California

We came out to visit my mom nearly 2 weeks ago. My maternal grandma (and the only grandparent I had left) got really ill last month and had to be hospitalized. We came out as a distraction for my mom as she had been practically living in the hospital all this time. Unfortunately, my grandma passed away last Sunday. Fortunately, we were able to be here as a support and comfort for my mom. My grandmother lived a full life to the age of 84, and was able to hold grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What more can anyone ask for?

We return home this week. I am looking forward to seeing my hubby and sleeping in my own bed. It's the little things that count. I am also anxious to get home to start planning a trip out to AZ in the middle of this summer in order to have this baby. Why the craziness? Not only are midwives illegal in AL, but Ben and I would feel a whole lot safer and more comfortable if Paula caught this one as well. So, please wish me luck and pray that I am able to get to AZ without a problem.

The Big S-I-X

Samuel turned six this past week. He has been anxiously awaiting his birthday, because six is "so big." Time flies way to quickly. In so many ways I cannot believe that he is only six. It feels like he has been with us forever, but at the same time, six years doesn't seem that long ago.


He was so jazzed to find me up before him that day. He had asked for a Superman cake, and he got that. Sort of. He also asked to go out to dinner, which we did, and we surprised him with a trip to Cold Stone's afterwards. Good stuff (the celebration and the ice cream!). Most of his gifts were of a piratey nature (Carribean, not those who don't do anything) with a couple of new video games to torment me, uh, entertain him with.

SO, I really do need to put that wax paper under the cake before icing it. And since 4 out of 5 of us will require a gluten-free cake every year, I really should take a cake decorating course. He was vastly relieved that it was not pink like David's Spiderman head last year. (Please don't ask him. I am sure he has had nightmares about his cake.)

It was after this picture of him with his cake that my camera died on me. I have more pictures of him on my new phone, but don't know how to retrieve them. So maybe as an early (way early) b-day gift for mommy, she will get a new camera. Hint, hint, honey.

Back to Sam. He had a wonderful day all about him. He didn't get Mackydonlald's for his special dinner like he asked for, but he did get it for lunch. We went and took daddy with us too during his lunch break. We are truly blessed with Sam in our lives. He is a big help and source of much laughter to Ben and me. His brother and sister love him and enjoy playing and pestering him. The only thing that could have made his birthday better, in his own words was "to have all the family with us." (As in grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.) We miss you guys.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We had a very good Christmas. Up until that day things have been rather busy and hectic. Once again, we took our brood over to Dy's and mingled with her brood. It was loud and fun. The kids enjoy each other's company and energy, and all the adults enjoy each other's company so it all works out really well.

We had really good gifts and surprises, but the best one was for the entire family. We expect to have a new baby/sibling sometime in the end of July. The two boys are absolutely excited and thrilled. Sam is hoping I am having 3. haha David wants to know if I can let him have the baby now. Luci hears "baby" and runs to get her favorite doll for the moment.

Incentives.

It is amazing what you can get kids (and probably adults, too) to do with the right incentives. I found my DS last night, after weeks of searching for it. When Ben went down to Birmingham, he took it with him. I didn't remember that I had packed it in his bag and so I couldn't find it. Well, Sam was so excited because now we could play against each other. First, he had to finish his math pages correctly if we were going to play. He never gives me trouble about doing his math, but he just zipped through those pages today. So instead of doing dishes or laundry, I have just spent the last hour getting my ego bruised by an almost six year old. All I can say is that after years of sleep deprivation due to many little children, of course my reflexes aren't as good as his! :-) No, mommy isn't a sore loser or anything.

Ok, I am back.

Things have been so crazy busy and so busy crazy for quite a while now that I haven't taken the time to post anything. However, my one faithful reader complained about this and the lack of new pictures, so here I am.

