It's A Miracle!

I actually got a shower today! While Nick was at work! Who cares that it wasn't until after noon. Baby Nick should have been awake wanting to eat, but he kept sleeping peacefully in his swing. Joey finished his lunch and wanted to "rest shoulder", meaning he wanted to rock with Mommy for a minute while laying his head down on my shoulder. Within two minutes or less, he was asleep, so I gingerly carried him up to his "oh be" bed and laid him down. He kept sleeping.

While my shower was neither luxurious nor relaxing, it was cleansing! What a wonderful feeling. In fact, baby Nick is still sleeping, so I am able to get some things done around the house. I better get back to them.

AHHHH...

Have you ever had something that you were deeply passionate about, and then for whatever reason were unable to do that something for awhile? How wonderful did it feel to be able to participate again? That's what choir practice was for me tonight....it felt like "ahhhh, I'm home." I have always been deeply passionate about music, and especially choir music. I've been involved in a choir since middle school. However, for the last FIVE years, I have not sung in a choir, nor have I even sang on a regular basis. I missed it terribly.

Tonight was the first rehearsal for this year's Christmas program. It was just an introductory night, so we passed out the music books and listened to it once through. We sang along if we wanted to, but it was a very basic rehearsal. I sang through the whole thing, as most of us did. It is a very enjoyable program, however, very little "Christmas" to it in the traditional sense. It is more of a worship program.

I would have enjoyed the night if all I had done was get to sing again. But I also met a few people as well. One lady I talked to, Lanore, was the lady that worked in the nursery on Sunday. After we put two and two together, we realized we had met and she told everybody that my son is the sweetest child in the nursery. She took it upon herself to introduce me to the pastor and his wife. They were both excited that I had come to join the choir after only having visited for the first time on Sunday. I sat down with the pastor for a few minutes, Pastor Gary, and he asked if I had sang this program before. I hadn't. He said, "I could hear you singing so well that I thought you either could sight read really well, or you are part of the company that put the program together." That was really nice to hear. I can't wait until next week. I can't wait until Sunday either.

One of the best parts of the night though was when I came home. Although he should have been in bed, Joey was still up and so happy to see me. I had a feeling he would still be up, but I don't blame Nick at all. Baby Nick is at his worst in the evening with the colic. From about 6pm to 10pm or 11pm he is screaming as long as he is awake (and he is usually awake for the majority of that time.) It is quite difficult to try to get Joey to sleep when Baby Nick won't stop screaming, because Joey still needs us to lay down with him until he is asleep. As Joey was walking up the stairs with Daddy to go to bed, Daddy whispered in his ear to tell me what he learned to say while I was gone. In the most precious voice, Joey says, "Love Jesus." It was so cute.

Well, since all three of my boys are sleeping now, I should take advantage of it and go to sleep too.

The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:13b-14 NIV)

Mile Post

I had a mile post moment with Baby Nick today. He doesn't like to lay on the floor for long periods of time without screaming, however, this morning he actually layed on the floor for about half an hour. What's more, he didn't scream, he cooed. I know it doesn't sound like much, but when the only sound you hear out of him when he is awake is screaming, it was very nice to hear him talking nicely for the first time. Hopefully that will be the new trend! Baby Nick does NOT like to lay on his tummy though. Joey loved it as a baby, even slept on his tummy, but if I put the baby on his tummy he screams until either I roll him over, or he rolls over himself.

Joey is so helpful with baby Nick. Today he decided it was his new job to help change the diaper and got quite upset when I didn't let him help. Nick was laying on the floor and Joey was sitting on the blanket next to him when he looked up at me and said, "Stinky!" So he got me a diaper and thought that he would be able to change it himself. (That's all I need! I can just imagine how that would turn out.) So I let Joey undo to the tabs on the diaper, then I cleaned the baby, and Joey put the new diaper under baby and fastened the tabs. He is quite the little helper. Yesterday he declared it his job to shake the bottle to mix in the formula. I usually do the shaking when I first make the bottle, but Joey will shake whatever is left after Nick gets done eating!

It is such a blessing to have two precious children.
Praise be to God!

And the Rains Came...

