As The World Turns

I wrote this in April, but didn't want to post it until Nick returned...

This spring has looked much like last winter which looked much like last summer.  Seven weeks ago, Nick called to say that he wasn't able to stay with the kids during my doctor's appointment because he was leaving imminently for a training trip.  A couple of days after returning from that trip, he left again for what he thought would be a week and a half long deployment.  Six weeks later, we're still waiting on his return.

In that time, there has been lots of house painting, yard work, repairs, and keeping the house show-ready.  We've only had two showings to prospective buyers, and for that I am so grateful.  The idea of being under contract and closing on the house alone with the kids is really anxiety-provoking.  Nick has no internet connectivity and gets a strict 15 minute phone call a few times a week which has complicated things tremendously with deadlines looming for Stanford with housing, school registration and such, not to mention orchestrating our move and his out processing from the army.

I'm exhausted.  The deployments and trips are taking their toll on all of us.  I'm counting down the minutes until the end of this deployment and feeling so much relief and gratitude that with it, we are closing this military chapter.  I so look forward to settling into our new reality as a family of 6.  Now to get our fearless leader home for good.

Hannah cut her hair when no one was looking.

I waffled on how to handle her new 'do.  I knew that if I look her to a stylist, they would very likely cut her hair really short to blend in the giant chunk of missing hair.  I decided to cut it myself and still leave her hair a little longer but make it so the difference isn't quite as obvious.  Once her hair grows a bit longer then we can get a quality cut.  I'm focused on the positives: for the first time ever she's letting me style her hair and that she didn't cut it to her scalp.  I had sweaty palms snipping her hair off knowing that every follicle on her head had been growing since she was born.  Luckily, it will grow.

We were given an opportunity to send Daddy a care package, so we took this picture for him.

The new and improved 1121 Drakes Cove Road North!  My only regret is not repainting the garage door and front door and shutters earlier!  Such a difference!

The newly painted deck!

I'm taking as many pictures as I can of our yard while I can, I will miss it so much when we leave.

I honestly can't even keep track of the sick bugs that have invaded our home any more.  The day after Nick left for his training trip, we got a large ice and then snow storm.  The town was crippled because the roads were so bad.  James had just gotten over croup when Emmy became very sick with a fever, a terrible cough and extreme lethargy.  On the one day that the entire town was shut down except for the hospital, she took a turn for the worse.  She was screaming and crying whenever she coughed because it hurt so badly.  I usually have a really high threshold for taking the kids to the doctor, but this scared me.  I was literally snowbound with the kids, pacing the house, trying to figure out what to do.  By the grace of God, someone shoveled my driveway and my girlfriend and kindred spirit, Sally, texted to check on us when I put the kids to bed.  She offered to come stay with the littles so I could take Emmy to the Emergency Room.  I took her up on her offer.  When she arrived at my home, she offered to take Emmy for me because the roads were so icy and treacherous that she was uneasy driving on them, even for her as a previous resident of Alaska.  This California girl, panic-stricken, pulled out of my driveway with my sick baby buckled in tight, and white-knuckled it 5 miles per hour the whole way to the Emergency Room.  We arrived safely and were, thankfully, taken back right away.  After strep and flu swabs and x-rays, we learned that she had strep throat and multiple canker sores in her mouth.  I won't soon forget that day and the kindness of my neighbors and my friend who would literally drive through snow and ice in the dark to rescue me.  Despite my best efforts, they'll never know how much their kindness still moves me.

My Emmy convalescing.

Saint Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick's Day also happened to be Emmy's 100th Day of School party...She had been planning this outfit for weeks!  She was most concerned about how to make her hair white, which took us (ALL five of us) two stops to finally learn that white hair spray isn't easy to find, and that baby powder (which we already had at home) is a great solution!  She had so much fun!

This boy is so full of curiosity.

Research has shown that my lap is not big enough for everybody, though they still try and fight relentlessly to the bitter end over it.  I feel so loved. :-P

My first attempt at taking everyone for a walk ended with me carrying Hannah and her baboo and stroller, while clutching the dog's leash and pushing the double stroller with an up-side-down James nearly dragging on the pavement as we chased after Emmy who was breeching her distance limit.  And that is why I don't leave the house.

