It can't get better than this...

There is so much I want to say but my brain is usually too excited to put it into words so I'll bullet point and post some pictures today.

- I woke this morning, rolled over to look out the window and I was greeted by massive snowflakes falling from the sky. It hasn't stopped snowing yet. Combine that with happy kids equaling one happy mama :)

- Biruk has been peeing/pooping on potty for months now. Today he brought me underwear and wanted to put them on. He wore them all morning without an accident. We are ready to get the potty show on the road! I'm hoping with both of our determination we'll be full on potty trained very quickly.

- Landon wanted to try as well (see pictures below). He was not as successful.

- Landon has now picked up on Biruk's phrases and now says "No onner, No biruuu or bad Biruuuu, bad onnner". His vocabularly is increasing very rapidly and I think he's trying very hard to keep up with his big brother.

- We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new house and especially the view out all our windows. I've been meaning to blog about the house just haven't gotten around it. We fell in love with this home because of the back yard. There is green belt space behind us full of pine trees and some hardwoods. We'll be doing lots of exploring out there this spring and we love the privacy it offers. We are so, so, so grateful!!

- I'd love to blog about Haiti but getting my emotions into words is very hard for me. It's been on my mind a lot and I'm amazed by the kindness, dedication and determination of so many people. Please keep them in your thoughts!

- Biruk has been a snuggling fool lately and it's been making my heart burst with joy. He's always been good about wanting held, hesitant around other people and very clingy but he's not one to offer real intimate affection. But he's really letting go of that side of him and I couldn't be more thankful!! I love ya B!!

- Conner has to be one of the easiest 4 year olds around. He doesn't give Nathan and I much grief, he's easily adjusted to yet another bedroom and is immensely helpful with his little brothers. Thank you Conner :)

- And little Lando. He's definitely the babe of the family and knows it. Just one look at his cheeks and it's all over with him. He is loving his dad these days and watching "ootball" with him.

- After 4 years of parenting I'm finally feeling like I've got the knack for it. Maybe it's moving, maybe it's time and patience or not having 2 infants anymore. Maybe it's getting 7 hours of sleep a night. Maybe it's life slowing down to where I can enjoy all the wonderful moments with my boys. Or, most likely, a combination of all of them. Whatever the case, I couldn't be happier to feel like my old self again. I've missed me. It's good to be back!

- I plan on staring out the window the rest of the day and watching these beautiful flakes fall from the sky. And hopefully I'll get bundled up with the boys after their naps for some "snow time". Have a great weekend, enjoy the pictures and leave a comment to say hello!! Best to you and yours!
sincerely, chatter

- p.s. I LOVE SNOW!!! Currently 8 hours of watching it fall and the excitement isn't fading. Yeah :)
- p.p.s. I wrote this post about 8 hours ago and still haven't added the pictures. I will do a picture post another time. We ended up getting at least 5 or 6 inches of snow today. We played outside with the boys tonight and hope to spend more time out there tomorrow. I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day.

6 years ago...

It's almost midnight here in Oklahoma and I've been listening to thunderstorms all night and watching the lightning brighten the sky. I even let out a couple gasps as I witnessed the biggest and clearest bolts of lightning I've ever seen. For those of you who don't know me, thunderstorms are one of my FAVORITE things in the whole world. I love listening to the rain hit the windows, the sound of the thunder crackling and seeing the sky turn black as the storm rolls in and the blue sky disappears behind the dark clouds. This isn't typical weather this time of year and it's just one more thing that made today even more perfect.

We officially bought our 4th home (we closed on it yesterday), and we have begun our 6th move in six years. It was Jan of 2004 when Nathan and I bid Indiana farewell, packed up a truck and moved over 600 miles into our cute, 2 bed apt in Springfield. Onto a life that revolved around the 2 of us and included; happy hours, movies, riding motorcycles, late nights staying up talking with Nater, exercising, camping and sleeping in on the weekends. If someone would have told me back then that I would move 5 more times, completely overhaul a farm house with Nathan *and a 1 year old in tow*, become a mom to 3 children in less than 3 years, have 2 homebirths and travel to Ethiopia while 6 months pregnant, I would have spit my beer out of my mouth and said "you've got to be shitting me".

But, here we are are, those 6 years later, the motorcycle a minivan, happy hour no longer a drink at a bar but any peaceful hour out of my day (or 10 minutes), late night talks have become late night feedings, a body that's lost most of it's shape (MEN OR WOMEN THAT ARE EASILY GROSSED OUT SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH) and a va-jayjay that's seen better days.

That being said, there's also been the pleasure of; sticky kisses filled with love from our 3 beautiful children, hearing their laughter every. single. day., watching them embrace each other, wiping away their tears, reading them books, tucking them in each night, and the daily hugs with Nathan amid all the chaos (usually while getting smacked on the butt by Biruk and Landon trying his best to squeeze in between us).

