Happy Valentine's Day!
Elijah had a great day today. His class had to miss some school during the snowy season, and now they're making up the missed days. Usually, preschool is only a half day from 12-2:30, but today they had a full day- from 8:30 until 2:30. It being Valentine's Day, of course, they also had a party. He brought home lots of goodies and had a fun time... and so did Mom! Having 2 children is a piece of cake now- I can't believe I used to thing it was so hard!
So now for the big news! Travis has left Mortgage West, and has opened up his own business called "Today's Mortgage Group" with 2 other people. I couldn't post this before the boss was told, and now he has, and now I can tell everyone. We're a little bit nervous and a lot excited about the new business venture. Hopefully the transition is smooth, and it turns out to be the great experience we're hoping for. I'm very proud of Trav for taking this big step in his career, and pray that he enjoys it. The office is on a lake in Keizer. It's a very classy office in a very classy building with a great balcony and wonderful view to boot. I'll try to get some pics of it soon to post. Unti then, I bid you adu!

Yay! I finally got a publishing program that allows me to create images. SO much better. So here's my new header. I'm okay on it- I'm still playing around with my new program. We'll see what else I can come up with.
The news that I held out on in my last post will still have to wait a little bit longer. All will be understood in few days.
As for myself, I have definitely made the decision to major in Art/Web Design/Graphic Design. I'm looking into it now to see if I should still go to WOU, but it's looking like I may have to go somewhere else.... I am really excited about this major as opposed to my previous one. I had planned on being an elementary teacher, which was more for the free time (summers and holidays off with my kids, and ability to attend games/meets/etc that they participate in) than anything else. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it, but just not as much as this career option. I still want to get a teaching degree, so that I have the option to either teach web & graphic design (@the high school or perhaps even college level) or open my own business, which would hopefully still allow me flexible hours. I'm really looking forward to it, and can't wait to get started. I will have to wait though. Once I get into the program, I want to go to school full time and get it all done. I'm hoping to be able to go just 2-3 days a week, all day. The reason I'll have to wait is Alexandra. I just cannot leave her that much until she's at least 2 years old, I think. That would give me enough time to finish my degree & start a career once all 3 children are attending school. I hope that it works out for me. Luckily Travis' job allows me to be a stay-at-home mom right now. I'm continuing my education in order to have options available to me, and to challenge myself intellectually & artistically. If I start a career and it interferes with giving my children the time and attention that they need, then I'll return to being a stay-at-home mom. Although it can be a very challenging and draining job, it will always be more important than any other career I would want to pursue. I'm anxious to see what the next 5 years will bring. :)

We spent the weekend in Sunriver for some major sledding with some friends. We planned it all out, loaded up, and headed out on Friday afternoon, only to find almost NO SNOW in Sunriver. The sledding park was even closed down! So- we settled in to the house, spent the evening playing games, and slept until the kids all arose in the morn. Then, we had to head up to Mt. Bachelor in search of an abundance of snow and good sledding hills. We finally found some snow, a mediocer hill, and really cold wind gusts. Despite the obstacles, we still managed to squeeze in a little sledding, snow angel making, cave building, and exploring before finding refuge in the nice, warm house. Once some of the kids were down for naps, all of the females in the house (save one, who was sleeping) headed out for some shopping. I am pleased to report that I managed to restrain myself, and buy only a little candy and some cute pop guns for the boys... which I now just remebered leaving at the Sunriver house- DANG IT! Well, moving on.... Everyone else left late that night after dinner. I was a little disappointed that everyone was having to leave, but after they were gone, it was nice to spend some vacation time with just our family too. In the morning we checked out and headed over to Bend. We discovered an awesome new area in Bend called the "Old Mill District". It had lots of great shops (including an REI, where I did not show as much restraint), and a perfect little children's museum. After grabbing a yummy bite at Bella Cucina, we headed up to the museum for a couple of hours, where the boys had a wonderful time. They completely wore themselves out and slept almost the whole way back home, which was so nice. So, now we're back, ready for a new week ahead. There's going to be a big change in our lives in a couple of days, but I'm tired and off to bed, so I will write about that later in the week. :)