So, it turns out our HOA made plans to create a walking trail and two communal gardens (with benches!) just outside our fence line.  The only trouble is that they forgot to ask us first.  Irate doesn't touch the emotion I felt as they enlisted neighborhood people to desecrate the space behind our house two Saturdays ago.  Trying to hide my fury around the kids required me to dig really deep.  After a firm conversation with our very flippant HOA president and the property manager for the management company who literally couldn't answer any of my questions, except for to confirm that they don't have an e-mail for us on file and that the HOA was supposed to get approval from all the homeowners whose properties are affected, they all got a very strongly worded e-mail with an outlined plan for resolution.  I'm still waiting for an update after their alleged meeting to discuss my grievance last night.  I'm hoping they comply because my only plan was for success.  UPDATE: They apologized for their negligence and are not moving forward with the gardens with benches.  There is very little traffic back there after the first weekend, and, most important of all, we sold the house!

We've been playing outside as much as we can, enjoying the gorgeous spring weather and our wonderful backyard.

Every morning I take the dogs out as soon as I wake-up and am regularly treated to a rooster crowing.  I absolutely love waking up to that sound...The rooster and his lady friends paid us a visit one night after bath time!

Julia is getting so brave!  She loves to go down the slide.  She takes a few moments to build up the courage before she pushes off and flies down the slide.  I am so proud of that little girl!

Easter 2015

Our Easter this year was lovely and very mellow.  It's Emmy's very favorite holiday, so no matter what was stacked against us, the day was so special just because of what we were celebrating.  This year was the first year the big girls really knew that Easter is a celebration of Jesus, which was so wonderful and intense all at the same time.  Emmy got a little age-appropriate book at school discussing the Easter story, which brought forth some very important yet difficult conversations about how badly Jesus was treated.  I admit I really wasn't ready for it.  Hearing Sissy's intense empathy for Jesus' pain moved me deeply.  But sharing with them the good news that love always wins was a beautiful parenting moment.

The weekend before Easter I built up the courage to take the kids to an Easter celebration at The Little's school.  It wasn't until I parked that I committed to going, but I'm so glad we did.  There really weren't all that many people that came, which made the crowd sparse and so much more manageable for me.  There were several age-appropriate crafts and games and free BBQ lunch.  The organizers even found a sweet teenager to take Emmy and Hannah through a "Jesus Experience" display that they both loved.  The cherry on top of the sundae was a big Easter egg hunt, that all four of the kids got in on.  I was like a chicken with my head off corraling them all, but each of them giddily ran around picking up eggs.  It was such a highlight of the holiday celebration!

On Easter, I had three sick kiddos.  Both of the twins had croup and Hannah had a nasty cough.  So, church was off the table and we needed to back out of dinner at our friends' home.  So, we stayed home and had multiple egg hunts, made a "He is Risen" sign for our front door, and devoured way too much sugar and the incredible to-go Easter dinner that our incredible friends blessed us with.  

Juju coloring her egg!

Our Emmy, always in charge.

Helping Jamesy write a "J" on his egg. :)

This was an overly ambitious photo.

The big girls helped make our Easter bread from start to finish...We got a last-minute house showing just as we secured the dough for it's first rising.  15 minutes to wipe away the flour was sweat-inducing!

Julia totally got into the egg hunt!

James was very easily distracted. :-P

James found his Easter basket!

Sis feeding Julia her chocolate Easter bunny...One bite for Juju, one bite for Hannah...

Even though we weren't able to go to church, Emmy still wanted to wear her new Easter dress, so we dressed up!

I found that if I set the timer on the camera and then dance around like an idiot I actually get smiles from most of them and a smirk from Juj.

Emmy orchestrated another Easter egg hunt after quiet time.

Sweet Julia diligently found eggs....

...And then James took them from her.

Checking out their loot.

James going through Julia's Easter basket.

After we got home from picking up our incredible Easter dinner, Emmy and Hannah immediately set the table and started serving everyone their plates.  I blinked back tears witnessing them take care of each other.

