it was time

The little boy needed a hair cut...along with big boy and big man.

He wasn't too happy about it, but eventually settled down when I promised him a few chocolate covered cranberries if he could sit still for the cut.

He was proud to show it off for me when he was finished.

Oh, my, georgeous hair. It makes me so sad to see the copper locks fall on the floor.

Yeah, he was definitely digging it [the chocolate that is!].

whew!

It was an exciting week for us here with two different sets of visitors. My mom, sister Hannah, sister Emily, and nephew Bradford all rolled into town on Wednesday afternoon, and boy, did we have fun!

The babes are always happy with their Gigi.

We managed to work in a little insanity.


After watching my sister Hannah, it was officially confirmed that I do not have what it takes to be a college athlete. Man, that girl can jump! And it's crazy to me that Emily can do most of the moves with a six month old. I feel old.

Not all of us were excited when the workout was over.

Yeah, the little ones were totally digging on each other.


It's so fun to think that they will be in the same grade in school.

I am sooooo glad that they were all able to come up. It's a little bit of a bummer since my Em and Bradford are moving down to Florida [along with my brother Andy, of course] in just a few short days. It was great to squeeze in one last visit, but I hate it that they are moving now that we are closer.

It was such a great time.

mums the word

first attempt at a mum-mum the other day...

not sure exactly what it was for

second attempt...

success!

friends

I love being with someone who I have known forever; there is an ease in relationship there.

Kimberly and I became fast friends in late elementary and middle school. It was there that realized we had been in the newborn nursery at the hospital together since our birthdays were less than 24 hours apart. We had a joint 13th birthday party, lived together in college, and were bridesmaids in each other's wedding.

And now, here we are as grown ups with families and it's just wild!

We've been talking about trying to get together for a while so when she asked if she could come up for a couple of days, I was so excited. AND she just so happens to be 34 weeks pregnant, so that's pretty amazing sacrifice if I do say so myself.

The little girls got along well.

The big girls got along well.

And the big girls helped entertain the little girls.

The boys just mostly followed the girls around.

Miracle of all miracles, we got them all together in one shot.


The kids were in charge of taking pictures of the mommies, so those aren't getting published :)

Ella is already talking about when we will see her new best friends again and hearing Jack say "kimpaly" is to die for so it will definitely have to be soon!

daddy does my hair

love it when J takes a go at the hairstyling!

sadie was digging it too :)

last to know

Today, I discovered that my cell phone can take and store videos. Kind of sad considering I've had this phone for about three years.

The funniest thing is that I was not the first to discover this function. There are a series of videos recorded by Bo over the last six months to a year when I was obviously engaged in the other room and away from my phone.

Reminds me of the time I called the phone company and insisted that I was not sending texts from my phone. Of course it wasn't my 15 month old, I insisted, the keys are always locked when he play with my phone. Just a couple days later I caught him unlocking the keys, sending a text, and locking the keys back.

What can I say? The kid loves technology.

Sadie in the swing=to die for

The funny thing was that she was having such a great time, all smiles and giggles. I decided to take a quick video, and this is what happened...

Tragic. She is so cute!

home

We went to wal-mart this morning to pick up a few things. It was comfortable, familiar, like putting on an old pair of slippers.

Since the move, I have only been to wal-mart a handful of times. It is out of the way and has been in the process of remodeling. Few things are less pleasant than a giant store that is remodeling. I'll save my thoughts on that for another post though.

I miss my old store. The store in Oklahoma that seems millions of miles and years away. The ease of knowing where everything was located. The hum of the wheels as we traveled our familiar route through the store each week. The aisles I danced down when I shopped alone and indulged in the luxury of listening to my ipod as I filled my cart.

They had what we needed today, but it still wasn't my store. I had to ask about the location of several items. Jack, sensing I was off my game, decided to scream the word "no" over and over for approximately 3 minutes during our trip. Three minutes may not sound like a long time, but when you're searching for a box of elusive yellow pencils with an eight month old in her car seat a two year old in the front basket and a three and five year old clining to the side of your cart, it might as well be an eternity!