Ok. We had a wonderful Halloween. We joined up with Dy and her family (that right there would have been enough for my kids without the candy) and walked this wonderful neighborhood. The people were so friendly and nice and appreciative of our beautiful babies! :-) I want to move there. This was Luci's first trick or treating experience, and she performed like a champ. She got to ride in the wagon with Baby Em; and after the first couple of houses, she got the idea that you jump out, run to the door, hold out you bucket, say thank you, and go back to Mommy to open a new candy. My cast of characters were a black spiderman, Capt. Jack Sparrow, and a beautiful bumblebee. (She was tired and done taking pictures.)

All throughout this, Ben was down in Birmingham doing a four week training. He got back just in time for Thanksgiving, which we celebrated with the Edingtons. Last weekend we got back together with them to go to a Christmas parade. The boys got to meet and play with their friends, with the added bonus of picking up candy from the passing floats.

We had a couple of additions to our family in the past couple of months as well. Sam has been asking for quite a while for a pet of his very own. In order to show his readiness for such an event, he was given responsibilities which included: feeding and watering the cat and dog. Well, he did so well, he got his Christmas way early. Towards the end of October he adopted a kitten from our local shelter. He named his sweet little kitty Daisy, as he had requested a girl and that's what we were sold. But the more I looked at Daisy, and the more internet research I did, the more convinced I became that sweet little Daisy was not a girl. Sure enough, little Daisy turned out to be a little boy. The cat formerly know as Daisy is now known as Yoda. Well, I have always wanted a Siamese cat for as long as I can remember. Not one of those nasty slinky ones, but a full-bodied traditional Siamese. So, yes, I am now the proud new momma of a Siamese kitten. We have named him Reepicheep. We got him a few days after Yoda, so they have been growing up together. Why did I ever get puppies before? Kittens are so stinking easy! Sam is fully in charge of the litter box, which is quite a responsibility with three cats. But he does his job well and without complaint, which I really appreciate.

Well, that is it for now. More exciting news to follow soon.

Returned

Oh, my goodness, it feels SO good to be back home. We flew out at the end of August for what was supposed to be a ten day trip to CA. We did not get back until the END of September. I am so very glad to finally be back home and with my hubby. My dog and cat too. :-o We drove out here with my in-laws, which the kids just thought was so great. They were really missing all that grandparent time and attention. We have come to the conclusion that we just need to move closer to home, whether it's in AZ (which I would REALLY, REALLY love) or closer to my SIL in Washington (which I would REALLY, REALLY love). Either way, if the opportunity ever comes up, it will be great to be close to family again.

Once we got back we went back to the final appointment with the specialist's specialist's specialist on Sam's arm. He said it looked great, and Sam can now go back to playing any sport he wants. hahahahahahahahahaha Mommy is not sharing that info with Sam right now. We had Grandpa and Grandma M with us for two weeks, but they decided they must return home so they started their return journey yesterday. It is really quiet without them and their 170 lb. "puppy." There is a lot of home stuff that I need to catch up on, but once again it is so GOOD to be back home. I will post new pics soon.

Loquacious Lucy

Lucy has been talking up a storm. She loves to talk and sing, and sometimes she says things in anger that are best left untranslated. She has quite a few phrases and makes her needs know very well. Her favorite word right now is "GO!" said with a frown on her face and in a very stern voice. It is usually hard to keep a straight face around her even when she is being naughty. Her yes starts out with a full circle of her head that turns into a nod. She says a very clear "I love you" that she saves for the cat and dog and her daddy (usually right after I have changed a horrendous diaper).

And so it starts. I have been told they only get more vocal from here on out. :-)

I am here

It has been a crazy two weeks. Sam's arm did have to be pinned. He fractured his elbow into FOUR pieces, and the doctor operated on his arm exactly two weeks ago today. Panicking at her baby being hurt, my mom flew out the Saturday after that. We had her here until this past Tuesday. It was really heart wrenching to see her go. Sam's pins get removed in a couple of weeks. The doctor said that his elbow is healing really well and there should be no problem with the joint as he is growing up. Ben and I were REALLY relieved to hear that.

Other than that, there has been no more excitement. I can live with no excitement. No excitement is good. We postponed the beginning of our school year until after my mom's visit. If I can get everything ready, we should be starting up next week. Sam was happy to hear that.

