38 Days on the Market

It was a typical Saturday morning. The kids were pretty good, with a hint of hostility and a dash of tartness here and there, but no knock down, drag outs or anything of the sort. Mid-day they noticed the white car sitting in front of the house. An hour or so later we get the call that someone wants to see our home. Ninety minutes later we are out the door.

We go to the store and look at Christmas decorations, and pick up a couple of things. The kids have fun perusing, everything from ornaments to Christmas dish towels to shower curtains. With the exception of Morgan they are very good. About mid-way thru his legs just won't work anymore. Typical. A while later we check out.

On our way home we pick up some ever so nutritious fat food. In the car the kids are having the usual chit chat. I hear bits and pieces, but block the majority out as I drive and listen to the radio.

Halle vocalizes her hope that Tristen doesn't dump our food all over the car (which he's done recently). Tristen gets defensive.

Tristen tells Bryson he ate all his fries, Bryson playfully pulls his hair or something of the sort.

Bryson asks Halle if she can give herself goosebumps, because he can think of creepy stuff and get goosebumps. Halle says, "Yeah."

Bryson asks how, and she responds that she gets goosebumps when she poops. Everybody looses it - a truck full of funny laughter. When it quiets down I hear her soft voice from the back state so brazen and simple, "Well I do."

Caden detests the movie Goosebumps (or maybe it's a mini-series). Either way, he hates the theme song. Morgan leans over in his car seat toward Caden, "Hey Caden," and whispers somewhat sing-songy, "Goosebumps." Caden shrieks.

To get even Caden yells, "E.T.!" who Morgan finds ever-so-disturbing, resulting in Morgan's infamous, irritating down to the marrow in your bones, blood curdling scream.

This continues with Gremlins, Signs, etc., etc. until we pull into the driveway.

I tell the kids to put on p.j.'s and wash their hands.

We pile into the Master Bedroom to eat on the floor to watch, "The Education of Little Tree," which is a really good family film. Morgan had zero interest so he pestered Halle and Caden the entire movie, but it was still enjoyable. We read a couple of books before bed, and then I tucked them in. It's been almost an hour and it's still not quiet. I did all the dishes, wiped down the counters, cleaned the splattered Microwave and vacuumed up all our crumbs just in case.

Last Sunday we got a call at 9 a.m. while EVERYONE was still sleeping. We had an hour and twenty minutes to get up, get dressed, spruce up the house and skedaddle. I even sat the kids clothes out tonight. It likely won't happen twice, but if that phone rings in the morning, we are prepared.

Pig In a Blanket

When we were in Indiana getting ready for the long drive back to Texas I opened the back of the truck to find that Halle had so lovingly wrapped up her piggy in "blue blanky" and stuffed it into her purse that was a gift from Aunt Chandra. I laughed to myself and grabbed my camera.

As I'm posting: All five kids traipse in to see what I'm doing. Tristen reads the post out loud while Bryson laughs and Halle's eyes well with tears.

"Why?" she wants to know.

I explain to Halle what a pig in a blanket is and why I took the photo. The three oldest boys are laughing. She starts crying and says, "I left my pig at Grandma Karen's." She has tears streaming down her cheeks as she explains she had him in the car, but somehow left him behind. But now she's on my lap and absolutely sobbing.

And so I look at my boys, still smirking and snickering. Tristen says that "no" he didn't take it.

Bryson still laughing, "No, it wasn't me."

Halle's still crying.

"Tristen?" He's adamant that it wasn't him.

So I look to the right, where there stands a very quiet little boy, "Caden?"

His response is a simple, "Yeah."

All then he starts in with his excuse. He'd heard the boys talking about Halle's piggy and since sometimes she makes him mad, well....

He patted Halle's back while she cried and apologized.

But little Morgan was the most protective of all. The only brother who didn't laugh at her while she cried, and after everyone had cleared out of my room he came back and told me that Halle left her piggy. I sort of nodded my acknowledgement. He walks out and yells, "Hal, you're gettin' a new piggy."

Boo!

Here are some photo's from Halloween:

Troy as a fearless Pittsburgh Steeler, Hayden as a pirate (think Smee), Caden all Commando, Halle as a pretty with pink Pirate, Tristen as Frankenstein (and like he was told, he played him well), Bryson as Michael Jackson (with the moves to match), then there's little Morgan there in the front - the cutest little Scarecrow you ever did see, Brantley is a bench warmer for the Pittsburgh Steelers (don't worry Brant, it's better than being the water boy) and then we had the famous and fabulous, Harry Potter (staggering resemblance to Hollitte, is he not?)

Maddie rocking her witch robe, sitting with Michael, Halle and Trent

Brant, look hard and you'll see Caden, Morgan and Smiley Smee

My crew with Uncle Trent

Told everyone: "I'm a scary crow."

