Hearing Aide Status: MIA 3 weeks
Retrieved by Relief Society President in church building

This hearing aide ain't going nowhere!

Run

One of the first things that turned my head towards Tom when I was single was overhearing him telling someone how fast he ran the mile.

Four minutes, twenty-four seconds.

And then he quickly corrects me each time; it’s really twenty-seven seconds. But I like to exaggerate. Twenty-four sounds so much cooler, and what is three seconds?

So I’ve always thought running was hot. In conversations pertaining to my husband, if you don’t know him well I always try to find a way to sneak in the fact that he runs, and he runs fast. I love to hear the oohs and aahhhs when I give them the actual number. It’s like I’m bragging about one of my children. Maybe that’s because I’ve never been able to do it, I don’t know.

I did run a 10K a few years back.
It was sad.
Pathetic.
I trained for months.
I ran six miles everyday, well almost everyday. The sad thing is, I was blessed with long legs (well it doesn’t always seem like a blessing try finding a skirt that goes to the knees!), yet I can never get myself out of a granny trot. For some reason I can’t get my knees up when I run, I can never get into a stride, I shuffle. So odd.

I don’t really have a point to this post today, I'm kind of just rambling because I’m sick of looking at my picture every time I check blogs.

Back to running.
Tom has decided to start running again. He hasn’t run in a long time. Most normal people who haven’t run in a long time have to ease into it. Not Tom. He jumps on the treadmill and goes. He goes for like an hour. And he does not granny trot.

It just doesn’t seem fair. How can I admire his ability and even be a little turned on by it, and yet still have seething envy for his talent?

So I’ve decided to start running again.

Something amazing has happened.
I’m not running really fast or really long.
But my knees have picked up this week.

I’ve finally found my stride.

Now that’s a happy story. We’ll see if I’m still doing this in three months!

I cut my hair.
Then I cried.
Sorry, this is post nap picture, so it's not totally fixed, not that it looks any different when it is!
There is just a little too much face for me now, no hair to hide behind.

Omaha Zoo

(Collin, Caleb, Susie, Hannah & Talin)

We love the Omaha Zoo, so when the weather was bragging to be seventy degrees on Saturday, we jumped at an invitation from Chad and Betsy to join them at the zoo.

Ready to go!
Oh how I wish Talin were looking at the camera for this picture!!

Collin, Susie and Tom on the gorillas.

This zoo has some amazing attractions, the gorillas are one of the coolest exhibits.

True to form, Talin attached himself to Hannah and made it his responsibility to look out for her. Even taking her leash from her dad at times, which was fine until Collin wanted a turn, he treated her more like a puppy than a little girl. It was quite amusing.

Caleb watching the monkeys.

This boy loved the zoo, it was fun to take him now that he's older.

Can you hear the ocean?

Talin can.

No, Collin is not intoxicated in this picture.

Me and my boys.

They are really the best. Looking at this picture makes me realize how lucky I am to have these boys.

The Family.

We were in the shark tank so it was pretty dark, and the sharks swimming around us and overhead were kind of distracting.

Caleb loved the shark tank, I think the aquarium was his favorite part. Mainly because he couldn't miss the fish swimming around, and it's super awesome.

So much fun, but a little bittersweet at the thought that it's probably our last trip to the Omaha Zoo since we're moving in two months. :( I'd like to write a post about our future move and the heartache involved, but there would be too many tears, and it might be too mushy and painful to read, mainly for me to write.

One Year

A lot can happen in one year.
A whole lot.

Our family dynamics are so different, so much better. We now devote our time to each other, to Caleb. One year ago I never would have imagined life to be what it is today. It's been a long road to travel, and the bumps have been unexpected, not the ones I assumed would come along.

But accepted and taken into stride.
One year.
Wow.

Caleb came to nervous, unsure parents. We weren't sure what to expect. We weren't even sure if he would be with us for a full year, we were scared, but we found comfort. Caleb not only opened our hearts and answered our prayers, but he opened us up to new friends, new possibilities, and a whole new world of beautiful people; people willing to pick up our slack when we haven't been able to carry the load ourselves. Family members flying out, listening to hours of my phone conversations of frustrations, pitfalls and triumphs with Caleb. Ward members who bring a treat each week for the older boys, who love on them and care for them during sacrament meetings, and always have a mint or a m&m when most needed, and take Caleb and rock him to sleep during church when I'm ready to pull my hair out. And these are all different people, different families, all offering us their support.

We love this boy. Without him we wouldn't be who we are today. He has taught us a lot this past year. The most important lesson I've learned is acceptance.

Acceptance of trials.

Acceptance of service and love.

Acceptance of people in all walks of life.

I love my Caleb, and I love every little thing about him, even that blasted g-tube!

We look forward to many more birthdays and celebrations each year for him.

His triumphs and victories will be many.

Watch out.

Don't you wish you felt this way about cake?

Happy Birthday Caleb!!

One Year Old Today!

(that is a tear of birthday joy)

A little vacuuming & dinner

The Mullet

Collin had a Mullet.
So we cut it.

