Is this thing on?

Well it has been FIVE YEARS since I updated the blog. As you can imagine, a lot has happened in the last five years. I now have FOUR children and have become a Board Certified Lactation Consultant. I will explain that process another day!

E will be turning twelve in two months. I can't wrap my brain around her being this old. She is very passionate, very intelligent, and very much a pre-teen. She is growing up so fast! She's an amazing big sister. She plays the trombone and has just started playing softball.

A is eight now. She is my little gymnast and artist. Her passion is being creative and she likes to cook. She's my most easy going kid now. She is smart, delightful, and flexible and really pleasant to be around. She's also my biggest helper.

J is five. This boy can TALK. He can hold intelligent and hilarious conversations with anyone, including adults. He's full of energy and loves to re-purpose things. He's a really fun kid to be around. He just started playing T-Ball, and let me just say, I think everyone needs a little T-Ball in their lives. It is very entertaining and sweet.

O is two. He has five times the energy of his big brother. He's curious, loving, funny, inquisitive, and resourceful. I am so thankful for him, even if I am exhausted every moment of every day. He loves Baby Shark, Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse and Elmo.


My days can be chaotic. I take care of everything for my family during the day and work two evenings a week at the hospital. I am so incredibly thankful for my village of friends that helps me keep things moving and loves me so well.


I just returned home from a visit to Lawrence, Kansas. We lived there for five years while Jimmie worked on and completed his PhD. We made many amazing, lifelong friends there, and one of my best friends, Mary was visiting this weekend. I adore my brilliant and lovely friend Mare Mare. We had a very delightful day on Thursday full of food, pedicures, and many other fun things. I stayed with one of my other best friends, Sarah. Sarah also has four children. She's like a super hero. She amazes me with how she takes care of everyone. She has many of the same philosophies about parenting as I do. She is one of the most genuinely kind people you will ever meet. When we get our two families together it's like a huge, crazy group of siblings. These are some of my friends that I don't see often, but as soon as we do see each other we pick right back up where we left off. Our kids do too, which makes my heart explode with happiness.


I have been very weary lately. I needed this weekend more than I can explain. Taking care of everyone and every detail in a big family can be very overwhelming. My children are amazing, adventurous eaters, but they do.not.sleep. O still nurses many times during the night. I was able to sleep for two nights without children or a dog sleeping on top of me. I was able to eat what I wanted, not think about taking care of anyone else, have adult conversations, and RUN. Sarah and David gave me so much hope in how they are raising their children, and guys, guess what I learned? When your kids get big enough, you get to sleep in on Saturday mornings. I can't tell you how encouraging this was for me. I do not want to wish these days away, and it does make me a little sad knowing that my kids will soon be bigger, but I am looking forward to the day when I get real sleep again!


Do you know what else was wonderful? How excited the kids were to see me when I got home. They acted like i had been gone for months instead of two and a half days! It was so nice to come home rested and refreshed.


I have decided that a few things need to change in my life. I need to let some responsibilities go for this season, and make things like sleep more of a priority. It's kind of like they say on airplanes, "You have to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others". I need to put on my own mask. I can't take care of my family if I'm not first taking care of myself. I need to be ok with people possibly being upset with me because I had to say "no" or "not right now" to things. I did ok with this for a little while, but have slipped back into being the "yes" lady.


Hopefully I can keep up with this blog a little better now. The kids say and do such funny things. I also want to write about some things that are near and dear to my heart, like mental health, running, and breastfeeding. Welcome back to the chaos friends! It's good to have you here.

Here's a picture of my kiddos with my Grandmom. The girls recently had a Bible Quiz and we were very close to her apartment, so we stopped by to visit with her for a little while. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the time even more than the kids did.

My life these days

My life right now is a little bit crazy. I have a six and a half year old, a three year old, and a four month old. Each of these ages brings different joys and challenges.

E is in first grade. She is reading, analyzing, and creating. Her newest interest is inventing. Like her daddy, the wheels are always spinning in that beautiful head of hers. She loves to tell jokes and wants to be anywhere that I am. She is in between being a baby and a big kid. Her sister knows how to push her buttons and she is figuring out her place in the world.

