Monday, November 19, 2007

schedules and expectations

its coming on that time where graham's semester is starting up for his master's - meaning we'll be seeing him about 2 hours out of the day for dinner and bathtime. he'll go to work around 7am and then get home at 5pm and then go back to reading or writing either at his desk (if he can get work done with all of us around:) or back the war college until midnight or so. we had a nice 2 month break to travel to cali and to move and now its back to work. i did so much better when i knew what he needed of his time and what i could expect from him for help. it didn't always run smoothly but for the most part once we had laid it out we were good to go and we were a well-oiled machine. we always went on an after dinner walk to the water but now that its chilly and dark aby 4pm we'll see if we can do the walk ... perhaps i will be taking the kids to the park after the dark with flashlights. maybe this will be our "treat" to look forward to - just getting some fresh air and new scenery. i feel as though we are still "in flux" from the move but its getting more organized and with my folks coming for thanksgiving we can get some extra help with the dejunking and putting away. i am really hoping that within a month we'll be completely "moved in" and feel "at home". i know that when things have a place and i can clean more easily the whole house will smell more cheerful. my friend shelly had a nice candle lit on her counter and it made the whole house smell so good. i think i will be doing the same. of course the christmas tree and decorations are coming out the day after thanksgiving at our home - so that will be fun. somehow i need to get a visit to the y at least a few times a week for my own sanity and health.

well its off to the park for now to meet up with friends. we had the pattersons and the fortunes over for supper last night and we had a blast! its so fun that will and shelly know my brother and kyla so well. we are pretty stoked about the pattersons too - they are living in our old home and we think they are great - plus they are from HAWAII!! got to love all that warm, aloha spirit.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

jesse's birthday

just a few days ago on nov. 15th would have been my dear brother, jesse's, nineteenth birthday, had he not passed on to the Good Country almost 2 years ago. i had meant to blog about it b/c i was really feeling sad but you know how life is having just moved in and having three kids who keep one so busy ... so here i am on sat afternoon, blogging. half the fam is asleep in our bed next to the computer. we all got naps today. we all needed naps. poor kyrie woke up at 4:15am and then threw up. then when rhys got up she felt bad too but pretty much just laid around all day (sprawled on one parent or another) and was very sad about a stiff neck she had. i have been pumping them with tylenol on the clock and hoping that we can just sleep what ever bug we have off. (incidentally, we all had the flue mist and shot -- just ransom -- a few days ago so that might be the source of the funk.) its already past 4pm and its nearly dark outside. i am not a big fan of this early darkness. but my inner optimist longs for something fun to make it the best part of the day - perhaps its a yummy dinner simmering on the stove or a project for the kids, or a general feeling of peace (like when all the boxes are empty and my junk -- half of what is down in the basement -- has made its way into the goodwill) and i can work on something creative -- like the brilliant idea i just had this morning around 5am when ransom woke up after rhys and kyrie had finally gone back to sleep - b/c of course poor rhys was up too in the wee small hours:) this brilliant idea is going to make its way in to our handmade christmas gifts. i can't wait. it involves paper and i just love LOVE paper and stationary. in fact that is one of my most favorities types of stores to spend idle time in - stationary stores and of course book stores. speaking of books - i am reading michael pollan's the omnivores dilemma - wow - its amazing. a must read. especially as the food begins to pile up at the holidays. what are we having for dinner? & what is it exactly that we are eating? where does the food really come from? this might be up there with my other life changing book - eating more with less, which i have mentioned earlier in my blog site.

there. that felt good to write all that and not even interupted. and now i am going to rescue my husband's things from ransom - who is the Rummager!!!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

greetings from 5th ward

has it really been a whole month since i wrote on my blog? ugggh - i have missed you so much. we are seperated no longer.

today was a good day for us. i did some more unpacking (so we did move two weekends ago and continue to unpack each day, purging what is not essential ie. what we didn't know we had and havn't seen in a year!) and the usual preschool drop off/pick up. these days i am trying desperately to save all my energy for the kids and graham. since we were in california for my brother's wedding and then getting back and four days later moving across town, i thought about and reevaluated my lifestyle as a mother and the keeper of the home. i am going to be taking a break from all my extra activities (play group, bible study, mom's club events etc.) to make life simpler and less hectic around here. my two youngest are in a transitional period that requires a lot more mom-power. rhys has had a very tough month dealing with the change of traveling and then moving. she still says she wants "to go home to the yellow house." she needs a stable, easy home environment with as little in the car and running around as possible. ransom is needing to keep his daily nap schedule for everyone's sanity. he goes down around 9-9:30am and then again at 2pm. its really important that the kids get settled in to our new home and that means time out from everything else. there is a time for everything and a season - this season that our little family is in is a good time. its a time to circle the wagons and prioritize. its good to leave a field fallow for a time. later on the ground is rested and able to yield a harvest of bounty. i hope that all my friends who read this will understand. this of course does not mean i will not be getting together with friends, but for a time i am needing to lay low and rest from outside committments.

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