Now Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Programming

With rant over...at least for now....or until the next hot flash hits....we resume lighter, more melodramatic free topics once more.  

Outside my window....

the ending of a day that was all of 76 degrees.

I am thinking....

that hiking days have returned with the beautiful weather and babies are not so little anymore. They both completed 4 miles of hilly terrain on foot before growing tired. It didn't require slowing the pace all that greatly either. I think they ran the entire way, except for the frequent bending to add to their growing pocket rock collections.

I am thankful.....

for 13 amazing years with my husband, best friend, companion, lover, comedian, admirer and so very much more. I wait with excitement to discover what the next 13 years hold for us. The best is yet to be.

I am wearing....

stretchy yoga pants and a t-shirt. Sexy, huh?

I am hearing.....

Free. Zac Brown Band. Need I say more?

I am pondering....

a little bit of everything. One of them being....the fact that the dude that invented Liquid Nails has obviously never been acquainted with a hammer and nail. Product review....if you ever need a piece of crap to stick to something....buy yourself a hammer...or better yet, a nail gun....and beat the crap out of it....or just start shooting. It definitely beats standing there holding it in place for hours upon hours waiting for the drying process to occur. Liquid Nails. Yeah...it's definitely liquid but there ain't much nail thing going on behind that one. 

Second, of many...scouting son's ability to mountain bike 50 rainy, soggy, muddy miles through the mountains on the AP Trail last weekend. Out of an elite group of 10 that were chosen to participate in the 50 miler, he swiftly became leader of the pack. So very proud of him....his leadership skills, his self discipline, how well he has learned mind over matter, his determination, his character, his compassion for others as he considers those following, his humor and so much more. We are blessed and so overwhelmed by the gift of each of our children are. It's an amazing thing to watch each of them grow.

I am reading...

about to start "How to Win Friends and  Influence People". A must read according to my brother. I need all the help I can get.

I am wondering....

why, when I bring up google on our big computer, the word "google" is already automatically entered into the search bar. If I wanted to google "google" I probably wouldn't be using google to google it. 

I am hoping....

to never, ever have a basement ever again. Ever. 

I am going.....

to not think about Verizon or anything phone related for a very long time.

I am noticing.....

that we have now officially heard it all. Realtor with potential farm house on 14 acres called to update saying the 2,000 sq ft 3/2 home was too small for our family. According to these people, the size of our family is a fire hazard due to "occupancy limitations" and creates a liability that insurance company will not cover. I promptly and politely called BS on it. We currently occupy 1500 sq ft in which both landlord and we, as renters, have insurance policies. Even with excellent references and proof that we will leave property in better condition than when first occupied...it's a no go. Shocker. May the search continue. But.....fire hazard??? Seriously??? Surely you people can come up with better than that.

I am remembering.....

that as I tackle the basement for the 4th time and we empty it completely.....as it is now a useless space it its entirety......it is a gentle reminder that, despite all the loss, we are rather weightless at this point. And weightless feels pretty good. There is nothing being drug around like a boat anchor. At this point I am rather certain we could live out of a bus....and have given some amount of thought to to that very thing. If we could put creativity in motion I am not opposed to just living in a home on wheels and traveling the world over. What better way to learn than experiencing and living it all.

On my mind.....

that as we near a year here in this new part of the world I will not doubt the goodness of God. I have two living, breathing, walking, talking testaments of His great goodness and one crawling one that is now on the move constantly. After burying a sweet tiny boy and being told we would probably never have more I stand in awe of His goodness. After ending the year of '09 and now having endured so much here I still maintain that He is good and His mercies endure forever. I will continue to sing of His love. Isaiah 40.

Life....

It's time for pumpkin again! Errand running husband's surprise for me upon his arrival home. Ignore the aesthetically unappealing tv in the background. ...and chairs....and white table....and really, just entire background in general.

