Into the Blue

Lions and such

2011-02-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

Do you know something amazing about children? Their love. Because you know your child loves you when you hand him something that you lovingly (yet horribly) made out of play-doh, that looks like this...

and he takes one wonderful look at it

and squeals with joy because you made him a lion (a very sick, squished and faceless lion, but hey, who's looking?)!

He definitely made my night!

It's sunny in CA

2011-01-28T13:31:00.000-08:00

And my camera is loving it!

For Christmas the boys got a huge box full of costumes from Joseph and I, so pretty much every photo I have is of them dressed up as something other then themselves, haha. They love going out to play in our complex all dressed up.

This last photo is of Emmalynn and her/our cousin Jacob, who was born two months before her.

Why I wish I lived in Texas...

2011-01-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

Let me count the reasons...

Awesome new friends who, without ever meeting us, opened their home to my busy family for three days. Scoot and Kim, you rock!

2.
Awesome men of God, who just so happen to be some of Joseph's closest friends, despite what the look on his face says in this picture, haha.

3.
The Mullins. Nuff said.

4.
The amazing wife half of my first ever community group leader and her growing family (does that make any since? love ya Maggie)

5.
One of the many new blessings brought into the world by old friends.

6.
The first girl born into our group of many many boys. And of course her awesome Mama

7.
Little Sarah. This little girl is so blessed to have the incredible woman by the name of Sarah as her Mommy.

8.
Old friends reunited. Somewhere on this computer I have a picture of these two when they were both under a year!

On our way back home after being in Kentucky for Joseph's deployment, we had the opportunity to stop in Texas and spend three absolutely amazing and much needed time with some pretty incredible friends. I have missed them all so much! Even more of a treat was getting to be apart of their Church service on Sunday. While living life together can sure be messy, it is also such a beautiful thing to see. It is awesome to see these friends that were all apart of my first community group now being pastors, elders, pastors wives and elders wives, and so many other great things. God is truly awesome!

2010-09-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

Emmy girl is five months old! She is quite the talker, yabbering all the time, especially when her brothers are being loud (read-always). She rolls over all the time, grabs at anything in front of her ( I love seeing her little hands that are always moving suddenly get really slow and controlled as she reaches for something. She is like a magnet). She is weighing in at 17 pounds and 27 inches! My big beautiful girl.

Conner drew his fist picture the other day. He really does not enjoy coloring all that much, and can not handle using more then one color at a time. Its like pulling teeth getting him to choose another, and then its always black. Sigh. So when he told me he was drawing a picture of Emmalynn the other day, I didn't think much of it. That is until I looked and actually saw person! I was so proud of him :)

I got Emmy a new bath tub, and we are in love! It's a Princelion Heart Wash Pod, basically a clear bucket with padding on the bottom. Its great because she is nice and snug in it and warm since her entire body is submerged in water. I would highly recommend it to any one with babies.
And my sweet crazy Brooks who looks so much like his Daddy. Someday I am going to have to take a picture of a painting that Joseph's parents have of him at Conner's age. Its amazing how much both my boys look like Joseph.

2010-08-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

2010-08-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Summer fun

2010-08-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

Miniscule update

2010-07-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! We are all safe and sound in our new home, getting adjusted to the time change and no daddy change. I know I have been horribly bad about keeping this blog updated, but as soon as I am mentally prepared I will start blogging regularly again. For now here are some pictures of our last days with Joseph.

This ones for the boys

2010-06-17T11:40:00.001-07:00

I am addicted

2010-06-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

I am so addicted to this little girl. I am also addicted to bows, especially ones that match little details in her outfits like this blue one...can you see what it matches?

2010-06-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Conner's second to last day of school, and then all the craziness of this years summer will begin. I am both excited and apprehensive about this new season, but figure all I can do is jump in with two feet and trust that God will carry me through as He always does. It has been busy busy here as Joseph prepares for the last of his tests, puts together his package for medical school (awesome, right?!), prepares graduations speech's, gets everything in order for our belonging's to go into storage and for us to travel cross country with three small children, and everything else that comes with heading out to sea. In all that we struggle on how to best go about this time known as the "pre-deployment blues". In a way it is nice that s0 much is going on as it gives us different events to look forward to besides the deployment. In ten days (TEN DAYS!!!) my other mom and dad (Joseph's parents) will be here to celebrate Joseph's graduation and to of course to love on us all, and we them ( I for see a certain Meme not letting a certain Papa hold Emmalynn is the hopes that she will be hers).

Either while they are here or shortly after they leave, our house will be packed up and sent to a storage facility where it will await our return. Then for the Fourth of July weekend Emmalynn and I will be visiting my parents, while Joseph holds down the almost empty fort with the boys. Upon my return we will be hitting the road! We are hoping to get the trip done in 3 days and be in Louisville by the weekend, where we will then spend the next two weeks in bliss before sending Joseph off. Anyone exhausted yet?

In other sad news, we had to shave the boys hair off last weekend. If I hadn't been covered in tears and hair I would have cried along with Brooksie as we got rid of his beautiful locks, but I was more concerned with the sobbing little boy in my arms. So why did we have to shave it? One nasty word...LICE.. so gross! We are not sure if Conner came home from school with it, or if they got it from the park, but regardless, it was disgusting! Because of how long Brooks' hair was we felt it would be better in the long run to just go ahead and shave it. It took an awhile for Joseph and I to not get sad every time we looked at him. But a funny thing we discovered was how much he really does look like Conner without all that hair! I know most people think they look very alike (we get asked ALL THE TIME if they are twins), but honestly while its obvious they are brother's, to us they have always just been Conner and Brooks. Well now we do double takes too, haha (not twin double takes though). So what do you think? I am hoping this will make the Louisville heat a little easier on him.

In Emmalynn news: She is doing great! 23 and a half inches and right around 10lbs. Suddenly today she looks less like a newborn and more like an infant with her cute cheeks and pale skin. She is also a complete Daddy's girl, for the first time I was not the receiver of the first smile, nor am I the preferred calmer downer (unless she must eat of course haha). But that's ok, because he makes me smile and calms me down too, so its completely understandable.

Conner is playing the guitar in his shirt (which he is still guitar obsessed)

Sweet Little Bear sitting on his "Pippo", one of his three loveys (its his pillow and the first thing he needs when he is sad)

Not the best of me but I am addicted to that smile

Aren't you?

Pictures

2010-06-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

One month old!

2010-06-01T22:27:00.001-07:00

Memorial weekend

2010-06-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Memorial weekend has never had such an impact on me as it has now that my husband is in the military and facing a deployment. It probably sounds very callous (or blond), but in all my 26 memorial weekends it honestly never occurred to me what we were really celebrating or better yet, remembering. But this weekend as I looked at my husband, the emotional-ness of it hit me like a steam engine. I am so very thankful for the men and women who make such huge sacrifices for us, and proud to be a part of the greater military family.

So this weekend I soaked up even more time with my love as we shared our daughter with her great grandparents.

I am so proud of this amazing man!

And because the boys need some blog love too...
all Conner wants to do when at my grandparents house is look through the binoculars,

I really need to stop writing my blog entries late at night,because for some reason I am very tired and all literary brilliance has left me :)

2010-05-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

As usual change is upon us. I am starting to become a little better at adapting to it, but it still wrings me around the neck a few times. We found out recently that Joseph will be deploying this summer, and while we knew it would happen eventually, we really hoped it wouldn't happen quite so soon. We are in an interesting time warp right now, watching each day pass by knowing it brings us closer to the dreaded departure, all while trying to hold on tight to every moment, every smile, tear and hiccup, not letting anything slip through the cracks. Its hard knowing that when he come's home Conner will be closer to five then four, Brooks closer to three and Emmalynn will be in the 9 month range. That's a lot of growing and changing! So for now we cherish the time we have and prepare for a lot of change the best way we know how.

The last picture just cracks me up. Conner and Brooks spend most of the day taking turns holding Emmalynn, and sometimes little sister just doesn't want to be held...

Two weeks

2010-05-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

Its been busy busy busy around here!` Little girl is growing up to fast already in my opinion and of course the boys have seemed to age tremendously since her arrival :( We are all doing great and I hope to soon find the time to update more regularly, but for now I am going to try to be good about at least posting pictures!

One week old

2010-05-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

Words will have to come later, but we are loving our sweet new girl!

Emmalynn Grace!

2010-05-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Emmalynn Grace has arrived! She was born Tuesday night, 8 lbs 2 oz and a whopping 22 inches long. She is my first non-intervention birth (no drugs what so ever) and man was is powerful and awe inspiring! (and painful! haha) We are all incredibly smitten with her (well except Brooksie, but that takes time).

Celebrating 60 years

2010-03-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Joseph and I had the opportunity to leave the boys behind and drive up the coast to celebrate my mother's parents 60th wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful immediate family gathering that spoke of the many wonderful years my grandparents have spent together. It was slightly emotional celebrating this big event with out their oldest daughter Christi, but our family is growing despite its loss and there is definitely something in that to celebrate. For the past four years Joseph and I have been the sole provider of great grandchildren, but this year brings not only Emmalynn into our family. My cousin Nicole and her husband Paul just had their first son, Jacob, three weeks ago (at a whopping 4.5 pounds too!), and Christi's son Justin and his wife Rachel announced that they are expecting as well. I am so excited for all this new life to join our family!
We had such a fabulous time! We stayed in a little cottage off of the club that my grandparents have been member's of for over 30 years. It felt just like when I was younger and we would go on family vacations together, except this time I was one of the adults (hard to believe we are all adults now) and got to see parts of my family that I knew existed, yet had never been a part of. It was so much fun being a kid in this family, but being an adult has its perks as well.