We found the pencils, Jack calmed down, and we made it back home with everyone relatively happy before lunch time. It just wasn't the same.

Sometimes it sneaks up on me, the things I miss. Sure, there are the obvious things like central heat and air, a garage, a fenced in back yard, no humidity, and familiar faces. Then, there are the things I don't expect: the ritual of going to the store, high counters in the kitchen, wash and rinse settings on the washing machine, rooms that are still dim at 6 AM, the space my old freezer always seemed to offer, and a vent fan in the bathroom. They are little things, but they just remind me that I'm not home.

I'm learning my way around here. I can drive [most] places without the gps now a days, and I'm creating new rituals, new patterns, learning my way around new stores.

I never thought I would miss Oklahoma, honestly. But I do. I miss the heat that makes you sizzle, but somehow still not really sweat. I miss the wind and the way it would crash around in the trees. I miss the well planned roads that were all in a nice grid pattern and rarely changed names or directions. I miss church, and the excitement of the nursery workers as I dropped my kids off each week. I miss driving past the hospital where I delivered Ella, Jack, and Sadie. I miss the summer reading program at our local library. I miss having a Sonic on every corner!

We move forward here, and I am glad.
Some days, I just long for home.

Taking Care of Business

J had the day off today so that we could take care of some serious business. Gigi came into town last night so that we would be able to do a few things without having to haul all the kids around with us.

The first order of business was with this little gal...

We had our consultation with the surgeon who will repair Sadie's palate first thing this morning.

It's one of those appointments that I've been dreading, honestly. The thought of another surgery, another hospital stay, another recovery just makes my throat swell and my stomach turn.

All in all, it was a good appointment. I really like the new surgeon. He's an older doctor that is confident in his practice. He has medical experience and dental experience to back him up, so I know he's worth his salt.

This is a difficult surgery. Sadie will be in the ICU overnight immediately following the repair and the doctor said we can expect to spend 5-7 days in the hospital after that. Breathe. There will be no bottles or sippy cups with valves post surgery. Breathe. We can expect it to take anywhere from 3-4 weeks before Sadie can eat and drink normally. Deep breath. And for that amount of time she will have to be monitored very carefully to make sure toys and hard objects do not go in her mouth.

Please pray for us November 3rd. And we could certainly use your prayers for the entire month of November. It could be an interesting one.

We also got our new license plates today. It was surprisingly painless after my not so fabulous experience at the dmv to get my new state driver's license.

This afternoon, we took Bo up to the elementary school and got him registered for school. He is beyond excited about starting kindergarten there, and it was really precious to see him look and think and explore what it will be like to be there. Another deep breath. My baby is old enough for school. I definitely do not feel ready!

We had a fun afternoon hanging out with Gigi and enjoyed a delicious dinner straight off the grill.

A good day.

Now if I could just figure out a way that J could make money without having to go to work, that would be perfection :)

Leftovers

I love eating leftovers, for the most part.

There's just something comforting about the warmth of a complex meal that must only be heated to be enjoyed. They are often a reminder of a special meal or a special time with friends. Eating reheated food makes me pause and reflect on the actual meal and the moments shared together.

It's the same way with clothes.

Not my clothes exactly, but with the kid's clothes. I love saving the "leftovers." As Bo and Ella have outgrown things, I have taken pleasure in tucking away some of my favorite things and then enjoyed the excitement of pulling them out again as Jack and Sadie grow.

Memory is really amazing. I see Sadie and snap shots of her playing.

But I am immediately transported back to a tiny Ella in those same clothes.

The seasons are a little off, so Ella was a little bigger than Sadie in her first summer wardrobe.

But seeing Sadie in hand-me-downs just makes this momma heart sing.


Oh, my girls.
I'm sure one day sharing clothes won't be this easy, but I'm certainly enjoying it now.

The kid cracks me up!

