From Santa Fe, New Mexico to Moab, Utah

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Durango, Colorado

Moab, Utah

We managed the google maps projected 7 hr and 7 min drive yesterday in just over 8 hours. Not bad when you consider we had to stop often for a hungry baby, a pregnant wife, and a husband who started his day with a big cup of coffee (thanks Kristi!) :)

The pictures above are the off the Internet, but I did my best to find a photo that accurately represented what we saw at this time of year. I think these photos are pretty dead-on. We didn't take any pictures during the drive, mainly because we just didn't feel like it. :)

We started at 8am on the nose and despite the rain that plagued us for the initial part of the journey, were just in awe of the beauty we were able to witness. We moved from the gorgeous terrain of New Mexico, to the mountains of Colorado, and on to the dessert of Utah all in an eight hour drive. I have been to all of these states before, but I will never be in lack of awe for how creative our Creator is.

The trip was made especially interesting by the fact that none of it was highway. We therefore had the opportunity to drive a bit slower, take in a bit more, and see more of the towns up close. At lunchtime, we stopped in a little town call Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We found a little bread baker cafe, ordered two sandwhiches, and found a little table where we could let Isaac be out of his carseat, eat, and just stretch.

After Isaac finished his bottle, JB decided just to hold him while he ate the rest of his own lunch. However, the three ladies at the table next to us would hear nothing of this idea. Charactertistic of the other welcoming people we had met during our brief stop in this tiny town, they told us that Isaac had informed them he would rather sit with them during lunch so as to not bother his father. We agreed, and while we ate our sandwiches, Isaac flirted with the three gals one table over. We had a great conversation and really enjoyed our time getting to know some of the "locals."

We headed from there through Durango, Colorado to our ultimate stopping point: Moab, Utah. This is a small town (around 4,000 people I think) but also famous as it is the location of "Arches National Park". Once we arrived and were checked into our hotel, we headed to a local grocery store to pick up some food to eat for lunch each day, and then found a great local place for dinner where we enjoyed some awesome barbecue.

Today, JB started his "Wilderness Medicine" course. The course is actually in a conference room on the first floor of our hotel which is really nice. We had free breakfast together in the morning, saw JB during one of his breaks, and during his two hour lunch break, headed to Arches National Park for a picnic and sight-seeing. More to come on that in the next post! After that, I think I'll be caught up. Stay tuned.

New Mexico Snaps

Here is the casita off of Lee and Kristi's home where JB and I stayed. It was like a hotel with TV, bathroom, and a little back area for Isaac to sleep in. In Santa Fe, there are strict regulations on homes so as to preserve the authenticity of the area. Pueblo homes aren't optional -- they are mandatory. Lee & Kristi's is small but so cozy. It truly feels like you are on vacation at a lodge the whole time you are there.

Here is a photo of JB and Isaac on Canyon Road. This is a long stretch of road filled with galleries. We had never used the Bjorn with Isaac before, but Kristi had one so we decided to give it a try. He LOVED it. He just sat like this the whole time looking at all the art with his Daddy. Even when he got hungry and tired, he just kept looking and flirting with all the museum curators. I hung out with Logan while JB and Isaac picked where we went next.

Logan loved these elephants. She even named them. One was Trunky, one was Mouthy, and one was Flowers. She played on these for about thirty minutes while JB fed Isaac. She was such a good girl while hanging out with a lot of expensive and breakable pieces of art. She mostly loved the things outside because she was allowed to touch them!

Here is a picture of me pushing Raylee in the backyard with some beautiful New Mexico landscape in the front.

Isaac had never been in an "outside swing" before as he is just now able to sit up enough to handle it. He cried when I put him in it, but as soon as he figured out what this thing did, he was in absolute heaven! He loved it and honestly could have sat there for hours.

It got a bit colder so we got Isaac warmer. He didn't think the hat or the socks were a great idea, but he tolerated them okay.

Raylee on the swing. She, too, could have been pushed all day long.

I love this picture of Logan.

I gave Raylee two M&M's only to discover, a half hour later, that they were still nestled in the palm of her hand. She would not let them go. Kristi is so great and relaxed. She didn't even stress when the blue hands started climbing up on the sofa in the house. There are more important things to worry about when you have three children under four!

Logan investigating her own M&M.

Sweet sisters.


Logan.


More Logan. JB got some great shots!

Raylee sitting on the stoop of the casita, waiting for me to give her more gum.

Kristi, me, and the boys. Ryan Hartley is now 7 weeks old. Isaac is just over 5 months. They are both big boys! Ryan is as sweet as can be and just takes the house full of ladies in complete stride.

