Video's for Jess. . .

What I learned yesterday, and some things I already knew. . .

--Josiah really enjoys some time to himself (and he NEVER gets it unless his brother and older sister are at camp).


--He knows "The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow." I am not quite sure how. But he sang it all day.



--He also has a great throwing arm and a little temper (ok, I guess we knew that already). Take a look at the damage he did to Ella's eye (right in front of the webcam with daddy on the other end, btw.)

--Adeline wants nothing to do with mommy blogging tummy time.

--Sam is a little too young for day camp. You can't push him too hard. I've seen that especially in the last year or so. Sometimes he's just not ready. He went to day camp. He tried day camp. He hated day camp. This is a hard one for me. When do you push your kids to try something difficult, and when do you step back and just give them a hug? I really don't know, but this time, I let him stay home. We went for a ride around the block. He was amazing on his bike, something else he picked up, when he was ready, and not a minute sooner.

Thoughts?

Things that make me Happy

6 cases of my favorite drink, on sale at the commissary for $1.75!

2 dozen roses, sent from the man of few words
4 little monsters in 4 cute shirts approximately 180 skittles, half way there!
1 incredibly sexy soldier
too many calories to count, but oh so yummy.

pretty ballerina

getting ready for A-Star-Is-Born-Princess ballet camp (yes, it's really called that). i think she's excited.

ARG!!!

The Pirate and the Mean Princess. They came to breakfast this morning in character. "ARG," said the Mean Princess. "Yummy people bones." I raised an eyebrow. "We don't eat bones," said the Pirate. "It's people meat." Too much cable tv at the grandparents. I think I saw that in an episode of Backyardigans.

Trying new things

Just thought I'd share an update on the cloth diapers. I really do like them. I've dealt with a few "dirty" ones and it wasn't too bad. Adeline wears them all the time, and Si, just when I'm pretty sure he's done all his business. I wash them every 2 days. Today I noticed they stunk, so I washed them again and rinsed and rinsed and now they smell fresh.

Although Adeline's booty is pretty big in these, I love the one-size diapers cause the littles can share them. Snaps in the front change the size.

here are the littles in their freshly laundered diapers:

ready to go!

and now, a new favorite snack. Ok, maybe not favorite. But Sam and I are lovin edamame! Ella will eat some, and Si really hates it. Sam's always been the one eager to try new foods. This is one you should try. We just bought it in the freezer section, followed the directions to cook it in the microwave, salted it, and they are ready to pop and eat (you don't eat the husk). We keep them in the fridge and pull them out for a healthy snack. Or we run to sonic for a cherry limeade cream slush.

Happy Anniversary!

I'm sure if you were here, you would want to spend the evening looking at old photo albums and watching our wedding video with your beloved :-) , so I thought I'd send you a little walk down memory lane.

starting our exciting life together. . .

one baby. . . two babies. . . (actually, i think this is 3, technically)

three . . . (going on four)
and four!

I love you more every day, and my vows to you will never change. Jesse, with God as my witness, I vow to submit myself to you, thinking of your needs before my own. You will be second only to my relationship with Christ. I accept you for who you are and I will help you become all that God wants you to be. I will honor you, love you, encourage you, and cherish you in poverty or prosperity, in sickness or in health, and forsaking all others, I will be faithul to you all the days of our lives. I gladly accept my responsibility as your wife and eagerly seek to fulfill this role. With a joyfull heart, I'm glad I took you as my lawfully wedded husband!

You get a gold star!!!

I need someone to make me a sticker chart. Like the kind where if I get 10 stars in a row I earn a prize. And it should be called "Sarah's Bedtime Chart". So when I get in bed by 10:30 I get a gold star. And maybe if I get in bed by 11:30 I can get a silver star. It would take me FOREVER to earn my build-a-bear accessory starbucks latte. For example, it's 10:26 and I just sat down to the computer and I still need to take a shower, switch the laundry, and I really really should work on the Ella Bella websited a bit. This is making me very cranky and in need of a lot of coffee.

Look at him go!