A has always been my fun, headstrong girl. She knows what she wants and will get it for herself. She climbs onto the cabinets to get herself snacks. She plays on her own, which is both a blessing and terrifying. She is very curious and can get herself in a whole heap of trouble in a matter of minutes.

J is so incredibly happy when he is happy, and so incredibly miserable when he is upset. He has had trouble gaining weight and consequently eats every couple of hours. At four months. Even at night. He refuses a bottle or pacifier and will cry the entire time I am at work sometimes. We recently  changed physicians and are hoping to find some improvement.

To say I am tired would be a gross understatement. Yesterday I loaded the littles up in the car and went to pick E up from school. A had to go to the bathroom, so I unloaded them, went inside to the bathroom, then came back out. I waited for E’s class. They all came out, but she did not. She tends to be the last one out, so I didn't think too much of it. The aide went back to look for her. After a few minutes the teacher that walks her out said "does she have after school art today?" Yes. Yes she did. Feeling very sheepish I loaded everyone back up and went home until it was really time to pick her up. My brain is mush right now. I am trying so hard to enjoy this time, but it is sometimes so hard when all I can think about is surviving the day. I know this time is so quick, but it sometimes seems so long.

The things that keep me going right now are the sweet things my children say and do, and the incredible kindness that my friends and family have shown me. The little voice saying "Mama, I just LUB YOU so much, you are da best mama!", or the slightly bigger one saying "when I grow up I want to be a nurse just like you. Did you know you HEAL people?! That is so cool!" The tiny hand that has just started reaching up to touch my face while he is nursing. These are the things that make the sleepless nights and the groggy days all worth it. Now if someone could just remind me of this when they are all three crying at the same time...

A few thoughts

I'm not quite sure how to begin blogging again. I'm not sure what it is going to look like or what I might talk about. I have recently been encouraged to pick it back up for myself, but hopefully  it can also be an encouragement for others. I'm going to do my best to be authentic and share what is going on in my life. That means sometimes I'm going to write when I am happy. Sometimes I will write when I am sad or angry. I used to try to please everyone around me. While I would prefer that everyone is happy, the focus of my writing is not going to be to please anyone. I will probably make grammatical errors. If that bothers you than you should probably not read my blog.

Here are some things I will probably be writing about, that I feel I can speak with at least some authority on, due to personal life experiences: motherhood, being a wife, running, being a spouse of a graduate student and professor, colicky children, spirited children, and learning how to "be me"

So buckle up and join me on this crazy adventure!

Harry Potter Blog Month Day 2

Day 2: What is your favorite movie?

I have been sitting here typing and deleting for thirty minutes! I keep trying to decide which movie I liked best, but keep changing my mind. This is going to be such a cop out, but I loved all of the movies. Each one was special in different ways. I can remember the feelings that I had watching each movie for the first time.

I am always a little uncertain when I watch a movie based on a book. They are never the same! I think there is definitely a place for each though. I love seeing what I have pictured in my mind come to life on screen. Sometimes it is entirely different than what I imagined, but sometimes it is spot on! I have been watching the first few with Ella, and watching them again through the eyes of a child is fascinating. She has so many questions and explanations that make me simultaneously amazed and frustrated!

So, I didn't answer the question exactly, but it is my blog, so ha ha! I can answer however I would like!

Harry Potter Blog Month Day 1

It has been a very long time since I have blogged. Part of this has to do with my lack of a functioning computer and weird internet. The other part is because I am so busy and I just forget to open up my computer and start writing.

My friend Tara over at Our Little Geekling has prepared a fun little challenge to jump start her blogging and has invited others to join in this adventure. Since I love Harry Potter and my blog desperately needs a jump start, here we are!

Day 1: What is your favorite book?

I really love all of them! I re-read them almost every Christmas. I didn't this year because time got away from me and I didn't even realize what was happening!

I have favorite parts of all of the books. I think my favorite book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. By this point all of the characters are developed and things that have been building since the beginning are finally happening. I loved seeing the characters grow!

 I have always loved mystery and adventure and the hunt for Horcruxes sure provided that! I remember trying to race to figure out what each one was before Harry did. Silly, I know, but I get really involved in books that I read.

