So Hard To Say Goodbye

Our good friends moved two years ago, but were still just under two hours away, so it didn't feel definite, but now, they are moving a good 16 hours away. We are so sad to see them go! Our kids get along so well, extraordinarily well, eerily well. They came down to visit yesterday and today for one last Hurrah. It was a really nice visit, and the kids had fun.

We will miss you guys!! Good luck on this new adventure!

Pink Party

So, we had Emily's pink party. When she asked a couple of weeks ago, my initial response was my knee-jerk response - "No!" But, I caught myself, and realized it wouldn't be that much trouble, and it sure would be fun. So, we had a "for no reason at all" Pink party and asked everyone to wear pink. It was low key and quite nice. The girls danced, got their fingernails painted pink, and frosted heart shaped sugar cookies. And, I got to chat with awesome ladies that I rarely visit with. What a great idea, Emily!

Chunk!

Any Goonies fans out there?

Where are we?

My brother posted this. As he says it much more eloquently than I would, I will simply add, "My sentiments exactly."

Jungle

Lately E has been answering everything in song. One song in particular. She sings "George of the Jungle" and substitutes "George" with the applicable word. For example, tonight I told her it was time for bed, and she said "No, no, no of the Jungle." Another one was "Food, food, food of the jungle."

Work In Progress, Year 2

I can't believe it's been a year!

This was our little garden last year.

Here is what it looks like today.

In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm starting over. Almost immediately after that picture from last year, we thought we were going to move, so progress halted. Well, our raspberries are shooting up new shoots and our strawberries are spreading fast. Yay! Yesterday we worked on building tier one of a three tier garden. (Yes, those are three tomatoes plants, and yes they are probably going to die. I started them a few weeks too early and anyway. sigh. Experience, eh.)

The space behind our strawberry patch is being reserved for blueberry bushes that we plan on planting this fall. We also want to plant a pear tree and maybe one other fruit tree and then a shade tree - or a crepe myrtle (They are so beautiful!). All of my house dreams have been given new life. It's wonderful! I think the kids are excited too. We spent almost four hours outside, and all of their little cheeks are sun-kissed. E came into our room this morning and asked if she could look out our window (which over looks the back yard). After she did, she exclaimed "There really is a real garden out there! It wasn't a dream! Seriously!"

Here's cute Chubs.

Last week, E decided she wanted to have a girl party and invite all the girls and moms in the whole town. She had it all planned out and wanted to get gift bags and candy and pink balloons. I asked her what money she was going to use to pay for all of this. She said "Yours." I said "What if all my money is gone?" She replied "You'll just have to do some chores and then go to your bank and get some more." Sweet! I'm on the payroll!

Pink Day

Today is Pink Day. Just so you know. E told me this morning.

More Emmyisms

I keep forgetting to update my Emmyisms. Last night was less than fun, but as we were sitting in the parking lot of the auto parts store, I was watching the kids play. They found little sticks and were convinced that they were magic wands. They were running around fighting the bad guys. Then J found three smooth pebbles. He asked me if they were magic. I asked him what he thought. He decided to try them out. His first wish was to go to McDonalds for dinner. He was so excited when we went.

Last week when I sprained my foot, E was so cute. She cleaned up all the shoes (since that's what I tripped on) and then got me a blanket and a book and told me she was going to take care of me until I got better.

She calls her pig baby her "darling". The other day she came up to me and said "Mom, you're cute...er than a bum. Ha, ha, ha!" Where did she even get that?

She was talking to my mom the other day and I overheard the following "We have an ABC family. But, we're kind of crazy. So I think soon we're going to have a crazy family." Later she said that we would have "such fun" at grandma's house this summer. The way she expresses herself just cracks me up.

Fate

My ward has been planning an activity called Great to be 8. It's just a chance for all the kids turning 8 to learn about baptism and also check out scouts and activity day girls, which they will join when they turn 8. Twice we had everything set - including food - and twice it was canceled due to snow. Last night, we tried again. Fortunately, everyone made it...except for us. We were on our way - early even so we could help set up - and our tire blew out. I even looked at that tire earlier in the day and thought "You know, that tire doesn't look good. I should do something about that."

We were sitting on the side of the highway for an hour while Matt attempted to get the spare switched in. The geniuses at Dodge decided to put the spare tire underneath the car, and it had rusted into place. A semi nearly missed us. It was taking an exit just behind where we were parked and it looked like they weren't going to make it. They ran over the curb and their brakes were even burning. Nice heart pumping moment!

Finally, we just drove the car carefully to an auto parts store that was just a half mile away, thank goodness! A hack saw, an auto parts employee, a hammer, some major elbow grease, and an hour later (so two hours after the tire blew) they finally dislodged the spare from underneath the car. It took less than five minutes after that. Sheesh. We got two new tires for the back at Merchant's Tire shop. We were very impressed and they gave us an unbelievable deal. We will definitely be going there again...and hopefully on our own terms this time!

Joe was sad about missing Great to be 8, but we had dinner at McDonalds, so all was forgiven. And Matt said that if we ever schedule another Great to be 8 to please consult him first so he can find a bomb shelter!

Nine Months

W had his nine month check up today. I can't believe he's nine months! He is 22.6 lbs and 27 1/2 inches tall. That puts him in the 75th percentile, so he is slowing WAY down. He is super healthy and everything looks good.

He is good at crawling now, and has started pulling himself up on things.

