i wasn't going to post tonight, but upon the encouragement of my sister via text message, i had better update my blog. i have just been in a funk today, i just didn't want to start writing - my true feelings may come out... this absolutely sucks. eric has been gone for way to long. i actually felt lonely this evening. usually after a long day full of minor dilemmas i look forward to the quiet nights, reading my bible (which i have been slacking on), or staring the bright screen down on my pc. but tonight, with a house full of three other living beings (plus a dog), i felt lonely. okay, so no more. we have a lot to look forward to in the next two weeks, so no more!
can you believe my baby girl is going to kindergarten round up next tuesday? what?! kindergarten. i am so proud of her. she knows it all. ALL. her newest thing is to make sure i know how to drive. "go mom the light is green." thanks chick. does come in handy when i need to clean out the middle console and she lets me know when to go. we have been working on her first reader books a bit more. she recognizes - well - reads the word 'the' and is so proud of herself. me too. she can spell all the names of the family members without help and quite amazingly can spell several kids names from her class, when she is doodling in a notebook. i downloaded site words that they will learn in kindergarten - now called popcorn words (because they are to pop when they start reading - man i have a lot to learn), and to my surprise she knew several. mom, dad, the, see, up, I, a. cool!!
to prepare for the roundup and next school year both girls are going to have their physicals this thursday. i believe they are both due for a few boosters. oh man. kadence is going to flip out!! last time she ran down the hall at the doctor - she wasn't the one getting the shots!! so this will be interesting. always fun taking three kids to the doctor and having to hold them all down to get inspected. hopefully it will go quickly. hopefully.
friday, after a gym workout, we are hitting the road for a 4 and a half hour road trip to illinois to visit my aunt kim and grandmother. it will be fun. we have easter plans arranged, so that will keep the kids busy - also adds a little excitement in the schedule.
okay, you know i just can't talk about normal life, i have to give my insight on something. the other night i was watching the news and they were discussing a new law that would try to make it illegal to text while you are driving. the majority of the people were for it saying how dangerous it is, blah blah blah. however, one politician was wondering how it was going to be enforced. she went on to say texting wasn't any different from changing the radio station, putting make up on, or eating while you are driving. i see her point. how would you enforce it? anyway, it was quite a long discussion about making it illegal and when it would be voted on. immediately after that segment, the local law enforcement branch was now encouraging people to text in a crime. now i know not all crimes occur when we are driving, but... lets think here.
today while i was hopelessly working on my second quilt, kadence and kambel found two lady bugs on the window frame. kadence, quite scared to pick them up, wiggled them onto a book. she wanted to keep them for some reason (i was tuning her looooooooong reasoning out). well one fell off. listen up because it gets good now. ty comes over and tries to eat it. the girls are flipping out. ty gets it out of his mouth (still in tact) and there it is, bright red, spit hanging off of it, right on the tip of his little finger. he is smiling. kadence grabs his wrist and tells kambel to get it off. mind you, kambel has always been our little bug girl - but she is jumping up and down saying "the lady bug, the lady bug." i chime in and tell kadence to wipe it off back on the book. not happening. she tries to get the lady bug off with her hand, realizes she just touched it, flings her hand, bug goes flying and wham! she smashes it with the book that was meant to carry the little guy off to his final, peaceful resting place. kadence picks the book up and with a sly laugh says "i smashed it." kambel "like a pancake?" yes dear, like a pancake.
see, i already feel better now that i wrote. thanks for the text sis. hope you were not driving when you sent it.
pictures to come soon.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
don't let life pass you up
when eric and i talk in the morning (his night) he always asks me "how are things going?", typically i have some smart remark like "i just woke up, give me a few minutes" or "the same ole thing." lately, though, it seems like the kids have been extremely loud in the back ground, causing trouble and you know just being - kids. so when the question comes "how are things going?" all i have to do is hold the phone out and he can hear. being such a loving man that he is, he offers his condolences and adds that he wishes he could be here to help. however, the other morning he said something to me that has stuck. he has said it before, but for some reason this one has lingered. after my "how do you think things are, eric?" response, he calmly said "at least you woke up this morning." how true. i woke up.
i woke up.
