gween gwass...

nora calls james' casts "gween gwass". i am not sure if she just thinks they are called "grass", or if it's her cute name. but either way, we change casts today. so, if you have an opinion or idea about the next color... leave me a comment, call or email!

options... pink (okay, no... but it's an awesome pink!)

red

bright orange

black

blue

bright blue

purple (probably not...)

green

bright green (again)

maybe yellow??

okay, those are your options.... this is called reader participation!

more books...

i have been meaning to post this for awhile... but this is our front yard. this is our view. so often, i just go about my day, and forget to take in the beautiful handiwork of God that surrounds me (literally... there are mountains all around us!)

see the watertower in the background? a friend and i have been walking up to it a few days a week... and then we walk back down the steepest part three times, doing push-ups or planks each time. it's AWESOME!! (i think i've posted the view from there before... see david and a great background) and then we walk/run home.

the other day, nora got a swimming pool. pictures are to follow. but, being back in casts, james just got to watch. he was so cute as he watched!

a full body shot!!!

so, yesterday, david and nora had gone to play in her bedroom. i was out reading on the couch. pretty soon, nora comes out and says "come see, mommy, daddy's sleeping". sure enough, he was! it was awesome! i wondered why it had gotten so quiet!!

nora has a fascination with shoes and purses. she will wear just about any shoes, and make just about anything her purse! i may know who she's related to!!! here she is in my shoes! and telling me she is "ready go, mommy"

just jumping and playing outside!! she has her new ariel (part of her pool birthday present... since little mermaid is her newest obsession.... and she makes her daddy sad, because she disobeys... and we obey!!)

here's nora's pool. it's from her great-grandpa young, who sent us a check to use for nora. i had waited to see what she needed as we moved... and since it's 100* here, and we can't get in the pool, because of james' casts, we wanted to be outside at home!!!

complete with homemade popsicles!! (and you can't see it, but laundry drying on the line!!!)

daddy and his two babies, as we get ready to leave for church

sweet little boy... gets so much love!!

especially from his miss chelsey (whom i think he may have a crush on, and whom i don't have the heart to tell that she is moving... mostly because i can't stand to think about it... hence my bad day last monday!)

we went to the pool the other day. james got to lay out on a towel. but, thankfully, everett came to play with him.

i took nora to the library today, and she made a beeline for the kids books. it was all i could do to NOT check out books we already have at home. she wasn't getting that concept. but, like her daddy and me, i think she could have spent HOURS there! it was so cute. she loved the kids section... maybe we'll be frequenting story time!

more of nora in the pool... she loves diving headfirst down that slide. the rule is she can only do it when mommy is watching! we had a fabulous weekend. daddy took us out to breakfast on saturday morning. the kids had good naps (and so did a certain mommy and daddy). we just hung out. it was SO NICE and relaxing. then, i went and did stairs at the high school. there was a scrimmage going on. i think it was junior highers. but, so weird to see those kids! it feels like yesterday that i was going to high school football games.

church today... and then shopping with my girl (grocery shopping, but we still had fun!!). anyway... hope you all had a great weekend! tomorrow is our last set of casts before surgery in two weeks...

pretty dresses and wednesday mornings...

another lesson... i have also learned that a pretty dress on a wednesday morning, just because, is not a bad thing. taking pleasure in the small things is vital! for instance, i go to the bathroom SEVERAL times a day. and i am not usually alone. my shadow follows me EVERYWHERE, asking "what are you doing, mommy". let me tell you, my "what i am doing" didn't change in the last 10 seconds. i am still... making lunch, feeding baby james, doing laundry... but i digress. so, my shadow follows me into the bathroom, and since we have started potty training, she exclaims "you DID it, mommy! you went pee-pee potty!!!". i wish you could hear the excitement in her voice as she exclaims this (and i am sure it mirrors my own excitement when she goes in the potty). but, i am learned to delight in the small things as well as the big things...

as a potty training aside... we have about an accident a day... probably our laziness and lack of asking. she's so good at telling us, that sometimes i forget! and, i think we are moving away from giving jellybeans/choc covered sunflower seeds as a treat. she hasn't asked recently! i am debating whether or not she will get the concept of an accident-free day and giving a treat for that!

a cute little video of james, just chatting. like a typical boy, he was MUCH more chatty after i turned off the camera! meanwhile, nora has figured out how to open up her bedroom door. this morning, i had heard her playing for awhile, but when i went to get james up, she appeared right behind me and said "mommy, i'm awake!" and just now, when i tried to lay her down for her nap, she said "but, i'm awake." yesterday, it was "i'm not tired"... she proceeded to take a three hour nap!

sweet baby girl!

not so much my baby anymore. but, she is SO MUCH FUN!!! she kept asking to "talk to nora" after this video!