 More of our "Where Your Treasure Is" journey. So....we now have a fan...and a light! No more changing diapers by flashlight! And finally some air movement. I am in love...both with handyman husband and fan.

Paprika mohawk. This was not self inflicted, but a direct product of the adventures of Baby A. They're just old enough now to figure out how to frame the other.

Nothing like a good paprika rub.

13 years! There is an anniversary blog post coming. It's only been in draft form for 2 weeks now. 

Ok...so if you ignore the forced smile, eyes being focused on neverland, and awkward posture ...it's not bad. I really do know what to do with my arm most of the time. But, I really seriously love this picture of adoring husband. I tried cropping my google eyed self out but it made him so huge the whole thing turned to pixels. Anyway, I'm pretty head over heels in love. And yes....I really do tower 3 inches over him.

Sweet merciful crap, Baby A. He doesn't ever stay out of anything.....ever.

When house grows hot and bedroom is the only cool place in house. How to successfully fit 11 kids in 11 sq ft.

Big brother/little brother.

 Something that actually blissfully captured his attention for 10 entire minutes. As a side note....they are naked most days now as we work on potty training. He now pees consistently in the toilet but we have yet to master the art of pooping. It'll happen. It always does. Until then I'm thankful he sees fit to hold onto it until a diaper is back on. And no...that is not a turd under the table.  Baby B...he has yet to get the hang of any of it. He'll follow suit soon. They're not even two yet. But, making progress! In the meantime...Baby Einstein saw fit to keep him out of crap for 10 entire minutes!

She's growing up way too fast

While watching the Bates on TLC they have seen one too many commercials for Abby and Brittany, the conjoined twins. This was their version of experiencing conjoined twinship. I think they laughed for 2 entire hours as they tried to master life from one shirt. The rest of the family was entertained by their antics for just as long. 

Yet more neighbor love. Thanks to sweet couple with only one grown son they stopped by one afternoon and generously offered children their basketball goal. With great thanks children now fill street with activity. It still kind of amazes me to see a street filled with children and know absolutely every one of them are our's. That's a ton of kids.

Attempting to blog and greeted by some 1 am visitors.

Where's Waldo? Somewhere buried within this pic are two little boys. Can you find them?

 Not exactly what we had intended to drop money on....but so grateful that when something entirely quits we are provided for in every way and funds were available to purchase a new to us functional one. I LOVE craigslist here. We have yet to buy anything new, minus a few yard tools.

And more kids join the late night/early morning party....and we laughed....a lot.

.....coffee run at 1 am celebrating the cooler nights.....

It later updated to a chilly 57 so I guess the hat was warranted.

 Sooo....to amuse ourselves we spent the entire nigt taking pics of ourselves with phone and computer. I've never heard so many giggles...then ended up making a cookie and coffee party out of it.

As if sheer suspension wasn't enough, some grown people saw fit to rock, jump and swing it creating quite the ultimate suspension experience for the rest of us. Thought it was quite fitting we captured the sign in the pic with us. Yes....raising our children well. See this sign kids...well, this is how you do exactly that.

Blurry but funny and so typical of the many conversations that take place throughout a day.

Waiting for the slower ones to catch up

Picnic-ing half way through the day. 

Trying it on for size. He'd been begging all day.

Little bird baby with his "please more" face.

Amusing them with husband's eccentric hiking attire....and no, I did not wear this around all day....or any of the day, for that matter.

Attempting to unstick the football. It worked. 

So much to see and experience. I love these days.  There is nothing in the world that can rival watching your children discover life....and this is certainly the place to do it.

Look who's on foot these days! 

Outdoors...the world's biggest playground.

Last leg of the day. They almost completed one entire portion of the hike on foot.

One more "Treasure" project down....about 9,891 more to go! It IS cute though...and totally beats rotted boards falling off of it. 

Soooo....let's just add some more crap to the house! Yay! Unpacking for the 3rd time. Salvaging what we can from basement.