Five years!

Five years ago at this time i was snuggled up in bed, staring at my little Issy in my arms, my heart so full. I was exhausted, but i stayed up most of that first night, just admiring the miracle of the person that i had waited so long to meet. She is amazing, sweet, sassy, caring, nurturing, strong-willed little person. Even now sometimes it seems surreal and unbelieveable that God entrusted her little soul to Joe and I. What a task.

We had a very good day. She was estatic that it was her birthday :)

The princess balloon that Daddy picked out for her. She wore it around on her wrist the better part of the day.
Her dolly from Mommy and Daddy and her brothers. She had seen it in the little drugstore in our town a couple months ago and was quite taken with it and i made a mental note then that it would be a good birthday present. She is currently sleeping with it, so i think it was a good choice.
The neighbors have two little girls and a boy that Issy and Isaac made friends with recently. They love to play in the snow together in our cul-de-sac. They came over for cake this afternoon and Issy got a necklace and bracelet from each of them. I am so glad she has some friends here :)

A blast from the past! Sweet Issy, a couple of weeks old, and her cousin Ritchie.
Mommy kisses as Issy dyed Easter eggs for the first time at five weeks old. She slept through it.
Issy and her godmother, Erika, on the day of her Baptism.

Around the house

We are very excited to be coming home in a week! Gearing up, getting out our spring clothes, and ready for our 2 day road trip with the three kids. Yikes! Can't wait to see everyone and hopefully have some springy weather. He really likes button-down shirts. He would wear one every day if he had enough. He says they make him look handsome. And they do. Normally, however, when he dresses himself, he picks out really nice combinations. This day, well, it was an interesting combination. The shirt and vest look nice when not paired with each other. But he dress himself and we weren't going anywhere, so who i am to judge ;)
A couple months ago, Joe was telling me how he thought it would be cool to have a fire in the fire pit. We haven't been able to see the fire pit for about that long, because it has been buried in snow. Monday was apparently the day, though, when his idea got the better of him. Him and Issy and Isaac went out after dinner (thanks, Daylight Savings Time!) and shoveled a path to and around the fire pit. Riiiiight. But it made them all happy, so more power to them.

Daddy and Liam have been having special bath time a couple times a week after dinner. For obvious reasons, this is just a picture of Liam by Daddy's feet.
He was holding a cracker and i told him i was going to take his picture. He decided that it would be a good pose to put this cracker in his mouth like this. He wouldn't take it out, so this is what we have.
What better toy than laundry baskets?

Before bedtime one night, they all got under the blanket together.
A recent snow walk.
"Dog" Pile on Daddy.

Thought i would share

Found this video and thought i would share. Kevin Max was with dc Talk for years and is now doing solo work

Big things are on the horizon!

It is quickly becoming apparent to me that life is happening and time isn't going to stop. My little girl will be turning 5-years-old in only 6 short days. 5-years-old. I'll save the sappy sweet post for her birthday, but it is this event that is jarring me into reality. She is going to grow up. She isn't going to be a little girl forever. At some point in the next ten years, she is going to become a young woman. As i type this, i am panicking a little on the inside. I mean, i always knew i wanted to have babies and to raise a family. But at some point i disconnected the fact that my babies would grow up to be adults.

And because my little girl is now about to be five, we are presented with a new parenting challenge... her education. How, when, where? We have three options here: public school, private school, and homeschooling. We are exploring all of these options, in the quest to find what suits her needs accordingly. It is turning out to be quite the task! She is very bright and picks up on things easily. She is already learning all the time.

I, too, am toying with some my plans to further my education. I have thought that when the kids were older, i would like to train to be a midwife. But i had no solid timeline for that. There has been a nudging in my heart lately that perhaps i should implement this plan sooner rather than later. But then i am discouraged by the logistics of it... which midwifery program, securing an apprenticeship, how to juggle midwifery and parenting. And i am right back where i started... with a deep desire in my heart to put birth back into the hands of birthing women, but no real concrete idea on how i could do that. I had previously been resigned to the fact that it just wasn't the season in my life for that, but now i am perplexed by the strong desire to take some action.

It is at times like these i wish God wasn't so subtle sometimes. Where is the burning bush when you need it? (N.B. There, i said it, it is out on the internet for the world to see. So when God whacks me upside the head with a glaring answer, you can all say "But careful what you ask for")

Edited to Add: In December, i started a blog about pregnancy and birth. Come check it out! I am going to try to update weekly at this point, probably on Fridays. The link is in the list of my favorite links on the right.