Since I am almost 34 weeks I did not get to participate with the wine enthusiast, but it was a blast to recount family memories, both hilarious and sad, and to get the opportunity to just sit with family without little ones underfoot (although I could not wait to get home to them!).

As a side note, can anyone else see the resemblance I have to my mother in the last two pictures? As I get older I am looking more and more like her, which is wonderful since after 26 years, the "she's your daughter?!" statements were getting a little old :)

A Brothers Love

2010-03-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Not much needs to be said with this photo, don't you agree?

Quick Wordless Wednesday before its Thursday

2010-03-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Side note: I finally got some sterling silver in my hot little hands and have been having so much fun !Of course I forgot to take a picture of my most recent one before handing it over to its new owner though :sigh: (it was beautiful if I do say so myself)

Season is changing

2010-03-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

Do you know what is right around the corner? (other then a new baby of course) Orders. It is finals week for Joseph, a stressful yet graceful period where God constantly reminds us of his sovereignty. Once again orders are being chosen in order of class rank (GPA), and while things were tight there for a while (read up until this afternoon), Joseph has been assured that although there is someone .6 of a point higher then him (and man does that count for a lot when your orders and future career depend on it), that he will still have first choice due to the fact that Joseph has dependents and is limited to where he can go and the other person does not. Thank you Lord for that grace and we pray that He would bless Joseph's classmate with order's of his choosing regardless. They have one last test on Friday and if Joseph is able to get a 100 and his classmate a slightly lower score, then Joseph will also get Valedictorian, something he is desperately praying for to help him get into Med School.
So middle of next week we should know where we are headed next and how soon! We have a list of the top three locations we would like to go, with the number one being Texas. We have a specific city we would like to be in, but trust that ultimately this is God's plan not ours (not easy though). So would you please pray for us as this week comes to an end and the new season of our lives begins? Joseph graduates from this program at the end of June, so earliest we would move would be July, just so ya know :)

Also, thank you everyone for your liking of Emmalynn's name!

A little something

2010-03-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

I am thirty one weeks this week! Can you believe it?! Also, is it just me, or am I getting smaller? I remember being huge by this point with Brooks, but I seem to be shrinking with little miss Emmalynn. As of my last appointment, I was finally up six pounds, but I think its a possibility I am down again...not sure how my doctor is going to like that, but like I have previously said, I am not doing anything to make it come off.
I have been meaning to post about this for a while, but have not found the time. So tonight I am finally going to share with you all the meaning behind Emmalynn's name, but because there is a lot to it and I tend to be long winded (and its an emotional one)I am going to share the short version.
Last New Years my mom's oldest sister Christi Lynn passed away. She was an incredible woman and one of the reason's Joseph and I wanted to be stationed where we are. We were so excited to have the opportunity to get closer with this aunt and to get the opportunity to share our boys with her. I will admit that I was mad when she passed, it was finally our turn to be close to her and that opportunity was taken away. I still hurt that we are in her city, but with out her. When we found out I was pregnant I knew in my heart that the little life growing inside of me was a girl, and we knew we wanted to honor my aunt and family through her name, but while Christi is a wonderful name we felt it was just not right so soon after her passing. Like we were trying to replace her, not honor her. We tried out many names all with the middle name Lynn, but none of them fit. For weeks I kept coming back to the name Emmalynn, one I heard every Monday on one of my favorite TV shows (although it turns out my hearing stinks because the name on the show is Emlin not Emmalynn) I had yet to share it with Joseph because I thought it would be too out there for him. We tend to not like "made up" names and I was afraid he would put it right in that category. Turns out I was wrong. Once it was said out loud she became Emmalynn (well Emmalynn Grace). I loved that Lynn would be a constant part of her name, not just a middle name and we have always loved Emma for its classic grace. So Emmalynn she is.
On a fun note, a couple of weeks after announcing her name I found out that my Aunt actually insisted on being called Christi-Lynn , so it made Emmalynn's name all the more special ( and no wonder we couldn't settle on it being just a middle name).
So there you have it, the short winded version of her name. I am now going to crash into bed before I crash into the computer.

Wonderful twos

2010-02-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

Brooksie Bear turns two tomorrow! My little talker is getting so big, its just amazing to look back at pictures from just six months ago and see how much he has grown. He is definitely leaving the "baby" stage behind and going full force into little boy.

September '09

January '10

I wish pictures could really show how much hair he has, and how beautiful it really is. I love playing with his hair when he is nervous or going to bed, its an instant soother for him and I love feeling the silky locks between my fingers. He is our fearless little man and will try anything once, especially if its something Conner can do. While Conner has always taken risks, he is very calculated in how he does them, but Brooksie, he just takes a leap of faith and believes he can do it. Regardless of this difference, once they have set their minds to something they will both persevere until the task as been conquered. Like jumping off the highest stair and landing on their feet.
I wish I could properly share with you the amazing bond that Brooks shares with his Conner and vice versa. They have such a need for each other, and actually desire each others constant company. About three weeks ago we got the boys a twin bed to share since the toddler bed they insisted on sleeping together in was getting a little cramped and wobbly. And while this bed is considerably roomier then their old one, they still insist on sleeping on top of each other. At night if Brooks wakes up he snuggles towards his brother who promptly puts an arm around him and pulls him close. Yes I like to sit in their room and watch them sleep :)

Happy Birthday Brooksie Bear!

Happy Birthday little man!

2010-02-19T21:15:00.000-08:00

Our "little" Optimus Prime turned four this past weekend! He is such an amazing little boy and we are so proud to call him ours! In the past year his speech has jumped by leaps and bounds. On his third birthday he was barely piecing two words together, now at four he is saying sentences! They still need translating for people who don't know him, but over all he has a lot to say regardless of if its perfectly clear or not. He loves to talk about Emmalynn and how silly she is to be pushing mommies belly button out. But his favorite thing by far to say is "I love you", I hear this from him at least every hour of every day and for some strange reason I don't think I will ever tire of it.
His birthday was a wonderful day spent putting together his new bike and then riding it as if he had been born on one. It won't be long before those training wheels are doing nothing but gathering dust in our garage :) Speaking of garages, it pains me to post these photos since I have spent the past couple days making it sparkle, but oh well, such is life.

In other news, Emmalynn has become a mover and shaker much like Brooks was. She has become quite forceful with her movements, at times making my feel like I can grab a hold of a body part and hold on. This pregnancy is going very well, up until a week ago I didn't even feel pregnant (although I did look it) and now at almost 30 weeks I definitely feel pregnant! Well I will have to update some more tomorrow with some Brooksie photos included, but for now sleep is calling.

A sick week

2010-01-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

I think blogger has been having some issues this week...I keep trying to do a post with new pictures and it comes up with errors each time. Quite annoying if you ask me...

Its been a long sick week here, Conner has been coughing and running a fever on and off all week and has felt uninspired to sleep at night, making for some very long nights and days. Finally last night in a fit of desperation we decided to put our air bed up in the spare room and have Conner sleep in there so that if he woke up we could climb into bed with him there. Other then waking up from the loud thunder that passed over head, he slept through the night! Thank you Lord for that blessing. Unfortunately Brooks is now coughing as well. Thank goodness the weekend is upon us! Hope you all have a great one!

Birthday fun

2010-01-12T21:41:00.001-08:00

I had a wonderful birthday this year! We spent the day on a local island just lazing around outside, watching crabs scatter about the rocks on the shore and just plain enjoying each others company. Later that night Joseph and I headed back to the island for dinner at a FABULOUS restaurant right off of the beach. We could actually see the waves hit the building from our dinner table. It was so gorgeous and exactly what I had asked for :)

An Eventful day

2010-01-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

Most of you are aware of Brooks' Tylenol escapade. I am not going to get into the detailed version, as I am still recovering from the emotional toll the whole experience put me ( and Joseph) through. In short the little man pulled my rolly chair over to the kitchen counter, climbed up, reached WAY up and opened a small cabinet over the refrigerator and pulled down my Tylenol, crawled back down, proceeded to open child proofed bottle (yes it was locked tightly) and dumped them all on the floor. All in less then five minutes.

I could not tell if he had eaten any or not but knew its not something to play wait and see with, so I immediately called Joseph to have him come get us and bring us to the hospital. In that conversation we decided it would be best for me to call 911 (a first) and have them come to us so that if something did go wrong he would get immediate care and I would not be alone with three kids as this happened.

Thank goodness Brooks is perfectly fine! After five hours in triage we were discharged with an all clear and a very healthy, albeit grumpy and tired, little boy.

Here is to not doing that again!

22 weeks

2010-01-07T14:36:00.000-08:00

I am going to jump right back into things and pretend it hasn't been a month and a half since my last post...but the hiatus has been good. I have been putting down the computer and the mindlessness it can bring and pulling out my crafting tools and creating instead. Its been good for my brain and my peace of mind. Oh and my children too, since when I am creating things I am able to focus more on God and less on the unfairness of this world. And when my focus is on God I am a more forgiving, patient and selfless person.

