Alaskan Whirlwind

I will preface this entry with: Beware, the story is told in pictures. Just keep scrolling, just keep scrolling...

Boarding the plane to Alaska this last time felt different. 1. It was a last minute trip. 2. Andrew was not meeting us at any time during the stay. 3. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. 

It was so nice to see my family, have the cousins play together, spend Thanksgiving with relatives I hadn't seen in years, and just get away for a little while. Little did I know Peter would spend the ENTIRE time sick with something, the kids would barely sleep more than a 2 hour stretch without waking, I would get the flu and have to extend our stay, and Ella would start her extreme 4 year old attitude and opinion throwing the day before we left. I did get to do the 5am shopping Black Friday which I haven't done in years, visit my favorite little coffee stand (Kindred Spirits Coffee), knit a few hats, have a night out sans children with my parents, brother and sister in law, and gain a new favorite Anchorage store (Ozarks). It was cold, snowy, and very memory-filled.

Renee reading to the kids. Ella, Emerson, Levi and Peter.

This is what happens when your tupperware cupboard is accessible to toddlers.

Regan playing in a box.

The kids making a train with all the cans from the shelf.

Holy snow! This is the view from my parents back window.

My dad playing with Ella & Peter outside. He threw this snowball at me, missed and it landed in the house. 

This was the front yard tree at 5am when we went shopping Black Friday. 

We went to the Museum art show and they had a Christmas tree decorated with dolls from around the world.

Starting the gingerbread house.

The finished product, the kids were pretty proud of themselves.

This is what happens with Gramma decided to play "fix the roof." 

Uncle Dan & Aunt Arlitia came for a visit. It was great to see them.

Regan wearing the hat I knit her. It matched her jacket!

Regan liked to look out those binoculars at everyone and say, "I see you!" 

My cousins with John. They called him "squashy."

The rolls! Butter the rolls!

Great Aunt Millie made the turkey. Yum-O.

My brother with John and Emerson. 

Cousin Michael is becoming a favorite with the kids. They call him Uncle Michael.

I think the kids watched the movie Cars 100 times when we were there.

The totally botched effort to get the kids to all take a picture in the Christmas clothes.

But we could get them to all look at the tree pretty effortlessly.

Grandpa Jim.

Round 2 of the gingerbread house creation.

This one stayed standing and the kids were so proud of that.

We ended our trip on a good note and we were mostly all healthy by the flight home (3 days late). Ella was sick on the flights (good thing she knows how to use a sick bag), and Andrew drove with a friend to pick us up since the weather was bad and I was exhausted. I'm thankful for our time there, but you can bet that I won't be making any more last minute trips to the iceland any time soon. Thank you mom for flying us up to spend time with you all.

In the Air Again

No pictures this time, just a quick little blip about today. I am up very early to ensure a shower before we fly to Alaska later. Of course the one morning I get up super early, after being awake most of the night because of a loud storm, the kids are still fast asleep. Peter is in my bed, right in the middle, where he thinks he belongs. It was just about the most un-restful night I have had since having a newborn. I have things to look forward to today at least. We fly through Minnesota and Seattle, two of my favorite airports, to be greeted by my parents and my brother because now we require 2 cars for pick up. Ridiculous. It is super cold in Anchorage and according to the forecast, that doesn't seem to be changing too soon. I hope I packed accordingly for all of us. I ended up with 2 pieces of luggage because now that the kids are getting bigger, I can't fit everything into 1 anymore. Oh well, it's worth bringing a few extra warm things. And lots of knitting too :). I am really looking forward to seeing family this week and next and spending Thanksgiving with some of my family I haven't seen in 5 years. I wish Andrew could come, but he's on call for 5 of the nights we're gone and then leaves for 4 of them to Orlando. It's good timing for us to be away. The kids can't wait to go to the airport, I even had to make a chart for the fridge since the day I told them we were going 2 weeks ago. "X's mean not today, the big circle around the 17 means yup, here we go!" Peter keeps looking at it and saying, "when we get to the circle, I get to see my Levi boy." The kids love their cousins. Well, I drive out with them in about an hour, so I should go. Here's to driving, kids songs for over an hour, a much-required Starbucks pit-stop, not forgetting anything, and boarding 3 different planes with 3 little kids and not losing my mind before we reach our final destination. Love to you all, pray we stay safe.

ps. yes, this is very last minute and we've only known about going to AK for about 2 weeks. My mom wanted to fly us up there, so after much hesitation about flying in the winter with the kids by myself, I booked the tickets. My friend Kasey is helping us in Harrisburg today (thank you!), and we will be off around noon. We arrive around 9pm tonight. I will dole out snacks and medicine as needed :).

This and That

 This is an update as of November 13th because it's been a long time since I just wrote about what's going on in our house. The past few months have been a little crazy, as there has been something going on every weekend and Andrew remains busy at work, while I juggle outings and keeping the house under wraps. Well, trying at least. As I got the kids out of the car the other day at Target a lady said to me, "Wow, you sure have your hands full, huh?" (This, not being anything new said to me) I finally gave a response. "Yeah, full of joy, right?" She looked at me and smiled and said, "Yes, for sure." I will share my joy with you now :).

