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.

Fort Sam Fire Station Open House Fun!!

Last weekend we waited out a thunderstorm so we could go visit the Fire Station's Open House! (It has been on the calendar for a few weeks and the younger two were SO EXCITED about it all.)

Each girl brought her firetruck (cause, you know, we have our own toy fire fighter crew) and marched to the fire house.

There were a lot of activities inside--a cartoon about practicing fire safety at home, donuts to eat, and this super cool fire extinguisher simulator.

Julia is the queen of shyness. She's really excited but you'd never know looking at these pictures.

But, of course, the highlight of the day was getting to climb in and out of the firetrucks. Vivian, who can sometimes be super rudely shy to strangers didn't even flinch when the fireman asked her if she wanted to climb in; she just marched right up and started scrambling in. She even let the fireman pick her up! She must have really wanted inside that truck.

Elisabeth is almost tall enough to legitimately drive the truck. Sob.

My instructions: I'm going to take pictures, you make sure she doesn't break the truck.

Not, make sure she doesn't fall, but make sure she doesn't break the truck because seriously.

A genuine smile!!!

"Juju, you a firefighter now?"

The beloved ladder truck.

She just wanted to sit behind the wheel for hours. And push all the buttons and turn all the knobs and flip all the switches. She found the ignition button to this one and was determined to push it, so Evan declared her done. Yes, the trucks were off, but it's better to be safe than sorry with this kid.

I love this picture:

The ladder truck has a bell. They let the children ring it. It was loud.

Me: Everyone sit on the truck so I can get a picture.

Ebeth: (in an embarrassed exasperated tone) Whyyy???

Me: Because I birthed you all and want to photograph you so I can look at these pictures when I am old and you've moved out and I'm lonely and miss you.

Ebeth: Ok, Mom. Also, that was kind of dramatic. 

This is Hydrant the Robot. Julia loooooved him. She wanted to bring him and the firefighter that was controlling and talking for the robot home with us. Awkward.

Vivian was at first frightened of him and screamed when he tried talking to her. Then she found him amusing. Then she started hitting him with her hat.

Her face when he said, "Ouch! You hit me!":

It was a good day! The storm made it much cooler than when we'd attended the Open House in 2011. Cool days in Texas are a gift, people. A gift.

September Reading Log

Can I please tell you how much I love sharing what I'm reading with you all? Cause I do.

After tallying up the books I've read through September, I am a mere 5 books away from reaching my goal of 60 books for this year!!!! How about that?! I'm kind of excited to see what number I actually do reach! I haven't reached a yearly reading goal in a few years and, because I am nothing but a big ol' dork, I am thrilled to actually meet this year's goal. 

Here's what I read this month:

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Elisabeth and Evan encouraged me to read this book. I had never heard of it before until Elisabeth took an interest in it. A sci-fi dystopia about Earth having been invaded by an alien race they called Buggers, Ender Wiggin is asked to join the Battle School at age 6 due to his genius. Manipulated throughout his entire training, the story revolves around Ender striving for and constantly having taken from him love, friendship, and affection. A great book! I look forward to the rest of the series.

2. Hail, Holy Queen by Scott Hahn

I really enjoy Hahn's books. They are in depth, full of references and resources to prove his points and encourage you to read more on your own, and are well written. Obviously a book to be cataloged in the Catholic book category, I enjoyed this book because there were so many things about Mary I hadn't even know or read before. A great source for lots of Mother Mary questions.

3. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

Yet another book I've had for ages and hadn't read yet. Thank goodness for my current goal to read through my bookshelves alphabetically. This book was beautiful. Historic, full of art, love, and seeking the meaning of life in a chaotic world, I could not put this book down. I loved Alessandra. She was the perfect voice to narrate this book. Dunant's words are palpable. If you love books by Tracy Chevair, you'll love love love this book. Please, someone read this book so I can talk about it with you!!! 

4. On Being Human by Fulton Sheen

Fulton Sheen was a priest from the Peoria, IL area (woot!) who went on to become the Archbishop of New York. I guess he was/is a pretty big deal, but I've only recently heard about him. This book is a collection of his newspaper articles that spanned from the 1940s to the 1970s. It was a pretty big book and took me most of the month to get through because it wasn't one you could really fly through. Lots of big ideas to think on. Lots of important views to take your time soaking in. But, I definitely would recommend this one because it'd be super easy to read a smidge at a time the way it's broken up. You could easily read certain parts in between other books.

5. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

I only got less than 100 pages into this book, but I wanted to put it here to warn you all about its terribleness. Dude, seriously. The writing was just too terrible to ignore. You know how sometimes an author's writing isn't flawless, but their story telling is so you forgive them the writing aspect because you were so lost in the story and characters? Yeah, that did not happen AT ALL. There were supposed to be a back and forth between two characters in two different times, but their stories would eventually overlap. You should really have your writing polished before you attempt this idea and should probably also not throw in a third random time/character/setting without any forewarning. I haven't had a book I've discarded and disliked so much in a long time. Bleh.

6. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

You guys! You guys!!! Tell me one of you has read this book! I picked up this book after Anne Bogel over at Modern Mrs Darcy said she couldn't put it down (I heart Anne. She's yet to steer me wrong in her reading recommendations). Dude, you guys, I read this 850 page book in less than 3 days. I can't stop thinking about it and will probably *have* to get the next book in the series. So, it's about Claire, a nurse and wife to Frank in 1945. They're in Scotland on a second honeymoon waiting for Oxford to start the school year because Frank will be a history professor there. As she's wondering around Scotland she ends up somehow transported to the exact same spot in Scotland in 1743. It's just so great. There were times where I felt the book was a bit campy, times I was like--Wait, what?! Seriously, did they just say that?!--but overall, I just couldn't put it down. I must warn you, the love scenes are quite steamy (!!!) and there is a lot of 1700 types of violence. If you have read this, please, message me so I can go all fangirl over this book for a smidge.

{Fair warning, I will be basically reposting this over at Mea Cuppa on the 15th when I link up with Anne at Modern Mrs Darcy for her monthly Twitterature link up. If you've not read her blog yet, do it!!!}