Long Time Coming...

Yes, it has been over 1 year since I last blogged. I kind of "checked out" of the blogging world for a short time...if you consider 1 year a short period of time. Sean banned me from looking at blogs so I tried not to go on too much. (Okay, so he didn't really ban me from looking at blogs, but he didn't like to see the crying and emotional break downs that came after it.) Every time I would look on blogs, I would find out about someone getting pregnant, having a baby, or blogging about their cute babies. Everything is centered around babies. One might ask, why would that make you cry? It only makes me cry if I am feeling sorry for myself, lacking sleep, or when it is that time of the month. That time of the month that a girl who has been trying to get pregnant for MANY years dreads. (When I say many, I don't mean one or two years, I mean over 3. It may not sound like a lot, but for someone impatient like me, it's been a while.) I have always been one to be in control of situations for my life, which is why this has been the hardest thing I have ever endured. So, if you were wondering why I stopped, that's why. And, no, I am not pregnant yet. I just decided that I need to face this trial that Sean and I are going through. Plus, I wanted to put a different spin to my blog. Instead of blogging about life's happenings, I am going to blog about crafts and fun hobbies that I am taking on. However, I will still be blogging about a few different life events, if anything cool happens.

I have been obsessed with crafting and making home decor. I think obsessed is a little of an understatement. Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and I have become besties. I like to say that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. No joke! I get something in my mind and I have to do it...SOON. I have made picture frames, plaques, letter blocks, etc. Plus, I have definitely improved on my cake decorating ability. The cakes in the last blog were very amateurish. Some girls and I have been getting together every 1-2 weeks to do a new craft. That's how obsessed I am!

Before getting into all of the crafts, here is what we have been up to the last year:


1. We got our Dewey boy. We got him to fill the void and it really only worked for a couple of months. He has literally destroyed the wood panel on our couches and stained our carpet. Potty training a dog is no fun. Here is a picture of him when we got him. He was so little. Now, he is almost triple the size. I don't want to take a current picture because he needs grooming, bad. I love that Dewey is so excited to see Sean and I. No matter what kind of day we have had, Dewey loves to see us and definitely adds happiness to our lives.

2. Grandma moved in. My grandma has been living with my uncle for some time. Their rental house ended up foreclosing and they moved into a house that was smaller...which meant that my grandma would have been sharing a bathroom with 4 children under the age of 17. She wasn't really down with that, and I'm not sure who would have been. Sean and I received the prompting that we needed to invite my grandma to move in with us. It is temporary until she sells a lot up north. I can honestly say that I know 100% that we were blessed with this house so that my grandma could live with us. Everything has been working out perfectly in our lives to align to getting this house. It also gives me comfort to know that we weren't supposed to have kids up to this point. If we did have a baby, we wouldn't have had as much room to invite grandma. It's crazy how Heavenly Father works everything. I know that Sean and I will have a baby, but it's on His timing, not mine.

3. We celebrated our 4th anniversary! We didn't do anything extravagant, but maybe next year for our 5th we will. It's crazy how fast time flies! I am so happy that I am married to my best friend!

4. I got the Cricut Create. Yes, that is a huge event in my life because that little machine does wonders. I love trying to find new things to do with it. I have yet to do vinyl, but one of these days, I will.

5. I made my first wedding cake. My cousin asked me if I would make her wedding cake. I was kind of freaking out because the most I have ever made was birthday cakes and easy stuff. The reception was last night and it turned out really well! Don't look too close. :) Next time, I will for sure do 4 tiers. I didn't know what to expect so I wanted to start small.

6. Sean started playing in a city in-door soccer league. While I haven't made it to every game, it's pretty fun to go and see the games.

7. I got a piano! I have been very deprived the last 4 years without a piano and would go to my in-laws and parents frequently just to play. I love having my own piano!

8. Sean turned 26! I feel like he is so old. He was only 21 (almost 22) when we got married. I think that turning 25 is a big milestone, but he is no longer in his mid-twenties. At least that's what I tell him. He thought he was turning 25 this year! I had to keep reminding him that he is older than he thinks.

That's basically been the events that took place in the last year! I do not plan to go M.I.A. this time, I just don't always have fun things to blog about. I will definitely be blogging about the crafts that I am getting done. Next post will feature the fabric magnet board and some Halloween decor that I am working on!

Don't Be Jealous... :)

Have you ever walked down the cake decorating aisles at Hobby Lobby or Michael's and been amazed at all the cool stuff? Well, I do that every time I go there! One fantastic time, I found a little ad for cake decorating classes! Four weeks later, I am doing this. Not that this is amazing, but I'm very proud of the fact that I can actually do something on a cake and not just put sprinkles.

Sean decided he wanted a football cake for his birthday so I thought I would practice at my class a few weeks ago.

Of course he changed his mind because he wants to challenge me. He said the football cake was too easy for me and now he wants fondunt and all this other crap. Luckily I am taking a fondunt course in July! Call me crazy, because I totally am. Poor Sean has to put up with me...

Welcome Home Elder Whitmer!

Elder Whitmer returned home on Wednesday from a 2 year mission to the Denver Colorado North mission. We are so happy for him to have made this accomplishment! Here are some pics!This is the first view we got of him coming through the security gates!This is me hugging him.Hugging Grandma!

Do you think he grew?? He is SOOO tall! It's crazy! I swear he wasn't that tall when he left.

