a few days...

happy birthday... bubbles!! nora LOVED jamey's new toy.

and, then he got his first haircut. except, he didn't want to sit still. in fact, most of the haircut was done when he was crawling on the floor!!!

here's the back of the haircut.

nora loved playing piano at the graves!

and jamey loved playing with the dogs. zoey was just his size! and he was their new best friend...

nora LOVED the hammock.

jamey loved to snuggle with nancy...

and eric!!!

this is a SCARY photo. nora in the car with a boy. she enjoyed it for a minute. and then, it went too fast!!!

jamey and kens.... such cute kids!

when we got home, court and andy came to get their jeep (sad face... but they promised to take me for a ride!!)... and nora dragged andy into her room to play and give tea. when courtney first came in, nora asked if she needed anything to drink. such a good hostess!!

after a quick (THIRTY MINUTE) trip to the doctor to check out a rash today, we went to the zoo (a promised trip for a good girl).

cheese!!

nora still LOVES the snakes!

she smiled at these elephants, but we sat for awhile at the "show" (big screen elephant movie). so long, that i got half the chapter read for Bible study tonight. a good read... about not wasting your life... more on that in a minute!

james was lounging!

nora climbing...

happy hippo!

sweet baby boy! okay, so there was this MAJOR traffic jam and i could barely get my stroller through. people just kept pushing past. not fun. and not nice! but, a good trip. and good kids!

"don't waste your life". that's the book we are doing. this week was on vocation and glorifying God. it was interesting, in light of last week at the hospital, to read. that God has called me to something in life. currently, it's being a mom. and i am supposed to do that to the best of my ability. to HIS glory. where HE needs me. not what I want or where i want. that at the zoo, in my car, with my kids, i am to represent and "preach" Christ always. to my kids. to the neighbors. to friends. it's a strong order! but, what God called me to.

it was definitely on my mind as i walked/pushed through that crowd of people. instead of getting angry or too pushy, i kept my cool!!!

fun on iphoto!!

nora is on a roller coaster!

scary!!!

tiny head! scary... but, we laughed so hard this morning... chatting with dd, blatch and mom-mom. love making the funny faces!!! nora then amused herself for awhile! it was so cute...

many hats...

nora helping daddy weed. he spent about four hours in the yard yesterday, weeding, weed whacking, mowing, sweeping, making it look BEAUTIFUL. what a wonderful man. and nora thought it was the best thing in the world to get to help weed!!! awesome!

on friday night, a friend (alli) told me she needed some winter clothes for a snowboarding excursion. i dug and found some. they were in the box with my wedding dress, and RANDOM hair accessories... like the "man's hat" as nora calls it (i think like curious george). but, it's mine!!

so is this. gretchen, my roomie in college, and i bought wigs for a dance in college. who knew it would be SO MUCH FUN someday???

and me... awesome!

about a girl... did i tell you that we still have two pairs of barbie shoes on two pairs of barbies feet in her room? or that she will get out of bed to ask for a toy, when i tell her she could just get up and get one, and then when i tell her don't get up again or there will be consequences, she says, "okay, i'll stay in bed", and then does? why not just get up and get your own toy and not get in trouble??

about a boy... he can now wear his pumas. and they look so cute! he loves to wave. and is SO HAPPY. i think i say that every time i write about him. he LOVES his bottle at night. and will spit out his pacifier to drink his water. it's so cute. he sees it and just spits it out! and he LOVES his daddy. and prefers him to anyone else right now. it's so cute!!!

a birthday party...

the spread... like any good presley, i had WAY TOO MUCH food!

birthday cupcakes. homemade!

getting ready for singing, someone decided to streak. so, daddy fixed that!

happy birthday to me!!! (actually, while we waited, jamey was clapping and waving his hands like, "pay attention to me"!)

wow... a year ago, we were at the hospital!

zoey got to hold james.

then, the party got out of hand.

just kidding... our friend is a deputy... and stopped by to let the kids play a bit.

i think he was the highlight of the party.

james was sure happy! thanks deputy hyde!!! his wife, alli, came early to help me set up and get ready... she was AWESOME!!!

a birthday...

well, this is from tuesday... old roommate lindsey and her babies came to visit!!

look at all those kids!!!

wow... a year ago!

my angel baby boy!

he had arrived!!

and now, he's a year old! i didn't forget about his birthday. and, i spent it in the most unusual way! i got to celebrate another birth. a friend called yesterday morning (jamey's birthday) at 5am to say she was in labor. her husband (a navy helo pilot) was out of town for the funeral of a SEAL friend of his who died last week in afghanistan. he was flying home last night. and trying to get on earlier flights. but she was alone!

