blogging

I blog for lots of different reasons. I don't put any pressure on myself to have new entries on my blog, I just do it as I have thoughts and we have things going on around here. It's fun to sit down and write about the things that I have swirling around my head...

I then found this company that will make your Blog into a bound book. Ever since then I've been trying to blog things that I would find to be good memories and thoughts in a book for our family, in hopes that I will one day actually fork the money over and get my blog made into a book...so most things I don't mind being in this public space. I might have something to say that's useful to someone else- as other's blog's have been useful to me. But I have mostly been writing more recently with this book in mind. (except for my errors..which I'll just have to deal with since I don't have the time to review and rewrite my posts..)

On another note, I finally hit 300 posts with this one...had a little bit of slow go during our remodel and then after the birth of the twins...but looking to keep memories written down, and so I'll continue to blog with regularity.

Our Big Boy

(i know, i know...)

I love the little noise caed makes when he's tired. He clutches his kitty and grits him teeth and makes a kind of humming noise. It's so funny, and he's been making it less and less and when I noticed that today it made me kind of sentimental.I love how he's been understanding more of what frustrates us, and how easily and "I'm sorry" or an "I love you" lighten the situation. especially when I am trying to get out the door and the babies are crying and he's not helping get himself out....he says in his sweet voice "mommy, I'm sorry" Man, I love this kid. He's learning how to be kind and generous and loves to make us laugh. I just want to continue to nurture his relationship with his younger brothers so that as a family we are able to enjoy this precious life that God has given us!

Myrtle Beach

So my sister Heather was interested in getting back down to Myrtle Beach this summer. I was interested in getting to the beach at all, and then getting the kids down to see family. When Heather got the okay from her husband to go for the trip, she asked if I could come along. I was in for the trip too! My 89 year old nana lives there, and I desperately wanted to visit with my kids!

I was not underestimating the difficulty of the travel and trip as a whole. I luckily would be travelling with my sister who has two kids of her own and so flexible...and Jon had a work trip to Charleston that was coinciding with my week down in Myrtle Beach. So we were going to meet up and have a couple of days together as a family- then Jon would get to fly back home, and Heather and I would drive back. (lucky dog we had no room in the car!)

The trip down was great. We stopped when we had to, but it was all well timed- we were two moms, Heather's two kids and their German Shepherd, and my three kids. We were quite the caravan.

I ended up getting sick the beginning of the trip. Fever and just sick (i was scared it was going to be the flu). i did get some time on the beach, at my sister's pool and time with family....! It was difficult to haul around two babies, all their gear all the time, and Caed and his needs but there would have been no other way to do the trip. Jon and I had to change our plans for meeting up with him since I wasn't feeling well, but it worked out.

Caed was initially scared of the water, but I got in with him and whisked him around and he came to love it. Then he loved being swung around on the boogie board...he fell off and tumbled in the water a few times and still got up and asked for more! We brought the babies down to the beach one time (a lot of work!) and they chilled out in my sister's yellow sun shelter thing and we brought them to the pool too. The didn't sleep through the night the first night, but they did subsequent nights- and that's all a girl can ask for with the crazy schedule we kept.

Every member of my family helped me out! We had a great time overall....and i still can't believe we did it...so proud of us! We miss the beach...

At the beach, my feet in the sand of the ocean for the first time this year:

Loving boats at the water's edge:

Showing Caed it's fun!:

Playing in the waves:

Really having fun with the boogie board!:

Looking through the screen of the shelter at the twins:

MorMor (swedish for grandmother) 5 great grands and Nana (my mom):

MorMor with the 5 great grands (sorry I chose the wonky photo with my nana making a funny face):

Olivia and Caed dancing to the music at an area called Market Common, a new favorite place in Myrtle Beach:

Jon with the twins:

wow!

we survived an 8 hour car trip to Myrtle Beach and a camping trip over Labor Day weekend. Fun stories and pics coming...first to unpack and wash the smoky smelling gear.

diapers

back when i was pregnant with these boys, there was a diaper shower thrown for me. It was generous and a fun celebration...We received tons of diapers. The babies turn 5 months today and we haven't bought a diaper yet!! I am so thankful for all the generosity our family and friends showed us...what a treat to be provided for until this point!

dinner plates

they shall remain nameless...