Whenever the kids do something funny or make a new thing, they always ask me to take a  picture of them with it. This being no exception, Peter finished decorating his cupcakes while wearing Ella's skirt in his jams and wanted me to forever document his creation.

And here we have Ella with her "pigs" (pegs) necklace that was so wide she could barely wear it, so she took it off and wanted her picture anyway. 

Meanwhile, John's idea of a creation is the mess he made by emptying the cupboard under the island. A favorite past time of his right now. He loves playing with playdoh containers out of the bin. 

Aunt Jenna visited for our birthdays and she got to cuddle with the lovebug. Give that boy his blankie and his fingers automatically go in his mouth and he melts in your arms. Without fail, I'm telling you, it's one of the greatest things ever.

These are photos from a recent fundraiser I did for our MOPS group. A few of my favs, but there were 23 families who came to my living room for pictures. This was a ton of work, but a lot of fun as well. I am glad I could do it. Andrew says next year we will just give MOPS a check and call it good. We'll see, I might get up the nerve to do it again since I just love getting good pictures of kids. 

Their faces are adorable too, but I love feet. Something about this pair of patent leather shoes just shouted, "Take our picture."

This was an act of sheer disobedience on Ella's part. She asked for pepper one night and we said, "no, you won't like it." So, she decided to take it upon herself, open the lid, and upon pouring realized it was a big opening. The look on her face was priceless. She knew she was busted. Andrew wanted to make her take a bite. I advocated on her part mostly because I HATE pepper and she went hungry that night. Cruel? Maybe, maybe not. She hasn't done it since.

This boy's big blue eyes are something else. I can't get enough of this face!

This was halloween parade night. The kids had a lot of fun catching candy and filling their bags up. It was cold and Andrew took John home early, but overall we all had a nice time. Peter yelled at the drivers of the floats, "Hey! I'm a giant pickle and I like candy!" Ella wore her new princess skirt and cape and John was the pumpkin. Ella told people, "I'm a princerella, he's a pickle, and he's a pumpkin."

We helped with our church's "trunk or treat" and our trunk was Christmas a theme. This was the aftermath when the kids unloaded their bags on the van floor. 

Kasey and Matt came up for her birthday weekend and I got to take her maternity pictures. She's due on Christmas. I can't wait! 18 years of friendship and I am so thankful for her.

This is Ella and Peter's idea of "hiding." I had to grab the camera when I saw their legs poking out the sides of the chair. They are staring at each other saying, "Do you see her? Does she see us?" Then they heard the camera and I said, "I found you AND I got your picture."

I bought these shirts for the boys this summer and for some reason they hadn't worn them together yet. Since it's getting cold I thought I'd better get their picture together. In this above picture, I asked, "Who likes treats??" Even John got in on the yelling. Peter's expression is so great.

We'll have to forgive the premature Christmas decorating, but I couldn't resist getting these little ornaments for the kids to color. One of my favorite parts of decorating our family tree as a kid was seeing all the old silly ornaments we made as wee ones. I figured I'd better start now and maybe someday I can have a tree for them with all their old "Cornaments" as Ella calls them. Fitting...Cornament. Cornelius. Ornament. The girl is brilliant I tell you.

I put John in this outfit because I thought he should wear everything at least once. Now I know I was wrong and I think he would concur. 

This....this....is what happens when Peter is left to fall asleep on his own in my room. Mind you, the stamps are old, but 37 cents each nonetheless. Andrew says we're taking it from his allowance. I said, "I need to get a picture of this." Peter said, "stickers!" 

Family Laundry Futon Dresser

Kids are playing together so nicely. 

John started taking steps on November 1st. This is him standing on his own yesterday. Note: shoe in background, not on foot.

Ella is learning to draw so well. Tracing hands, smily faces, writing her name, we're really proud of her.

Stirring food, pots and pans oh my!

More playing together. 

This is my morning. Ella gets milk warmed up, Peter likes diluted juice and John gets milk first, then water. Ella likes blueberry or strawberry "opameal," Peter likes green (Apples and Cinnamon) "impameal," John likes whatever he's given. The kids will all eat the same thing if I make something, but if it's a quick meal, I appreciate instant oatmeal and I also appreciate each kid calls it something different.

Well there you go. The most recent of pictures of our days. Busy and full, happy and frustrating, but most of all, I'm trying to find JOY in each day. I was encouraged to do this by a speaker we had at our mom's night out last week. We packaged boxes for Operation Christmas child and had a challenge to make memories and find joy this Christmas season, and in each day. It struck a chord with me because there are days when I just want it to be bedtime. I want to make memories and do things with the kids that bring joy to all of us. Taking pictures, recording their voices, create things to keep and treasure...all things to do while they are little and willing. I can't wait for the day when we pull out these funny little wooden "Cornaments" and I can tell them the story of how they colored them when they were 2 1/2 and 4 and how they fought over the green and pink markers and how they taped them to the window since it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet and thus, no tree to hang them on. I love it. I love them.

