packing up, heading out

I'm packing.

We leave tomorrow morning for a 5 day retreat, then come back home for 4 days, then head out again for two weeks in Indonesia!

It takes a bit of coordination to get this family off the ground. He he he. Actually, it takes a LOT of coordination.

In addition to loading up the gear, I'm trying to close down the fort here at home. It makes for some interesting meal combinations. Like the scrambled eggs and peanut butter crackers we had for lunch.

So, I realize this is random, but my head is swimming with last minute packing details and wondering when we will move our sofas in preparation for the carpet cleaners who come Monday morning.

Last night Matt and I realized that up to this point Isaac has spent his entire (10 month) life in one country. He's never left his country of birth. Beginning with next week's trip to Indonesia (including an overnight layover in Thailand) he'll start adding stamps to his fairly empty passport.

Sometimes it surprises me how much travel is part of our family's DNA. All three of our children flew at least once before they were two weeks old. Lydia flew across the Pacific when she was 4 weeks old. Julianna visited Thailand for the first time as a 6 week old. Isaac is definitely slow on the uptake, but he's got a few big trips on the calendar for this spring, so he'll catch up. Good thing he is approaching what I consider the absolutely most difficult age for travel (12-18 months)... holding Isaac on an airplane is similar to monkey wrestling. [Not that I've ever wrestled a monkey.]



Anyone got a guess as to how many countries Julianna has visited?

can I get a little help around here?

Can I get a little help around here?

And the answer is....... YES!

Julianna is super proud to be making her own bed! One morning this week she came prancing out of the bedroom and said "Mom, come look, I made my bed all by myself".

I walked into the kids' bedroom and this is what I saw. Needless to say, I ran for the camera.


We have never before talked about bed-making, and honestly, I pretty much assumed that she didn't even notice that I did it. But it's amazing what your children are learning even when you aren't intentionally teaching and training!

Julianna is such a little leader in our home. She might only be four years old, but she is one sharp cookie, and she's a HUGE help to me in a ton of different ways. Now I can add "makes her own bed" to the lengthening list of ways she lightens my load.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and made-up beds. I should definitely add that Julianna is perhaps the most-easily-distracted clothes changer of all time. In fact, this whole bed-making thing went down while she was supposed to be putting on her clothes for the day. It's amazing what that child will do when she's supposed to be getting dressed!

calculus?

I simply must record this, mostly so that when Lydia figures out calculus I can congratulate her on how far her reasoning skills have progressed since the early years.

Because right now, well, sometimes her reasoning baffles me.

I simply cannot convince Lydia to hold the sleeves of her shirt so that they don't get all bunched up when she puts on her sweater or jacket or fleece or whatever. Cannot. Convince. Her.

[Granted, I realize there are lots of bigger problems in today's world. And for a child who wears her panties backwards at least once a week, bunched-up-sleeves probably don't amount to much in the inconvenience department, but still.....]

Her logic? "I'm bigger now, so I don't need to hold my sleeves anymore."

Huh?

No amount of reasoning will talk her out of her stance. We've tried everything.

"Daddy is big, and he holds his sleeves."

"Watch me put on my jacket honey, see how I hold my sleeves?"

Even Julianna chips in.... "Lydia, I am 4 and I am big and I hold my sleeves. It's more comfortable."

She won't fall for it. She is convinced. She is "big". And if that means anything, it means that she certainly is not a sleeve-holder.

So how did I get the picture? Easy. "Lydia, show me how you used to hold your sleeves. You know, before you got bigger."

Like I said, calculus is going to be a bit of a leap.

book fest

What's one thing we just can't get enough of?


Books!


While Mom was here she did a lot of book reading and I enjoyed a bit of a break. Not that I don't like reading to the kids, but sometimes I get weary. And the girls have basically perfected the art of asking to be read to at the least opportune times. So I am switching laundry, or changing a diaper, or sweeping the floor and a little voice behind me says "can you read this to me?"

Sometimes I am glad to drop what I am doing and read. Other times, like if Matt is home, I'm quick to say "go ask Daddy" :)


And, like most book lovers, sometimes Julianna falls fast asleep with a book in her hand.

One thing I can't wait to do when we are in the States is GO TO THE LIBRARY! We've been blessed with lots of books here, but I think the kids first glimpse of a library might still be a tad bit overwhelming! So many books in one place :) We can't wait!

talking to Matt

We ladies love to talk to Matt on the phone. [Isaac loves to chew on the phone, which means we keep him at a distance. As soon as he hears Matt's voice on speaker phone he starts hollering and scrambling to get closer.]

We had plenty of opportunities to chat in early January when Matt was traveling.


The girls clamor for a chance to talk to Daddy and they always have plenty of very important news to share.

Then, after both girls have had their chance, its my turn to talk. You can probably imagine that Matt and I enjoy all kinds of nice long chats with this audience surrounding me :)


I seriously wonder what percentage of my day I spend within arms' reach of all three of my kids. I'm sure it's high. It's like I'm wearing a sign that says "everybody get really close to Mommy".

