A Catch Up (from the last 5 months...)

Ugh, so much has happened in our lives the last five months that not only did I neglect this poorly neglected blog but I also failed at taking pictures because WE WERE SO BUSY.

So, I'm just going to highlight via bulletpoints the big things that have happened to our little family since I last posted.

-WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!! 

Yep! Baby #4 is due to enter the world at the end of June and it's a BOY! Very excited to add him to the crew. Julia is desperately hoping that Baby #4 will not be born on her birthday (June 23) because she does not want to share a birthday and she *will* cry if that happens.

Erm...I'll do my best stereotypical middle child...

-WE MOVED!!

In December we packed up our stuff and said good bye to Texas. Evan got a job offer in Illinois and we headed back up a few days before Christmas. We stayed with Evan's parents for about 10 days while we waited for our household goods to show up at the house we're renting.

The girls were so excited to spend the holidays with our families. 

A rare moment when they are all playing something together without bickering. 

 And our nephews are on cloud nine that we are back and can see them all the time now.

Of course, we moved into our new house the first weekend in January and one week later it snowed 13 inches. Welcome back to Illinois, y'all.

But, the girls really were so jazzed to see snow. For Vivian, it was her first real winter. Texas kind of spoiled us when it came to the winter months, so there was some adjustments to how we do things (like having to wear socks *every* day).

We've settled into a routine pretty well. Now that the winter that never ended seems to be settling into spring, we'll start the process of looking for a house (scary! intimidating! eek!). Until then, we do really like the house we're renting, especially the kitchen!!!

(More snow pictures because that is what our life has been the last few months.)

-VIVIAN TURNED 3!!!
This little tornado turned three in February. She had a Trains, Planes and Automobiles themed party. My mom sent her this shirt and it was absolutely perfect for her party attire!

She really wanted a police car cake. Thankfully I had a car cake pan already and experimented with making and using marshmallow fondant. She was so stinking thrilled with her police car cake.

The next day was her actual birthday and she got to open presents with us and her Nina & Papa. She got a lot of Toy Story toys (Rex, Buzz and Woody!) because, as were her sisters before her at the exact same age, she is obsessed with the Toy Story movies.

She also got a tea set from her Nina & Papa that she plays with almost every morning when we wake up. She makes tea and I drink my coffee.Yes, it is as ridiculously cute as it sounds.

-ELISABETH!!
True to her personality, Elisabeth has adjusted to her new school very well. She's joined the volleyball team and likes her classes. She has to wear a uniform (duh, Catholic school), which she has always wanted to do, but has now realized that she kind of missing wearing everyday clothes. Her school is minutes from our home, so Evan takes her every morning and the girls and I pick her up in the afternoon.

One of the nice things about being closer to family (only 2.5 hours away!) is that the grandparents can come to things like games and whatnot. In fact, we've probably seen family every 3-4 weeks since we've moved here! It's really helped Vivian develop closer relationships with everyone (because she's kind of a jerk when she doesn't see you often and takes forever to warm up).



-JULIA!!!
Julia decided to finish first grade by being homeschooled. Moving and starting school in the middle of the year was daunting to her and I don't blame her. But, next year she'll be joining Elisabeth at school for 2nd grade and she's pretty excited.

Also, she has really blossomed as a reader! Her nose is in a book more often than not nowadays and I can not even begin to tell you how unbelievably happy this makes me!!

-FIGARO!!! (cause I know you're dying to hear how the cat has adjusted)
Well, he's still sweet but dumb as you can see pictured below.

He is stuck in the screen. He stayed like this until I got his claw unstuck. He purred the whole time.

So, that's us in a nutshell right now. Still keeping our level of normal.


One thing that I have learned throughout all of the big changes we have gone through--separating from the Air Force, having a short time to find a job and move, moving while pregnant (again), doing our best to adjust to Evan having a civilian job, is that it is really, really important that we keep our routines and a connection as a family. We have moved a lot less than other military families, but moving is always hard no matter how often you have to do it. Trying to keep our life and habits the same in each house and in each state has made a huge difference, especially for the girls. They know that we eat dinner every night as a family. Bedtime is the same time with the same routine--bath, brush teeth, stories, snuggles. We organize the kitchen, the closets, etc as much the same in each house as we can. But, most importantly, we truly try to make sure they know that our nuclear family is the most important, no matter where we move, no matter where life takes us. Our expectations are always the same.