lesson number two... God is in control. OVER EVERYTHING. and kids come after that! (just kidding...mostly) but, seriously, i was reading a novel by an author i love and in it, a pastor was giving a sermon. he talked about how he was carrying his son and realizing that his son trusted him to carry him and not drop him. how much more is that true of God? we are His children. why would i doubt His plan and His ways. another example was that i would do anything in my power to stop nora from getting hurt, even if it meant disappointing her in another way. but i could see how it was stopping from an even greater problem/hurt/disappointment. so it must be with God. romans says that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. so, when things happen that i don't like, or would have done differently, i am going to continue to trust that.

i had been learning that lesson over and over again this last year. i think it's a good one, because the navy is unpredictable. eventually, it's not a question of if we will move, but when. i don't like to think about that. it is the same for friends. we are going to come and go. i don't like it, but i can trust that God has a bigger plan and purpose for it all.

lessons from kids...

a new walk we have been doing... up a little mountain. check out that view!!! (it's about a mile from our house...)

new casts yesterday... we have been upgraded to colored fiberglass over the plaster!! it was so fun to pick a color. i restrained myself from the AWESOME pink! james was not a fan of casting yesterday... it broke my heart... (well, a lot yesterday broke my heart, but more on that later...)

my two babies! i love them...

and she loves her brother... i did stop her from smothering him, eventually!!

helping daddy push, then realizing that she could actually ride on it! who needs a sit-n-stand!

visiting with auntie sony in san clemente! so fun that she drove down to visit!!

nora sat down the other day to "chat" with james...

at a birthday party the other night. we may have to have one for nora now, as she keeps talking about birthday parties!!!

it's not too late is it? her birthday was only a month ago!!!

eating lunch at the pool... where she loves to swim "all by myself"!!

just a beautiful girl!!

playing in nora's house after dinner!!! daddy and his kids...

okay, so i love to travel. and i was pretty good at it for awhile. i got my carry-on pretty small, and loved being so fast and efficient. and with kids, well, you just aren't. i mean, you have to unload the breastmilk, the juice, the thing that keeps all that cold, the computer, the dvd player, james' bar and shoes, nora's shoes (and they don't appreciate how hard it is to get a kid into shoes!!), the stroller folded up, or rolled through the special security, then survive without it while walking through, the 14 bags you brought "just in case" for the airplane, which includes the 45 dvd's, 10 books (because that's all you could carry, along with two kids and everything else), snacks, bribes, suckers, candy, lunch...

then, while they are wiping down your breastmilk, because it might contain something horrendous, you watch a woman walk through security carrying an open (and more than 3 oz) water bottle. but my breastmilk might be harmful!!

then, when they go to board the plane... i have elite boarding privileges... it comes from flying so much. and sometimes, we are upgraded to first class. all of those groups board before kids. so, they call them, and i go up to board, and they look at me like, "we haven't called kids yet...", and a lot of times, get really snotty and say it. well... i'm not an idiot. i did hear the boarding group you called. i did come under the correct one.

and then, on top of all that, instead of being this calm, cool, collected woman, i think i look frazzled and harried the whole time. i don't like that part! i want to look like the mom who has it all together... so it works on your pride a bit. and, i can usually be a little proud when all the people who gave me dirty looks at the beginning of the flight look at me at the end and remark how wonderfully behaved my children were! (and they say it with such shock... well, nora has flown about 50,000 miles in her little life... i would expect that she travel well!!)

alright, that's my only lesson, because i hear nora. when i went to put her down for her nap, she told me she wasn't tired. i told her she didn't have to sleep, just stay in her room. and she's done it. but, now she's at the door, and i can hear her on the monitor. so, i think we'll snuggle. because we can. and because the floor can get mopped another time. same for those dishes! (okay, that's another lesson... the dishes went unwashed today... great poem if you haven't read it! all about taking the time for your kids, because that's what matters in the end!!! not an obsessively cleaned house. not even my blog post!!!)

Empty Nests

Hi everyone, it's David. I wanted to comment on Michelle's last pink slip post, because I too want to express my appreciation for moms. Thanks to Krissy, about who Michelle summed up her love of family perfectly. And I would be remiss if I didn't comment about my mom Sue,

who finds herself in an identical situation (Sarah went off to college the same week Alyssa did this past week). Thanks mom- for making life so meaningful and providing a great example of what an involved parent should be. Every single day that I change diapers, play catch, clean up messes, make dinner, read stories and hold kiddos, or when I come home and see the exhausted expression on Michelle's face because she does those things all day long without a break, I appreciate that much more just how tough your job was, and just how well you did it. We'll never fully give you your pink slip- we'll just keep you on in a consulting role, so you can enjoy the transition to being a grandparent. You're great at that too!

