The birthday party!

Phew! The only way to describe how I feel is complete and utter exhaustion. I can barely lift my arms they are sooo tired. Nate left yesterday morning--but all was OK, because Aunt Katie (poor unsuspecting Katie!) was coming for a visit and would be there to help with the birthday festivities. All I had to do was make two butterfly cakes (because after all we were having a party for TWO birthday girls), wrap the party favors, pick-up balloons and get everyone to our party destination. That doesn't sound too difficult does it?

Well, backtrack two days to when we decided to hire a painter. Our conversation went something like this, "We'd like to use you how soon can you do the job?" Jesus, "Probably next week sometime, if it's not raining. I will call you when it looks good." The very next morning the children yell up to me in my room, "why is that strange man in our backyard?" I run downstairs and who should be starting to water pressure clean our siding, but Jesus! "I thought you were going to call me next week?" I say. "Oh, well, it's not raining tomorrow so we'll start today". OK, I think, but I have no idea what color to pick--between the birthday party, the renters who want to fill out a non-existent application and then sign a non-existent lease, not to mention see the house, as well as company visiting--I can find the time to pick out colors.

The next morning he was there and I'm thinking I don't have any idea what color. I quickly looked at his color swatches (with Nate just before he left) and just picked the color most like what we had and was done with it! That evening I looked at one of the pillars on the front porch and I could stick my finger right through it. I pushed on the wood and it felt like a sponge--oozing with water. I talked to the painter about it and he said, he would just caulk it really well. I got to thinking--this is not a good solution. So, I decided I would attempt the repair myself. After using my great big non-existent muscles I managed to pull the thing apart and go buy wood to replace it with all by 10:30pm. At which time I decided I'd better draw up that lease so the new tenants can sign it and I can take the house off the market and stop showing it and answering tons of phone calls and emails about it. At 12:30 I went to bed. I wasn't able to make the cakes, but I could do it in the morning. I woke up at 6am and hit the groung running--to make the cakes and start on the project on my house before the painters were back to finish. Aurgh! At 10:30am I was finished with the project and I couldn't even nail in the last 4 nails because my arms hurt so bad from hammering. What little strength I had was gone.

Thank heaven for Katie! The poor thing looked at me in horror when she saw the state I was in upon her arrival. "What is going on?" she asked. She bathed the girls for me, made the 2nd cake, helped decorate it, changed poopy pants and took photos of my birthday girls because I had to miss most of the party due to my forgetting to bring drinks. After running around exercising at the gymnastics center I knew those little bodies would be thirsty so I had to run back home for them. I swear I don't know how I function from day to day!

All in all, the girls were thrilled! 16 of their friends came and I think they all enjoyed it. Vivian was elated to get to go down on the gym floor. She usually has to stand behind the railing and watch. The party leader couldn't believe how fearless she was! Katie said she walked across the beam with her arms up totally confident and she has never even been on a beam before. She loves gymnastics! As do the other girls. I will be so bummed when we leave this place as they have made a lot of improvement. Emmy and Abby have more muscle definition than me and Jake put together!

Next weekend I get to do it all over again for Emmy's party at the gymnastics center. I was thinking we would have a garage sale that morning too. OR, maybe not....

Signing off for now. If ever there was an evening to do nothing but watch TV it would be tonight. I still have a mountain of clean-up to do in the kitchen, however, and tomorrow being mother's day I don't want to have to tackle it then!

Le Piece de Resistance!!!!

After 4 long weeks I finally have a toilet again in my bathroom! It took Nate every weekend and every spare minute he had (as well, as several hours of our neighbors help) to complete it, but IT IS FINALLY DONE! The toilet leaks now where it never did before, but I don't care the floor is georgeous! And I don't have to share with the kids anymore--and let me tell you, those late night potty trips were NO PICNIC? Do you know what it's like to enter a kids bathroom in the middle of the night when you're half asleep? You never know what you will find. Ick! Now, I just feel like we need to redo the rest, but I will resist the urge. That took WAY too much time and money :) Glad it's done.

Abby just bein' Abby

Tonight in the middle of dinner Abigail hops out of her chair exclaiming, "Ha! What are they watching now" as she peers out of the dinning room window. Speaking of the neighbors (which you can barely make out a TV screen through the yard and fence), "they watch television every night!"...."Aurgh!" she sighs in despair as she longingly looks out the window, "I bet they can do whatever they want whenever they want."

