Birthday Blunder

Okay, before I post any current updates or pictures, can I just note that Phoebe turned five over seven months ago and for the first time since starting this blog, I did not post pictures.  Why?  Because there are none.  Well, there are some.  Okay one.  I mean, maybe two.  Yikes!  What happened?

I had intentions to plan a birthday party in the month of May, for a May birthday.  The party actually happened in June, which really, is pretty impressive that it happened at all with a new babe in the house.

So, Phoebe turned five!  And we had a great time celebrating at the box car races.  Somehow I managed to throw this thing together and still nurse a baby and rock him to sleep in his carrier, but the pictures??  Oops.

Can you believe my baby is five?? Actually, five and a half!  May is just around the corner.

No Pictures Please

I need a manager.  All rock stars have managers, right?  And while we're at it, how about a driver?  I need one of those too.  Yep, I'm a rock star alright.  I even kind of resemble one in the morning.  Ask my husband.  When I get up, my eyes are half-open and I've got a bit of messy Billy Idol-ish mohawk thing goin' on.

And you?  Many of you reading this are rock stars.  You make up beds and patch boo-boos, wipe bottoms, do dishes with one hand while eating with the other, bake cookies, fold the laundry, and chop the veggies. You grade papers, take out trash, keep the plants alive (sort of), and so much more, all while entertaining the masses.  You're a star.  American Idol.  Don't feel that way?  LOL.  Well, you are.

So where's my entourage?  We seem to be a bit short-staffed around here lately.  Me-the-chef and Me-the-maid just walked out again (they'll be back).  Meanwhile, Me-the-writer and Me-the-dancer are MIA, and the rest of us are afraid if we don't find them soon we might end up in an asylum...or at the very least, self-medicating with unspiked eggnog and an obscene amount of chocolate.  Darn!  That's right, chocolate doesn't agree with the baby.  Well alright, plain ol' vanilla ice cream then.

At lunch time today I kept trying to find some leftovers that I had put in the fridge.  I couldn't even find the container, but figured that my husband had taken them to work.  Hours later, I went to put tonight's leftovers in a tupperware container from the cupboard, and surprise!  The leftovers! That lack of chocolate has some serious side effects!  Like I said, I need a manager.

The Power of the Subconscious Mind

Ever heard of a Freudian slip of the fingers?  I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to email someone our IP address and typed in w-w-w dot happy her T-R-I-A-L-S dot blogspot dot com.

Alright Dr. Freud, you may have been onto something after all.

Thanks Living

Count your blessings.  We all know the saying.  Have you ever started counting and gotten all the way to a thousand?  What started as a friend's challenge for Ann Voskamp led to her best selling book, One Thousand Gifts.

Since I haven't actually read the book, this isn't a recommendation.  I'll add it to my long list of reads I may or may not get to this year (or next for that matter). But I love the concept behind the book. My friend sent me the video clip below, and it really resonated with me because it so eloquently echos what I have been experiencing in my own personal walk with God.  Slowing down.  Opening my eyes.  Waking up.

Phoebe and I started a blessings journal.  We haven't gotten to a thousand yet, but we're working on it.  This life is a gift.  This life is beautiful.  Bountiful.

So I am thankful.

I am thankful.

I am thankful for dirty dishes because it means I am fed. I am thankful for laundry because I have clothes on my back. I am thankful for dust because it means I have shelter.  I am thankful for toys and wet towels on bathroom floors.  I am thankful for sticky fingers and chocolate milk mustaches. I'm thankful for raindrops on flowers and puffy, white clouds.  I am thankful for peanut butter cookies and purple tennis shoes.  I'm thankful for music and laughter and dance, for squishy babies and rainbows and marriage and sunset after glorious sunset!

I am thankful.

While you scurry to get the gravy in the boat and the bird cooked just right,  the kids won't sit still while Grandpa says Grace, and the life that you live seems like a colorful blur of madness...STOP.

Look right.

Look left.

Do you see them?