No walking yet (thank goodness!).

He can feed himself quite a few things and actually get a bit of nutritional value out of it.

He has decide that fruits and vegetables aren't bad, and tolerates pretty much anything. Still not a big fan of applesauce (weird!).

No teeth yet.

He loves playing with his siblings, and tries really hard to keep up.

When he cries, he makes a pouting face that looks EXACTLY like Chunk from Goonies.

He is very ticklish.

He is pretty much always content and laid back.

What would we do without our Pops?

Resolution...Finally!

I spoke with NCDOT this morning and finally got an answer. Our house is safe. Hurray! Now we can finally move forward, plant the garden, finish painting, start thinking about that fence. It is so nice to just know!

Struggles

I have been frustrated with myself lately. I have been trying to pay better attention in church, but it hasn't gone very well. I was pondering this this morning and wondering why I couldn't pay attention, when I looked down and saw that Will had spit up in Emily's hair. Oh. Yeah. I have four little kids. It's a struggle, but I hope that my effort is accepted.

The Careful Gardener

In the soft brilliance of Spring, a gardener cradled the seeds in his hand. The soft rich soil had been prepared with care, the best spots selected. Now was the time to plant. The gardener planted the rows and hills, envisioning the bright colors and vibrant, varied tastes that this little garden plot would produce. He was a seasoned gardener and he knew that the best gardens contained all sorts of plants. Tomatoes loved cabbage and roses loved dill. All would be useful to the gardener and he loved them all for their unique uses and qualities.

The gardener had hardly gotten the seeds in the ground when he was suddenly called away.

Weeks later, the gardener’s neighbor, also an avid gardener, saw the garden plot, so well planned, now covered in weeds.

“That’s so unlike my friend,” he thought.

So, he went and weeded and cared for the garden plot until it looked as tidy as could be hoped for. Soon the little seedlings began to grow and push through the earth, stretching toward the sky.

Another pleasant morning, the neighbor was again tending his garden when he saw birds and bugs threatening the tender young fruits, and knew something needed to be done. He put nets around the young plants and treated them in order to remove the dangerous bugs. The work that would have only taken an hour for his own garden kept him in the sun for the whole day, but as the sun set, he stood back looking with a feeling of satisfaction at the work he had accomplished. The young plants were protected.

Finally, the time for harvest arrived, and the gardener returned, weary from his travels. He had spent many nights mourning over his garden that he hadn’t been able to care for. Those seeds that he had so lovingly planted, he was sure, had been choked by weeds or shriveled by too much sun. As he walked into his yard, he couldn’t believe his eyes. His little garden had been cared for even better than he could have done it himself.

The sweetness of that harvest, shared by these neighbors, exceeded any they enjoyed before or since.

This Makes Me Sad

Here's an article I was reading in the News and Record about a new road. The thought of being displaced has become personal over the last year, so I have a lot more empathy for this person. I feel like people should be able to make long term plans with their property.

"No big surprises doesn’t mean everybody left the I-73 meeting happy.

Plans cut up some folks’ property in ways they hadn’t anticipated. Summerfield home owner Martha Teague knew she would lose some of her family’s 62 acres to I-73, but the detailed plan took out some rental property and put the interstate between her and her sister’s homes.

Teague recalled how carefully she and her husband positioned their new home in 1976 to preserve the scenic fields: “It turns out we left just enough room for a highway, which is ironic as can be.”"

Apologies

I always feel bad when I post things like my last post. I have such an easy, blessed existence that it shows such a lack of gratitude when I do that. Even my "bad" day was filled with earth-bound angels who fill my life with joy and peace. I have the gospel that gives my life perspective. I have all the material comforts I need. I have the freedom to do pretty much anything I want. I know I have things pretty darn easy, and I'm grateful for that.

Silly Murphy

Yesterday can be summed up in one word - less than a word even. Ugh.

The cliff notes?

Cathy decides to hang out in parking lot rather than go home in between drop off and park play date.

Cathy shows kids movie and reads a book, but then gets migraine.

Car is dead and no medication is anywhere.

Vision is zilch, head is pounding, car still won't start.

11:15 I get a jump start and go home.

4:00 migraine starts over again.

Migraine finally goes away around 8:00

9:00 I roll my stupid ankle when I slip on a shoe at the bottom of the stairs. It swells up and turns blue. Matt - my amazingly wonderful husband - wraps it and I go to sleep.

Today was better. My foot was just badly strained. I have to wear a supportive shoe and ice it today, but it could be SOOO much worse. I am just glad that my migraine is finally starting to go away and my foot is starting to feel just a smidge better. But, I must say, my day doesn't seem nearly as bad in retrospect. I'm so grateful to a husband who takes care of me and great friends who are willing to drop everything to help me.

Pointless Yet Adorable Videos

Here's a warning. These videos may well try the patience of even the most indulgent of grandparents. Their only point is to show the absolute unrivaled cuteness of my chubby chubs (and, yes, that is an unbiased fact!). He was happily drumming away on the blue bin until he saw me turn the camera on. (PS I think our camera is on its last legs. Sorry about the technical difficulties)

Tomatoes - Tomahtoes

E and M are hiding under a tent they made out of the kitchen table and a quilt.

Mom: E! Stop spilling water on the floor!

E: Mom, we're not playing tea on the floor.

Mom: What are you doing then.

E: Playing tea in the tent.