More Pics of Addie

Kya could not wait to hold her sister and she is SO good with her. What a blessing to have a child that can help this time! And one who really likes to help! Kya and Wyatt can't wait to do anything they can to help with their baby sister. And I sure appreciate it.

Talk about a difference in coloring. I know that all my kids kind of have this look when they are born, but in this picture it doesn't even seem possible these two princesses are related:

What am I gonna do with that hair??????

This picture was taken right after she was born and I can almost breathe the moment when I see the picture. There's nothing like that magic moment when you first hold your child.

Skin to skin time. :)

She's Here!

Addelyn Grace Haner was born Sunday, June 27, 2010, at 8:02 AM. She weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz., the second smallest of the Haner babies--a nice relief for mom. Everyone is happy and healthy. More to report after we get our routine established.

Thoughts for a Father's Day

My dad stayed home with me when I was little...and he liked it. I always knew my dad enjoyed being a father.

He cuddled me when I had bad dreams in the night and never made me feel bad that I was interrupting his sleep. He would hold my hand while we slept because I was convinced if I was anchored to his big strong form, no monster could pry me loose.

He set his watch faithfully to come in to check on me at night..every ten minutes until I was sound asleep. He spent many nights in the emergency room with me when I had horrible ear infections and fevers as a child.
He taught me to be a competitor, to work hard, to stay the course. He knew the right thing to do and did it...even when it wasn't convenient or particularly pleasant.

He took me on piggy back rides every night of my childhood, from our living room couch to my bed, where he would read story upon story to me, never seeming to be bothered by the fact that I was getting bigger and more difficult to carry, never faltering in his commitment to reading for sometimes an hour or more in the evening...I'm sure he could have been doing a million other things.

He never missed work, he never complained about his lot in life, he always fulfilled his promises.

He sat with me every night with a stopwatch to make sure I brushed my teeth for the recommended time.

He stuck with my mom when she went through some very difficult times.

He stuck with me when I was a big fat teenage idiot.

He stayed up late to make sure I was home safely.

He attended every swim meet, dance recital and play.

He celebrated every victory and cried with me at every defeat.

My dad was the epitome of a committed, loving, loyal, ethical, dad.

And I love him.

As he is getting the hang of retirement, his health is not good. His legs don't work like they ought to. His energy is not what he would like. He has pain virtually everywhere, every day. And yet, when he plays with his grand babies, you would never know.

His doctors say he shouldn't even be able to walk, but he does and he smiles through the pain, razzing Kya, snuggling Wyatt, chasing down Caden...patiently awaiting his newest grandchild.

When Kya was born, he had just been through a horribly botched eye surgery, one for which he was never willing to sue. He was in excruciating pain, caused by pressure that built up so high it damaged and destroyed precious eye tissue and eventually his cornea...but, he showed up at the hospital, nearly doubled over in pain, because that's the kind of man he is. He wanted his daughter and granddaughter to know that nothing would keep him from us...nothing.

And that's why I love him.

He is predictable beyond measure, confident to a point of humble arrogance because doing the right thing your whole life makes a man that way.

He is my dad. And for that, I am most thankful. I love you Papa Mac!

The Ice Has Melted!

Today, around noon, the ice melted in our house, I love yous were exchanged, there were long hugs, and I am sooooo thankful. I was exhausted being so angry and bitter at my best friend.

We discussed our foundational values for the family and the fact that we want the kids to have fun, but also learn a few things this summer.

We planned activities, established rules, and had a blast together! See, a little communication is all it takes! (And a 44 oz. soda from Circle K. That always lifts the mood around here. Don't judge me; I just hope the baby doesn't grow a third arm.)

And to be honest, at 8:00 this morning, after the fifth wordless pass in the hallway, I truly wondered if my husband and I would ever speak again. So, it's nice it turned out this way...for the kids' sake....and the dog, and cats...and chickens. Man, we have a lot to take care of around here! I need a good partner who's not annoyed with me all day long...although I wouldn't blame him one bit...

I would be annoyed by me and my pregnant, whiny, tired, sweaty...that's enough, isn't it?

As an aside, many people have wondered why we are choosing to lease the home to which we are moving and rent out the home we have currently. The bottom line is that this is the only way for us to live our dream and still maintain our integrity to our current lender on our home.

We just weren't willing to be part of the short sale trend. So, until the market turns, and our home is worth what we owe on it, this is the way we can keep our credit good and still have more room to roam! Win win!