As beautiful as it was yesterday, it was equally as dismal today. The skies were dark grey and it just rained and rained and rained. It felt like Oregon on a rainy day in December or January. Certainly not what I am used to for the end of September.

I didn't take the boys out today, however, I had to venture out a couple times (that's how I know how cold it was)...once to the mailbox to mail out some letters I wrote and once out to the garage to get some meat out of the freezer for dinner. That may not seem like a big deal, but the garage is about as far away from the house as it can get. What's worse is the hot water heater is out in the garage so it takes forever to get hot water. Let me tell you, making a bottle for the baby is a half hour ordeal, it seems like.

It's 11pm and Joey is sleeping nicely. Now if only I can get baby Nick to go to sleep. I would love to get a shower in as it has been about 63 hours since my last shower! Eww, I feel gross. Maybe I can convince Nick to stay up just a little longer so I can get clean.

Good night from near the end of the earth!

Cute in the Morning

It was amazing! All three of my boys woke up in a good mood today! I can't remember the last time that happened. I was able to get these adorable pictures to share with you. Joey is an incredible big brother, always loving toward baby Nick. He is always willing to help. He even tries to pick him up for me, so I have to be careful how far away I get from them!

Joey is so proud of himself that he can "hold" baby Nick by himself.

What a big cheese Joey is. Nick is just praying he does't get dropped!

Daddy is getting some snuggles!

It is a beautiful day here today. The boys and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. Joey walked beside me and baby Nick was in the carrier, zipped up in my coat! Joey did really well considering we walked for almost an hour! When we got home, I made Joey a sandwhich for lunch and he barely finished it before he looked over at me and said, "Lay down oh be bed." So I took him up to his big boy bed and he went right to sleep.

The kids and I went to church on Sunday and I really enjoyed the church we went to. Joey had a good time in the nursery, and of course the lady in the nursery said that he was so sweet and precious (as if I didn't already know that!) Baby Nick slept through the entire service which was very nice for me. I am planning on going to choir practice on Thursday night. They are just starting to rehearse their Christmas program and it will be so nice to be part of a choir again. Hopefully I can get my husband to come with me next week.

Comparison

Here are the latest comparison pictures of the boys when they were both about six weeks old. Joey is on the top and Baby Nick is on the bottom. (Please excuse the condition of Baby Nick's shirt, I don't believe in changing clothes everytime he spits up, because I couldn't keep up with the laundry!)

Have a great day knowing that God is Divine!

Alaska

What a beautiful drive! Nick to me to Wasila to see the office where he 'lived' for three months until we sold the house in Oregon. The highway was lined on both sides by the thickest foliage of Birch trees and Evergreens. The leaves on the Birch trees were all bright yellow and looked absolutely gorgeous with the deep green of the evergreens mixed in.

The Mountains are starting to get snow on them, as you can see from the pictures. I am told that we will be able to see the progression of the snow, as day by day it covers more of the mountains and finally reaches the ground. The mountains are so huge and up close to Anchorage...it will be a spectacular sight when they are completely covered in snow!

All of these pictures were taken through the car window as we are driving down the highway. In the last picture you can see the subtle reflection of Joey's shirt.




I look forward to posting more pictures of Alaska as I get them. One day, when my house is clean enough, I will take pictures of my 'home' so you can see where I live.

May the Joy of the Lord be your strength.

Picture Day

I decided it had been a few days since I had shared pictures of my growing boys. I remembered the other day, that when we flew up to Alaska, Baby Nick was only 16 days old! As I thought about it, I remember how small he was to hold on that plane and that he is so much bigger already. I am excited for his 2 month check up so I can see how much he has grown!

Here he is sleeping, again. It's what he does the most during the day.

Bubba is being goofy playing on the couch.

My big ham!

Make that Ham with Cheese, please!

I know he looks funny, but he really is quite cute. To get this picture, I had to put the pacifier in his mouth to get him to stop screaming, yank it out just when I'm ready to take the picture, and hope that it takes before he started screaming again!