so, i rushed to the hospital. if you read the last post, you know that courtney was here. with not much to do until hubby came home, so she WONDERFULLY watched my children ALL DAY. they adore her, and had a blast. courtney took great care of them. david came home and made dinner, and put them to bed. i got to be there with a friend (who's husband made it in time for baby!!!) and get to see a wonderful birth.

as for my baby... how can he be a year old? it was so sad to miss his first birthday (but we do have a party tomorrow), and just unbelievable that he's a WHOLE. YEAR. OLD.!! the last year went so fast. he grew up too fast. i love his demeanor. i love his smile. i love the way he waves. i love how his whole body wiggles when he is so excited. i love how he loves his dad (and currently prefers daddy to mommy). i love his crab crawl, hands and feet. i love his cute little bum, cheeks, smile, eyes, thighs. i love him. and his age. he's so EASY!! and easy-going!

on a different note, larissa delivered at the naval medical center (where i used to work). when i walked in, everyone asked why i didn't bring the kids. REALLY? at 6am, to help a laboring friend? REALLY? cause i wanted two kids in the room for that.

the next, and most common, question was what was i doing- why wasn't i working there, etc? i am JUST a mom. a stay-at-home mom. and I LOVE IT, i told them, constantly! they can't pay me enough, most days, to give up what i have! it was so sad, that in so many eyes, i wasn't living up to somebody's expectation of what a woman should be. that i wasn't using my degree (although i certainly worked hard yesterday... harder than larissa's nurse!!! at least in larissa's room...) the way i should be.

it was sad to reflect on as i drove home. i LOVE my life and wouldn't change it. i really enjoyed being back there and "working" hard for larissa. there was a tiny part of me that missed what i did. but, then i look at my kids and even if i'm tired or cranky or bored sometimes, i wouldn't want anyone else raising them. i wouldn't want the hassle and stress of making sure they were cared for every time i had to work. i love that nora and i get to snuggle in bed in the mornings. that i get to rock jamey when he gets up. that my kids get to do fun things with me like go to homecomings.

it makes me so sad that there is such a push, even politically, for moms to work and finish education (now don't misunderstand... nothing wrong with education) while their kids are young. maybe it won't guarantee that my kids will grow up to be well-adjusted and perfect, but it goes a hell of a long way in the right direction. it doesn't matter if we've had pb and j three days in a row, because i am not on a creative streak, or fun time consists of a show while mommy blogs.

their opinions yesterday only made me happier in my decision. i am so GRATEFUL that i don't have to work. that david COMPLETELY loves and supports that i stay home. and that i choose to. that i am here when there is a boo-boo. while it was wonderful to be there yesterday, i wouldn't want to do it everyday, and am so glad i don't!

and tonight, we will have a family birthday party for jamey. pics tomorrow!

coming home...

thank you, men and women of the uss sampson. and the whole nimitz battle group! what an awesome job you do serving our country.

watching the ship pull in!!!

a little out of order... court and andy after we got on and back off the ship!!!

nora getting to hug "uncle" andy!! (courtney got to hug him first!!) thanks andy! we love you.

nora hanging out where the helos usually do!

and nora on the flight deck.

nora while mommy is YELLING "DO NOT FALL INTO THAT WATER! it's so dirty and yucky and cold", and thinking "i am SO NOT going to be the mom who's daughter goes overboard at this homecoming". meanwhile, nora telling me "i am not going to fall over mommy". not sure i trusted her, as she asked to go in the water when we first saw it!

waiting. and watching.

so, on wednesday, courtney flew back after being gone for eight months. she left when andy did. we picked her up (and nora couldn't WAIT to see her...). she has been staying with us since then, and this morning, the love of her life, and husband of 15 months, came home. for the last time... for good. it was such a joy to be a part of that! and the kids were so good!

such a joy to be there with all these families celebrating their heroes' coming home. their loved ones who had been gone for eight months. missed Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, births, deaths, dinners, dates, life. with nothing more than some emails and a 10 minute phone call once a week. heroes. happy to do it, proud to serve. thank you, men and women of ALL our armed forces!!!

fun times...

we opened a gift a little early (i live under the philosophy that you open gifts when they arrive... and even though this one said wait, i was told to open it so pictures could be documented with grandpa here...). james loves his new elephant! nora might love it a little more right now... but, it's a big hit in our house!

this is cinderella's carriage. grandpa had to ride in it quite a bit!!

when did my girl get so big???

grandpa and the boy!!