Snow Days...And Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving... It rained all night last night and has been snowing almost all day. Its been fun. This is the first time that Solomon has been able to play in the snow, and seriously, HE LOVED IT!!! I am SOOOO excited to be able to move to PA for the sole reason that we get to play in the snow often. He has SUCH a blast. As soon as we would come inside, he would want to go back out in the "nnnnooww." He says the S but its this really funny nasaly and it cracks me up every time. We are getting really to eat. I'm excited. I'm actually a little nervous. I have a Dr appt on the 4th and I HATE getting weighed...thanks to this meal, I will probably have gained 10 lbs this month!!!! Anyway...enjoy the picture dump.

Trying to resist the urge...but not quite...ah the fate of a snowman....

This is pretty much the most ho'bunk town I've ever been to. There couldn't have been more than like 500 people living there...if that!!!!

URGENT!!! PLEASE PRAY...

We just received news that our dear friends, Abby and Jonathon, lost there sweet little 6 month old nephew Noah. (At first we heard that it was Abby and Jonathons little 2 month old baby...what a terrible time to get some false information!!!) We don't have details, but Abby's brother and sister in law, Richard and Becca, lost there son in his sleep today. I cannot even begin to imagine what this incredible family is going through. This is a wonderful family who we love with all of our hearts and we are deeply grieving with them. Please pray for Richard, Becca, and their 2 year old daughter Emma...as well as the rest of the Teagarden family and all who know and love this family...

May God touch them deeply and hold them close and they mourn such a tragic and precious loss...

On Being Tagged

I've been tagged by TheHumanPacifier. So what I do is list off 6 things that might not be known from my blog...

1. I HATE being in social settings. They give me severe anxiety and Im terrified of meeting new people.

2. Will was the first white guy I ever kissed hahahaha...or dated... So it ISN'T true "once you go black, you don't go back" ...there are the occasional ME's!!! :)

3. I pretty much feel completely violated when people I actually know read my blog without me knowing. It even weirds me out when Will reads it when I'm in the same room.

4. I could probably quote Toy Story and Toy Story 2 entirely. (Thanks Solomon!)

5. I'm not a good reader...or a digester of reading material but I'm really working on it.

6. I LOVE writing...but I don't really exercise the type of writing that I like on this blog.

Okay, so I have to tag six other people. Do I even KNOW six people on here??? Jen, KelliAnn, Jenna, Jami and seriously...thats all... :(

HOLIDAY CONTEST!!!!

Nothing is more exciting than a holiday contest!!! One of my dearest friends, and most talented photographer, Jen Beasley is having a great photo contest. She has entered Solomon's picture of one of the choices...and while its called a "Gee Im So Darn Cute" contest, I personally think that Solomon's picture is the greatest photograph. Of course he is so darn cute, but ALL the kids are cute so I rationalized voting for my son as the cutest because I love the photograph so much (and well he just might be the cutest to me:)) So...if you want to participate...go vote for #7!!!! :)

Just visit HERE and leave a comment saying #7 is your favorite :) Thanks!!!

I'm SO Glad I Found You...AGAIN!!!

So...I lost the video for awhile because The Way pulled it from youtube...and I FOUND it again!!!

Enjoy...oh how I do :)

The Renewed Mind is the Key Funny Jokes at JibJab

A Few Days In

Yah know...vacation takes on a whole new meaning when you are a parent. Vacation, for me, used to mean sleeping in, watching TLC (Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby, Wedding Story) until I can't stay in bed any longer, and pretty much doing nothing nothing and more of nothing.

Well as a mom (and dad), this is vacation now. Solomon wakes up at 5am, wants to play in the bath, then wants to leave our room and wake up the rest of the house. I make him oatmeal, make Will blue berry muffins, and make sure that every one has full tummies. Then I do the dishes, while Solomon is begging to go outside (yeah its not even 8 yet). I throw some laundry in the washer, and beg Will to take Solomon outside "bear hunting" so that I can sneak in the shower. I blow dry my hair and then find Solomon throwing a huge fit. By this time its 10am and he's already acting tired. We put on the TV and try to take a breather...to no avail...

