Wednesday, November 17

Wordless Wednesday: It's still Wednesday...Right?

Ok. Forget the wordless part.

Paul took today off because he'd already worked too many hours this week. Long story.

We had a zoo trip planned and Thanksgiving lunch at his office.

We did all that...but not without great difficulty.

I started developing mastitis again. It takes you down fast. And I mean fast. I called the doctor at 9:30 and by 12:30 when we went to pick up an antibiotic, I was in bad shape.

But I'm thankful.

Thankful that Paul was home today.

Thankful my mom could come help. 

Thankful for doctors and antibiotics.

Thankful that I can nurse our girls.

Thankful that I'm sitting here writing this. 

And I leave you with Audrey Kate doing what I will be doing oh so soon...

(playing on the quilt Gramma made, and she fell asleep)
bIMG_7237

(and my favorite, sleeping in Daddy's arms)
bIMG_7625
6 month post coming...

Monday, November 15

On Being Two

*disclaimer: this is a long post. lots running around in my head. somewhat random. but important to record.

----------
I admit, being 2 has got to be tough.

I feel like I've written this post before.

Ok. Yeah. I have.

I think being two with twin baby sisters has got to be even tougher.

Because when they cry, we have to react.

When Addie asks for something, we can say hold on one minute or wait just a second because she can understand.

So maybe that's why she sometimes resorts to yelling. Or crying. Or screaming.

Or asking me the same question or saying my name 1,452 times before I even have time to answer!

I would, wouldn't you?

---------
A sad story: Paul was off work Friday, and we'd planned to go to the zoo. We finally got there, but I had to feed the girls first. That was it. It put her over the edge. Head banging. Warning. Feet kicking. Warning. Screaming yelling crying. Last warning. Threw her chic-fil-a chicken mini box at Daddy. That was it! I finished feeding AP, put her back in her car seat. And we.drove.away. She cried. I wanted to cry. But we kept going. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. I was ecstatic about spending it at the zoo with all 5 of us, but we knew we couldn't turn back.

We talked about it. She calmed down pretty quickly. And we had a delightful morning at the park. 
bIMG_7389-2
She immediately told RieRie about not being able to go to the zoo. When asked why, in perfect two year old logic, she said: Because I didn't get to see the animals? (We've got to work on why vs. consequences of the why.) When asked again, she said: Because I pitched a BIG fit and threw a box at Daddy. She got it. Whether she will remember next time or not, she got it.

---------
But sometimes, she's the sweetest, cuddliest, most loving, lovable little 2 year old ever.

And she's only two!

I often times, like just tonight, have to remind myself that she's only two and half.

TWO...

not 3 or 4.

I mentioned something about her being two to our general contractor (probably as she was standing at the kitchen door talking his ear off or asking him questions).

He said two? I thought she was at least 4 with how much she talks!
bIMG_7376
---------

A quick story: A few nights ago, we were getting ready for dinner. I brought her a cup and Paul a cup and sat them down on the table. She excitedly asked me if that was her cup. I assumed she was talking about her favorite purple cup and replied with a yes and walked out to grab plates (all of this is significantly more complicated because we have to walk around through the hall since the dining room/kitchen door is blocked off now). Anyway! Paul came in and sat down and grabbed his drink and she freaked out! You know, because she thought that was her drink! I calmly came back in and asked what was going on. She was distraught that he'd taken her cup, and they were going back and forth as to who's I said it was. I explained that that was Daddy's cup and the purple one was hers. She was so confused. Finally I realized we had been talking about two different cups when she'd asked if it was hers. Well...I said, I'm sorry I didn't understand what you were asking earlier, but that's your cup and this is Daddy's.

She very calmly looks up at me and says: It's ok Mommy. It's not your fault. It's Daddy's fault.

Clearly!
bIMG_7375

---------
We pretty much sing about everything around here. But it's all to the tune of Here we go Round the Mulberry Bush. Almost always.

Here we go to school today, school today, school today. 
Here we go to school today, on a Tuesday morning.

But now Addie makes up her own, and they're sometimes pretty funny. Often times they make sense. Sometimes they don't.

So on the way home from life group after she's already sang:  
Here we are at life group, life group, life group.
Here we are at life group, but not any more.

She busted out with this song. There are multiple verses, so bear with me here:
Cady is my best friend, best friend, best friend.
Cady is my best friend, a-at school.
...but she doesn't go to my school. 

She is my best friend...a-at her house.

She is a good cousin...to give hugs.
(although more like sisters, they aren't sisters OR cousins) 

She gives me kisses...a-and hugs.

(Here's where it gets confusing...)
But she doesn't come to it, come to it, come to it.
But she doesn't come to it, she drops me down-to-the-floor.

She doesn't let me go down, go down, go down.
She doesn't let me go down, go-o down.

When i come to gymnastics...I can see Cady.

Cady is my best friend, best friend, best friend.
Cady is my best friend, but she isnt.

??!!??!!??