The Summer Transition Period

Scott and I never fight. I'm not bragging; it's just the truth. I defer to him on most things because he is smart, rational, calm, and deliberate in his decision making. I, on the other hand, while intelligent, am more passionate, irrational, creative, and rash in my decision-making. So, you see, it is not difficult for me to lovingly accept Scott's decisions as...well...better...

Until summer comes...

For the past nine months, I have made the daily decisions about the kids' routines, rules for daily activities (and interactions), TV usage, trampoline usage, apparel choices, hairdos, water play, mess making, mess cleaning, etc. Daddy comes home in the evenings, leads in prayer and dinner activity, assists with bedtime, and that's about it.

And then comes summer...when my glorious knight in shining armor (a teacher) gets to come home and rescue me from the single parenting life I heretofore have led.

Daddy is home...with us...all day long! Hurray...errrr...maybe not?

Because, you see, I am used to calling the shots during the day. And as well-intentioned as he is, anything he does is going to step all over that. And the poor guy can't catch a break. Just about everything I said to the kids today, he had said or subsequently said something opposite. And the kids started to catch on. And I became annoyed.

Mommy: "No, you can't go on the trampoline right now because I can't come out to supervise until I finish my indoor chores. Please go play with blocks."

Daddy (without consulting mommy): "Oh, sure, go play on the trampoline and invite over some overly energetic aggressive friends to join you in there to ensure imminent injury. Oh, and I'm not going to supervise you while you're out there."

(I'm not quoting here, just relaying what must have occurred. Because within minutes of my simple edict, my normally obedient to me children, were on the tramp and there was crying and blood and "trampoline stress." Yes, I coined a term for it because the trampoline is such an anxiety producing activity to me.)

This is a small example of the stepping on each others' parental toes that is occurring during this summer transition period.

The day ended without good nights and with some silent passes in the halls.

It will get better. It always does. But, the summer transition is the pits.

I hope the baby waits until her parents are speaking to each other again to make her appearance.

Life

There is a lot of life around here--tumbling baby in my belly, teaming bugs in the garden, cats, dogs, and chickens (cats are having hairballs lately--does anyone else think this is THE GROSSEST THING EVER!!?), kids with high hopes for summer fun, husband with new excitement and passion as he shops for a tractor!

Life is good. And busy.

So why do I want to curl up and take a long nap all the time instead of being my normal productivity-oriented self? I haven't even gotten around to refinishing my kitchen table and I LOVE to do stuff like that.

I can't seem to get that ol' nesting instinct going right now either, which is weird for me...

I am actually really looking forward to that hospital stay, when someone else will cook and clean for a short while, and I will sleep deeply in between feedings...ah, best laid plans. Perhaps God is encouraging me to sleep now because there is something very busy and taxing ahead...

A sweet, wonderful lady has come into our lives the past few days to help with the kids and moving. She has made this time in our lives even happier and more wonderful and I just know she is an angel sent by the Lord to help make this all possible.

I know because I was just praying before she called, "Lord, I know you have opened the doors in this whole moving scenario and although I can't see the way a nine month pregnant gal can move an entire family and household, I know you will provide a way so I am refusing to stress out about it."

And then Shelly Ernst called, out of the blue, and said she would love to come by for a few hours to help us. She has been here twice and both times, it was an incredible blessing from God. We know she was sent as a special messenger of service and although it is hard for me to ask for or receive help, it has been such a relief for us to have her humble, hard-working spirit around.

Sometimes, you just can't argue with the fact that something is from God, especially when he provides miraculous ways for things to happpen you never thought were truly possible.

OK Lord, back to sleep I go...

To Overnight or Not To Overnight

Image from here.
Sometimes my hubby and I just have to get away to discuss anything important that takes more than 15 minutes. Our kids, bless their little hearts, see two parents, semi-sedentary, and can't control their little mouths.



Scott: So, I've been thinking...



Wyatt: Daddy, daddy, excuse me!!!



Scott: Yes?



Wyatt: I've been thinking, thinking, I've been thinking...that we should go...go to...go to..the swing park tomorrow. (Wyatt stutters.)



Scott: OK, Wyatt, tomorrow, we can go. (returning focus to me) I've been thinking about the moving process and renovating the house...



Kya: Mommy, excuse me, I'm soooo thirsty...



And so it goes.



So, we are at a hotel tonight, working on leases and getting things in order for our big move!! Eek, I'm so excited.



Rewind several hours...



Me: I hate going on overnights! There is so much to do--meals, cleaning, preparation, packing, lists, AGH! I NEVER WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN (tears rolling down my face, words barely discernible)!!!



Scott: Ok honey, just tell me how I can help.



