Well...it finally happened...I put together Brody's nursery. Yes, I realize it's not a necessity, but I actually had most of the stuff just sitting in boxes just waiting for me to put together. So it was more laziness on my part than anything. But it's now put together...and I like it. I do feel like our nursery is a little hodge podge since we don't have matching furniture, but I am not about to go buy new stuff for our last baby...so it is what it is. I didn't really think about the fact that Brody had been sick, so we had the humidifier in the room when I took pictures. But such is life. Just look past the elephant on the shelf. (That is not a metaphor...there is literally an elephant humidifier on the shelf)
Looking in to the right from the doorway.
Standing over by the changing table looking the other direction.
I made this cute mobile out of a pack of paper garland and an embroidery hoop.
Stuff hanging above the changing table
Stuff hanging over closer to the crib
Of course any time I'm working on anything, everybody needs to join me...so we got these gems of the kids being silly.
Surprise attack by dad...
I think Addison is practicing her ninja moves
I asked Brielle if I could take her picture. She had no idea Marty was photobombing her.
She caught Marty and told him to stop, and turned for another picture...once again not realizing someone was behind her.
Then Molly came in looking like the biggest ragamuffin on the planet.
And poor Brody endures some torture from dad.
But he was OK with it.
And there you have it. A nice little update...some cute pictures...what more could you ask for?
The other night, I had a wonderful dream with Ben in it. It wasn't like any other normal dream where I was replaying old times or anything like that...it was REALLY Ben. I have been debating whether to share the dream or not, and then I figured - you know what? I want to remember this dream, so I need to document it anyway.
*The Dream*
I was at my parent's house, standing in their front yard. It began raining, and I looked over to realize that Molly's car seat was in the back of my dad's Jeep, and the top was off of the Jeep allowing the rain to soak Molly's car seat. Because this was a dream, I can't make sense of how the Jeep was parked, other than to think it was up on a trailer, making it too tall for me to reach inside to get the car seat out. I tried and tried, all the while being soaked in the rain, and finally slipping off the side of the Jeep unsuccessful.
I decided I would walk around the back of my parent's house to see if my dad was maybe in the backyard or something and I could get him to help me out with the car seat situation. My dad wasn't out there, so I went in their back door that goes into the kitchen. I opened the door, and there was Ben, standing in their kitchen, just looking at me as if he had been waiting for me to come inside. He looked so perfect and healthy, just how I try to remember him. He was standing there holding something - I think it was a piece of toast - just smiling at me.
I stopped for a second, surprised to see him. I said, "Oh! You're here!" And he responded with, "Yep, it's me." Then he just smiled at me. It was as if our spirits communicated without speaking, and he chuckled at the silly situation I had found myself in earlier in the dream with the car seat. I just stood there, looking at him, trying to take it in.
Then suddenly, the dream flashed to Ben sitting in his chair at his house, sick and growing weaker. I knelt down in front of his chair, and I began to talk to him. I began telling him how badly I missed him, and loved him.
And then I was suddenly startled awake. The dream was over. I woke up feeling such a strong spirit, that I knew it was really Ben...not just a memory. I was frustrated that I had woken up and the dream couldn't have lasted longer. But Marty reminded me that maybe I should be glad I was woken up during it, or I probably wouldn't have remembered the dream.
I have been feeling extra nostalgic lately about Ben. I've reached a point where I can talk about him easier, but it doesn't mean I don't miss him just as much. I find myself focusing on some of the happier times, which is good. But then I have those moments where all the difficult scenes replay in my mind.
I try to remind myself that Ben is finally free of his pain, and that he is doing a great work on the other side.
But sometimes, selfishly, I just want him back.
There's definitely a gaping hole without him.
What can I say...time has gotten away from me, and somehow nearly a month has passed since I last posted anything on the old blog.
I remember in the good old days when I could pour my heart and soul out on my blog and not worry about it, because I knew only 1 or 2 people were reading. Now, because of all our different moves and making friends in different places and the internets becoming even more popular and people being able to find my blog much easier, I know there are people that could potentially read my blog that I may not want to know certain things. So, I have to be careful what I blog about. But trust me. I WANT TO BLOG MORE. But a lot of stuff is "hypothetical" situations and "possibilities" and I don't want to start the rumor mill. So for now...until things are official and no longer "hypothetical" you get fluffy blog posts. I can't please everyone all of the time!
Didn't you love that entire ridiculously vague paragraph. You are most welcome. (But don't you worry...you'll be the first to know if anything exciting actually happens in our lives.)
Anyway, we are keeping very busy lately...with life. Between 5 kids, being on the enrichment board, working part time from home (when I have "free time"...HA!), Marty's work and being in the scouts/young men, we just are always busy. We joke that we don't even know what free time is anymore when people ask us "what do you do in your free time". But the fact of the matter is, that's the truth.
There's no such thing as free time nowadays.
But in all our busy moments, I haven't stopped taking pictures.
So...that is what you're getting right now, take it or leave it.
Also, p.s., if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram...you've probably seen the majority of these. BUT if you hold out until the end, I will leave you with some SUPER winner videos for your perseverance. I am such a giver!
The girls like to match their uniforms sometimes for school. (They can choose white, navy blue or red polos and tan or navy blue pants/shorts/skirts) I always think it's the cutest. They are BEST friends - when they aren't worst enemies.
I decided while I was at it to have Molly and Brody get in the picture for a sibling photo op.
The girls obviously wanted to be able to do silly faces.
Then Claire really wanted to do some more funny faces...this kid cracks me up!
Brody LOVES his sisters...especially Brielle when she's wearing her name tag/lanyard for school. He tries to rip it off of her every time.
Brody was loving playing with this toy phone....
Some of our friends here brought us over this slide a little while ago, as well as the little shopping cart. The girls were THRILLED!
I made chocolate covered potato chips. They were delicious. That is all.
Molly fell asleep on the couch...Marty was bored and had a marker. The rest is history.
Molly is going through a phase right now where she ONLY wants "Ana Hair" as in Ana from Frozen. So, she has braids about 90% of the time. It's darling though.
The first time Brody wore this shirt, nobody said anything. The second time Claire said, "Hey...I think this shirt is probably about me." Addison quickly added, "NO! It's about ALL OF US!"
The girls' Valentines hair (yes...we're that far behind on updates)
Brody is getting very good at rolling and pivoting...but no crawling yet. He makes funny faces though when he's on his tummy.
Addison got her ears pierced. We allow them to get their ears pierced once they are 5, but wait until they ask about it. (We want it to be their idea). It took Addison until February to realize she had turned 5 in November. Funny kid. She loves her earrings.
Claire decided to put on some pink lipstick...I thought it was cute.
This was just for at home, by the way.
Picnic on the trampoline...always a good time.
Claire and Addison found tomato cages left from the previous tenants in our house. They decided to wear them and pretend they were robots.
And now...FINALLY...as promised....the super awesome videos of Claire and Addison attempting to do the "running man" dance.
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