This weekend we will probably get snow tires put on our van. I hear they sometimes get snow the first week of October! (Oh joy!) It's not that I don't like the snow. It's real pretty and all, I just don't like being cold. Luckily, so far that is, it stays pretty warm upstairs where the bedrooms are. Nick and I still keep both fans going at night, on high, and considered switching to the lighter comforter. However, it does get pretty chilly in the morning, so we left the heavy comforter on and will turn the fans down to medium and then low as it gets colder. If we are really lucky, it will stay warm enough not to have to use the heat upstairs and just turn it on downstairs during the day. But if it gets to 20 below, I don't know if I will be able to be reasonable with the heat. I will do my best though.

Nick has also talked about taking us to Wasila to show me where he "lived" for the three months we were apart. Hopefully, we'll be able to stop and take some scenic pictures so I can show you some of Alaska. Since I don't get out of the house much, and certainly not out of Anchorage, I haven't taken any pictures of the land yet. I know Nick wants to show me where he spent most of his time fishing also, and that is supposed to be a really pretty spot.

I suppose I ought to sign off for the night and get my shower while the boys are sleeping.

Be blessed.

Translation

Let's play a game...we'll call it "What's Joey Saying?" The answers will be at the end of the blog.

See if you can translate these adorable words or phrases:

1. "one-o-one"

2. "oh bee"

3. "cute fwiver"

4. "poo jay"

I wish I could think of more for you, but at this time of night, it's amazing I can think at all. I should be sleeping, I know, but wouldn't you know it...Baby Nick refuses to cooperate. He was just asleep, that's why I got on the computer, but I didn't lay him down more than two minutes ago and he woke back up again. At least at this particular moment he seems to be fine just laying there, but I'm not too optimistic that he will stay that way for long. At least Joey is still asleep in his own bed though. Let's pray that he stays there tonight.

I can't believe that it is already two-thirds of the way through September! I will have been in Alaska for a whole month in eight days. It doesn't seem possible. Today I just about lost it when Bubba said, "Jesse over. Bye-bye soon." He kept asking if Jesse could come over and with all my heart I wanted to say "yes" but I couldn't. Never do the miles seem so far away more than when Bubba asks to see someone in the family. I should probably think of something else to write about as I am getting all emotional again, acutely feeling the separation from my family.

As darling as it is to be called Mommy, Joey has started calling me by my first name once in awhile, and I can't help but smile. It seems to bother Nick that he calls me by my name, but I just remind him that I am "Mommy." He calls me "Trin" or "Choo nee nee" or even "Babe!!!" How can you get upset at that!

Well, thank God for miracles...Baby Nick got himself to sleep, so I will give you the translations for Joey's words and then get myself into bed!

#1 "One-o-one" is "another one"
#2 "Oh bee" is "Big boy" as in "oh bee bed"
#3 "Cute fwiver" is "screwdriver" (that one may have been too easy!)
#4 "Poo jay" is "PJ's" (he also calls his cousin Taeo, Too Jay)

Good Night

Stay Downstairs!

Well, it was a success....we managed to at least create the illusion that the house was in order. We concentrated on just the downstairs where we spend all our time. I even managed to hang a few pictures! All the boxes that were in the house have either been emptied or are stored away. The floors were vacuumed and the glass in the coffee table was wiped clean, thanks to Joey. We just had to ensure that we didn't give a full tour since the bedrooms upstairs do not resemble the downstairs in the least! I am okay with that. Small steps.

Dinner turned out very well. We had Farmer's Pork Chops which is a recipe from Paula Deen (nothing like southern cooking for company). The cake however was the hit of the night, as I hoped it would be. It didn't turn out looking very well as the icing was not stiff enough for the sides of the cake, so it kept sliding down leaving a thick pool near the base of the cake...but I frosted it as quickly as I could and stuck it in the fridge to help set the frosting. Call it vain, but I don't like to serve food that isn't aesthetically pleasing, so I cut it up in the kitchen and brought the pieces to the table! It was delicious. Of course, we have over half the cake left over...oh darn, my husband just hates that!

Joey seems to learn a new word or phrase every day. As I was cooking dinner last night, I was flouring the pork chops and got flour on my dark, navy shirt. So I let out a frustrating little growl. Joey comes running into the kitchen and says, "Matter, matter?" I have never heard him say "what's the matter" before. It was so cute, definitely worth getting flour on my dark shirt just before company arrives.

