Spring??

Could Spring be coming?? Here it's still really too cold to spend an entire afternoon outside, but as an act of rebellion we brought the swings back out. The boys had a great time giggling away while they were pushed through the cold air. We used the slide for the first time this year and were given a clear reminder of why it is so great to have one in your own backyard!




Josh asked me to take this picture. He was so proud of himself. He finished a 25 piece puzzle all on his own with only some verbal urging from Mommy. What a smart little man he is!

Course 3... Cake 1

Yes, I know you know want to open it to see what's inside, but it's a cake!! This is my first ever fondant cake and I'm rather impressed with it. Inside this cute little package lies a banana cake with cream strawberry filling... Yum! I'll be making another in 2 weeks so keep an eye out for it then.

As an interesting somewhat unrelated tidbit: tonight I heard Josh begin to get rather upset as I put Jeremiah to bed in his crib. As I entered his room I find out the problem is he is looking for a particular pair of underpants. "Where are the black underpants??!!" I look down and notice he is wearing a pair of dark navy blue underpants and ask if those were the ones he was looking for. The biggest feeling of relief crossed his face. It was so funny! He was so tired he had put his underpants on then completely forgot he had them there!

Moving... again

It is getting closer and more real by the day now. We're trying to get our projects in the house finished up as much as possible to get it listed so hopefully sometime between then and July the house will sell and sell well in a bad market.
I am lucky enough to have a boss who understands the Easter rush and allotted today off so we could catch up, which was definitely needed! Phil and I sat down and talked for a while (as well as two grown ups can when constant interruptions of whining or crying and the like). We have to get our move paperwork submitted. We're still 4 months out from the move date and they want to know our plans. For an average family I suppose they would have already made all sorts of arrangements and preparation, but for me, who is counting this as number 4 move in the 5 years we've been married, I have done very little.
There are all sorts of complications to this move we've never dealt with before which is slowing the process down for me. First of all, I'm not a huge fan of the place we're moving too. I have very few good memories from the last time we were there. Mind you, I am SUPER motivated to get out of this snow, but not terribly enthusiastic about moving to the heat and humidity I experienced first-hand during my first pregnancy. All the other complications are more related to the fact that we have no idea when our house will sell and it's hard to set concrete dates around an unknown one.
Actually, because of that we had to choose to move a different way then we ever have before. We'll be on our own this time to make all the arrangements. Every other time we just told the Navy moving office our dates to have things picked up then our dates to have it dropped off. We'd sign the papers and stand back while they took over our house and took away all our belongings (aside from some clothes and a few toys, of course). This time we will have to do that all ourselves.
During this long talk we had this afternoon, Phil helped me realize that I have officially become a worry wart. Why? Because I want to control things and make them predictable. Has it ever worked?? No. You would think I would have learned by now. I'm going to have to start reminding myself everyday that no matter how much or little I feel I've gotten done that day that God is still the One ultimately in control of that particular day. Stressing over how much or how little I'm getting done is not going to put me in control and it's certainly not going to help me get anything more accomplished or accomplished more quickly.
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6:34 MSG

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone! This year was a bit of a tumultuous one for us. Friday we got about a foot of snow... again! Then to top off my gloom and doom feeling about that, Jeremiah and I both ended up QUITE sick Friday night so I was just happy we were all up and to church this morning.




The boys got to go through their baskets this morning then we were off to church with a lunch out with friends after. Naps were a necessity after that. We took time to play and then had an impromptu egg hunt here in the house for the boys, who loved every minute!


Josh says... "Mmm... this is delicious," as he bites into his chocolate bunny.

I have a million more pictures I'd love to post up here but don't want to bore you all with the details of what egg was hid where. Suffice to say our little lion was quite the sneaky little helper!

Soccer Mom

This funny thing happened today when I was running errands. I literally became a "soccer mom." Never realized this would happen in just a moment like that. I am so excited that Josh is getting to do this! He'll have a uniform and pictures and everything. The season won't start until mid-April so I have a long time to wait and anticipate!

Mundane Things

You Are a Chocolate Bunny

A traditionalist, you secretly want to dress up like a bunny. And not just on Easter.

What Easter Candy Are You?