Me: YOU CAN'T!!! (Blubber blubber, pity party ensues, children cower in the corner. Incidentally, "You can't!" means: "You should already know and why can't you just read my mind and get everything prepared for me????!!!!! I'm nine months pregnant for goodness sake!")



But, now we are happily in our very comfy Four Points Sheraton room watching stupid TV and blogging and talking about our future and the baby (while I have periodic contractions--Braxton Hicks totally hurt by the way; LIARS ALL YOU WHO SAY THEY ARE PAINLESS!!!)



And it is all good.



Why do I do this EVERY time???



Is it worth it? Once we're here, yes. I still hate the preparation, the worry, the having someone in my home looking at the fur balls, dust, laundry, lack of perfect organization...



But there is nothing like reconnecting with your spouse, and with three kids (soon to be four) under the age of five, parading around our home, it is the ONLY way we will stay connected, in love, passionate, and civil with one another. And that's really really important to me.



Do you date night? Overnight? Do you stress the preparation for it like I do?

My Mom's Pretty

That's my mom and my Grandpa Trev on the left. My mom's a hottie.

A Nice Country Laundry Room

What am I looking forward to most about our new house in the country?

Well, actually living there in general and honoring God's blessing in providing for our dream, for one. Second, honoring the gracious folks who listened to God's promptings and gave us the chance to live there by taking immaculate care of the house and grounds.

But, on a much more shallow note, I am REALLY looking forward to having a real laundry/mud room, with cabinets and a little area for muddy boots and a pantry...Oh, and room to line up baskets with everyone's names on them...Oh my gosh it is making me have goosebumps all over just thinking about it. I'm sick like that.

See, my current laundry room is just a washer, dryer and about two feet of walk-through space. Things pile up on the washer because it is the last stop before the garage/recycle/trash/compost/chickens, etc. Its very existence makes me want to close the door and avoid it at all costs--which is not good for my family's clean clothing needs.

I am a country cottage decorating kind of gal. It is easy for me to do on a budget, and generally fills our home with light and bright colors and furnishings that actually look even better with a little wear and tear (and my kiddos certainly know how to add that "gently used" look to just about everything!)

My hubby told me (when I asked him and subsequently MADE him answer the question of what kind of decor suited him best) right after we got married that he loved the country feel of many of the B & B's we stayed in in Texas (on our honeymoon.) I think really, he would like the redneck couch and old tires on the front lawn look even more, but that's not happenin' on my watch.

Absent the fat cat, this photo is just about right for our new laundry room decor I reckon. But, what do we think those letters on the bottles stand for?

As a final note, I just read a neat article about taking care of the things we have instead of buying new all the time...eek, no more Target runs when I'm out of clean undies??? Just kidding...I haven't been that wasteful since college.

But seriously, taking care of the clothing with which we've been blessed is part of my homemaking duties, so I'm going to try to complain about it less and enjoy it more!

First step, create me a beautiful laundry room! If you have any ideas for added organization, decor or laundry happiness, please pass them along!

Strawberries and Eggs

The two things I love most in our outdoor life right now are my strawberry patch and the chickens. One is productive, one is not.

STRAWBERRIES-NON PRODUCTIVE:

OK, I planted my strawberry patch over six months ago. I have diligently fertilized, watered, weeded and loved the patch. I have nice plants that look fine. But I have had exactly TWO very small strawberries grow from the eight plants I have out there. I'm over it! I could have bought seventeen flats of pesticide-laden grocery store strawberries by now for the amount of water, fertilizer, soil, and time I have spent out there.

EGGS-PRODUCTIVE:

I love our chickens. No really, I do. It's ridiculous how much joy I get from their antics and weirdness. Chickens are so weird, but so interesting. And I love that we have a dozen eggs a day to eat or share or whatever. I also love that my husband goes out there and "tends the chickens" in the mornings. It's just so countrified and cute.

Whenever I take out the recycling or trash, or wander out to the compost pile to dispose of all our non-trash items, I say a hearty "Hi girls!" to the chickens, and I swear they cackle a happy response.

The knowledge that no matter how broke I make us by the end of the month, we have a protein rich source of nutrients right outside the door makes me smile. Oh and when I buy box cakes, never a worry about whether we have an egg or two to throw in there!

Box cake...a whole separate post...have you read that ingredient list? Oh my gosh, WHY do we allow things like that in our bodies? So not good for us. But, really yummy.

Laziness

Yuhp, that's the problem. I have been trying to blame it on lots of things, but the problem is laziness. I need to get up at 5am every morning, do my morning routine, get my ducks in a row BEFORE the children awaken, and I need to go to the gym every day. Have you heard me say these things before? Yes, it's because I have. Will I ever learn?

