Mother's Day

Not something overly celebrated in this house. 

I asked for pictures with my boys & the Man delivered.

:)

 I love these because of what's going on in the background. Ah, personalities and birth order. :)

May, so far.

Grandma came to help pack/clean/over see movers. Do you see the relief in my hug?! Something about knowing my mama is near always allows me to breathe a huge sigh of relief. 

We said good-bye to our Maryland home. It served us well. Aside from the train that went through no less than 15 times a day, I loved this home.

We stayed in a very nice Hilton. Aside from the Nairobi wedding that was taking place DIRECTLY UNDER our room until 1 a.m., I loved this place, too. While it was fantastic seeing everyone dressed up in their authentic garb, listening to the wedding party dance to Gangnam Style until 1 a.m. makes me wonder if they were truly Nairobian. Perhaps Gangnam Style is internationally understood? Either way, our one week stay turned into a two night stay after such festivities. :D

Besides, our friends were desperate for noise. :D

We got to spend a week with two people and one furry pup that mean the world to us. I am still shocked that they opened their home to our giant family and that they're still speaking to us after the fact. Good friends. True, genuine, life long friends. I love you guys.

The Mrs. half took a picture of our family on the last day of school. I took one the first day of school and wanted to be able to see how we changed over the course of a year.

 Aforementioned furry friend. Greatest dog ever.

 T&Z watching Superman.

In the midst of it all, Simon was baptized. I want to do a separate post about this, but may not get the opportunity to any time soon this year, so...

For those of you who get it, you get it. For those of you who don't, it's a symbol. Simon was saying to the world that he believes Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for his sins. I nevereverever want to forget the conversation Sean and I had with Simon about a week before his baptism. We didn't lead him in some prayer that Religion has come up with. We didn't make him stand before the church. We didn't make him do anything. He has been asking. We recognize that salvation is an act of God, not us. As parents, we didn't want to force anything on our son to make ourselves feel better. We didn't want to force something false. When asked to explain the Gospel, Simon gave a textbook answer. When asked, "But what does it mean to you?" He wept. He gets it. It took me 20+ years to get it.

*sigh*

Simon had the privilege of being baptized with a real life persecuted Christian. This boys story is absolutely amazing and something most self professing Christians would not choose to withstand. I am so glad my boy got to meet him. I am so glad we were able to hear his story.

The whole experience was an awesome exclamation point to our Maryland adventure. 

After a pretty fun spouses orientation, we hit the road. This years orientation was so much better than last years! Instead of being forgotten in an auditorium for 45 minutes followed by a muddy field with a bounce house, this class opted for a catered BBQ and bowling. I got to speak to quite a few incoming spouses and overhearing one of the professors say to a new student, "You guys have some pretty big shoes to fill; this class was amazing," filled me to the brim with pride and a tear or two may have spilled over. I am so proud Sean got to be a part of something so awesome. And the fun is just beginning!

At yet another hotel. 

And the third hotel of our move...finally in Ohio. The place where Feefs became an official Jack'o lantern.

Home. Simon got to check in the boxes. Boyfriend stood there all. day. long. He worked himself right into a terrible cold.

Our movers were kinda jerks, but we're kinda familiar with jerk movers at this point. No worries. Each moving experience is a learning experience. 

 A long day was had by all.

 Little worker bee. Man, he's getting big. :/

And this is the picture that I accidentally took as I was throwing my camera. Our driveway is relatively flat until the last thirty feet or so where it angles down into a pretty decent decline. The kids were itching to ride their bazillion wheeled toys that our MD home has not allowed. Both of us told them, "Stay at the top of the driveway," at least 100 times.

Lo and behold, Mr. T didn't listen.

Just as the movers were getting into the truck to pull away, T lost his footing on his pedals. He was flying towards the bumper of the truck. I was running as fast as I could and couldn't catch him. Luckily, his foot got caught under the tire and he flipped. Luckily, because if he hasn't flipped, he would've hit the metal bumper, full speed, right in his face. Even worse, the truck was on and they couldn't hear me yelling or him screaming. They totally could've run him over if things had gone differently. Worst moment of my life. I've relived it so many times. I have and will continue to thank God for the flip.

 I don't know what we'd do without this little knucklehead.

 Or any of these knuckleheads.

ten on Tuesday-Thursday

1> Watching Sean walk to his car this morning I was hit with a wave of craziness. It seems like I was just watching him leave for his first day of school. It seems like we just moved here. Considering it's been less than a year, I guess we did. I can't believe Phase One is one test away from being done. When I'm not wanting to poison his coffee, I'm very proud of him. We heard all kinds of horror stories before school started. We heard we'd never see each other and he would be too busy to even speak to our children. It's been quite the opposite. He's been insanely busy and there have been many, many days he hasn't been home before the kids' bedtime, but he's more than made up for it. He has spent more quality time with the boys over the last year than ever before. He has taken our family to church every single Sunday this year. He takes the boys out individually to make sure they're getting equal time with him. He's hyper aware of when I've reached my limit and steps in(except for the last few days. He bought noise canceling headphones. I haven't decided if I should be offended or let it go...)All while maintaining good grades.