Oh, wait. I lied. We did have a little excitement this past Monday. Sam lost his front, top left tooth. The tooth fairy was way more generous than she should have been for a third lost tooth.

Meanwhile, Lucy has figured out that she can make very many facial expressions. She is so funny about it.

She has also discovered the joys of shopping from home. It doesn't matter how you are dressed (or not dressed as the case may be).

Never a Dull Moment

"Great, now I am one-armed just like Lucky." This is what Sam said today. Lucky is Pappy's dog, and he is missing one leg. Well, Sam, not quite. Sam broke his arm during football practice last night. I explained how his arm will heal, while Lucky will never grow another leg. The ER team last night was great, but they didn't set his arm because they wanted an orthopedic doctor to take a look at it. The orthopedic doctor didn't set his arm today because he thinks it is broken at the elbow. We have to see the pediatric orthopedic specialist tomorrow. He might have to pin the elbow is what I got told today. Great. Just great.

So, we won't be going to football practice anymore. That's kinda out for this season.

David Dreams

David has been having some crazy dreams lately. How do we know? From his crazy conversations the day after. :-) The other day after he woke up he asked his dad where his dog with the laser beam on his nose was. Thinking it was a toy, Ben asked him where he last left it. "No, Daddy, it was walking around with Fiona and Mac, and it has a laser beam for a nose. I want you to kill it because it is mean and scary." oookkayy. I swear, we haven't let the kids watch Austin Powers. But he swears he had a dog with a laser beam nose.

Yesterday, he asked me if he could have some of the apple juice I bought him at MackyDonalds the night before. Now, it has been months since we last had McD's due to all the wheat cross contamination. So, no, we had not bought apple juice at McD's. Poor guy. He was convinced I just didn't want to share. Or maybe it was all a ploy to get apple juice. Or MackyD's. Hmmm. He did get his apple juice, it just wasn't McD's kind.

So, we are thoroughly enjoying hearing his dreams from the night before. They quite entertain us. He is such a funny little guy.

He and Lucy get along famously most of the time. They usually get in trouble together. Does this change as they grow up? Or does it only get worse? I don't know what they were plotting here, but they thought they had a good plan. See the smiles on their faces? Those smiles always tell me to expect trouble.

No. 23

Ok. I have attained insanity. Yeah, I'm sure most of my friends and family thought I was already there ages ago. lol Sam has been signed up for football. We started practice last Thursday. He loved it. Last Friday he went to get fitted with a practice uniform. His coach asked what number he wanted to be. After careful consideration he replied, "I want to be number 23." I asked why 23, and he said "I think it is such an awesome number." Ok. Number 23 it is.

So, if I can get into the habit of this whole scheduling, we are doing football through October. David says he wants to play baseball next spring. Sam says he wants to play basketball, baseball, and football. This would pretty much keep us in sports year round. Sheeyah. We'll just see if I can make it through football first.


Ok, Grammy M. Here are the pics I promised you a while ago. ENJOY!!


Isn't he just precious? He had just finished practice and so was rather sweaty. He thought it would be great to share these with you, so there was no resistance to having his picture taken.

If I ever feel rested enough, I will update on games and such and keep you filled in on how it is all going. I've been told it gets better eventually. Right? That should be true right? One upside: Sam sleeps in so much later now. hehe He also is taking naps in the middle of the day. hehehe

Bill, Mr. Bubbles, and Melvin

Ever since we moved back here, Sam has been wanting fish. I kept promising that as soon as we could get the aquarium set up we would get some. Well, with my sister's visit, that has happened rather sooner than later. The boys got to pick out their very own fish and were ever so happy for the experience. Sam picked out a tiger barb that decided to try to eat the other two fish in the tank. He is now living the sad life of solitary confinement. Everybody else is doing really well without him now. Sam named his fish Melvin. When I wondered as to why he would choose that name, Ben told me Sam had asked a guy's name at work. Ben told him the guy's name was Melvin. He was struck by that name. He thought that was really a very neat name. SO he came home and informed us that his fish's name was Melvin.

