mail

Sometimes I don't post for awhile because I am grasping at something interesting enough to blog about. That hasn't been the case. There has been so much going on the last month or two that I've been grasping at a way to blog about all of it. And then the mail came yesterday, and it almost sums up the whole story.

I am a state delegate. Quick explanation on what that means: I've been searching for ways to become more politically educated because I love my country and don't want to be ignorant of what's going on. I've tried talk radio, I've tried different news channels, the newspaper, and the internet and still felt like I wasn't on board. So we attended our caucus meeting in March where a total of seven people showed up (I know I've heard of much heavier attendance at caucus meetings this year than in years past, and our chairwoman said ours was no different, in fact, the numbers had doubled. I've heard other caucuses filled high school auditoriums. We partially filled a living room :). The purpose of a caucus is to elect county and state delegates that will represent your precinct, or part of your neighborhood, at the county and state conventions where officials are elected from the party. This is where and how it really is about we the people. Sitting there at the caucus I thought, maybe this is my chance to get involved. When nominations went up for a county delegate, I raised my hand, a motion was made and seconded. When nominations went up for state delegates, I raised my hand, a motion was made and seconded.

Governor Herbert at the county convention

Since then my phone, email, mailbox, and doorstep have been flooded with efforts from candidates at the county and state level to secure my vote. We've met quite a few of the candidates at the county and state level (or at least stood a few feet away to hear them speak) and whenever I bring Grace with me, she usually catches their eye :). The county convention was held last month and was SO COOL! And now I've got a few more days to ponder which candidates will get my vote for senator and governor at the state convention. I have since learned that it is generally more difficult to be selected as a delegate, especially if there are more than ten people in the room :), and that it's even more rare to be selected for county and state, so I have been very thankful for this opportunity. An education in politics was what I was looking for and boy have I ever received one!!!!

We are building a home!! We've hopped in and out of the housing market a few times the last few months with the plan of probably buying an existing home, until we stopped into an Ivory Homes model home. Their incentives are as great as their homes are beautiful. The papers have been signed.

for sale

We start building towards the end of the summer and our townhome is up for sale. Let us know if you're interested!!

We are leaving the state (just for a few days)! I haven't made it farther than Park City since Grace was born, and I don't think Danilo's been anywhere but Salt Lake. We're taking advantage of our hard earned sky miles to spend a few days in Florida. Grace is staying with each set of grandparents, and after all the research I've done on babycenter.com and phone calls I've made to discuss leaving my baby for a few days I have come to the conclusion that this is going to hurt me more than it hurts her and it will be good for Grace for her mom and dad to go have some fun together!

The only thing going on that the mail failed to mention is that Danilo graduated as a radiology technologist (the same day my sister Hailey graduated in elementary education). He will begin specializing in MRI in the fall. We can see the end from here!!
Grace is looking forward to being able to spend more time at home with her dad (so am I)!

Why High School Musical? you may ask

NOTE: Title of this post refers to the song that was playing on our blog at the time it was posted

The truth is, I have never seen Danilo so little in my life (well, since we've been married) during these last few semesters of his schooling. We will go four, five, six days solid seeing each other for prayer in the morning (during which I am somewhat comatose) and a half hour at night. It has given me an appreciation for how sweet it is just to BE TOGETHER when we are. So while Troy and Gabriella are in a cheesy high school relationship worrying about life after graduation, it's amazing how fitting the words to Just Wanna Be with You are!! I am thankful for my little girl who keeps me company. I would be super lonely without her!

Back to School

Mrs. Collado's Class Picture 2009-2010

PICTURED (left to right): Mrs. Collado, Grace Collado

Curriculum: smiling, cooing, rolling over, sitting up, teething, crawling, laughing, solid foods, "da-da", "ma-ma"

Thanks to Gracie's Dad and all he's doing (school, work, and clinicals) so that I can be home with our baby girl.

Thanks to Jackie Norris for photographing Grace and Mom at three weeks old. Jackie and I were neighbors growing up and she has become quite the photographer. You can see more of her fabulous work here.

I also want to thank my friend Amy Woody, another up and coming photographer who is responsible for the family picture at the top of our blog. Good grief, she made us sound like the good guys for allowing her the privilege of photographing Grace at three days old. We were so thankful!!

Savoring Christmastime!

Santa Claus showed up at our Achter Christmas Party on Sunday. It was a sweet night put on by Jeff and Marie at their home. My dad had his entire family there except Paula and Melodee in California.















My darling Grandma Achter also took a turn on Santa's lap. This picture is priceless to me!

We are excited to spend the rest of the season with each other and with our families. We're going to savor every second! (Especially after Danilo takes his last final Thursday.)

Burdens Eased

This picture may end up in a brochure for the tutoring center where I work (photo by Joanna Taylor). This morning I was reading an article in October's Ensign called The Lord Can Ease Our Burdens by Elder Maury W. Schooff. He talked about being a husband and father while going through an intensive graduate program when he received a call to serve in the bishopric. He accepted the call with the promise from his stake president that he would be able to fulfill all of his responsibilities. The article goes on to talk about Alma and his people when the Lord promised them that he would ease the burdens on their shoulders even so much that they would not feel them while they were in bondage to the Lamanites. I am grateful that I'm not in bondage to any Lamanites, but I can say that the Lord is easing our burdens as a family this very year, day, and minute. We knew there would come a time when only I would be working to put Danilo through school. Sometimes when I pull in to the house it's amazing and a little overwhelming to think the work that little me does each day is what keeps us in a house with the electricity and gas and water on and food in the cupboards and cars running. Last year after teaching a full day of school, I would come home and collapse on the couch and nap with the news on. This year after teaching a full day of school, I go to the tutoring center or teach piano lessons for a couple of hours. I usually get home around 7 and sometimes 8. I don't feel stretched too thin, and it gives me peace of mind to know I can be bringing in a little extra. One of the blessings I recognize aside being able to get up each day and do it all again with out being extremely exhausted is that in order to get to my other appointments after school, I can't stay very long grading, preparing, etc. It has actually worked out for the good because the time I do have to plan after school gets used very well since I know I have less of it. Heavenly Father has truly blessed our family as we strive to make time for each other and live healthy and balanced lives.

My Future Radiographer

The last few weeks have been particularly stressful for Danilo as he's begun his first semester of the radiology program. His assignments and exams have been extremely demanding. I have come to love him a little more as I watch him cope. Sometimes he'll tell me, "When I'm starting to wish all this schoolwork wasn't part of my life, I have to stop myself and remember how hard we worked and how grateful we were I got in." Anyone who knows us knows the application process was not easy! I've been watching him be smart in how he paces himself. Tonight he called to tell me he was feeling burnout coming on, so he was going to get out of the house for a few minutes to go to a pawn shop (among my husband's top five favorite things to do in his spare time). He's also very conscious of not allowing the demands of his schoolwork to come between us. If I'm home, he'll stop every couple of hours to either play a game or watch an episode of whatever's on the Discovery channel at that moment. He constantly reminds me that he wishes he could spend more time with me and makes sure I know he's doing this for the good of our family. I am one blessed girl. My sweet Danilo is precious to me!