Seasons of Life

Oh, hello Blog! Long time, no see!

There are two main reasons for my absence:

1.  I’ve been having a love affair with Instagram. Unfortunately for you, I think he will be sticking around for a while.
For this season of my life, it is just more convenient. But don’t worry, I’ll still visit on occasion.

2.  I have actually had this post written since February, but for some reason Blogger wasn't letting me post anything. Lame.
So pretend this was 2 months ago  :)

My life is quite different now.

I’ve decided that I don’t really like change.

I like to find my place, find my people, and then settle down there…. maybe forever  :)  

But, for better or for worse, life is not usually like that.

.  .  .  .  .

By my senior year of high school, I had found that spot in life.  
I was busy with Yearbook deadlines, choir trips, play rehearsals, and wandering the high school halls.
I was comfortable with my friends and who I was. I loved high school.

 

When I began college, I had a little bit of a rough start.
Someone (who will remain anonymous) offered her words of wisdom to me,
and I am so glad that she did because I have reflected on them several times throughout my life.

She told me: “You don’t like college because you liked high school.”
She continued, “It’s true! You either get to like high school, or college. You liked high school, so you’re not going to like college.
That’s just how it goes.”

My first thought was, “Well why didn’t someone tell me this before I decided to like High School!
I think I would have rather liked college, and now I will never get the chance!”

Then, my ever-logical brain kicked in. Why can’t I enjoy high school and college? Is it so crazy to believe that you can enjoy two parts of your life?
Yes, they were different, but I was sure there could be good in both.

Thankfully, I realized this was some pretty bad advice.
I’m glad that she said it though, because I decided right then and there that I would always enjoy whatever stage of life I was in.

Like the seasons, each has something unique to offer, but all are beautiful.

.  .  .  .  .

I grew to love college! I had my place and my people who were like my second family. I had experiences that made me stretch and grow as a person.
I organized activities, went to concerts, had prank wars, made toilet bombs, and traveled around Europe.
It was even better than high school!

As graduation came closer, I started to panic.
I was losing my place. I was losing my people! I didn’t want things to change!
My life would never be this good again.

And then I remembered that bad advice…. And I remembered how stupid it was.
I thought, “Allison, your life is going to be different, yes. But your life can still be good.”

.  .  .  .  .

So, I moved to Logan.
That was a hard transition.

My 23^rd Birthday was a few months after I moved there, and it was the worst ever.
I was nowhere near where I always thought I would be when I turned 23. I was supposed to be an “adult” and I had no idea what was going on!
I was struggling to find direction and purpose in my life.

I had no place. I had no people.

But I held onto the thought that it could still be good. I worked hard for that good.

Again, I found a new place, and a new second family. I grew in ways that I would not have been able to otherwise.
I loved meeting new people, potluck, movie nights, game nights, impulsive adventures, Murder In The Dark, and talking with roommates until 2am.
I loved this stage of my life! It was the best!

And then I got engaged.

.  .  .  .  .

Don't get me wrong, I wanted to get married! But it was change.
And the biggest change that I had yet to experience!

I remember one night, sitting in the car and crying to Clayson.
I loved living with roommates! Who would help me put together an outfit for church?

Again, I heard those stupid words going through my head.

I didn’t have to choose between my single life and married life. This was just a new season.
Both could be good! Different, yes, but soo good.

.  .  .  .  .

I settled into married life.

I love spending every day with Clayson! We made dinner together, took walks, weekend trips, and watched the Jazz play basketball.
He has even gotten pretty good at helping me with my Sunday outfits! 
Life was perfect!

I loved going to work. It was my place and they were my people.
We had inside jokes, went to lunch, flew to Denver, and had girls days.
I loved it!

And then I found out I was pregnant.

.  .  .  .  .

Like marriage, this is a happy change, but it is change.

I have always wanted to stay home and raise my children.
I have never questioned that, and we have been blessed to be in a situation where my dream could come true!

But, I suddenly wasn’t sure if I was ready for that.

The idea of being solely responsible for the life of a tiny human was fine.
But, not working? That was scary!

I had been working for so long that I couldn’t imagine my life without it anymore. It sounded so boring just to stay home all day!
What would I do with myself? Who would I talk to? I need human interaction!
I can’t just talk to a baby all day!

And then the thought came: “It will be different, but oh so good!”

.  .  .  .  .

That change came September 30, 2015 and I am so grateful that he did!

I now spend my days talking to a baby – Telling him our plans for the day, making deals with him if he will sleep, and celebrating when he rolls over, takes a spoonful of rice cereal, or I am able to suck a particularly large booger from my sons nose.

I love it!

