"No!" and other fun 18 month observations

We are at a place with Noah and Samuel that language really isn't an issue. They completely understand us (sometimes far better than we realize!) and are really good at communicating with us. We find ourselves spelling things a lot and sometimes Noah will say random letters when talking to us, I think, because he hears us do that. Samuel has been slower at language acquisition, but Noah is so extremely extroverted (for example, he prefers company while he goes potty) that he has picked up language more rapidly simply because he MUST talk. Samuel, however, has much better enunciation. Noah has more to say, but is not as easily understood as Samuel.

So now it's Tristan's turn to learn English. At 18 months he doesn't talk a lot. I mean, he talks all.the.time, just not anything we understand. At his 18 month appointment the Dr. ordered a hearing test and referred me to a local early intervention program. I'm still not sure I'll have his hearing tested... after all this is the kid that is easily awakened by noise. I'm pretty sure he hears us fine. I'm just praying about whether I want to put him through a test. Once we are settled in our new home I will definitely have the early intervention program assess him.

Anyway, Tristan is saying a few words and mimics tons of words. Currently he says Mama, NO!, banana (each syllable is it's own word), more, and milk. I'm sure I'm leaving some words out. By far, his favorite word is NO. He says it in a very clipped, quick, almost French-sounding way. And often his no means NO, but about half the time he really means yes. I have tried and tried and tried to get him to say yes or yeah or anything besides no when he means yes. Last week I was holding some Goldfish crackers while he was sitting near me in his highchair. I asked if he wanted some and he said No! while shaking his head no, but then would smile and bounce in his chair (which means yes in Tristan body language). I tried over and over, but he kept saying No.

Tristan really seems to understand everything we say to him. He helps to clean up when asked (or even if he sees his brothers doing so), he goes to his highchair if I ask him to, he brings me toys or other objects that I ask for, he recognizes the name of certain videos that he loves and he pretty much obeys our requests. That is, unless we ask him to "Come here." He will not obey that request. Ever. Especially if it involves a diaper change. And he can't be tricked or lured.

Another thing about Tristan at this age that I want to document on the ole blog... He LOVES Kuma, the dog we are living with. Kuma is a pomeranian and Tristan loves to pet him or put his face up to him (Tristan is a snuggler, so this is an endearing action for him). He is not mean to Kuma; he doesn't pull his tail or ears. He just loves him. I really think Noah's fear of Kuma has calmed dramatically by seeing his brothers love on Kuma.

Tristan has also developed a love for bread. I seriously have to hide bread at meals so that he will eat some protein and fruits and veggies first. Noah and Samuel are total carb-lovers and Tristan seems to be following in their footsteps. He's also gotten a little picky. There are some foods he absolutely won't eat... but nothing is really consistent. I think it depends on his mood. Yesterday when the boys had rice and beans I gave Tristan some turkey lunch meat (because N&S kill a box of rice and beans on their own; I need to remember to get the family size box so Tristan can have some). Today I tried to give him some turkey because I just knew he wouldn't eat mac and cheese. And go figure - he scarfed down the mac and cheese and wouldn't touch the turkey. What a kid.

Another thing Tristan has started doing is what I think is the beginning of temper tantrums. In the last few weeks, after asking Tristan to come and then I go and take his hand to walk him to where I want him, he falls to the floor. Lovely. And just in the last few days he's begun screaming loudly in short little bursts (intentionally, of course) while hitting whatever is around him - the wall, the island, the toy bin, etc. He does this when he doesn't get his way. I just know that any day now he will be throwing himself on the floor, kicking and screaming, like I did when I was his age. My mom and dad like to mention that it sounds like I have a little one that's a lot like how I was at that age. Great!!

Tristan LOVES to brush his teeth. He LOVES the movies UP and the pirate Veggies Tales movie (don't know the name!).

