a.k.a. Colton's Dance

Morning exercise

Boys Dancing from Amber McArthur on Vimeo.

Spokane Valley...our new home

 Let me tell you all the things I'm loving so far-

1.  The community...I thought the south was friendly and Hawaii was filled with Aloha for everyone, but I had never experienced the "Inland Northwest" (that's what they call this area...the Inland).  Neighbors have come out to greet us, even when we are taking a stroll through the neighborhood.  There must be a flashing sign above me that reads, "Hey, I'm new, please say hi and ask me how much longer till the baby comes and if I've found a good doctor yet?"  I would expect this from church, but from the community has been intriguing.  Even this random lady at Walmart just had to know the details.  I went to Kohls today and had about 8 people all greet me as I was darting to find a bathroom.  The smiles feel genuine and the time others take to make us feel welcome, is encouraging.  Some other things I like about the community-

  a.   Any shopping you'd need is here- Trader Joes, Costco, TJ Maxx, Cafe Rio, just to name a few. (Cabelas!!! Doug in red :) )

  b.  Everything is easy to get too- normal 1-10 minute drive to get anywhere.  Grocery store is 1 minute away, church 3 minutes, temple 3 minutes, Doug's work/OBGYN/Hospital (all same location) 8 minutes, shooting range which is in a beautiful valley just south of here is 15 minutes away. (Shooting steel, shooting shotguns, long range targets out to 1000 yards!) 

  c.  The morbid obesity rate has got to be lower here compared to TN.  I would say 80% of the population looks healthy.  I've also noticed people have thicker hair here. More poeple are out being active and doing something. Biking, hiking, camping, running, swimming, boating, its awesome! 

  d.  There are 60 lakes within an hours drive of our house.  We went to one 25 minutes from our house on Saturday and it was picturesque.  The boys didn't even care that the water was cold, they still played on the beach.  We grilled and happily watched our boys run free between the water and the playground while we dreamed of owning a boat.  This park/beach area was clean and there were signs posted that said we were in charge of our own trash.  So whatever we brought in we were expected to leave with.  I liked the idea that the community is responsible for their own mess and not to leave it to be cleaned later.  And surprisingly it was kept clean.  Was refreshing to not see cigarette butts and beer cans laying around.
    There's also tons of stuff to hunt/chase!  I have seen deer, pheasants, geese, ducks and I know there are elk, moose and bear around.

  e.  I hear we can pick strawberries, apples, pumpkins, and Christmas trees when in season and wonder what else might be available.  There was also no line to stand in while waiting for my bountiful basket here (must have their system perfected here or enough locations that it doesn't get crowded...also 5 minutes from my house).

  f.  No income tax and no sales tax on food (unless it's junk food, then there's a tax...I think).  

  h.  The local bank sent Doug a care package with tickets to Downtown Spokane Riverfront for the whole family.

  i.  Super friendly staff at Valley Ob/Gyn and Valley Hospital and very little wait time.  Clean atmosphere at both too. 

2.  The school...I haven't even had 1 thought of homeschooling and neither have my boys (often times in TN they'd beg me to be their teacher instead of going to school).  To say my boys LOVE school would be an understatement.  The first late start day (which is every Thursday, they don't go until 10:10) Talon was in tears because I wouldn't let him go to school at the normal 8:40 (school starts at 9:10 but they want to extra time to play at the playground...basically an open recess to all before the bell rings and everyone lines up outside their room door for school to begin).  The boys ride their bikes or scooters to school because it's right by our neighborhood.  The two neighbor boys (ages 6 & 9) are thrilled to have neighbor friends and I'm thrilled for them to have some friends to ride to school with.  More great things about the school: 

   a.  The Principal who called me their first day of school just to let me know she checked on my kids in their classrooms and said they were doing great!  After the first grade "Suessical Musical" that was full of choreography, props, and darling songs, she stood up to thank everyone who participated and was quite emotional as she expressed her loved for all the parents who volunteer their time and talents.  

   b.  There are only 2 classes in each grade.  It's a small school with a massive sense of community.  Everyone seems to know everyone's names and the P.T.O. newsletter they emailed out the other day had one page full of recognition to "Students Serving" where I learned the sweet acts of love being noted around the school.  Plus the P.T.O. president and 2 other board members are in my ward.  And did I tell you Talon's teacher is also in our ward?  And on some of our walks in the neighborhood kids (and adults) have said, "Hey, there's __(Jax or Talon)__" he's new to our school.  Some of these kids aren't even in their classes.  There's so much parent involvement that one of the recess volunteers told me she was watching over our boys to make sure everyone was treating them kindly.  How sweet was she?  I didn't even know there was a sweet angel looking out for my boys at recess.  Speaking of recess, there are 2 scheduled recesses during school hours, plus the one before school.  So my boys think they have 3 recesses a day.

  c.  Chester Elementary was recently award "Overall Achievement in Performance" from Washington State.  

  d.  The boys have very little homework each night and are loving the reading incentives offered in their individual classes.  I was also happy to learn that Talon's first grade class was reading a "Classic" (Charlotte's Web).  

  e.  They have a separate classroom for students who have behavioral issues so they are not intermixed within the classroom for the teachers to have to deal with.  

  f.    I asked about extended absences for family travel.  They said you just complete a form at school, the principal reviews it and the teachers give assignments to be completed during the time away and you're good.  =)

3.  The  church...is filled with all ages, young and old and everything in between.  There are enough Young Men to bless and pass the sacrament, beautiful Young Women dressed modestly with a light in their eyes, a significant amount of wisdom flowing from the empty nesters and widowed, plenty of professionals- an oral surgeon, a pediatrist, a lawyer, an optometrist, a contractor, our bishop is a family physician and that's just the one's I know of.  There are enough people that they can have a greeter at the door when you walk in.  Our church building is right next to the temple with beautiful fields around it and mountains (more like hills in the background).  The talks and lessons have been inspirational and I've felt the spirit every time we've been there.  