there is a plan for me today! even if it is scrubbing ketchup stains out of t-shirts, there is a plan for me! there is a visa commercial that i absolutely love. following what eric has said, the visa commercial asks its viewers, what are you going to do today? take a different route, create something new, find a new favorite song...the choice is yours. if my faithful readers are like me, you get stuck into a routine and forget to live. go to the gym, listen to the same music, run errands at the same places, read the same things, check the same sites on the internet, talk to the same neighbors/friends, eat the same things. just going through the motions and just waiting. what are you waiting for?? i have recently been thinking about how exciting it is to be a family in which we have to opportunity to travel around the world and live. we don't have to find one location and stay for the rest of our lives. we can see things we would never see, had we been in our routines and never stepped out side of them. how cool would it be to live in a unique home - like a studio apartment in a renovated old factory? even if it is just a year or 2 out of our white picket fence home with an acre of green grass to play on - wouldn't it be neat to say "i remember when we lived there!" - life is going to pass us all up, and before we know it we will be saying "i wish i would have done___________."
this past week, the kids and i all worked on the food buckets for families in honduras. one bucket full of food (pasta, rice, beans, sardines, salt & oil) will feed a small family for 2 weeks. i explained to the girls what we were doing and why, we loaded a cart full of food, came home and loaded the boxes up. they helped at every point. it is so wonderful to see the girls get into something like this. especially kadence who is really starting to understand other peoples feelings (besides her sister of course). for kadence to have the experience of having the opportunity to help others in need is a priceless lesson in life.
here is a quick laugh. this morning on the way home from the gym (and yes i listened to same music again), the girls where in the back fighting "mom, she did this" "mom she hit my seat" "mom she buzzed at me", i said "that's it! now i have lost my patience!" they both sat there not talking, when kadence quietly said, "mom, i can help you find them."
i woke up.
there is a plan for me today! even if it is scrubbing ketchup stains out of t-shirts, there is a plan for me! there is a visa commercial that i absolutely love. following what eric has said, the visa commercial asks its viewers, what are you going to do today? take a different route, create something new, find a new favorite song...the choice is yours. if my faithful readers are like me, you get stuck into a routine and forget to live. go to the gym, listen to the same music, run errands at the same places, read the same things, check the same sites on the internet, talk to the same neighbors/friends, eat the same things. just going through the motions and just waiting. what are you waiting for?? i have recently been thinking about how exciting it is to be a family in which we have to opportunity to travel around the world and live. we don't have to find one location and stay for the rest of our lives. we can see things we would never see, had we been in our routines and never stepped out side of them. how cool would it be to live in a unique home - like a studio apartment in a renovated old factory? even if it is just a year or 2 out of our white picket fence home with an acre of green grass to play on - wouldn't it be neat to say "i remember when we lived there!" - life is going to pass us all up, and before we know it we will be saying "i wish i would have done___________."
this past week, the kids and i all worked on the food buckets for families in honduras. one bucket full of food (pasta, rice, beans, sardines, salt & oil) will feed a small family for 2 weeks. i explained to the girls what we were doing and why, we loaded a cart full of food, came home and loaded the boxes up. they helped at every point. it is so wonderful to see the girls get into something like this. especially kadence who is really starting to understand other peoples feelings (besides her sister of course). for kadence to have the experience of having the opportunity to help others in need is a priceless lesson in life.
here is a quick laugh. this morning on the way home from the gym (and yes i listened to same music again), the girls where in the back fighting "mom, she did this" "mom she hit my seat" "mom she buzzed at me", i said "that's it! now i have lost my patience!" they both sat there not talking, when kadence quietly said, "mom, i can help you find them."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
the simple things in life
good friends ~aren't they wonderful. you know that no matter what they will be there for you. no matter where you are in life, down and out or up and in, they have your back. i remember one time in hawaii i locked myself out of my touch pad entry on my expedition (i entered the wrong code way to many times). i was in honolulu visiting a college girlfriend that was in town, and after dinner and a movie it was late. eric was gone, what do i do? call an awesome friend - late at night, chugging her two kids with her, breaking into my house and getting an extra key - for me. thanks allison. after the years of moving and having to endlessly dig my heals in, make new connections, start new networks, and try to find good friends - i realize what a good friend is. i have met many wonderful friends here and thankful for each one of them. in life friends come and go, but it is the good ones that leave a mark. the old saying, make new friends but keep the old, one is silver the other gold - how true in my life. this year has brought me to different levels in my friendship network, where i have struggled in understanding why some friendships change and have cherished each new minute that my baby sister and i have grown in our friendship.