2> That said, I'm freaked out by the stories we've heard about Phase 2! :D I imagine a lot of what we've heard is a bit dramatic, too. There are plenty of students that fit the horror story molds, but I think it all depends on the individual and their priorities. We'll tackle Phase 2 when we get there(next month, YIKES).

3> It blows my mind that I'm sitting here, typing away, when the movers are supposed to come this week. This week. THIS WEEK. It's Tuesday and I'm not losing my mind. I do believe I have adapted to the "hurry up and wait" lifestyle the military offers.

WEDNESDAY

4> I have two friends that I spend more time texting with every day than we ever spent talking in real life. Our group texts would make the most hilarious book. I look to them for encouragement and advice and when I need to complain, they're the first to hear it. They don't judge, they offer sound advice, they crack me up. It's kinda funny how our lives have become more intertwined since two of us moved away. I sure wish California and Texas were closer.

5> I love Titus's face in these. The pictures are a month apart. I wish I had the mental capacity to remember to do this every month.

6> Sunday is our last at this church. I've been able to ignore that fact for a few weeks, but this Sunday is going to be a sob fest. Especially since Simon might be baptized. We've been talking about it since October and just kept pushing it off. Now it's crunch time! If he's ready, I really want it to be done at a church we love, by a pastor he actually knows. 

THURSDAY

7> Of the things I will miss about this place(it's a pretty short list, actually), this tree is one of 'em. Last night we had some pretty gusty winds and our yard is full of cherry blossom snow this morning.

8> We now know(after MUCH aggravation and phone calls and unanswered questions) that a moving truck will be here tomorrow. They are packing and taking all of our stuff TOMORROW. Still not freaking out, but I think my father anticipates it. Thus, my mama is on her way to help. Just to add a hint of guilt: I was hoping my sister was in on a grand scheme to surprise me. I had it all worked out in my head that my mom and my sister would step off the train. Alas, it seems my sister is not coming. *sigh* ;);)

9> Feefs lost his first top tooth. He looks like a different kid. According to Simon, "He looks just like Ben(a BFF from TX)!" He really, really does.

10> For the love of Pete, I'm invested in this post. I will finish! The biggest took some pictures of the littlest that cracked me up. Uncle Fester...?

S&J:

And b/c the movers are going to take my computer away, one more:

Titus quotes.

"How dare you?!"- said with as much righteous indignation that a four year old can muster. If you've ever watched an episode of Frasier, imagine Niles as a four year old.

"But they're precious to me!"
Example of use: "Titus, you need to pick up your circle dots and put them in the lego bin." Things are only precious to him when located in the midst of a disaster area. Circle dots, by the way, are the littlest legos. I believe they are typically used as headlights on cars, for example. For a reason I can't quite figure out, they've become a hot item in our house; hoarded, hidden, fought over.

"YUMMY!"-Ace Ventura style. My four year old has not seen Ace Ventura(save the clip where he kicks the package down the hall via youtube). We tend to quote old (stupid) movies a lot in conversation apparently.

Sean told the boys about some prank show a while back in which one of the actors had to refer to a customer as 'Mustache.' They thought it was hilarious. However, any time we see someone in public with facial hair, he declares, "Hey there, Mustache." So long as he doesn't say it to a woman, I guess we're okay?

Sean was putting the boys to bed the other night. Things weren't running very smoothly and Sean was getting on their case. I fell out as I heard Titus say, completely dead pan, "You're not awesome, Daddy." Simple as that. No flair, just the verbal beat down.

Speaking of beat downs aimed at Sean, I've been meaning to record a conversation from our trip to Ohio. We stopped at a little place for soup and the owner was asking how we liked it, etc. Titus said, "I'm gonna eat all my soup so I'm strong enough to beat up my dad." The guy engaged with, "You probably could. How old's your dad? Forty...?" Sean, without looking at the man, jaw clenching and unclenching, "You have a nice day, Sir."

The guy obviously felt bad, especially when Sean stated he's only 33. "I just figured with this many kids you had to be in your forties." he said, smiling. To which I asked, "Then how old does that make me?!?" He chose to walk away from the conversation at that point. Smart man.

catching up

Little mister gave me a few minutes yesterday to attempt to get caught up on Project Life. I found a few weeks of pictures I'd forgotten about. 

The park by our house: You wouldn't believe how Spring hit it overnight. I'll have to take some more pictures to compare. Everything is so green again. 

 We'll miss this place.

 Everybody asks how the big boys have adjusted. I think these pictures answer pretty well.

 T had a sniffle that day. Sean was telling him not to get too close to Jude. :)

These were taken at some point during the first ten days. Aside from his lack of chub, I can tell b/c he's sleeping w/o being held. Little punklet has me wrapped around his finger. For instance, I am currently typing one handed...

 But, c'mon, could you put him down?? Eventually. But not yet.

I cant believe how much he's changed already! These last two were taken just a few days ago. Crazy how fast it goes.