Getting Back To Normal, Or Something Like It.

"Normal?" I ask, "What is normal? Is there even a "normal" to get back to?"

So, I looked it up. Google defines normal as "the usual, average, or typical state or condition" (see here)

I change the title of the blog.

I ask myself, "are we back to our usual, average or typical condition." That, of course, leads to reflection on what really is typical for us. That is easy. Typical for us is one step below chaos. Typical for us is change. Typical for us is half of us resisting change, the other half welcoming it, and the third half (not sure how our family has become 3/2 but it works) being too young to know any different. Typical for us is procrastination. Typical for us is going with the flow. Typical for us is making plans, falling through, and revamping plans. Typical for us is dreaming and wishing. Typical for us is loving, no matter what. Typical for us is learning and playing. Typical for us is messiness and disorder.

So, there we have it. We never left normal. (I consider changing the blog title again, but realize the story is in the blog, and doesn't have to be in the title)

We have had a large group (because my creativity in picking just the right descriptive word is lacking) of adventures! Our adventures came all at once, and since I am the half of the family that is most resistant to change. I am just now feeling recovered from those adventures. I am actually starting to feel that, not only can I catch my breath and stay above water, but I am actually enjoying swimming a bit.

(realizes that the purpose of this post is to seek affirmation- I plan to tell you about all of these changes and how I have handled them and how awesomely I feel I am doing. You then can kindly tell me that I am INDEED quite awesome. I will smile and feel happy and full and ready to face more adventures. And you thought you were going to get off easy.)

So here we have it:

Philip used a day of his long weekend to pick Miranda up from Indianapolis. My friend, sister, and helper had arrived. I, however, had no real time to show her how excited I was (I do plan on getting to that).

Philip went to pick up Charlie while I frantically tried to decide how to create space for him. (we moved Nater and his most important stuff into our room and gave Charlie a mattress on the floor in Nater's room)

I had a baby.

Baby and I came home from the hospital.

Philip prepped to leave.

Philip's dad came to visit.

We blessed William, and then the rest of the family. (so glad Philip turned down my have a get-together idea)

Philip left.

Philip's dad left.

Charlie's family (total 2 adults, 3 kids) moved in. (another frantic moving of stuff from one room to the other. This time mine and the boys' stuff to Nater's room).

Life happened. (this is to include at least 4 doctors appointments, 2 trips to the ER, and a birthday or two)

And here we are... about 3 months from the time the adventures started and only slightly more than one month from the time the last major adventure began. Not only did I keep myself and my kids alive, I have really only felt completely crazy once or twice. (I can't take full credit for this non-craziness. Placentas are AWESOME for decrazying- just saying!)

So, as I sat down to blog I thought, what else haven't I shared yet? What things am I wanting to keep track of for my kids so they can remember? What things are still weighing in my mind as things I have to tell them, teach them, show them with this blog? And I realized, I no longer feel a pressing need to keep track of every emotion of this series of adventures. Oh, don't get me wrong. There is still a lot I want to tell you. A lot I want you to remember. But, it is no longer one of the weights that is trying to pull me under the water. If it is important, I will remember. If not, it is okay.
 Because we will keep having new adventures.
We will keep changing (maybe I will learn to resist it less?).
And we will learn what we need to from the adventures, and that is what really matters.

So, my dear children, if you ever read this as an adult and feel as if you are barely treading water. If you feel your adventures are coming to sure and too fast to be real, remember this. You can and will survive. Try to remember to take time for happiness in your adventures. Let go of unnecessary baggage and move on. And then, if you have a moment or two- share these memories with those you care about. Or answer the pestering kid that is tapping at your shoulder and the hungry baby that is (once again) wailing to be fed, oh, and you might want to get that toddler out of the crib at some point in time.

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...."

Cloth For Two

I am still not doing too well at cloth diapering. It is kinda decided on a day to day basis. But sometimes, something happens that makes me excited for cloth again. William's first time in cloth was one of those.

He is crying because he hates being naked, not because he hates cloth diapers.

I love how huge they are on him. Yet how well they fit to his body.

See, two in cloth. We can do this!

I also noticed on this day that he was 2 ft. tall. I took a couple pictures of my "two foot" baby. (attempted to anyway, his wiggles kept moving him from the right part of the measuring tape)

One Month Photo Shoot

I love hobbies that play so nicely together. These are the things I love: reading, children, photography, learning, scrapbooking. I am also learning to love sewing. See how nicely those hobbies fit together. One of my favorite combinations is photo shoots of my children (which I later get to scrapbook). Here are favorites from William's one month old shoot. (all photos, unless noted are straight out of camera:SOOC)

note: this one was cropped not sooc

And a couple brother shots. 

Nater wanted to join our photo shoot and love on his brother.

