Change

I like change.
I do.
Change and I are friends.
Changes make me feel like I'm moving toward something--"growing", "becoming"...all good things.

And lately I've been feeling like a change was in the wings- a little restless. With the budget crisis in New York and Ben's job getting increasingly unstable we've been looking around for other possible jobs/avenues. Several of our friends have recently made a big move or career switch- sounds exciting right? And possible. And even on a much smaller scale, little changes we could make. Like a new fence. A swingset. Finish painting the rooms in the house. Hey- how about a haircut! Those were the changes that I had my mind wrapped around.

Well a change has come (as most of you know by now). And its defenitely NOT what I had in mind.
But the words of my favorite hymn have been coursing through my mind; today especially. They have given me cause to reflect and find peace.
"I loved to choose and see my path; but now, Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene-one step enough for me."

This change is terrifying, overwhelming, intimidating, and great all at the same time. Ben will do wonderfully. I know that with certainty. And we have both felt the amazing peace and resolution that comes from knowing that this change is right and part of a plan much larger than our ability to even understand. So, we go forth and do our best to do what is asked of us. And pray to "grow" and "become" what we should.

Easter weekend

Our little Easter treat this year was the 85 degree weekend that blew its way into Potsdam. Of course we're now back in the 50's, but it was a WONDERFUL break from the cold and gloom and we played outside as long as we possibly could each day.

And the ever pressing Easter question: How do you eat your Peeps?

Apparently Lincoln is a head first kind of guy.

Minivan upgrades

...just in case you didn't know (like me) that it's possible to lock your car doors with the keys still in the ignition and the car running- it is!

Friday afternoon we went to pick up Emmy from a friend's house and I left the 3 boys in the running car while I ran up to the door to get her.

Harmless right?

If I've done it once I've done it a hundred times. At least as many times as I've said to the boys "Don't get out of your seat belts. I'll just be one minute." But apparently most directions I'm giving to my kids these days are just suggestions- only to be followed if they FEEL like it (it almost has me crazy!). Anyhow- this time the boys decided to not only get out of their seat belts but to also get out of the car and run up and join me on the neighbor's doorstep. I immediately sent them back to the car and continued trying to hurry Emmalyn. When they appeared at my leg just 2 seconds later I was ready to pounce. This time, however, they were not laughing and giggling, instead looking like they knew they were in big trouble. That's when we discovered the doors locked, keys in the ignition, car still running, and Lincoln inside completely freaking out because he was left out of the fun.

"How did this happen?" was what I said as calmly as I could, but what I really wanted to scream was, "Could we possibly be anymore of a freak show!"...and "HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?".

And my boys response?... "We didn't want Lincoln to get taken by any bad guys while we did the wrong thing and got out, so we locked the doors when we got out."
Hmmm- how do argue with that?

You don't. Lesson learned by all.

And I didn't.

We just called Dad to walk home from work with his keys to let us in and Lincoln out. And we spent the next 10 min. making silly faces through the window at Lincoln who thought we were hilarious.

Hey Honda- I have a suggestion for an upgrade on your vans...

Baby Powder Anyone?

You would think that the internal alarm would go off a lot earlier having already had three 2 year olds- guess not. And in my defense, it was precisely because the house was very quiet-too quiet, that I was a little distracted.

.

Who knew that baby powder stuck to everything it touched? Not I.

The positive spin on experiencing a 2 year old for the fourth time is that we've finally relaxed enough to get a real good laugh out of it all. He's keeping us on our toes.

HELP! and suggestions

So...being the complete novice that I am in the blogging world, it occurred to me the other day that I should maybe be printing off a hard copy of my blog now and then. I do use this as my substitute for scrapbooking and journaling and all the other things I'm totally bad at, so I would really like to make sure it's permanent somewhere. Is this something that responsible "bloggers" do? And if so, HOW? I know that I can just print the screen but it seems like an awful waste of paper since the whole page prints with strange margins etc. and usually my pictures won't print. (Yep- I've tried) Or, is it just completely unnecessary to print your blog. Is saving in cyberspace sufficient?

Again- I'm a novice. Can you tell?

So for anyone out there who happens to follow our little family and has advice and help I would LOVE the input.

Thank you!

Clayton's birthday

Clayton turned 7!

He was really into army stuff this year so an army tank cake and a cool tank toy and army dudes were his wishes.

Plus a few monster trucks thrown in there...he was one happy little 7 year old boy.

A few favorites about Clayton:

Clayton is high energy 99% of the time. (You try keeping up!)

He also carries an almost equal amount of enthusiasm for most things too.

He is Mr. Flexible man- can out jump, twist, flip us all on the trampoline. The fight in the winter is getting him to not do his "tricks" on the couches.

He's also got some crazy noises that he makes- we just call them "Clayton noises" around here, but to any outsiders they just sound plain wierd. And loud! Don't know where they came from and why they're here but I suppose some day we'll miss them. (Please don't ask to hear them!)

Clayton can out-eat anyone at our table. He packs it away and loves good food as long as it's not cereal. He hates cold cereal!

Clayton is a planner- likes to know exactly what is going to happen and when. It's all about having a plan and sticking to it for Clayton.

He loves to laugh and make others laugh. These days our family prayer time seems to be one big laugh fest-usually initiated by Clayton. Good times!

Clayton is very compassionate. He is quick to the scene of any injury and always the one to make sure that person is ok. He doesn't like to see people in pain and is always lending extra hugs and love- which we love.

Love you Mr. Clayton.

Ben's Book!

Ben received a box in the mail yesterday, in which were 10 copies of his book! It is beautiful! He has worked so hard and for so long on this (over 6 years!) and now it's finally here. Hooray! You can see more at Amazon or at the University of Nebraska Press.