hmmm

I've got to decide what to do about this blog. I love it to be able to share pictures, give updates for family far away, but in the same sense I REALLY stink at just that. I don't like to see this as another thing that needs attention.

At the same time, I feel like during the last 6 months I've really become distant from people. I love to see what you all are posting, but feel it's only fair to blog back. I've got to figure out how to take time out for myself and just enjoy blogging and commenting on others' blogs. Instead, I sit here thinking of the million things I should/could be doing. Probably the same reason I haven't read a good book, quilted or done much of anything else in the way of hobbies lately.

I'll think about it and come up with something for the New Year.

halloween 2010

Ingredients for a great Halloween:

1 witch, 1 stop light, 1 mad scientist and 1 princess.
Mix together and add 2 parental units. Enjoy!

up for air

(sigh of relief). I made it. Through 3 sweet girls' birthdays, a baptism, a school basketball season, a swim season, an art class session and a husband's birthday. I think I will rise to the surface to get a big breath of air just in time for the holiday season to be upon us.

progress

Today I finally took some progress pictures of our path. We were given the advice to wait until September to do the landscaping. It's nice to have an excuse NOT to work on this...for another two weeks. It's been a ton of work, and given us the best tans of our lives (which isn't saying much for me). ;)

What's left: landscaping consultation, top soil, plants/trees and mulch. (And more sand in the cracks...there's always more sand to brush.)

swim team

I haven't posted nearly enough pictures of the kids lately. Here are a few taken the last practice of summer swim team. I love summer swim. This was our 5th year on the same team, and it's like a big family reunion now. We get to see friends that we only see in the summer...every day. I love the routine it gives us, and the exercise. All 3 kids did great this year!

one down

Tonight marks the final night of class for James' first year back in school. I am so grateful to have this year under our belts. We made it, and we'll never have to do that again! :) I like to think this way...very final, I know.

It's not that this year has been terrible--I just wouldn't want to do it over again. We've made lots of progress, but we were stretched to the limit in the process. I'm starting to see this pattern in our lives. A few years of respite, followed by some serious shaping. Some slack...then life revved up to the max. I should just get used to it and count on these times and be really grateful for the breaks and down time when they come. Instead I fight it. I'm not one that enjoys roller coasters. I once did. Now I really prefer a steady, solid footing...on the firmament (as Kristen would say). I think the coming year will be a lot more even-keel.

So, looking forward...

I'm excited to see what the coming schoolyear has in store for each of us:

James: international internship, August off of school
Valerie: time twice a week with no children at home
Eliza: first year of middle school
Seth: oldest (in our family) at elementary school
Rachel: baptism in the fall
Caroline: first year of preschool

It'll be a good one. :)

june

I haven't downloaded pictures off my camera in far too many weeks. So, for now I just want to post some of the things I don't want to forget about in June. It's been a month of milestones and challenges with projects underway at home and school. So, just so that I don't let the summer months' memories take over, I'll capture these while I have a minute here. Things I don't want to forget about June:

• A trip as a family to the Visitor's Center at the DC Temple to hear a children's symphony concert on a Sunday afternoon. This ended one of the most hectic weekends of James' schooling to date: Friday class until 11pm, Saturday on campus at 9am and working on a project straight through until 9pm, then 10:30pm emergency call into work. He rebuilt two of the servers from scratch and then got home at 6am on Sunday morning completely dead. The concert was renewing.

• Hours and hours of painting the family room (ceiling, walls, trim) once the paneling had been removed and replaced with drywall. The trim around the window that took 8+ coats of paint and primer before it actually looked WHITE. I still look at it and think it needs another coat, but I've decided to just let it go!

• On a Saturday, trying to mow the lawn for James and in the process, breaking the belt on our lawn tractor. I headed out and bought the replacement belt, had the whole tractor taken apart and was completely out of ideas on how to get the belt back on (it was complicated), when I got a call from Damien Weiss asking if I needed any help. He came over and we worked at getting it mostly put back on. James came home from school and in the process of getting the belt around the final spindle, launched a screwdriver into his forehead. The force threw him onto the floor of the garage. He now sports a Harry Potter-like lightning scar.
  

• The tears of tender Eliza at the end of the 3rd-5th grades awards' assembly one of the last days of school. She was heartbroken for Seth because he had only received one award. I met her after the assembly to congratulate her on such a great year and knew she was about to fall apart. During the assembly she kept sending me glances and mouthed the word "Seth" to me several times. She received so many awards that the last few times her name was called she grimaced and slowly went up to receive them.
  

• Pulling Seth out of his classroom following that awards assembly to give him the letter from Mrs. McKenzie with news that he had been accepted in the GT program for his 4th & 5th grade years. He had worried so much about the tests used for admission to the program because he SO badly wanted to stay in those classes. I let him open the letter in the hall and told him how proud I was of him and his hard work. A moment I will always cherish.