I had my 22 week check up today. Emmalynn (background to her name coming up soon) is looking great and I am now down twenty plus pounds. I have been steadidly loosing this entire pregnancy and so far none of my doctors have been concerned, but today I saw a different OB and he felt a little differently. He schedualed me to see the nutritionist and to get a consult to finally confirm my gluten intolerance and to rule out Celiacs Disease. While I was not appreciative of the manner that he went about doing this (or saying it rather) I am glad for the pro activeness in these areas as they were concerns I had had that the previous OB's had seemed to write off. So I will be sticking with him for the rest of the pregnancy.

Here is my belly today. I am standing on a stool, hence the wacky proportions to the closet ;)

I also wanted to include pictures of my latest projects! I have decided to deem this year the year of the crafts, and so far so good. My next goal is to learn to knit some soaker and longies for Emmalynn to go over her cloth diapers. I already have some beautiful yarn waiting for me :) Sorry I m getting ahead of myself...the following are necklaces that I made containing the names of my children and husband. I have been wanting to purchase one of these for a long time then one night it hit me, why don't I make my own! These are just my first ones and have quite a few kinks, but I love them for their rustic-ness anyways!

I domed both of these disc's (one copper, the other brass) and added on the wording. The copper disc contains my all the names of my loved ones and the brass one says Blessed, for I truly am :) The E in Joseph's name is a "little" wonkey because I accidently did it upside down first. Ooops. I am still getting the hang of spacing and making sure the letter are even while still being curved. Quite a challenge sometimes.

This one is a locket style, so when you open it you see the three little disc's with the children's names and the the back piece that says love. It looks so pretty on!

Unfortunately I could not fit Emmalynn's full name on that little disc, so that would be why her "nickname" is on it instead.

I love making these and look forward to my quiet time to practice getting the letters a little straighter and the shading a little more even. Life is good :)

2009-11-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

One of our favorite things to do as a family is head out to local parks and enjoy the outdoors for the day. We figure that we might as well take advantage of the fact that fall and winter do not exist here ( well they do but I don't count 50-60 degree weather as either season) and spend as much time outdoors as possible with out heavy clothing to hinder our playing.

Off to school he goes!

2009-11-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Most of these days this is what my life looks like. I little messier then usual and a little bit crowded too. The crowdedness isn't so bad, just a little different to adjust to the needs and wants of someone else child while still balancing the needs and wants of my own children. But we are adjusting. And vacuuming a lot.

In bigger news Conner has officially started preschool! He is attending a special program to help him with his severe speech delays along with other minor setbacks. So far he LOVES it. He is riding a bus each day because the school is to far for us to walk to and we only have one car. I think the bus is his favorite part so far.

Unfortunately the bus cannot stop in front of our house or near it because of some fire lanes so I have to pile the "babies" into the stroller, cross the street and wait at the city buss mall. Unfortunate because its right in the middle of the little boys nap which has proven to be a fun challenge on my part.

Its also unfortunate because a Starbucks resides a little to close to the bus stop :) On his first day we stopped there and got him a chocolate milk to commemorate the big day.

Lets eat cake

2009-10-24T07:25:00.000-07:00

It was Joseph's birthday on the 16th, but due to illnesses we ended up celebrating it last Sunday instead. The boys, well specifically Conner, had a great time helping me putting the candles on the cake and then more importantly, eating it! Happy belated birthday Sweetheart!

What Bump?

2009-10-09T16:12:00.001-07:00

Did you mean this bump Trina? I know I have a little extra padding in there, bur for ten weeks and two days its a little ridiculous. I didn't show this much with Conner until way past five months...

And yes the bathroom mirrors are dirty and no I don't plan on cleaning them until Monday ;)

First trimester blues

2009-10-07T07:52:00.001-07:00

I am alive and almost well, but will be taking a little longer of a break from the blogging world as my body adjusts to our newest addition. This first trimester has been a really hard one with me spending most of my time asleep or on the couch in a fetal position. So whenever I am feeling well enough to move I like to spend that time with the boys and give them all I've got while I can. Hopefully I will be back in a few short days, but I would expect more like a few weeks...

2009-09-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

I want you all to know that I write great post all the time in my head. I will be doing laundry and think off something funny to share, or chasing after the boys for the umpteenth time and think of reasons I love being a mom. But for some reason I don't always have the time to sit down and actually write all my great thoughts down. Something about thoughts being mobile and computers being stationary. Technicalities I guess.

Life is getting even busier as I type, but hopefully I can keep up with keeping you all up.

I mentioned a while back that I would start nannying for a family with three boys mid September, well mid September has arrived but I felt it was necessary to tell this particular family that I could no longer take them on. This was such a hard decision for me as I cannot stand not helping someone out when they need it, but I felt the Lord was telling me I needed to back away, so I did. Shortly after, I was approached by another family with one 15 month old boy. We have been doing some test runs for the past three days and I am pretty sure the mother is going to go with us. I am so super excited about this and am so thankful to the Lord for opening my heart to this family.

One of the reasons (although not the big one) for turning down the other family is that as of Wednesday I will be two months pregnant! Super super super duper excited about this! I am not super super super duper excited about the full blown morning sickness that has decided to take residence in me though...Oh well

All right time to check out and head to bed. I am sensing a long night a head of me. Conner and Brooks are acting as if sleep is not necessary and unfortunately they seem to do this only on nights we have have the little boy overnight, so I cannot separate them. Sigh.

Thoughtful Thursday Camouflaging as Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Artistic freedom of a (slighty) unattended three year old

2009-09-11T13:07:00.001-07:00

Today I was taking pictures for a craigslist ad out in our bbq area while the boys were painting in the garage, when the sound of too many giggles alerted me to the fact that Brooks now has a wonderful new blue hair do. Compliments of his big brother of course. Oh he had a blue leg too, as in the whole leg was blue, top to bottom.

So, when you give a three year old these paints

for this house

and leave him alone to take pictures of this microwave for all of three minutes

you get this!

I just couldn't resist throwing it into a mohawk

Definitely not a no mess product...

Missing a friend named Kai Kai

2009-09-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Before we moved, the boys and I used to be attached by the hip(s) to my closest friend Rebekah and her two son's Malachi and Jonah. If we were not out and about together then we were wrangling the children around one of our homes until it was time to go home and be with husbands. While Joseph was away Rebekah helped keep me sane, and her children, specifically Malachi, helped Conner forget that his Dad was not around. These two boys have a bond that I hope last a life time, just as I pray the same for their mother and I. And while they have been apart for way to many months, the other is never far from their thoughts. I am told Conner spends his entire days playing with his friend, generally getting Kai Kai in trouble, and when told that we are going to go play with friends Conner always asks if we are going to Kentucky to get Kai Kai. So in honor of best friends here are some pictures from last January that I thought both Conner and Malachi would love.

Some beach time too

2009-09-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed our second day of Labor day weekend at the beach. I read today that at over 14,000 people visited just one of the major beaches in the area we were in on Sunday. Isn't that crazy?! Luckily by the time we made our way out most of the morning tourist crowd had already gone in leaving us with mostly just locals who actually know how to put their umbrellas in the sand probably. Its an art I tell ya. One I am just mastering.

Any who, we had a blast! Conner thinks the beach is the next best thing to chocolate cake (he's my son alright!) and Brooks is becoming more and more enthusiastic about it every time we go. We might have stayed all afternoon if not for the blue extremities that showed up in hour two.

There once was a house

2009-09-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend we just spent with family! We meandered up to my grandparents house this past Saturday to meet up with loved ones, eat fantastic food and enjoy the ocean breeze. Besides eating, I think we did all of the above out on the deck where the ocean and hills both provide an excellent view, only going inside to retire at night.

While the adults enjoyed some wine and good conversation, Conner colored himself silly decorating this cardboard house Grammie and Grandpa picked up.

Arts and crafts have become his new forte, so getting a whole house to create on was a wonderful and inspiring treat!

He took a few breaks to enjoy the actual playing with of the house, with Brooks following right along.

While Brooks was not really interested in coloring on the house, he did love opening and closing all the door and windows and "WOW'ing" over Conner's coloring.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-02T21:09:00.001-07:00

A lesson in self control

2009-09-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

At least once a day I find myself with a whining, temper tantrum throwing three year old. Amid the high pitched voice, balled up hands and some wonderfully loud noises I usually find myself wanting to do the same. It is amazing how when someone gets emotional, regardless of the cause, it can stir up the exact same emotion in you. But instead of giving in to the temptation of screaming back at my child (and sometimes this is extremely hard to do...alright, I have screamed once or twice) I take a deep breath gather my self control, get down to eye level with said temper tantrum thrower and calmly and gently ask him to gain self control. It generally goes like this;

First "Conner you need to gain self control"
Second because now he is calming down and listening "Conner you need to gain self control of your voice"
and third "Conner you need to gain self control of your body"

I find it important to give him specifics of how he needs to gain self control so that he can use these as tools to help him know how to calm down. Its like something clicks in him when I tell him to do these things, slowly you can watch his body and then his face regain control. The soft tone of my voice and the repetition of the words are comforting, something familiar and a way to control some pretty heavy emotions. I will continue to repeat these over until he has gained self control and we can discuss what is going on like rational human beings. This scenario can be played out in many different situations, whining, being destructive with ones body and so on. Generally he is calm by the third self control.