Abundance

Grace

Mercy

Freedom

Faith

Hope

Love

EXTRAORDINARY LOVE

Gifts

The Martins

Recently we had the privilege of seeing our dear friends, Don and Linda Martin.  This dynamic couple came into our lives when Xee helped them with a Marriott transaction.  They hit it off and soon after, I got to meet them too.  Every year they come to Ko Olina for a vacation and we get together for dinner.  Xee was out of town this year during their visit, so he missed them, but Phoebe, Ezra and I were so blessed by their visit. Phoebe was especially thrilled to have Auntie Linda around for some fancy tea and a shopping extravaganza in her royal bedroom.  What a pair!  We love you Don and Linda and we can't wait to see you next year!!!

The Boy

Here are some recent videos of our little Ezra. He is such a joy!

Photo Ops

Well folks, with our days filled to the brim with giggles and wiggles, play dough and poopy diapers, there is only so much time to squeeze in a little blog time.  Here are a few more pictures of the last several months around here, though not in chronological order. I am loving being a Mommy of two amazing kiddos.  Ezra is beginning to show us more and more personality, and Phoebe...well, you all know she's got plenty of that!  We are enjoying our time as a family and loving life in beautiful Hawaii.  We are incredibly blessed!

Sissy Love

Ezra's napped almost exclusively in the baby carrier for his first several months....eating was a bit tricky!

Ah, teething...

Nice day for a dip

His first rash guard

Looking so fancy in a crown...

The Bumbo didn't last long with this guy, who definitely lives up to the title, "Bouncing Baby Boy"! You should see me try to wrestle him into his pajamas every night!!

Look familiar?  This boy would suck one, two, or even three fingers at a time until
recently settling on his thumb.  Another self-soother in the family!

Thanks for the "Baby Legs" Melynne!

His first ride on the back!

Look at me sitting up all by myself!

This girl has an eye for fashion...

Hey, they can ride together in the Costco cart!

Another fancy accessory for the boy!

Just hangin'

He used to carry Phoebe like this too!

Phoebe likes to hike with Daddy.  This is the view from Diamond Head. She does this one on her own...mostly!

Having a "moment" on one of
their many adventures together.

Sunrise view from one of Xee's early morning hikes...gorgeous!

This Journey

I don't quite know when it happened.  When did she get so tall?  Has her face changed yet again?  Did I not just pull her out of a baby pouch and stand her on chubby, wobbly legs to roam freely in the grass?  I sit here alone in the living room and glance at the clean laundry sprawled out all over our sofa, but I cannot let this moment pass me by, for I fear that it may forever be lost if I do not write.  I must write.

Tonight I looked at your big, brown eyes staring up at me.  I stroked your wet hair as your naked form stood next to mine in the shower. You nestled your head against my ribcage while I rinsed away shampoo suds.  No longer a babe in my arms, but a little lady.  A baby still, yet no longer.  I take a deep breath.

We step out onto the mat and I look at your feet.  They've grown.  They are shaped just like mine.  You brush your teeth and I glance up at the mirror.  Who is this woman looking back at me?  I see myself, yet someone else as well.  A familiar face from my youth.  A mother.

You brush and floss your own teeth, and I begin to brush your hair.  You reach for the brush and say, "I'll do it."  I follow you into your room. You get into your pajamas, then you offer to read me a bedtime story for a change.  "Okay," I say.  We snuggle up close and I listen as you read me one of your favorite books.  I hear your tale, but in my mind's eye, I'm taken to another place...a vision of our journey together thus far.

I glance down at my swollen belly, then at the dirt road under foot.  Starting at the base of the hill, I cannot see the road ahead.  I begin the walk.

Soon I am swaddling a babe in my arms.  I keep walking.  The road is windy as we begin to climb higher and higher still.  We round the corner.  Now you are on my back.

Another turn up ahead.  I lean over as you grasp my fingers for support while your little legs scoot along.

I look to my left, and now you are reaching up to take hold of just one hand.  We walk like this for a long time, hand-in-hand, along the steady incline.  Sometimes I carry you.

We skip. We run.  We laugh.

