it’s springtime!

hello spring! I am so grateful you’ve decided to abstain from the allergies this year. I’ve seen a few who have to suffer, and I am not envious.

I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit here. to be honest, I’m not totally sure if I’ll continue the blog. given all the other ways we can stay in contact with friends and family, I’m not sure if this is the best way to get out there. but, I did decide to write a few more posts for this month to see how it goes.

onwards & upwards then!

S had their majorly big deal spring concert a week or so ago. Christmas was a big deal, too. this, though, involved homemade costume making, two months worth of memorization, and a 35 minute video of production.

wowzer.

she did awesome! they all memorized an intro poem, an outro song, and two or three basic phrases for the major song. the only thing they would have to do alone was their “special fact” concerning the animal they were dressed as. for six weeks, I would randomly hear, “Butterflies taste with their feet.” “Mom, did you know, butterflies taste with their feet?” “Butterflies taste with their feet!”

it was sweet. you know, the first couple of times.

anyway, let’s just say it was adorable as all get out. R couldn’t make it due to a work conflict, so I recorded this li’l memory while simultaneously shoving puffs into G’s face so he’d be [relatively] silent throughout the performance.

we do what we can, mommas, we do what we can.

anyway … here’s a few shots of the awesome-sauce.

oh my word – it took so long to get this done! I’m out of practice with art projects. the first set ripped. I bought another, and tried to use markers for it. they were dry. so, I had to buy paint. that spilled on the floor. [yea ... for our rental!] it got done with 12 hours to spare, but she looked great!

she loved it! she was very careful throughout the performance [though they have since been destructed upon]. loved being that li’l butterfly!

post-performance! she was thrilled at how well she and her class did [as were all the parents - it was impressive to see 20 four-year-olds do a memorized action for 30 minutes!] and we liked our butterfly dots, too

and what’s a performance without a cheesy photo? done.

I’ll do what I can to get the video online, too. it was a sweet day, and I know we only have more to come!

home is where your food is [or something like that]

happy Thursday! happy Anna Howard Shaw day! [if you got that, well done] I’m actually trying to stay up on all the things I promised either myself or others to accomplish this next week. even the things I really want to get done seem to get swept under the rug, in the name of exhaustion or distraction. no more!

the big news, both for myself and the entire family, was that our tax return posted. when we filed, we were floored at how much we would receive. but, being the working poor for a year with two children apparently came in handy. we had two options: 1.) put the funds towards a down payment or 2.) pay down a ton of debt. we got into talks with a mortgage broker to see where we stand. our house in KC had to be sold as a short sale, which dinged us. our actual numbers aren’t so bad; it’s just that mortgage rules say you have to be free and clear for three years before anyone will give you another mortgage.

that was a bit frustrating, to be honest. it wasn’t our fault that we had to short sale it; we tried to sell it three times before we went down that path. we refused to let it go into foreclosure, and the banks told us the only way we could short sale was to not make payments. I was certainly wrestling with frustration and anger at a situation that I didn’t create but had to live out.

there were a lot of positives in those conversations though. we can’t buy a house, so we paid down debt. and it was AWESOME! for those of you who have paid off all your debt, or are in the process, I know you can relate. it felt like an incredible, massive weight had been lifted off my back. I totally see what Dave Ramsey and all the folks who give testimonials on his site are talking about. I physically feel better. isn’t that amazing? we are in such a better place now, with back up funds and debt paid down and a plan to have the rest paid off shortly. R is doing a ton of extra work this year, which is funding our travel. he’s headed to London, we’re headed back to KC in the summer and winter, and we’ll have both of those paid off no problem.

we feel like grown-ups now, having our finances in order and what not. the next step is to save for a mortgage as well, and I think we have a few options that will help us get into a house right when the ban is lifted. in the meantime, we’re looking for a cheaper rental with 3 bedrooms. we love our current place, but with only 1 bedroom for the kids, it’s getting tight. we’re asking a lot, though – we don’t want to move off this island, we don’t want to be too far away from work and school, we don’t want to have to drive that far to the beach, and we want something cheaper. [throws head back, and cackles] yeah, that’ll totally happen.

right.

