surf's up

zipper

Lindsay calls it the zipper. The new family that is forming in our home. A big zipper God is zipping together. As we plan our budget, look for a place to rent, or shop for road trip snacks. We are all being pushed & pulled & molded together. It is something special, something new, something terrifying. But a beautiful community is coming together.

Easter 2011

Wow, wow, wow. 

Please forgive their mother's crazed screams, she was understandably so proud.

Qwest Field, transformed for Easter. Justin Forsett, Seahawks running back,
even raised the Jesus flag in place of the 12th man flag that is customary before kickoff. 

Parker offered Aunt Lindsay his coat to dry her seat. What a gentleman he is becoming!

Kaleb hung out under the giant umbrella with Grandpa Ken & Grammy Annie.
He was so at home in this new city because they were there.

Aden jumped up out of the water after baptism, just like he shot out on his birthday.
He is so pensive,  he has usually thought things out & is ready to go when the time comes.

My man is so strong for our family.
I am so thankful for the prayers Ellen said for his mate over 20 years ago,
so glad it was me she was praying for!

The rain fell down & we were all baptized, in a sense. 

Flooded with joy, at the work of our Savior. Hot tears streamed down our faces & our hearts almost burst. I have not felt this since Parker's slippery 8 lb. 14oz. newborn body was handed to me. Matt & I, foolish 18 year olds. All our families rallying for us. A new adventure. And it is a good one, an exhausting, thrilling, beautiful tale we have found ourselves in.

road trip

I must confess, traveling in a pack of 7, I wanted to trade the swagger wagon in for a Suburban or a tour bus of sorts.

blessed

There is so much swimming in my mind from our Easter weekend in Seattle. I think the best I will do is to put it all in chronological order. That means starting with this, from last week.

Kaleb made Honor Roll!
Aden reached 400% of his reading goal!
Parker received multiple awards but his mom & dad missed his assembly...waa...waa...waa... We have such over-acheivers I will have to admit is has been hard to get to all the festivities this year. I suppose there are worse problems.

Aden learned to ride bike! It took him all of about 6 minutes to figure out. I know, he needs a helmet. We win parents of the year with this post.

Found what is left of Aden's bike helmet, & a very charming grin.

On a completely random note. My hair is long again, I want to chop it all to a few inches. Summer will make this worse.

More coming on the great big awesome adventure we had in Seattle. Happy Easter! Even a few days later, it is such a blessed time of year.

cheese

as if the fullness of the soul

did not sometimes overflow in the

emptiest metaphors, since no one

can ever give the exact measure

of his needs, nor of his conceptions,

nor of his sorrows; and since

human speech is like a cracked

tin kettle, on which we hammer

out tunes to make bears dance

when we long to move the stars.

-gustave flaubert 

We have some new family pictures. There are about 600 to sort through. Andrea was amazing, she spent the afternoon on Sunday clicking away at Lake Lowell. Capturing memories for me, our bizarre family that I adore. My heart is full. We are headed to find a new Archuleta casa this weekend & Matt will baptise 3 sons. This is really happenin'!

and the award goes to...

1. I won something! Mary from fairlycandid.wordpress.com gave me the Versatile Blogger Award. One of those happy memories I mentioned yesterday, is the church family I had growing up. The community there was so rich for me after moving back from California in 1990. One of those families I will always remember, was Mary's. She was good friends with my mom & had a daughter about my age. My favorite memory of her was at a church lock-in where she told us the scariest ghost stories before bed. She was so fun like that. Her blog features her amazing gift for photography & love for people. Her daughter also has a blog I love, gerichs.blogspot.com. The award has rules so here goes:
   Share 7 things about yourself
    2.Pass the award along to other deserving blog recipients 
   3.Link the award to the recipients
   
   
   Seven things, hmm....
   My parents agreed to let me go to modeling school in 8th grade. I had 2 photo shoots for my book & even did a local runway show.
   
   
   I HATE cats. The smells, the unpredictability, the smugness... ugh. This, I think, can be traced to a house my dad lived in one summer we visited him in California, way too many cats living there.
   
   
   We have never had cable. I fear I would never see daylight if we did. I rent a series or watch online if I cannot miss something on cable. My favorite right now is Weeds, it is totally scandalous & I like it.
   
   
   Some would call me creative or crafty but I really fancy myself a jack of all trades. I like to master something like scrap booking or cupcakes & then move on. My hubby does not love this. Once all the proper gadgets are procured, I am on to something new.
   
   
   Lindsay is my one and only sister, she is 23 months younger. I once had her convinced we had an older brother away in the Army, cuz I am a jerk older sister. She is my best girlfriend & she also hates cats.
   
   
   I was a cesarean baby. I never really understood this, except for always saying how perfect I looked as a newborn, until I had Parker. Holy smokes, thanks Mom! 
   
   
   When Matt & I first met, we both were "going out" with someone else. We met at a summer camp & at one point I was gawking at another boy while we were rafting. Matt was sitting behind me as I splashed water in his face the entire way down the river because I was so distracted. (!) He never said a word about it, what a sweetheart. But I guess things worked out just fine for him in the end.
   