Over a year ago I attended a parenting class at the church I used to call home. It was a very encouraging, informative and convicting class, it reminded me of how important a role I carry and it brought to light those areas I had been letting the world shape my children and not Christ. The world we live in today can be a scary one for me when it comes to parenting. The standards seems so low, leaning more towards laziness then participation on behalf of the parent. It is almost as if the word "no" is becoming taboo. This scares me because it is all to easy to fall into laziness because it is of course the easier route to take and sometimes easy is just way to appealing.

One of the subjects discussed was the importance of self control, for both the parents and the children. I will admit that this was a new concept for me. I mean I knew I wasn't supposed to loose me temper or to encourage those of my children, but at the time I had never heard the term "self control" associated with child rearing and discipline. Listening to our leader, Karen, describe to us a situation in which it was applied to an 18 month old throwing a temper tantrum because he didn't want to sit in a high chair, I began to see more clearly my own child's need for this in his life. We were just hitting that stage where everything was responded to with tantrums and we had yet to find the heart issue of what it was our son really needed. Sometimes nothing we could do would bring Conner down back from hysteria land. I mean most times we could get him to calm down, but there would be almost this manic look to his eyes waiting for something else to set him off. Walking around on eggshells around your then two year old is not fun nor is it teaching him anything or even helping him. So listening to Karen talking about the biblical and practical importance of self control in our lives was like looking into a window of what it was my son's heart needed. Mine too.

Titus 2 is a great passage about how we are called to be self controlled in our actions, thoughts and words and how through our own lack of self control we will be a model of ungodliness and worldly passions to those around us. Temper tantrums, whining, and being destructive are all great models of these things. Each day we are given the opportunity through these very worldly passionate moments to teach our children the importance of self control and in turn the tools on how to be in control of our emotions. Not to hide them or remove them, but to share them with people in a manner in which there will be a positive influence.

I chose to write about this today because it is a tool in parenting that has been priceless to me, not only because my child needed it but because I needed it myself. Asking our children to gain self control is a great reminder to us as parents to use self control everyday. It wasn't until it was thrown right in my face that I realized this vitally important part of parenting and wifely-ness was missing from my every day life. At least in a visible way. So maybe it will help you a little, or maybe its something you already know and it will be a little reminder of the need for it in our lives.

On a lighter note

2009-08-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

My last post was a bit of a downer, so here is some Conner to cheer you up (and me too!)

Friends

2009-08-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have been a little rough. I had been with out a phone for close to a month, leaving me feeling very isolated and very homesick. I have a phone again, but because the other one went missing I have no numbers. Actually let me rephrase that. I have plenty of numbers, but they all belong to my friends husbands...AWKWARD. Yeah, I have Joseph's old phone now if you hadn't guessed and I haven't quite gotten up the nerve yet to call these men asking to speak to their wives. "Cuz I'm shy like that.
I just spent the last hour catching up on various friends blogs and while I am so happy to get a glimpse into their lives, I so badly want to be IN their lives, not just hearing about it from afar. I miss them all so much and the pathetic part is they probably don't even know it. Watching their lives grow on with out me seems slightly unfair, but it makes me realize how inward I become when change is upon me. These ladies I love so much are not separate from my life because they have forgotten me, but because I have acted like I have forgotten them. I challenge myself every week to call someone different everyday, but instead of picking up the phone I curl up into a ball of fear worrying that they wont want me any longer, so instead of making the situation better, I make it worse. So once again I am going to challenge myself to call a different friend everyday. So if you see my number flash across your phone would you mind saying hello to an old friend who misses you? Oh and I guess that means I may be calling some men first...or I guess I could just email...

Boy- Loud noise with dirt

2009-08-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

My little man is rounding the corner to independence, no longer wanting help to do those things that others do so easily. So when he decided that eating yogurt was one of those ways he wanted to exert that independence I handed him a spoon. While more yogurt ended up on the table, chair, floor and outfit then it actually did in him, the joy that he radiated was well worth the ten minutes it took to remove the mess from everywhere. Oh and the best part was the "Uh Oh's" that he said every time he missed.
As you can see there were a lot of "uh oh's".

Forward

2009-08-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

I sit here contemplating my beautiful life as Brooks pretends to color with some new markers and Conner watches Kung Fu Panda, fully delighted that I had the ability to get either things for my children. So many times in the past we have not. We have been blessed to have friends and family who have been incredibly generous to us, gifting us in areas that we could not provide in ourselves. Having the ability to do them ourselves is absolutely wonderful. Simple joys, big blessings.

There has been a lot of change and moving forward in our home. Sometimes it goes by so quickly I forget it was ever different. Other times I feel as if the change is teasing me with the idea of it. So without further ado I share our change with you.

After much prayer we finally found a church to call home. It is so exciting to be apart of a body again and Joseph and I are looking forward to our first Community Group this coming Thursday. Also the boys and I will be joining their playgroup tomorrow. Yay!

Our cats will finally be joining us in the next month! The past eight months have been full of, "we can keep them, we have to give them up, OH we can keep them, blah, have to let them go" to finally" WE CAN KEEP THEM" There are two big things we learned about what we will differently upon our next move. One of them involves our pets. We have been so blessed through out this all to have some wonderful women who opened up their doors to our fur babies even though they had never met us before. And because of them Nihko and Amber are finally coming home!

Now for the biggest change of all! Starting mid September I will become a nanny for three brothers that live a couple house down. This will be a big adjustment, but one I am thoroughly looking forward too! It is an awesome opportunity to love on a family that is in desperate need of it and to offer a worn down mother some good childcare.

Ok, for now that will have to do!

Beaches made better with Dad

2009-08-01T21:30:00.001-07:00

I may have mentioned before that Conner loves the beach. Well as much as he loves the beach, Joseph loves it ten times more. As in loves the beach. While this ocean may not be as warm as the one he is used too, it is still the beach and it still offers a peace to his being. Our boys also loved sharing it with him.

Blurry shot, but precious none the less

I have noticed a trend for our littlest bear, when Joseph is around he is much happier, and quicker to venture where he would not before. If you remember my last post about the beach you might recall that it took quite a bit of coaxing to get him to even leave the tent, non the less actually touch the water. Today he was running in and out like an old pro.

I love my boys. I especially love seeing all my boys together.

Fountains are wet

2009-08-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

At least once a week Joseph and I like to pack the boys up and walk around one of the many open air malls that dot our new hometown. One of our favorites has many little gardens and water features that the boys loves to explore, doing us the favor of wearing them out while we enjoy the beautiful weather. This past week we discovered a little nook that had a great fountain for the boys to explore, one that Conner got a little more up close and personal then he intended.

Sadly I did not get as many pictures of the whole event, since you know I was busy staying close just in case this happened...

While trying to count the coins Conner leaned in a little to close and down he went, clothes and all. He fared it very well, although he was quite cold afterward.

I know this is not the best quality photo, but you can practically see Joseph saying something that ended with cold

Brooksie kept thinking he needed to get in too, but was appeased with watching Conner's dunking.

Almost wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Normally I would try to keep the photos unblemished by words, but I felt these ones needed a little background. This past weekend with my parents in tow, my little family drove a little over an hour to go visit my Auntie Kim, cousin Katie and Katie's significant other, Derek. Derek was so generous as to take us all out on his families boat so that we could cruise for an hour or so along the shore line. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day!

A good way to spend a Thursady

2009-07-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

Conner loves the beach, as in absolutely loves it. We spent three hours whiling away the day in the sun while Conner thoroughly enjoyed being in the water, throwing rocks, finding shell's and attempting to walk half way across the harbor in the water.

My parents, friends and I staked claim on a good patch of sand, threw our respected shade makers up and enjoyed watching and entertaining the many small children that accompanied us. Brooks spent most of the time under the shade, slowly making his way from the very back of the tent to playing in the sand at the very edge of the tent, until the beckoning hand of a grandpa convinced him it would be safe and fun to venture a little farther.

With Grandpa continually filling the buckets with water and making silly faces, suddenly the beach was a lot more fun for my youngest. I think he might even enjoy coming back.

Even when the tide tickled his toes he remained where he was, laughing, talking and showing off his precious dimples.

Sea World

2009-07-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a sad day as we said goodbye to our niece Larissa, but we made some wonderful memories with her this past week, one of which I would love to share with you all. Saturday we wandered over to Sea World for the day where we were wow'ed by the the many wonders of the water that God has created. We all had a blast, Conner especially loved the whales and kept asking to see them over and over. It was so fun to see a new world opened up to him, especially to see how interested he was in all of it. We have been to many zoo's and gotten up close in many of the petting areas, but he has never before become so interactive with any exhibit. I think we may be getting a season pass...

Larissa, who is interested in marine biology also had a great time and we had a great time with her. After taking the kids home and feeding them dinner Joseph was so generous as to stay home while the boys went down for the night so that Larissa and I could go back to the park to watch the night time shows and ride some rides! I had such a blast being just with Larissa, even after getting ourselves soaked from sitting in the third row of the soak zone during the Shamu showing. At 10:00 at night. Fun fun times.

My camera is having a melt down again, so I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked, but here are a few from my phone.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T20:07:00.001-07:00

2009-07-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day spent out at one of the many beaches in my new home town. My self, Conner and my niece Larissa, who is in town visiting, had a blast. I was actually surprised to find that Conner loved the ocean, but I guess it apart of his genes.

