I am so in Love!

Lately, I've been able to spend some quality time with a sweet little man who makes me incredibly happy! His name is Austin. And I can't get enough of him! I have known him for 2 years now. He grew up only 15 minutes away! But its only recently that he has completely won me over. All he has to do is say my name and flash that amazing smile and I am smitten! We went on a date last night, we shared food, held hands, cuddled and watched the moon rise throughout the evening. He is well mannered, extremely smart, super fun, very handsome, loves to laugh, looks dapper in a suit and is very obedient! He loves baseball, trucks, milk, reading, and his family. AND he wants to learn the guitar and drums so I'm pretty sure he will be in a band someday! You may be thinking, WOW Diana, its about time you found yourself a catch... Or wait, this must be too good to be true... He's got to have some issues. You're right. There is a problem. He's a little young for me. Not just 5 or 10, but 32 years younger and we are kinda related too, which puts a damper on things. But we can still be friends, right?


Ok, yes I'm a dork. My little man is really my nephew and although I wish he were mine, he belongs to Amelia and Sam. I just can't help but gush over him. He brightens my day, melts my heart, and fills me with his unconditional love that I crave so much! He gets so excited when he sees me and loves all the smothering attention that I can give him. He accepts me and all of my weaknesses. For now, his love will suffice...

So, I introduce a small collection of pictures that only begin to capture my sweet little man, from his birth to just last week!

Christmas in Cali (continued)

Christmas in Cali

This is my nephew Caleb. He belongs to my sister Kimmie and her husband Chris. They live in the desert of Palmdale, California where I decided to spend my Christmas this year. Caleb LOVES to play with cars, trucks and anything with wheels.

The first day we made sugar cookies and since Caleb is merely a pint-sized version of my super organized, always cleaning and cooking something yummy sister, he was eager to help!

As you can tell he really gets into it...

My SWEET New Job!!!

So I finally got a job! One that I really LOVE! Its exactly what I've been wanting to get back into. Back in the field of psychology, working with children who have autism. I am teaching at a school called the Helping Hands Center.  Please feel free to look at the website and watch the video to see the real life impact of what I do! Its amazing!!! (Several of my kids and a couple of their parents are even in the video.)
I'm a floater between 2 classrooms (morning in one, afternoon in the other). I do DTI (discrete trial instruction) all day which is mainly one-on-one time. I've already fallen in love with all of the 3-5 year olds that I work with. They are mostly high functioning, at least they are all verbal and have minimal behaviors which makes them easier to work with, plus they are young so I get to see progress regularly! I really LOVE it. When I'm in the classroom the ratio is 4 teachers to 6 children. The other half of the day they have group instruction (centers--reading, writing, math, science, etc).  They also have peers (typical children) during that time which changes the ratio to 3:10 or 3:12 depending on the class.  So here are a few pictures so you can get an idea of how super cute they are!

All of these pictures were taken during a going away party for one of the teachers who is taking maternity leave.

Trip to Kirtland

In January, my friend Kristen Jeppsen and I drove up to Kirtland, OH for the weekend to attend a special sacrament meeting in the Kirtland temple.  (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--my church, does not own this temple and is rarely allowed to hold meetings inside.)  It snowed all weekend.  And it was amazingly beautiful.  

Here we are on our tour of the Newel K. Whitney store.  

We stayed the night at her friends house.  We just had to pose while we waited for our mud masks to dry!

(L to R, Maurine, Kristen, Me)

New Years!

Being new to the singles scene in Columbus, and wanting to throw myself into it, I decided to have a new years party at my house.  So as usual, I kick the owners out, invite everyone I don't know, go overboard on really good food, put a sweet mix of music together, and bust out the party favors and games.  Here is a pic of my new friend Alyssa.  (No worries, there are more, I only felt like posting one!)

Uhhhh, Christmas

I just couldn't pass up these fun festive furry socks!

Christmas Eve family get together.  Note the nephews lined up on the stairs.  It was like pulling teeth to get everyone to sing a few carols.

Ahhh, the opening of gifts.  The excitement. The wrapping paper wadded on the floor.  Kids impatience one moment and giddiness the next. Scrambling for batteries.  Here we have the bored brothers-in-law.  Somehow, sometimes as the years pass, the magic of it all dissipates.  Or maybe I just caught them both pondering world peace or...

Uhhhh, Thanksgiving...

So I'm a slacker already with my blog.  Big surprise.  I had good intentions...  I've been busy...  I got a job...  Lots of excuses, but really I just haven't made time.  So now I'm going to play catch-up!  Get ready for a LONG post!  (That is if I don't get distracted!)

Part of the reason Natalie and I left Utah when I did was so I could be home for Thanksgiving.  My sister Kimmie was already in town (she is married and lives in Cali) and my other sister Amy was coming the next day (she is also married and lives in Nebraska).  The four of us haven't all been together for a long time, so it just made sense for me to be there.   Here we are posing for pictures (one of our favorite past-times when we're together) with matching sweaters (another tradition at holidays, just Thanksgiving and Christmas, to show our sweet sisterhood)!  Also in this picture you may happen to notice the emphasis on Kim's belly.  She is pregnant, but in this picture she is really only a few months along, so to make it cuter we put a pillow under her shirt.  By now (more than 3 months later) she is that big and ready to pop in the next few weeks.  YEA!!!

   
Here I am with adorable little Mason, Amy's firstborn (she is now expecting her second).  He is so stinkin' cute!   

And now for the formal pic.  Another must when we are together with matching outfits.  (Its more like a photo shoot.)  This dates back to when us girls were bored during the summer in elementary school and we would make our mom take pictures of us dressed up and posing as models on the living room couch!  (Maybe eventually I will post those pics-HAHAHA!) 

LONG drive to Ohio...

Natalie and I started our road trip sunday morning (Nov 24th), driving the 13 hours or so to Lincoln, Nebraska where my sister Amy, her husband Eric and their cute little 10 month old son Mason live.  The next day seemed to drag on forever, having overplayed all our music, we tried to kick boredom in the butt by taking endless pictures and videos of ourselves, getting other drivers to wave, honk or laugh at us and stuffing our bellies with junk food.  Here is a taste of what you would have been exposed to had you joined us on our journey...  

Goodbyes

Here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks in Logan, saying goodbye to friends...

End of one phase and on to the next...

Only 11 more days and I'm off, AGAIN! Time for another change, another state, another life! I've been in Logan Utah for the past year helping out some friends of mine, the Goodworths
lifewithlittleboys.blogspot.com I'm no longer needed and have been trying to figure out what to do with my life next. After many months of painstakingly filtering options as to where I should go, I finally decided to once and for all follow the promptings I felt long ago, to move home to Ohio. You see, I was never going to live in Utah ever again and I was also never going to live in Ohio. But the Lord somehow sees things that I cannot and knows where I can best serve Him. He likes to test me and get me to do things that are hard for me, to MAKE me grow! So its time for another sad round of goodbyes, long roadtrips, and new experiences. It'll all be worth it, right?