computers that work~ holy cow, now isn't that something simple?? maybe it is in my finger tips, but a computer always seems to go haywire when i use it. always. when you go to use ole faithful it is so wonderful when it does what you have asked it to do. for instance, ripping a cd (a new cool term that i am slowly learning to use). how cool is that, go to your girlfriends house and slip in a cd and bam! you have all her music on your pc. where was this when i was trying to steal music from napster. don't worry, i couldn't figure it out so i didn't steal much.
dishwashers ~ oh thank you, thank you, thank you. isn't it so nice when something is done for you? that is how i feel when i cram as many toddler handled items as i can into that handy black box that miracously spits them back out nice and clean.
online shopping ~ never thought i would admit it, but i love online shopping. of course the basics, no crowds/parking/kids screaming/others kids screaming/slow check outs, etc. but for me it is like a two in one. ya see, i love to get mail (i said mail, not bills), so not only do you get an item without dealing with the elements, you get mail too! i recently bought a new pair of tennis shoes online. my old kicks have had better days. since i started running about 8 months ago, they have logged quite a few miles. finding a size 11.5 wide shoe is not happening any where but online for me. they arrived today, and obviously i am excited. i can't wait to break them in.
of course there are so many more important simple things in life. truly there are, but these things seem to be making my life a bit easier here lately. (a dishwasher???) hopefully you all have spotted the tickers on the right. i can't wait wait wait until the 'daddy comes home' ticker is in double didgets...that is a simple thing, huh?
computers that work~ holy cow, now isn't that something simple?? maybe it is in my finger tips, but a computer always seems to go haywire when i use it. always. when you go to use ole faithful it is so wonderful when it does what you have asked it to do. for instance, ripping a cd (a new cool term that i am slowly learning to use). how cool is that, go to your girlfriends house and slip in a cd and bam! you have all her music on your pc. where was this when i was trying to steal music from napster. don't worry, i couldn't figure it out so i didn't steal much.
dishwashers ~ oh thank you, thank you, thank you. isn't it so nice when something is done for you? that is how i feel when i cram as many toddler handled items as i can into that handy black box that miracously spits them back out nice and clean.
online shopping ~ never thought i would admit it, but i love online shopping. of course the basics, no crowds/parking/kids screaming/others kids screaming/slow check outs, etc. but for me it is like a two in one. ya see, i love to get mail (i said mail, not bills), so not only do you get an item without dealing with the elements, you get mail too! i recently bought a new pair of tennis shoes online. my old kicks have had better days. since i started running about 8 months ago, they have logged quite a few miles. finding a size 11.5 wide shoe is not happening any where but online for me. they arrived today, and obviously i am excited. i can't wait to break them in.
of course there are so many more important simple things in life. truly there are, but these things seem to be making my life a bit easier here lately. (a dishwasher???) hopefully you all have spotted the tickers on the right. i can't wait wait wait until the 'daddy comes home' ticker is in double didgets...that is a simple thing, huh?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
as time goes on
our precious little baby girl turned three years today. three years ago today we welcomed her into this world with warm hearts and tears in our eyes. that tiny 5 pound baby girl has blossomed into a 34 pound bouncy, happy, carefree, curious spirit that brings so much joy into each persons life that she touches... happy birthday kambel jude gray.
months before kambel turned three, she gave up her beloved 'stinky' - her pacifier. at this point she only had it at nap and night time, but she still had it. so we tied three of them to 6 balloons and sent them up to heaven for the kids to use them there. in a perfect world the balloons would have flown perfectly up into the sky, no tears would be shed, and wonderful happy night times would follow. we don't live in a perfect world now do we? the balloons never made lift off. apparently three pacifiers were too heavy for the balloons. so after chasing the balloons down the street and frantically ripping the pacifiers off the strings, then heaving the balloons up into the sky before her tiny eyes witnessed what i just did, she jumped with joy to see them go up to "heaven for the little kids." that perfect world? the balloons then got stuck in the neighbors trees!! what?! not only do i have three pacifiers shoved deep down into my pocket, i have 6 balloons flapping their hearts out in trees within perfect sight from our living room window. are you kidding me?? does this happen to anyone else? but you know what? kambel jude gray was a champ. a true champ. eventually, one by one those balloons made it to heaven, kambel asked for her stinky 3 times, and she fell asleep without one. as time goes on, i realize how much i under estimate how strong my kids are - and how strong i am. good job kambel. good job mom.
