San Diego

SEAL Tour

Perhaps it is selfish but one of my favorite parts of Brian's job is that he travels. I mean that he travels and sometimes I get to go with him. 

USS Midway

This week we have been in San Diego.

My Morning Walk

It was my first time brining a baby on a plane but Evelyn was a trooper. She also spent a lot of time in her stroller and only threw a fit about that a few times. 

San Diego Harbor

It was fabulous getting away for a few days. I am learning to be flexible about these sorts of trips because Brian usually works and I have to amuse myself during the day. I only got mad one time. That is pretty good for me. And I got over it... pretty fast. I mean, I was in California, right? 

On the way back we had a Romney sighting. That was pretty fun. Except I wish they were flying Air Force One instead of plain ole coach like we were. 

Ann and Mitt

Coming back to normal life is pretty overwhelming. I have four kids. I have four kids. I HAVE FOUR KIDS. 

But I can't stay overwhelmed for too long because the laundry needs to be done. 

My Honey

And it helps to look at my pictures and think about how every night this week was date night. 

Thank you especially to Dean and Autumn, Brian's parents, for taking care of our three honeyheads for the week. 

Things I'm Thinking About

Red lipstick. I think my shade is Perfect Red or Bloody Mary.

Running away.

Why do I get irritated at my three-year-old so easily?

The boxcar children.

Carbohydrates.

Family.

The weekend.

Sleep-deprived Days

I have been spending a lot of time with children lately. I think they are cute, which is good for them. One baby smile can make me forget the loss of sleep from the night before. Well, not forget, but at least forgive. 

I have noticed that looking at old pictures gives me perspective on how time progresses. (These were both taken in the last couple of weeks.) Please! this is not an invitation to tell me how time flies and enjoy them while they are young or how I'll miss these years. You may only tell me one or more of the above if you are willing to come over and fold three loads of laundry and scrub a toilet or two. 

This week there were baseball tournaments for Andrew and James. Last week I took them to their games for the first time this fall. I saw Andrew, who is eight, stretch out and catch a pop fly. I almost cried. This week I saw his coach encourage him and then tell him to toughen up in reference to a game they were lousing to a team of all-stars. James, now six, has gone from almost always striking out to getting a base hit two out of three times. However, I do not enjoy the frequency of practice or the mental strain of keeping up with Abby while holding Evelyn and trying to delay the next feeding as long as possible (I had to nurse on the playground- kinda awkward). Then! During James' last game of the season Andrew was playing football with new friends and tackled the chain-link fence rail. He bit through his lip. Oi! He's okay. But we have a dentist appointment coming up just to make sure. 

So, homeschool. 

I have been exceedingly frustrated with (can I say) OUR progress with reading. We have been learning to read for four years. I was getting ready to throw in the towel. After a conference with my mother-in-law, who taught several boys to read, we started a new set of books, hoping they would pique the reader's interest. And... Eureka! somehow, the last few weeks have been excellent for phonics. And by that I mean that Andrew has read half of a 1950's reader about someone's equivalent of Dick and Jane (Betty, Susan, a boy named ? and a dog called Spot). Ninety pages so far! I'm thrilled. Both my guys have shown progress this semester and I am greatly relieved. 

The caffeine must have worn off because now I can't think of a single other thing to write about. Except maybe I taught Andrew how to make coffee. Another great accomplishment. 

Love Story, Part 3

I wrote Part 1 and Part 2 many moons ago. I know you have been waiting in suspense for THREE YEARS about how this story ends, right?

Brian and I spent the fall semester getting to know each other as friends. He was very busy working on an engineering degree and I was moderately busy memorizing plant names and working at the campus greenhouse.

During Christmas break my sisters and I hosted a Christmas party at my parents' house. I thought it was a great party, especially because so many of our friends decided to make a weekend of it. My parents still talk about their water bill from that fiesta. Sorry dad. My favorite thing about the party was that Brian and his sister Katie came to our house and were the last ones to leave.

In March our group went to Costa Rica for a spring break mission trip. It was beautiful. I loved Costa Rica: the climate, the flowers, the people. Brian said later he almost held my hand on that trip. But we kept it at a friend level. I didn't know he liked me and I tried to focus on the reason we were there.

Then a week or so after we arrived back home Brian called from where he was co-oping that semester and asked if I wanted to have lunch on Saturday since he was coming to Starkville that weekend. Ok, I said, sure. "I think you know what I want to talk about," he said. Hmmm. Vague and mysterious.

Saturday arrived. I was ready at noon, our appointed time, and waited for Brian to pick me up. 12:15, no Brian. 12:30, still no Brian. At 12:35 I picked up my phone to call him and it rang in my hand.
Brian said, "How's it going?" I said fine. "Where are you?" I lived with his sister so surely he knew... Oh! "You wanted me to meet you?" I asked, somewhat shocked. Why wasn't he picking me up? He offered to leave the restaurant and come get me but I couldn't sit there any longer. I got directions from Katie and left, finally arriving at the restaurant after he had been there an hour.

Don't worry, it gets a little more interesting.

Basically, Brian asked me if I wanted to start a relationship... in six months. He had plans to go back to Costa Rica for the summer and felt that it would be unfair to me to start a long-distance courtship. I felt very confused. I said Ok and we hugged and went our separate ways. I called my parents to tell them what he had said and they were not so happy. In fact my mother wanted to "scratch his eyeballs out." Hmmmm.