Using each other because brothers make good beds and tracks.

I Love Baby Faces

This post brought to you by the cuteness of learning how to express yourself.

Blessings

I am so very grateful for the gospel in my life. I am grateful for all of the blessings that come from knowing that my Savior lives and that His church has been restored to the earth. I am grateful to be a part of that church. I am grateful for the blessings of a family that is sealed together for eternity. I am grateful to have a husband that has made and keeps promises that he has made to me and to his Heavenly Father. I am grateful for children and for knowing their purpose here on earth. I am grateful to be their mom. I am also grateful that the power of the priesthood has been restored. I am grateful that Philip remains worthy to use that power to bless the members of our family. (learn more here)

On Sunday, September 2, 2012, William was given a name and a blessing.

This is a special event that is commonly done when a child is born to a family in the church. The blessing establishes the name that will be used in the church records for that child. It then allows the priesthood holder a chance to deliver and pronounce on the child the blessings that Heavenly Father has in store for him or her. I am happy that Philip has been able to do this for each of our children.

It had been a couple weeks between the time that Philip talked to the bishop about the blessing and the actual day of the blessing. We were running late enough that he didn't get to touch base with bishop before church started. Bishop had forgotten that we were planning on blessing William that day and skipped past it. Luckily things all work out when they are meant to. A friend that was invited to participate was able to text the ward clerk. He then sent a text to a member of the bishopric. After checking with us, they made sure that we were able to bless him during the meeting. I am typically against using phones during Sacrament meeting, but they sure paid off this time.

 

Later that night Philip gave each of his kids and me a Father's blessing. He also received one from his Dad. Deployments are so much easier to handle when you have the reassurance from blessings that everything will be okay. My kids were blessed with strength and I was blessed to be able to "take things one day at a time". Philip was blessed to come home to his family.

I didn't really get a lot of pictures because it was a very busy weekend. But here is one I did get before church.

And a family shot from later that night.

Grandpa Phil Visits

Philip's dad came to visit before he deployed. We had a blast with him! His wife and daughter couldn't come and we missed them a lot. Here are some of the fun things we did with the grandpa while he was here.

Grandpa treated us to dinner at Steak n' Shake

We didn't end up making it to the beach with grandpa, but we still ate cookout style. The kids liked the smores and cooking over the fire.

We blessed William and did lots of Father's blessings before Philip left.

We took a family picture that night.

Philip's dad took him to work to say goodbye. Then we spent some time doing something the kids would most want to do. That's right, Grandpa treated them to an evening at Chuck E. Cheese's. They loved it and even told me later that they wish I was as nice as him and would take them there again.

I kept my father-in-law up way too late talking his ear off. I love talking with and learning from my in-laws. That is what I miss most about not living with them any more.  I really enjoy the times we do get to visit with them. I am very blessed to have them as family and I am very happy my children have them for grandparents.

TIMBER!!!!!!

When Philip saw our house and yard for the first time we knew they were perfect for us. I loved having grown trees and looked forward to using them. However, as spring and summer came we realized that the large tree in the back back yard was indeed dead. It had already shed several large limbs and we worried about the danger of allowing play nearby it. So we decided it had to come down.

Philip was excited to fell the tree himself. He bought an axe and worked hard. He was determined to chop the tree down the "right" way and really loved the workout that came from digging that axe into the trunk of the tree. He would have just enough time to fell the tree before he was to be deployed.

All done with an axe.

However, he would not have time to process the tree once it was down. I was prepared for 9 months of not using the back back yard space and seeing a tree laying on the ground out there. Fortunately, that didn't have to happen after all.

Less than a week before Philip was scheduled to deploy there was a knock on the door. The young men of our church (12-18 year old boys) and a couple adult leaders were armed with tools and ready to work (one of the leaders had just come home from a trip and from what I can tell came almost straight over). And work they did! The tree was felled and processed into nice neat piles of different sized wood pieces in no time. They packed up and headed home without expecting any compensation for all of their hard work. What would have taken Philip hours or days to do on his own, was done so quickly. I would not have to worry about the tree in the back yard while he was gone.

I love my church for so many reasons. I love that no matter where I move to, I know I will be able to make friends and have an instant support system. I love that it is organized to include people to watch over each family. I love that I will always have a group of people who are like-minded and trustworthy. I am so grateful for these amazing boys and their willingness to serve. It touches my heart that there are people in the world today that are willing to give up their time to help others. I am grateful for the sense of community and love that the members of this church provide me. Thanks boys!

I made the boys some cookies to say thank you, but they all got eaten. I guess I will have to work on that again soon, tree shape sugar cookies maybe?

If you want to learn more about the church check out this site.

Sorry about the blurry pictures. I was holding William while taking them and was subconsciously bouncing.