auntie huli

hui came over monday night and made us dinner and let me bore her with stories of being sick for a week. i love faye's auntie huli! 

(she even read my little pookie a story about pookie!) :)

This is Halloween!

we carved pumpkins with our neighbors today. so fun!! i didn't take any pictures of the little girls carving... bummer, i was having too much fun and my hands were covered in pumpkin guts!!
brad did a ghostie, but i just wanted a happy pumpkin this year. a big goofy grin. how did i do? :)

happy thought

"I love to laugh Ha Ha HaHa

Loud and long and clear
I love to laugh Ho Ho Ho Ho
It’s getting worse every year
The more I laugh Ha Ha Ha Ha
The more I fill with glee
And the more with glee He He He He
The more I’m a merrier me!"


yesterday we laughed A LOT. about funny things brad says, faces our baby makes, tv shows, and just talking and joking amongst ourselves. you should have a good belly laugh every day. it's good for the soul. 

sometimes life is very stressful, disappointing and quite frankly, the pits. especially lately. the fact that we laugh a lot makes it that much easier. i love that brad is so happy, and positive, and can make us laugh. after having a big belly laugh yesterday, it made me remember again why i love our life. i love our family, our life, and that through anything, we can laugh and find JOY! :)

i choose to laugh instead of cry. crying just makes me look bad. *wink* did you laugh today?

Wow I made it sound so much more exciting than it is...

welp it's out of the bag! to HB it is!!


we are moving. it may not seem like the most exciting thing in the world to you. in fact, you may look at a map & think that the barttels family moving back to huntington beach is the least exciting thing you've heard today- it's like a 3 mile difference or less... but it is the biggest thing to happen for a long time in our little world!  

moving to HB means moving back to the stake where we know everyone. where brad lived for 9 years. where our friends are. where the beaches are long & crowded & main street hops every tuesday night. moving to HB means we can use our beach cruisers more. moving to HB feels like we are moving home.  

i loved costa mesa for 2 years & i am going to miss the super cheap, tiny, uncrowded, quiet nail salon next door where i periodically go to pamper my feet... but i am so ready to go home.

oh yeah

big shout out to my boss today. he took us to starbucks & french's bakery just bc he felt like being nice.

i never blogged about my 3 year anniversary, so here's what i have to say about it:

3 years ago in August i came to CA for a quick vacation & to scope out moving down here.

i went to a staffing agency for a prelim interview thing at 11 AM thursday. then WOOOSH i had a REAL interview at 1 PM.
i had a second interview for breakfast at 8AM friday. i told him i had to drive back to vegas, so no, i couldn't come to the office for another interview that afternoon. so we did it in the car driving back.
then i talked to him again saturday. the staffing agency negotiated my contract & called me saturday night with the news- I HAD THE JOB!!!!
i put all my stuff in boxes and into my car, went to church one last time & drove to CA to my friend meredith's parents' house sunday night & started work at 9 AM monday august 11th.

i still can't believe it happend.

that was A LIFETIME ago.

every year as this anniversary rolls around, i will say confidently, clearly, and with NO DOUBT- the Lord has a hand in our lives. everything happens as it should and He WANTS to bless us with everything He can. this job will be one of the many clear-cut, heavenly-directed, completely undeserved at the time, blessings of my life. there is no way it could have happened so perfectly without His hand guiding me (and also answering the prayers of my god-faring boss). im so grateful that i listened to the whisperings of the spirit & for my brother kevin for giving my phone number to a boy i'd never even met or seen.

i quickly met brad, had a few bumps & lived on random couches until i found an apartment in the pierside ward, got on my feet financially & spiritually, met some of the most lovely friends of my adulthood, fell in love, married a wonderful kind man, had a baby & now STILL have this job that sustains our family.

happy late three year anniversary, JMB.

tomorrow! tomorrow!

i am super super excited about a big change for our family that is going to happen & i can't tell you officially until tomorrow. bc some people need to be told in person first. and no, we're not pregnant.
BUUUUUTTTT...
i. am. so. happy. that the answer to the prayer was YES!
strange things afoot at the circle k!