the surprise i came home to last week!

Here are the 'before' pictures of the beds in front of our house:



Will took out the very old azalea bushes that weren't blooming anymore, and looked more like dead twigs than shrubs. I was not sad to see them go.



And here are the after photos!



I have a gardenia, oakleaf hydrangeas, sweet box, ferns...



and some other plants I can't remember the names of right now...



thank you Will, Thomas, Ole, and all the other helpers who made this happen!
More photos later of the huge vegetable garden around the side of the house. :)

Recovering and Reminiscing

We are home, and thankful to be here. It was a long trip home yesterday, capped off with a wait on the tarmac while another plane sat at our gate. A very, very tired baby went to bed at 12:45am, but awoke at 7 this morning. He got food in his belly, and snuggled back to sleep from 8am -11am. He woke up for lunch and went back down at 1pm. He's RECOVERING from cousin mania. I am too. At the office though.

I love being with my sisters. It was GOOD for me to be with them: to wrangle our herd of children around the zoo or playground, to make some 56 sunbutter & jelly sandwiches with them, to see them in their homes, to watch them mother - whether that is cuddling a sad little one or running interference during a napless naptime. I treasure the fact that they don't tell me what I want to hear, they tell me what I need to hear. They challenge me and tease me. We fight over borrowed maternity clothes, and scarf down bowls of popcorn together late at night. They remind me that although we have great joys in this life, we were not made for this life, but for a far more distant shore. I was looking for some thoughts on HOPE this morning (in my sleepy stupor) and found this lovely excerpt on a blog I've never seen before. As I read it, I thought about conversations with my sisters this week, and am so grateful for the perspective they help me regain. So while the vacation wasn't a 'relaxing' week in the sun, it was a FUN filled, crazy, and character building week (in the sun!!!).

Zoo, Fire House, backyard dinners, Sunday...

another day...

today we soaked up the sunshine in the backyard for a while and fed the masses their lunch outside. RM had a bit of a rough time with the 'line up' photo op... more shots on the sister blogs!

live from Colorado Springs...

You know, i just had to put this one in here...
RM and G-Lou running around in the 'giant sandbox' (aka - volleyball court)
E Grace and RM eating their picnic lunch. You know, 'tied down' for mealtime
RM enjoying the playground full force
it's cousin mania time! just in the first 24 hours, we four sisters have noticed a marked improvement from last year. A few of the contributing factors: 7 of 8 children are walking, 3 of the 8 are potty trained, and we've pretty much eliminated morning naps for all of the crew. That translates to more freedom, and playground opportunities as displayed above. It's definitely our mission to wear the kiddos out in the morning hours, and hopefully secure peaceful naptimes in the afternoon. Tootie and Nanni were a bit more successful today - getting naps themselves too, but Boonie and I plan to extend our afternoon tea time tomorrow, and somehow eliminate our interuptions today.
Thus far, RM has only had two allergic reactions. Benedryl perfect measure packaging is really revolutionizing our rapid response too. More on these events later!

10 thursday thoughts...

1. Watching RM learn new things is one of the greatest delights of my current station in life. Listening to RM verbalize his newfound joys at 100 miles an hour is also an incredible privilege. People tell me I’ll want to shut him up soon… I find that hard to believe right now.
2. I can’t get enough of Spring. Flinging the windows open at home and turning on the attic fan… Ahh, perfection. It's supposed to be 40 and rainy this weekend. Boo.
3. Naming children can be a tough task, especially when agreeing on that moniker with your spouse is critical. I think we’ve perfected #2. It's a secret. But if you get Floyd drunk, he might just slip up and tell.
4. I came across these thoughts on the GYM and love her eloquence.
5. Ever since I was a young child, I can remember being embarrassed by tardiness to school, church, etc. I swore I would not be tardy once I was in charge. I am still very much a tardy person.
6. I hate to go to bed with dishes in the sink, or without wiping down the counters. It’s a weird pet peeve. Somehow I am quite content with leaving a heaping pile of paperwork on my desk in no particular order at the end of each day.
7. Food allergies really put a damper on my lackadaisical attitude. I need to read more books so as not to expose my child unnecessarily to his dietary adversaries. His eyes were real swollen the other day due to a piece of Chex mix.
8. My most embarrassing moment is from a piano recital during my childhood at the Greenville Museum of Art. The back of my dress was tucked into my undies. I'm sure I have an adult moment, but nothing stands out like that one.
9. I really, really want to be able to snap my fingers and make my basement renovation happen. I have visions of a laundry room with a clean floor, and a light. Asking too much?
10. Last night I had a serious Slushie craving. Fortunately, the mini mart down the street had a Cherry Fanta Icee that fit the bill, and Floyd was a willing courier.

little sister - first photos

another little ditty

So 7 more weeks have passed in 'round two' and i've noticed a few more things that I want to record for my own posterity. Bear with me if you dare.

1. Bought new maternity jeans because the 'round one' pair are baggie. From the growth this girl has shown recently, I'm thinking the 'round one' pair will probably fit again in the 3rd trimester.

2. Swelling. With RM I never experienced swelling. Twice this week when I was on my feet for an extended period of time (and trying to wear real cute shoes) I noticed some puffiness around the feet... lovely. I have a feeling that CANKLES are in my future.

3. Weight gain. I have been on the exact same schedule with this baby as I was with RM - same weight at 20 weeks for both pregnancies. Interesting... we'll see if that continues, hah!

4. Food aversions update: I have eaten chicken a couple of times in the last week or so... I still prefer other meats, but i'm glad to say that poultry doesn't make me want to yark anymore.

If you want to see an updated bump, my friend LB has posted one. The 2007 version of this milestone is, naturally, much more subdued. Aye.

snow day

March 2009 certainly came "in like a lion" - and that was quite alright with us. We enjoyed the beautiful big flakes quietly covering our neighborhood last night, and the chance to play outside as a family this morning. RM's nickname today was 'Captain Caution' because he was a bit uncertain about navigating the white terrain. And while we love the winter wonderland once in a blue moon, I am certainly still hopeful that March keeps up its end of the bargain and goes "out like a lamb!"

news...

we had a little shin-dig at the office on Friday to celebrate a couple of birthdays of my co-workers. I sneakily offered to go pick up the cake after my doctor appointment that morning, so that I could add a custom message to it... announcing Red's baby sister!