Jayden pictures(continued)

Jayden is 2!

It's so hard to believe that 2 years ago, I was in the hospital getting ready to have my third child! Here's a slideshow of the first two years of his life- continued in the next post.

Looks Like It's Official

I can come out and say what the change will be now. We're moving to Seattle. Mark has lost some of his clients, so he needs to go job hunting. We'll be temporarily staying with his mom(hopefully very temporarily!). I'm really torn because I have some very dear friends here that I am sad to leave behind. But I know that there are a lot of opportunities in Seattle, and fortunately I already know some people there that I can scrapbook with. ;)

Now comes the arduous task of packing everything up. We have lived in this place for 10 years now. 3 kids and a bunch of stuff later... I think we have our work cut out for us! It will be hard to do Kyrie's schoolwork AND get everything ready at the same time, but we'll make the best of it.

Fear of the Unknown

Our family has come to a crossroads right now, and I can't really say what our possible near-future venture might be at this moment, but I can say that it involves change, and change is always hard. I'm in a comfort zone where I am, and this would definitely be a move out of my comfort zone. My comfort zone really isn't so comfortable either, but at least I know where I am now.

So for now, I'm trying to make a list of all the pros and cons of this possible change, and really, the list is a bit even on both sides. I shed a few tears while discussing this possible plan with my spouse tonight, and it wasn't because I was against the idea, but that the idea still had so many unknowns.

So if you are of the praying persuasion, please keep us in your prayers. I could always use a little peace of mind in knowing that whatever we decide to do that it is in God's will.

Grace on the Highway

Warning, long post ahead:

Yesterday I packed the 3 kids up in the van and went on a little excursion. Our first stop was an indoor egg hunt at a local "mall." Thank goodness for indoor, because it was pouring outside. We got there later than we did last year because I had Jayden with us, and I didn't think he could wait very quietly for more than 15 minutes. So, we ended up near the back, but not too far back.

The egg hunt was supposed to be for kids 5 and under, so I told Kyrie that she could help Jayden. There wasn't much to help with, though. By the time we got through there, the kids found 3 eggs each. I was kind of ticked off to see some older kids with big gallon buckets full of eggs- even though there were a few reminders before the egg hunt started that the eggs were for the little kids. Oh well. Some kind grown-up saw Isaiah's measly trio of eggs and gave him a golden egg that he could trade in for a little goody bag of trinkets. I told the kids that we had plenty of eggs and candy at home. We did win a cake in the cake walk, and also a porcelain egg that Isaiah got to paint. It will be fired up at The Wild Art, and we'll be picking it up in a couple of weeks.

After the egg hunt, we got back in the car, and started down the highway towards Lewiston to hunt down some easter outfits and maybe get pictures taken of the kids. We were rocking out to a Veggie Tales CD, and I had failed to look down at my spedometer- until I saw two cop cars parked in the median. SHOOT! I glanced at my speed, and saw that I was over the 65 mph speed limit. I hit the breaks, but it was too late, I looked in my rear-view mirror and prayed that they wouldn't follow me. No such luck. They were behind me a few seconds, and I signaled to change lanes. Dang. They changed lanes, too, and on went the lights.

I've been pulled over twice before- once for having expired license tabs, and another for a headlight out. Both times I cried. It's just the way I am. I'm sure cops hate it when people cry, and it sure is embarrassing for me. By the way, I did get a ticket for the expired tabs, and I like to blame it on my husband because he's the one who takes care of those things. ;)

So, back to the present moment. I handed him my license and registration. "Do you know how fast you were going?"
"I'm sorry. I know I was going over the speed limit."
"You were going 79 in a 65."

Ouch.

I'm searching through my glove box to find a current proof of insurance. I start getting really shaky, and the flood gates start to open up when I can't find it anywhere.

"Are you alright? What's wrong? I don't understand why you are crying."

Hmmm. Maybe it's because I know I'm about to get an expensive ticket?

So, I got an object lesson in God's grace. I totally deserved the speeding ticket- the penalty for my crime. The police officer explains to me that he doesn't usually give warnings, and he hates when people cry to try to get out of tickets. I assured him that wasn't the case. He lectures me on the importance of driving safely- especially with kids in the car, and I promise to be careful in the future. He checked my record to make sure I hadn't had any other incidents in the past. I guess it checked out okay because he sent me on my way(after lecturing me again and making sure that I was okay to drive since I was still crying. I avoided a ticket that I wouldn't have really been able to afford. I am so thankful!

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. I found some outfits for the kids, but let me say that I wasn't overly excited with the choices I had to pick from. Nothing like what I saw in the ads that made me want to drive 45 minutes to get a good deal. I guess such is life. I wish they had more dressy outfits for boys, though. I couldn't find much at K-Mart or Wal-Mart for Jayden and Isaiah, so I ended up going with matching polos and khaki pants.

We didn't get the pictures done, either. By the time we got the kids' outfits picked up, Jayden was rubbing his droopy eyes, and as I passed the portrait studio, and buckled him up in his seat, he proceeded to nod off immediately.

In the Middle of the Night

I had almost forgotten what it was like to get up with a baby in the middle of the night. Fortunately, due to my night-owl tendencies, I was still awake at 1:30 a.m. And that's when Jayden decided he needed some love and snuggling.

As I cuddled and sang to him, he fell back to sleep, his arm draped across my shoulder. Then, eyes still closed, he started patting me on the back and making his kissing noises that endear me to him so much!

All of that sweetness was so worth the late night!

This is neat!

Saw this on a friend's blog. It's so cool, I had to share it on my blog!

Homeschool Progress

Kyrie is in her 2nd semester of Kindergarten. She completed her 2nd grade level Math a couple of weeks ago. She has also finished her 1st grade Phonics/Spelling. All we have left to work on is Language Arts and Science. I've had Kyrie playing on multiplication.com to help improve her memory of multiplication facts. It's amazing the things they do in 2nd grade Math! She was doing things that I don't remember learning until Jr. High and High School- balancing equations, solving for x(or in her case, triangle), Geometry, etc. Next year I imagine she'll be doing differential equations...

Technically, her online school is on Spring Break this week- although, with the snow we're having, it doesn't seem very springy to me. :P We're planning on going on a trip to Seattle at the end of April/beginning of May, so I've been having her do some work this week so we won't have to worry about it on our trip. Ah, the joys of flexibility in homeschooling!

Even Imaginary Friends Need Their Sleep

Kyrie has been having some breathing problems the last couple of nights. Tonight, I gave her some medicine, rubbed Vicks on her chest, and put her to bed. She tried to go to sleep, but came out(while Mark and I were watching Lost, I might add) and complained that she couldn't sleep. I helped her blow her nose and told her to prop herself up on pillows. She came back out about 10 minutes later. I told her she could read some books with the light on, and go to sleep when she was tired.

Another 15 or so minutes go by, and she says she can't read because she can't breathe. So I told her to talk to her Imagination Friends(that's what she calls them).

Kyrie: I can't. They're already asleep. They go to sleep at 8:30.
Me: Then wake them up!
Kyrie: I don't want to wake them up. They need to sleep!

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

This skirt is really adorable, and if you don't win it, she has instructions on how to make it on her blog. Of course, I don't sew, so I really hope to win! ;)