So, we are enjoying this temporary house while we live in it and making a home here while we are here.

Come What May

We found out last Wednesday that Evan is being laid off by the Air Force. We had known for months that there was a big possibility that it could happen. There was a Force Shaping Board that met in July (on Evan's actual birthday to add an extra jab to the kidneys) to decide who would get to stay in and who would be asked to leave from Evan's 2009 graduating class. They were looking at getting rid of 40+ people out of 75.

I could go on and on about how ridiculous this cut is and how much it sucks for us, but honestly, there's only so many times you can bitch and moan about something like this before it turns into useless whining. Do I wish we hadn't been cut? Of course I do. Evan's an exceptional employee and I'm not just saying that because I'm his wife and think he's dreamy (which I do). He's hard working, smart, and loyal. He's well liked by his co-workers and a go-to guy from his higher ups. He has so many great attributes that I could continue telling you about, but I know full well that Evan will get grumpy and tell me I'm exaggerating (I'm not) and that even if those things were all true, it doesn't have seemed to have mattered. He was cut.

So, now we job hunt. Because they didn't tell us the results of that board until last week and Evan's last technical day is December 31, they did not give us very long to find a job, find a new home, move and get settled before they pull the rug out from under us.

Evan's been working like crazy on his resume and looking for job leads. I won't lie, it's panic inducing if we think about it all too much. We've been praying, taking it one day at a time, prioritizing what needs to be done to get his resume out there.

On my end, I have to start preparing for a move to who-knows-where at who-knows-when. It's such a different beast to pack for a move that the military gives you when you know where you're going, what his job will be, and over 6 months to plan and pack. We have none of those factors this time. The military isn't telling us where to go, just that we have to leave. We have no idea where we're moving because we have no idea what Evan's job will be. It's...overwhelming.

This weekend I started going through things in the basement and I sat there for a few minutes and let myself have a pity party. (I figure I'm entitled to a few of those before this is all said and done)

I don't want to move.

I know that sounds so ridiculous after all the moaning and groaning I did the first year or so of having moved here, but so much has happened. We have a home here, a routine. We figured we'd be here until at least 2015 or 2016. I like our parish, the girls' schools, the neighborhood. Yes, I have always known we'd never be here forever, but the way this has all played out has been like a big punch in the stomach--I didn't' see it coming and it hurts like hell. We joined the Air Force because we felt it was the most secure job choice. Irony at it's finest.

What's weird to me in all of this is that the routine continues. No matter how worked up I get about thinking about the unknown, I still have to help the girls pack lunches for school, still have to change diapers, still have to grocery shop, cook dinner, menu plan, do laundry, listen to grievances about what one sister has unjustly done to another sister. Life still goes on. And maybe that's the blessing in all of this--a good dose of reality to the surreal knowledge that our whole lives will be very different very soon.

The girls know as much as we feel they are old enough to handle. So, Vivian knows nothing. Julia knows that we're going to be moving soon. She knows that Evan isn't going to be working for the Air Force anymore and that he's looking for a new job. I think she is used to us talking about moving because we are in the military and that this is just another type of move with them. She was surprised that we didn't know what state we were going to next. Elisabeth knows almost everything. She's aware that Evan was laid off because of budget cuts and that now we're looking for a new job. She knows we could be moving anytime between October and December. However, she is fully confident in Evan finding a job and her complete trust in us is amazing (albeit a heavy cross to bear).

This week, I'm just focusing on going through things. We're do for a purge of stuff, so that's what I'm doing. I'm making piles of Keep, Donate, Trash and I'm slowly going through the things we own. I know it will take much longer than a week, especially since I'm only going through things when there are snippets of free time, but it's something tangible that I can do right now that isn't fretting.

So, please, keep us in your prayers and thoughts. We'll be keeping everyone as updated as we can.

Emotions.

Today, there was snow on the ground when I woke up. Not something I was expecting to see.

But, as my friend Kim pointed out to me, despite the snow, it smelled like spring.

It did. I huffed the smell as deeply as I could. I lovelovelove the smell of spring.