But it's funny. We had 6 plates. It wasn't the number we wanted, but it got us through visitors and daily meals. I had broken two others from our original set of 8. Then another got broken. It's funny how all of the sudden 5 plates isn't quite enough. It's funny that every time I open the door and there are no plates I think of one nameless person. It brings a smile to my face.



So we took out the back up stack in our hutch, and actually I like it a lot. We were given the set we're using from good friend's of ours for our wedding. the Butler's were SO thoughtful and got a replacement set of dishes that we used in our home, but my parents gave to them after one of our moves. So now we're using the set rather then pulling it out on nice occasions, and I like that.



I am just amazed that 5 plates couldn't cut it on a daily basis anymore for two adults and one child (he doesn't even use the china plates!).

The Blog World

Right before Aldan and Theron were born I had read on another Bloggers blog that she was coming to DC.

We only came on her randomly through my sister Kik. I don't know her, other then her blog. But all my sisters (and me) and mom read and comment on her blog and we had a blogger friendship with her. She has the funniest stories, and writes pretty down to earth. She's a mom to three kids lives in the midwest, and shares about their travels, her children, her faith and just life in general. After my grandmother died we wrote her and asked her to keep us in her prayers. So this was someone who we all were comfortable with and she was comfortable with us, through this electronic world.

When I read she would be here shortly after the babies birth and my mom would be here. My sister had met bloggy friends before- so I suggested my mom try to meet her. I wasn't sure how it was going to work- I had newborns...but we worked it out, and her and her son came for a visit. Jon was a little skeptical about inviting a blog friend (how did we know she wasn't really a random truck driver coming after his family?) but I was pretty confident we'd have a good time. We did!

Picture above is my mom with Logziella*.

*not her real name

Summer

My sister did this from another blogger, So i thought it was fun to think about...

Favorite Summer Movie: This year...i liked Slumdog Millionaire which we just saw- good underdog story..which I didn't know before watching..i could watch it a few more times...not about summer, but nice happy story.

Favorite Summer Cocktail: wish i had one....LI Wine (sally what was the name of that white wine we liked from peconic vineyards?)

Favorite Summer Song: This year I am loving that song from the movie Fireproof...John Waller "While I am waiting" but I love all sorts of songs (my husband loaded some Micheal Jackson in the car, and Caed loves to play the songs with "the drums" and that's been fun)

Favorite Summer Meal: Grilled Fish/ Shrimp (we've been doing that a lot lately), corn on the cob, salad and ice cream

Favorite Summer Outfit: At this point, anything that fits! (just being real here)

Favorite Summer Reading: ohh, bad confession, Shopaholic books- will read something with more value soon.

Favorite Summer Moment: Hmm, from this year...going out later then normal to take Caed to watch the fireworks with the babies and having a nice family evening, never imagined possible while pregnant with the twins...

Our Family from 4th of July to watch fireworks

(bad picture from 4th of July, but that happens when the entire human population doesn't know how to take a picture from the view finder of an SLR camera, instead of the back screen)

Living la vida loca..

I wanted this to be part of a private e-mail to my roommates from my Liberty Days, but I couldn't find all their e-mail addresses in one spot, so I am making this public...and I thought it was funny enough..(maybe I'm wrong)

My roommates, all of them, no matter how long it's been since talking can pick right back up with our closeness...they rejoice with me and pray for me. I feel their friendship even though my daily life is spent with different people and no longer them. We are spread along the east coast- and soon to be around the country! This picture doesn't need any explanation to them.

Back at Liberty I loved Ricky. I even had this one dream with him in it (he came to visit me and any other details are lost, but it was clean!) and I really felt like I had met him. The dream was so realistic to me, I remember. So for one birthday my roommates left me a really nice gift from Ricky....although the gift wasn't as clean as my dream, those silly girls (I was really embarrassed and I think I have a picture of me blushing opening the gift)! They were really funny and it made me crack up.

So I saw today that Ricky is celebrating his own fraternal twins- he released a couple pictures of him with them...so what's the coincidence that we both have twins? And one seems to be blond, and the other dark...just like mine? I think it's a further bond (don't tell Jon, or the rest of my family! hehehe) between us.

Ladies, I can't believe you didn't see it before me!

Dress Up

Caed has a mild interest in dressing up. So when he wants to, I like to help him really do it up! This particular morning was so funny, I had to get a picture! But it is hard to get a picture like this because Caed is really sensitive to someone possibly laughing at him. I told him I'd take his picture so he could see what he looked like, and that seemed to work. The outfit and tying the blanket was his idea....my little superhero!