He wanted a mohawk.
So I cut one.
He cried.
I shaved the back of the mohawk.
He cried some more.
This was the finished product.
Today he's liking it a little more.
The kids at school called him a rock star.
What's not to like?

Why??

Me: It's been a week Tom, do you think I should make a doctor's appointment for Talin's eye? I mean we've tried cream and Benadryl, it's not going away.
Tom: I think it's fungal.
Me: That is so gross.
Talin: I hate going to school, people keep asking me what's wrong with my eye!
Me: Why? Why? Why? Why?

Are my children the only ones that seem to constantly contract the weirdest types of rashes and infections?

Oh, and this is the picture of Talin with his haircut he got today.
He insisted we not cut his bangs.
Tom protested.
I gave in.
He thinks it cool.
I think it's interesting to see what he believes to be cool.
And tomorrow I might post the pictures of Collin's haircut that had him in hysterics.

Swimsuit Shopping

I hate swimsuits.

I hate swimming.

Today I bought a swimsuit.

I think I need my head examined.

This is what it looks like.

Now I only need to drop twenty more pounds before I'll feel comfortable wearing it in public.

Last Saturday

Tom and I had a nice Saturday this past weekend. We started off with an early morning wake up call (5:30) to get ready and drive to the Omaha Temple. We dropped the kids off at the stake center to be babysat and headed over to the temple where we did initiatories. It was really lovely to go and feel the peace and spirit there.
When we were done Tom asked if I would mind driving over to The Bass Pro Shop in town, it would probably be our last chance to check it out. So over we went. People really stare at you when you’re wearing heels and a dress in public. Is it that shocking?? Maybe in a sporting store, but seriously people, do you have to stare?
After that we started to head home but the kids kept complaining that they were hungry, despite my well-packed food options for them. So we stopped at Village Inn for some lunch. Not great. Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve been out to Village Inn and I don’t think I’ll be returning anytime soon. Tom keeps calling me a food snob. Maybe I am.
We finally got home at around 4:30. Just enough time to bathe the boys, all three, stop by the grocery store for four dozen cookies and head to the church for a night of scouting. Tom is a scout leader, so we enjoyed a baked potato bar and ward company, which is always fun. We ended up leaving early, after Caleb puked all over the floor and Tom’s dry clean only jacket. Nice.
When we got home we put the kids to bed and put on some snazzy duds to head out to DMU’s Gala. Yes, I went to a gala. Pretty interesting. And we did have someone sit at the house while we left, for those of you worried, we didn’t tuck the kids in and run away for the night! It was a nice evening; they had a live band, awesome food and a great atmosphere for my people watching skills. And people are worth watching. I think I’m pretty sheltered because I never cease to be amazed at what grown women will wear out in public, some of this stuff should be illegal. I do wish I had taken pictures, of Tom and I that is, not the scantily dressed women. I didn’t have anything fabulous I was wearing, I wore what I like to call my little Audrey Hepburn dress, and Tom looked great in his suit, so we were feeling quite fabulous. But pictures are always great reminders, especially when you go to a gala. It was nice to get out.

I cut his hair

As I finished up Tom says, "This isn't was I was envisioning when you said you'd cut his hair".
"This is all I can do", was my reply.

So he says, "I'm proud of you."

And I sniffled back the loss of those long locks.

And he really doesn't look that different. So I feel as though I won. I satisfied my husband and all those other people insisting I cut Caleb's hair, even the neighbor had his two cents in the argument.

Yep, he's still my little boy.

With some extra wiggles, we're still adjusting to that.

Too Long

It's been too long since I've blogged. Things have been happening, I just haven't had the desire to document anything. Like yesterday, the boys were home from school and in the closet. All three. See the picture? They were writing things like "No Moms" and "No Girls", and taping it around their room and on their door. While I went around with a head cold taring down the injustice of such statements. I'm so outnumbered these days.

Speaking of being outnumbered, in all seriousness Tom said to me the other day, "I think in a year we should start thinking about having another baby." Who are you and what have you done with my husband? The thought is a little scary during this season of my life.

Now Friday was a frightening day. There I am making the rounds to the Valentine's day parties for the boys. My last one was with Talin's 1st grade class. They were so much fun and I enjoyed the worshipping hugs and gazes from the kids. So funny. "Are you really Talin's mom?" Um yeah...apparently you don't have to do or be much to be popular around there.

Anyway, we skipped out a few minutes before the bell to head home, mainly because it was snowing, Talin's school parking lot is a mini nightmare, and I had a dentist appointment in an hour on the other side of town I needed to emotionally prepare myself for.
We come over the last big hill that my house sits in the middle of, and there is a school bus, stuck in the middle of the street in the ice. Oh, and there go my breaks locking up, propelling me at a quicker speed than I'd like to be going, heading straight for the bus. In a last ditch effort to slow the car down I turned onto the embankment, almost flipping the car in the process, and fly over a couple of huge embankment bumps, before the car adequately slows enough to tap the end of the bus. If you can call it a tap. My car is still in tact. My emotional well being was shot. So many thoughts, thank goodness we're not flipped, thank goodness Tom is running towards me right now, oh no, is he going to be mad?, and thank goodness I have a great excuse to not go to the dentist now.

