Here we go again!

Well, the house from 2 blogs ago is a big, fat NO. We hired an engineer to check out the house, as it sits above Johnson Creek near Highland Road in Gresham. Well, he told Chris to "run." That house is creek-bound. Dangit. It was all sorts of cool and perfect for us...well, what WE viewed as perfect. There has to be something more fitting, and we're once again, waiting, though we have to be out of here by July 1st.

What about me?

Sometimes I want to scream, "What about MEEEEEEEEE!?!?!?!?!?" I want to be 5 again and curl up in a ball on the floor and cry and have my dad pick me up and soothe me. I want it to be okay to throw a fit and bawl my eyes out...to look normal doing it and not be a spectacle. To be comforted and coddled...just for a moment, and not being the one comforting and coddling.

I get so ill of being the sane one - the one who has the answers, who calms your nerves. Who gets the calls of panic from friends and family when they feel out of control. I get out my flags and wave them until they land safely on the ground. I'm a freaking air traffic controller. I'm really good at it. But today, I just want someone to guide ME in.

I need you to support me...

Please take time to read about the reasons I relay...and donate to my cause. Even $5 can make a difference. It's important to me. Thank you.

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Moving Back!

We're leaving our gorgeous home and view and moving back to Portland to be closer to family, friends and Chris' work. The last two years have been fabulous with Flannery at a smaller school, meeting really neat parents and teachers, getting to know many women at my church...but it's been tough on me, not being able to be a support to my dad and Janet. Jeffrey needs me around too, and I didn't realize how much I need to be near family and friends to feel emotionally and spiritually stable. And, one day Chris said, "Maybe the commute IS a little ridiculous."

Well, we found a place and will be moving in June. I am thrilled to be closer to my peeps!

Cannon

Sometimes being a stay at home mom is really rough...but I do get to look at this guy every day.

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Happy New Year

Our annual tradition since 2005 is to head out to Gresham for the Everett/Griffith New Year's Party. Last year, I wasn't able to attend as I was visiting my mommy in central Washington...and one year, Mikee was in town, so we did a bigger party there with about 30 additional people added to the usual mix. But it's usually about 10 of us and our kids, games, karaoke, laughter, and at midnight, we make a big ruckus outside.

This year, it was Banagrams, Blockus and Poker, Karaoke and staged pictures of us pretending to be drunk...it's always fun to pretend to be having a "younger" time than we actually have. Some of us are in our 40s now, and all we can do is pretend.









We all stay the night and in the morning, we walk from the Everetts to the Griffiths (next door neighbors) for "Dutch Babies" by Kimberly. They are essentially pop over pancakes, a yummy eggy pancake with lemon juice and powdered sugar. Now that I'm gluten free, I can't participate in the goodness! :(

ART

How to be alone...

I Love how You Love Me

Some people are known to say, "My husband is the greatest man in the world!" or "My man is the best!" Well, mine may put yours to shame.

When I gave birth to Flannery, Chris sat up every time I took her from her bassinet to breastfeed her. I would feed her, while sitting up in bed and he would sit beside me. Sometimes he would carry on a conversation, sometimes he would stroke her head and sometimes he would fall back asleep upright. But he was there. Whenever she stirred throughout the night, he would peek at her, making sure she was alright.

When I had Cannon, Chris took 6 weeks off of work to care for me after my C-Section. A few times, he'd have to go out of the house for a few hours and then he would call my dad or my sister to come sit with me and help me.

My husband changes diapers, mops up puke, does the laundry, dishes, is the only one to consistently wash the windows and sweep the floors, he takes the kids for walks when I need time alone...he takes them swimming at the local pool, out for ice cream and wrestles on the floor with them for hours on end. He is completely hands on.

He talks to me, spends time with me, asks me what he can do for me, prays for me, dotes on me and has fulfilled so many of my dreams I had when I wished and prayed for a good man to marry. I couldn't ask for anything more in a man. And to top it off...he "gets" me. My faults, my quirks...the way I tend to want to spend money when I get depressed (he nips that in the bud)...the things I find funny, my friendships, my need to be with my family...he just "gets" it.

I am in love.