If someone had told me 6 years ago how challenging this path was going to be, I may not have taken it. But all the sweat, tears and heartache have been worth the rewards, laughter, and love. Sometimes, it's what we don't know, that takes us the furthest.

The cool kid

After I noticed Conner had switched from long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to mesh shorts and a Colt's jersey I asked him if he was cold.
His response "I feel cool but I'm not cold".

"Kind of"

I was uploading some video tonight (anything to not clean the house) and found this video Conner had taken. You must have the volume on to hear what he has to say. For those you who don't know Sid, he is the sloth from Ice Age.
Enjoy :)

Music Rocks!

So tonight I finally remembered that our DVD player will play CD's so I busted out some mix CD's my wonderful little sister has been making for me for the past decade. Tonight's mix included; Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Pearl Jam, ColdPlay, Stephen Kellogg, Elton John and others. It's so soothing for all of us and I really wish I would do it more often. It sounds like such a simple thing to remember but I think since I don't have anything obvious to play music on, I forget. But I filled the disc player with a variety of music and tomorrow we'll dance the day away.

Happy 20-10

Twenty ten. That's what the hubby suggested we call it and I think I like it. It's so much easier than two-thousand ten. Don't cha think? That being said 2010 is starting out with a bang. We came home from Florida on the second and found out the house we've wanted since Mid-November was actually going to happen. We will hopefully have this home in the next 10 days (details to come, I'm scared of jinxing it). We are packing, cleaning and shuffling paperwork. And hopefully moving very, very soon.

We had a wonderful vacation in Florida. We left in the blizzard weather of OK traveling at a rate of 30mph the first 4 hours. We all handled it well and enjoyed the scenery (minus the 100 plus cars in the ditch). The FL trip was a family reuntion as well as my brother in law's wedding. They got married on the beach and the only additional wedding party member was Conner as the ringbear. He took his job very seriously and made us proud with his excellent behavior. And since Conner was so excited about being a part of the wedding and fully understanding the concept he proudly announced on the drive home "I can't wait to marry Lily". If I'd only had it on video.

Conner now has 4 girlfriends; including Lexie & Sadie, teenage cousins from Nathan's family we hung out with in Florida as well as Lily and his original - Miss Angie. I never saw this one coming. Oh the joys of parenthood. Conner's working on reading, counting (we are starting on math) and he's still a little sponge with an insane memory. He keeps mentioning all the things we left in Joplin (that I'm hoping will one day be found in boxes). He keeps us entertained with his comments and discussions and so far has been in awesome big brother. Keep it up kid!

Biruk is still Biruk. Everything is doing on his terms. From pooping on potty, to talking and when he'd like affection. He can say a word or phrase perfectly clear but if you were to ask him to say it again he'd look at you and mumble something. He still is so giving with his smiles and other than the occasional tantrum he's a pretty happy kid (again - under his terms). His speech has really picked up these past couple months and I look forward to hearing what the little guy has to say. He's still pretty tight with his yellow sheep we call Buddy (such an original name) but he did manage to fall asleep without him twice last week. He is still our most dramatic child and I will not all be surprised if he pursues theatre and acting. He's perfect for it! He challenges us in many ways but at the same token is such an easy child. We love ya B!!!

And little Landon. Would you please pull the bur out of your butt?! I'm not sure what his deal has been but the little fella has been walking around with a chip on his shoulder for the past week. Thankfully Nathan distracted him with football and other games this weekend to give me a break. I'm hoping he'll wake up a happier child tomorrow. When he is not clinging to my leg and crying "mama, maaaamaaaa" he loves chasing around his brothers and he loves "football". He has loved any ball from a young age and this has not let up at all. While in Florida he started saying "Onner" (for Conner) and "Bir..", sometimes "BirU" (for Biruk) and it's the most adorable thing ever. We all cheer which only makes him do it more. He also nods his head yes to everything you ask him. Unless he really understands the question then he'll give us a shake no. Otherwise it's 90% yes. The kid is still a hunk a chunk but a runt in comparison to Conner at his age.

Life with 3 so young has been interesting but I'm happy to report that I'm finally getting the hang of it. Maybe it's because they are getting older and life isn't so chaotic as it has been in the past. Maybe it's the move, or maybe (just maybe) I'm becoming more patient. Whatever the case, it's nice to feel this way. It's been fun seeing 3 (totally) different personalities emerge from these boys and I feel honored and blessed to be around every day to witness the changes. And to share in their life.

Happy 20-10 everyone :) Hope you all made some New Year's resolutions for me because once again, I didn't make any.