Easter 2019 and I REALLY love my husband

Wow!  I haven't blogged in over 3 years.  I used to think the busiest time of my life would be when my children were little and my days were filled with laundry, changing diapers, picking up toys, making meals, cleaning up from meals, etc.  But, I've found the teen/young adult years to be equally busy and time slipping by faster than ever.  We now have just Natalie and Adam at home, but our older children (Ally, Nick, Jake, Ryan, and Connor) still receive a lot of our time and attention as we've morphed into the roles of adviser and friend to our young adults. I love, love these new relationships and am in awe watching them navigate life and spread their wings. 

Easter was a wonderful day.  We started by going to church.  Jeff and I both had to speak.  It was a beautiful program intermingled with song and speaking.  Ally and her boyfriend, Jason, came to our Ward on Sunday and then came back to our house for brunch.  Later that day we met up with Jeff's family for Easter dinner at his niece's new house in Snohomish (that's about an hour away from Lake Tapps, where we live).   Connor is back from BYU for the summer and met us in Snohomish for Easter Dinner (he's staying at his mom's house for the summer).  Nick was still in Hawaii at BYU-H, and Jake and Ryan had to work.  We missed them a ton. 

As a side note, I really, really love my husband.  He's a dedicated husband and father (to ALL our kids).  He works crazy hard to provide for us.  He seriously makes my dreams come true, including buying us a house on the lake.  WooHoo!  Summers are the best on Lake Tapps!  He also spends endless hours serving people in our Ward while serving in the bishopric and volunteers to help out all the time.  He's so stinkin' amazing I don't know what I did to deserve him.  :) 

Adam's 12th Birthday

Yesterday Adam turned 12 years old.  I can't believe my baby is 12!  Adam has been such a blessing to our family.  It's been so amazing watching him grow into a young man.  Adam is kind and compassionate.  He loves basketball, books, and animals.  He's blessed to be athletic, smart, and friendly. 

Today Adam received the Priesthood.  The really special part was that his older brother, Nick, ordained him.  Adam warned me this morning that if he cried it was just because he didn't get a lot of sleep the night before.  So sweet.  I love this boy so much and I'm so happy he has a wonderful older brother to look up to.  Nick is such a good example to Adam.  When I was pregnant with Adam, Nick prayed like crazy that he'd get a brother.  When we found out the baby was a boy, we told Nick that his Heavenly Father heard his prayers.  It's now a family joke that whenever Nick is frustrated with Adam we always remind Nick that he prayed for him.  :)  All kidding aside, I'm so thankful my boys are so close and will always have each other.  

Happy 12th Birthday Baby Boy!

 

 

Never a Dull Moment

Times goes by so fast when you're busy.  Over the last few months there have been many milestones.  

First, Nick got his driver's license in June 2015.  Our first teenager to drive! Connor got his in September and Ally is hoping to get hers by the end of the year.  Having extra drivers is AWESOME! 



Also, exciting is that Jeff and I traveled to Europe for some much needed alone time.  We went to Scotland and Paris.  

In the fall, the kids went back to school.  Ally is a senior, Nick and Connor are juniors, Natalie is an 8th grader and Adam is a 6th grader.  It was my first time having a child do senior pictures: 

Goodbye House of Children, Hello House of Teenagers

We are officially a house full of teenagers and pre-teens!  Ally is 17, Connor is 16, Nick is 15, Natalie is 13 and Adam is 11.  I feel my role of mother has been completely transformed.  And, I have to admit, this phase is a lot harder.  I miss the easy life of changing diapers, functioning on 3 hours of sleep, and stepping on Legos!  Now life is filled with keeping teenagers organized, focused, and emotionally happy, while at the same time strengthening testimonies and teaching independence.  Everyday is filled with small successes and failures, which I've learned is okay.  Life doesn't have to be perfect.  In other words, it's okay to admit you don't live in the Garden of Eden.  :) 

          

Goodbye Sweet Grandma

On January 26, 2014, my beautiful grandma passed away after suffering a stroke just three days prior.  My grandma meant the world to me and has always been my rock.  I was blessed to grow up living very close to my grandparents, and when my mom passed away, my grandma became my mom.  She was there for me through college, the birth of my babies, my accomplishments, and my trials.  Through all of my adult life, I've talked on the phone to my grandma several times a week.  I miss our talks...I miss her laugh...I miss her advice...I miss my grandma.  

 

The Wedding Day and Life Since

 

 

The wedding was the most amazing day!  Everything went off perfectly and we are now a family of 9.  Jeff's oldest son, Jake, was sick on our wedding day and was unable to attend :(  But, all of Jeff's siblings were there and my grandparents made it.  Jeff's brother, Gordon,  is a bishop and performed the ceremony.

So much has happened since that day...over 14 months ago.  First, the kids and I moved to Seattle.  It was unbelievably hard to leave our friends and home in Spokane, but it has been a very smooth transition.  Heavenly Father blessed us all so much with a wonderful new ward, amazing friends, and a love for Seattle!  Wow - Seattle is one beautiful city.  Here's a quick recap of the last year:

Jake - got married to Michelle, his high school sweetheart, who we love, love, love.  He works for Microsoft and they live nearby.
Ryan Keyes - left on his mission in February 2014.  We are so excited for him and look forward to his Monday emails.
Connor Keyes - maintains his 4.0 gpa and loves playing basketball and running track.
Ally Zorich - made varsity on her high school gymnastics team and just made the cheerleading squad for 2014-2015.  Way to go!!!  She's got her driver's permit and is hoping to get her license this summer.
Nick Zorich - was inducted into the honor society and loves running cross country, playing basketball (he is an amazing point guard!) and is currently playing baseball on a select team.  He's just a couple tasks short of his Eagle - which he should earn in the next few months!
Natalie Zorich - continues to be the most social of all the kids with a zillion friends and a playdate scheduled for every day!  She has new talents in drama and singing.  She recently auditioned and earned a spot in our local community theater's production of Peter Pan. 
Adam Zorich - learned he loves books.  He is most often found with his nose in one.  He has also discovered basketball and plays in a year-round league.  He even took a break from baseball this spring to focus on basketball (he usually plays post).  He still loves the Boston Red Sox and will literally sit in front of the TV and watch a WHOLE baseball game and then rewind and watch it again!!! 

We are busy with work (I still work from home for the Court of Appeals and Jeff works for a software company called, Atlantis Computing -- he spends a lot of time in Silicon Valley!), school, sports, seminary, church, and lots of skiing and boating!  

Our next adventure...we just bought a house!  It was built in the 1990s and needs lots of updating, but I LOVE the location (right by the church!)  I've never had much talent with home improvement, but Jeff loves it, so this will be fun!         

Setting a Date

After Jeff proposed, we looked at the calendar to set a date.  We wanted to be sealed together in the temple for eternity, but neither of us had started the process to break our sealings to our prior spouses.  Not knowing how long that process would take (and not wanting to wait too long!), we decided to have a civil ceremony first and then set our sealing date for February 14, 2014 (2/14/2014...how cute is that?!?)  We set the date for our civil ceremony for February 9, 2013.

Wow  -- that meant I had 4 weeks to plan a wedding!

I'm so thankful for the most amazing grandparents in the world and an army of friends that stuck by me through the hardest 2 years of my life who helped Jeff and I pull everything together.  I even found time to attend two bridal showers hosted by my dear friends Jani Davis and Andrea Hainsworth.  I love these ladies! 

My South Hill Girls

 

 

My Valley Girls (minus a couple who left before the camera came out!)