Home Sweet Home....for now anyways

So I made the drive to Indiana to pick up the kids and spent a couple of weeks there, visiting with family. Autumn in the midwest was great. All the big hardwoods, colorful leaves, scattered acorns and more.

"Familyar Field"

Grandma's chickens

"Glaring Rooster"

Halle pushing Caden & Morgan in the wheelbarrow

The kids and I drove up to Holland during a couple of our weekends home, camping at the state park and hanging out with Brian. It was absolutely beautiful up there in October. The kids had fun, especially Caden and Morgan. Morgan asks repeatedly when we're going camping again. And of course we visited Lake Michigan. The kids asked to get their feet wet...which was code for, "We're going wading in our clothes, in freezing water and we might fall in."

We have also found our new favorite pizza place - which is in Saugatuck. Saugatuck is just south of Holland - an artsy, quaint little town full of mom and pop shops that attract a significant number of tourists. I highly recommend a visit.

Pizza's real good mom!

Brian, Caden and Morgan peeking thru the window

mesmerized by the gory and authentic looking Halloween decor

Caden 9/19/10- "A stone's throw away"

The famous Red Lighthouse

Bryson, Morgan, Uncle Trent, Caden, Tritter, Halle -

before they got drenched

"Hello WORLD!"

"Waves of laughter"

Fun at the beach wrapped up with a beautiful sunset

Just thinking...

The kiddos are in Indiana bonding with the extended family as I focus my energy on the finishing touches to get the house on the market. I'm painting, patching, caulking, packing, and lots of that detailed cleaning. Like the dust on baseboard and the cobwebs behind furniture. You know, fun stuff. It's been productive, but the house has a sort of eerie quiet to it that's nearly impossible to shake. It's nice I suppose....to a degree. But just so unusual that it actually seems unnatural, if that makes sense. I think about the kids numerous times a day and wonder how they're doing and if they're having fun, which I'm sure they are. I miss their little voices, the laughter, just the presence of all seven of us together in the evening. And I miss the dogs, who are at my parents.

And Brian's in Michigan and Monday is his first day on the new job. Good luck hon! I'm sure you'll do great. Hopefully the house sells quickly and we can all head up to MI and start getting settled in up there. Preferably before winter, that would be so great.

Friends, do you know how much I loathe the process of moving? I curse in my head every....step....of....the....way. It's so much annoying work.

Yes. It's late, I'm tired, my legs hurt, my eyes burn, I'm venting here. But I hope we're done moving. We like Michigan and all it has to offer, and it's close to family. So, providing Brian has a job, we'll stay. I tease him that we'll be looking for our "Forever Home." He teases me back that we'll stay at least five years but I don't think his response is the least bit funny. My sense of humor waivers significantly on sensitive issues. Moving has become a sensitive issue.

'Nite all

Holland, MI

So, I believe the news has probably trickled down the lines of communication to the few folks who read my blog. Our lives are once again changing directions and we find ourselves looking forward to a new adventure. It requires the uneasy sacrifice of leaving the familiarity of an area we've come to know, with it's friendly people and big, wide open spaces, and traffic...lots and lots of traffic.

Hazy Morning

Texans endure hot summers but mild sunny winters. In the spring we face abrupt thunderstorms, sometimes with tornado warnings and a drawn out autumn that provides the luxury of open windows with a wonderful, cool breeze blowing through. We also have fields of wildflowers in the spring that display a vibrant rainbow of color that could only be painted by God himself. And tall sunflowers line the roads - and sometimes you'll see an entire field of happy, vivacious yellow screaming for your attention as you drive to and from in your chaotic life. For the boys there are spiders and snakes galore, even black widows. But the kids can identify them and even the little ones know enough to always look under the lawn chairs and tonka trucks.

Texas Garter Snake

Dueling Rainbows

The city of Ft. Worth can be seen in the distance horizon, and I always enjoy that sight as I take a right onto our road. Cows graze and numerous horses to boot....sometimes in the most unexpected places. Gorgeous sunsets every night, that somehow have a different look than the other places we've lived, but yet still provides the same soothing sight.

Sunsets

The children will miss Jiu Jitsu, and their friends. We will miss our dear friends the Schwedler's, and our nice neighbors. And of course there's Keno - a group of women who get together once a month for an eventful game of Po-Ke-No, a night full of girl talk and non-stop laughter, a witty group of girls who have become my friends.

