Shillig 4 Family

Jake flew out on Monday. He headed back to Utah to work for a few days before heading to LDAC on July 3. We were so sad for him to leave. Two days before he left we went shooting with my brothers and then on a date that night to the dollar movie (that surprisingly cost $4) with my cousin David, his wife, and some friends. The day we took him to the airport we stopped at Pappa's Seafood for some food Jake has been craving since Christmas. Gotta love fresh southern seafood! Dropping Jake off at the airport was hard. He walked alongside the car til we drove away. I broke down and cried while I drove. Aimi Lark asked about Daddy and I told her he had to "go bye bye on an airplane" and I think that sounded fun to her so she was not sad. She said for the next few days that "daddy bye bye airplane" and it made me smile.

My brother Brody made the Silsbee, TX All-Star baseball team for his age group. Jake and I were excited to be in town and be able to attend. Brody did GREAT and played in the outfield. We stood along the fence and cheered him on!!! I loved watching Jake at the game and picturing him as a future little-league coach for Malachi's team.

Part of the reason we are in TX this month is so that I can get our home ready for us to move in in December. We purchased the home I lived in while going to High School from my mom. She gave us an amazing deal of purchasing the home for what she owed on it. (In case you were wondering it was VERY LITTLE...like the price of a commuter car little.) The home has been rented for the last few years and so we have some work to do to get it ready for us but we are LOVING IT! When we arrived we had to hang out for awhile til the electricity was turned on and without electricity we had NO A/C! It was AWFUL but we stuck it out. After the electricity was turned on we had a scare with the septic and well. Jake had to learn how to "prime the pump" and we were grateful for help from Pres. Williamson. The next day my step-dad and brothers helped Jake clean and mow the yard. The previous renters had GOATS in the backyard so they had to clean up all the wood and such from their pens. I was ...

in 31 hours quick update: -Colorado is no fun to drive through...the speed limit and road direction change constantly -Kansas had more hills than I thought it would have and also less farm land than I expected -Oklahoma was way prettier than I ever imagined -We got stuck for an hour and a half in Dallas (thanks to an 18 wheeler on fire) and about three toll roads later we made it out I am loving being home but we have been super busy. -My mom (Amy) and step-mom (dad's girlfriend Stephanie) are in the hospital. Jake flies out tomorrow so it will be me and the girls here in record breaking SE TX heat... wish us luck.

We have never really gone on a SUPER long road trip before with the kids. It was really an experience. I think it went better than I could have ever expected. I know it was due to Jake's patience and our perseverance. Jake made sure to get the girls treats when we stopped and get them out to stretch their legs. Also for the FIRST time in our marriage on a road trip we were able to do our driving the way Jake prefers and that is in shifts. Normally I just drive all night and he drives all day but this trip we did a few hours each off and on. It worked out perfectly. When we were about an hour from our destination we stopped at an AMAZING park and let the girls play. Jake and I both got a little sick feeling from the HEAT and HUMIDITY that hit us after 30 hours in a non-stop air conditioned vehicle. It was nice to let the girls play at a park without wood chips! Upon our arrival to Beaumont, TX we visited with my mom in the hospital and just ended up spending the night! We were jus...

before Jake gets off work, drives home, we load up, and start our drive to TEXAS. This trip is exciting and stressful for me. I still have no idea how much communication I will have with Jake while he is at training. I will not have computer or TV at the house I will be staying at but we do have a BACK YARD that is fenced in so I plan on the kids playing back there a TON. I am excited to visit with family and friends (I will have 5 weeks of time to fill). and because we all love pictures here is one from summer 2007...here Jake is singing Aimi Lark to sleep over the phone...he was in AZ training and we were in TX visiting. back to cleaning now...we know we all enjoy coming home to a clean house

Aunt Kaylene ! Aimi Lark & Mali Su love to visit Aunt Kaylene in her room. Computer time on the bed is always a blast because they JUMP all over the place, listen to music with headphones, & sometimes get to talk to Uncle Luke who is in CHINA.