Another thing Tristan has started doing is running to the fridge, especially at 10 a.m. For as long as N&S have been home, they've watched Sesame Street if we are home. And when it comes on I give them their morning snack, usually cheese. Tristan has joined them and runs to the fridge when the music for Sesame Street begins. He pounds on it and whines.

There's just so much personality wrapped up into this little dude. I'm looking forward to when he does start talking because I feel like he's often frustrated that he can't tell us exactly what he wants. Maybe that's where the screaming comes in? We are so blessed by him and his adoring big brothers every.single.day. Life has been interesting these last few months, but these kids continue to thrive and create joy for us.

Moving!

Today is an exciting day for us because we are picking up keys to our new house. I guess I'm a dork because I am SOOOOO looking forward to cleaning this afternoon. We've been staying with our friends for nearly 9 weeks now... we are so grateful that we have friends who'd host our crazy bunch for over 2 months. I will blog about them another day because they are some awesome peeps... especially their two kids.

So, the plan is that I clean this afternoon and begin moving items from our smaller storage unit that consists of mostly stuff that was packed in our van (all the last minute stuff). We will continue moving stuff tomorrow and on Saturday morning we will empty our huge storage unit with the help of some new friends and a 26 foot U-haul truck. Then I will begin unpacking at a frenzied pace so that we can get the house in some sort of order before moving our kids into it.

While these past 9 weeks have been a stretch for us, I can't help but think of the people of Haiti. Before the earthquake their living conditions were far less than I've ever experienced. And now the majority of the population is living in makeshift tents. That has really helped me keep things in perspective as we've shared space with our friends. Even during a rough patch in my life, I'm still so very blessed and have so much more than most of the world. I hope I never forget that.

5 Slim

Friday morning Noah came downstairs with naked ankles. It seems he had a growthspurt overnight! We went to the store and bought him 5 slim jeans.

I can't believe my just-recently-turned-4 year old (Nov) is already in size 5 pants. Shirts, too. These are some tall little boys! We need the 5 tops for length in the arms and belly. 4's just aren't long enough for them.

I recently received the boys' medical records in the mail and I was able to see just how much they've grown. Samuel was one ounce shy of 27 lbs when he came home from Haiti and Noah was 29 1/2 lbs. At their four year old check up (14 months after coming home) Noah was 41.5 lbs and Samuel was 40.5 lbs. And they both grew SIX inches in that time. Insane. Just insane.

He Spins

Tristan, that is. When music comes on and he's in the mood to dance, he spins in circles - and he matches the speed of his spin to the music.

He loves it and so do we.

Sometimes if we ask him to dance he'll spin without the music.

Gosh, I love that kid. I just love watching him grow up and do new things.

Fun in the Snow

The weekend of Chuck's birthday was a lot of fun. It had rained for a number of days before the weekend, so the mountains surrounding us were snow covered. Chuck decided we should go play in the snow at Mount Charleston, a 45 minute drive from here.

I was hesitant because almost all of our warmer winter clothes are in storage. Between the small amount we had and some we were able to borrow, we were ready to face the snow for a little while. We joined forces with our favorite people, Vince, Jen, Marissa and Dawson. We had a serious snow ball fight and then the big kids and dads built a snowman. It was free fun for us all and it's just so cool that we can drive to the snow like that.

Here are a number of pictures that Jen took.

Snow Angels, Daddy and NoahTristan enjoyed eating the snow :)

Lil Haitians in the snow

Proud of their snowman!

Tristan refused to wear his hat much

(much like his refusal of bibs)

Daddy, Noah and Samuel

All of us :)

End of the Fast, New Fast

Well, it's nearly done, my fast that is.

Sunday night I ate in celebration of Chuck's birthday and Tuesday night I decided that homemade belgium waffles (just the waffle, no toppings) were "like bread, right?"

I have to say, I'll never fast for that long again and eat food while doing it. Not eating is much easier than eating. Tuesday night at dinner I almost quit. The sweet and sour shrimp was calling my name.