We have spent the last several weeks packing up. Extra clothing, blankets, coats, shoes, towels...down to the minimal. Almost empty closets, an empty garage....clearing, cleaning, donating, decluttering....making way for the next occupants. Some other family will take our place and make their home here, with their own happy memories. It's a sad thing to pack up a home. A home where you painted the walls, brought home a new baby, planted a garden, and endured the ups and downs of life...the laughs, the tears, the tantrums and everything in between. Purple paint in carpet and a cut forehead from the Austin stone fireplace. I'm finding fiddlesticks in every nook and cranny in my home. (They are old wooden building toys for those who are unfamiliar.) The wall off the kitchen that holds a growth chart of our children which I have to bring myself to paint over. I'm painting over scuffs on baseboards and fingerprints on doors. I carefully remove family photos off walls and stare down at children that aren't so young anymore and I'm grateful for that one captured moment in time. For as excited as I am to be back in the midwest, close to family, close to Lake Michigan - there is a sadness to the ending of this chapter in my life.

Sprouting Seedlings

Dirty County Bumpkin

Not so precious moment:

Thursday morning I'm sitting in the recliner sifting through papers, Halle's on the couch doing math, Caden, Tristen and Bryson scattered on the living room floor doing homework. Everyone is fairly quiet, I have to tell Bryson to quit singing and Caden to quit staring at the ceiling about every 30 seconds, but all in all a productive morning.

Morgan walks in, barely awake, his wild curls sticking out in every which way. He's standing in the middle of the room, sort of in a daze and begins to pick his nose. Tritter vocalizes his disgust. Morgan looks at him, then dashes toward him, booger on finger like he's going to wipe it on him. Tristen screams defensively while the other three laugh, then Morgan lunges at Halle, Bryson and Caden, pointer finger outstretched, getting close enough that each child screams in protest while the other three siblings who don't have a booger in their face laugh. Then he goes around once more to each kid. And I think he lunged toward Tristen an extra time for good measure, all the while enjoying being the center of attention. Then he stands still, back in the middle of the room, all eyes on him and he opens his mouth as wide as he possibly can and inserts finger in mouth like he's going to eat the booger. By now the other four children are laughing absolutely hysterically. Then, just like that, Morgan pulls his finger out of his mouth (booger still intact) and runs to the bathroom. He returns a few minutes later and shows me the booger is gone and tells me he washed his hands, and as with every time he washes his hands he says, "Smell 'em Mama."

Although quite disgusting, and not an "oh so proud" mothering moment, it was quite humorous to watch. And the sound of my kids laughing does have a sort of musical ring to my ears.

Popo Agie Falls

We had some winds Sunday night and our thin blood was adjusting to the cooler temps of the north, but we slept well. Monday morning we were deciding what to do, we didn't have to drive anywhere and we had all this newfound, unfamiliar freedom?! A hike of course, but which one? After talking to the hosts of the tiny campground we decided to go up to the falls. We were told we could take our suits and slide down like the local kids did if we wanted, but were forewarned that it takes the EMT's awhile to get up there should someone get hurt.

So we got our water and our backpacks and took off in the direction of the falls. We take backpacks because I've read numerous articles and a few books on backpacking, hiking, SAR's, etc., and I've read enough to know I would much prefer to be safe than sorry. But hiking in the altitude, with a pack was an unnecessary reminder of the ahem...pounds that I've gained and that my body just ain't what it used to be, my ticker included. But it was a very pretty, enjoyable hike. Brian jumped at the first snake. I snickered. I jumped at the second snake. That's Karma. I stopped along the way and took photos here & there. We also saw lots of new moms hiking with their tiny newborns, which was impressive.

Big Rock

The falls were pretty big and it was a good resting point. We looked and looked and did not see even one place that looked even remotely sane to slide down. Maybe we would have had to go further up? There were several trails that led off. I followed one of them up a ways and came to a remote opening that was full of large, unfamiliar animal droppings. I left.

This was the valley between Sinks Canyon and the small, quaint town Lander. It was very gorgeous & green, with the mountains as a backdrop. The photo hardly does it justice, but it gives you an idea.

By the end of the five mile hike I was tired. But it was the happy, dead on your feet tired. So I sat at the picnic table listening to the soothing sound of the lake while I threw together our big, yummy 7-Layer salad.

The Great Wide Open

Chandra arrived Friday, May 28th. She came as my sister of course, but was childless, and came for all intended purposes to child-sit and be the fun, cool aunt who takes the kids to the pool every day and plays lots of Mario and Blokus, and to eat ice cream, drum sticks and sweets. Thanks so much! And thanks Nate for driving all the way to the Hoosier state solo.

Brian and I took a break from work, chaos & kids and headed north & west. We drove up through Amarillo and the many, flat endless miles 287 entails. I do enjoy watching the wind turbines along the route though. (Pic below was taken Sept. 2007 when Morgan & I made a trip to Colorado. He was 6 months old and didn't fuss the entire 14 hours, and we only made one stop, which was long. For those who are unsure, it's rather exceptional for a nursing baby at that age.)