ty has made the move. he is finally in his crib at night. well, actually right now he is crying for me, but he is still in his crib - that counts right? this has been his fourth night... i can't wait until it feels right to leave him in there. the first night was great! i came back in my bed and rubbed my scent all over my bedding and marked my territory once again. even though the girls came in my bed in the early hours, i enjoyed the short time alone...
here is a heart warmer - sideways, but still heart warming!
months before kambel turned three, she gave up her beloved 'stinky' - her pacifier. at this point she only had it at nap and night time, but she still had it. so we tied three of them to 6 balloons and sent them up to heaven for the kids to use them there. in a perfect world the balloons would have flown perfectly up into the sky, no tears would be shed, and wonderful happy night times would follow. we don't live in a perfect world now do we? the balloons never made lift off. apparently three pacifiers were too heavy for the balloons. so after chasing the balloons down the street and frantically ripping the pacifiers off the strings, then heaving the balloons up into the sky before her tiny eyes witnessed what i just did, she jumped with joy to see them go up to "heaven for the little kids." that perfect world? the balloons then got stuck in the neighbors trees!! what?! not only do i have three pacifiers shoved deep down into my pocket, i have 6 balloons flapping their hearts out in trees within perfect sight from our living room window. are you kidding me?? does this happen to anyone else? but you know what? kambel jude gray was a champ. a true champ. eventually, one by one those balloons made it to heaven, kambel asked for her stinky 3 times, and she fell asleep without one. as time goes on, i realize how much i under estimate how strong my kids are - and how strong i am. good job kambel. good job mom.
ty has made the move. he is finally in his crib at night. well, actually right now he is crying for me, but he is still in his crib - that counts right? this has been his fourth night... i can't wait until it feels right to leave him in there. the first night was great! i came back in my bed and rubbed my scent all over my bedding and marked my territory once again. even though the girls came in my bed in the early hours, i enjoyed the short time alone...
here is a heart warmer - sideways, but still heart warming!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
pure bliss
this site is an attempt to keep all the loved one's in our lives updated to what is going on here in our lives - the good bad and the ugly. when setting up the site, i had to make up a name and was thinking along the lines of what makes me feel happy. after a million attempts (because it seems that things that make me happy make a million other people happy too - guess i am not too unique), i found one thing... i love fresh smells, cut grass, rainy days, roses, and fresh sheets (my favorite)... thus the birth of the blog name. i am getting somewhere, just hang in there... today while the girls where at school and ty was napping (an hour an a half!!) i found myself returning to things that bring me pure bliss... I ORGANIZED MY PANTRY... i love love love to organize. it is like a gift that keeps on giving. you can find something with your eyes closed, it looks so pleasing, it feels quiet, peaceful, easy... i did not want to stop. but ty woke. haha. here are some pictures, 'cause you know you have to see what i am trying to explain (and i know how to post pictures really quickly ;) )
the kids are doing well. the weather is starting to get a bit warmer, ty absolutely loves being outside. no fear, no fear. he is finally doing better, one more day of medicine and will see if his ear gets better - it has been a month of being on meds. hopefully this will take care of it...
kambel is a monkey. our sweet carefree baby girl will be turning three in a week. three. wow. she has come out of her shell so much these past few months. she is such a free spirit, so relaxed, loving and happy - i wish i could be more like her. when we ask her what she wants for her birthday she says "i want a great big giant bicycle" - of course we have to get her one. the other night kambel came into my bed, curled up into a ball and went to sleep - i didn't take her back to her bed, instead, i curled up next to her and fell asleep listening to her sweet breathing and the smell of her freshly washed hair.
kadence is in her element - especially when she can be in a helping or learning role. she will not let anyone get out of line! i don't know what i would do without her help while her daddy has been gone. slowly, i am letting go of being bossy myself and letting kadence venture out and take her own baths and make small snacks for herself. sniff sniff. watch out world!!
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