I think we’ve found the church we want to stay with. I may have mentioned it before, but it’s a local Episcopal church. it has a nice mix of old and new, thoughtfulness and emotion. everyone is really friendly, and the kids really enjoy the nursery set-up. I’ve already been invited to their Bible studies, and am going to make that a priority this next week. as long as the kids are healthy [which they were not this last week], I have no excuse as they offer child care. it’s a win all the way around.

speaking of health – I think we’re all spiraling towards colds. there is one that’s going around S’s school at the moment, and she’s come home with a stuffy nose these past few days. it’s clearly not the flu, as we’re still functioning and not crowding the bathroom. it’s just a nice, slow-moving cold that is lingering. I’d say we’d just rest this weekend, but we’ve invited friends over for dinner and cousins are coming into town this weekend. maybe Monday? S doesn’t have school, so maybe we just crash? done.

R & I found a new burger place that we really liked. as great of a food town as Charleston is, they don’t have the greatest burgers. and that’s fine – their forte is seafood of all kinds, specifically shrimp and grits, not Angus beef. I had a real craving for a burger, though, a couple of nights ago. thank goodness for Google, eh? we found a place called the Sloppy Cow, which came recommended from some other transplants and online reviews. they stuff their burgers, add a couple things on top and they were DELICIOUS! I got the ‘smoking cow’, with bacon, gouda, and grilled onions. R got the ‘spicy cow’, with jack cheese, peppers and chipotle mayo. they’re not five minutes from us, so if we can’t eat in [which we could not have done that night], pick-up only took a few minutes. if we had decided to go for lunch, the kids could totally go.

isn’t it funny, what it takes for a place to feel like home? finding our own go-to places totally makes for me. I’m starting to use my map function less often for basic errands; we’ve frequented the mall a few times now for clothes and shoes; church, the beach, and school are all basics now; we have a pizza place, a burger place, a barbeque place [yes, it's a mustard sauce, but given their geographic location, I'll forgive them]. we do still need a Chinese food place – the first one we checked out was awful.

I feel like I’m in such a better place now. we’re not quite as stressed out about money as we were; G is sleeping through the night again, so I look like a normal person in the morning; we’ve made some wonderful friends, and know we can afford to go back to Kansas City when we want to. and, the Father was so patient with me when I was feeling down, alone, and tired. [oh, so, so tired!] I’m sure if I looked back through my previous posts, ones specifically about me, it wouldn’t look too pretty. I tried not to whine too much about it, because we were all sad about the move and I didn’t want to make the folks back home even more sad. I’m sure, though, some of it crept through.

as I told R, though, when we first moved out here – I’m thankful for jobs. and airplanes. I still am, but also for grace and peace.

she’s getting so big!

just a quick post, in trying to get everyone caught up with the family. S is next on the docket, as we progress through. I fully realize it’s now February, but I feel like this year has gone by so quickly! if I slow down long enough, I really see the differences in the kids from even a couple months ago. it’s startling, to be honest.

S is doing well. she still loves school [which I'm praying it stays that way!], and has really grown socially in these past couple of months. I wasn’t sure how well she was getting along with anyone at school, and was about to inquire with her teacher. then, we got back from our Christmas travels, and they all seemed to really miss her! all of this means that she has weird friend rivalries, odd style choices [based on other girls' odd style choices], and some friction as they all learn how to communicate and engage with one another. it’s good times.

we found out that she got into a fabulous charter school. we’re really excited about it, as there weren’t necessarily a lot of spots on and based on a lottery. it’s about 20 minutes away from our current place, so it means some driving on both our parts. R volunteered to drop her off most mornings, so that frees G and I up to take the mornings a little slower then I first thought. we’ll get her in the afternoons, and have a chance to get the run down of her day. we’ll have more on that as time passes, once PTA meetings kick off and kindergarten orientation happens this spring or summer.

she has a hilarious sense of humor. being around R has certainly paid off. she jokes just like him, and then grins so mischievously, followed by a “I’m just jokin’!”. a crack up, that one. she’s still very into art. her lessons start up at the end of the month, thanks to her Granny. she’s been experimenting already with different mediums; she likes to use chalk on construction paper, nail polish on computer paper, acrylic paint on whatever she can get.

she’s a fabulous big sister. as G has become incredibly mobile, she’s helpful with getting the floor cleared up and keeping an eye on him when he crawls into their room. school has been helpful in this, too, because she’s got her own space and her own friends in the morning, and therefore is not stressed that she had to be with him all day. that’ll change in the summer, but we have plans to be at the beach often so that should take care of itself.

she’s amazingly inventive and creative. I certainly hope that her new school and art lessons continue to foster that for her. she’s an amazing person.

here’s some photos to hold you over. I know some are planning trips eastward, but it all seems so far away still!