And to clarify about Lydia and the armadillo..... No, we have never seen one. They are not native to this area. They are mentioned in several of our books and kids magazines, but I cannot remember the last time Lydia and I talked about armadillos, nor have we ever considered buying a pet of any kind, and certainly not an armadillo. I have no idea where her comment came from. She's very creative and has a wild imagination. Obviously.

armadillo shopping

I'm way behind on a lot of admin-type stuff, responding to email, etc.

My children are in the middle of intense "Grandmama just left and I don't have anyone to play with" hangovers. My husband is working like crazy and keeps saying it will slow down soon. I want to do a fun post with lots of photos from my mom's trip, but that will have to wait.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this:

Yesterday afternoon the kids and I headed out to the store. We needed a few essentials (a light bulb, plastic bags, and some jelly beans). Anyways, we're about halfway there and Lydia is just trotting along, a tad bit quieter than usual, so I lean down to ask her "Lydia, what are you thinking about?"

Without even looking up at me she answered, "buying an armadillo".

No wonder she was so quiet. Armadillo shopping is serious business.

the (little) man of the house

While Matt was gone Isaac stepped into the role of "man of the house". Granted, he's a tad bit young to fend off any potential dangers and protect us four ladies (me, Mom, and the big sisters).

But beware, he's got a ferocious growl and makes a very mean-looking face.....


Despite the growl-face, Isaac is cuddly little guy, and becoming even more so as the days pass by. He is a Mommy-lover, that's for sure.

Welcome to the ranks, little man. You're in good company.

And although there are moments when I don't think my one person can possibly satisfy the cuddle-needs of my little threesome, I'm thrilled you want to snuggle with me! Just be prepared to battle your big sisters for the cuddle-space!

Matt is home!

Have I ever mentioned that we have a tough time getting a decent family photo? Check out exhibit A.


Yeah, exactly.

Maybe next time.

But that is my photographic proof that MATT IS HOME! Yay! And thanks to Mom's presence, we all survived. And had a bunch of fun too :)

Mom's here for a few more days, and we've got some good stuff planned to round out her visit. Matt has a bit of time off too, and I am enjoying every minute!

the tree and the stairs

Last weekend when Matt was home I asked him to help move the Christmas tree out of the house.

It is not nearly as easy as it sounds. It's incredibly heavy. And we live on the 4th floor. In previous years we've always found some workers to help. But this year we decided we could do it ourselves. After all, gravity was in our favor, how hard could it possibly be? Ha.

Luckily Mom was around to snap a few photos.


When we move out of our apartment there are many many things I will miss. I love this home. I have hundreds of wonderful memories here. It was, and is, God's perfect provision for us. I will miss it.

But I can confidently say that I will not spend one single minute missing the stairwell that leads to our home.

How many thousands of trips have I made? How many ga-jillion pounds of stuff have I lugged? I've toted children and strollers. Groceries and garbage. Packages and bags and boxes and luggage. (And, of course, Christmas trees.)

I've laughed in the stairwell and cried in the stairwell. I've kissed bruised elbows, cuddled sleeping children, and calmed screaming babies.

Sometimes we sing (a personal favorite: "I've been walking in the stairwell, all the live long day"). Sometimes we dance. Sometimes we trudge, sometimes we race. Sometimes I have a good attitude about it, sometimes I don't.

Taking the tree downstairs was a "good attitude" moment. It was fun to tackle a project with Matt. It felt pretty good to get that tree outside. We set it right beside the entrance to the stairwell, congratulated ourselves, and turned to walk up the stairs. For the thousandth time.

I've lived a lot of life in that stairwell. And I will not miss it.

making bean bags

Yesterday afternoon Mom and the girls made bean bags from old socks. [If you have a strong aversion to lots of dried beans rolling around your kitchen floor, you might want to avoid this particular craft - I swept often and we kept Isaac up off the floor until the bean fest was over!]


After the bean bags were all ready we practiced throwing them into a plastic tub.


Lydia thought long and hard about some of her shots. And still missed most of the time :)


Definitely a fun way to spend the afternoon!

come and gone

Matt has come, and gone again. It was a GREAT 26 hour visit, and we tried to squeeze in as much fun as possible, including a trip to the park.


I am so glad that Mom is here with me. I realized tonight that she is doing 99.9% of the photo taking, which means that I don't have photographic proof that she is here. But trust me, she is!

We showed her how we love to dance to Feliz Navidad! She was impressed :)


Tomorrow my goal is to take some pictures of Mom with the kiddos, so you can see what we've been up to....

so much to do

My mom is here and we are all having such fun!

Yesterday morning I had the brilliant idea that mom and I and all three kiddos should take down the Christmas decorations.

It was about an hour of "not very well controlled chaos". Isaac's face in this photo pretty much expresses exactly how I was feeling.


It was hectic, but I was glad to get the house back to 'normal'. Other than that, we haven't been doing much of anything special, just hanging out with Grandmama and eating all the fun snacks she brought us.

In a few minutes we are heading to the airport to meet Matt! He is coming home this weekend for about 24 hours!