pink slip...

my mom got her pink slip in june. it came in the form of my sister's high school diploma. that also means that my dad's paycheck was significantly reduced!! but the pink slip. for 28 years (that's 9 months less than they've been married), my mom has been just that. a mom. she's cooked, cleaned, cleaned up again, did laundry, cooked, cleaned up again, did more laundry, wiped bums and foreheads, managed the sick, bandaged boo-boos and broken hearts, and hugged a million times a day. it's a job i cannot even imagine (and i am smack dab in the middle of it). it's a job, that right now, seems never-ending. not necessarily in a bad way...

she helped wiht homework, provided rides, made sure lunches were made (well, for the kids she loved, anyway), dinners were prepared- to the measure that everyone liked them, threw parties, always had cookie dough and nachos ready whenever friends happened to drop by (and i do mean whenever...). and this hasn't even scratched the surface. and all while my dad worked, mostly out of town during the weeks.

recently, david and i were doing a Bible study, and that week was on the fact that our homes should be a little slice of Heaven- comforting, loving, welcoming, a place you WANT to go. that was my house. many of my friends have commented that i have the kind of parents they would give anything for. i am so blessed by BOTH of my parents.

it's my mom that i call at 3 in the morning (okay, not so much anymore), crying about anything and everything. it's my mom that i talk to probably ten times a day, never saying hello or good-bye, because the conversation will pick up where we left off. (it's something my hubby CAN'T understand!!)

but, the beginning part of her job is over. she's retired. (not so much from nursing, but...) twenty-eight years. it's rare that someone stays with a job that long. but, she never complained. she LOVED her job. and it showed. i can't even count the number of our friends over the years that called her mom. or on mother's day, the extra cards she got from non-biological kids!

i know i've written on mother's day about what a great mom i have, but i have been thinking about it a lot this weekend. maybe, also, because i benefit from these kids being grown. it means she has a lot more time for the other job... MOM-MOM (grandma). anyway, mom, you did a great job. all of your kids have had successful launches. we are all "normal". i can only hope to be JUST LIKE YOU when i grow up.

i love these kids!!

so cute... a fun video during lunch today.

so, we went two days without accidents. then, two yesterday and one today. one yesterday was in the car... what can you do? the others have all been playing. she just gets distracted!

she just went potty, while i fed james. she came out to announce (but will say no if she didn't go), and then went back in. her new favorite is going back on her little potty again, instead of climbing onto the big potty, and then dumping her "success" into the big potty. actually, she really gets it all in the big potty! i am just afraid of the day that she won't! but, it's a good help when i am feeding james, and don't want to take him from another meal... not that he looks like he is missing too many!

so, david is showing our place today... pray if you think of it!

precious moments.

my new endeavor. we switched to cloth diapers. so, theoretically, we don't ever have to buy diapers again!! (nora is done, and the switch has gone well so far...) but, in the mindset of being green and saving money, and since it was SUCH a beautiful day yesterday, i decided to line dry. and, they just looked so pretty out there! i didn't even do them every other color intentionally!

nora helped me make cookies yesterday (and the pics uploaded backwards), and she was watching them bake. i took them out of the oven when she was out of the room, and she was quite concerned when she came back and the cookies were gone!

i was resting my hand here as the mixer was mixing, and noticed nora doing the same. it was SO precious! then, she said, "no fingers, it would hurt you". obviously, she listened well to my safety instructions!

i sat her up on the counter to help and turned on my ipod. the first few songs to play...

"there are places i remember"

"the cinderella song"- by steven curtis chapman.

both songs are about memories and good moments, and the second is about making the most of time with your daughter, because it goes so fast! i almost started crying!

nora has taken to calling herself a princess! oh well... we made a big deal about princesses with potty training (princess unders), and she got princess dresses for her birthday.

i think she realized today that she could get up from bed while "napping". she was banging at the door. until today, she hasn't gotten up. and the banging was when she would be getting up, anyway.
took a video yesterday. nora and i were in the family room, and she told me she was going to make dinner. she grabbed my hand and took me into her room. the video is what ensued! it was so cute to watch her... probably doing much of what i do!

james seems to be taking to his casts well. he's such an easy baby and good boy. we are so blessed to have two such good kids!

alright, my hubby just walked in with flowers!! hope your day ends as nice as mine is!!!

here we go again!!!

nora was running outside in her t-shirt and patent leather red shoes (her choice), with her "purse", leaving for work. and she just walked around the yard.

meanwhile, james got more x-rays. he was such a good trooper during them. they covered up the goods, at least!

they had me help hold his feet in place. and covered me up, while asking if there was any chance i could be pregnant!!! i laughed... and said "i hope not!!"