I can't begin to describe the feelings that came while watching Sam FINALLY get the hang of his bike. It wasn't the riding itself that got me, it was his reaction. It seemed he would never get it, and he was frustrated and discouraged, even after Aunt Rachel spent a day covering the entire $6 garage-sale-purple-barbie-bike with blue and black tape to make it a boy bike. Then, during day 3 of working with Uncle Dave, he did it. And he was SO HAPPY! He threw his hands in the air and yelled "WoooHOOO!" He smiled SO BIG each time he rode by. He wanted to suprise daddy, but at the same time he couldnt wait to tell him. Now he loves it- and gets better and better every day. When we just stick with the easy stuff we miss out on a lot.

PS. When we started our trip home from Nashville, Sam volunteered to pray over our route home. After some "keep your angels around our car, and around daddy, etc.. . " he said, very seriously, "And Lord, THANK YOU for helping Uncle Dave help me to ride my bike."

PSS. Now, feeling pretty good about his bike-riding-teaching ablities, Uncle Dave has moved on to his next student:

Things we're experiencing lately. . .

LOTS of JOYS and a few trials. Here's a short list:

WEB CAMS! We have had an amazing experience with these! Ours can move anywhere in the house, so yesterday and today I just turned it on for a couple of hours while the kids performed, played, and talked to daddy. I know he loved it. Today he used one on his side, and although we couldn't hear each other, we used online chat to communicate. The kids loved their daddy's funny faces. Thank you, God, for web cams!!!

Friends--It has been refreshing to get back to Savannah and see and talk to our friends. They take such good care of us. Lori and her son met us in the driveway when we arrived home to help us unload and unpack. Our yard has been well cared for, and many people have called to welcome us home. PLUS I got to spend part of Tuesday with a childhood friend who flew into Savannah for a few hours (she's a pilot). It was fantastic to catch up and introduce her to the kiddos. Sam even got to tour the plane and cockpit before they left! (the other kids were scared.)

Business is picking up once again. I am not sure yet whether this is a joy or a trial. . .

Tantrums: Si now has a fear of loud rumbles after the fireworks, so any storm, plane, or loud truck that goes by while he's alone or asleep will set him crying. I just tiptoed out of his room where I patted him to sleep. He was SO TIRED (because he missed his nap due to a plane that woke him) but he wouldn't put his head down. It was funny to watch it ever. so. slowly. sink to his pillow.

I think Si is also having travel withdrawal. tonight he wanted to go "bye bye" and screamed at the front door for probably 35 minutes.

Ella's tantrums are ridiculous and hard to deal with. Here are the latest reasons for hours of screaming: "Sam said the purple Barbie can't win the piston cup!!!!" (notice, Sam is playing barbies but he's racing them in the piston cup so i think it's OK). And from tonight: "Sam said he won't talk to me about hair or eyebrows or Iraq forever." You may wonder what those have in common: Jesse. The "hair" she wanted to talk about was Jess's lack of it and his shiny bald (on purpose) head. The eyebrow, well, if you've seen him it's obvious :-), and Iraq, duh.

Stereo Poop: this is the word my brother-in-law and I used to coin that lovely experience of having a child on either side of you with a dirty diaper.

I think the kids are sleeping hard enough now that i can make some noise in the kitchen and laundry room, so, back to work! I'll post video of Sam's bike riding tomorrow. . .

Happy Birthday, Addie Lou!

She's 3 months old today!

isn't she the cutest, smartest three month old you've ever seen?!

p.s. Happy birthday, Uncle Tim!

fun on the crik

Our last Saturday in Tennessee was lovely. Mom and Dad took us to one of their favorite creeks where we waded and fished and threw rocks in the water.

turnbull creek scenery

Liam loved the water!

because Si is still timid in the water, he stayed on the edge. but he LOVED throwing rocks. He has a good arm. . . .unfortunately his aim needs work--we had several close calls as he threw rocks at Liam's head!

someday, Si, you'll be able to throw the big one, just like Sam.

swimming. . . by this time both kids were just in shorts. had to get authentic Tennessee.

watching and wishing. . .

Addie's day

sometimes she gets a little squished, but she stays happy.

More pics from Illinois

Notice the look Si is giving his big brother. It's obvious who he wants to imitate!

she's getting soooo big!

here's one way to enjoy popcicles without getting messy--get in the pool with your clothes on!