There were some surprises in the book for sure, but I really loved it. I cried when beloved characters died. I gasped aloud in several places. I gripped the book and held my breath when he headed into the forest. Funny, my heart is pounding and I have a pit in my stomach just thinking about it!

I really loved how she finished the series. I have always wondered how far ahead she planned everything. There are little things from early books that turn into very big things later. Did she plan them or did they evolve over time? However it happened, I am glad it did!

So, there you have it. My first post in a long time that is not about my girls or motherhood. I like writing about those things, but it's also fun to write about things that are just for me!

Did you miss me?

Test, test, test. Is this thing on?

I bet you thought I forgot about you. I bet you thought I was never coming back. Oh, no one reads this tiny little blog about the funny things my girls do? Right...

Well, since my last post in APRIL (and the only one this year), Jimmie finished his post doc in Connecticut and we moved back home. Sort of. We are now living in Stillwater, which is new to both of us, but we are so incredibly glad to be close to family and longtime friends again. We are about an hour and 15 minutes from my parents and sisters, 2 1/2 from Jimmie's parents and about 45 minutes from his sisters. Not to mention that we are about 3 1/2 hours from our "family" in Lawrence. We really miss our friends in Connecticut, but we are so thankful for the opportunity that we have here in Stillwater.  It is truly a God thing that Jimmie has a job at all, and for it to be one where he is doing exactly what he wants (teaching and doing research at a university) and so close to our family, well that is simply amazing. 

Readers Digest version of our move:

We got rid of a lot of stuff

We packed up what was left 

The movers came and picked up our stuff

We had to say goodbye to a lot of people that had become very special to us

We loaded up the car (I will explain my "road trip plan" for the girls in another post)

We drove across the country, stopping to see friends and family along the way

We finally arrived and learned our belongings were not coming as quickly as we had earlier anticipated

Jimmie had to head on up to Stillwater to start teaching a summer course. Meanwhile, the girls and I stayed with my parents.

I headed up to meet the movers (and some amazing friends from my home church came to help)

The movers got there and they were very unprofessional

Our boxes were CRUSHED. Literally! things were missing and poking out of the sides of boxes. Not pretty!

I spent the next couple of weeks finding all of the things that broke in the move

We started to get settled. We are almost done, except for a few boxes of things that we don't use all of the time and we still have to hang pictures on the walls!

I can't explain how glad we are to be here. It has taken some adjustment, and Ella and I have really missed our friends, but we are getting into the groove of things around here. We are going to have to learn how to be Cowboy fans. In the first world problems category, I lament the fact that there is no Target here. Stillwater is a much smaller town than I am used to, but it's growing on me. We are starting to make friends. Ella is in Kindergarten and I have done some volunteering at her school. Jimmie is teaching and setting up his lab. He just submitted his first grant. Aubrey is one of the funniest kids I have ever met and just rolls with the punches. She also gets into a lot of trouble. 

Here are a few pictures of our move:

All packed up and ready to go

Last family photo at our New Haven house

Having fun in the car

Almost home!

Our sad boxes. Most of them looked like this.

So many things broke, even with bubble wrap and towels.

Who needs toys when you have boxes?

The lake behind our house

Going Home!

Wow, it has been a long time since I have updated the blog! Because of computer problems and a baby that is STILL learning how to sleep at almost 16 months, I have been MIA. I am going to try to do a better job of posting.

Since November many things have happened in our lives. The biggest is that Jimmie was offered and accepted a faculty position at Oklahoma State University! That means we are going to be much closer to our families and our beloved Oklahoma sky. :)

I feel like my brain is going in 20 different directions at once. I have also been on a roller coaster of emotions. While this is exactly what we have been praying for since Jimmie started graduate school 7 years ago, it is still a little bittersweet for me. I am so ready to be closer to my family, but I am really going to miss all of my dear friends that have been so special to us these last two years. I don't even want to begin to think about saying goodbye :( It makes me sad to think that we are going to miss birthdays and births of new babies and seeing our littlest friends grow!

I am a little too emotional today to tell you all of the things that I am going to  miss about Connecticut!

I promise to try to do a better job of posting.