Squeeeezing in Some Fun Stuff

So I know this is picture overload. Recently I've been thinking life isn't all that exciting; we're just living the typical life-with-kids. Mike works extra hard at learning Farsi and the days are sometimes difficult and long. But sifting through our pictures I realized that we love this typical little stuff.

Monterey Fair

Winning (3) Fish

Standing at Parade Rest with Daddy's dog tags. I think he's got it down. :)

Curious about Monterey weather? This explains it.

The Monster Box meets "Ouch Charlie that really hurts."

Pulled these from our recycling. His favorite toy is Cookie Monster . . . He's hugging them. I giggled.

:)

The Oakland California Temple.

View from the Temple terrace. Hello San Francisco!

The boys were abnormally quiet while we were getting ready for church one morning. I found them like this "reading to each other."

Family Home Evening Paper Airplane Night

A "spinster" in action. (I think Mom and Dad enjoyed this activity more than the kids did.)

Party On

 

This Little Man Turned 1!!

We love him. :)

Togetherness

Just an update. And yet I don’t know where to begin. I don’t know how to articulate so much change.

We’ve moved again, that’s a big one and easy enough to tell. And I’ll mention the magnificence of the ocean and the wonder at seeing another of God’s creations for the first time. Even I, who love the mountains so dearly, can’t miss His thumbprint in the beauty and power of the water; to feel so small, yet so certainly reminded that He’s aware of me. It’s an amazing feeling.

Of course, we’re all together again! And our relationship is so – better. Not that it was bad or even all that difficult before, but it’s better now. We’ve both grown. It’s interesting to me that we took different paths which stretched us and shaped us in different ways, and came back together to find a better fit. I felt empowered by that divine source, so much bigger than myself during those months. Perhaps I could’ve made it through alone, but it would’ve been much more difficult, and probably scarring in the end. As is, I feel less trepidation about future separations. I feel confident and capable (which is a big deal for me).

Adding Mike back into the mix has taken some time. I was just feeling like the boys and I had found a rhythm that worked. We were functioning above “survival” level. We weren’t just getting through. The Kiddo has had to realize that Dad still dishes the discipline sometimes, which he wasn’t too happy about. But he’s getting over it. The roughhousing has recommenced! (Roughhousing with Mama just isn’t the same.) My favorite part has been watching Mike get to know our Little Man, who changed so much during those 4 months. Mike gets a kick out of the tiniest things he does. His personality is so different from his brother’s; we’re still figuring him out. And now we get to do it together!

As we’re getting settled, I’ve been missing my family and realizing the blessing it was to spend a year at my parents’ house. I got to know my siblings again.

My youngest sister is honestly one of the kindest and most genuine people. She was my bud while Mike was gone and I really came to appreciate and rely on her for company. She made shopping fun (it rarely is) and we giggled, ooo-ed and aww-ed over jewelry, shoes and t-shirts. She shared my affinity for Jane Austen and old movies. She helped experiment with desserts. And her spiritual strength and determination to ALWAYS do what’s right floored me often.

Little Brother was still quite little when I moved out. Now, as a 15-year-old, he’s funny. And creative. And makes movies. And writes stories. And follows sports. And plays sports. He often got roped into babysitting and quickly became the Kiddo’s favorite (which meant Saturday morning sleep-ins were often interrupted by a nephew jumping into bed). He changed diapers and was a pro at rocking Little Man to sleep. What 15-year-old boy does that? My brother. :)

And Sister Littlest, but not youngest, well she and I have had our moments, being close in age and all. She’s one of those people that drives me bonkers because she’s good at everything she attempts. She paints and sculpts and plays piano, French and tenor horns, and soccer. AND, she has a certificate as a veterinary assistant. What I came to understand (a little) and admire (a lot) is her determination and willingness to work. She’s kind. She was good at recognizing when I could use a hand and taking one child or the other. (And the Kiddo realized she was always good for a sticker.)

My parents remained the amazingly faithful examples they have always been to me. I am so grateful for a year under their roof again. It rejuvenated me and reminded me not to get caught up in the nitty-gritties that fill the day-to-day life of a mom. I love you all!

 Life is just--settling in still. (I'll be using that excuse for awhile.) But I think Monterey is gonna be good to us.

I Interrupt Your Normal Blogging . . .

. . . to bring you MY CHILDREN.

I haven't bragged about them in awhile . . .

And recently, this one started Army Crawling       (fitting, right?)

And this one talks like an adult, giving me compliments and extra hugs and kisses. He also likes to pretend he's texting/calling Daddy, and the "conversations" keep me laughing.

They so often put the happy in these long days.

And well . . .

a mama's gotta use her bragging rights, right?

6 Days Down!

I keep thinking that I should record my feelings about Mike leaving and how the kids are doing. But every time I sit down to write--NOTHING. I feel numb.
When Mike and I said goodbye, I didn’t cry. As I drove home with tissues in hand, I didn’t cry. For the first 4 days, I didn’t cry. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. I’m a crier (in case you haven’t caught on). I blubber. The spectrum of my emotions play out, though not in public.

Considering that we waited 2+ months knowing this day was coming, I was emotionally spent. We both were. Feeling so confident about the army decision made the wait somewhat tortuous. But we got there. He left. Life went on. We've kept functioning as normally as possible. When asked, I say “We’re doing good”—because we are, even if I didn’t have much emotion to back that up at first.

First thing each morning, the Kiddo asks, “Where’s Daddy?” He’s still trying to figure out exactly what's going on. He understands that Dad went on an airplane to the Army and that he’ll be back. The other night, as I was tucking him into bed, he asked me to sing, “When Daddy Comes Home.” In that moment, the emotions came flooding back. I cried. It was refreshing and welcome, after feeling stoic and emotionless for half a week.

But frankly, I was grateful for a tearless goodbye.

**We haven’t heard much from Mike yet, just that he arrived safely at Basic Training and that his head is already bald.