The other day Joey came up to me and said, "Belly putton hurt." (No, that's not a typo, that's how he says it!) Finally I figured out what to ask in return, "Are you hungry?" "Yeah" It broke my heart, because once again, I realized that Baby Nick is the only one in the house that eats on a regular basis anymore. But what a clever, descriptive way for a two year old to articulate his need.

Today, for the first time, Joey saw baby Nick roll over. He got a kick out of that and couldn't stop laughing. He has such an adorable laugh.

Well, its bedtime...Joey finally dropped off, so if I can get Baby Nick to go to sleep, I may just get a shower!

The Mess Keeps Growing

Does it ever feel to you, like the mess keeps growing? It's as if it is alive and the more you try to clean, the bigger it gets. It grows even faster when there is a deadline to cleaning it up.

We are going to have our first company tomorrow evening. Nick's boss, Cheryl and her boyfriend Randy are coming over for dinner. So of course, I want to have the place looking somewhat livable. I'm not expecting perfection, in fact, I probably won't even touch the boys' room...however, I do want the clutter and boxes to be cleaned up and put away. It just seems however, that since I want this done by tomorrow afternoon, the more I put away, the more there is to put away.

Then there is the amount of preparation in making dinner tomorrow. The meal itself takes a lot of prep and clean up before dinner is even served let alone the triple decker peanut butter cake I am going to make. Which means that after church tomorrow, I don't have a whole lot of time to spend putting things away as I have to cook all day, so everything needs to be done tonight!

I am excited to have company though. It's been awhile since I have seen anybody but my husband and kids.

Okay, break time is over! Got to get back to work.

Outlook...

That is what my issue is today. I had a bad outlook on the day from the very beginning, knowing that it would be a bad day. I hardly got any sleep last night and then Joey got up at 6:30 this morning, refusing to go back to sleep, and I just knew it would be one of those days.

What I should have done, is asked God right then to change my outlook and be my strength so I could get through the day. Hopefully now the day will be better. I am still exhausted, but my ongoing prayer through the day is that I will not let sleep deprivation color the way I look at the day and I have to, with extreme mental effort, tell myself what outlook to take on the day.

On the positive side, Baby Nick has been working on his smiling muscles and actually smiled up at me this morning. I did get a picture that I will share with you, however, it is at an odd angle as he was laying in my lap as I was at the computer...but you can still see the beginnings of a smile. If I may say so, he's going to have a VERY cute smile! (No bias, of course!)

And who can have a bad day when given a smile like this?!?!! Too bad he didn't look at me like this all day long.

What is with this kid falling asleep wherever he is? He cracks me up. Here he is, his legs just dangling off the recliner, sleeping as hard as ever. Even baby Nick screaming in the swing didn't wake him up! He is so funny.

Well, my husband should be home for lunch soon, so I better get making something for him. Joey will want to eat when he wakes up too. I think I will just take a few more minutes to myself and at least get dressed though!

Getting Something Done

That is my goal for the day......to get something done. I don't even have a preference for what should get done, I am just going to do something.

I have started a load of laundry already.....of course, since baby Nick spit up all over our sheets, I guess it was kind of necessary. Now I just have to figure out which piles are clean, but not folded and which piles need to be washed. I may end washing it all over again and doing my best to fold it when it comes out of the dryer. Half the time, I don't even remember to get it out of the dryer unless there is another load to put in!

I would also like to hang pictures today...make the place look a little more like home. I finally found my hammer and nails last night.

I suppose I should get Bubba some breakfast now. Have a blessed day.

One Month Pics

Here are a couple pictures of Baby Nick at one month.

This is how Bubba takes his naps now....when he is tired enough, he will lay down whever he is and fall asleep! Sometimes, I will have no idea where he is and will find him snoring on the floor.

Rolling

I can't believe it...Baby Nick is one month old today!!! Where does the time go. Just the other day, I started to see a change in how he looks. He has started to look less like a newborn. Of course, he is still small and young, but he doesn't have that "brand new baby" look anymore.