   
   Okay, on with the big show: My winners are nsstarnesfam.blogspot.com & thehawsfamily.blogspot.com. Staci got me into blogging. She has 3 boys now but I met her in high school! We have such a fun connection & she is such a blessing to everyone who calls her friend. I was checking out her blog friends one day & found Jayna's blog. Jayna & I also went to high school together. She has 3 girls, her blog is a beautiful escape from the testosterone 'round these parts. You girls can pass this on or just take it as a huge compliment. I love your blogs!
   
   
   
   
   
   

archies out

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes."

Henry David Thoreau

image via
“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.” ― Bill Watterson, "Calvin and Hobbes"

Oooh, it is coming quick now. The big move is in less than 50 days. It is a rush of excitement but always fending off worry & anxiety & all those evils that thwart our joy. I want to plan a big potluck in the park for everyone local to come & say goodbye. There is a balance in it though, like not creating more drama & work for us in our last weeks. Suggestions?

rainbow shirt, so hip it hurts

Oh my! How cute am I? I love that rainbow shirt & side-braid. 

"You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was." another Irish saying.

I have been thinking on a lot of past "stuff" lately. I guess when the future gets scary, my mind goes to the past. A lot of it I had ruled a hot mess but I have been discovering some really good bits. Little pockets of sunshine I had forgotten. Then, I am remembering so many that my perspective starts to shift.

The beach holds happy childhood memories for me. Ones I hope to recreate with the boys this summer. Little pockets in this big life change for us. Small moments where they feel safe & at home. Then as they are growing, hopefully all the good bits knit together to form a happy human-being.

Did you know Parker, Kaleb, & Aden are all going to be baptized at Easter service this year? Matt & I have that feeling of excitement like when we first saw an ultrasound or before I walked down the aisle. Big things happenin' in these little lives, & we get to be a part of it. 

How did I get to be such a lucky duck?

spiffy

"Who has not found the heaven below

Will fail of it above.

God's residence is next to mine,

His furniture is love."

 Emily Dickinson

One of our objectives for moving is getting the house all spiffed up to rent.
Ellen helped us do this over Spring Break. This is the space we gained when we moved our laundry downstairs.
I love how the windows look like they have black eye-liner on.

This space has since been touched up with more glossy white paint but, you get the idea.
It has a lot of duties:backpacks, cleaning supplies, & our pantry.
But with 4 boys, there is never any food in there!

This is an old before photo, for reference. Messy baby, nasty linoleum, weird flower wallpaper. 

blather

I mean blabber but I like the sound of blather. Like I am going to lather you with my blabber. Last week I said "craptastic" about the McD's incident & Lindsay said she was going to steal it. I said I would trade her for "jerkstore", she says that sometimes. She then told me that she has been writing down my frequently used sayings. Uh, maybe someone should watch her tongue closer. Lindsay is convinced I am the ultimate cool big sis, I love it & she assures me it is nothing I could ever screw up. Phew! I am so flattered that she would put so much stock in what I have to say. I am so grateful you, even now, would be reading this.

Also, in meaningless drivel, I got my first ever facial. My face does not look any different but man, oh man! It feels as soft & smooth as a baby's behind. I likey.

We managed a yard sale & a couple trips to the consignment stores this weekend. The big move is in full throttle! Made about $200 in about 5 hours which is a lot more than my day job :D

It is happening, I mean it is really in motion now. Matt has some job opportunities & the Easter trip is coming together quite nicely. I keep staring out the window in the car thinking, what will this feel like in Seattle. The same drive to Costco with the kids, just not the same Costco. The afternoons at the dollar theater, but a new, unexplored theater. We are crammin' it in now. Every weekend a chance to savor the life we have built here. Yet, I know it is not an end, it is a beginning. A Gaelic proverb says, "Time is a good story-teller." Once again, let us be good characters.

hee hee

mama drama

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

Dr. Seuss

I had a really awful run in with another mom this morning at McDonald's. She had 2 daughter's, maybe 8 & 6 years old? The younger girl had Down Syndrome & they were playing really nice with each other. Collin was coming off of Spring Break & a house full of boys so he was told to stop yelling, blocking the slide, & being so crazy in general. I clearly had it under control. Anyhow, there was a traffic jam in the slide & this other mom took it upon herself to PUT HER HANDS ON MY CHILD & yell at him to get out of the slide. (insert my muffled pillow screaming) Seriously, NOT OKAY.

 I left so mad & angry & my stomach in knots. I think what made me the most mad was that I assumed she would know how it feels to let your child, who you love so much it hurts, out into the harsh reality of our world. Hoping that others will be kind, that they will see the beauty you see in your kids. Knowing that words sting & growing up is so very hard to do. 

Blech, it was a bad morning. But here is the great thing about my hyper active, 100% boy, he is napping now. Sound asleep, his perfectly shaped lungs are pumping air, his pink lips are mouthing silent words from dreamland, & his long eyelashes are gently brushing against his baby soft cheeks. I love this boy. I love all that is boy, the dirt, the skinned knees, the risk-taking. Love it. I am so glad God made me a mama to these boys. I just need some thicker skin.

the haps

In the first few days of Spring Break,
Parker knocked one of his front PERMANENT teeth loose.
We took him to the dentist & he thinks it will be okay.
Mom's ulcer? That is touch & go.

A bit of sunshine on a Sunday afternoon.

Bloated ducks get more than their fill.

  

This I just posted because it made me laugh.
Aden's after bath hair, his pirate face, & our 70's bath tile.