Long time no blog...

Well, it's been almost a month, and it's been a doozy! Several of us celebrated birthdays (all 7 of us have birthdays between Oct. and February...how's that for planning?)

Brad turned 12. TWELVE? Seriously? If not for the sarcastic wit, hair that hangs in his eyes, and an appetite that doubles my grocery budget, I'd never believe it. He's a great kid. He's a lot like Joe...he's very laid back and very diplomatic. He also has very little sense of urgency. :) His motto in life? "Why do today what you can ignore until someone else does it or it just goes away?" He has no malicious intent...just very few things spur him to quick action.

As a baby, he was a mover and a shaker. The kid crawled at 6 months, cruised at 7 months, and walked at 9 months. He was into everything! He was a very happy baby, and we're thankful he's still a sweet, loving boy. Here's a little before and after. In the first photo, he is 9 months old. In the second, he's 12. To be honest, it feels like it went just that fast.



On the 31st Hannah turned four. I can't believe that, either. She's not a baby anymore...really not even a toddler! Her greatest accomplishments this year would have to be (in no particular order)
Learning her ABC song
Being able to remain, and participate in her ballet class. Whenever she is acting up, all we have to do is threaten to make her stay home from ballet and she's instantly sugar and spice.
Self-control...we're down to four or five tantrums a week now. That's down from four or five an hour.
Manners. Though we're not in the clear, I hear "thank you" more often than I hear "hurry up!" when I'm pouring the apple juice.
Eating. Now she can eat as many as 3 chicken nuggets in one sitting. We're up from licking one and then feeding it to the dog.
Sleeping. Though naps are a thing of the past, she no longer visits me at 3 a.m.
Social grace. She still speaks her mind, often at the expense of tact, but she is less likely to say "go away" and more likely to say "ok, I'll share." This is often accompanied by a bit of a "hmph" that she thinks we can't hear. We're working on that, too.
She's busy and sweet and cute as a bug. She's a bundle of fun, and we love her to pieces! Here are two pics of her. In the first, she is 9 months (thanks to eosinophilic disease, she is a whopping 10 lbs or so...). In the second, she is four. She and Kaylee had just gotten hair cuts. We are so thankful the e.d. is under control and she is a healthy, happy girl!






Four days after Hannah's birthday, I turned 36. Holy cow...for real? Despite my being on the downhill slide to 40 now, it was a GREAT birthday. Mom was here for two weeks and we did all sorts of preparations for putting the house on the market. Then on Saturday the 2nd, we did a little shopping , supposedly some relaxing "girls' night out" for my birthday. I should have clued in when suddenly mom was rushing me along like we had a plane to catch. We ran through J Jill, zipped through Dillard's and flew through the Gap. Still, I managed to find some fabulous things, all on sale. LOVE the end-of-season sales. But I digress...
When we arrived home, my home was filled with over 30 people! They yelled "surprise!" and sang, and I cried. I'm a serious boob anyway, but if you really want to turn on the waterworks, this is the way to do it. It was a wonderful night, and I still get giddy when I think about it. Joe spent weeks planning, and he and my friend Chris did the food (it was YUMMY). Amy did a bunch of the decor (including transporting 30 helium-filled balloons!) and the whole thing was wonderful. It's very humbling to know all those people set aside an evening for me. I still get weepy... My friend Joey and I tied for third place in the Wii bowling tournament. Eileen (my bunco buddy...she's quite competitive!) took second and CR got first place. It was great fun. I can't say it enough...the greatest people live here in AZ. Glad I'm married to the greatest, so I can take him with me. :) All of the rest of you...come along, won't you?

The house goes on the market tomorrow. Eeeek! Please pray for our sanity during this process. I have no idea how we are going to keep our house continually tidy for showings. Yeah, right! Did I mention I have 5 kids? Gimme a break. Only by the grace of God will we get through this move. I get nauseous sometimes thinking about it! :)

Thanks for reading...hopefully I'll be more faithful to post regularly!