefits. These are both huge blessings, specifically because of the new baby girl arriving in less than six weeks! Life really has a way of working out sometimes. Can I just say that I LOVE not working! We moved into our new apartment right as my third trimester nesting instincts kicked in, and getting settled in has been so so fun. Nothing makes me happier than being in charge of this little apartment. I'm so grateful for my hard working husband so that I can stay home. Making meal plans, organizing closets, stocking the fridge, hanging pictures, taking Molly on fun little adventures - this is what dreams are made of! I am the queen of this castle.

We are thoroughly convinced that Molly is the prettiest, funniest, smartest little girl on the planet. This little rascal came with extra doses of independence, assertiveness, and thrill seeking. She has absolutely no fears. She's extremely social and loves to be the center of attention. We snuck her into nursery a month early, and no child has ever been so ready. She runs in like she owns the place and doesn't even acknowledge me when I come to pick her up. She's pretty sure she can do everything by herself. I think at this rate, she's figuring that she'll be ready to move out and get her own apartment in a couple of years. What are parents even for, ya know? She's 19 months going on 17 years. Her little vocabulary and imagination are growing like crazy and it's so much fun. She's way into animals and spends a lot of time crawling around the apartment like a cat and meowing. The better she gets at communicating, the more she is wanting to be agreeable and go with the flow, instead of putting up a fight in every possible situation. It can be such a tricky time with toddlers, when their independence far surpasses their abilities! I've lost my patience and doubted myself more times in the past few months than I have in my entire life previously to becoming a mother. But somehow Molly still loves me, what a forgiving little soul. Even on the hardest days, I still miss her after she goes to bed. How can you not miss a gal who meows herself to sleep?

We have so many fun things coming up in the next six weeks, including a baby shower this week, our fifth anniversary, a Dodgers game, a camping trip in Big Sur, a visit to Modesto to see the Johnstons, and then a new baby girl! (We will have two children, what the heck?! How is this even allowed? Who said I could be a mom?) And maybe we'll sneak a few Disneyland days in there :) Perhaps I'll take some pictures of it all and actually update the blog!