(our cat) went through a rough patch recently and after reading online we found out it is because she is MAD at us for something (maybe having Malachi). We worked on being nicer to her and giving her more attention and I think (and hope) we are back in her good graces. I feel like I am becoming one of those "crazy" pet owners because I care so much about my cat being happy. But the point of this post is to share these cute pictures. When bathing the girls Gunnie practically joined them in the tub and they loved it! Gunnie did too until Mali Su started splashing.

and just yesterday he took a pacifier in the car (just in time for our 24+ hour drive to TX on Tuesday). He enjoys long naps in our bed and XBOX 360 time with Daddy on Saturday mornings.

when family drops by! Tonight on our way back home from errand running we received a phone call from Jake's Uncle Karl Pister from OR. He and his family are in town bringing their son Christopher to BYU. We LOVED chatting with them and joking about our ferocious cat Gunnie.

Mail (actually addressed to Aimi Lark & Mali Su) Thank-yous (gotta love those Keetons) some relaxing (look how long he is!) and diaper changes (all three at once)

Jake passed his XBOX on to his brother Isaac while Isaac was in town visiting. Jake won this XBOX for being the #1 salesman during our first summer married when he sold alarm systems. This was a big step for Jake because he takes amazing care of his things and becomes very attached to them. Jake now has the XBOX 360 he got from my mom and has not played his normal XBOX ever since so I hope that it gets lots of attention in Frazier Park.

Today we bought Jake's plane ticket from TX to UT. We will be driving me and the kids down to TX to spend 5-6 weeks there while Jake is at army training in WA. I cannot believe that I will be in TX in about a week! I am excited to be in TX with family but nervous to take care of the kids without Jake and outside my own home. We are on our 2 nd week of not eating out. Now I know this might not be a big deal to most, but we got in a major rut at the end of my pregnancy and then right after I had Malachi. So about 2 weeks ago Jake and I decided we were not eating out until our drive from TX to UT where we would need to. I am actually proud of myself for staying on top of cooking and planning ahead. Aimi Lark has asked for "fries, dip, & coke" whenever she sees a McDonald's but I told her the other day that they "ran out" and we would eat at home and it made Jake laugh and I told him I felt bad for lying to her. I finally bought myself some new item...

Jake's parents and some of his siblings stayed with us when they visited this weekend from California. Gunnie our cat seemed to act out due to so many new people in her environment but I think she is now recovering. During the family's stay the girls enjoyed doing so many fun things with them. Every time someone went to get something from their van the girls wanted to go, Uncle Isaac had cool music on his phone the girls enjoyed listening to, and Uncle Luke was on the computer and so of course they had to talk to him with Grandpa. Thanks again for coming CA Shilligs we love you!

I just thought I'd share some of his newborn pictures... ENJOY! We are loving having a little brother in our home!

Today we blessed Malachi at our church . When blessing a baby, men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood gather in a circle and hold the baby in their hands. The person who gives the blessing: 1. Addresses Heavenly Father. 2. States that the blessing is given by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 3. Gives the child a name. 4. Gives a priesthood blessing as the Spirit directs. 5. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ. My mom (his Mia) bought him the most wonderful white suit/tux to wear. He looked extremely handsome and it just made me smile every time I looked at him. I was so grateful to have so many of our close family and friends attend. I am so grateful for all their love and support. I will say this is the most stress I've had since having him. I first sent Jake on a wild-goose chase with Mali Su to take care of some food preparations, family found a scratch in Malachi's head during Sunday school, I left to feed Malachi and found the mother's r...

(and tomorrow Malachi's baby blessing) is what we have been up to these past two days. Yesterday we went and visited with our friends the Keetons. They are having a baby boy very soon and we brought them matching ties and a nursing cover. After some chatting we all went to Costco and Aimi Lark is into riding in other people's cars (started with Aunt Larkie who has an extra car seat). The Keetons kindly let their daughter Hadley ride with us and Aimi Lark rode with them. This was fine and dandy until we had to all go our separate ways home and she had a melt down. She screamed and yelled Tinny's car (Kenny's car) over and over pitifully. And if you are wondering about the bag of M&Ms she picked up the 3lb bag in the store and wouldn't let it go and carried it all the way to the car, talk about dedication. Today (Saturday) I went to a baby shower in the AM for our downstairs neighbor Lisa. I had a great time but wanted to document this sweet and wonderfu...