The Saturday we left was a very hot, smoldering Texas day and one of our Trailer tires (pop-up) peeled right off. It wasn't long at all and Brian got the spare on. I did have to stand along the road in my neon green shirt and wave all the thoughtless morons over. Keep in mind this was the flat stretch of nothing but fields, highway and blue sky with absolutely no oncoming traffic.

We stayed Saturday night at Brian & Keely's & got to see Samuel, his friend Justin, and Poe. Slept great and enjoyed a good breakfast of cake, fresh fruit, eggs n' veggies and Sam's Elk sausage - relaxing and visiting before hitting the road late morning. I also cherished what I knew would be on of my few showers on the trip.

Sunday we took our time, taking in the different scenery. Those who know Brian are familiar with his hyper side. (...the man can't sit still) But he relaxed more than I've ever seen on this trip which was nice for both of us. Anyway, we drove through Cheyenne & thought it was a pretty and clean city, at least what we saw. Wyoming's scenery constantly changes - ever few miles there's something different to photograph.

On we continued through Wyoming to our first campground which was Sinks Canyon. The sinks are where the water mysteriously disappears into the rocky mountainside, and then shoots out someplace else. It's a tiny campground at the edge of Shoshone Nat'l. Forest/Bridger-Teton National Forest, with a very pretty composition of the Rocky Mountains, cliffs that the rock climbers love, lush valley and enough sagebrush that you're constantly reminded to watch for rattlers. Our site was at the base of the mountains, with a gushing river and great mountain views. It was a great beginning to an awesome trip.

Withrow Spring, Arkansas: Spring Break

Friday, March 19th - Saturday, March 27th, 2010

So, I'm a little behind the eight ball here, but, well, it happens. You've heard the expression, "Better late than never," right? Well, I tend to sort of wallow in that mentality. My intentions are always there, I just tend to roll through life sort of turtle-like (as my family will attest). I see this as a positive attribute....others may not share that sentiment. Anyhow, these are the photos from our Spring Break, where we met up with Chandra's clan and Grandpa & Grandma, as well us Uncle Trent & cousin Conner.

We knew going in we may have some unfavorable weather. Well, the two inches they were calling for turned into 8"-9" or so. And then there was the rain. And more rain. And then a little more rain. And then Friday was gorgeous! (uhh yeah, as in the following Friday...the day before we pulled out.) But hey, that's okay, it was an enjoyable trip even with all that, one we will always remember. It was a bit more work but I genuinely enjoyed the majority of it. (Okay, yes, I had a couple of maddening moments where I seriously questioned my mental health. Brian couldn't make the trip, so I was there with 5 kids in very cold temps and lots of dripping, soaking wet clothes, shoes, hats, gloves, socks and jackets.)

(As usual, you will see the detail better if you click on the photos)

The Campground looked beautiful covered in the unexpected snowfall

"Spring Wonder"

Portable DVD players entertained the little ones

"I just want my mom..."

"Drying Out"

Only Bryson could actually sit a pair of boots

to dry directly under where the snow on the

camper would later run-off. The ten inches of

snow melting on top had to go somewhere.

"Pals"

The whole (under-aged) crew

My kids with Grandpa & Grandma

Morning sun peaking through our campsite

Grandpa helping Bryson up?

"Misty Mirror"

Small falls along the side of the road

I am unaware precisely which impersonation this would be.

Now it's Caden's turn to stand in the hollowed-out tree stump

Before we hiked the ledge along the rocky riverbank

"You're playing with the big boys now...."

The heading is actually a song my kids frequently sing. I don't know where it came from, whether they heard it somewhere, or made it up, or someone else made it up and they just sing it. It's only one line long, but they sing it. It's actually sort of catchy.... I've sang it, and I can't sing. Anyhow, this is Morgan dressed up the other morning, playing with the big boys. I would just like to say he did this completely on his own. Who else would put on cords in this heat? I saw him scampering out of this house just like this, the old stained up shirt that was worn by his three older brothers, with a big tortoise on the back, facing me as Morgan ran out the door as fast as his boots would take him.

The game was Nerf War....which Morgan missed....he saw guns and got dressed up and ready to go, ever so enthusiastically. Little peanut Morgan hasn't quite grown into 2T pants yet so they're hanging about mid-bum. Personally, I think the rain boots are a great touch.

(clicking on the photos will show you his expressions)

p.s. - Tristen informed me "You're playing with the big boys now..." is an excerpt from the movie "The Prince of Egypt." It was a thing between Trent, Tristen & Bryson.