I wanna be . . .

Jesse's girl(s)

Fresh Meat

David and Esther are here!!! David and Esther are here!!! David and Esther are here!!! We want to show them the new car toy and the new dress and Pete Panda and Betty Bunny and play legos with us! and read to us! just one more book! do you get to sleep here?!? will we see you in the morning? can we play with the puzzles and the barbies and read more books?! Yippee David and Esther!

just a quick video of the baby's funny faces

Wordless Wednesday

in which i attempt to be more transparent. . .

my childhood home, from Sunday

"You can't go home again." But I did. . . and it was fun! My parents moved from my childhood home in Memphis to Nashville right after I married. In fact, I remember waiting for out of town wedding guests while sitting in lawn chairs in my front yard as prospective buyers looked at the house (lawn chairs in the front yard-insert redneck joke here). I love Nashville, but it's not really home. That, and moving around with the military, and I don't really feel like there's a place I can go where I have history. No one, besides my family, who has known me for more than a couple of years. And I've wondered what it would feel like to sleep with my children in a room where I slept as a child. Now I know that my experience is far from unique. But it's very different from my husband's experience when he goes home. Marissa, IL was home to J until he left for college. He has known his best friends since elementary school, and the people we see around town were his teachers, coaches, and babysitters.

Anyway, I went to first evan this past weekend and got a little taste of this kind of homecoming. I have been 2 times since I was married in the church 9 years ago. I loved the friends of my parents who would ooh and ahh over my baby and say "Is she your first?" "No, 4th." (with wide eyes)"Ohhhh." And then they would see my oldest. "He looks just like David!"(my brother) I even got to catch up on the latest gossip with an old youth group friend. Nothing that day was a disappointment--I feel blessed to have such happy memories!

It did start me thinking. Our children will not have one specific place to call home either. They will not live in one place for more than a couple of years. There will be people in their lives who we'll keep up with, but they will be scattered all over the globe. I have yet to think of moving around as a negative thing, but then again, my oldest is not yet in kindergarden. I think I will still always try to focus on the postitive aspects of these moves. More friends in more places! More excitement! More adventure! More opportunities! I will also try to make every place we move a comfortable, peaceful, beautiful place to call home. And then there's our large family. I think that's great! The children will have their siblings along everywhere they go.

And I guess it's a reminder that none of us should get too comfortable here in our temporary home on earth. That's what I love about the military. It doesnt allow me to get too comfortable. Cause when I get comfortable, the Lord always stirs things up!

Walkin' in Memphis

We're back! I have more to write about, but right now, just some pictures from our trip to Memphis to visit our dear friends. Time with my grown up BFF is always refreshing, although i wish i had at least one more day. Our oldest kids have been friends since they were toddlers, so it is always a blast to see them together. Oh, and S got little Lou to take a pacifier! Yippee! Next we work on the bottle.

what a sweet way to start a friendship!

then and now. . .

Summer Nights 101: How to catch a firefly

E: Look, Mimi! I caught a firefly!

Mimi: Really, E? Careful, don't smash it. See how your hands are flat?

(E opens her hands, the firefly doesnt move)

Mimi: Hmm. That firefly seems stuck on your hand.

E: He really loves me.

Random thoughts

1. I am so over Starbucks chai tea lattes. I need to move on. any suggestions?
2. The new consignment boutique needs to hire me as a consultant, since i am highly knowledgeable about children's consignment and handmade items (not so sure about grammar, though). They are doing it all wrong, and I am disappointed in them.
3. I am not finished with nursing pads. I thought i was, but I'm not.
4. I don't really like im-ing, but my husband is worth it. no one else is, though, so don't ask me to "chat."
5. I tried a new sandwich at lunch today and LOVED it: turkey, brie, and pear panini from City Limits. The pears were a delightful surprise. Added a little crunch and a little sweetness.
6. I think I would love to be a food writer. But i need more practice. Writing, not eating.
7. Eating ice cream BEFORE my meal did not "ruin my lunch."

Now, I'm going to go print this out and read it to dad over supper. Even though I'm staying with him, he checks my blog every night. He says I'm wittier and more interesting on my blog than I am in person. Sorry, all you real-life friends. I never knew.

What's that? Oh! You just want to hear about the kids! Today we took them to Purity Dairy Ice cream Plant for their "Plant tour". We didn't actually get to tour anything. We just got to stay in this one room with a big window where we could watch the machines package the ice cream, and then we watched a movie where Ernest (like, Ernest Goes to Jail) told us all about Purity's milk products and how safe they were. My kids didn't really learn a lot from the film, but the LOVED milk cartons with legs that kept running around behind Ernest. It was defiantly "vintage". And yes, E and I got Cherry Chocolate Chunk, S got Plain Vanilla, JT got strawberry, and no, I did not let A have any. Next month, maybe.

fishin'

Today the big kids went fishing on Papa's boat and had a GREAT time! (I stayed at the house while the littles napped and I watched 3 episodes of Lost, Season 2 and had a GREAT time too). While pictures of my afternoon would bore, you, the pictures of the kids' afternoon are cute:

meanwhile. . . "somewhere" in Iraq (ok, ok, it says it right there on the picture)

he tells me this is a picture of his bald head.

oh, and in case you had been wondering, JoAnn's DID NOT have the Alexander Henry Apples and Pears fabric, but they did have $42 worth of other fabrics and WAY nicer salespeople than Savannah JoAnn's.

sweet pics of sweet kids from Sunday

the girls

the boys
yipee! cousin liam is here!
mimi and papa with their babies

and then a goofy grin.

I Like Big Butts and i Cannot Lie. . .

I know, it's a little crass, but it's been going through my head. Tonight i took the plunge and bought my first batch of cloth diapers (a little plug for http://www.mom4life.com/ i love the website, love the stuff, and want to be friends with the owner). So I thought I would post a few pics of our little girl in her one "trial" diaper we've been using (you can see where the big butt song entered my head). These are also the first pics of her holding her head up like a big girl. I think i took these around the 8th of June, so she was almost 8 weeks.

I forgot to take my camera with me today, but we had a lot of fun with the kids. First we went to the Farmer's Market. Even on a Monday there was plenty to see. Bought some squash and zucchini, and a purple cauliflower that our oldest found interesting. took a close look at some blueberry, blackberry, pepper and okra plants. I've been trying to teach the children that food doesn't just show up on our plate, clothes on our bodies, toys in our rooms, etc (and for that matter, trash doesn't just disappear into the garbage truck). So the farmer's market was a great teaching tool.

Now, here's where the inconsistencies come in: the next thing we did was drive through the McDonald's to pick up our picnic lunch. I guess we're all still trying to get the hang of this stuff.

PS. I'd like to dedicate this post to my friend, julie. She does not have a big butt, but she has inspired me in all things healthy and green.

Happy Father's Day!

Here are four incredible kids who wouldnt be that way if it wasn't for you.
You are their hero.
And I think you're amazing.