I knit!

Yup, i still knit, although i have been sporadic for a while now. Here are things i can post because i have gifted them and the owners have received them: My cousin had a baby girl in December and i made her these small Picky Pants. For the shirt, i really wanted to get a little black shirt and stencil a bundle of grapes in purple and green (the yarn colorway is called Grapes on a Vine) but given the limited availability of such things around here, i put that vision aside. Instead, I bought a onesie from Target and cut off the bottom and hemmed it with a little rick-rack border.
Here are the small Picky Pants in a size comparison with the most recent pair of pants i knit Liam. I can't believe he has gotten so big *sniff*

Joe's slippers, which he requested i finish before he went to Vegas, so he could take them. He forgot them at home.
Little Gracie's birthday present. She doesn't keep them on, so i am going to crochet a chain out of that yarn, so they can weave it in and tie them on in back. Sorry, Grace, your sock-pulling-off days are numbered!

Ear infection free for over two months!

We have been on quite the journey with this little one since July. He started to get ear infections and was getting them every two to three weeks. Well, it seems we have finally turned the corner! His last one was when we flew home to Kansas in December. He has been a happy, healthy boy since then. Sleeping better, eating better.

Do a happy dance with us!

What happens when you don't have a little sister (or, Isaac is a patient boy)

This one has an excellent story. A little backstory would be helpful. When i got pregnant with Liam, Issy started to insist that it was a girl baby. We found out he was boy and she got used to the idea of a baby brother. Shortly after he was born, she started telling people that i was going to have another baby and it was going to be a girl this time. She occasionally tells me she wants a little sister.

So, a couple of days ago, they were playing dress up in the room. Usually, this means just Issy dresses up. Well, they came out of the room, and Isaac was wearing this. I asked how there were doing and Issy said, "This is my sister. We are twins" Um, okay? I thought it was cute, so i took their picture. It was almost lunchtime, so i asked that they put the dress up clothes away and put their regular day clothes on. The best part? When they came out of the room, they were both in normal clothes. Except Isaac had on Issy's jeans and t-shirt. I asked him to put on the clothes he was wearing earlier. As i changed his socks he said, "Issy told me i had to wear girl undies." At which point i told him that sometimes, you shouldn't listen to Issy :D She is lucky he is so laid back, although i suspect that at some point he is going to realize that he doesn't have to do everything she says.

My little persuasive girlie. She is going to five in just a couple of weeks!
Munchkins eating bread and butter at the table.

It is important to be well-versed in your Catechism study. At 1-year-old, you never knew when you will be called upon to explain your faith :D
Mmmmmm, apples.
The snow slides off the tin roof and has created a huge pile in front of the front porch.

This picture was taken shortly after they both stopped crying because Isaac flopped on the bed and slammed his head into Issy's.
Kitty love.
My sweet little fella.

Alright, Winter, make way for Spring

I'll start out by saying, I like winter here. I prefer to winter in Kansas. I like the snow. I like that my kids can go out and play in the snow for an hour most days because it isn't boring to play in and even when it is cold here, it isn't windy. Very fun for them :) It is super beautiful to go outside and see the snow on the mountains. Really quite breathtaking.

But. I have had enough. I am ready for the 2+ feet of snow on the ground to melt. I am ready for T-shirt weather. I am ready to be able to send my children out of the house without 3 layers of clothing on. I am ready to be able to drive where i want, when i want. I am ready for the drive to take Joe 40 minutes to get home, instead of an hour. I want to see grass and the trees to bud and wildflowers to grow and flies to buzz around my house. To take the kids to the forest and sit on a blanket and read a book (or, more accurately, stop Liam from putting grass and rocks in his mouth).

Unforunately, i don't think these things are going to happen for a while. It has been warm (i.e. over freezing) and sunny for the better part a week and a half, but the snow isn't melting very fast. It is going to take a loooong time, methinks.

Coming to Kansas in a few weeks will be a most welcome reprieve.

Few more from the other day

Snowy Sunday in Teton Canyon

We cleaned yesterday, so we decided to get out today and get some fresh air. We went down to Teton Canyon, our favorite place to hike in the summertime. As luck would have it, the trail we like to go on was so well packed down because of people cross-country skiing in there that we were able to walk on it without skis or snowshoes. So away we went on a little hike, with Issy and Isaac in innertubes and Liam in a carrier. It was so beautiful, peaceful and refreshing. My heart feels at home in the woods.