• 5th Grade Graduation for Eliza. I am so excited for her to go on to Middle School next year. I know I should be nervous, but I see her being SO ready to move on to this next stage. I love the friends that will go on with her and feel so secure in this step for her.
  

• The start of summer swim team this year, and the kindness of a few of the mothers who insist on letting our non-resident kids swim in the pool while they wait for each other to finish their practices. It has made this month SO enjoyable. No more sweaty, grumpy kids waiting in the 90+ degree/75% humidity heat, as they wait to swim.

• The help of our home teacher, Brother Khan, on some HOT, humid mornings to finish laying the paver stones on our path to our front door. James took one day off to get the base of paver edgers laid, along with the pad at the landing and Brother Khan and I worked with the kids to finish. We still have some work to go before it's completely done, but we are WELL on our way to saying goodbye to the mud pit that we've had for the last month and a half.
  

Pictures will come soon.

boston!

at havahd yahd

rockport, ma

A few weeks ago, Janyse and I met up in Boston with our other sister, Joanne. She was the perfect hostess. It was such an amazing 4 days of child-free sightseeing and conversation. We loved the fabulous food, gorgeous scenery, quaint towns (Concord won as my favorite) and perfect weather while we were there. Thanks to James and Dennis for making this happen!

destruction!

8am: delivery of loader. check.

Ready to begin. Excited.

One hour into it. Thinking things are going fast!

12:00 pm : Lunch break. Hopeful.

5:00pm: When I got home from soccer and dance pictures. Discouraged.

8pm: Done for the day.

Leaving this mess of a house...

for ice cream at Carousel!

Favorite quotes of the day:

Seth would come out onto the front porch about every hour to check on progress and would yell, "Destruction!"

Our neighbors passed by at about 8pm and said, "Just remember, things always look their worst before they look their best."

goodbye

our current path

the dumpster to put all the bricks in

a cute little model

Wish us luck! Tomorrow begins the demolition of the path to our front door. James is excited to drive a little bobcat around and dig and haul dirt and gravel all day. This is what this busy guy gets to look forward to after having finished his classes this term!

{btw...I just have to brag here: James' finals went well...he scored a perfect 100% on his Accounting final!! }

I have a new-found respect for landscapers. There is so much research and preparation involved in even a (relatively) small project like we're undertaking. I have spent this entire week coordinating dumpster ($$$!!!), gravel and concrete sand deliveries, researching where to buy edgers for paving stones, picking up the sand and edgers (thanks, Holly) and making sure we had the correct tools for the job.

Here goes nothing.

updates

I loved Nettie's post this week. I needed the reminder that childhood is fleeting and that we need to record things when they happen because it's all too easy to forget the details when we reflect back later.

So, some quick updates.

1. This one's for you, Scott. Our homeowner's insurance is covering a complete redo on the family room. Even the ceiling had water damage and is going to be redone. I will be sure and post some before and after pictures when we actually get this fixed. We're on the books, just don't have a specific date. Love working with contractors.

2. My mouth. I am starting to see some great results from the appliance that is screwed into the roof of my mouth. It's really a challenge to eat and I do miss just being able to swallow and push my tongue against the roof of my mouth. Sounds second-nature, until it's taken away from you. I figure I've got almost another year of braces left. It could not go fast enough.

3. Eliza. I can't believe how tall she is. 5'5" or probably taller by now. Every month I see her change before my eyes. This month, she's transitioning into wearing contacts full-time. Her eyes have become infected a few times and it's been really frustrating to her, but she's a trooper. I'll never forget the way she looked around with the one contact in her eye--like she was seeing a new world before her. She is SO excited to have peripheral vision for the first time...in like ever.

4. Seth. He was able to lead the flag ceremony in cub scouts this week. He was a little nervous, but really stepped up and was able to call out the commands loud and strong. He even then got a little perturbed when the boys didn't listen and didn't come in on command. It cracked me up!

5. Rachel. Lost 2 teeth in the past week. Got her first goal in a soccer game last Saturday. It almost surprised her when it rolled all the way in the goal!

6.Caroline. I love her passion for dance. When the kids get on the bus she'll insist, just about every day, to watch the episodes of Angelina Ballerina (the old ones---I hear there are new ones that are terrible) that we have on DVDs or on-demand. She insists on getting on her ballet slippers and usually her leotard and tights so that she can prance around and practice all of her moves. I love it even more when Eliza is practicing her piano and Caroline insists on wearing at minimum her ballet slippers so that she can dance to the music. Basically, if any kind of music is turned on in the house, slippers are her next request. It is such a delight to see someone so passionate about something. I think our other three kids combined have never shown me this kind of passion about an activity.

