Life As It Is and Friends Indeed

Well...it's been going. :) Sometimes well, sometimes not so well, but all that aside...we love our new house and will love it even more...when the unpacking is done...in a few years...maybe. Sigh. I was lamenting to Mom the other day that the problem with unpacking a house with three young children is that 5 people in the house need to eat three meals every day and continue to need clean clothes and continue to do things like cut paper into tiny pieces and play with toys and leave messes around. Things that I can spend all day chasing down anyways. So my solution to making the most time for me has been "supper from a box". :) Heh heh heh. I bought, like, 5 frozen pizzas from Walmart the other day and two or three non-nasty looking frozen meals. Things that don't require much cleanup or any prep time.

On top of everything, we have vacation bible school at church this week, which this year goes from 6 PM to 9 PM, and which Tim and I are both involved in. So we get home late, and the kids are getting CRRAAAANNNKKKYYYYYY. Arrrrrrrrrrgh. And Mommy is getting CRAAAAAAANNNNNKKKYYYYY. Mommy is very tired of wailing children. Mommy wants wailing children to pad quietly and peaceably to their beds and take long significant naps when they feel tired, instead of standing in the kitchen diaperless for the third time in 30 minutes wailing at the top of their lungs for sundry reasons, involving things like the fact that Mommy wants to put a diaper back on them, or that diapers exist in the first place or that Mommy won't carry your bare butt to bed, but tells you that you have to walk yourself if you don't have a diaper on. And then said child will lay on the floor while being diapered wailing about how he needs powder. And then wailing to be carried to bed. For the third time that morning. And then, when he is in bed, wailing with maximum distress about something that you cannot for the life of you understand. Just that it is causing great hiccuping sobs and many many many tears. And then there is Gabe, miserably sniffling because he can't have a cookie until he eats his lunch, of which he has first said is too spicy, (which it is not) and then when given a choice between that and a tuna sandwich decides to eat the tuna sandwich and then bursts into tears because there is lettuce on it and says he can't get it off by himself, then decides he doesn't like the tuna sandwich, so it is back to his initial meal, and he pokes and whines and carries on and asks me to feed him and then drops it out of his mouth and then decides, well, he doesn't want a cookie, after asking me to make them about every 7 seconds during the morning until I told him that if he kept asking me I wasn't going to make them (these were from premade cookie dough, in case you were impressed at my baking diligence), and then when I get hungry for them myself and make them, we go through the whole same tearful rigamarole and finally he takes his blanket and falls asleep. Phhheeewww. And then there is Little Squerk, who was busy and slightly cranky and busy busy busy. I sat at the computer with everyone sleeping one hour before we needed to leave with sort of a wild gaze and all nerves at maximum fray.

In other, less stressful news, Zion is (has been for a bit :)) 8 months old now. He hit the 8th month mark during our move and has been tackling new developmental phases like crazy. In a span of about two weeks, he switched from mostly breastfed to a lot of table food and baby snacks (still breastfed, too) basically at his initiative. He started crawling, and he is speedy!!
He also is sitting up very well, and can push himself from a crawling to a sitting position. He also gets up on his knees a lot. He just got his second bottom tooth and is working on his top two front teeth. He can feed himself baby snacks on his highchair tray. He started saying "Da da da da da" and "Na na na na na". He is so observant and cognisant. He will chortle and grin and loves to laugh at you and be laughed back at. He seems like he gets more agitated since he can get around now, because he sees things he has to go GET!!! and he wiggles and squirms to be put down. He has started putting his feet down flat on the ground when held in a standing position, instead of up on his toes. He will play very happily for long periods of time by himself or with the boys around. He is a very good natured baby and has lots of happy grins. He is still in 6-9 month clothing and size 4 diapers.

Here's some pictures from life of late.

The Move

The Wisseman's install a gate in the chain-link fence.
Gabe had to get a blanket and watch.
Then the boys even got to take a ride. Tom was the man of the hour.
Some beautiful fresh-picked strawberries Al Adams brought us when he came to help paint.
Anita Martin and Becky Wright help paint in the bathroom.
Gabe and his buddies that came along to help. :)
Our first morning in our new house (before our stuff was moved over). We celebrated with a breakfast from Dunkin Donuts, which we can walk to. :) Smile of happiness.
The Snooch was present, too, just to make sure that everything looked okay with breakfast.She's a good girl. Wouldn't want anyone to die of donut overload, or anything.
Kind of makes a doggie yawn hungrily.
Der Poor Hungry Snitchity Snooch
Spring Festival

Last weekend we had the Spring Festival at Greenwood Mennonite School. I looove stuff like that and spent plenty of time marching around happily buying food. :) Fresh homemade donuts, whoopie pies, pulled pork sandwiches, iced vanilla lattes with whipped cream, sweet tea...mmmmm.

The boys loved it too, but for different reasons. Gabe made a beeline for the inflated Clifford the Big Red Dog jumping thingie, but as soon as he caught sight of the water slide, his day was decided. He spent hours on it, with no break, while Israel chortled over the chicks (with help from Aileen Crossgrove),cuddled the kitties, babied the bunnies,and oh-so-delightedly rode around in a little barrel car.I finally fished a drenched Gabe off the slide with the lure of a two hour late lunch.He informed me that he wanted a hot dog, a sandwich, and BBQ chicken. I told him we would start with the hot dog and see where we went from there. He made it through that and the sandwich. While wearing his new dry clothes. :)
Hey, you go with what works. We sat tiredly under the tent, sunned and well-fed,and listened to the worship team from Hickory Ridge, led by Chad Sterling who I went to Rosedale and Cedarville with.Zion worked busily on his own snacks.And finally, here's the boysies. It was just beautiful the other day and we settled out on the lawn in the shade for a pretzel picnic. It was a good day. With many more to come. We have had so many wonderful people show us so much love and help as we have transferred houses. Thank you all so much and we love you so much!!!