We celebrated.....

We celebrated and celebrated Alder's birthday for like 2 weeks with just the four of us, my parents, friends, our co-op school group, and then with Jared's parents. We celebrated by letting Alder blow out so many candles on cupcakes that I think he could now be a "professional cupcake candle blower-outer" if there was such a thing. We did it so many times and sang "Happy Birthday" so many times that Kingston (who can't talk yet) can now "sing" the "Happy Birthday" song and he then knows to blow after the song is over. It was very fun to celebrate Alder's birthday like this. It is amazing how little you can do or give at this age and they are so incredibly delighted. The circus came to town on his birthday and it was (let me assure you not of any kind you have ever seen) literally a one-family show. There weren't any animals, or fancy lights, or flying acrobats, but there was tumbling, light sabers for sale, flaming torches being juggled in the air, and arrows being shot from gigantic bows into apples above ladies' heads. Jared and I agreed that this circus had a very European feel to it, like something you would stumble across as you shopped at a market somewhere in Europe. So it was no Barnum and Bailey circus, but we all enjoyed the show. 

Our gift to Alder was a Auburn bean bag toss that he had requested since seeing one at his cousins' at Christmas. Well, Jared and I are too cheap to buy the "official" Auburn bean bag toss so we made our own. Alder loves it, so does Kingston, and Jared and I do too. We have been getting into some heated competitions at night long after the boys are in bed. The game has been a very fun addition to our house. The birthday celebrating was so fun that it made me wish that all adults could have such celebrated birthdays. 

And then.....8 days ago and shortly after this last picture of celebrating took place with Jared's mom, we got it. We got our first stomach bug and WHEW! it was rough. I have been dreading this, this particular sickness and my ability to cope with it as mother. I (if I had to give an evaluation of myself) did really well with it, didn't gag my brains out, freak out, nor scar my children in some way in my response to them throwing up. I have always been phobic of throwing up...my throw up, other people's throw up, dog throw up, the word throw up. I think it stems from a terrible childhood throw up story having to do with the cafeteria, in 1st grade, in front of everyone kind of experience. I never quite managed to get over how embarrassing and traumatizing that experience was for me, but now I can safely say I have conquered that fear. My Mom was right. When it is your own children you can deal with it. It was violent for 12 hours and then the boys seemingly rallied by the next morning. I eventually got 48 hours later, Daddy has missed it, and KIngston STILL has it. I feel exhausted by that fact that I have either been cleaning up throw up or diarrhea for the past 8 days. I mean, seriously? 8 days Kingser? Its just running its course, but I must say it has been a tiring last week. It wasn't until today that I thought I might just sit down on the floor and cry if I have to clean up one more mess or change one more crib sheet. Of course being 34 weeks pregnant doesn't help with the overwhelming desire to scream and cry at the same time. I pray we move pass this soon, that Kingston feels better, and that the month of Feb. passes quickly and we move into an early, warm, and sunny Spring. 

Happy Friday to you! 

Merry Christmas to us and Gingerbread Making (aka killing time on dreary winter afternoons)

Jared and I have not exchanged Christmas gifts with each other for the last several years because unfortunately money does not grow on the trees in the backyard. I have sometimes felt a little sad about this, but all such silly sadness was swept away recently when the best gift ever was given to us. Actually the gift comes with its own bitter sweetness, but I will explain. 

This big, beautiful piece of stainless steel is a wondrous espresso machine. I will confidently say that Jared and I fully appreciate what is actually sitting on our counter as we have been (somewhat secretly) coffee junkies ever since living abroad for a year. We fix it every morning, grind the beans (in a magic bullet (have you seen those on TV?) which I would not recommend but then again money does not grow on trees and so you have to use what you got), obsess over getting the first cup, and so on. I think we swore that we would never be THOSE people, but alas we are. Maybe a gradual lack of sleep over the last 3 years with the arrival of little ones has gotten us to this point. Anyways, we were given this espresso machine by our dearest friends who recently moved away and had once owned a local coffee shop here in town. We are so tremendously sad to see them go, but in their parting I am thrilled by their gift to us. It is like Christmas morning every morning (almost) to have wonderful lattes, espresso, and so on all without much effort or clean-up. So in some ways this gift really seems to be making up for all the years without gifts for one another. It is so fun for Jared and I that we have been making coffee at night, laughing out loud at how good it tastes, how we feel like we just ran to Starbucks (which the closest one is an hour away), and feeding our slight addiction more and more each day. In fact, I am thinking of opening a coffee stand on the grassy median outside our house. "Main Street Coffee" sounds like a good name. I can just see Alder and Kingston now, taking orders from car windows, then calling the order into me via a walkie-talkie, making money, becoming a real barista. Wait, this image cannot work. Alder loves to sit down in the middle of the street and collect rocks and Kingston will wander from here to Mississippi without looking back. Yeah, not such a good idea. Maybe in a few years.....

 Moving on. I have found myself impressively full of energy for my children lately. I do not have the kind of energy this late in my pregnancy to pick up the dog food that Alder spilled this morning whilst feeding Ally and so it still, at 10:00 at night, lays around me on the floor, under the desk, and trailing on into the playroom. I just cannot bear the thought of bending over and the energy it will take to clean up one more mess today. So I will wait until Jared gets home from his business dinner and nicely ask him to sweep it up for me. But I do still seem to have a lot of patient energy for my children. We are doing crafts, having a lot of learning time, reading, building amazing train tracks around their room, mastering floor puzzles, and even making gingerbread men and decorating them. I am sure this energy will die off in the next several weeks as my body gets pushed to the limit and this baby's arrival nears. For now though I am enjoying this time with my two boys who are so fun and bring me such joy. We had such a great time last week making these cookies together after nap time, cutting them out, decorating them, and eating them (which is their favorite part). Alder and Kingston both loved the activity and it really held their attention. It also helped pass the time during these dreary winter days that darken so early and make entertaining the children a little more difficult. 