Brooks on the other hand was NOT thrilled. He liked the dry sand part, but as soon as you put him down in the wet sand he was not a happy camper. Although he did love watching his brother and cousin while they enjoyed the waves.

2009-07-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I apologize for the lack of post lately, I have been taking a break from the internet and it seems once you get away for awhile its hard to get back into the swing of some things. I have a whole bunch of photos to upload, so hopefully I will have time to do that soon.
Right now we are getting our house all put together along with doing a lot of purging. It feels so good to just let go of somethings that have been moved from place to place and haven't even been moved out of the original box we packed them in...
Alright the children are being to quiet so I must run!

Here

2009-06-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

We have furniture!!!

Oh the wonders of having our own belongings, although I see quite a bit that is going to be donated, craigslisted or tossed. What a fun week it will be!

2009-06-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

We just got our internet up and running again this evening, so some time in the next couple of days I will update with something of more substance. For now I leave you with the highlight of my week...

My sweet sweet Conner has taken a liking for the refrigerator. I knew it was bound to happen, that one day he would open the door and discover there was a whole new world to explore and experiment with. I just wish he would leave the milk alone. Monday I come up from the garage and discover Conner in the fridge pouring out the last of my chocolate eclair coffee creamer ( what can I say I have a sweet tooth) into my half empty gallon of milk. Deciding to look on the bright side I kept the milk/creamer since we had just bought the creamer on Saturday and tryed to think of it as gaining a whole gallon of it. Well come Wednesday I come down from putting Brooks to sleep, no more then three minutes, and Conner is now pouring Joseph's chai into the milk/creamer. Oh YUMMY! At least he kept going for the same gallon of milk instead of the other two unsuspecting gallons sitting next to it. Sigh

Thoughtful Thursday Camouflaging as Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ok its an almost wordless Wednesday, er Thursday, but this Tuesday some new friends were kind enough to use their free passes to get us into the Zoo ( wow, that was a lot of days in one sentence). While we had a blast we saw many more people then we did animals and got a little more sun then I like, but over all it was wonderful to spend time with mom's and their children. Oh and it was six kids under the age of four, three of whom were under the age of eighteen months, two single strollers and one double and one sling that I forgot to whip out... soooo five hours later we were exhausted!

Conner was loving little Naomi, they held hands and watched out for each other through out the entire day.

Brooks meet Elliot, Elliot meet Brooks

Love him

All I can say about this last one is "Who knew?"

Weekends are almost as great as Summer itself

2009-06-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend full of summer fun and family time. Or maybe that is the same thing? Hmmm.

Barbecue and Cold Stone Ice cream on Friday. Sleeping late, eating pancakes and eggs for breakfast, and running around at a local splash pad on Saturday. Church, lunch and chalking the neighborhood with friends on Sunday.

Now the boys are fast asleep in their room and the parents are not to far behind them. On the shared room front, they are LOVING it. Conner loves making his little brother giggle, and trust me when Conner is involved Brooks giggles a lot. Especially when he is dog tired. Our biggest concern has been that Conner is determined that sleeping in the same room as Brooks also means sleeping in the same bed. Only problem is he usually brings all his blankets and pillow in with him. Definitely not a good plan. So now he has only one blanket and no pillow. And one great little brother to snuggle with. Two out of the three nights I have had to remove Conner from Brooks bed (IE: playpen) and gently place him back in his bed before I head in for the night. Tonight the were nose to nose with Brooks holding onto Conner's arm. Talk about melt my heart! Maybe one of these nights I will get a picture, but for now I leave you with these from Saturdays water fun.

Oh, I forgot to mention Conner's special treat for using the potty...TATOOS! He loves them and has become addicted ever since Aunt Rebekah gave him his fist back in May. What you cannot see in this picture (other then his almost not cut out personal area) is that he has six more besides the huge pirate ship...see the little spot next to his bellybutton? That is a green letter E, because for what ever reason E is his favorite letter. He has a motorcycle on each arm, a sword on his knee and an old style record below the sword that says "Rock and Roll". Totally random, but he only has six more letters to go before he will know all the letters in the alphabet! For the past week and a half Conner and I have been doing school time each day where we learn letters and then apply them to the real world. He loves pointing out all the letters in every word everywhere we go. Hmmm, I guess schools is another thing I forgot to mention.

Now for summer fun with water!

The boys had a blast and we are hoping for a slightly warmer day next weekend so that we can go again. Just to set the record straight, Conner picked out the boys swim trunks, because I am totally not going on a crazy "lets match the boys" stage. Nope not me! Also in that last picture Joseph is talking to Papa, so Papa, now you can see what you where hearing and get a kick out of "being in" this picture.

No longer lonely

2009-06-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

After almost a month of getting to sneak into our bed when ever he wanted due to weird sleeping arrangements, Conner seems to have been getting lonely these past few weeks in his own room, so tonight he has a sleeping buddy. And its not me :). Now don't get me wrong, I love snuggling Conner, but right now Joseph and I are sleeping on an almost queen sized air bed and there is barely enough room for the two of us, none the less a three year old the size of a five year old. So our sweet Brooksie Bear volunteered for the job, you know since he had an option and all..
Its finally official, after 16 months the boys are FINALLY sharing a room! Within 45 minutes Brooks was conked out, and it seems that Conner followed shortly behind, so whorah for only an hour of them working it out! Which really meant they giggled and played for 45 minutes while I only had to go in twice to extract Conner from Brooks bed. Not bad, not bad.
Here's to praying Conner doesn't wake up at 2:00 am lonely. Or 3:00 am or really anytime before ohhhhhhhhhhhh 8:00. Hey a Mama can dream :)
On another night when I am not beat and ready to hit the sack two hours ago I will share about the wonderful bond these two share, but for now... Good Night!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

2009-06-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

Some one sure loves his daddy! Conner was so thrilled that he was able to climb to the top of this rock. Not so much because he got to the top, but because Daddy kept telling him how proud he was of him. As soon as I came out side Conner was cheering and yelling " Mama, Conner did it! Dada PROUD!!!" I love seeing these two together, the love they share is precious and I pray that their relationship is always strong and filled with grace.

Doesn't this make you want a mango?

One of my favorite parts of the day is when Joseph gets home. Not only because he is home, which is wonderful, but because there is nothing quite like seeing Conner and Brooks racing down the stairs to get to Dada first. Conner usually wins since his legs are a little longer then Brooks', but the little man has a good fast slide and comes in at a very close second barreling in at Joseph's feet. The giggles and smacking sounds of kisses make my heart melt as I patiently wait my turn at the top of the stairs. I figure knocking the kids down the stairwell in an attempt to beat them to the bottom wouldn't go over well. I definitely wouldn't get a kiss that's for sure...

One step at a time

2009-06-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

We've got a walker on our hands!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

Settling in

2009-06-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

I find I really don't have much to say these days because we have finally fallen into an utterly boring routine. Utterly boring that is if you are not us, because I find it exciting, thrilling and awesome, but its probably boring for you.

I mean it bored Brooks to tears today

Playing in the same sand pit, right out our back door, it gets old I tell ya.

and Conner? Well he was nothing but pure unhappiness

Can't you tell? Because obviously playing in sprinklers and sand is B O R I N G.

And me? Well I think I answered that already.

If I were three

2009-05-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

I would spend my lunches

teasing my mother

with the action of putting my head
in water she begged (er, told) me not to

then I would shake said wet head all over her.

For dinner I would melt her heart with a simple lean.
What would you do if you were three?

Finding Normal

2009-05-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

It feels as if our life has begun again. As if the wheel that God has been turning for my family has finally picked up to a pace I can recognize. But I am finding myself remembering that even the slow pace was good and familiar because it was what God wanted for my family, so it is in turn was what I wanted for my family.

We find ourselves in a new kind of normal. One that involves a state with a city that has unspeakably good weather all year round. Weather that makes playing outside in the sand at 6:30 in the evening more then bearable. Especially after having just finished eating a home grilled meal outside for the third night (or is it fourth?) in a row.

I am thankful that we even have the opportunity to find normal, because the joy of watching my sons chase after their dad is wonderful.

And then getting to feel the joy of seeing Conner become happy and adjusted...

At every angle?
Now that is a wonderful normal.

2009-05-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

There is nothing quite like watching your children light up with joy as they play with their great grandparents. Great grandparents that are your grandparents.

Seeing my children play on a deck that my mother had brought me to when I was this little is something else. And although the house and deck may look a little different (and I stress a little), the love that is poured out has only gotten bigger.

Baby faces

2009-05-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

While in Louisville I got the opportunity to meet up with some of my friends that all had babies in April. It was such a delight to be able to see these new lives so soon after they has entered the world and most of all to get to hold and snuggle with them. This is truly the first time one or more of my friends have had new babies at a time that I do not. Generally I do not get to enjoy them in the manner that I most love since I would have a baby of my own in my arms. Thank you ladies for letting me love on your precious babies!

Here is little Benjamin, who is my friend Terra's first son. Isn't he so precious?

And here is a little boy I was super excited to meet, Shepherd! He is the first born of my original community group leaders Maggie and Dave. I have had the pleasure of calling them friends for a little over three years and have been looking forward to the day when they would become parents.

