December 2012 Recap

Yep, the boys are playing at the park in December, and there's no snow on the ground. THIS is why we love living in Utah. :)

December was an interesting month for us.

At Thanksgiving, Brandon had been offered a new job making nearly twice as much as he had working retail at Apple, and doing what he wanted to make a career of: technical writing.

We rejoiced and were grateful for this new opportunity, and gladly accepted.

Brandon put in his two weeks' notice at Apple, and we awaited the time he would begin his new job in December.

Keep in mind, I am 6 months pregnant at this time.

About 4 days before Brandon was due to begin his new job, they call him and rescind the offer, stating that the meeting with their financial backers had not gone as planned, and that the company would actually be laying some people off instead of hiring.

This was about 3 weeks before Christmas. We felt sad and a little scared, but weren't devastated the way we have felt before in a time of employment loss. This time, we felt calm and peaceful. We just knew something would turn up.

And it did: after a lot of work on Brandon's part and a lot of prayer by our family members, he was offered an even slightly better offer at a well-established company as a software engineer. He now does software testing and technical writing at Storage Craft in Draper. 

During this time, we saw many blessings and were reminded of all the daily miracles in our lives. I am grateful for my voice students and performing--with that income, we were able to stay afloat. I am grateful that we listened to the Spirit and opted for a home birth that we could pay in full in advance. During this time period, we had no insurance, and no idea when new insurance would be forthcoming. I am so grateful I didn't have the stress of worrying how to pay for my prenatal care and our baby's birth in those last few months of pregnancy. Mostly, I am so grateful for the experience of trusting the Lord and feeling His peace through the entire trial. 

Wearing Caleb's nursery necklace and Scott's gloves. I think they were pretending it gave them super powers?

 We don't make snowmen at the Barrus house--we make Snow Sculptures. 

A robot, and Caleb's balancing "trick". 

Playing animals with mommy. 

 Lights on Temple Square

Meeting baby Aubrey at the Barrus family Christmas party.

 Christmas morning!

 Matching outfits from the Farthest Grandma. 

Zonked out after a day of sledding.

Matching Angry Bird PJ's, also from the Farthest Grandma.

Brandon's wooden nativity set from Madagascar. 

 Christmas morning 360.

November 2012 Recap

In November, we wore boxes and band-aids on our heads: 

Just for the fun of it, that's why. :)

We played with lots of toys 

and cheered on the Cougs. 

We took a trip to the Farthest Grandparents, where we had fun doing puzzles with Grandpa

and playing at the iJump indoor trampoline park. 

We ate lots of delicious food for Thanksgiving

And returned home in time to see the Autumn come to our neighborhood. 

(the view from our rooftop, as Brandon installed the Christmas lights)

Another video game-inspired Halloween

As you may remember, last Halloween we dressed up as characters from Super Mario Bros. This year, we took our inspiration from Scott's newest video game obsession: Plants Vs. Zombies. 

See any resemblance? 

I asked the boys what kind of zombies they wanted to be (there are several in the game). Scott said a "bad" zombie, and Caleb said a "happy" zombie. :) For my own sanity, they were both traffic cone zombies. Scott insisted that the most important part of the costume was "the one big eye and one little eye". Just try explaining stylized art to a very literal 4.5 year old. :)

I was a sunflower, complete with tutu to cover (or accentuate?) my baby bump. Yes, I made my costume.
The sunflower is one of the most important flowers, because it produces sun, the currency you use to plant other plants in-game. And, as Scott informed me, they are girls. So, perfect for me. :)

Brandon was Crazy Dave, your in-game next-door neighbor and veteran zombie-fighter. He wears a pot on his head (presumably, to deter brain-eating zombies) and speaks in gobbledy-gook (Scott and Caleb's favorite part).  He also has crazy eyes, which Brandon is particularly good at. :)

All in all, we had a lovely time. The weather was gorgeous (a record high of 76 degrees that day!) and it was nearly a full moon with beautiful wispy clouds to add the right amount of spookiness. We loved trick-or-treating through our kid-filled neighborhood and seeing lots of ward members. We also got to trick-or-treat at the closest Grandma's house. As Scott kept remarking: "This is the best Halloween EVER!"

Adventures in Opera Singing

My first professional, fully-staged opera is currently running. There are two more shows, if you're in the Salt Lake area and care to catch one of them--Friday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm. It's Verdi's Il Trovatore at the Capitol Theatre, tickets here (they're less than you might think).

There's nothing like getting to enter through the Stage Door to make you feel like a pro. :)

At my dressing table-before...

...and after wig, costume and make up. 

I love this job. Being in the opera chorus is the perfect balance for my busy life right now--I get to remain a presence in my field (notice I didn't say "relevant", but at least it's a presence :), keep up my chops, make connections for such times as I'll be able to build my career to something more, AND be artistically fulfilled. The work itself does not require a stress-inducing level of preparation, more of an enjoyment than anything else. And did I mention, I get paid for this? Love it. :)

Wigs are fun!

Gypsy girl. 

 I'm very grateful for the opportunity. Maybe that sounds trite, but I am. Heavenly Father knew how important this was to me (goodness knows I told Him often and fervently enough), and even though I still feel that my audition for Utah Opera was not the most professional (I tripped over some of the French in my stupid-fast aria), they still hired me. For all of their productions this season (doesn't happen for a lot of people in the chorus, I'm finding, so I feel very blessed).

Can you spot the baby bump?

Finding balance as a wife, mother, and woman is hard. I think we can all agree on that. I'm been so happy with the way my life is balancing right now, and the fact that it can include me performing professional opera. I will probably not be able to perform in the last opera I'm currently contracted for (that's The Magic Flute in April) because I'll most likely be giving birth during the bulk of the rehearsals, but I'm excited for Florencia en el Amazonas in January. Yes, I'll be 8 months pregnant. Yes, it's gonna be awesome.

Sister Barrus

5 months pregnant

And there's always next season.