On Friday, I laid baby Nick on his tummy to see if he would like "tummy time" and he rolled over! I thought it was a fluke, I mean, I have never heard of a baby less than a month old rolling over! If it was a fluke, then he "fluked" three more times on Friday and three times last night! I guess we will have to wait and see, but I have a feeling that we have an early mover on our hands. This will be quite different for us as Joey has always taken his time with everything. Joey didn't crawl until 8 months, he didn't walk until 14 months, and he is still working on putting words together in phrases or sentences. I always said while I was pregnant, that baby Nick was going to be an athlete the way he moved around so much.

I have to start getting creative with my showering time if I ever want to be clean. Last night, or early this morning, after feeding baby Nick at about 5:30, I decided to take my shower and then go back to bed. Amazingly, I was able to go back to sleep and it felt so heavenly to be clean. I may have to do that again.

Well, Baby Nick is finally waking up and since he hasn't eaten for three hours, he will be starving!

God Bless

Brotherly Love

I am so proud of my sons. Especially Joey......he has accepted having a baby brother with such love and dignity. Sometimes, I will be holding baby Nick and Joey will look over at us and giggle. He thinks that Baby Nick is funny and the only thing I can figure that Joey would find funny is how Nick flails his arms and legs around as he is building up that muscle control!

Joey asks me all the time if he can hold baby Nick and he especially likes to "bounce" him. He takes such good care of the baby.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of their brotherly love!

What mother wouldn't be proud of this display of brotherly love!

God Bless

Sunday Morning Rush

It is Sunday morning, what a refreshing thought. I am excited to be getting ready for church. My prayer is that we will find a church that God has prepared us for, where each of us can be ministered to and can find a place to serve as well. We have had a few recommendations to churches we should try and I am so grateful for a starting point, as finding a new church, even in a city you are familiar with, can be a difficult process.

I forget how hectic getting ready on Sunday morning can be when you have small children, and I only have two! I can't imagine how my sister-in-law Angie does it with her five. She is such an amazing woman and it is such a blessing to call her friend.

I had my first visitors on Thursday. Glenn, Edna, Cathy, and Melinda came over to visit and meet the boys. It was so nice to see them. Cathy's reaction to Joey was, "Oh my goodness, it's a boy Candy!" She couldn't get over how much Joey looked like my mom. Cathy also said she was on a mission from my grandma to make sure I was alive and well and in a safe neighborhood...apparently my telling Grandma isn't assurance enough! :) It is nice to be so loved and cared about.

Well, we are all bathed and dressed, now I need to make sure we get breakfast, teeth brushed and shoes on.

Have a blessed day.

Blessings

I have much that I could complain about...and I do quite frequently. But today, I want to focus on my blessings......

God loves me, as faulty as I am, He loves me. There could be no greater blessing than that. And He is whom all other blessings come from.

My husband...he always manages to remind me how much he loves me at the very moment I need to hear it. He has been completely understanding of the time I need to make the necessary adjustments to our new life in Alaska and tells me that he loves me for being with him. He is willing to help with the boys, which not all wives can say about their husbands. I tell him how sorry I am for bothering him in the middle of the night when I need help with something, but he always assures me that it is no bother and he wishes he could do more. I couldn't dream of a more wonderful man to be married to.

My children....so full of unconditional love. Even when Joey is showing me how good he is at being two years old (no that wasn't a compliment), he is always quick to show me how much he loves me and desires my time and attention. Baby Nick is still so young, but I know that he loves me too, especially when he sleeps for a long period of time during the night! :)

My family....I have the most wonderful parents, grandparents and siblings, all of them so supportive and loving. There is rarely a day that I don't hear from somebody letting me know that I am loved and missed and being prayed for.

There are far too many blessings to list each one, however, those are my most precious blessings.

Baby Nick is begging to be fed...God bless you.

Free Time

What is free time? I think I remember something about it, from way back when I was a kid...sometimes in school they let us outside for what was called recess! I think that was the last time I had free time. It seems that way sometimes. In fact, now is the time I should be sleeping as both my kids are asleep, however, a quarter after one in the morning seems to be the only time I have free to do something for me, something I enjoy. I hear it gets better as the kids get older...I only have to deal with no free time for another 18 years or so! :)

I do enjoy my sons though. Joey will pick up one of his cell phones (our old recycled phones) and walk around the house saying, "'Lo, Hi Nanny...Love you...miss you too...Bye" He talks to Nanny and Aunt Aubrey and even Steve who is my sister-in-law's boyfriend! He is so cute. He always brings the phone over to me and puts it up to my ear so I can talk too. He is very thoughtful.