from KC – getting set to go outside in the freezing snow!

post-snow. yes, it was extremely cold!

she informed me that she wanted to run errands dressed like this. oh, okay.

not totally of her, but she’s in there [I promise!] she and R built a sand castle the last time we headed to the beach. we had an extremely warm spell, and headed out one afternoon. it was awesome.

li’l G – well, he’s not so li’l anymore …

fabulous readers! I’ve decided to break this months posts down into specifics of each family member. and honestly, let’s just start with the littlest and cutest member of the family. [see all photos below for proof] I also decided to post them chronologically – it just seemed easier, given the sheer amount of photos I wished to publish. hope you enjoy!

flying back to Charleston from KC – to say we were sleepy would be the understatement of the week

need I say more? this was taken on our first full day back home.  he certainly was tired. and I will stop typing now as to save future embarrassment from comments I had wanted to make.

this isn’t necessarily the greatest shot ever taken [and thousands of photographers all nodded their heads simultaneously], but it does highlight his new adventures.

cords, cords, cords galore! we didn’t think we had that many thinks out that he could eat. he proved us wrong in about three minutes.

such a sweet baby. and a sweet smile.

this is a mite fuzzy – I apologize for the suckiness of my photography skills. and, to be honest, this one was probably taken at 4 am. because he is a punk. [sometimes.] regardless, this was chosen to highlight the enormous size of his head. it’s incredible.

 

adorable and sweet, this kid is. and definitely willing to smile for the camera post-meals. full bellies equals happy babies!

the time stamp on this photo is 5 am. gross. and notice, he may be full but he’s not quite as happy. I think he’s learned his lesson with early mornings.

last photo! as always, happy, happy, happy. also, we’re learning how to use a cup. he’s pretty much mastered getting food into his mouth [his pincer-like grasp of small objects is hysterical]. transferring to an item that also gives food or drink does not seem to be a big deal to him at all. as long as he gets fed, eh?

I hope by the end of this week to get some photos of the other li’l one. this weekend has been a full one! [read: no time for blogging. or reading. or anything else I wanted to do in particular]. I took the GRE on Saturday [we'll keep you posted on how I did], we made it to church [ah-ma-zing! and on time, too!], and I did about ten extra loads of laundry because apparently my children thought that peeing on everything was extremely entertaining. I, as you might imagine, did not.

regardless, I hope you enjoyed the lovely, li’l G. he’s got a doctors appointment later this month, so I can report his official weight. if it’s no 20 lbs, I’ll be floored. because my triceps are informing me it has to be that much.

anyway…happy superbowl sunday! look for a posting by Thursday or so!

faithfulness

I’m free! well, for the moment anyway. thank the Lord for my beautiful husband who recognized the crazy look that was developing in my eye the last week or so. it was the look of a crazed, desperate woman who needed an escape, and quick.

he identified it, came in like Superman, told me that under no circumstances should I stay inside any longer, and made me leave the house.

awesome.

so, at this very moment, I’m in a cute, quirky coffee shop with a delicious mocha. I’ve got Andrew Bird in my ear bud, with the chance to catch my breath.

I’ve been sad since I got home. I loved, loved, loved being in KC for Christmas. we were surrounded by love like I hadn’t felt in a while. dear family, wonderful friends, and tons of laughs, memories, and celebrations for two weeks – it was water for a very thirsty soul. once we were back in Charleston, the withdraw symptoms were intense. everyone had daily living to rush back to, but it was not easy for me. I was a tired, sad mess.

we have wonderful friends here in Charleston, and we quickly met back up with them. that was nice, a little salve on an opened wound. and we all agreed – going back home is tough. you love it, but then the crash back is awful. unfortunately, this is coming from families who have lived here for five years or more. apparently, it doesn’t get easier as time goes on.

we decided to make church a priority this month, and really intentionally look for a church we could call home. we went to a local Episcopal church, not five minutes away from our apartment.

it. was. awesome.

