Summer 2016

Here's a brief recap of our summer.  I was in school and on call all summer so there were no fun vacations or trips but we have still had fun hanging around close to home.

These guys have lost some teeth, made some new friends, and spent days riding bikes around our new neighborhood before it became unbearably hot.

These girls have spent countless hours creating and being imaginative.  They've made new friends with our new neighbors and played a lot of four square.

Emmett has been with us for almost 1.5 years now.  He's been such a welcome addition to our family.  The 4th of July marked 2 years since Delmar died and it's still hard to believe he's gone.  Emmett has fit right in and has a similarly sweet demeanor.  He loves to play, go camping, and ride in the van.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Violet is a handful.  She's got the same spunk and stubborn streak as Amelia.  Plus, she's the baby of the family so she uses that to her advantage too.  She is still my squishy baby, just less squishy and more squirmy now.

We had another awesome week at VBS this year.  We will really miss our church when we move again.  This year Matthew and Josh were both VBS volunteers.  Matthew dressed up as a taco for Taco Tuesday and was the center of attention. On the last day of VBS, Matthew's adult teachers were both absent so Matthew and the other youth volunteer led their VBS class of fifteen 3rd graders by themselves.  He has moments of incredible maturity. Rare, fleeting moments...

I think I have written before about how both sets of twins become "twinny" sometimes.  That's what we call it when they get silly and only interact with each other, ignoring everyone else.  It is impossible to communicate with them during this time and they get really loud and crazy.  They do it in the van a lot and at bedtime.  This picture shows what it looks like when they're being "twinny."

Two sets of twins in one towel.  

The kids love our neighborhood pool.  If it wasn't so exhausting for me to take all of them there by myself, we'd be in that pool every single day.

Jason and I celebrated our anniversary in June and had a rare night out together.  We went to an amazing local restaurant and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  We also went to the military ball this summer.  Actually, that has been one wonderful thing about living here and having a teenager.  We have been able to go out on several dates since being back in Georgia.  We've been on more dates in the last year than in the previous 13 years combined.  We are also able to run to the gym together.  It's great!

This is what happens when I take Leila and Sarah to Costco.  Every single time we walk through those doors, they stop to stare at the jewelry.  Heaven help the men that marry these girls.  They have expensive taste already and they're only ten.

Here are some pictures of everyday life right now...

Counting Down

We are all alive and well and counting down the months until we move.  Again.

Our time back in Georgia has been consumed with so many things... my schoolwork, the kids' schoolwork, Jason's training assignments, and my work as a student midwife.  We moved across town in January and there are still boxes waiting to be unpacked in most rooms of the new house.  I haven't been able to come up for air yet.  However, I have 3 semesters left until I graduate and I'm in the final stretch of my clinical work.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We move again next summer and we anticipate an adventurous road trip in an RV.

What is going on right now?

Matthew turned 13 and is growing like a weed.  He has been playing baseball and reading obsessively.  This picture was taken last fall and he has grown several inches since then and now has started shaving.

Joshua turned 12 and is my awesome babysitter/helper.  He is so great with little kids and has such a kind heart.  In fact, it is difficult to find a picture of Josh without a toddler in his arms.

Leila and Sarah turned 10 and are still inseparable.  They are so sweet and smart.  They get along so well with everyone and love to include Nathan and Ryan in almost everything they do right now.

Nathan and Ryan are about to turn eight.  They love to play Minecraft and they're pretty funny kids.  They are both comedians and love to entertain us.

Amelia is almost four now.  She is bossy, sassy, extremely intelligent, and bossy.  Did I mention that she's bossy?

Violet is about to turn two.  She is very sensitive and serious.  She might also be a bit spoiled.  She has an epic pout face.

Last fall, Jason had to fly to Hawaii for a training assignment.  It was a last-minute trip and, by some miracle, my dad was willing to come and stay with the kids.  I flew out with Violet and I was away from the seven older kids for the first time in 13 years.  Violet was great and loved traveling.  Now I I have been to 49 states.  You can guess what we're planning next... road trip to Alaska!

(Violet on my back at breakfast in Honolulu)

We don't exactly know where we are headed next, though all signs point west.  I have waited to share details but it's going to be exciting.  I should have done a better job at blogging the last 2 years.  It has been such an incredible learning experience as a student midwife.  I have to pinch my myself sometimes to believe that this is my life.

This motherhood thing isn't for the weak

As I sit here surrounded by sick children and piles of dirty dishes, I'm really somewhat surprised that anyone survives being the parent of young children with their sanity intact.