So while all the babies I got to love on are precious, this little boy holds a special place in my heart, even if Maggie and Dave didn't know that until reading this :)

And although he may not be a baby any more, here is Malachi, a little boy I love as my own, being a goof ball. Oh, and his mom and my bestie Rebekah too :)

Because some pictures don't need captions

2009-05-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

Preview

2009-05-21T09:04:00.000-07:00

Just a very small preview of our new "pad". I am super excited about it, as it is a brand new town home with an attached garage just six miles from the base! And it has my favorite color cabinets through out. Oh and have a mentioned Target is right across the street? Oh and a huge park with walking trails and a lake. Yes sirree I am excited to be home!

The not so wordless Wednesday

2009-05-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKKKKKKKK! After many many days away from our computers I am finally sitting in my living room writing a post to you! Can you believe it? If I were not sitting here myself I don't think I would.
Conner is playing drums on our plastic plates and Brooks is climbing up and down our stairs for the millionth time this morning. I am hoping Joseph is getting in the request for our stuff to get moved here as we, er, I type, because right now we have this very beautiful townhome with very little in it to call it home. Well except my family all together. Which is wonderful thank you very much.
Later I will have to give you an in depth post with pictures and all, but for the time being you will have to trust that we are doing wonderful and are very happy to be home. Oh, and I am hot and its only eight in the morning.

Thoughtful Thursday and Finally Friday

2009-05-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

We are leaving tomorrow! It is officially official that after morning muster and room inspection tomorrow morning we finally get to leave, so by the end of the day we will be Louisville! Hip hip hooray!

Today was a beautiful day outside, the weather was warm and clear and the wind was calm. We spent most our morning picking daffodils, chasing balloons and brothers, both little and big.

Then when we were all done we watched from our window as the grass was cut and the daffodils disappeared. Now I sit next to my boys as they wrestle in bed after waking up from a wonderful two hour nap. All in all a good last day.

Relax

2009-05-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes plans don't quite work the way we, well, planned them to, so instead we find ourselves doing the same thing, just in a different way. When this happens you have a few choices in front of you, you can either;

A. Get frustrated beyond all end that your plans changed regardless of the fact that you are still doing the same thing.
B. Be thankful you are getting the chance to do anything in the first place
C. Decide to not do anything at all and sulk all day at your misfortune

So when our plans seemed spoiled for the umpteenth time this weekend, what reaction do you think I chose? Especially after I wrote a post the day before about being fine with whatever happened? Well lets just say it was not reaction B. Well at least not until I had simmered down a couple hours later when I finally found myself in front of a Target. After a seven mile walk.

See what I failed to mention in my last post was the qualification of what made it ok for us to still be here. I failed yo say, I am perfectly fine with still being here as long as we rent a car so that we can break the heck out of here this weekend and only come back to sleep, oh and to not walk a gazzilion miles in the rain. I wanted a car. But God did not want me to have a car, so it was made impossible to get one. So I huffed and I puffed and I was anything but thankful for the fact that the weather had suddenly cleared, money was saved, and that we were graced with the ability to walk anywhere our feet could take us.

So we walked seven miles to Target on Saturday

And ten miles on Sunday to the Children's museum

Which just happened to be free. Alright Lord I admit it, your plan was much better. Even if my feet do feel like they are going to fall off.

Not in my time

2009-04-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

*Updated at bottom*

I am sitting in my hotel room on base while my children sleep peacefully in their respected beds, waiting for Joseph to get off of work with news of either our impending departure or three more days of hanging out here.

If we do get the go ahead we will pack up tonight, rent a car tomorrow morning and be on our merry way before the morning is over.

If on the other hand today is just like the eight days that have already passed and we do not get the go ahead to leave, we will continue to sit tight until Monday and enjoy the time we are getting alone as a family for the first time in 4 months.

So you see for me either is the perfect situation.

*Update*

Well it looks like we will be sitting tight for the time being, so Joseph is off renting a car for the weekend so that we can better explore the city around us. While the train is awesome it is supposed to rain on and off all weekend, and well I have already learned that lesson. We plan on heading to the children museum tomorrow along with some other fun and educating things.
If we don't have orders to leave by Monday evening then I will be renting a car on Tuesday and driving up to the 'ville on my own with the boys.
ok cranky baby on board so off I go!

Note to self

2009-04-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

Note to Self,

Always check the weather channel before going on a mile and half walk to the train station, riding on the train, walking to dinner, getting groceries, getting back on the train and walking a mile and a half back home regardless of how beautiful and clear the skies were when you left. Because of course its going to start raining as soon as you start walking to the grocery store, and of course its going to keep raining while you wait for the train to come, which I might add was late, and will start raining harder as soon as you get off of the train and need to walk a mile and a half to get home. While pushing your two small children in a stroller, at 9:00 at night.

Good thing Joseph can run fast.

2009-04-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy four days, but we are so glad to finally be here! As you can tell by the pictures Conner was/is ecstatic to see his dad. I will have to post more later, but for now I just wanted to share some of the pictures.

Dads,

babies,

trains

graduations,

and grandparents

oh my!

Got all that?

2009-04-21T21:35:00.001-07:00

Two car seats?
Check.

Luggage?

Check.

Playpen?

Check.

Stroller, crazy car seat attachment and two little boys?

Check, check and check.

An audience as I work my behind off to get it all together?

Check.
At least they are cute

Chicago here we come!

2009-04-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe that we are almost down to the last 24 hours of being in this particular chapter of our lives. What chapter would that be you ask? Well people we seemed to have finally arrived to chapter two. Chapter one started many years ago in the very beginning of our marriage when Joseph became unemployed for the first time. Fast forward to last June where we found ourselves unemployed for the fourth time in so many years, but now with two children added to the mix. We knew God was trying to tell us something but it always seemed just out of reach because we would try and try to do things right, but we seemed to always end up back at chapter one. Then one day after much prayer Joseph approached me about joining the Navy.

Chapter two finally began.

You have to understand that for the past four years of our marriage I would balk whenever he would teasingly bring up joining the military. There was no way I could make that sacrifice, I was and am far to selfish. But this time it was different. As Joseph spoke I kept waiting for the panic to set it, I knew it had to be right around the corner but instead I felt the Lords presence surrounding me with peace and acceptance. I laughed to myself, I could not believe how right I knew this was. Suddenly this wasn't about me or Joseph, this wasn't about us trying to do what was right, it was about the millionth chance the Lord was giving us at making the right choice. To trust and follow Him.

Since we have taken that leap life has been more challenging and painful then it has before, but it has also been so so so much richer. Through all of it He is carrying us close to His heart, guiding us through the storm and showing us what faith really is. And its not our faith that is carrying us through, it is His.

This time has brought me so much closer to understanding the sacrifice that God selflessly made for us. He chose death so that we could have life, so that I could have life. So that my little boys would have the chance to come to know Him. He has shown me that it was love. Can you imagine that type of love?

He gave us a second chance even though we didn't and don't deserve it. But because of His love for me and my family he has graced us with another chance to love him.

Oh how I wish I had the words I am searching for to tell you everything that He means to me, all the great things that I see Him doing in our lives! But instead I must settle with this jargled mess of a post and pray that the Lord shows you the true meaning of my words.

Smashingly festive

2009-04-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself, I just needed to post pictures of the boys in their matching Easter outfits because they were just so smashingly festive. Because of Brooks skin issues I never put him in shorts, but decided that for this one day we would have to brake the rule.

On other great news Brooks has been healed of his allergies! Praise God! I am still in shock and am having a hard time trusting that this is real, but we had him tested and the results came back normal. Wow. Before we went in for the testing I prayed that the results would come back this way, but sometimes seeing a prayer answered is just mind boggling. We have been a peanut free home for so long now that suddenly being able to not have to constantly be on the look out is strange.But so so wonderful because now so many fears about how my little boys life was going to look have been thrown out the window! I guess I should add that we had just started introducing eggs to his diet and he had had a reaction to those also, just weeks ago. Wonderfully mind boggling. He still has some bad itchies on his back, but we are praying for that too.
The Lord gives and takes away!

Airplanes and such

2009-04-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

*Edited to change the day we are leaving. While I would love to leave Tuesday (tomorrow) I don't think we would have much luck at the airport.

Conner is obsessed with airplanes and trains. Absolutely obsessed. If you put blocks in his hands 5 minutes later he will hand you one of those two things and ask you to fly or ride along with him. Every time we get into the car Conner asks me if we will be going on an airplane yet and when the answer is a negative he replies with "almost time, almost airplane all done, see Dada", which translated means "Its almost time to go on an airplane and see Dada".
I cannot wait for Wednesday morning to come and for me to tell my sweet little boy that we are finally going on an airplane to see Dada.

Oh, and Joseph has promised to take Conner on the train while we are there. I think our little boy is going to be over the moon. Dada, planes and trains!

Details Details

2009-04-17T22:15:00.000-07:00

Time for the details... well the best details I can do while being apart of the military, since they can change at any moment until they are written in stone, err I mean paper. The boys and I will be in the "ville sometime after April 24th, so you better be ready for us! I am so excited to get a chance to go home before we get to our final destination. There are some brand new babies that need to be held, parents that need some baby boy love and friends that need hugs. (Rebekah I miss you so much and cannot wait to spend time with you!)
We will most likely be there for a week, but like I said nothing is for sure. There is a small chance Joseph will get to join us, so if you wouldn't mind please lift that possibility up in prayer!