Yes – Sometimes I miss work. Sometimes I miss my roommates. Sometimes I miss college.

But, I would never change where I am at for anything.

.  .  .  .  .

I can honestly say that I have loved every stage of my life.

And if, at any point in my life, you would have asked me which stage was the best? I would honestly have said whatever stage I was currently in.
It doesn’t mean that any time was better or worse, just different. And all good.

I am blessed to still be in contact with all my “second families” and to relive those moments on occasion.
They have helped to mold me into who I am today.

Each stage was perfect for me at that time.

The seasons of my life will continue to change, each fading into the next. I’m sure I will be stretched, pushed, pulled, and tested – and it will be beautiful.  Although it is hard for me to imagine at the moment, I am sure I will grow to love each new season just as much, and even more!

Life doesn't stay the same forever.
And I am learning that it is a good thing.

.  .  .  .  .

But today, I don’t want to wander the high school halls, have a prank war, or explain insurance benefits.

Today I want to rock my baby to sleep and play cards with my husband.

May, June & July

So.... I guess I'm a little behind on this blogging thing.

Time for a some catch up - Get ready for a long post with a lot of pictures!

May

He always has his hand above his head.
Clayson sleeps like this every night.

First things first: We're having a boy!

We made them take the ultrasound early because I turned 26 and got kicked off my parents awesome insurance. 

That was sad.

Alyssa and I have birthdays one day apart. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings at work to celebrate.

We were in Burley for Mothers Day and they gave all the mothers flowers. I got a few extras to plant my first "garden". 

I learned that gardening is not my strength. These flowers are completely dead now.

Alyssa and I went to Denver for a work conference. 

This is the hotel lobby that we stayed at. It was nice.

Dr Cannon got me dried pineapple! 

For breakfast we would go to the hotel restaurant. I would get oatmeal (the cheapest thing on the menu, but so delicious) and Alyssa would bring her own fruit and breakfast bars. We had the same waitress every day and she was so sweet. I think she felt bad for us and the last day she bought our breakfast for us. We left her all the cash we had for a tip and wrote her a thank you note on random pieces of paper we could dig out of our purses. 

She was the best waitress  :)

Also in the month of May, we went on The Heber Creeper with family to celebrate Memorial Day

June

I went to the doctor and he told me that I needed to gain more weight. 
He recommended ice cream. 

I think I can handle that!

I realized after I came home from the doctor that I had forgotten to tell him I was sick the previous 3 days and was pretty much living off of honey water. So yeah, I had probably lost some weight, but I don't think it was as bad as he thought. 
But if it gets me ice cream, I'm good with that! 

Maternity Shirt!
23ish Weeks

Now my weight is, in his words, "perfect." 

It's good to hear that sometimes.

We had a full house for the month of June! My brother Griffin and Clayson's cousin Taylor both stayed with us. It was a party every night! We watched a lot of Star Wars and basketball and played a lot of Coup (a really fun card game). 

I was definitely out-numbered by the boys, but Clayson keeps reminding me that I should just get used to it. I guess he's right!

Supporting the Jazz
20ish Weeks

Next time we need some girls to stay with us so we can watch chick flicks and paint nails. 

Any takers?  :)

Reading - Clayson is definitely the favorite

My parents offered to watch my brothers kids for 10 days while they celebrated their aniversary. 

We went to Rexburg the first weekend to help my mom out a little.

Picture Credit: Evelyn

I always love spending time with these kids!

We took a trip to Bear World! 

They had baby bears, but no one was watching them because this peacock was across from them.

I always thought bears were more exciting than birds, but I guess I was wrong.

The petting zoo at Bear World

The highlight of the day was the rides!

We all had a good time at Bear World!

Evelyn had fun with my phone.

It was a busy and fun trip!

Clayson says we might just have two kids and call it good. 

So much for his starting line up for his basketball team  :)

July

The whole Searle family

We went to Burley to pick up Clayson's brother, Zach, from his mission.

We crammed 16 people into a 12 passenger van. Good times  :)

All the Siblings back together

We also celebrated the 4th of July in Burley!

We spent the day at Dirkes Lake swimming and cliff jumping. 

Clayson working on the farm

Clayson always gets some farm work in whenever we go to Burley. This time, I joined him for some of it!

His siblings call him "City Boy" but he's still a farm boy at heart  :) 

The next weekend we were back in Burley for Zach's homecoming talk and a family reunion.

This is me trying to get both Savannah and me in the picture. 

I've never been good at selfies. 

Now we are home again and finally starting to get ready for baby boy!
 

Every kid needs a penguin pillow. Right?

Way to make it through 3 months of catch-up!

Now I'll hopefully stay a little more up to date on this blog. 

Life is good!