Abbott Offspring Goodness

I could just talk about everything that I'm grateful for, but I don't think anyone would have the time to read it. Ethan certainly wouldn't give me the time to write it. But we do have good news! Derek got a job! He was hired the day after my last post, so our hope was well placed. The hours are good, he always gets Sundays off, he's home in the evening and he makes enough that we should be caught up with our finances hopefully around Christmas. Yippee!! Oh, if only I could adequately explain how wonderful it is that Derek has a job. Well, it just is! This probably isn't Derek's final career destination (hopefully not) but it's nice to be standing on a solid step instead of wondering how long the safety harness is going to hold out. Thank you our wonderful families for not letting us crash and burn!

This also means, that while we are finally able to dig ourselves out of a hole, we will not be able to fly to North Carolina for Christmas. You can probably imagine how I feel about that, so I won't try and illustrate.

Gushy enough yet?! Well hang on, things are about to get a whole lot cuter. Now, we all know how horrible Derek and I are at taking pictures. My sister Ashley would have kicked my butt long ago, if her legs could reach that far for our lack of photo sessions. Of course, she could probably make them reach just from shear sass, but I digress. Thankfully, Momma Abbott is here to save the day, and my bum. Applause. Through her efforts (and Derek's of course) we now have more pictures, and even a video or two, to post of Ethan in all of his 18 month old glory. So, here:

 I wish I could record everything that Ethan does, well almost everything, so I wouldn't have to feel so bad for not remembering to tell y'all about it all. He's doing so much, and he seems so grown up all of the sudden that I hardly know what to tell y'all anyway.
I know you've already scrolled down just to look at the pictures so I'll be done typing for the moment. Go ahead, look and enjoy.

Whew! Too much? The last two are short videos taken with Derek's cell phone. Derek's dad found some old walkie-talkies and we decided to try them out. Sorry the videos are so blurry, they where pretty small originally. We've finally toddler-proofed Ethan's room so he has somewhere to run amuck, and that's a happy thought for all of us. That's about it for right now. We're looking forward to Thanksgiving with family (the first in three years!) but I'm actually missing the snow. It has finally cooled down here, but I think I've been spoiled by a colorful Autumn and snowy white Winter not to miss them now. Oh well, there's always next year. Happy Thanksgiving!

November with the Abbotts!

There has been so much going on, and so much that has happened, that I hardly know where to begin. Random side note: If I start to sound a little too proper or Jane Austenish, it's because I've just finished Emma and am now on Persuasion. Aah, the joys of a feminine writer when one wants a pleasant love story to calm the troubled mind.

Derek, Ethan and I are now living in Arizona. Derek's parents have been kind enough to take us in while things are so unsettled. They let us bring our cat and they're even submitting themselves to our gluten-free cooking! How cool is that! We don't know how long we will be here, and while we like being with them, I hope it won't be long. Halloween has come and gone and for the first time I did absolutely nothing for it. Not even a sad attempt at some scary goodies (that usually frighten more for their pun-like nature than being worth dying for). Being new here, knowing NO ONE besides Derek's parents, having dry 90-degree weather, and the holiday taking me almost by surprise took it's tole this year. Derek helped his mom paint a sign for the "fish pond" for their ward party, we watched some random Halloween flicks (both old, new and corny), we enjoyed some leftover candy, and made some wicked chocolate-chip brownies. Sadly, that was all. Derek wanted to make up a little for it by making and putting up some very last minute decorations on Sunday morning, but by then I figured it was too late. How I miss Autumn weather. Hmmmm....one day I will have it again.

Derek hasn't been able to find work yet, but we're hopeful that he will find a job that's exactly what we need very soon. Until then we're doing what we can and grateful for all the help that our families give us. I must admit that it gets really frustrating to feel that everyone has a job but you, but besides putting those jealous feelings aside, we're trying to do all we can. So, for now, we're still in the same holding pattern as before, just in a new location. At least there is a change of scenery.

Besides disappointment on the job front, day-to-day life is good. We try and make ourselves useful and worth having here and we're slowly learning how. Derek and I find things to work on, and Ethan finds things to get into that he's not supposed to. Derek's trying to figure out how to turn some of his ideas into a small business. He's busy planning, designing and researching, but everything we've tried so far has hit a wall. Of course, this is along side of tedious and frustrating job hunting. I'm still working out, and while I think I'm making progress with my weight-loss plan, it's slow. Maybe I shouldn't have made those brownies. I'm also reading, probably more than I should, trying to stick to some kind of schedule, and trying to get back into art. Guess what! We get to watch Big Bang on Thursday nights now! No more waiting for it to come out on DVD. Sweet!

And now for Ethan. How do I cover all the things he does now? If this post wasn't already so long I would try and be a little more detailed, but for now I'll try and remember some highlights. Ethan will be 18 months on the 11th and he is definitely going to Nursery next Sunday. Maybe then we can stay for all of church. He likes to use his imagination. He plays make-believe and I'm never really quite sure what he's imagining until he tells me to eat something that's not there. He's talking up a storm, though we can't understand what he says, and apparently he loves to tell jokes because he laughs at himself all the time. He's started singing. At first it was timid and quiet but he's slowly started to get louder. Last Sunday he sang along, as well as he could, with the hymns in Sacrament. He likes to dance too, but he won't do it if anyone is looking at him. We have to catch him out of the corner of our eyes. He likes to tell us what to do (this includes bossing the cats around), and loves to play with daddy. He's still teething and I think all of his teeth are floaters. It's so annoying! He loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and loves to watch Jeeves & Wooster. He has a huge temper but he is also the sweetest little boy I have ever met. I haven't even really got started, but I'll leave it here for now.

Here's a recap for you. We're in Arizona - hate it but love Derek's parents -, Ethan's amazing, Derek's working hard to find work, Polly's still alive and I'm still addicted to Etsy and chocolate. Ta Da!