Family reunion

I've been meaning to post these for a few weeks now, but with the move and all I haven't so you get them now.
The following are pictures of my parents and siblings that my sister-in-law took at our family reunion a month ago.
Personally, I love them. Super love them.
This is really and truly what we all look like.
She got the idea from The National's new album. They had mug shot type pics and they were super cool.















An old pic of Luke. :)











As Seth would say, "Yeah, we really are that good-looking." :)

Swimming

I can't swim. Rather let me rephrase. I didn't think I could swim.

Enter: Taking swim lessons at 29.

Now, I'm married to a swim lesson instructors instructor. Meaning he teaches people how to teach swim lessons. He's a great swimmer and teacher, yet I could not bring myself to listen to his instructions without getting annoyed.
So, I was stuck with doing the side stroke whenever I got the urge to swim.

That was last summer.

My wonderful friend, Jamie, says one day this summer, " Let's take swim lessons."

See, I had a thing about the breathing and the swimming and the breathing. It was just too much to put all together. It seemed so unnatural.

But, being the senseless person I am, I said, "Sure. Let's do it." Pretending to be excited.

So, last night was our first lesson. I was nervous. Not like crazy-hyperventilating nervous, but butterfly-in-the-stomach nervous.
I was nearly panicky nervous when she said, "Just put your face in and blow bubbles."

That stupid breathing thing!

Funny thing was I did it a few times and it wasn't too bad. Couldn't be cause 4 year olds can do that, right?

So, anyway, longer story long, I swam. With my face in the water, breathing and blowing out just like the pros...

Well, maybe not JUST like them.

I think I like swimming.

Moving and friends

Good grief!
We are moved.
Meaning all of our stuff is no longer at the rinky dink house we called home for 3 years and is now residing at our new, old, not finished, huge, lovely house we LOVE!

I will post some pictures soon when it doesn't look like our boxes just threw up all over the house :)
The move itself was super fast. We are SO blessed with super friends that just help. They helped with kids, they provided trucks and trailers and tools. They gave us furniture. They brought house warming gifts and lots of thoughts and prayers. The super studs that physically moved our stuff were done in just a couple hours.

We are surrounded by helpful, beautiful people. I get a little teary-eyed when I think about it.

So, now we're here. All this time waiting, working, planning. It's all over. Except it's not. Lets just say I won't be short on things to do around the house anytime in the near future. I'll probably wear work clothes everyday for the next few months :)
Love it!

Floors

We decided to go ahead and refinish the floors at our new house before we moved it. It delayed our move by about a week or so, but I think it's going to be so worth.

Before/After Living room/Dining room





Have I mentioned that I'm really excited to move? Yes? No? I can't remember so I'll just let you know...I AM SO EXCITED!!

Notebooks

I heard a great idea the other day from a friend in my Bible study to have a notebook for each of your children that you can write back and forth to each other in.

Sounded nice. Very nostalgic. Years from now, I can look back in those notebooks and see what wonderful things we wrote to each other.

So I went out and let each of the kids pick out a fun notebook, explained the whole thing to the 2 oldest and away we go...

It was all going well for a week or so...I'd write something about how much I love them and they would write back that yeah, they love me too and "Can we go swimming? Can I go to a friend's house? Can we go get ice cream?"

Not exactly what I had in mind, but we're just getting started...

So today, my oldest had a full blown 100% complete and total meltdown. This has happened a few times in the past and it's never pleasant and usually has residual effects for days. Those effects being mostly that he doesn't like me and thinks I don't care about him.

So today, as other times, it's something pretty ridiculous that sets him off. His sister was annoying him. Shocker, I know. She is actually very annoying to her brothers.

So, it started...meltdown, talking, crying, more talking, more crying. All this usually ends with him telling me that he feels like no one cares about him, at which point, my heart breaks a little.
Today, though, I thought, "Well, lets try this notebook thing." I wasn't getting anywhere with the whole talking thing.

I told him to go write in the notebook whatever it was he was feeling and I would write him back...

This is what he wrote..."I hate you!!!!! I don't won't to live with you. I wish I never did live with you."

Yep, mother of the year award, right here. I can rationalize that he doesn't REALLY mean it. He really DOES love me. Deep down. It's just REALLY deep down right now. It's a problem. I don't know what to do.

Not something you want to hear from your sweet, loveable son. See the thing is, I know there are alot of things that get him to the point where he feels like that and I'm not very good about noticing them before it gets too bad. He gets tired, bored, tired, annoyed, really annoyed, ANGRY, and then it's all over.

If I can catch him before angry, we can usually defuse it.
I didn't today.
It sucked.
I think we'll keep doing the notebooks...

"Oh, no. Get mom."

Those were the first words I cognitively understood this morning.

No one came to get me so I did what every mother with any common sense would do...

I stayed in bed a little longer.

When I did finally crawl out of bed and stumble to the living room, the smell hit me before the view of the "mishap."

Greek Vinigrette dressing.

Alot of it.
Almost the entire bottle.

Caleb, as cute as he is, LOVES the refridgerator. He loves the bottles, the cheese, the tortillas. Pretty much anything he can get to and make a mess with.

Today's condiment of choice was mine and Chad's favorite dressing. It's super yummy, but oddly when poured out all over my carpet and loveseat, it smells terrible!!

So, I made some coffee.
I happen to believe nothing can really be done properly until that is started.

The clean up was not enjoyable as the smell lingers. Not sure it's ever going to come out of the loveseat.

I love mornings like this.