Car is moved out of the way down the hill, the school bus has driven off, not even knowing that I rear-ended it. We start walking back into the house when another car comes down and does a couple of circles and stops on the side of the street, and then another, and then another hits the second car. And then a bronco comes flying down, hits the second car again, and then hits the third car, which originally hit the second car. Busts up the third car pretty well, makes it to the bottom of the hill and drives off. Are you still with me? Then more cars come, it's like watching a scene from a movie. We don't have all day, so I'll make it short.

We're all standing there offering emotional support and a warm house to wait in to these people, when we see the school bus (yes, the SAME school bus I originally hit) at the top of the hill. Thank goodness he's at a dead stop and not coming down the hill, oh wait, he's starting to slide at a dead stop?? Yeah, and quite quickly, almost running one of the women over in the process and ending up in our neighbors yard hitting his tree and the power pole.

And then the pile up started to happen. Below is the picture to prove it. There were two more cars that ended up in the chaos after I shot this picture.

It all started at around 3:00, and by 5:30 everyone was pretty much cleared out and going home. The only thing that couldn't be cleared out was the school bus. They worked on it until one in the morning and finally went home unsuccessful. This is what it looked like Saturday morning. By Saturday at noon they managed to tow it off.

The craziness doesn't stop there. After we had our home back to ourselves and fed the kids and calmed our nerves, we discovered something awful. Caleb's g-tube had been pulled out. So there's my baby with a nasty hole in his stomach. Yes, a hole leading into my child's guts!! I could hardly look at the black abyss. We knew we needed to get it fixed quickly, because the hole can close up in hours and then you must perform surgery, and we know how horrendous that was back in October. So we dropped the kids off at the neighbors, and ran to the ER. At the ER I asked to be taught how to insert the new g-tube, the nurse kindly obliged and I steeled my nerves to look and learn. Not so bad.

So here I am, head cold and all and ready to stop going for once, or at least for the excitement of my life to calm down. I'm just hoping that when I move to Arizona that I can have an ice free, squirrel free, medical emergency free, tree-falling free year.

The past week

Oh Happy Day!

Sunny skies and fifty degree weather called for a celebration. So the boys built a snowman. It was so perfect and cute. (thanks to Amy's "build a snowman" bucket that she sent our first year here)

Unfortunately he melted and crashed twenty minutes later. Thank goodness we got pictures.

The sled run in our backyard was extra slick and fast thanks to the thaw.

It was a great Saturday.
First thing in the morning we took the kids downtown for a dig in the snow for prizes, sponsored by the Iowa Winter Games. The kids had a great time, and found lots of little treasures and candy, and even won a t-shirt. There were some big prizes to be had, but no luck. Talin and Collin didn't even notice, they enjoyed their little things.

Afterwards we remembered we had signed up to clean the ward building (thanks to a reminder phone call). We knew that if we went home we would struggle with leaving the comfort of home to go out and clean. So we drove straight there, set the boys up in the nursery to play, and Tom and I cleaned. It was actually a really nice experience. And I enjoyed doing the service.

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And blogger likes me today, so here are some of the pictures from last week I'd wanted to post.

My two babies at Costco, who are both getting monstrous, they were so cute in the cart together. Pictures of the basketball game from last week.

Talin, I swear this boy is going to be the ladies man, he is just so darn handsome! And he continues to be an example to me. So yesterday morning he comes into our room and asks if today is fast Sunday. I tell him yes it is. He then asks if he could fast today. So Tom sits down with him to make sure he understands what fasting is and why you fast. He knows, and wants to participate, so we let him. He started with his prayer and fasted all morning, without one complaint of a hungry belly. At one o'clock he broke his fast and had lunch. I was so impressed with him.

Now Collin comes into my room with a panicked look on his face asking if he has to fast. I tell him he doesn't need to start fasting until he's eight years old. Sigh of relief. While Tom is explaining to Talin about fasting, Collin says to him, "I don't want to fast, I want to eat fast!"

And I know I should stop with the black mail pictures, but Talin is asking for it. After soaking his clothes while playing outside on Saturday, he was told to go inside and change into something dry. This is what he was discovered doing a few minutes later. Wow.
This past week has been another busy week, I know you're probably getting sick of hearing me say that. But the picture I was suppose to do for the Stake Relief Society was started on Tuesday. I really thought I had two weeks to complete this. So Wednesday night, I call up one of my favorite people (Sis. Greenwood), and ask her when they need the picture done. She tells me this weekend. What?!?! This weekend?! Her meeting is at 9:00 Saturday morning and she wants to take the picture with her to it. I tell her it can be done. And then I pray. A lot. The Lord must love me, cause I finished Friday afternoon. Here is a picture of the almost finished project, there were a few finishing touches added in. It's inevitable, I can't keep my hands off it.
And it looks much better in person, the picture of the picture doesn't look that great.

This week should hopefully calm down a little. No major obligations (well, if you don't count planning the Enrichment Birthday Party), just three therapy appointments!

No really, I love my life.