After several tantrums because of over tiredness, we go outside again and dig. Then its time for lunch. I make lunch, feed Solomon and now he wants to go back outside...its better than being inside where he annoys everyone. he is really being a bit bratty...I mean I know he is tired and just pretty much beside himself...so it could be worse...but times liek these, I just wish I had a nanny...is that bad???

Sister and I

Brian and Solomon

The Beginning of Vacation...

We left at 3am. I don't think I would recreate that. Solomon didn't got back to sleep apart from a few less than one hour snoozes.

My sleeping sister.

My sisters sleeping boyfriend, Brian.


Sleeping Will and an awake Solomon.


Sleeping Will <3> My babies.

We stopped off right over the Arizona boarder for breakfast and Cracker Barrel and Solomon loved playing checkers...or as he called them...ceckers.

This is Solomon calling for my dad...I love how he uses his hands...So cute.

And one last picture of daddy Solomon-love.

That was just day one...last night, going so sleep was a little difficult. Solomon didn't take forever to settle down but it took a while. He slept with us and him and Will fell asleep really quickly. Because the air is SO dry and cold, I felt like I was inhaling razor blades. I took a homeopathic concoction that helped a lot. It was a long night but we needed sleep...so much! Solomon woke up at 4 am and said, "Mommy I'm all done. I'm awake." I said that it was still night time and we needed to sleep and he said, "But momma, I don't like night time!!" haha. Will rocked him a little and laid him in his crib and he went back to sleep until 7:23...YEAH!!! We've been outside walking in the woods, walked to the lake and "fished" (or reeled in the pole over and over and over) and took a nice nap after lunch. Right now, I'm being called to come outside AGAIN. Im trying really hard to just suck it up and go outside with him so that he will be tuckered out at bed time...and because he goes NUTZO in the house, exploring and getting into pretty much everything...so we are off to go hang out outside... :) We really needed some time away and we are having a blast so far.

On My Knees

Praying...so desperately...for them....please, I beg you to join me.

Fire

Today we woke up to beautiful blue skies, 90 degree weather, and warm winds...which here in Southern California can only mean one thing...Red Flag Warnings...and likely the fires that they are warning about.

At 2 pm I took these photos (apart from one...one is from the front of AOL...its easy to tell which one). So it is obvious that the sun should NOT look like that, and the sky should NOT be that dark. Walking outside gets you coughing/choking in less than ten steps, you can't stay out because it's raining ash...and we are a good 15-20 minutes from the closest fire...so this is just how bad it is this far away.

Over 500 hundred homes have been lost...its terribly sad...although the media loves these kind of tragedies...One headline said "Armageddon in California." Thats a little much.

I was telling Solomon what was going on in a very age appropriate way. I was telling him that because it is hot, and we don't get a lot of rain, some hills are dry, and fires is taking away houses...and he said "And what else?" I said..."And their yards, and the hills, and trees..." And he said, "And whales???" And I, of course said, "Yes, maybe their whales." haha...he was so concerned and so sweet. We prayed for the firefighters and the victims together...

May they be out soon...pray for rain. We will need it after this.

Today we woke to blue skies...now this is all that is left of them.

These pictures cannot due justice to the bright red sun...

but you can kind of grasp it...it was 2pm...not sunset.

This is far from the worst ash I've seen.

About 7 years ago...it was so bad that it looked like it had snowed.

This is under out patio...mixed with my mom's horrid beasts hair.

So sad.

When Baby Makes Two...what do I do???

I'm having a hard time with the fact that Solomon's two and a half years have passed me by so quickly. What have I been doing in this short time that made it zoom past me in what seems like a blink... Just last year, this was him... Now he is THIS.