You pout.  I shout.  We laugh.  We cry.

We walk.

We run.

We stop.

Another blind corner.

Slowly we approach.  Then we gasp.  It's beautiful.

We are at the edge of the precipice, overlooking the beautiful valley.

The edge of innocence.

Now the tough questions begin.

"Mommy, why doesn't her daddy live with her and her mommy?"

"Do some people not go to heaven?"  "Where do they go instead?"

"How do they make donuts anyway?"  Giggle

We stand like this for a bit longer, side by side.

We both look down.

It's a long way down.

A gust of wind forces a step back.

You reach up and clench my hand once more.

Both fear and excitement burn like fire in your eyes.

Shall we explore?  Or will we gaze out for just a bit longer, my Love?

Stay close to Mama.  Don't let go of my hand just yet.

Not yet.

Family of Four

Well, well, well... I am finally getting the chance to post some pictures! Hooray! When my sister-in-law was here with her kids back in February, she took hundreds of pictures. She always gets some great shots. She took some lovely pictures of our family. It took me a bit to go through and pick out a few favorites to share. Ezra looks so teeny-tiny back then. He's growing so fast. It really does go faster with the second! Now I just need to catch up on the pictures from the last, um, FIVE months or so! More to come...eventually.

Magical Moment of the Day

Sitting in my rocker, I gaze through a slit in the blinds, taking in the beautiful new morning, feeling a tiny squeeze on my finger as I cradle this sweet boy and listen to him gulp hungrily at my breast.

Let the Games Begin!

Remember that little burrito-boy I brought home from the hospital? I know I am way behind on pictures and I promise to post more soon, but let's just fast forward 5 and a half months and see what he's been up to. Rolling from front to back and back to front, scooting, grabbing, pulling, pushing....oh boy, diaper changes just got a whole lot more interesting. This guy is mobile!

(Click the arrow to see him in action)

Surprise, Surprise!

Well, if you didn't already know that my husband is the coolest, you will after you read what he did for me a while back. As some of you may have heard from me in the past, Xee is quite terrible at surprises. I mean, he loves to surprise me, but cannot contain himself and begins to drop hints the minute he has something in mind. He tells me he has a surprise for me and I always end up guessing it.

So when he said he had a huge one planned for my birthday/Mother's Day/Christmas planned, he did his best not to give it away. He said things like, "You can't take it back, Queen of Returns!" to try and throw me off. As usual, I plugged my ears, "La la la la..." I happen to like surprises and I don't ever want to ruin them.

Boy oh boy did this guy have a whopper for me! He threw me off by giving me a gift certificate for a day spa, along with a nice, little technical gadget. Then a few days later, the doorbell rang while I was "resting my eyes". With eyes half-open I shuffled to the door, expecting to tell the neighborhood kids that it wasn't a good time for Phoebe to play. Instead I saw my dear friend, Lara standing there before me, with Xee video taping behind her! A surprise indeed!

Though I was coming down with a cold, I had a lovely time with my friend for the few days she was able to visit. On her last day here, I was planning a bit of a scenic drive, when Xee called me and said he was getting off work early to join us. I was literally in the car with the kiddos buckled up, but I said, "Okay."

Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Lara answered it and told me my neighbor really needed to speak with me. I told her she's just have to wait as I was sitting on the couch, nursing the baby! Poor Lara tried to convince me to come to the door, but I wasn't going to budge. So in waltzes my SISTER and her entire family, one at a time. All I could do is shake my head, and say, "No...no...no."

My husband had been in cahoots with my mom and my sister for months in preparation for their trip. Truly the surprise of a lifetime. I hadn't seen my sister in well over a year and was desperately missing her. Now here she was, arms wrapped around me. A moment I will never forget. A treasure. I couldn't even express to Xee in words the love I felt from him and for him.

I am trying to play catch-up with the chronicle of this blog. I made my sister a Smilebox slideshow of her trip and I have posted it here. A shortcut for me. Enjoy the slides! (just click the arrow, Mom)

A free picture slideshow by Smilebox