Not to mention the seeming addiction I have to this silly computer. Friends, bloggers, FB peeps, Craig's List bargain friends, I have to say goodbye for a time to focus on those...uh, who are they again? Oh, my children!!! And cleaning my house...and tackling mountains of laundry...and packing! Oh, did I say packing? Stay tuned for more on the new digs!

As an aside, my three year old says his favorite thing to do now is "play on the computer." We are detoxing him now before he ends up in rehab.

This image came from somewhere in Google land I can't remember.

Feed Jake...

Have you heard that cheesy country song about that dog named Jake? ...If I die before I wake, feed Jake...

...something like that...

Well, it was in my head all day today because when I took the kids outside to play this morning, Jake was just returning from his morning walk (our dog walks himself--it's the coolest thing ever--he runs down the street around the corner into the field, explores and trots around for a good ten minutes or so, poops out there, and then comes home.)

Today, his walk apparently included a detour to a neighbor's breakfast picnic because he came trotting up the sidewalk with the BIGGEST onion bagel I have ever seen.

If it didn't have dog slobber on it, I would have snagged a piece because it looked GOOD. (Incidentally, the slobber didn't stop Caden, who grabbed a chunk off of it from the jaws of the snarling protective beast...Jake never growls, but this must have been a really good bagel, because he did!)

If you're out there oh victim of our dog's pilfering, please let us know so we can replace your bagel!

Thanks for the chuckle Jake. We love you.

The Name Game

So today, my mother offered my husband $100 to abandon his heretofore favorite name for the baby. Many of you already know the name to which my husband has clung for the past three months, and I dare not repeat it here in writing because it is that...well...unusual.

I told him if it meant that much to him, I would submit and just call her a nickname. I can tell you the nickname was "Addie." And trust me, you cannot even imagine the name unless you are familiar with prisons, riots, massacres...oh gosh, have I given it away?

My husband is a teacher, so he has affiliations with every name under the sun, thereby making the name picking process excruciatingly difficult. So, I have resigned myself to his picking the names of our children. He has always come up with something great, so this was not a difficult resignation on my part.

OK, so today, we finally both agreed to a DIFFERENT name (I think the $100 motivation he may have taken a bit too seriously.) I looked up the name to which we agreed and it is German, with the meaning "Noble kind woman." We are half German, and certainly we hope for our children to be both noble and kind, so this is promising!

Curious yet?

Well, I can't tell ya, because I just can't risk the possibility that someone will post something other than a supportive comment after all this rigmarole (I don't think I have ever seen that word in print...any ideas how to spell it? Is it really a word?)

We are actually registered at the hospital now (thanks Stephanie for the fabulous babysitting!) and ready to go. I actually packed a bag tonight...it's funny how I pack less the more children we have.

I figure if I'm paying a fortune to stay at the hospital, I am going to use all of their stuff--toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, diapers, wipes, pacifiers...you get my drift. Not much left to pack except a little makeup and some cute baby clothes!

Now that I'm all prepared, she will wait another month to come...(sigh.)

A Sane Woman...

Yes, I think, more than anything these days, I strive to be a sane woman.

"Sane" is defined as:

1. Of sound mind; mentally healthy: "their protector, the strongest and sanest of them all" (Pat Conroy).
2. Having or showing sound judgment; reasonable.

Well, I am reading this fabulous book (cover shown above) about raising a large family and staying sane at the same time. And it is so nice to read. It is helping me gain perspective, keep things realistic, and allow and enjoy life as it happens. That's the key, really, to staying sane: keeping it all in perspective...and appreciating the blessings you have.

Special thanks to my friend, Raquel, who loaned this great book to me.

Children are such a blessing and I was just thinking today how incredibly blessed I feel each morning to wake up and get to spend the day with some of my favorite people on earth--my kids. :) And for them, I will try to stay sane...most of the time. :)

I Heart Craig's List

I have been Jonesing for a new dining table. I admit it.

I wanted a corner unit, or a bench picnic kind of set up. We switched to a multi-purpose table for a while when our four person table wouldn't cut it any more.

But it was so light that the kids could push it around and it was so sad looking. And I spend like 98% of my day in the kitchen, so a little extra joy in there couldn't hurt.

My research found some new ones for around $300, but my budget limit for the table was $150.

I searched Craig's List endlessly. Often, I would call and a table would already have been sold...

So I waited.

And we finally found this one on Craig's List! For $100!

When I called, the gentleman said his wife had literally just clicked "post" about three seconds before I called! HA HA HA!!! Finally!

It needs a little refinishing, but don't we all?!