Adventures in Cross Country Moving!

It has been crazy busy around here, it is an amazing amount of work. Blessedly, i have had so much help... people to help pack, bringing food, people to take the kids. So blessed. I feel like i have been on autopilot since last Friday and frankly, i am pretty tired of packing. I went out to eat with my sisters tonight... one last hurrah for a while. They are amazing women- their different qualities and strengths bring out different things in me. I Love them so much and will miss them immensely.


Liam is such a funny little guy. He is really taking off on the solids- eating lately. But he doesn't just pick them up and put them in his mouth. He takes his index finger, scoots the piece of food to the edge of the tables, puts his mouth up to the table and manuvers the food in (as illustrated in this picture). It is quite amusing to watch.

Issy nursing her Care Bear. This is the same Care Bear that Isaac was nursing in one of last month's posts. Apparently the Bear likes milk ;)
My dear friend's daughter and my littles. We went to the zoo last week in what will be our last trip there for quite a while. Our beautiful babies (sans Liam, who was in the Mei Tei) posed for a pic. Then last night, she came over to help me and Issy and her daughter fell asleep to a movie. What precious babes
Re came and spent the weekend. In the first picture, Re was being the Queen and Liam was being the King, although what he really wanted to do was eat his crown. And who can blame him, yum. Re is really special to me because she is my goddaughter. I was a senior in high school when she was born and Joe holding her convinced me that he was going to be a terrific father (which he is!). In the last picture, Liam was wearing a pirate costume that Re brought when she spent the night the other night. He thought it was quite amusing!
Who has time to knit when there is so much packing to do? I finished my friend's son's soaker, done in fabulous 100purewool Love it!

She looooved this nightgown, which is really a hand-me-down sundress with stains. She danced around the house in it like it was the best thing in the world. So simple to be a four year old

Well, this might be it for a few days, cause i am traveling to see my hubby. The driving should be interesting....

My Anniversary Flowers

More later but i had to post the pics of the beautiful flowers i got for our anniversary :) Lots of Daisies because they are my favorite and so they were our wedding flower. Crazy busy around here! Moving in three days, must be packed by Wednesday!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE!

Five years! Truly, the last five years have been hard and fantastic and miraculous and challenging and a myriad of other adjectives. You are an amazing husband and father and i am so grateful that God made you for me. I Love you and can't wait until we can be together again! We really need to work on getting a picture of just the two of us more often ;)

Love, your wife,
E

The house!

Joe sent some pictures of the house that he took this last weekend. Kolbe is present in most of them. They have been spending a lot of quality time together lately ;)

Here is the front yard.

Here is a fire pit in the backyard

Here are a couple of views of the living roomKitchen
Aspens in the side yard. I looooove Aspens :)
Mountains to the eastMountains to the west

In Wichta news, however, i am being pushed the brink of insanity by trying to pack (or rather by procrastinating) and manage the kids. They have all been particularly out of sorts and unruly because Daddy isn't around. I love them so much but there have been several times in the last few days when i thought i couldn't do it anymore. If i could beam myself to Idaho and skip the next couple of weeks, i totally would. Time machine anyone?

Confessions of a Closeted Spice Girl fan

Ohhhh, i hope that the title has piqued your interest. In the chaos that is decluttering my house, i have found some exceedingly interesting items. My dad brought over a couple of large boxes of keepsakes that i had left at his house after i got married. Some of the stuff in there was downright captivating. I found a homemade contruction paper Valentine that my first high school boyfriend made me when i was fifteen. There were yearbooks from high school that had pages and pages of messages from my friends. Honestly, i think we were speaking in some sort of code because i don't get over half of the inside jokes in those pages. I came across a diary that i kept in the fourth grade. To which you ask yourself, what does a 10 year old have to write about? Plenty. I catalogued my list of crushes and the boys that i liked that didn't even know i was alive. (um, hello, i was ten, of course they didn't know i was alive) There was even an angst ridden entry about how Mom was so unfair for not letting me stay up till 8:30 (and i have to say, it probably wasn't fair, my now four year old's bedtime is 8:30).