David picked out a dwarf gourami. This is the fish that was mostly getting eaten by Sam's. He has very beautiful, vivid orange and blue stripes. He has just flourished after the removal of Melvin. I believe Dave chose the name Mr. Bubbles because of a Nemo character. They haven't seen it in a while so I am not completely sure.

I got to pick out Lucy's fish, and I chose an algea eater. Sam got to pick out the name for him and named him Bill. lol This fish is much smaller than a plecostomus, as it will only grow to be about 1.5" long.

The boys have now decided that they would like to add a shark and a catfish to the tank. Donna has been mentioning these lovely "tatooed" fish she saw. Needless to say, I have been keeping them all away from the fish department. lol

SHE DID IT!!!

Lucy has officially taken her first steps!!! Friday we went with Donna to check out UAH. Coming back from the admin office, Lucy was just too heavy to carry, so I set her down and held her hands and walked her back to the car. There was such absolute joy and pride on her face when we got back to the car. She finally figured out how it was that her brothers were mobile! Daddy was in the car proudly watching his baby make her way to him, and she beamed from ear to ear at him. Yesterday, she tried to take a couple of steps on her own but kept falling down. TODAY, she has managed to take steps without tumbling. You should see how proud of herself she is. She knows she is doing well. And she is managing to do this through the boys' cries of "MOM, MOM, Lucy is DOING IT AGAIN!!" and me standing a few feet away from her bouncing up and down telling her how great she is doing. lol It doesn't matter that she is the third and I've been through this with the boys. It is still so thrilling watching this baby get the hang of it. Aye. I guess this means another one to chase. :-)

Happy Days, Daddy!!

The boys were so excited about Father's Day. "Is it like a birthday?" Sam asked. Yes, it is a celebration. "With cake and all sorts of good stuff to eat?" Yes, exactly like that. lol So, they were more than happy to help plan the menu. The most important part of the meal? You got it, the cake. :-) We had a vanilla cake with chocolate fudge icing (yes, I REALLY love Daddy) and all sort of sprinkle decorations. Sam had a big, long list of why he's happy his dad is his dad, and David said "because he is."

Happy Father's Day! Or, like Dave said, "Happy Days, Daddy!"

Surprise!!

My sister is coming for a visit!! The boys don't yet know what their surprise is but are anxiously awaiting it. Can't wait to see you sister!

Am I Back?

Well, I have been gone for quite a long time. Much has happened in that time as well. I have decided to go ahead and continue with the blog to keep our friends and relatives updated. Some of you I speak with frequently and are updated often. Others, as much as we would love the contact, are just too busy with hectic schedules.

I hope to keep you posted regularly. At least with the very important parts of our lives. :-) Hopefully. So, come by and visit often. :-)

Conversation at 3a.m.

Night before last we had to take Sam in to the doctor. He had woken up twice writhing in pain and saying the side of his face/ear hurt. The second time he did this we decided to take him in in case it was something serious. Well, by the time we got there (1:30a.m.) he just wanted to go back to sleep. The doctor came in and diagnosed an ear infection. Without. Checking. His. Ear. So, we came back home after losing sleep and money and put our Samster to bed. He slept the rest of the night away.

David (whom we had left with my parents) woke up as I was getting some water to take in to Sam. He was most upset and unhappy that I couldn't take him right away. As he's throwing a fit, his daddy is trying to get his attention. "David, David. Would you like some sado?" David stops mid-mommy and says "What?!" Needless to say, he was distracted with the offer of Daddy sado (what he calls Daddy's favorite brand).

Sam is doing great. We came home and have been doctoring him up with GSE and all other kinds of wonderful voodoo stuff. Looks like this weekend might get "interesting."