It made my heart smile today to hear that someone was pulled out of the rubble alive. Can you imagine 15 days buried beneath a fallen building... not knowing if you'll be found. Haitians are the strongest people I've ever met. I've read countless stories online... they are tough.

Tonight For His Glory Outreach has requested people to take tomorrow as a day of prayer and fasting for orphans in Haiti for today, January 28th. The letter from Kim Harmon (their president) is at the bottom of the page dated January 27th. The orphans in Haiti in particular need prayer. The Haitian government has decided not to allow any more orphans to go to their US families until they can come up with a new system to review their departures.

Haiti pre-earthquake was never quick about putting a system in place. I can't imagine this coming together quickly without God's intervention.

Since I've spent the last 8 days fasting, I will not be fasting from food tomorrow. Instead I will do an internet fast. Please join me in praying for the situation with orphans in Haiti. I have friends who are still waiting for their kids to come home. Can you even imagine waiting 15 days for your child to come home after being in a devastating earthquake?? Most of these families have visited their kids multiple times. I'm so thankful our boys are home. I don't think I could handle that.

Noah's New Do

Silly boy!

Back view

Top view

He's glad it's done!

Between yesterday and today I spent about 8 hours twisting Noah's hair so that we can begin the process of locking his hair. We plan to do this with both boys. I plan to do Samue's hair this weekend.

We didn't think much about hair before the boys came home because, well, they're boys! We just figured we'd keep it short. It was kept very short the entire time they were in the orphanage. The problem with keeping it short is that 1) they HATE to have their hair cut and 2) they look so much older with short hair. I personally think Noah looks younger with his twists.

After reading the Party of Five blog for 3 or so years, I felt like we could lock the boys' hair ourselves. Heather talks about the importance in doing her boys' hair and I couldn't agree more. I have nothing against taking kids to have their hair done, but I do think it will really mean something to them one day when they realize their white mommy took the time to learn to do their hair. With that said, I'm not entirely sure I knew what I was doing, but I did research techniques and products and watched some videos and then gave it a shot. I honestly hope that I don't have to redo Noah's hair because it was a lot of time and energy and the poor guy has a really tender head. He hates to have his hair combed, so he is thrilled that we won't be coming it anymore. He was horrified to learn we have to retwist it, though. Poor thing.

Fast Update

This is an update on my fast for Haiti, and...

It's gonna be fast because the kids are eating lunch and I don't have much time.

I've done no-food fasts before and I honestly think they are easier than this bread, water, and coffee fast I'm doing. I'm hungry A LOT. The other night as I lay in bed I realized that what I was feeling is what most Haitians feel most of the time. That was humbling.

I went nearly 5 days before I broke the fast last night. I did so to celebrate Chuck's birthday. Me and our good friend Vince (who we live with currently) were both fasting and Chuck said it was a bummer to have his birthday dinner with us not eating. So, we decided to celebrate with Chuck and then return to the fast this morning. I had Chicken Enchiladas (Chuck's favorite) and German Chocolate Cake. Then we went to the movies to see "Book of Eli" and I had popcorn, soda, and cookie dough bites.

I'm back on the bread today and I've modified the drinks to anything to drink... I just don't think I'll make it until Thursday morning without more variety in the drink department.

One of the things I've been feverently praying for is for orphans in Haiti to join their US families. 82 kids from Noah and Samuel's orphanage were united with their families this weekend. It was quite an ordeal and I was thankful to be praying for them... especially Saturday night. I had a hard time sleeping because I drank coffee too late and then Tristan woke up and kept me up the remainder of the night. There was a great need for prayer that night as families waited for their kids to be released into their care, so I'm grateful for the lack of sleep and the extra prayers I got to say.

I continue to pray that we will hear good news about Noah and Samuel's birth family. We've heard nothing. And I continue to pray that people will give money and time (if they are medically specialized). As the news moves away from Haiti, I hope many people will continue to pray. There is so much work to be done and so many people injured badly who still need to be cared for.