Also please be praying for me in these final days before our move. I am struggling with a lot right now, mainly with getting to be me. I have felt like I have been posting only fluff for the past couple months and I am getting tired of it, but I have so many things pulling me from being able to be me right now, and you know what? I miss me. Some days I cannot wait to be back with Joseph just so that I can be Meaghan again but as soon as I think that I cannot help but think of how ridiculous it is that I cannot be me now. Oh the tangled webs we weave. Or that are woven for us. I so badly want to be around friends that understand me, who love me for all my quirks and even seem to think I am a pretty cool person just because I am me. I cannot wait to see you all.

There is no other

2009-04-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

I am sure there are only a handful of states that can boast of having weather warm enough on Easter to go swimming...

and it just so happens that we are in one of them.

Right now I am sitting on my king size hotel bed resting with Conner while Brooks takes a nap in the bathroom...ok that doesn't look so good on paper, but trust me its big bathroom. Soon I will be waking up the little one and we will be heading over to my grandparents house for dinner and then back here for bed. Have I mentioned that my hotel is only a two minute walk away from the beach?

2009-04-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my parents played hooky from work to go to the zoo with the boys and I. It was such a wonderful treat! We had originally planned on going this past weekend but then decided we would enjoy the experience more without all the crowds. Its so nice to be able to let Conner run ahead of me and not worry about him getting lost among all the people, its also nice to have a Grammie and Grandpa along to chase after him...
I was able to put to good use my new stroller (ok who am I kidding, I think I have used every day since I got it three weeks ago) that I got off of Craigslist for a steal. I had been wanting this stroller for a good long time, but it is an investment so when I saw it on craigslist for 1/3 of the price I jumped up and down for joy. Especially because earlier that day Joseph and I had finally decided to start putting the money away to purchase one before I headed to see him for his graduation. Man God is awesome! Because it is just a stroller I wont keep babbling about it, but lets just say I have used a lot of different double strollers and this one takes the cake. Being able to steer it around sharp corners with one hand while the other is full is an amazingly freeing experience.
On to other news...I will see Joseph in 13 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh the excitement of getting to see him is getting out of hand, but that's ok because seven months apart will do that to a gal and her guy. Some days all Conner can talk about is getting on a plane to go see Dada, he will tell me all about sitting on the plane, flying the plane and finally getting off of the plane and seeing the man he misses so much. I think when we actually do get on the plane in 13 days he may go into shock...for that matter so may I.
We also finally have orders and an order date, meaning we have a place to go and a time to be there. The C school he will be attending will start at the end of May, but he has to be on base for work by the 9th of May. This is such wonderful and unexpected news! Originally it was looking like he would have to stay where he already is for the time in between graduating and starting C school, meaning the kids and I would most likely be apart from him for another three weeks before finally getting to our permanent duty station. Now it will only be a week! Woohoo!

The post in which I use many exclimation points

2009-04-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

We finally have orders and a move date!
God is good
I will be seeing my hubby in two weeks!
God is good
Our sons will get to see their dad!
God is good
I'm coming to Louisville!
God is good
I get to love on family!
God is good
I get to hug my best friend and her children!
God is good
New babies will be there to love on!
God is good
I will see my totally awesome cousin Katie in 3 days!
God is good
We will have an answer about Brooks' allergies tomorrow!
God is awesome

A red break

2009-04-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been so nice for well over the past month that we have practically lived at the different parks near our home. The boys love going and I love seeing the joy that it brings them. I must admit that a big reason for this post is simply to show that Conner does wear a different shirt other then then red one. I just love how the color red photographs, so when I know I am going to be taking pictures into red they go! But green is a good color too don't you think?

Miss you some Conner faces

2009-04-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Conner and I were sitting on the back deck enjoying some popsicles when we decided to have some camera fun. Most of the time Conner does an excellent job of ignoring the camera, but on that day he was having fun cheesing it up for me. He is really quite the personality, especially when he is trying to be silly.

Who me?

CHEEEEEEESE

The hysterical laugh after seeing that crazy cheese face

la laaaaaa

a moment of reflection

Itch Itch scratch scratch

2009-04-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

Baby boy Brooks

being

bothered by

bodaciously burdensome

breakouts

About the only place without an itch to scratch is the bottom of his precious feet

Differences

2009-03-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, now that I have gotten the post about Stellan out of my system I can write about my boys.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how different these two are, regardless of how similar they look. I always new they would be different, that Brooks was not just a mini Conner, but seeing it played out in actuality is quite amazing. In general I have just been thinking about the wonderful gift that they both are and marveling in their uniqueness.

Conner is a whirlwind of emotion, life is lived for ever single moment. I really don't think there is much that gets past this kid. When he was a baby we used to teasingly tell people to not do anything around Conner, regardless of if he was turned away, that they didn't want him doing. Like removing screws from the back of a toy with a screwdriver or making the dvd player work, because he would absorb the knowledge through osmosis I tell you. There is not a mechanical thing out there that this guy can not figure out, something that has not changed since he figured out how to move his hands when he was a baby.

Conner most easily connects with people through music, he LOVES music, plays any instrument he can get his hands on, and plays them well. Although he has speech delays, he has always been a relatively quiet person. I say relatively because he definitely has his moments of loudness, but he was never been much of a babbler and still only talks when he feels like it, which sometimes can be a lot, and other times barely at all.

Brooks on the other hand is quite vocal. He is my babbler and where as Conner was barely saying mama and dada at 13 months, Brooks says those along with hi and up. I think he is also saying water or drink, but its debatable. The biggest difference between these two is how orally fixated Brooks is. Although he is quick to learn what he doesn't like in his mouth (sand!), I think he has decided that over all life was meant to experience through his mouth ( a very common baby stage, but Conner never really went through it). This kid eats EVERYTHING, including dirt. Which you probably already knew since its always around his mouth.

He is such a sweet boy who loves his big brother to pieces. His favorite time of the day (besides any time that involves food) is putting Conner down for his nap. The roll around and wrestle in Conner's bed, giggling and snorting as if they can't get enough of each other. He is usually trying to launch out of my arms towards his brother as I take him out of the room and close the door.

These two boys bring so much joy to my life. They are a constant reminder of the man I love so dearly and of how great and unconditional love is. I am so proud of the small leaps and bounds Conner has made in his speech since moving here. Being able to have my three year old tell me what is hurting him and why is amazing and brings tears to my eyes. The power of speech is an amazing and freeing thing. Thank you Lord for the grace of that in Conner's life. May you continue to open up the pathways of speech for him and direct me in your wisdom on how to best nurture him in that area. May I be your tool in this as he continues to finds his voice. Amen
Oh and Lord would you help Brooks sleep?

A sad heart

2009-03-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Once again I was getting on to actually write a post about my family, but my heart is so burdened for Stellan and his family that it is hard to write anything other then PRAY!

Today was an especially rough day for Stellan and things are really starting to take a turn for the worst. He has been in SVT for a week now and his body is no longer being able to handle it. Medically he is only days aways from going into heart failure. To read more about the specifics of his condition head on over to his mother's blog, but for now would you please pray along with me? This prayer is compiled of many prayers that are going on on his behalf from the comments section of his blog. They touched me so much and became my own hearts cry that I wanted to pray them along with you.

Father God, as we hear this news about Stellan we come back to you to ask your presence to come once again to touch his body. Lord, send your spirit to usher in wisdom, insight and a way to heal this child. Lord, as we wait for your healing, send your Holy Spirit to course through Stellan's heart, sending invigorating blood out into his body to his tiny toes and tiny fingers. Lord rest your spirit over this baby boy. May he know the peace and love of his Makers presence.

Lord you are good no matter what and we love you. Jennifer loves you desperately and she loves her little boy desperately and wants him to be well. Would you surround her with love and comfort and peace in the midst of the chaos and turmoil that accompanies her. She and her family need you deeply right now. They need to feel your touch. Would you make yourself known to them in a powerful way even in this moment? We praise and thank you God for all of the incredible things you have done up to this point. May you receive all the glory and may your will be done!

Amen

2009-03-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to get on and encourage everyone to continue following God's story through Stellan. The work that is being wrought in the Lord's name right now is pretty amazing, and even though Stellan has not been healed yet, God has been preforming some pretty awesome miracles. So please continue to lift up this precious little boy and his family, doctors, nurses, friends and strangers who have reach out to them, in prayer.

My heart has been very heavy this entire week for this family, so I have been spending some much needed special time with the boys in prayer and generally just loving on my family. Hopefully next week I will be up and running again in the blog world, but for now I am going to go enjoy being with my family.

Love you all!

Updated! Pray for baby Stellan!

2009-03-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

*Update from Mckmama*

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." II Corinthians 4:17

These troubles with Stellan feel to me to be far from light and momentary, yet I do understand, that in the very grand scheme of thing, they are exactly that. On one hand, I am very not okay with what is happening. That is hard for me to explain at the moment. This are heading quickly in a direction I do not want them to go. Yet I also have a sweet peace that God is okay with what is happening, and I am going to choose to let the be enough for me.

Be sure about this: God has good that He wants to bring from this. That He will bring from this. That He is bringing from this.

What's been happening from a medical standpoint:

The pediatric cardiologists are meeting with us regularly here in the PICU. They are the ones making Stellan's care decisions at this point. They have backed off on the beta blockers and are continuing with Amiodarone in his iv. His heartrate has been flip flopping down into a slow, normal, sinus rhythm on and off this afternoon, and then it bounces back up.