he also asked if i was a health care professional because of the way i held james' feet during the x-rays. fun to know i still have it in me!

here were his feet yesterday. that little bone in his heel still hasn't moved, so he is back in casts again for the next four weeks. in four weeks, he will have that minor surgery to clip his tendon (one in each heel). then, back in casts for three weeks after that.

it was funny to see nora holding james again today, so i thought i would use this picture as comparison!

and, here's today! they are both so much bigger!!!

potty-training is going well. nora has about an accident a day. yesterday, it happened to be in the ball pit at our neighbor's house. not so much fun. but, i have washed and cleaned all the balls. most of the time, she'll tell us she has to go, or just go in and go by herself, and come tell us "good job nora"!!

she hasn't figured out that she could lie and tell us she went every time, just to get a jellybean. she will tell us no she didn't go sometimes. (this IS a good thing... )

this morning, i was looking for a candle for her play cake. i asked where it went, and she told me "daddy lost it". cute... previously it has been james' fault (for something else...)

about the casts/surgery. a lot of people have asked me how i am feeling about it. i am a little bummed. i feel like we wasted three months... except that he may get to pick up where he left off (so bar and shoes only at night) after the surgery and casts. that would be awesome! otherwise, it's a hassle and a bummer now... but NO BIG DEAL in the longrun. he will be just fine, and God is in control. He is good, all the time, every day. so, who am i to complain and say i don't like this. if this is what He has for us, we are going to make the best of it!

tanned... looks better!!

not usually a foodie... but it was SO GOOD... and just looked so pretty... (my dinner last night)

pictures uploaded out of order... giving james a bath, and this is what i turned around to find! sadie, the watchdog!

snuggles before bedtime

he enjoyed his bath SO MUCH last night! just had to take a pic...

okay, maybe closer to twenty! but, he's so cute!!

how we spent most of the week. but, we seem to be getting the hang of it. we have ventured out some since thursday, and done well so far! no accidents. still not holding my breath. but, she does ask when we are out! (trying to go, FOUR TIMES, made a 15 minute trader joes trip a 30 minute one...)

playing with jw after a fun day at the pool... (okay, fun for the mommies... kids slept most of the afternoon... and "tanned fat looks better than white fat!!" we got nice and tan!)

nora climbed in to the crab all by herself... and just floated!!

bathtime with daddy!!!

seriously???? watching a video (on the towel i made her sit on so a potential mess was easier to catch and clean up!)

for rent...

so, we have officially listed our condo for rent. if you, or anyone you know, wants a cute little one bedroom, we have it!! let us know... or, if you just want to pray that we find awesome renters quickly, that would be good, too! we have stayed busy this week and go to the pool tomorrow... i'll post some pics then!

lots of videos...

nora got a new tricycle from grammie and grandpa for her birthday! she has so much fun with it! (thanks grammie and grandpa)

nora "helped" daddy wash his car the other day... she may have gotten wetter than the car. just saying!

yesterday, kayden and jace came over to play. james LOVED all the attention kayden gave him.

this weekend, moira, everett and their parents came over. we brought nora's table and chairs outside for the kids. they played all night and the adults got to eat and socialize!! so WONDERFUL to have a backyard!

nora loves to snuggle... especially with james!

we got invited next door for addison's "waterworld". think spray park in blow up form! nora had a blast!!

nora is so glad that addison loves to share her toys. in fact, we came home from working out there this morning with more toys they shared for the week! nora is having fun with those new toys!

more waterworld...

serious james. he was hanging out while everyone plays around him!

nora turned over the chair the other day and said "i'm fixing it mommy, like daddy". too cute!!!

okay... finally got our batteries and old camera working. here's some videos of the week... james playing in his crib while nora sits on the potty...

and nora entertaining me this morning! she is SUCH A JOY in my life. potty training is going. yesterday and today i have just left unders off and she has gone most times by herself and calls me in to check (and give her treats). we have had a few accidents, but i think we are coming out in favor of more times in the potty! we've come so far... and have so far to go! this morning was the first morning we ventured anywhere but our house. (and it was only next door!!)

moving into the big girl bed has gone so well! i found my hidden cupeez the other day, and am so glad we haven't needed it. last night was the first time she asked for one crying, but she was in the middle of a 30 minute temper tantrum! she went to bed fine without it. she seems to love her bed, and goes down SO NICELY! (knock on some serious wood here...) i am so glad that we did it all in one fell swoop... instead of dragging out the drama!

right now, she was showing james her baby doll, and james grabbed it (as he does with anything you put in front of his face!). nora then told him... "you don't take other people's". ahh... smart kid! now, she is putting her doll down for a "nap" and saying "i'll lay with you while you take a nap!". hmm... alright, back to taking care of my kids! lunch... then NAPTIME!!