Although I love to see the beautiful instagram photos from moms with children that are always clean and cheerful, I'm not sure how much of that is reality and how much is just a glimpse into the finer moments in an otherwise normal life.  I know it sometimes makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong.

Before anyone starts calling me ungrateful, let me elaborate.  I think this blog post sums it up much better than I can right now.  But believe me, I am grateful.  I love this crazy life and my loud children.  I even love the military life... more often than not.  So before anyone starts telling me that I asked for this, please know that I am glad that I've been blessed to live this life.  But it sure doesn't make it any easier at 2 am when I'm up with a baby that is struggling to breathe or when I'm cleaning up barf instead of writing a research paper that I desperately need to finish.

This is tough.  The delicate balance between hanging onto that tiny piece of me that is not Mom is a real challenge.  The unrelenting guilt keeps me awake at night when I think that I should have spent more time doing xyz (fill in the blank, because I worry about it all, from reading to my toddler to snuggling my baby to listening to my tween boys talk about Minecraft).  Basically, I hope that I somehow manage to raise loving, considerate, happy people despite never living up to the impossible standards that exist, either real or imagined.

I think that motherhood can be so isolating sometimes.  When you have more than a few children, you don't get invited to playdates and nobody invites you over for dinner.  Babysitting would cost a small fortune, if you could even find someone crazy enough to want to babysit all of your children.  The military life can be isolating too.  You move frequently and don't have the support of family or old friends.  By the time you meet people that actually like you, it's probably time to move again.  Maybe the strained relationship I have with my extended family emphasizes the lack of support, but I can tell you that it makes parenting much more challenging.  There are few date nights or helpers to call on when you're sick in bed and there are no groceries in the pantry.

There are so many more things I want to say but sick kids are calling.  And laundry.  And homework.
Tell me I'm not alone in feel this way.  What do you moms do to get through those times when you are ready to throw in the towel?

48 states

Our trip to New York in November gave us an opportunity to visit some of our favorite states at a beautiful time of year.  We drove from Georgia up to the DC area and stayed with family.  From there we headed north and spent a day visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

 Cooperstown is beautiful.  The falling snow and Christmas decorations made it feel even more charming.

We spent a day visiting West Point and Jason became convinced that we need to move to New York.

Violet made her first big road trip and visited 14 states.  She apparently loves to travel, much to my relief.  I don't know what we would do if we had a kid that hated to travel.

 We visited Vermont and New Hampshire before hitting the biggest milestone of our travels...  We made it to Maine!  This was a Big Deal.

We spent the night on the waterfront in downtown Portland.  We watched the sunrise before heading out for a (very long) drive back home.  I greatly miss having a camper (our camper was totaled in 2012 due to a manufacturing defect) and spending weeks on the road.  We'll do that again soon...

Maine was state #48 for me and the big kids.  Matthew, Joshua, Leila, Sarah, Nathan, and Ryan have now been to the 48 contiguous states with me.  Seven has been to 21 states and Violet has some catching up to do since she's the newbie.

If you would have told me 12 years ago that military life would bring me across the continent and back again so many times, I would have laughed.  If you would have told me I'd do it with six (or seven or eight) kids in tow, I would have said you were crazy.  Perhaps I am the crazy one.  

Now I'm contemplating ways to get to Alaska and Hawaii with eight kids...

Catch up

I'm playing blogger catch up!  I have so many (dozens) of posts pending that I just haven't had a chance to sit down and publish.  I'll just start here...

We enjoyed the (slightly) cooler Georgia fall days with a trip to the zoo a few months ago.  It will likely be our last trip after a not-so-great experience.  We really miss the zoo in Tucson!  

And here we have The Twin Sandwich.  They posed like this on their own.  I'm sure they were completely unaware that everyone around us thought they were quads!

Seven was rocking her "still nursin'" shirt and a big, cheesy grin.

November brought a trip to Albany, NY to have four tongue ties revised with Dr. Kotlow.  Yes, I promise I'll post my tongue tie info soon.  (Really!  I promise!)

While in New York we had to stop in Cooperstown and visit the Baseball Hall of Fame.  The museum was basically empty so my kids made themselves at home.

The twins posed next to the Minnesota Twins locker.

Seven really thought she owned the place.  She had a blast.  This was also her first experience using a public restroom.  She wasn't even 2 years old yet!  She's so much fun.

Violet enjoyed her first big road trip.  A few thousand miles and 14 states later, she's feeling pretty good about traveling.  I think she'll fit in just fine around here.

And here is what happens when you try to get eight kids and a husband to smile for one decent group photo.  Hilarity ensues...