There are other times when Stellan's heart goes into an irregular rhythm, skipping beats, or having longer gaps in his heart rate pattern.

Stellan needs a new iv. The one in his hand is okay, but it's getting puffy and has been occluding. With the kind of meds he's getting, the doctors need a second option available to them. Numerous folks, including "the best" gal from the iv team have been working on him to get a new line started. Two failed sites in his scalp later (his arms had already been poked to high heaven last night and today), and they finally got a very tiny one in his foot, but it's already occluding. There is talk of having to put in a central line (they'd have to put him to sleep and, from what I understand, it's a small surgery to place a more permanent line somewhere into Stellan), but that's not a for sure thing at this point and not something I am entirely familiar with.

As he flips in and out, he's getting a bit weary. He's kind of manic and restless and his blood pressure is doing odd things.

I am at his bedside now, and have been for most of the day, but did get a much needed nap and shower this afternoon. His nurse has him now while I type this. Prince Charming is going to be coming down shortly and my girlfriend Shanel is bringing me Chipotle. I have been starting to read through the kind and sweet comments you all are leaving, as well as your emails. Thank you for praying for us and for the many of you who are spreading the word about Stellan using your own blogs, or your prayer chains at church, or your MOPS group. My own MOPS group is rallying around us, too, and may be able to help with child care for our other MSC this week. My mom is planning to drive up tomorrow to be with me and Stellan in the hospital.

We have a long road ahead. The cardiologist is already talking about some pretty big things, but for the time being, we are simply looking for a 12 hour period in which Stellan's heart would stay in a normal rhythm.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." II Corinthians 4:17

Hey guys, please lift up Stellan in your prayers along with his family. Right now I am to emotional and teary eyed to post myself what is going on so please click on Stellan's name and it will bring you to his families blog. This family and their youngest son is very precious to me, I have been praying and following their blog since before Stellan was born, and he was in fact born on the same day as my niece Maia who also has a heart condition. You might remember this post announcing both their births.

Prayer warriors please start praying with me!

I am updating with this message and prayer from Angie Smith's blog regarding Stellan. She is another amazing woman of God whom He has chosen to use, the words He pours out of her hands always bring me back to my knees in wonder of our great God. Please pray these along with us.

The God of the universe is neither surprised nor threatened by this turn of events. He is the Great Physician, and I am asking you to beseech Him this morning on behalf of this baby boy we have all come to love.

If you feel comfortable, I would love for us to be praying these verses together today as we call out. God hears the cries of our hearts, and I am begging Him to intervene, to calm Stellan's heart, and to bring the peace that only He can bring. I can only imagine the power of the heavens being stormed by thousands...

1 Praise the Lord, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's

(from Psalm 103)

1 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;

the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.

2 The Lord will protect him and preserve his life;

he will bless him in the land

and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.

3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed

and restore him from the bed of illness...

(from Psalm 41)

Lord Jesus, I know Your power. You are great like NO other. We will not cower in fear, nor will we let our thoughts consume us. Our Jesus is still the same....He is still the same. We are praying from a place of confidence, and with the belief that you are able. Heal him, Abba. We will give You all the praise...

Thank you, friends.

Angie

Dashing boys

2009-03-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

2009-03-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Now that we seem to be over our sickness the boys and I have gone back to spending most of our time in the back yard or at our favorite park. It is so nice to be outdoors! There is nothing like fresh air that can wash away that dreary depressing feeling of sickness.

Today we met up with an old friend of mine from High School, so far the only one I can find that still lives in the area :) She is also the only one with children, three daughters to be exact. It was so nice to be able to catch up with her and get to meet two of her children. Hopefully we will get together again sometime next week

On another note please be in prayer with us as we near the next phase of our military life. Next week after his 10th exam Joseph will get to choose orders. At this point we are being told that all the orders except one or two will be to the same location and that the other two are to the locations that we are praying for. Both are on the opposite ends of the country of each other, so getting one over the other is a big deal. Right now Joseph is ranked at #1 in his class, meaning he gets first choice of orders, but he could lose that placing next week after exam 10 depending on his score. Please pray that Joseph and I would not let this rule our thoughts and emotions for the next week, that we would let go and let God. We know that He will get us to where He wants us regardless of what happens. We just need to except with a thankful heart whatever that may be. I am also in need of some prayer as this waiting and not being able to plan right now thing has been driving me insane. See there is so much to be done before Joseph graduates, like buying plane tickets, holding hotel rooms and planning a trip home, and packing us up again, that are just not possible right now. Oh how it rankles me to not be able to just do it all!

So ya, I need prayer.

All right ya'll,
Until next time.

I love cloth diapers and I cannot lie

2009-03-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

*Blogger is being special right now and will not let me write without all my text being underlined* * well almost all of it*

One of these days I am going to have to do a post about my journey through cloth diapering, because well I love to do it and I have tried almost every type. But for now I leave you with some pictures of some of the recent diapers to come and live with us.

Some pretty new fitteds from BuggaBuggaBoutique

Two Sposoeasy All-in-Ones (AIO)

And the boys who were them...well Conner is in the process of potty learning so really its just Brooks. Who wants to leave out a picture of my big boy though?

2009-03-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys, I don't really have anything fun to say, just popping in to say hi! We have all been suffering from winter sickies and are finally hitting the road to recovery. Soooo I have absolutely nothing exciting to blog about, unless you want to hear about snot and what not... I didn't think so!

Babies don't keep

2009-03-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

I came across a poem written by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton in 1958 today on Mckmama's blog. Its one of those poems that quickly spoke right to my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Song for a Fifth Child.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

These are for you babe

2009-02-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we spent almost the entire morning at one of my favorite parks. It has many different areas for the boys to explore and keep mama from getting bored with the scenery. Brooks has been under the weather with a cough, so he spent the first two hours sleeping in the stroller while Conner was all over the place with joy for being out of the house. We ended our park adventure with Mama losing her keys, mind you our only set of keys since the spare (well it wasn't the spare then) was lost by the car shipping company (whole nother set of drama), so it ended up being a very long day. I had to get the car towed to the dealer where they will make me a new set and reprogram the car, and get this, they are out of my cars specific key, sooo I wont get my car back until Monday :( Fun times ya'll.

We climbed

We rode

We enjoyed beauty

We hopped

We threw rocks

We made lunch

We smiled

We made music

We saw

We had fun

Someone is one!

2009-02-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday sweet boy! As every mother says when this day comes, I can not believe my BABY is ONE.

I have been meaning to post a picture of this, our improvised bath tub, since, you know, my parents house doesn't have one. What you can't see is that this storage bin is covered in trains, so it is the coolest choo choo bath you ever did see! My dad cut out a hole on the bottom and put in a drain, so folks this is a real bathtub ;)

Also, I gently pride myself for being conscious of the imprint we are leaving on this earth, so any opportunity I get to recycle, I take it. So this bag has become a little joke in my parents home, since it has now gifted ; My mom's birthday present, Brooks' christmas gift, Conner's B'day gift, moms valentines gift and finally Brooks' birthday present!

I want to hear from you!

2009-02-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about having a blog is the comments people leave. Comments let me know you are reading along and it gives me a chance to say hi and it also encourages me to continue blogging, so here is a little tutorial on how to leave me a comment!

At the bottom of each post you will see in small pink letters Posted by Mama Blue at (time) 0 Comments (or it may have a number if someone has already commented)

You will then click on Comments which will bring you to a new page that will have a box on the right hand side that says Leave your Comment

After leaving me your comment (even if it is just a hi) you will choose you identity. If you have a gmail account then you will already be signed in, but if you do not then you will have to chose Annoynomus. Just make sure you signed your comment so I know who to respond to!

Finally push the bright orange button that says Publish your comment

All done! I look forward to hearing from you (that includeds you Mimi and Papa!)

Sleep Tight

2009-02-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

Now that I finally have a camera again (that I absolutely love!) its time for me to post about my three year old and his ability to finally be happy at bed time! It only took four weeks of kicking, screaming, climbing out of windows and dog doors, and generally trying to break the house down in the hopes of avoiding having to actually go to sleep for us to get here. I do have to say it is all pretty understandable (although tiresome and emotionally painful) since he has had a lot of change in the last four weeks beyond just moving away from home. Basically his bed has been moved around a lot between trying to find a safe place for him to sleep, house sitting for a week, back home for one night, then off to the ocean for three nights, then back home, a new bed and new locks on the door. All together a lot of change for a little guy. Especially one who does not quite have the speech ability to tell you how he hurts. This has been such a hard time for us, nap time and night time were dreaded because of the above mentioned activities, day time was dreaded because no one was sleeping much and overall we were one bunch of grumpy homesick people. But then we had a turn around two nights ago. Suddenly my little boy was back! I walked out of his room to the sound of singing and laughter, which continued on until he fell asleep some 20 minutes later. I cannot tell you how joyous I am! These past two days he has been so happy, so it is with much joy that I share with you these pictures I took of him tonight as he was going to bed. Praise the Lord for happy sleeping children, and for a God who is faithful in even answering prayers about the lack of sleep one is getting:)

P.S. Yes my son sleeps in the laundry room... but it is the coolest car laundry/bedroom you you ever did see!

He is telling Woody to say cheese for the camera.