Things are going to be a bit crazy for a bit between just this and that. Cake class, doctor's appointments, work responsibilities for Phil, work stuff for me, Easter... all that stuff. Things here are going well. The weather is warming up some... yes, 40 IS warm for here, thanks for asking. The boys are outgrowing all their clothes and Phil and I are just trying to keep it all together. It's hard maintaining that in love feeling when there are little boys around who need and want constant attention and a billion things on the list of chores and errands that need to be run. Still even after these few years doing just that, there's still no one I'd rather be fighting the battle with then Phil. He really is a great husband and my heart still indisputably belongs to him.
Just a little side note: Josh's Bible verse for AWANA this week is great! This is what Josh says, "John fifteen twelve. I love another as I love you."
John 15:12 "... love one another, as I have loved you." I know he doesn't really get that yet, but what a powerful statement to those of us who can!

Another Accomplishment

I finally finished Wilton's Course 2! Course 3 starts on Thursday so please pray I'm able to find sitters so it won't cost me an arm and a leg to finish the next course. I'm really enjoying being able to do these classes and would like to finish them all before we leave here if that works out. Thanks for all the positive comments as I practice this new art form!

A Sad Farewell

Mom and Dad left today and we were all so sad. We finished so much more then we thought we could. We didn't get to do any Chicago attraction stuff, but we did have time to spend enjoying each other's company and the boys. On a funny note, Jeremiah got to enjoy Papa's birthday cake long before everyone else...

Incapable of Doing Things the Easy Way

Every project we have started seems to have become quadruply more difficult as time progressed. The door we needed to replace on the back porch turns out to be a unique size so we had to make a new door frame and cut down a door we bought to fit. It took HOURS but looks awesome!! Putting the drywall up in the basement is done, so now it's taping and painting left. The guys are working on wiring more lights into the backyard in a fun way. We were hoping to get more touristy stuff done while they are here, but it is certainly nice to have all this off our shoulders!!

Another Day, Another Dollar

Got an ugly pipe replaced in the bathroom, a leaky one in the kitchen and LOTS of work on the drywall! Still a lot left to do tomorrow. Mom was covered in mud for the taping process. I was lucky enough to be stuck with the tape. The guys are still working on the basic drywall. This would go much quicker if there weren't so many pipes and what not hanging down there. Still have a few projects to work on other than this so hopefully the work goes fast tomorrow! The best part is all this was accomplished today without any trips to the hospital!

Yesterday

So not as much accomplished yesterday. We did finally find the perfect carpet for the living room but that was after a trip to the emergency room. No one has died but Phil is 3 stitches richer due to a light fixture/glass incident. He and Dad were trying to get it apart and it shattered. Apparently it affected me much more then Phillipp. He DROVE his manual car to the hospital while holding the rag in his hand to keep it closed. Me, I sat with him while they numbed it and gave him the stitches. I felt a little woosey so stepped into the hallway and next thing I knew I was on the floor. Of course then I felt terribly stupid as they rushed me into a room to get me water and had Phil (who had just finished getting stitches) comes in laughing at me. Weren't we supposed to be there for him?? Oh my was that every embarrassing!
Anyways, a bit more drywall was done before all that and later went out and found the carpet so those are off the list at least. More to do today so hopefully we'll be taking some other major things off the list making the house ready to sell!

Working Hard and Hardly Working

The guys putting in hours on drywall and Mom and the boys playing with playdough.

Another Day, Another Project

The Old Faucet

Papa's Big Helpers

The Beautiful New Faucet ($40 on Ebay, thank you very much:D)

A Productive Visit!

Enjoying time with Nana

Starting to patch the drywall in the basement

A lot more to do still...

Starting a big project!

Done for now... just need to find an area rug and refinish the wood.

They're Here!

Mom and Dad made it! Their flight was delayed but have been here enjoying thoroughly all the time with our loud, rambunctious little monsters. Joshua is especially glad to have Nana and Papa around since he actually remembers them. We have lots of projects on the docket for this next week but so far the one most important to me has already been accomplished. We finally fixed my fridge! It's not leaking water on the floor every time it defrosts anymore! To top that Mom and I actually took the time to go through and clean everything so it's looking brand new. Got to love that! Hopefully as we get projects done I'll put up a few pictures.

Welcome Visitors!

My parents will be flying in tomorrow for a visit we've been looking forward to for months!! With Mom's somewhat unexpected surgery and the not so nice weather here, what was supposed to be a fall trip has now become a late winter one. They will be here to help with some of the house projects before we sell, which should be interesting considering right now the forecast is showing snow possible for tomorrow and Tuesday! Thank you, Lord for a 4WD truck! Pray for decent weather and that we are able to get a lot accomplished. We have a few plans already so I'm sure I'll be putting up pictures as we go along!