He is going to be a big brother and I'm just not sure how I feel about that. I am super emotional and very worried about having two kids. There was a lot of favortisim going on when I was growing up and Im terrified of reversing it and always favoring Solomon. My fear gets a lot larger if our new baby is a girl, simply because I just feel like I haven't a clue what to do with a girl. I'm far from girlie, and the worst part is I feel completely incapable of teaching a little girl how to love herself dispite the hatred that this world offers her. I know God will give me the strength but it's a bit daunting. Talking to Candice yesterday, and hearing her sweet Jillian (20 months) ask the sweetest questions about her new little 1 month old brother Gabriel, made me feel a lot beter, and really excited... I really cannot wait for this little one to get here, but it does come with a lot of uncertianty...

I good thing would probably be for me to STOP blogging when I am feeling so hormonal...I feel like all I ever do is complain and rant on this blog... I want it to be a happy place...haha...good luck for the next 5 months I guess!!!

Firsts and Accomplishments.

So much to say. So little time. First of all, the election is over. What an exciting time to be living in...I have always wondered what it felt like to be a slave freed, march with MLK or be present for one of his incredible speeches, to feel the freedom of a woman who had the same rights as men...and while that feeling of incredible freedom will never be felt by me, I get to have been apart of a time where the first African American president was elected. The majority (who voted for Barak Obama) of our country saw no color at all and elected the person they knew to be the best choice to get our nation out of complete chaos. It is exciting to me, emotional, and all together one of the most important (historical) times of my life.A few things to be noted: my mother and most of my family members apart from my sister have a vehement hatred for our new president elect. They thought God would be in control if the McCain/Palin ticket was elected, but now that they were not "God is allowing our country to go through dark dark times." It is a little frustrating to me. I understand that "one issue voters" usually don't understand the importance of a thriving economy, illegal unjust wars started and justified with lies, health care, aid for the less fortunate. But to assume that God is only in control if the winner of a secular contest between two flawed human beings, is who you like the best, is just an abomination to me. For I truly believe and have a confidence in my God, that even if the candidate I didn't vote for was elected that God is and always will be in control. Enough of that...but I am definitely happy that they are over...hopefully people can return to their normal selves and remember what it is to be kind to those who don't always agree with you.

We finally got to hear the baby's heart beat today. I am 14 weeks and I really just thought that we would have got to hear or see something before now...so it was totally surreal to hear that sweet sound FINALLY!!! And with our little Solomon present!! We wanted him to feel apart of it, and not feel frightened or anything. He has really never been in a Dr's office and they can be pretty intimidating, so we told him what was going to happen and told him that the baby's heart was going to sound like a fast "boom boom boom boom"...and for weeks we have been talking about it. It was so exciting. I got to record his reaction. It was so much fun. We have our next appt on the 4th of December...and we have scheduled our ultrasound to find out what we are having (sorry Corin, we just aren't as strong as you hehe) for next month as well.

I'm really loving Ina May's Guide To Childbirth. I loved all of the birth stories so much and they really helped me feel a connection to other mothers who have given birth in their homes surrounded by people who love them, in they way birth was initially intended. I'm feeling much more confident and am hoping that things work out so that we can have the birth that we want...whatever that ends up being. Does anyone have book/movie recommendations for me to help me surround myself in all things home birth????

Our move is in less that two months. I can't believe it. And after 7 1/2 long and hard years full of sweat and tears, Will is FINALLY graduating in FIVE WEEKS!!! Oh I am SOOOO excited for him. I cannot imagine what it feels like to accomplish something like a Doctorate...but I am SOOOO proud of him and all of his hard work.

Solomon has moved into a HUGE language explosion and with that came a (very age appropriate) stuttering stage. Had I not had friends who had gone through the same thing with their 2 1/2 year olds, I would have probably been a freaked out mess. It is supposed to just pass once the child adjusts from speaking in 3-4 word sentences to 7-8 and more word sentences. He is seriously so stinking smart, picks up all the words I DO NOT want him to say, and has the memory of...well...of something with a really good memory!!!

Thats puts us just about up to date I think. I have some more Halloween photos to post...hopefully I can do that soon...