If you'd rather donate to a ministry doing medical relief work, please email me at julicason@yahoo.com and I'll gladly share some links to good organizations on the ground in Haiti that need money.

Okay, kids are done with lunch!

Living in Las Vegas

Obviously, Haiti has been on my mind a lot lately. While there is much to talk about with that, and even more to pray for, this post is about Las Vegas and what it's been like so far.

Me and the boys arrived in Las Vegas on December 16th and Chuck arrived on the 17th. We unpacked our belongings into storage and then left for California on the 19th to spend time Christmas with Chuck's family. We got back to Las Vegas on the 26th, so I count our time in Las Vegas from the 26th.

So, with that explanation, we've been here for 4 weeks now.

The beginning was rough for me. I don't do change well. That's exacerbated by the fact that we are in transition here because we've been staying with friends (while waiting for our VA house to be rented). I wanted nothing more than to be in bed with the covers over my head for the first week or so. I didn't know what to do with myself or with the kids. Tristan was having a hey-day exploring the new environment and getting into everything. We've childproofed as best we can, but the floor plan here just leaves lots of area to roam. Everything just seemed so hard in the beginning. I'm slowly adjusting to this new place and getting us into a routine.

Enough about me. Now about Las Vegas. It's pretty here, when you look into the distance. We are surrounded by mountains and after all the rain this week (which was snow at high elevations) they are covered in snow. Absolutely beautiful! Up close, though, is not so pretty. There's almost no grass here, just dirt fields. I love the stucco homes and tile roofs.

Driving is just crazy here. The traffic is not nearly as bad as Hampton Roads, but the drivers are worse. It's just kind of lawless on the highways. For instance, there are express lanes near the Strip and there's a portion of it where you can't get in or get off... but people do all the time. People are not likely to let you into a lane, etc. Just kind of unfriendly. Now, if you know me well, you know I'm a horrible driver. Here I'm in good company.

There are a lot of rocks. Lots of people have completely rock yards. Weird, but I guess it makes sense. The highways have gravel on the sides instead of grass. It just looks so different than what I've seen my whole life.

I've seen some seriously gorgeous sunsets here. The sky turns all sorts of colors as the sun sets. Just beautiful.

Now about the Strip. I'll precede this by saying that I'm not a sheltered person. I've been around the block... but I'm shocked every.single.time I go down there. And honestly, I hope I never stop being shocked. I've been to lots of party cities that have a strip of some sort. In most places there are rules... like no open beverages, for instance. Here anything goes. It is shocking. This place makes 'liberal' college town look conservative. Seriously. Taking the kids down there is nearly impossible. There are some family-friendlier areas, but overall it is just crazy. It's also heartbreaking.

It's also very diverse here. I've seen lots of interracial families. And I love that. People don't stare when I take the kids out. Most people seem to immediately understand that they are mine, that I'm not babysitting them. And they are very accepting of our family.

Lots of neighborhoods are gated and I just don't like it. It seems so limiting and unfriendly. The friends we are staying with live in a gated community and it's my hope that we don't end up in one.

I joined a gym here and have been taking the boys nearly every morning. They have childcare and I'm enjoying some time to myself. Of course the news has been focused on Haiti, so I've spent many mornings at the gym on the treadmill holding back tears. It's interesting to people watch at the gym. Las Vegas seems to be very high maintenance, even at the gym. There's just an overall level of bling here that I'm not used to. As a low maintenance girl, I feel very out of place sometimes.

I'm sure there's more I could say about Las Vegas so far... but that's all for now.

Our Old House

I got good news today... our house in Virginia has been rented!

We had hoped to sell it, but with the dwindling economy and the fact that we've only owned it for 2 years, that wasn't likely. We listed it for rent in mid-December and after lowering the rent we were able to get some tenants.

There are two unfortunate things about this... 1) The monthly rent payment is less than what we pay for our mortgage and 2) Our tenants won't be moving in until mid-February. It will be rented at a $240 deficit monthly, but at least the majority of the mortgage is covered. I'm so thankful for that.