Jack absolutely cracks me up sometimes. He loves the hat Ella made at a church event several years ago. Notice it's on inside out. He's prepping his "briefcase" for a busy day at "work."

Yeah, he knows he's cute!

you are my sunshine, my only sunshine...

Pray for me.

We started insanity last night.

Watching us doing the initial fitness test last night would have been far more entertaining than anything on TV, I promise.

Today, I hurt. And I think tomorrow will be even worse.

This man.

One of my favorite things about J is that he loves me [and the kids] really well. And believe me, if you'd been a fly on the wall last week, you'd know that his love is a constant despite my own ickiness. We'll just say I didn't make it easy for him :)

I haven't talked a whole lot about our move and our last days in Oklahoma. I think I am still processing through the chaos of activities and emotions. It was a lot.

About a week before we moved, we promised the kids that we would go get ice cream at our favorite place one more time before we left. We realized the morning of our closing that we never followed through on that promise, so we decided we would stop on our way out of town.

Our closing finished up just after lunch time so we headed out from the office with plans to meet at the ice cream shop. J had to stop at the bank and get gas in his car so I knew I had a little extra time. We left in a bit of rush that morning so I wanted to drive past the house one more time. It just needed to be a proper goodbye.

As we slowed down in the street and looked at the house that was no longer our home, Bo began crying from the back seat.

"Mom, I changed my mind. I don't want to move. I don't want to leave. Take it back, please."

Through my tears, I tried to tell him it would be okay. There would be new experiences, new friends, new exciting things, but he didn't buy it. So I then explained that it was just a house, and we would have another house, a great house, with all his toys and familiar things.

"But there won't be a cool play set in the back yard," he wailed.

I explained that there would be parks and plenty of thing, but he moaned and sobbed that they wouldn't be at our house anymore.

"It's better to have a park in your back yard than to have to go to a park!" And he hung his head and let the tears fall.

I reminded him that it was okay to be sad. I was sad too. And then I just had to drive away slowly and fight to see the road through my tears. Geez, I cry just thinking about it again!

We'd only been here a mere 48 hours when J disappeared into our bedroom on the phone and came out a few minutes later dressed and ready to go. He needed to run a quick errand, he said, and he got his things together to head out the door. It was relatively early in the day, the chaos of breakfast still littered the barely functional kitchen and none of us were dressed.

What? I thought and said. I pressed him as to where he could possible need to go right. this. second. We had quite a bit going on that needed attention.

He was trying to keep it a secret, he said, but he took me over to his laptop and showed me a picture of a playset he'd found on craigslist. It was $50 but he needed to be there asap to pick it up. I broke down. It was such an incredibly moving action. He knew the kids were mourning the loss of so many things. While a playset doesn't change those losses, it certainly was a needed element of the transition. He knew I had been blankly staring at boxes and spaces that are smaller than the ones we had before and had wondered what and how I would keep these kids occupied on our awkward [and very hilly] lot. He was a knight in shining armor in that instant. I shuffled him out the door and told the kids very simply that daddy had to run an errand.

It took him a couple of days to get everything repainted and sturdy. He replaced a few parts as well. J is nothing if not thorough; he does everything well! It's something I really love and appreciate about him although it took some getting used to when we first got married.

The kids were beyond themselves with excitement, and they have loved every minute on that thing. We're enjoying it now, but I think that when it gets just a little bit cooler it will be an even bigger hit.

Jack's swing stayed behind on the old playset, so J took the big kids with him to get a new swing while Jack napped. When they got home, I sent him out to the van to see what daddy brought home.

Oh, my, was he excited or what?

It wasn't too long before we got it on the swing set.

And he was off.

We've got ladders.

And slides.

And swings, oh my!

And the monkey bars may be our new favorite.

They are still learning to do them on their own, but they are great with a little "spotting" from mom or dad.

What a blessing to have something so simple to help make this house feel more like a home!

Showin' off

"Hey, boys, can you show me how fast you run?"

Fast as lightning!

"You guys want to cross your arms for me?"

"Now show me your muscles."


Priceless.