Other peeps at the airport:

Chelsea and Steve-O (boyfriend)Stubborn girls! Wadsworth Clan

Aunt Sylvia, Brighton, and Becca (Sorry the pic is slanted)

Sean and I with Aiga and Maris

Dinner at Macayo's(mmmm!) Aubrey and Sierra came home from girl's camp to see Nathan. What a sacrifice! (Yeah...right!)
Maris girl!

Trisha and James

Aunt Shauna, Grandma, and Briana

Charlie and Lauren (Charlie's Fiance)

We totally didn't get pictures of everybody there, but it was fun!

In Less Than 3 Days...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

This little cutie batootie will returning home from serving a 2 year mission. Wow! It's gone by fast!

Sad Day in Room 13!

I will always remember my first day/week of teaching in room 13. There were much tears, anxiety, curiousity, and enjoyment... much like my last day/week of teaching in room 13. Did I shed tears? Very much so. Was I anxious and curious about what will happen next in my life? Um...definitely. There was much enjoyment as well when I realized I had a whole week off to finish unpacking things in our new house.

Sad to say, I was "pink slipped" from the school district. When I received this so called pink slip, they kept telling us they could be calling us back. Considering the fact that Sean and I had just put an offer on a house, I couldn't sit around and wait to hear from the district. On top of that, other districts were letting people go at the same time. Did I want to compete with 500 other teachers who were in search for a teaching job? Hmm...let me think...NO!

Luckily, my really cool husband and I had a backup plan ready to go. For some reason, I had a feeling I was going to get let go. I am going to work with the hubby. Of course not the same position, but the same company and building.

My principal came to talk to me when he heard wind of this new job. I was advised to write a letter of resignation. I felt really good about taking this other job...don't know why, but I did. Long story short...

Wrote the letter,

turned it in,

teachers started to get called back,

found out I would have been one of them,

went through a few seconds of regret,

decided everything happens for a reason,

turned my head and didn't look back

This last week was a LONG week. Besides the fact that we moved from our apartment into a house, I had to pack up my classroom at the same time. You don't realize how much stuff you collect until you have to go through everything!

I was done packing everything and had to go meet with the principal to "check out". Then he asked me, "When you look back to your first year of teaching, what will you think about?" That's when the tears started going. Wow! I did not think I would cry that much. I didn't even cry when I found out I was losing my job. The next day was our staff breakfast/goodbye. I cried and cried.

I took my last few things out of my room, took a good look around, turned off the light, and went on my way.

University of Phoenix, get ready, cause I am coming on board.

One thing I have learned is that things really do happen for a reason. There is a reason why I was able to get another job so quickly and why that opportunity came. While I am still searching for the reasons, I know I'll look back years from know and realize how and why everything worked out.

Hopefully I can come back to teaching. I LOVE it and wouldn't trade it for anything. I will never forget the little stinkers that I got to teach everyday.

What's next on my list?

Going to get my masters. Am I excited? Nope. Will it be worth it? Yep.

Oh, and maybe we'll work on starting a family with little Ortega's...we'll see what the Lord has in store for us.

La Casa de Ortega

It's official! We are home owners! We are so blessed to be able to own a home in this economy. Here is a picture of our humble abode.

The picture is kind of fuzzy, but we LOVE it! More pictures to come!

Mi casa es su casa. Hee hee!

Why were these little boogers ever created?

It actually gives me the heeby geebies to look at it! I am 100% terrified of grasshoppers and it really is ridiculous. Between these nasty creatures and cockroaches, I might end up dying of some type of heart failure because I think I freak out and panic when I come in contact with either of the two. For example, Sean and I decided to go play basketball one night at the apartment basketball courts. Well, after playing a game of one-on-one with him (which he totally beat me and I'm suprised he even enjoys playing with me), I decided I would run some laps around the basketball courts in order to do something while he shot around. Bad idea...there are parts of the court that are more lit than other parts. Well, as I'm running and not paying attention to where I'm running, I apparently interrupted a grasshopper party because they all start jumping around me! I was screaming and dancing around because for some reason, they jump TOWARD you, not away from you. Then of course, Sean decided to have a little fun with me and pick up a fat and short stick (that looked very much like a grasshopper) and was coming toward me with it.

Next experience...I was in my classroom and we were switching classes for our intervention groups. Well, the kids were all coming in and all of a sudden there was a grasshopper flying around frantically. It was a BIG one, might I add. The kids thought it was funny cause I was screaming and running around. Luckily, I have some "macho" boys that were able to get a hold of it and take it outside.

Now, are you ready for what happened tonight? Drum roll...my heart is still pounding due to the exessive screaming and panicing that took place.

Sean and I were walking to our car from a restaurant where we bought gift cards. We get in the car and we were talking about something (I'm sure it was something important, but I can't remember due to the traumatic experience that I had about one second later). I looked down at my leg and saw it! It was big and so ugly! I covered my face and screamed so loud that Sean started freaking out asking me what was wrong. I couldn't respond...I had no words in me. All that came out was a loud scream! (My throat still hurts by the way.) The problem was this: I couldn't take my hands off of my face to point at it because if I made too much movement, it would fly in my face which, at that point, would be uncovered. So, Sean finally saw what I was screaming about and luckily we were at a stop sign. He opened the door and threw it out.

Dear Grasshopper that landed on me,

I hate you. You stink. Next time I see you, I won't be able to do anything because I will be screaming so loud. So, please have some sympathy on me and understand that I might die of a heart attack if you land on me.

Not Love, Not Sincerely,

-Staci