It's an older house so hopefully nothing big breaks down (you know, like heat or AC).

I'm just very thankful that we were able to get it rented.

And now we can begin to look for something to rent here in Las Vegas. If you know of anything in South or Southwest Las Vegas, let me know!

Going Hungry for Haiti - Please Give

This is a photo of us with the boys' birthfater.

We still don't know if he and his older children are okay.

Noah and Samuel were 18 months old in this picture.

Since I learned of the earthquake in Haiti, I’ve wanted to do something. The question is "what?" I don’t have much money to give and I’m not a medical professional, which is who they need to come and help.

The obvious answer to what I can do is that I can pray. And I have. But, quite honestly, I’ve disappointed myself with my lack of prayer. A few hours will go by and I’ll realize that I haven’t thought of Haiti.

A friend of my sister, who really has no connection to Haiti, has decided to fast for a week, drinking water and eating bread, with the hope of raising $1000 for Haiti. I was so inspired by his idea that I’ve decided that I, too, will fast for Haiti.

Today marks a special day for our family. Four years ago today we received the referral for Noah and Samuel. They were just 10 weeks old at that time. Today they are lively 4 year olds and are such a blessing to us daily.

Beginning tomorrow, I’ve decided to fast for 8 days, drinking water and coffee and eating only bread. I decided to fast one day for each year of the boys’ lives (times 2, of course!). And, ironically, I’ve visited Haiti 8 times.

My goal as I fast is first and foremost to draw close to God in prayer for the people of Haiti. We still don’t know the fate of Noah and Samuel’s birthfather and siblings. The people who are there helping also need a tremendous amount of prayer as they help the hurting. I will also be praying that the countless orphans will be evacuated to thier waiting families. This will not be an easy fast for me. I like to eat! Plus, I feed my kids their meals and I cook dinner every night. As I struggle to not eat, I know that I will be thinking of Haiti more often and I’ll be able to pray for those there.

In addition, it’s my hope to raise money for the orphanage that Noah and Samuel lived in, Maison des Enfants de Dieu, which works stateside with For His Glory Outreach. They have over 120 children that they care for and as we move forward from this tragedy, countless new orphaned children will come through their doors. In addition to caring for orphans, For His Glory is an outreach ministry to the birth families, employees of the orphanage, and the general public surrounding the orphanage. They will have quite an opportunity to reach out to hurting Haitian people.

Finally, I also hope that through my fast, God will move in the hearts of doctors and nurses to volunteer their time on the ground in Haiti. Medical professionals are desperately needed on the ground in Haiti. People are dying senselessly because they can’t get medical care. I just watched a report by Anderson Cooper about preventable deaths – simple infections that are killing people because they just can’t get the medical care that they need.

I ask that if you give or if you or someone you know makes the decision to go and help in Haiti, please let me know. It would be such an encouragement to me as I fast. I of course ask that you pray for Haiti, for the Haitians and for the people there helping. And I ask that you send up a brief prayer for me… that I’ll be able to fast and pray for Haiti as I desire.

*Please feel free to link this post on your blog. We serve a mighty God and I'm hoping people will be inspired to give as I fast.*

A Plea for Prayer

It's hard to fathom the reality of what's going on in Haiti. In fact, when I initially heard the news, I was concerned but had no idea how grave it was.

Then the news started trickling in. Haiti has been front page news every day this week in Las Vegas. I went to the gym twice this week and watched CNN for long stretches. I began reading blogs of missionaries in Haiti who are on the ground there experiencing the horror. And it became more and more real.

But tonight I was broken by it all. Tonight I saw pictures taken from the orphanage Noah and Samuel lived at for 31 months of their lives. And I honestly feel like I can't quite breathe.

The wall surrounding the orphanage is down... which means that thieves and such have easy access to the supplies of the orphanage and the children. I've also read that the main prison had 4600 inmates escape. 3 years ago kidnappings were a daily occurence and many of those thugs were locked up. None of them are locked up anymore.