But nothing was so interesting as the tapes i found. If perchance, you are less than 15 years old and reading this blog, you might not know what a tape is. It is what we had before we had CDs. In my collection of tapes were the first two i ever purchased: a Reba McEntire tape and Laurie Morgan. And i had several other Reba McEntire tapes too. Big Reba fan, i was. I found a very amusing tape that my sister Michelle and i made when she was probably about twelve and i was six. She was pretending that the tape was rewinding by saying things like "geez, why won't this thing just rewind" very pointedly at the recorder. She asked me who i had a crush on (Zach Bowles) and she told me who she had a crush on. She was mean to me a called me a name (ahhhh, it is a good thing we are best friend's now) and the finale was her singing "La Isle Bonita" by Madonna. Classic.

I also found some mixed tapes that i had made, by all good guesses, the summer after my freshman year in high school. It had "Unbreak my Heart" by Toni Braxton (which was me and homemade -Valentine's- giving -boyfriend's "song"), some Yanni and, surprisingly, a song by the Spice Girls. The Spice Girls? I don't remember liking the Spice Girls. Well, apparently i liked them enough to record one of their songs on the mixed tape. It was cool to disdain the Spice Girls so i spurned them and made even myself think that i didn't like them. Who knew?

goodness

I have survived the last day and a half without my hubby. Only a couple more weeks to go! :O The kids have been really really good for the most part. Please let it continue this way!

Joe said that the house is lovely and that Kolbe likes it there. Joe starts work tomorrow, which is exciting! I hope that he likes it! I need to go to the grocery store, we are starting to run out of things here... perhaps tomorrow. Must get a few more things done tonight, but Li just started to cry....

from a friend's blog

http://simpellton.blogspot.com/

"Circumcision is a perfect example of the triumph of emotion and outdated and unproven beliefs over common sense and scientific data."

"I've seen circumcisions done in the delivery room. Welcome to the world, baby boy - now to initiate you properly, we're going to cut off one of the most sensitive parts of your body with no anesthesia!"

Both quotes are by Dr. Christiane Northrup, she rocks! http://www.drnorthrup.com/

Isn't a little unfair that girls in this country can go home whole and healthy and so many boys go home with an open wound and in pain? Its only by chance that cutting girls didn't catch on, it was started at the same time as cutting boys, but its harder to do. If girls were still cut, parents in America would still be making excuses for keeping that tradition alive, the same way they justify removing healthy parts of a baby boy. Crazy."

Thanks for putting it so well. I often wonder why such an inhumane barbaric practice is still perpetuated by a supposedly advanced society.

New beginnings

Well, it is about 5:10 in the morning here. The rain just started to come down and the thunder is rumbling. I am expecting to see from one of my babies some time soon, but for now, all three of them are still in bed. I just watched Joe drive away from the only house that we have ever lived in together. The place that we came on our wedding night, the place that we brought all of our babies home to for the first time. The place that we have tried unsuccessfully to grow grass in the backyard three times. But it is okay, i daresay even good. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of packing up the rest of our things here, especially with three children running (or crawling) around at the same time, but i am feeling up to the challenge. The challenge of a new life for all of us. Taking everything that is good in this life, my love for my family and friends here, and welcoming all the good blessings that will come our way. Joe begins his new job on Friday, and is also able to go home to the house that we are renting to begin to set up house for us. It will be a long couple of weeks without him, but we are joined in prayer and love. Life is good.

My little big girl

She got her hair cut on tuesday. She walked out of the house looking like a four year old and came back looking like such an older girl. Oh my goodness. She told me that she likes her "little" hair. That girl. Now if only i could get her to stop acting like she is 14 with that many tons of attitude. But then i suppose she wouldn't be my daughter :O

In WY news... Joe leaves next week (monday, maybe tuesday?). We have secured a beautiful house in ID with some land and it will be available on the first of June. Goodness, that makes it all seem so much more real.

Huuuuuge weekend with Matt's ordination. I am going to hardly see my hubby at all. Breathe, breathe....

Had to add this one...

He got it!

The month of flowers and friends

Liam was pinning Annika down to get her paci. Fortunately, she thought this was very funny. They are too cute together. They roll around and are quite jolly about it
Liam sleeping on his godmother, Mary, at our last MI meeting here (at least for a while)
Joe and Issy feeding fish at the zoo.
My cutie is starting to look like a little boy
Ornery Annika getting my sunglasses.

We finished up our garage sale today and have taken the rest of the stuff to Goodwill. Joe leaves in a week in a half! We are going to trying to get the bulk of our packing done before then so that we don't have a lot to do after he leaves and it is time for me to leave with the kids. Every so often it hits me that we are leaving and it kinda freaks me out. I am going to miss everyone very much.

