Easter Sunday

We compromised...
Lorin's family would always dress up and go to church to watch Conference. My family did the opposite - stayed in our PJs... stayed at home... and almost always fell asleep. When we first got married, we decided we needed to compromise on the whole Sunday Conference dilemma. SO, now we dress up and just watch it at home. Because it was Easter also, I thought it would be nice to take family pics, and I am so glad we did!
Any who, I was just curious if anyone else had to make Conference Sunday Compromises....

Learning Experience

My little Gav - what a stud!
My sugarcane, Lily, who was greatly missed while we were gone.
Gav's first plane ride.
The John Hancock building, which is right next to where Lorin lived.

Lo with his two professors - Jared & Tom

Lo & I at his graduation (and no we did not try to match on purpose).
Drunk Gav and I at graduation.At Gino's - an awesome restaurant in Chi-Town.
Me, after the windiest day in my life - it was pointless to do my hair cuz everywhere we went it got more messy and tangled. It seriously took me ten minutes to brush out all the knots!


Wow - he's home! It's about stinkin' time too. 3 months flew by pretty quickly, and at the same time it seemed like FOREVER! I'm just so glad that it is done with, and that we are a family of FOUR again. I LOVE our little family, and am just sooo excited that we are together again.

Looking back on the last 3 months, I learned a few things...

1 - Being a single parent is HARD - I definitely have more respect and admiration for all those who do it alone. Unfortunately, I had to go through this experience to better understand what single parents go through.

2 - It's easier to lose weight when you don't have a husband to cook for. I've realized that I don't make dinner for ME. It's all for HIM. I'm happy with a salad or bowl of cereal. :)

3 - Skype is AWESOME! We've had it for a few years now, but never really had to use it. Modern technology is the BEST!! Thank you to all the NERDS who made it possible for me to "see" my hubby every day while he was away.

4 - Absence makes the heart grow fonder. :)

12 Days

My little Jubbly - that's his nickname, and I LOVE him!
Lorin and I, and 1/3 of Lily. Man I LOVE him!
2 of my 3 favorite people in the world! LOVE THEM!
My Silly Lily!! The first day at the Blasers... I put her down for a nap and thought she went right down but after half hour I went in to check on her, and this is what I found... She had markered all over her hands and legs. Thankfully, she didn't mark on anything else but herself. Then not too much later she locked herself in the bathroom. I was a little stressed thinking the whole week would be a little stressful, but fortunately, this was the worst of all the days. Holy Moly!! Ya know, after having 7 kids for the week, I still want 7 kids. Crazy, I know!

I DO NOT love markers!!

Man, I've been busy!! Fortunately, things are winding down now and Lorin will be home in 12 DAYS!! I CANNNNNNOT WAIT! I'm especially excited that we last minute decided to go out to Chicago to pick him up. Yup, that's right. Gav and I will be going to the Windy City on the 24th, and then coming home with Lo on the 26th. It will be a really short trip, but I'm excited to meet all of Lorin's new friends and to see him graduate from Northwestern. Lily will be staying here, and I'm having mixed feelings about it. I REALLY do not want to be away from her for 2 days, but I also REALLY do not want to pay for her to fly there. I know... I'm cheap.
Any way, Lorin was able to come last weekend and help me watch the Blaser kids (the fam I used to nanny for years ago). He was suppose to come in Friday night, but surprised me and came in Thursday night. I was just sitting on the couch talking to one of the kid's (Paige's) boyfriend, Jake, when Paige came in and said someone from church was at the door. It was 11:30 at night and I was thinking, "Who from church would be here this late?" I was a little worried, but when I got to the the door I saw that it was Lorin. I couldn't believe it!! I mean, I just couldn't comprehend in my mind that he was there, and I was SOOO HAPPY!! We were able to spend most of Friday together before we had all 7 (their 5 (technically 6), plus our 2) for the next 6 days. I am so grateful Lorin was there to help me because March 6th was the craziest day EVER!! I had 2 baby showers (which I couldn't even go to), a bridal shower, our nephew's birthday party, a Primary Quarterly Activity, and then one of my laurels was going through the temple to receive her endowments (which I couldn't go to either)! Lorin kept me sane and I was so glad he could be there to help. He is the BEST!!
Just 12 more days and I will have a husband again. I've realized just how much I need him. Gavin, Lily and I have all been sick this weekend, and to be honest, I just cried when I realized Lorin couldn't be there to help me and the kids. It really is such a blessing to have such a wonderful and helpful husband, even if he couldn't be there this past weekend. I know that all of this is temporary, and I know that a lot of people have it worse than we did these past 3 months, so I cannot complain. All I know is that I can never take Lorin for granted, and that I am SOOO excited he will be done with school next week. WOW - next week. I love it!!! I'm just SOOO happy thinking about it!! :D

