That Lady

You know that lady who has multiple children in her cart at the grocery store? The one with a baby crying in the front pack. The one who looks a little bit worn down. Her hair might have been combed, or it might not have been. No make up. She's eating from the food court and so are her kids. Her jeans have holes in the knees--not the kind that are cool, the kind that actually come from over-wear and too many washings. Her shirt might have a hole or two in it as well, not that you could see it because it's pretty much covered in spit up, drool (the baby's, not her own) and leaky breast milk. Strangers stop in the parking lot and ask her child to sit down in the cart because they don't want to witness her breaking her head open. She smiles and responds when you talk to her, but her eyes keep darting around like she's a little bit crazy. Yeah! That lady. Uh huh, I figured you knew who I meant. Yep, not only can I relate really well to her...these days, I am her. That's right, haggard and worn down, but still kicking. And as my good friend Kirsten so wisely has reminded me a time or two...this IS my dream job. It's hard and the pay is pretty bad. The hours are killer and my charges do their best to make life difficult. But there is nothing I'd rather be doing.

So, the next time you see that lady at the store, feel free to smile at her and say something nice about her kids. But don't pity her. Most likely it's her dream job as well, whether she thinks so in the moment, or not.

Nora Liv--3 months!

This post is put up especially with Grandpa Moto, Grandma Idaho and Auntie Avy in mind : ) I never posted any pictures of her at 2 months, so here's a couple to start it off. She had a 2 month check up while we were still in Idaho and was proclaimed to be a healthy girl! However, she was still over 2 pounds less than her siblings were at 2 months. Not that she's under weight or anything, just a chubby girl rather than all out fat : )

And then we hit the super-fast forward button and all the sudden last Friday she turned 3 months. The biggest change is that she has good days. I say "good days" because after I last posted that her colic was mostly gone, she decided to open her big mouth and prove that she can yell just as loud as before for just as long as before. Oops. But it is still better than it used to be. Oh yes, and she basically rolled over yesterday for the first time. I got all excited and yelled "Nora, what are you doing???" and she startled and rolled back to look at me. Now, I know that many children roll over at 3 months, or even earlier. But not in our family. Ezra and Caroline both waited until 8 months or later for their first time. So, three months surprised me.

Perfect little 3 month features.

Sisters!

Teeny, tiny toes.

Miss Nora likes the front pack now that she can face forward. It's a mercy, because she doesn't like much of anything. She enjoys hanging off the front of me for hours each day. We go for lots of walks with the kids this way. If only my back didn't complain after a few hours...

I do love my Nory Pory Puddin' Pie!

This hat that cousin Janie made for Nora is getting a lot of use. I just love the springy colors and it fits perfectly at this age.

The matching outfits that Miss Kris bought for the kids were pulled out this morning for Sunday-wear. Thanks, Miss Kris.


And that, my friend is 95 pounds of kid you're lookin' at!

Hope you are having a fun trip Grandpa Moto and Grandma Idaho. And we surely do Miss you Aunt Avy. Put Hank up in some swanky lodging and come visit us!

The Last Days in Idaho

Since we really have no order to life right now, neither will my posts have order : ) These are the last days in Idaho. Tadd was able to dig my camera cord out of the storage shed, so that I could finally transfer what was left on the camera.

Little Miss dressed herself for a spring walk.

This would be why Grandpa Idaho has officially had his name changed to "Grandpa-Moto". Sorry for the confusion : )

Caroline decided to paint her own fingernails purple one day. I had already done her toes, but she thought she'd better add an extra coat to them as well.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Fairview Inn one Friday night. Aunt Esther knows kids so very well--she served them ice cream cones.

Ezra and Mitchell in their matching outfits.

Caroline and Ella in their matching outfits. Grandma Idaho made Caroline's dress and Aunt Hedder made Ella's skirt. Madeline sold us the fabric : )

Mr. Levi--we will surely miss watching this little guy grow up so very much! I bet he's already changed a lot in the short time we've been gone.

Aunt Heather made some darling cowboy hat, boot and sheriff badge shaped ice cream sandwiches. I can still taste Grandpa's strawberry and coffee ice cream in those sandwiches!

Waiting patiently for dessert.

The sing they had at our going away party. Caroline sat with her friends and they all sang and did hand motions quite enthusiastically. Ezra and his cousins were a little more sedate (for once).

Gearing up for another morning of loading up our lives.

This is how I will forever remember my little girl looking in Idaho.

Our last week in Idaho was, of course, a little crazy with lots of lasts. Last dinners with the family, last visits with friends, saying good bye and packing. I meant to take pictures of all the ladies who came to help me clean and hold Nora--but I didn't. I meant to take pictures of all the men who helped load the van, but I didn't. I didn't even take a picture of the moving van, which had a dinosaur on it--much to Ezra's delight. So, those are the pictures that are missing. You can imagine them : )

Where To Go From Here

Just a quick update. No, we did not drive our moving van off the end of the earth. Yes, we are safely arrived at my parents' house. I don't know where the camera or the cord is...I'm not sure what pictures to post...and my computer is just a tower in the closet now, so all the posts I had wanted to post before are locked away in that. The last week in Idaho we had no Internet, not that I had any time to post anything. So, apologies to anyone wondering what our status is/was : ) Honestly, I just haven't taken any pictures in the last few weeks. Packing boxes, loading up and cleaning the house in addition to feeding and caring for 3 kids took all we had. It took more than we had, actually. It took a lot of help from a lot of amazing friends and family members. A big thank you to all you friends who watched our kids, helped load up, helped clean the house, rocked the baby, helped us drive and who are now housing us. The drive went quite well as far as the kids were concerned. Nora did not cry the entire 12 hours as I had predicted would happen. And the older kids sat quietly most of the way, even though I couldn't find a way to make the dvd player work in the back seat. Thank you to all who prayed for us!

So, now we're here and the housing hunt begins. I'll try to find the camera and start taking some shots. Miss Nora is almost 3 months now and changing quite a lot. The biggest change is that the worst of the colic seems to be over-whoo hoooooooo! She still likes to be held and has fussy times. But the screaming for hours on end does not happen. Praise the Lord!

We'll keep you posted...