*Side note- Doug spoke in church yesterday...probably the best talk I've ever heard in sacrament meeting- ever!  It was about the importance of keeping covenants and he tied in several military service stories/ideas in honor of Memorial Day...made me fall even more in love with the man he is and how he lets the Spirit work through him to teach me.  How I love his honesty and willingness to share a side of him that is real, tender, and humble.  

Other things I love about church here-

  a.  The primary has amazing leaders and the scouting program is in full bloom here.

  b.  The Relief Society was recently reorganized...

  c.  They have release time seminary at one of the high schools in the valley. The other has 4 early morning seminary classes.  

  d.  It's hard to determine who's a member of our church around here and who just walks with God's love.  I like this.  I hear the LDS population is about 20% here.

  e.   The temple was jammed packed at 11:30am on a Thursday morning...really?  Who knew it was that busy around here.  Learned you need to make an appointment to go otherwise you're not guaranteed a seat.  

  f.  They host Time Out for Women here as well as other LDS performers (I've heard people talk about Alex Boye', Beyond 5 (not sure who they are, but the youth went to see them), and Nashville Tribute Band).  

4.  Doug's job...he loves it.  He loves the people he's working with and the office is really nice.  He didn't realize he'd be the only dentist working and loves feeling the freedom of just doing his thing.  The staff seem to like him and are impressed with how fast he is.  Hopefully they'll fill his schedule with more patients so he won't have any down time.  He really is loving his job and is happy to go to work.  We're thankful his Washington License came in the day before he was supposed to start work...phew.  

5.  Our house...well, I love the location, the amount of space we have, the beautifully landscaped yards, the little playground the kids can plan on, the security of the culdesac, the decent size garage, and that we can can walk to tennis courts, baseball fields, a playground, etc. all at the school close by.  The house itself doesn't thrill me as it's older, not my preferred colored tones painted through the house (like peach colored walls in the boys' room), we've had to call the rental company to fix the kitchen sink, air conditioning, bathtub drain, dishwasher (which is still not fixed).  The carpet needs to be replaced and I'm constantly telling the boys to not lay on it.  The bathroom toilets are small and cheap.  And some how the bees keep sneaking in...I think they come in through the fireplace.  I've had to clean several parts of this house before I placed items there...kind of gross.  But with all the things I dislike, I'm so thankful we get to live here.  Plus, we have great neighbor friends whom my kids can play with and she just had a baby girl last week, so it will be nice to have someone talk about babies with.  

Dr. Douglass McArthur is welcomed to North Pines Dental Care in Spokane Valley

Our first Sunday here we didn't realize the clinic Doug will be working for had sent this out and we're taken back by the amount of people who came up to Doug and said, "Hey!  You're the new dentist."  It was quite funny but by the end of church, he was used to it.

	New, Extended Hours!
				North Pines Dental Care is pleased to welcome Dr. Douglass McArthur to our practice!  Dr. McArthur is a 2010 graduate of West Virginia School of Dentistry.  He served in the U.S. Army for 4 years while also working in a private dental practice.  Dr. McArthur enoys all aspects of dentistry.  He and his wife, Amber, have 3 boys and are expecting a baby girl soon. We will now have additional, convenient hours with appointments 7 am to 7 pm.  We will also be open many Saturdays!  Dr. McArthur will generally be in the office Wednesday through Saturday. Please call (509) 924-6262 for your appointment.  We are looking forward to seeing you!

DIRECTIONS TO OFFICE REFER A FRIEND

		NORTH PINES DENTAL CARE BRENT H. OSBORN, DMD & FRANK L. WRIGHT, DMD		1107 North Pines Road Spokane Valley, WA 99206 509-924-6262 www.northpinesdental.com

For memories sake...

My cousin Aubrey asked what helped me get through the nasty morning sickness this pregnancy and this was my response.  Thought Ezralee might enjoy reading this incase she suffers from it too.


 I tried rubbing ginger essential oil on the bottoms of my feet (stomach pressure point)...not sure if it helped or not. What helped the most for me was eating a little something every 30 min-1hr. If I went longer than an hour, it was a quick downhill to totally unbearable. Oranges were my number 1 favorite. Second, was squeezing a whole lemon in my very cold ICE water. Third was toast (w/ cheese or jam or butter or peanut butter). I craved eggs and would eat them in all forms. Smoothies were awesome but I could only stomach about 1/2 c. I would eat anything that sounded appealing- this pregnancy was sushi, nuts, oatmeal, pancakes, apples & almond butter, cottage cheese, sesame ginger dressing on salads, and cookies.  Lots of laying down on my side. I read books or watched movies or invited friends to sit and talk with me...anything to distract my mind off the awfulness. I didn't worry about my up keeping my house and my kids were content to gather around me and tell me anything on their mind. It's more of a simpler way of living. I'm so sorry you're so sick!!! It's by far my least favorite part of pregnancy...sooooo awful!

Mother's Day 2014

Wanted a pic with all my boys...but if there's one thing I learned from my mom is "to make the best of any situation" and from my step mom is "to not complain." So hurray for a pic with Colt and some with my little one coming soon.