In my shyness I made the mistake of not talking to Brian for the rest of the weekend. He left for Mexico early Monday morning on a work trip and I suffered through one of the worst weeks of college life. (Isn't that dramatic?) My advisors (parents) were telling me that I didn't need to wait on Brian and should move on to someone else. My heart really liked Brian and wanted to be Mrs. Brian. I was living with mutual friends and Brian's sister and was trying very hard to hide my hurt. I went to see our Pastor and told him I was having a hard time. "Wait, you like Brian?" Yes, I do. Apparently I was doing such a good job of hiding my feelings that no one knew I WANTED to date him.

Brian got back from Mexico and called me. I was at home for Easter and practically threw the phone at my dad to try and straighten things out. Dad came outside to find me and handed me the phone. Brian asked if we could start over and I gladly said yes. So began our courtship.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my second baby girl is sleeping on my lap. I can hear the boys playing legos and the timer beeping to tell me lunch is ready.

Swedish Cake

(Before I begin can I just say that coming up with a title before I post is so tricky for me. Sometimes when I leave it blank to come back with a proper title I forget and then there is a blank where there should be something clever and attention grabbing. Just wanted to let that out.)

Things I learned this weekend:

1) If you are staying in a house with 10.5 children, (I am currently pregnant = .5,) anything bad that happens, such as an 8-inch hole in a wall, the last of a favorite cake mysteriously disappearing, or jelly in odd places, will be blamed on the kids. Even if you, the parent of some of the children, or him, the uncle of all the kids, are culpable.

2) Men are afraid of a group of women crying. This one makes me laugh not because we ladies were discussing humorous topics but because of the looks our husbands and brothers and bros-in-law gave us as they scampered quickly through the living room where we were talking. And because my tears are so frequent and so unstoppable sometimes I have to laugh at their reaction. Plus I loved the time that we shared as girls, giving our stories and speaking of the way God had or is helping us through life. I can almost cry again just thinking about it.

3) My mom-in-law knows how to host a party

4) Swedish cake is yummy

5) Swedish family is fun

6) You are never too young to have a screaming/crying match with a cousin

7) Poison ivy can get really big.

Been Awhile

Working on a set of eyeballs this week. Bringing them to the front of the head, to be exact. So if you try to call and I don't answer, blame it on the eyes. I imagine they take a lot of hormones. Hormones make me sick. Literally.

Baby number four is due in August. My last baby was born in August. My first two were both born in May. I like patterns.

Still homeschooling. The CD that we learn our history from was playing in the van today and I realized I was the only one singing along. Loudly. I rationalized that I'm a better teacher if I really know the material.

A couple of weeks ago there was a tornado about sixty miles west of where I grew up. Still have connections with Hattiesburg and was relieved to see that there were no deaths associated with the severe weather. At least not that I've heard.

Been in Tuscaloosa almost three years now. I think I almost like it here now. It has been a pretty rough transition for me but I am warming up to being an Alabamian. Not the "Roll Tide" football crazy type. NO WAY. At least, not yet. But the "Hey, Mississippi and Alabama are very alike, and Alabama might have better state parks, and Tuscaloosa has a Super Target and our church family is pretty nice and maybe homeschool moms aren't as weird as I thought they were" type.

Aaaaaand we are going to have four kids. Still kind of in shock that we are doing this. Still feel like I'm twelve sometimes and someone will come in and catch me teaching Andrew to blend letters and tell me I'm not doing it what we like to call the Right Way.

Reconnecting With My Inner Adult

Tonight is stay-at-home date night. Take two. Through miscommunication I overlapped what was supposed to be date night with a walk with the kids and making fig preserves. Oops. Tonight I hope to get the Honeyheads to bed by 7:30 and dinner on by 8:00. Just have to write that down so I will believe it. Feel like I should be laughing.

After speaking to my friend, Emily, who is in France for a while, I realized that she verbalized what I feel about having dinner alone with Brian: it makes me feel like an adult. She said while they are in France they are staying with a host family and many nights they will feed the kids early, put them to bed, then have Adult Dinner. Ah, yes, I had forgotten about Adult Dinner. So nice to have steak by candlelight with Brian. He even bought crab legs.

Sometimes the pressure of going out on a date gets to me, so staying at home seems to short-circuit that. And being more affordable. And it's hard to beat Dr. Jordon's steak-grilling moxie.

Should I elaborate about the pressure of date night? It is really about my expectations. I expect that Brian will be enthralled with my presence and ask me deep and meaningful questions and there will never be a time where we are not gazing into one another's eyes. Except maybe bathroom breaks. And many times I am disappointed. We are usually tired, then there is the complication of getting a baby sitter, then the expense, and I don't really know why I don't like it. I do like it. I want to go out tonight. I feel confused.

The point about date night, wither staying in or going out, is to spend time with each other as a couple. I especially like being able to talk or listen without being interrupted. Let's be honest. I enjoy talking without being interrupted.

I have been praying that the Lord will help me with my expectations. And I don't know what that means yet. It is a work in progress.

Thank you for your comments to my last post. It is nice to hear your voice.