Reality has sunk in deep tonight. My heart is completely broken. I've not prayed without ceasing since I learned of the earthquake, but I believe I will now. Seeing pictures of kids I know with stuff under their noses to mask the smell of death... how do I reconcile that? Knowing that they are quickly running out of supplies... water, coal for cooking, medicine, food, iv fluids for a sick child. Lord, please help them!

I know I'm preaching to the choir. Most people who read this love Haiti as much as I do. But, I ask that you please, please, please pray for Haiti. And if you can give, do so generously. I'll be happy to recommend some reputable ministries in Haiti where your money will 100% go to helping those in need. Just leave me a comment or email me for info.

The number one request I've heard from people on the ground in Haiti is that we pray. And really, it's the least we can do.

Link to pictures: http://www.forhisgloryoutreach.org/earthquake_relief

Heartbroken for Haiti

Yesterday's severe earthquake just outside of Port au Prince has left me feeling heartbroken and helpless for Haiti yet again.

I can't imagine the devastation there or how the people are feeling and surviving through this. The shock, the grief, the disbelief, and the reality.

I think of adoptive families in process and weep, knowing that their adoptions have hit yet another unplanned hurdle.

Life in Haiti is hard enough without another catastrophic national disaster.

Lord, please help them.

Can You Help?

I'm not sure how many adoptive family readers I have these days...

But...

I'll put it out there anyway. We are dealing with severe fear of dogs with Noah. Samuel is scared, too, but Noah goes into hysterics and becomes completely irrational around dogs.

Here in Vegas we are staying with friends until we can get into a place of our own. They have a dog. We are not having good times here.

I realize that lots of people have had experience with kids being fearful of dogs. This is extreme. If you've dealt with an extreme fear issue with an adoptive child, I'd really like to hear from you. If you're not comfortable posting a comment, please email me at julicason@yahoo.com.

Thanks.

Thank You

My last post was pretty dreary. Sorry about that. It's not all rainbows and unicorns here and I believe in being honest.

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you to those of you who have left me encouraging comments and for your prayers. I am feeling a little better. For the time being, we have a little routine going on. Yes, we are living out of suitcases, but they are lined up all nice and neat right now :)

Along with my thanks, I ask for continued prayer. Please pray that our marriage can weather this stress. Pray for the kids to feel secure and loved and cared for. Pray for health for us. Some other items... please pray for our house in Virginia to sell or rent out SOON. Please pray that Chuck's minivan (we left it in VA) would sell and that it would sell for what it's worth. Please pray for Chuck's job situation... that he either get funding enough to support our family as an intern at the church or that he lands a good job in Las Vegas.

Again, thanks for your encouragement and for lifting us in prayer. It is so needed right now.

Ugh.

Truth be told, I'm not doing so well.

Being in prolonged transition isn't fun. I need order and organization and a plan. I'm just winging it. And I'm doing okay for the most part. I have dropped the ball on a few things that have unfortunately been expensive. Ugh. Not a good time for expensive mistakes for the Cason family.

I have A LOT to be thankful for. So many people and circumstances have been just awesome. We are staying with Chuck's brother and sister-in-law and they are just great. We have a really good set up here and the kids feel secure. I couldn't ask for more in that respect.

It's just hard for me to not look at the hard stuff, too. I'm a pessimist at heart. Tristan is sick and has been for a week now. My sleep has been affected and that's no good. Spending time with God has not happened in days. I'm praying A LOT, but that just doesn't cut it for me. I have cried more in this last week than I have in years. It's just a lot to deal with and it's hard. I would really like to just spend a day with the covers over my head, but that's just not in my future. Ugh.

So there you have it. Ugh.

We Made It!

This post is coming to you live from Las Vegas, my new home.

Gosh that sounds weird. The whole thing is just weird.

Anyway, just wanted to record how things went today, mostly so that God can get the glory and so that my pessimistic self will have to read about today and how well it all went.