Going through the house...

Oh my goodness. we have a lot of stuff. Joe has lived here for a little over five years and me a little under five years and we have accumulated a huge amount of stuff. The toys and kids clothes alone could fill up an entire room. It has felt so good to declutter, organize and honestly, just throw some stuff away. Favorite socks that have holes in them now? Throw away! Random McDonalds toy? Throw away! It has been so freeing! We have been getting ready to have a garage sale, so we have had to touch every single thing in our house to see if we want to sell it, give it away, or pack it.

I have to say that the toys were insane. Insane. A dozen + relatives and birthdays and christmas for three kids over the last four years= too much crap. It has been very good to go through it and i think our house will be easier to keep clean because of it.

Joe and the kids have been sick with the stomach flu. Fun. The busiest i have ever been, trying to get stuff ready before he leaves and of course, the stomach flu. I am praying that i dodged the bullet and i am not going to get it this time. I really really hate the flu.

I have some super cute pictures of the kids that i need to download to this computer, but i am going to go to bed soon, so not tonight.

Wyoming, here we come!

Joe interviewed in Wyoming about a week and a half ago (where he took this picture) and they offered him a job, which he accepted this weekend. So in a month (give or take a little) we are packing up our Kansas tushies and moving. Joe is so excited to be doing this. He has been at TGW for six years (today, actually) and is ready to move on and grow. His new job promises huge growth potential and i am just thrilled for him. Sad about moving, because it is never easy to leave friends and family, but just so excited that he found what he has been looking for. God is so good to us!

He has been looking on and off for years and we have been praying and hoping. The week before he sent off this particular resume, i had started two novenas, one to Saint Anthony the miracle worker, and one to Saint Jude, patron saint of lost causes. And not coincidentally, he heard back, interviewed and got the job. Amazing.

We now have the huge task of packing up five years worth of things, and saying goodbye to everyone. But i don't fear that this will be the end of everything we have here. Love conquers all distance. It is only the beginning...

Ballerina in Rain Boots

My Littles

Riding the Lion at the zoo. Issy and Isaac love to get on the sculptures.
They make me so happy : )

So Joe interviewed for a job a thousand miles from here this past weekend. We are currently awaiting a call to let him know if he was offered it or not. I haven't been this nervous since right before Liam was born.

Dream Swatch and LTK Bucket Hat

The knitting is back on! I knit a Dreamswatch Headband from this fantastic bamboo yarn i got. It was so soft. I gifted it to my doula partner and friend. It is totally her.
LTK Bucket Hat for my niece. I tried to make her one for her birthday back in February, but i got non-shrinking yarn and it was hugely too big. I did the toddler size with a newborn depth and it fits Liam really nicely. Doesn't he make a lovely model, even with a big glob of spit up on his shirt?

Cute new cargo shorties!

Ummmm, i was complaining about how it takes me such a long time to wind balls of yarn out of hanks and how i needed a ball winder. So, bless his heart, he offers to wind one for me. I warned him not to let it cross over. It would get tangly. From this picture, do you think he took my advice? He definitely gets points for effort, but it took me quite a while to finally get it untangled. I have a feeling he won't be offering anytime soon.
He has a big butt but short legs, so these fit more capri-ish. Actually, Isaac fits in them too, and they actually look like shorts on him. So hopefully, Liam will be able to wear them a long time. I even sewed on a little cargo pocket on the right leg (hard to tell from the picture, but you can see the button).
And here he is, trying to wiggle away from me!

Silly boys

Isaac was nursing his CareBear. He is apparently a discreet nurser ;)
Liam learned how to wave. He likes to do it while his Daddy is holding him in the evening while i knit.

Holy Yarn and Knitting, Batman!

The stash Michelle and I are acquiring for our knitting business. I wanted to roll around in it, but i restrained myself.
LTK Vest that finally got done. It was a labor of love, but it was gifted and i feel good that i finally finished it.
Some Picky Pants shorties for Li. Should be finished in the next day or two. My knitting slump seems to be over!

Random

Liam and his three best friends. My three girlfriends from high school and i all had baby boys in 2006
Cheese and her love affair with the shoe.

Cute kiddos

Isaac doing "fwesh" after he brushed his teeth.
Bubbly beard
A girl after her Daddy's heart

Easter