SWINGS.

The military likes to keep you guessing. As soon as you get comfortable with something they will change it. Moving to Florida-away from everything and everyone- and adjusting to this new lifestyle has been probably the most challenging thing I've ever done (especially with all these pregnancy hormones!). Today Andrew started a new shift. Goodbye days, hello swings! He leaves at 2pm and returns home at midnight. It feels backwards. Maddox didn't like it much, either.

The scariest part of the night THANKFULLY did not include a gecko. We heard something that sounded like either a gunshot or a firecracker (I prefer the latter) and Maddox jumped into my lap and said "MAN!" Nothing else happened, but considering our neighbors to the left are always fighting, you never know....

I got lucky tonight because Andrew is coming home early. He just called and asked "Do you want anything? A McFlurry maybe?"

Of course I was strong. "No I'm good. We ate pizza and Mini Wheats."

5 minutes later I dial him back.

"Um, I changed my mind. M&M McFlurry please!"
So, see...my night is ending well! I honestly do not like this new schedule but I'm trying to take all this one day at a time and to not get sad. That's all I can do. Go with the flow and cherish every little happy thing...

...like Maddox mocking me as he cooks in his kitchen with my giant mit on his teeny hand.

He makes me smile about 50 million times a day. It's good...because I need that!

hurt knees, rain, miss ava, and a dead gecko

Andrew should know better.
Today he came home and said his knee hurt.
Why????
Because, in his words, "I played hackey sack at work all day."
Now I know why the Air Force is nicknamed the "Chair Force." Haha.
Well, guess what? My knee hurts too...and my hips...and back. It's because I carry around what feels like a 10-pound kid all day and on top of that, I lift a 2-year-old up and down on the potty about 20 plus times a day.

It poured rain all day. Maddox was amazingly good. We made up songs, played with his barn, and stayed in Target with Erika and Miss Ava for a whole two hours (waiting for the rain to pass...and it didn't).

A girl chased him at Target. She was so charmed by his orange rainboots she couldn't resist.

p.s. I killed the 5th gecko that has managed to sneak into our house. I don't care if some people think lizards are cute or shouldn't be killed...they are ugly, fast and freaky. I don't want them in my house! This one hid under my washing machine all night and chirped. It's a wonder I slept at all. This morning he made the mistake to come out. Thank God for nearby Rainbow flip-flops.

cookin' up phones

Maddox calls our phones "cones."

Every night he collects them, along with our keys.

And then he cooks them.

He is safe, though. He uses my kitchen mit.

8-24-08

Exactly two years ago today, my sweet son came into the world.

Time flies when you're having fun!

Happy (real) Birthday to my Maddox!

Love,

Mama and TaTa

Happy Birthday Maddox!

Maddox woke up this morning at 8:30 (miracle! it has happened maybe only 3 times in his whole life) and said "Balls!"

He was a little scared of this whopper at first, but then he warmed up to it.

While TaTa cooked us a delicious breakfast of mushroom omelets and bacon, he played with his two favorite toys: the tractor and the drill. He falls asleep with the tractor like it's a stuffed animal!

Breakfast was a hit. He preferred the cupcake over the omelet. We talked about how he is TWO (not technically yet, but close enough).

And we talked about how we were going to the beach to celebrate.

It was a 60% chance of rain, but thank God it held off til we got home. The cloud coveage was NICE, in my pregnant opinion. Maddox was not so taken with the beach this time around, though. He was a little scared of the waves...and freaked out over the massive amounts of seaweed floating around.

See the seaweed? He called it "poo poo" and was stressed out that it was all over him. I told him it was grass and he said "mawn mow." Too funny. I went along with it and said, "Yep, someone will get it all with a lawn mower. It's just grass." He shook his head. "Poo poo."

We needed a break to get his mind off the "poo poo." A green apple shaved ice did the trick!

He was ready for the beach again in no time!

Then, back at our chairs, he decided to whine again. And the sky decided to rain a little. So...we packed up, washed off the seaweed and sand as best we could, and got some ChickFilA :)

At home, our shower turned green with seaweed. You don't even want to know all the places we found it! Maddox was right. That stuff was pretty gross.

....

We had a beautiful naptime, complete with rain and thunder as background noise.

THEN...came party hats (for TaTa and me, since Maddox was not a fan of his at the time...of course tonight he wants to wear it....), cupcakes, the Happy Birthday song and presents!