Then, I decided maybe I shouldn't complain about the snow because after this spring, I'm not sure when I will see snow again because in a little more than 4 months we'll be moving to Texas. And Texas, I hear, doesn't usually get snow. Especially in San Antonio.
Then I got to thinking about how they won't have mountains in Texas either. Ugh. I will miss mountains. Who knew I needed them so much? Or that I'd fall in love with them so completely.
And besides the mountains, we have a lovely life here with wonderful people and a routine we love. Plus, I know my way around town! I like the library district and the Y. I have a fantastic book club. I have friends that I love and know me so well that sometimes we don't even need words to communicate. They can just raise an eyebrow and I know they're thinking that I may be a bigger nerd than they originally thought, but they still love me. They'll just mock me for a while before reminding me that they still love me despite my dorkiness. Oh, and there are also the mountains. Have I mentioned them yet?
So many thoughts run through my mind when I think about moving to Texas. And I know I'm going to cry like a baby when we move. I've already warned Evan. Elisabeth was relieved when I said that because she said she knows she's going to cry too. And that's ok. It's ok to prepare ourselves for how sad we will be when we move because this place will have been home for over two years when we move. We're happy here.
But, there is a lot waiting for us in Texas. My sister Terra is waiting patiently for us to move. She is so excited to see her nieces on a regular basis in a way she hasn't been able to in 6 years. There are new libraries for us to visit, new parks and trails for us to explore. New schools, restaurants, stores, museums, and YMCAs to visit.

We're excited and impatient and nervous and scared and just a whole jumble of emotions about this upcoming move.

All emotions that are a part of an adventure, which is what this all still is to us.

We're Here!!! We're Here!!!!

FINALLY!!!! After 2 days on the road, we arrived at our new home around 4:00 on Tuesday! The ride wasn't too bad, except for Elisabeth puking in the car Monday morning and both she and Julia developing colds. Of course. Evan did such a good job picking out this house! It is enormous and I'm still adjusting to having a basement, yard and garage. You get used to having only apartment luxuries after 3.5 years, ya know? My mom drove over with me and the girls. She stayed with us till Sunday, when we dropped her off at the Denver airport. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't been here to help. There were so many boxes and things that needed to get done. She'd watch Julia, give her naps, feed the girls, play baseball with Ebeth in the basement, and help me with anything I asked. She was a complete godsend! Now I have to stinking learn to do it on my own. Thankfully, Evan had a four day weekend, so we got to have lots of family time. Although, I bet he's very excited about getting to escape to his office tomorrow...because it's rained the entire time we've been here and the girls are going crazy! So, I don't blame him for wanting to escape. (Who am I kidding, I'm wanting to escape to his office tomorrow)

Here are some pictures of the past week...

The girls napping in the car. This only happened once when they were both asleep at the same time, so we got pictures.

After being cooped up and unpacking for 3 days, we went out for lunch on Friday. We ate at a place called The Airplane Restaurant, where they literally turned an old plane into a restaurant. Ebeth loved it!

You even got to go into the cockpit and hang out!


This is the storm that was headed our way after eating.

Poor Memaw was forced to sit in the backseat. That's what you get for being barely 5 feet tall!


On Saturday, we hurried as fast as we could inbetween storms to visit Garden of the Gods. We did a little bit of climbing and exploring before it started raining again.
Memaw hung out with Julia at the bottom of the rocks.


This is the Balancing Rock. For obvious reasons.
We're totally coming back sometime and actually walking the trails, packing a lunch and making a day of it! It was absolutely beautiful!!!!


After our drive through the Garden of the Gods, we went over to Manitou Springs, next to Colorado Springs, and looked at some shops. We also found a cool park that was inhabited by hippie children. My mom thought maybe they were dressed up for a party. Silly Memaw.
Julia makes this face all the time. She's so lemony.
Elisabeth was very nervous about climbing this wall with the rope. But, after several attempts, she did it! She's so determined.
Julia is not a fan of slides.
So, Evan kept making her try.









On Sunday, we took my mom to the Denver airport. For once, it wasn't raining in the morning.

Elisabeth moves nonstop. So much so, that she's a blur in this picture.
Goodbye, Memaw! We will miss you!

I downloaded about 200+ pictures, so I'll share some of the other pics another time. Now, I must get back to Julia's room, which is still a bit of a mess. But, she's a baby, so she doesn't care. :)