Flash Forward

One afternoon when the girls were boycotting quiet time, they stood in our entryway looking at the photos on the wall.  Hannah zeroed in on the one of Nick and I standing at the alter on our wedding day.  She asked me about my wedding dress and I offered to show it to her.  I tried it on (partially, I couldn't zip it up all the way, haha!) and the girls were both awestruck.  I asked them if they'd like to take turns trying it on, too.  They both jumped out of their skin with excitement.  Sissy was literally jumping up and down uncontrollably.  They, on their own, took turns "flatting out" the train and the veil for each other and I couldn't help but have a sentimental moment thinking of a similar scene playing out 20ish years from now.  I told them that they are very welcome to wear my dress when they find the men that God intends for them to marry.  Emmy told me that she's going to marry her best friend, Matthew, because he's funny, and Sissy told me that she is going to marry Daddy. :)

J&J are 18 months old!

Julia

Weight: 22.2 pounds (40th percentile!!!)

Height: 32 inches (49th percentile!!)

Head Circumference: 48 centimeters (88th percentile!!)

James

Weight: 29 pounds (94th percentile!!)

Height: 34 inches (90th percentile!!)

Head Circumference: 48 centimeters (65th percentile!!)

Things have become way more exciting in our house with these two monkeys!  Julia started walking in early December and James followed suit in the middle of January and they haven't stopped since!  Their confidence swelled with their new mobility and they are totally coming into their own....

Julia has such a sweet demeanor and is such a little nurturer.  She likes to have things in their place and she feels great responsibility for taking care of her brother.  She is always ready with a diaper and a wipe when it's James' turn for a change.  She brings him his clothes and his bottles, and has the most satisfied little look on her face when we thank her for being a helper.  She has become a huge fan of Frozen and enjoys preforming her own rendition of "Let It Go" right along side of her big sisters.  I keep trying to get it on video because it just melts me.  Julia is a cuddle bug and has become so silly lately initiating peak-a-boo games with us.  She has a huge smile and so many teeth now!  She didn't cut her first tooth until she was 14 month (!!) but since then, she has 11-including her one year molars.  Julia adores her beagle stuffed animal that she has named "Darla" and it's never far.  She loves to have her hair done and sits patiently in the sink and hands me hairbands while I do her pigtails (this is a first-my big girls used to make me chase them around the house.)  She likes to color, swing and "prepare food" in the play kitchen.

Both James and Julia are great little eaters...Breakfast favorites are cheerios, pancakes, and scrambled eggs with ham and any kind of berry.  Lunch favorites are peanut butter and jelly, diced ham and cheese, pirates booty and applesauce.  Snack favorites are graham crackers and yogurt-covered raisins.  Dinner favorites are mac n cheese, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, spaghetti and meatballs and pizza (I swear I feed them healthy food too, they just don't eat nearly as much of it :-P.)  Dessert favorites are chocolate, marshmallows and fruit snacks.  They're getting really good at eating with forks and spoons.

We've finally dropped their morning nap because we were having some very early mornings!  It was a pretty good sign that they were enjoying too much sleep during the day.  So, the twins' day usually starts about 615-630.  They go down for their afternoon naps around 1230 to 1 depending on what we have going on that day and sleep for a few hours (HALLELUJAH!!!!) Bedtime is at 700.

James has become a mischievous, carefree little love bug.  He climbs on anything and everything he can find.  I can't turn my back on that boy for 3 seconds without him standing on the kitchen table dangling one of my few remaining glass dishes (left by his big sisters) from his little fingers.  No sooner do I have him on the floor is he right back at his post.  I actually found him standing on his tippy-toes on the arm of my kitchen chair (on casters) trying to reach something on the breakfast nook.  I pray so hard for his safety.  The only toys he likes to play with are those already being used by someone else and he plays dirty to take over possession.  He's not above pulling on clothes or full on body tackling.  Thank goodness he's squishy!  He spends most of his time with an amused look on his face like he's always contemplating his next move.  He does have a tender heart for people who are sad, though.  He shows his empathy by laying on you or rubbing his head on you saying a sweet "ahhh."  Each night when I put the twins to bed, I turn off the light and, from their bedroom door, say "Ni-night angels, I love you so" and blow them a few kisses.  My James has started blowing kisses back at me.  It makes chasing him up the stairs 100 times a day all worth it.