This is a photo of her in the public restroom after we went on a hike in the rain I found her drying herself off with the hand dryer.

Jake's poem won!

Jake's poem "Books" (see old posting to read the poem) won at the county level and he was the only one in his category to go on to the state competition. His other poem won a great big blue ribbon as well. Congratulations Jake!

Snow, snow, and more snow!

The snow just keeps on coming! We hardly went anywhere all vacation--due to the lack of ease of getting out of our driveway and down our street to the main roads. Then Sunday when we stepped out of church our car and the streets were covered in a fresh blanket of snow and it kept snowing until we had 6 1/2 inches. The kids school was delayed two hours this morning. Yeah! One more day to sleep in and make pancakes! I feel very fortunate to live in one of those places where when it snows the whole world stops. It's been a lovely vacation for that very reason.

We, also, hosted a singing soiree at our house and it was a marvelous success! Several of my singing friends came and sang for us. Jake and I sang a duet of "Pie Jesu" and we all sang several carols together. That is one tradition I would like to keep! The kids had a blast staying up late and running around the house with the other children--and they even stopped to sing us a few fun songs. What a night! I was on cloud 9 for 2 days after the party--so much love, delightful food and company were present in our home that night!

Christmas was the usual fare at our house. We had a neighbor guest (Hannah) for our nativity pagent on Christmas eve. Christmas morning we ate Belgian waffles and then opened presents as usual. The rest of the day we played games together. I am so grateful for this time of plenty in our lives we have been blessed to experience. Saturday we took all the Christmas decorations down and I have to admit I did NOT want to take the tree down. It was still drinking water and as georgeous as ever. I hate it when Christmas is over. I just LOVE CHRISTMAStime! Now it's back to the normal hussle and bustle of shuttling kids, planning menus, no more sleeping in and laundry, laundry, laundry....

Christmas Break photos

Here's some pics from Christmas. I got a new camera for my birthday so I've been especially snap happy. Now I can finally capture Vivian on film before she looks away! Yeah! Viv in front of our Christmas tree. The first we picked out and chopped down ourselves!



Scout racing through the snow. He loved it and we were delighted with his enthusiasm--until we took him inside and we found out snow matts his fur--to the point of no return! Nate had to cut most of them out. There goes any chance we had of showing him in the arena--it takes a good year for their hair to grow out. Oh well. He really loved playing in it.

Emmy with her gingerbread house.

Jake--"Oh, the agony" Why his was the only one that wouldn't stay together I'll never know.

Abby's creation!

Our nativity pagent Christmas Eve with Hannah (our neighbor)

Viv
One of those precious moments I never would have caught with my old camera!

California here we come--right back where we started from!

Yes, we just got word this week...Nate's been accepted into the Radiology residency program at Balboa Naval hospital in San Diego!!! Yeah! I feel a little sheepish announcing this as not everyone got their pick. For those people I truly am soooo sorry! But I am so happy to be moving back! Just hope we can find a place as wonderful to live as we did last time. If anyone knows of a rental opening up this summer, PLEASE let us know. We would love to be back in the same area in Encinitas. Our good neighbor Don used to say to us every morning, "another day in paradise" and it TRULY was!

I must say, I will miss it here, though. Nate and I feel like we're both just getting settled and starting to enjoy it here. We will definitely miss our friends here, the georgeous mountains, our great backyard, and well...for me...Macy's & Khols. Nate probably won't miss the latter two. The kids will especially miss their school, friends and neighbors. Every school they've attended in their lives to date has been "the bestest school EVER!" Hopefully, their new school will earn that title.

Everyone's doing well. Jake's latest obsession is school. He talks about his assignments constantly. Emmy has found a great talent in story-telling. She really brings what she reads to life. They both have found they love singing in choir. They both sing in their school and church choirs. Abigail is...well, Abigail. The other day she told someone, "I am 4 and I'm curious, but as an individual I'm smart".
Yesterday she told Emmy, "you just go with that idea, Freddy".
Emmy, "What did you say to me?".
Abby slowed her speech and repeated herself as if Emmy was stupid.
Emmy, "my names not Freddy!"
At 4 she seems to be running the world.
Vivian is full of delight. She is still trying to get speech down. She jibbers all day long, but it's difficult to understand what she's saying. I love looking at her smile!