We took advantage of the plastic tablecloth and used the paint set right away. Now Maddox's bathroom wall is covered in toddler art. Notice his face...this is what happens when Daddy is in charge of painting haha!

Dinner at Moe's topped off the day. We did all of Maddox's favorite things and hopefully he had a super amazing and special time, even though it was just with his TaTa and Mama :)

...I can't believe he is almost 2. Andrew measured his height today and he's grown two inches in just the last month!!

He is growing up up up...and while it happens, we're going to have fun. I hope the next year is filled with twice as many laughs and goofy moments....

birthday party prep

Today is the day before we celebrate Maddox's #2 birthday!!!

He got his teepee in the mail and we couldn't help but put it together RIGHT THEN.

What Maddox loves most about it is when Andrew hides in it, growls and chases him around the house....

He screams "MORE TENT!"

Maddox got another pre-birthday treat: cupcakes! Why eat them tomorrow when you can start today...right?? He wanted one, it's his birthday weekend and so...he got one (or two...or three). He also informed us tonight after eaing a big bowl of alfredo that he wanted a "tato" (aka taco) from "Tato Bell." He got that, too. So, what's left for tomorrow?

Some small presents...

...and, as Maddox will quickly tell you when you ask him what he wants for his birthday: "BEEEEACH! Moes!"

Birthdays are so much fun.

Tonight after he slipped off to dreamland Andrew and I started prepping for the big day.

Andrew was on balloon duty. He blew up a whole bag of balloons without passing out!

Look at that belly (!!) but hey, it could be worse!

This is what happens when you get Dollar Tree balloons...you never  know what size you might end up with!

We're filling his rooms with balloons tonight. I can't wait to see his face in the morning.

Happy EARLY birthday to my sweet sweet little boy.

edit: here is the finished product with the balloons. Luckily my camera's flash didn't wake him up!

inspired.

In everything I do today, all I see is Joy's face, smiling big. She had a calling and she lived it to the fullest. We should all share her passion for whatever it is we have been called to do at the time. In my case, that is being a wife and mother right now. I want to do it with real joy...and passion...and LOVE.

God, help me to love this man like I am supposed to. I want to be the wife that he needs and I want our home to be filled with love, in the good times and the bad.

Thank You for a beautiful son and another on the way. Every day as a mother is a great adventure. It is a huge blessing and a huge job, but I love it. Please let that love come through in everything. Give Andrew and I the wisdom to raise our children as best as we can.

I have been so blessed. Life is a gift and so many times I have taken it for granted. We don't know how many years, days or seconds are left.

No matter how big or small our calling may seem, let's embrace it fully. Life is beautiful.

Yesterday both my boys had hiccups at the same time. It was a sweet and funny moment. Maddox touched my tummy and I told him his brother had hiccups like him. He could feel the little jumps. He smiled.

Sometimes we get so busy and stressed we forget what life is all about. We forget that it will not always go on. These tender moments remind us of the real treasures in life. Joy Bausum knew what was important. She showed God's love to people in the most genuine way I have ever seen. I hope we can all love more like that; I hope we will all embrace the calling on our lives and NEVER LET IT GO.

Joy Bausum

My dear friend Joy Bausum passed away today. She was so full of LIFE that her absence from earth is hard to fathom...but she lived more in her 26 short years than most people I know live in their whole life. I have known few people with such a big heart. She devoted her entire life to helping people, especially children. If you want to know what a servant's heart looks like then there you have it. I will always remember her big smile, her passion for God and mankind, her LOVE. She was the type of friend that never forgot to send you a birthday card or a note of encouragement. She touched so many lives. I am blessed to have known such an extraordinary woman and take comfort in the fact that she is with her Jesus and there is no other place she'd rather be.

You are loved, Joy, and will forever be greatly missed by so many.~

a lazy, weird day.

It rained almost all day. I woke up feeling weird and still feel weird. And lazy. Pajamas, no bra, no makeup.

Maddox is still in his pajamas, too. And he hasn't worn underwear all day (that's not all that uncommon for him, though).

Andrew has been the most productive of all of us. He went to the grocery store and did a ton of yardwork. Maddox and me watched.

And kept being lazy.

My heart is heavy, too, for a dear friend in Malaysia who is in the hospital with either a blood clot in the brain or an aneurysm. I'm doing a lot of praying today.... 

saturday night date

Andrew went to the movies with some of the guys, so...this was my Saturday night date. We got banana milkshakes and called it a night!