Traumatizing your children

Our kids are so confused. That has become apparent these past couple of weeks with comments from Kaden that I will tell in a minute. As he started to make all of these comments we reflected back on the past few months of our lives and tried to see it from the poor kids' perspective. We drive to Florida, spending each night in a different place. We get to Florida, and move into their temporary housing which is like a bigger hotel, and Kaden tries to ask "so we are staying here for a long time?" and we answer "well, kind of, for a few months anyway, only not really because we are staying for 10 days and then moving across the street into a 4 bedroom. . . " So we are there for just over 3 months and then start the drive to VA where we stay in a hotel and then in the TLF in VA for about 9 days. The first whole day we are in VA, we start taking the kids around to look at houses so we can find one to rent. We find the one we want and are pretty sure we will rent, but keep looking at other houses, too, just to make sure. Then we sign a lease. Every day we come to this house to do things and tell the kids this is where we are going to live for a long time. . . but not yet. . . we are going back to the TLF for a few more nights until the movers bring our stuff. The first day we were in Virginia, and we had dragged the kids around all day and they were ready to go "home" (but where was that?), Kaden said something like "I wish we could move somewhere for forever". That made me feel kind of sad. And then every day while we were waiting for our household goods, he was so confused and would say when we got to the house "so is this the one we are staying at for 3-5 more nights?". Noah is old enough to really understand and comprehend, but how traumatic and confusing for Kaden and Ammon, especially Kaden because he is on the verge of understanding and is trying, while Ammon is still young and just going with the flow. And Micah seemed unaffected by everything, but since we have moved in, he must sense this is home because he is suddenly sleeping much better. We are so glad to be here and moving in and having more of a sense of permanence!

Happy Birthday Noah

Noah's waffle breakfast

Okay, luckily Noah felt very privileged to have his birthday during the most chaotic week ever. We had our things delivered on Tuesday, his birthday was on Wednesday, Thanksgiving on Thursday. So on his birthday we were very much still in boxes, but had at least unpacked the kitchen and beds and had furniture to sit on. We tried to make it a fun birthday, and despite running out of ingredients with making the cake, and clogging the garbage disposal with carrot peels, and other fun things, it turned out to be a fun day for him. He had a half day of school, then we went to a squadron Thanksgiving dinner and had our picture taken in front of a raptor, and then Travis took Noah to a movie while we tried to finish the cake again, and then we had dinner and had our friends over for cake and ice cream. That was fun for everyone. I can't believe my Noah is SEVEN years old!

More house pics

Here are the stairs going to the second floor, which is 3 bedrooms and a bathroom.

This kind of show how high the ceiling is in the living room. We had to go and borrow a huge ladder from our neighbor to replace a lightbulb before we had friends over for Noah's birthday.

Right as you walk in the front door, is this sitting room to your left. We are trying to find something to put in their. We would love to have a toy room or place for all of our office things, but not to be the first thing people see when they walk in. . .

This is supposed to be the formal dining room, it is to the right when you walk in the front door. For now it can be our Christmas tree room. . .

New House!

We finally got our household goods and started moving in on Tuesday. We are not close to being done with the unpacking so that's what I should be doing, but I wanted to post a few pictures. These were all before we got our things, so I'll have to take more later. Here's the front of the house. . .

Back yard. . . right behind the fence is a really cool looking wooded area that Noah is so excited to go out and explore. There is a gate to make it more accessible.

Back yard and shed. . .

Huge living room with vaulted ceilings. . . I must have been ignoring Ammon who must have been asking for food and snacks as usual. . .

This is what you see of the kitchen and eat-in area as you are coming into the living room.

Gratitude Month--Z

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. . . .

That's right--SLEEP! I am thankful when I have a baby who sleeps. I am grateful for when my kids nap and sleep well in the night. And I am thankful for my own sleep whether it's being able to sleep during the night or taking a wonderful afternoon nap. It is so nice to fall exhausted into a nice comfortable bed at night and drift off to sleep. There are times that I wish for more hours in the day, and think "wouldn't it be nice if my body didn't need sleep--think of all the extra time I would have!" But I think I would just take a few more hours in the day, and still be able to go to bed at night and rejuvenate and let our brains recover from our day. . . I am so thankful for sleep.

Gratitude Month--Y

Yarn--I am not a naturally creative or crafty person. I have always spent more time on playing sports and being outside. Now I see the beautiful talents in people around me and sometimes wish I had developed those same talents. A few years ago, my friend Marian taught me how to crochet baby blankets ( yes, with yarn, now you see the connection). It is a good feeling to be able to create something fun and beautiful, no matter how simple. I should learn to do more things like that.

Yoga--Marian also introduce me to bikram's yoga about a year and a half ago, and I love it. I never would have guessed that I would like such things. I did it almost every night before Micah and while I was pregnant I did the pregnancy version. It helped me not get as much sciatic pain or back pain, and I am positive that my labor was much better because of it. I have been a slacker lately but I want to start doing it more regularly, because you feel great afterwards.

Gratitude Month--X

XOXOXOXOX
XOXOXOXO

First of all, I have nothing against video games or anyone who does have an XBOX, but I am still grateful that we do not have one, and that Travis isn't really interested in playing video games. I can't help it, I just love attention to much to share. . .

Next- XOXOXOX--I am grateful for hugs and kisses. So grateful. I love cuddly kids (to an extent, I guess I can easily be smothered by them, though) and baby snuggles, and I need daily hugs and affection from Travis. It creates feelings of affection and happiness a sense of well-being that just don't come any other way. I love it and it makes me happy.