Sweet Issy, ready to go.

Our favorite creek, just a tad bit snowy

All cozy in the Babyhawk.

Now wait, does it seem fair that i had to carry Liam and pull Issy?

Guess who Daddy got to pull?

Our noble protector.

Trying to walk to a tree so Daddy could take a picture. They could walk off the path, since they don't sink in all the way.

Joe doing his best Buick commercial

Alright, the score is even, he had to pull Issy and Isaac uphill on the way back

Ho hum

Yes, i am still alive!

Joe got back from Las Vegas last Friday safely. He worked late several days this week, which was stinky. We relaxed last weekend, so this weekend we are trying to get some stuff done around the house. With the kids around! Ha!

My latest endeavor was inspired by Michelle (as so many things are). In an effort to have an environment conducive to learning, we are setting up a Learning room. Liam has his own room, although he takes his nap in my arms in a recliner and only really is using the room in the evening when he goes to bed and before he wakes and joins us at night, and it seemed like a bit of a waste. So we decided to make that the Learning room. We set up all the kids books, some flash cards, the puzzles and have a magnadoodle for Issy, who is keenly interested in writing her letters. I did a quick sketch of each letter of the alphabet for the walls (although i am hoping to pick up something a little sturdier at a school supply store). They are so excited.

Oooo, you will all be so excited for me. I left the house. Several times this week. Yup, i am finally conquering my fear of driving (although it has helped that it has been sunny the snow has been melting off the roads the last week) and it has been nice to be able to get out. The kids appreciate it too.

Everything else is pretty quiet around here. Gearing up for our big trip in March. Yay! Not so much looking forward to the drive, but very excited about seeing everyone again. Will have a picture update soon :)

Las Vegas

Well, the hubby got back last Friday after my last post. (Thanks for coming to the Pity Party, though). He was supposed to stay in Alpine, WY, but instead, went around the road block. It only took him four hours to get home from work : /

On Monday he left for a conference in Vegas, where he is staying in a cushy hotel. Must be rough ;) He sent me this pic on Monday night. The kids and i have survived the last couple of days and it seems like we might make it another couple until he gets home Friday evening. They are great, but exhausting as usual. My major accomplishment of the day was putting away all of their laundry. *pats self on back*

Someday, when Liam doesn't need me so much, i am taking a nice long weekend alone somewhere. And i am going to sleep. For hours. Uninterrupted. And i am going to knit. Without anyone trying to steal my ball of yarn. It will be a good day. Until then, i will hold onto this fantasy :)

:( I hate the weather (or, My husband is stuck in Wyoming)

I am throwing a Pity Party and everyone is invited. Joe left for work yesterday morning. They closed Teton Pass yesterday afternoon due to weather. Hasn't opened since. He tried to go South and go the long way, but he got stuck at the Idaho border. He isn't coming home tonight either :(

I miss him. He is also going to be gone Monday through Friday next week in Las Vegas. It is times like these i hate being alone in Idaho.

Alright, Pity Party over. Going to cook dinner and salvage the evening.

Yummy food :)

Homemade blueberry muffins with oatmeal. A breakfast treat for everyone!

Snow-jumping

We went out back the other day to shovel our back deck, which is somewhat of a pointless exercise, since it continues to snow, despite our best efforts. While we were out there, we did some snow jumping off the deck. It is hard to believe that under all that snow is some grass and other plants. At this point, it feels like we may never see them again! He can really only crawl through it!
He jumped off right after me. Yes, the snow really is that deep!
Joe was standing in it and the kids are light enough to only sink in a few inches, so they sat on top.
Snow angels! It was hard to get up from this position.

Joe's Leap.
He is tall. The snow is deep. It seems utterly unfathomable to this Kansas girl.
And here is his snow angel.

A little teaser

A full picture update later, but i thought i would leave you with this little gem for now....

Who knew grocery shopping could be an adventure?

Well, yes, my friends, it can be. One adventurous baby + one whiny, supersensitive preschooler + one stubborn, headstrong preschooler x one Saturday morning shopping trip = "Fun" Well, if your definition of "fun" includes taking the aforementioned whiny preschooler out of the store screaming while the baby tries to escape the cart and the stubborn preschooler begs desperately for gum. When Joe and i dreamed while we were courting of the babies we would have someday, i don't think this particular scenario entered our consciousness ;)