fernandez: May 2010

I've been thinking a lot on the past the past few weeks. Don't know why, but today had nothing to do, kids were gone, house was clean, laundry was done, shopping was done, errands were ran, and I needed something to do. I've been meaning to take pictures of all my old homes, just for memory purposes. They are all in the same area of Mesa, so it wasn't too difficult. Brought back tons of old memories. Can't believe how time flies.

This was our first apartment. Moved in March 1999. Well David did, I came down every weekend until school was out. It was a itsy bitsy little apt. 1 bedroom, maybe 600 sq ft. Jacob was born while we lived here. Yes, it is on the third floor. It was a chore to climb those steps towards the end of my pregnancy. They used to be called Farmstead Apts. Now they go by another name. On Country Club, north of Brown. We were in the Lehi 7th ward, Lehi Stake. March 1999-March 2000

After Jacob was born we needed more space. We moved to another apt in the same complex. Still just a one bedroom, but bigger. This one was on the 2nd floor, so a little easier. But still small. My sister Gaby and her new husband Carson moved in to the apt just above us after they were married. It was fun having her so close. March 2000-April 2001

Davids brother Alex and his family lived in this little duplex apt. When they moved out, we moved in. It doesn't look like much, but was so much larger than our previous apts. Had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large living room. There was a huge cockroach problem when we moved in, but I took care of that! Ewww! Sofia was born while we lived here. This apt is on 8th St., just west of Country Club. We were in the Maricopa 8th Ward, Maricopa Stake. April 2001-February 2002

David decided it was time to buy a house. I wasn't thinking we were ready, at least financially ready. But didn't matter what I thought! :) We bought this house for a pretty good deal. It was fun to move into space that we would eventually own. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice front and backyard, and large kitchen. I really liked this house. Isabel was born while we lived here. I babysat 10 kids over the space of the 4 years we lived here. It was a hopping place. I babysat up to the week Isabel was born, and started again when she was 1 month old. I never wanted to move out of this house, it was great for our little family. So when David decided it was time to buy a bigger house, I fought tooth and nails. A bigger house means a bigger mortgage, and we weren't ready for that. But again, what to do! This house I call my Hunter St. house. It is on Hunter St. between Center and Country Club and south of McClellan. We were back to the Lehi 7th ward, Lehi Stake. It was fun to already know the ward we were moving into. Great people!!! A ton of good memories here. February 2002- Dec. 31, 2005

This house was the bigger house David thought we needed. I wasn't happy about moving in. Just made me too nervous financially. Stress we didn't need. One positive to this house that made me be okay was the fact that there was a large pool in the backyard. It was heavenly! When i was forced out of this house the only thing I truly misssed was the pool. All my kids became excellent swimmers, summers weren't so unbearable, and I became an expert pool cleaning girl! The house had been in a fire before we moved in, they totally rebuilt the house, new tile floors, cabinets, bathrooms, ceiling fans in every room, beautiful wood blinds on all windows, it was a pretty house. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large pantry/laundry room. This house is on Fairfield St. so will always be remembered as my Fairfield house. We were in the Fairfield Ward, Mesa North Stake. The stake center was just one street behind our house. Another super ward to move into! It was soo hard to move out of! But it wasn't meant to be, I secretly knew it before we moved in, he just didn't hear me! I was booted out in June of 2008. But I got over it! :) December 31, 2005-June 2008

Here is our current abode. I love it! It just fell into my hands at a time when I wasn't up to making any decisions and couldn't even fathom moving somewhere alone with my kids and having it be up to me where we lived. My super awesome visiting teacher combed the neighborhoods looking for something for us. She took me to a couple to walk through, but none were right, or I couldn't afford them. I was nervous of where we would end up. I didn't want my kids to suffer any more than they already were. I wanted them to have a yard and a nice neighborhood, and space to play. I lucked out and have awesome people around me who look out for me. This house has a huge backyard, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and citrus trees! Super neighborhood, kids for my kids to play with, good people surrounding us on all sides. I can't complain. I would like to, but i simply can't! We are still in the Mesa North Stake, just a different ward. June 2008-present.