Exciting News

I know, I know... I have been wanting to post for awhile now, but I have just not had the time. With two kids, a busy calling, and no husband, I find myself running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Please forgive me.

I wanted to let everyone know of a few things I have been working on...
1 - I am currently working on more crafts and items for my Lil' Luna website. Woo hoo! I love crafting but have unfortunately not had the time to work on them like I wish I did.

2 - I am starting a new Blog. It's called: My Smokin' Deals. I am gathering info to put on there, and it's basically going to be a place where you can learn how to find a smokin' deal... with groceries, clothes, you name it! Go here to check it out.

3 - By popular demand, I am starting to host a craft night (Lil' Luna Ladies Nite). Right now I am planning on doing it every other month, but if enough people want to do it, I will have it once a month at my home, and will try to do crafts that center around the holidays. For these nites, I will tell you the craft, the cost, and what you need to bring. Then, I will provide all the other items. The first craft will be on APRIL 15th (after Lorin gets home) and will be a scrapbook frame. It's 16x20 inches with an 8x10 frame in the middle. The cost will be $16, and all you have to provide is the scrapbook paper to put on the frame. Not only will you get a wonderful craft but you will also LEARN how to make it for future crafts/gifts. If you would like to participate in this craft, please email me by April 1st. Tell your friends and family! The more people that sign up, the more of a discount I can give you. :)

Here is a pic of what we will be making:

Any who, I'm sorry if you were looking for more exciting news than this, but this is it. It's all pretty exciting to me. Pleas let me know if you would like to participate in the Lil' Luna Ladies Nite, by emailing me at:
kristynmerkley@gmail.com
Or by leaving a comment below (further details will be emailed out once you sign up).

Stay Tuned....

I have some fun things I'll be announcing/posting about in the next week.

Get excited! :D

P.S. And no, I'm not pregnant... remember, Lorin's in Chicago... Kristyn's in AZ. Not possible ;)

Not gonna lie

I'm not gonna lie...
I miss Lorin, and some days I think I can't do this without him. Fortunately, I'm good for the most part, BUT I definitely have my moments. Ya know - where I tell myself it's only temporary and I try very hard not to curse...
I'm glad my kids are so stinkin' cute (most of the time), and that's what keeps me going.

4.5 weeks down, 6.5 more to go.
Not that I'm counting or anything. :)

The stinkin' cute kids that make it all worth it:

Man, I LOVE these two!!

Garage Sale Donations

Hi, all!! My niece, Hannah, is organizing a garage sale & bake sale for February 27th at my mom's house as part of the Disney-Give-A-Day-Get-A-Day program. All of the money made will be donated to the Feed My Starving Children organization. This is a non-profit Christian organization that packs and ships meals to countries all over the world. Right now, they are assembling these meals for children in Haiti. It is such a good cause, and I wanted to see if there was anyone who would like to donate items. If so, I can come get them or you can drop them off at my house (in Gilbert) or at my mom's (in Chandler. ) This is a really good opportunity to do something for those that are less fortunate. Thank you in advance and know that this is going towards a very good cause. :)