By the middle we were laughing so hard that she could hear us, stopped and said: Don't laugh at me Daddy!!! ...and continued on.
bIMG_7374

I'm pretty sure they are as close to best friends as any two year olds can be...even when the song doesn't say so or even make sense!!!
---------
One last thing: I was picking up Addie from school one day and heard them practicing John 3:16. So I started reviewing it with her. She can almost say the whole thing by herself, even the neverlasting life part.

We started learning Mark 12:30...Love the Lord your God with all your heart (she points to her heart), with all your soul (to her chest), with all your mind (to her head), and with all your strength (and she makes fist and strong arms...her favorite part). She always concludes with where it's found: Mark twelve firty

I love my precious two year old.  

I love her willingness to share her thoughts with others. Her ability to convey what she wants/needs/feels or at least try. Her love of learning. Her love of others.

I love her passion for life.
bIMG_7382
What I love the most about all of these pictures is that she was pushing her baby sisters in the swings. Since this post is just about Addieboo, I didn't include those, but I promise to post them soon. Just another thing I love about our little girl!


Have patience. Have patience. Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient, you only start to worry.
Remember. Remember.
That God is patient too. 
So think of all the times when others had to wait for you!  

Love is patient. Love is kind.
I Corinthians 13:4a

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2

Saturday, November 13

Delays. What Delays?

These last few days have been a whirlwind.

Working with a general contractor is a HUGE blessing.

No permits to pull. No deadlines to create. No sub-contractors to coordinate. No codes to follow. No inspectors to meet.

Because that's what the general contractor does!

And for the past week plus, there has been someone here working 5 of the last 9 work days.

But 3 of the last 3 days!

And while last week we saw things being constructed and created.

Formed and built.
wadhdry

This week, it's been utter destruction.
bIMG_7174
(dont mind the clutter in the first picture below. i was already starting to pack things up...and to pack up we all know we have to pull out!)
Untitled-3
Walls torn out. Bricks chipped apart. Chimney broken down.
Untitled-4
Unsettled. Uprooted. Unearthed. Unloaded.
Untitled-2
 Dust. Dirt. Soot.
Untitled-5
 It's hard having your house torn apart. 

It causes all consistency, all schedules, all life as we knew it to be inconsistent, out of the ordinary, a new reality. 

I think it's the change that's the hardest to comprehend: the change and altering of something that's been this way for over 80 years. 

But change is good.

Right...?

Riiiiiiiiight.

He will cover you with his feathers,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 
Psalm 91:4

Friday, November 12

It all started with...

the kitchen floor.

Yup. That darn kitchen floor started this whole thing.

Because to figure out what was going on with our floor meant {someone} had to crawl underneath our house.

Many {someones} in fact.

Who {someones} you ask?

5 HVAC guys,
4 Plumbers,
3 General Contractors,
2 State Inspectors, 2 City Inspectors, 2 Structural Engineers, 2 Electricians, 2 gas company men and...
1 husband.

I kid you not.

And what did they find, you ask?

Let me recap things here:

1 tipped pier, 1 sinking original wood burning chimney resulting in 1 sinking house, detached rafters from 1 valley rafter, and 1 leaky dishwasher.

many {many} improperly installed elements of our HVAC system, deteriorating duct work, a super cool crawlspace under a hot humid house and...

a partridge in a pear tree

i mean, mold.

oh, and several gas leaks.

{argh}

This is now {finally} resulting in:

a new kitchen floor, a new kitchen ceiling, a new hall ceiling, a new pantry/reworked laundry area, a new laundry area in our bathroom

at least 5 new {foundation} piers, a reattached/now braced set of rafters

and a fairly in-depth reworked kitchen.

you know, since we're going to have to live here for the next 20 years to pay all this off we might as well update the kitchen in the mess!

So I managed to take a few pictures before construction got underway. 

Of a few cracks...
cracks

And gaps...
gaps
A few very crooked doorways...
doors
And completely missing floor/ceiling coverings.
missing
Then there's the tipped pier on the corner of the house that's pulling our house in one direction, causing many cracks, gaps, tilted floors, and all around destruction!
tipped pier
And to think that first structural engineer said there was nothing wrong with our house structurally

BUT it's all changing on a daily semi-daily basis! You know, because there are rain delays and sub-contractor delays and delays because of the delays.

There will be more pictures to come...many more pictures to come! :)

Thursday, November 11

Kira Jane

I had so much fun photographing Kira in Augusta that I decided she needed a post of her own! Kira is Paul's brother and his wife's daughter. She's our only niece (right now), and I'm pretty sure I ended up with more pictures of her than I did of our 3 girls! Isn't she just adorable!!! She has the most contagious smile, and I'm pretty sure she adores Addie as much as Addie (and we) adores her!
kira
Kira's going to be a big sister next year right around the time Addie became a big sister this year...about 2 weeks earlier in fact!
kira3
Thanks for letting me play with your little one Jay and Millie!
Untitled-8
We love all four of you!