We are....Penn State!!

Yesterday, Andrew and I got the chance to go to a Penn State football game for free and we took it up right away. The tickets, given to us by one of his attending doctors, worth $55 each were in the season ticket holder section very close behind the opposing bench. Bear in mind that I am used to watching sporting events where I know the players, the fans are my age (at least the ones I sit by), and the venue is small enough that I don't have to be in shape to get to my seat. Yesterday however, I knew not a single player, our surrounding Alumni were over 55, and I am sore today from our hike to and from our car. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. The student section was HUGE and those are some crazy loyal kids (yes, I can call them kids now because some of them are 10 years younger than me). The marching band was great, hot chocolate and hot dogs were worth going back for, and the team came back from a 21-0 smashing after the first half to win. Oh yeah, not to mention it was the game where Joe Paterno acquired his 400th victory as their coach. They said there were 104,000 people in attendance! We got to see some opposing fans, who refused to sit down and after being told numerous times to do so, be escorted out by security as well as a large number of 60 something year olds screaming, yelling, high fiving, and shouting commands at the players like they could actually hear them. There is something really funny about older men showing so much enthusiasm for something that they have to take out their hearing aid to yell as loud as they want and not hurt their own ears. I had to laugh. I'm really glad we got to go. Our friend watched the kids and they also had a great day. I can't wait to do that drive again with the family to get some Penn State Creamery ice cream. Way worth the hour and a half- very beautiful drive through amish country.

Leaves

Bittersweet October.  The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.  

~Carol Bishop Hipps

There are so many things I love about Fall or Autumn as some say. I like the word Autumn. Mostly because it has a silent "n" on the end and not many people use it anymore. I love that my kids have so much fun in the leaves and can play outside fully clothed, but not totally bundled up. I've discovered leaves can be thrown, caught, raked, put in buckets, preserved in books, hung on the fridge, or just left in the yard for all to enjoy (or find a nuisance, however you look at it). At any rate, in the summer, there is sunscreen, swimsuits, heat, sweat, the need for a pool almost every day. In the dead of winter, huge coats that cover cute sweaters, mittens, hats that toddlers protest, bitter cold and the need for indoor heat to warm the little red fingers on those same toddlers who protest mittens as well. Autumn! Now there's a good time of the year. I've not had the chance to experience this until the past few years living on the East Coast. LOVE IT!! Southern California only afforded hot and hotter, Alaska, cold and colder (given a few nice summer days that we ALWAYS miss), but out here, well, the perfect blend of seasons. It's getting crisp outside, the bugs are gone, the leaves are so pretty, my sweaters, scarves, jeans, and boots are seeing the light of day, the kids can just play outdoors un-slathered in UV protectant goo, Andrew gets to use his leaf vacuum/blower combo tool, and we all sip warm drinks, roast hot dogs and never forget the ever-loving s'more. I will enjoy it while it lasts, because coming up: forecasted rain and the possibility of snow here in the next few weeks. So, I will end with the words of George Eliot, 

"Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

The Fam

You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.  

~Desmond Tutu

As October has passed and we are officially looking onto the "holiday season," I've been thinking a lot about family. Mostly because I wish I were with them, any of them, but for now, it is our own party of 5. My sister came to visit for all of our birthdays and that was a really special time. The last time we will be together with just her, she's going to have a baby in January. Can I just say that watching my little sister get ready to become a mom herself is somewhat surreal to me? I love it, she's going to be a great mom, she helped me so much with Ella in her first year of life, not to mention was her room mate as well. There is something special, after you are a mom, about watching other women become mothers for the first time.  I will be the first to admit, I always tear up, and usually cry when I hold someone else's new baby for the first time, especially knowing it's their first. Don't know why, just do. Maybe it's because since I have now been there three times myself, I know the raw emotion that being a new mom brings about. The love, the vulnerability, the pain of their tiny cry, the sleepless nights, the part of you that just wishes they would stay small forever. Yeah, that's how it is. Seeing my kids get older lately has just made my heart flood with memories of the past few years, and wish and hope that I don't lose or forget those special times. Now that John is trying to walk, it makes me think of when Ella and Peter were learning to walk. Or when they learned how to eat on their own, hold their own bottle, their first words, the first time they said, "Yuv, you." Wow, that's an awesome day. I am excited for John to talk, so are Ella and Peter. They were clapping and yelling, "Yeah John!" last night when he was taking his first few steps. It was a fun family moment. Do you ever think about a such thing called a "brain picture?" I have lately. Something where you just wish your brain would take that very moment in a picture and put it in a special album never to be forgotten. I guess it's called a "memory," but it seems like there are moments that would be better described than just a "memory" if they could. I am really trying to make the most of these days while they are little, though it's hard on days when I want to pull out my hair, but I know it's flying by and the "brain pictures" or "memories" flood my mind as I watch milestones come and go. I love my family, close and extended, I wish we could all be together all the time, but since we're not, I have to rely on the memories and be excited for the times we are all together to make more.