First of all, me and all three kids slept in until nearly 8. EIGHT. That never happens. Tristan was up in the middle of the night coughing and ended up in bed with me, but I still got sleep. Awesome.

We've been staying with a wonderful friend, Dana, since Sunday night. I can't tell you how grateful I am for her. She is God sent and God really has used her to take care of us in so many ways lately. We love her like family. Dana's sister in law, Amy, loaded us all up and our crazy luggage into her Suburban and took us to the airport this morning. She also lent us a portable DVD player since we had over 6 hours in the air between the two flights.

The guy who helped us get our luggage from the curb all the way through getting checked in was phenominal. He stayed with us in line and helped us get our luggage tagged, weighed, etc. He even helped me pull items out of one slightly overweight suitcase.

We made it through security with no problems whatsoever. The boys did great. I highly recommend putting your kids in sandals to get through security. We put our shoes and socks on while waiting to board the plane.

Now, our plane was 35 minutes late, but it gave me the opportunity to feed the kids lunch. We just had a little picnic of pb&j's while waiting to board.

We ended up further back in both planes than we wanted to be. It was suggested we sit toward the front since the front flight attendant has less people to take care of (on Southwest, that is). We had no problems sitting further back, though. Noah and Samuel colored and Tristan took a little nap. He did some crying, but since he's not feeling well he has lost the high pitch noises he makes. That to me is totally God using bad for good. Yes, it sucks that Tristan doesn't feel well, but God used it to save many a person's eardrums and dirty looks directed my way.

On the second flight the boys watched Peter Pan. Then I had them rest for a while. I knew we were going to be up way past bedtime, so I tried to get them to nap (with the help of Benedryl). Noah totally zonked out for well over an hour. Samuel sat quietly. He doesn't really nap anymore, but at least he rested quietly. I finally felt bad enough for him that I put on Peter Pan again since it was out.

Noah woke up crying... he usually does when he wakes up on a trip and he's strapped in. I got him settled down and then the boys watched Cars until we had to turn the DVD player off.

I'm just so proud of Noah and Samuel. They were nearly perfect today (though completely bouncing off the walls in the airports, but they were excited). Their favorite show right now is Dinosaur Train on PBS. We rode on a shuttle to the hotel and it was very reminiscent of the train on that show. They were more excited to be chilling in the front seats on the shuttle than anything else all day.

We are settled into the hotel now. Dana helped us get in and then hung out for a little while. All three kids went down without a fuss.

I honestly couldn't have asked for a better trip. THANK YOU, GOD!!

Oh, and I didn't take a single picture. Things went well, but I was very busy the whole time :)

Geeked.

That would be the best word to describe how Noah and Samuel are feeling about flying on an airplane tomorrow.

Nauseous.

That would be how I'm feeling about it. Please pray we all make it there in one piece and with my sanity still intact. I'm so thankful my friend Dana is flying with us. SO THANKFUL.

If I'm able to actually take some pictures of our travels, I will. No promises, folks.

True Blue Tristan

I'm busier than heck with packing and stuff for the upcoming move, but this photo just caught my eye and I had to share it.

This is Tristan to the core. I am not a photographer, don't aspire to be one, and don't have the time to learn how to take better pics at all. While the quality is poor, this photo still captures our little guy.

Enjoy :)

Click to enlarge

One Week...

... is all I have left in Virginia.
(Gosh I'd rather just be singing the Bare Naked Ladies song instead.)

Happy.

Sad.

Excited.

Overwhelmed.

Scared.

Thrilled to get away from the crazy rainfall we've had here.

Unable to grasp that I won't see these people. Maybe ever again. You'd think having relocated 3 times before would better prepare me for the range of emotions. It doesn't. I'm an emotional mess.

I'm packing up the majority of the house tomorrow. A great friend is helping me out. I'm so thankful for her :)

Oh, Lord, please help us get through these crazy days ahead!

Your prayers would be so appreciated :)