Baby Nick is still working on being fun to watch. He still sleeps much of the day, therefore stays up much of the night. But it does seem to be getting better. There are more times during the day that he is awake, although, he is usually screaming, so I wish he were asleep! I guess we can't have everything we want.

I will share a couple of pictures of the boys...the couple is a comparison shot. They are pictures of Joey when he was 17 days old and Nick when he was 18 days old so you can see how much they look alike. It is great that they are both sitting in the same chair for these pictures...I didn't plan it like that!

This is Joey when he was 17 days old.This is Baby Nick at 18 days old. In my mind, there is no question that they are related!

Here's a recent pitcture of Joey, always doting on his baby brother, making sure that Mommy and Daddy are taking good care of Baby Nick.

Well, I really should try to lay down and get some sleep...I don't have much time left until Baby Nick will wake up to eat!

God Bless.

The Moving Process

I always forget what a long process it is to move. Even when you are doing a short move from one end of town to another, it takes forever to unpack all your boxes, finding just the right place for all your things. However, the process is extended at least ten-fold when you have a toddler and newborn baby.

Even with both Nick and I working on the house, we hardly seemed to get anything done. I got the laundry done (again) and one box of clothes unpacked in the closet. That's it! I also straightened up the living room some more, but have hardly begun to get the house in order. I guess I will have to double my efforts as much as possible if I want to get a good deal done this weekend while Nick is home.

I thank God that I have such a wonderful husband and children. Nick is always quick to rescue me when I am losing patience with Baby Nick. We work well together, because by the time Nick starts losing patience, I am ready to start again! Joey is also such a sweetheart. He is always full of loves for Mommy and Baby Nick. He never seems to get frustrated that Baby Nick cries much of the time. He usually just gives him hugs and kisses and sometimes says, "Sorry Baby Nick." He has such a tender heart.

Well, we have hit the hardest part of my day...bedtime. Joey is having a hard time staying asleep in his big boy bed again and of course, Baby Nick is screaming his head off. I guess I should do something about it! :)

Another Day Is Done

Well, another day is over and it would be so easy to be discouraged with how little I got accomplished today. However, both the children were fed and bathed today and that in itself is worth feeling good about! Now if only I could manage to bathe as well!

As for the goals I set for myself today... I can't say I was very successful in staying awake while Bubba was up, however, Bubba climbed up on my lap and fell asleep as well, so I won't let the guilt consume me.

I did very well with the second goal. After unpacking Joey's suitcase, I was able to get the linen closet unpacked, the dishes rinsed, much of the garbage picked up from the living room, our home phone and voice mail set up, and more of the boys room put away. It is amazing how proud I can be of baby steps.

Well, Joey is being difficult to put to bed, he still isn't asleep yet and it is after ten. And of course, Baby Nick is also screaming his head off, so who can sleep anyway! They're still so easy to love, though. God is so good!

Setting Small Goals

It is Friday! That means that I will have my husband to myself for three whole days. Well, he is on call, but hopefully he won't get called out to do anything. We have much to accomplish this weekend.

Today I am setting small goals for myself. Goal #1: Stay awake while Bubba is up! Yesterday, I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open while holding a sleeping hot water bottle of a baby and I kept waking up to find Joey is some kind of mischief. One time, I heard him say, "Color hand" and found he had taken a ball point pen and colored his hands blue! Thanks, Nick. (Nick is always writing notes to himself on his hands if he doesn't have paper nearby.)

Goal #2: Put Baby Nick down once he is asleep and try to get one thing put away. I am doing good with this one so far. I have finally unpacked Joey's suitcase from the flight here on Monday! Then, I rewarded myself by getting online to post a blog. :) I will have to get back to work soon.

But I hear Baby Nick beckoning to me from downstairs...Gotta run!