I feel like some might read that, and wonder how “Episcopal” and “awesome” go together, but they did. it was like a light was lit in my soul; I felt at home. I haven’t felt at home in a church for a while – it was nice to feel that again. we really liked the mix of traditional practices, and contemporary worship and honest reflection on our walks with the Father. we met some wonderful people who run the nursery, and I immediately had an invite to the ladies Bible study. we get to take traditional communion, and make the sign of the cross. they have a lovely reverend, who seems like a nice Southern grandpa, with the love of the Father all over him.

we won’t make any official decisions quite yet, but we were both fans.

all of that was to say, the Father provides. He provided for me emotionally that morning, when I was still sad and hurting and feeling lonely. I’m still up and down, especially the kids are being particularly difficult. but, He’s given me an amazing husband who has made this transition as smooth as possible, and both have been faithful up til now. I can’t imagine either failing me anytime soon.

home is what you make of it

I sit in my dear friends’ home, enjoying [another] cup of coffee and staring in amazement at the winter wonderland around me. I don’t want to be too hyper-spiritual about the weather, but I certainly feel like the snow is a special present for me. how I love it! being home in December is such an amazing blessing.

it is New Year’s Eve, as well. I don’t want to be too sentimental about one date out the year. resolutions seem silly to me. [unless you have a plan, and then well, they're more like goals. which I do like.] it has been quite a year though, and reflection concerning it seems appropriate it.

at the start of January, I lived with my mother-in-law & brother-in-law. in a basement. with a then three-year-old and another kiddo clearly on the way. R had no clear cut idea what he’d be doing come August. he was in the midst of his dissertation, trying to navigate a before unknown world of employment. I was just trying to get through a day without a nap.

no, I was no always successful.

I was trying to sub part-time, which didn’t always happen. R needed plenty of work days, which meant I stayed home because there was no one else to watch S through the day. alternatively, I watched my nephew as well, and we did what we could to get by.

then, March came around and brought a gift in R landing a job. a tenure-track, full-time, benefits, by the ocean job. a dream! we each breathed a sigh of relief; bills would be paid, food could be purchased, and the thought that we’d be living off relatives for an extended period of time had settled into dust. as we announced the job placement, families & friends equally rejoiced with us and were saddened to discover the distance. 1100 miles is a long, far away place.

we had a baby – a healthy, lively, adorable son who insisted he was hungrier than any kid I’ve seen before. already, he’s over seven months old, sleeping through the night, attempting to crawl all around our apartment, and eating like a champ.

and then we moved. moved so, so far away. I’ve written all about it, and you can see how I’ve handled that emotionally. I would argue, considering I’ve never lived away from home, I did okay. we all did okay. there are still some sad days.

I miss my sister. a lot.

but, through it all, I think we’ve made it all right. R is nice and settled in; he made a few friends, and we have not been without fellowship and interaction. S is still in love with school, and clearly Charleston will be her hometown. the same holds for G, as he was a solid 10 weeks old when we moved him cross-country.

we found we still like each other, as a family. that’s a nice bonus, given how much we had to rely on one another through it all. we love our new city – so much so, R has sworn off all KC sports teams. [yes, he is a hypocrite and apparently doesn't like football all that much.] he now is a Carolina Panthers fan; though, I can’t say too much. I follow the Saints now, so the Chiefs may not get too much play in the near future. we love the beach, and the parks, and the historic downtown, and all that comes with living in a city that was originally a colony before the United States officially formed.

so, you take the bad with the good. we knew for six-plus years we wouldn’t live at home, and I think that time period allowed for us to adjust in a decent amount of time. I look forward to this new year, as an official South Carolina resident, and experiencing all that the city offers.

2013 will be a grand year. first birthdays, new nieces [& possibly nephews], the start of kindergarten. the ability to grow in wisdom and love, to find life enjoying and fulfilling in ways I wouldn’t have thought possible before. I eagerly look forward to it.

happy christmas!

we’re eagerly awaiting Santa in the Midwest! and enjoying the snow that surprisingly came the night we flew in! as our cousin noted, it was definitely the universe saying “Welcome home!”

out east, we prepped our letters for Santa. S is so very, very excited to inform Santa as to her wishlist. a-dor-able.

And now, the eagerly awaited drop off!

and … face plant. but she was excited!

we were somewhat prepared for the winter. we did know snow was a possibility. does she have gloves? no. does she have boots? no.

regardless, we made it work and she had a blast!

R was not prepared either. he stuffed his jeans into his dress socks into his shoes. it was hilarious. [I say, as I stayed inside with the baby, drinking coffee. I was nice and warm]

and they had a blast! she ran around for as long as her legs could stand it, and then she ran inside with a freezing cold face and legs. it was an incredible welcome back to Kansas City. as Christmas is tomorrow, we’re in heaven. we’ve seen my family, R’s family, friends, and then we’ll repeat. it’ll be an awesome week!

I hope all of you have a wonderful time with your own families, should you celebrate this holiday!