Monthly Post

Life has been so incredibly hectic for the last month. We decided and acted upon coming back out to CA in order for Ben to finish the last three classes he needs to fulfill his degree requirements. Not exactly what we wanted to do, but it needs to be done. We met with the midwife that was recommended to us; and when Ben asked how I felt about her, my exact words were, "I wouldn't want to be in her care if I was senile. OMG! That means I don't want her being my midwife." He heaved a big sigh of relief as he had not been at all comfortable with her. SO, we called our darling midwife who delivered both boys to see if she had any recommendations. However, during our conversation, we agreed that we would rather have her catch this next baby as well. Very exciting. Only thing that's a little worrisome is that she is in AZ. About an 8 hour drive away. *sigh* We meet with her in a couple of weeks and will brainstorm the best way to do this.

Meanwhile, we did an ultrasound (with the doctor crazy midwife recommended) and think this new baby is a girl. Sam turns to me and says "See, I told you it was a gril." Yes, he switches letters around so it always comes out grils. He is ever so excited to be having a baby sister. It is really sweet to see. I explained to him that she can hear him, so he has been talking and singing to my belly. He is such a doll. Another one of his funny comments was "I am going to keep eating and eating until my belly grows like Mommy's." LOL Uh, that's not due to an eating problem, Sam.

David is growing and talking and not staying still and driving us all insane. He is so mischievous! No amount of scolding will dampen his spirit. Usually, he comes up to me, says "Ove u, mama!" and go right back to his delight. He enjoys mom's new built in pillow (my tummy) and talks about the baby. In fact, he talks about everything. He is so supremely happy to be around his grandfathers again. Grandmas are nice to, but not quite up to Granpa standards.

I came down with a really nasty cold a couple of days ago. Today, I was thinking how comforting it was for me as a child to snuggle in with my parents when I wasn't feeling well. Tonight, both boys came and snuggled one on either side of me, and it offered such immense comfort to have both those warm little bodies keeping me company. I think it's time for me to go back and join them.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Our Sam turned four years old yesterday. He was sooooo excited to be having a birthday. We took him to CEC's in the morning and baked and decorated his cake when we got back home. He was thrilled that he, his brother, and his father would be able to eat his birthday cake without having any problems. He checked to make sure a couple of times the I was making a wheat-free cake. LOL It amazes me how much my baby has grown in this past year. He talks so much and is so inquisitive. I hope that this year I can take full advantage of that for his benefit. :-) Happy Birthday, my Sam. We love you so much!

2005 Recap

I cannot believe that another Christmas is upon us. This past year has gone so quickly, it now seems, when only a few months ago things were not moving fast enough for me. :-)

This January started with my baby turning 3. It seems like I have been his mommy forever, and then 3 years is not that long a span at all.

February saw my DH's older brother married to a wonderful lady.

March was pretty uneventful, which is always good for us. lol

April added another year to me.

Our little David turned 1 this May! Yeah!

June had us almost moved into an apartment until cruel honesty made us accept that we couldn't afford even the lowest rent in not the best parts of town in CA. This led to us seriously thinking about moving out of state. Hmm.

July was my sister's birthday.

August. Ah, August saw us making a 2000 mile trip in 2.5 days to see the South. We liked what we saw, checked out houses, found one that was doable and decided to move.

In September we were busily getting rid of things that we did not need or did not even remember we had. It was on Labor Day weekend that we also found out that we were expecting our 3rd one. Rather appropriate. ;-)

October left us wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. We closed on our house mid-month. Our first moving truck reservation got cancelled by the company (ever so nicely) and it was a mad scramble to find one. It took us a week. Only to find out that not all of our belongings could come with us. Fun.

We finally made it to AL the first week of November. It was a little bit crazy trying to set up a household after not having one of our own for a year and a half. It has been ENTIRELY worth it.

Finally, December finds us close to another year's celebration of our Savior's birth. We have been in our new home for nearly two months, and we are so incredibly glad for the choice that we have made. The boys love it here. David has grown and is becoming a full fledged little boy who talks and runs and loves and fights. Sam is getting so much older and aware of what is expected of him. My boys are a joy and such a blessing to have around.

A very merry and blessed Christmas and New Year to all.