Three

How does time go by so stinkin' fast?

Alder just hours old....

became 1 years old...

and then 2 years old...

and now he is 3???

He is so big, so wonderful, articulate, fearless, wild, adventurous, bold, intense, sensitive, and so many other words that I could use to describe one of the best gifts I have ever received in my life. 

Happy Birthday my Alderman Rhys. 

I cannot believe you are 3. 

We are so very proud of you.  

Almost 3

WAR EAGLE!!!

First of all.

 We all enjoyed Monday night and cheering for the Tigers as they won the National Championship game. What fun! Of course the boys only lasted for the first 30 minutes and then it was off to bed for them. More on that in a second. 

But really in more important news around here is that I have a very enthusiastic almost 3 year old. Can you tell by looking at the picture above?

 Alder's birthday day is Monday and we have been counting down for days now since for several days before we starting counting down he was constantly asking me, "Mama, is it my birthday yet? Is it tomorrow or the next day?" My favorite was when he woke up from his afternoon nap several times asking me if he had "missed his party?" "No sweetie," I assured him.  So to help his little mind that is oh-so sharp but a little obsessive we have been counting down. Now it is just 3 days to go and I am loving having a child who is now old enough to have serious preferences regarding his birthday, his cake, his wants and desires, and the sheer excitement of it all. I cannot wait to make his day special for him on Monday.

Time does not allow for talking about our new sleeping arrangements in this house, but I will post soon about all the chaos, laughter, tears, climbing in and out of beds, falling out of   cribs and so on that putting two brothers in the same room have brought. 

Stay tuned. 

Happy Friday. 

Welcome Home....

Last January, we bundled up the kids and went to the local high school to say farewell and thank you to the 2101st National Guard Division. It was really powerful to stand there and witness the troops say good-bye to their families, being so stoic, and clearly brave. There was such a look of duty on each of their faces. We appreciate their bravery and sacrifice. We believe that the support of our troops is so very important no matter where you stand on war, this war, or the last war. They need to be supported and thanked. We hope to raise our boys with a great gratitude for these men and women in uniform and with the knowledge that to serve your country in this way is a very honorable path to choose if either of our sons chose to do so. 

This picture was taken of Alder and I last January as we waved our flags and said good-bye.

Jan. 8, 2010

 On January 6th, 2011 those same troops came home. 

I took the boys so we could once again wave our flags, show our support, and say thank you to the soldiers that served our country so bravely for a year. 

Alder told me today he sat on my lap while I worked on this post. 

"Mama, that is me with my flag and me with a soldier. He is a big man. He is a great man. He is brave and protects me from evil. He protects me from dragons and evil people."

I'm not sure if they fight against dragons, but he got it. 

Frustrated....

***I tried and tried to get my posts to post in order. The computer has won. Start with the post titled "Christmastide come and gone" and then scroll about looking for Christmas posts 1, 2, and 3. It is maddening when such things happen. Sorry***

Christmas: Post 3

Christmas: Post 1

I love our decorated house. These pictures are mainly for you Mom as you never have seen our house here decorated for Christmas. Yes, I took the pictures you requested.

Christmastide come and gone

We had a wonderful Christmas season this year with family and other loved ones. I have two lovely boys that I fall deeper in love with each day and a wonderful husband who cares for us with a true servant's heart. We enjoyed parades, lights, baking, gingerbread house making with friends, festive story times at the library, sugar cookies, candy canes, the first snow (yes, we saw snowflakes fall for the better part of one day in early December all the way down here), fires every night, our Christmas tree, talking about baby Jesus, naming our Elf on the Shelf and seeing his new place each morning in the house. We bundled up each night and with our flashlights in hand we started our winter ritual of night walking through town. I am typically NOT a winter person, but I am starting to "warm-up" to this season as I am learning (through the eyes of my children) that with each new season there are new and wondrous things I had missed before. I love the awe on Alder's face as he gathers kinlin for the fires on every walk we take and his love of collecting other such things in nature like red berries and the droppings from the popcorn trees. I love watching Kingston explore the Christmas tree, its needles, and the barren outdoors. I feel extremely full as this year came to a close. I love my job, role as mother to these 3 I nurture daily, excited at the arrival of the 3rd little one in March, our families we spent time with over the holidays, a stable job for Jared, our good health, and mountains of other blessings that I resolve to focus more on in this New Year. 

Yes, my heart aches for other "things" like a bigger community, being closer to our families, an ease of finances, and so on but I feel overwhelmed with the joys in my life and I thank my God for those. 

I had collected lots of pictures over the last month and could not fit all of them into one post. I thought I would just post a series of 3 posts and let the pictures speak for themselves. I remind myself that one of the main reasons I keep this blog going (since sometimes I feel like not posting at all) is to have it serve as a scrapbook for my children and our family. I hope my boys will treasure these pictures one day as much I do. 

Enjoy! We hope your holidays were Merry and Bright!

Christmas: Post 2