7. School. James starts on Module 5 of 6 in a few weeks. He has 2 more finals to go next week. It's starting to wear on all of us. At first, it was hard, yet exciting. Now we're in a good rhythm, but tiring of this routine. I overheard Rachel at her soccer practice yesterday say to her friend (who was telling where her dad was), "Lucky! My dad's always at school." James missed the Blue and Gold banquet for Seth this week. It's hard for both James and I to see him missing these moments. Last night he was able to make it home on time and built legos with Seth from about 7 until 9:30pm. They both needed that 1-on-1 boy time!

spring break part II

Day 2: Busch Gardens, Tampa





Day 3: Savannah, GA



For Easter dinner, we ate at Paula Dean's restaurant, The Lady and Sons. Every bite was AMAZING. Afterwords, we went on the River St. walk along the water. It felt like we were in New Orleans...I could not stop thinking of Princess and the Frog. ;)

spring break

Day 1: Sea World







During our terrible storm back in February, James and I decided to book some nights in Florida. It was a happy thought to get away from all the snow. We ended up driving the 12 hours straight to Orlando, which was easier than we thought. The kids were great and we got to go through states we'd never been through. I love roadtrips.

Sea World was magical. The kids loved everything: dolphin show, killer whales, otter show and exhibits. The three older ones sat in the soak zone every show they could. It was kind of surreal to look down the bleachers a few dozen rows and see the three of them together. They are growing up so fast now. Each of them came away with a whale tale necklace to remember the "Believe" message in the show. At the end of the day Seth went up to James and said, "Dad, thanks for bringing us here." It was an awesome (tiring!) day.

peak

good spot

After talking with Traci last night, I'm realizing something: I am in a GOOD SPOT in regards to my kids. It's exciting to recognize and relish in this "in the moment" and not just look back and wish that I could've enjoyed what I had when I had it.

Why so good?

1. All the kids are potty-trained. No diaper bag is necessary. I travel light these days!

2. Eliza is at an age (11 1/2) where she is REALLY helpful. The other day I was heading to Choir practice at church and Caroline wanted to come with me, and Eliza volunteered to come with me to help watch her. What a sweet, thoughtful gesture this was. She often sees needs and comes to my aid, whether it's making lunches in the morning (which she does often) or lend a hand entertaining Caroline when we're sitting through swim lessons or basketball practices. She makes our home run so much smoother!

3. I can leave some kids home by themselves together--namely Seth and Eliza. I don't dare leave any others with them, but I can and do leave those two at home for short periods of time when I can't bear the thought of bringing 4 kids on a short errand. This is VERY freeing.

4. I don't have early seminary to deal with...yet. I will enjoy these last 3 years of "sleeping in".

5. I see a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to babysitting. I will get to stop hiring babysitters outside of the family very soon...I think we'll start short dates this summer.

6. The kids love to read and they do have a bedtime. I can send them up to their rooms at 8:30pm and let them read, then go back an hour or so later and have them turn off their lights. I love this. So much better than battling a toddler who doesn't want to sleep!

7. The kids get themselves dressed for school and go downstairs and pour milk and eat cold cereal all by themselves. I intervene when wardrobe help is needed or when milk is spilled, but in general they do this on their own.

8. Eliza and Seth get themselves through the shower, completely on their own. I can bathe Rachel and Caroline together and be done with baths in 10 minutes.

9. My kids aren't dating or driving, or worrying me on those levels. I recognize this is coming my way, but for now I'll just enjoy the simplicity of where we're at...


I know there are more reasons, but this is a good start. I think this stage in life is the perfect window for James to be back in school. I would never have planned our life this way, but I'm grateful that the Lord would know I'd be in a 'good spot' for these years while much of the day-to-day childrearing burden would fall on my shoulders.

yup

Way back a month ago when we were snowed in, I wondered when life resumed if I'd fall off the face of my blog. And I did. Yup.

Since I'm here now, I'll tell you...these weeks have been wild. It was like every event--church, school, sport, you name it--was rescheduled for the past 2-3 weeks. Add to that the things already planned for the beginning of March and you have some pretty intense weeks. Instead of ending the basketball season, they lengthened it out until the end of March. I can see why (the kids only played 3 games before the blizzard) but I would've liked the season to end on time. We love our breaks between sport seasons. Not happening this time around. (Our last games are this weekend, and I promise some pictures.)

We also celebrated Seth's 9th birthday. We had a great time with 11 of his friends at the swimming pool. They are GREAT boys. Their families are good. They have values and parents who have values. I loved the chance to get to know them more.

A fun fact about Seth. When we asked what food he wanted to have at his party his top requests were:

1. Slim Jims
2. Pretzels
3. Baby Carrots
4. Fresca
5. Rootbeer

Well, that was after I rejected the idea of bringing in Five Guys burgers.