Our boys before bed.

What a wonderful time we had visiting in New Mexcio. Lee & Kristi are AMAZING parents. They were facing a tough battle against a 21-month-old who had suddenly decided staying in bed at night was extremely over-rated. They stuck to their guns and by the last night, little Raylee spent the entire night sleeping in her own room. I can only hope that I am as good of a Mom when I have three tiny tikes running around like Kristi does. She even had the energy to get out a paint set for Raylee and Logan to play with while trying to breastfeed Ryan. She is my hero!

We left on Tuesday morning bright and early for Utah and are now in our hotel here now. I'll write more about this trip soon.

Sweetness on Sunday

Yesterday we had the opportunity to:

• Go with Lee & Kristi to their church! What an awesome place!
• Eat Kristi's banana bread for breakfast.
• Eat Lee's turkey and cheese paninis for lunch -- an awesome treat on a cool, fall day.
• Play in the backyard with Logan, Raylee, and Isaac. All three kids were swinging at the same time. It was Isaac's first time in an "outside" swing. He LOVED it!
• Take lots of pictures of the girls and Isaac outside in this beautiful weather and gorgeous landscape. I'll share some of them soon.
• Take a two hour nap (JB -- not me.)
• Enjoy grilled fish and steak for dinner.
• Take Logan to pick a birthday present out at Target. I think this was more fun for me to watch her pick something out than it was for her to buy it.

It is so wonderful to be back with old friends -- the kind of old friends that there is no need to "catch up" with. You just feel like you pick up right where you left off. Lee & Kristi's home truly feels like a lodge and makes us really feel we are on vacation. The little guest house allows all of us a bit of family time in the evenings and early mornings.

This morning JB got up for a four mile run (made more difficult due to hills and altitude.) I hung out with Kristi and fed Isaac. We plan to do a little sigh-seeing in town today and just enjoy our last day with this awesome family. What a blessing to get to see them.

On another note, I would greatly appreciate any prayers for my Grama H. My Dad's Mom is very sick with cancer and is dealing with some difficult pain. We all continue to believe the Lord to heal and bring peace, comfort, and an absence of pain to my Grandmother. Your prayers added to this would be much appreciated.

Can travel get any worse?

I won't bore you with every detail. But yesterday was, a really, really bad travel day. And how can I blog without providing some of the details.


We left our house at 4:30am and had no problem with our flight from Eglin AFB to Atlanta. However, that's where the goodness ends. We boarded our flight and after an hour of waiting discovered that a mechanical difficulty with the plane had grounded the plane. So . . . switch the entirely different plane across Atlanta airport. Load the entire plane. Sit there for an hour. Only to discover, and I kid you not, that a barrel of emulsified seaweed had spilled in the cargo bin and they could not use this plane either. Head to a third plane across Atlanta airport. That third plane finally left, five hours later than we were supposed to.

All of this was done without our stroller, car seat, and a key piece of luggage that we gate checked because the flight was so full. As they moved us from plane to plane, they were not able to get those items that had been gate checked out for us. So, by the time we finally got that key piece of luggage in Denver, we were down to zero bottles and zero diapers. The captain had even gone into the cargo bin to try to find the baggage without success. Apparently they put the wrong tag on it.

During all of this, Isaac was such a trooper! He slept, ate, and played in repeat order throughout the hours sitting on the runway and in the airport. What a guy.

From Denver, it was time to head to Albuquerque. We had, obviously, missed our connection, but were lucky enough to get on the 3:15 to Albuquerque. The next one wasn't leaving until very late that night sot his was a blessing. Believe it or not, that that flight left over an hour late as well due to mechanical difficulties. Could it get worse?

It could. Baggage. That would be one way our trip could get worse. It is now 9am on Sunday, and we are without any of our luggage. Sigh . . . to say I am weary of travel is an understatement.

The good news however is that I got to see Kristi! (And her husband Lee and kids Logan, Raylee, and Ryan.) Honestly, an entire day of bad travel is well worth that! Their house and new little guest room off the house is great. We are on our way to church right now and hopeful that we'll get our luggage when we return from church.

We plan to take a lot of photos and just have a great time catching up. We were determined not to let one bad travel day ruin our vacation or our time with friends. I'll try to keep you all posted on the rest of our trip's adventures.

"Book Club"

From left: Jodi, me, Tiffany, Joia, Becky, and Andrea

Second Thursday of the month = Book club.

Location = Guiseppi's Wharf.

Book read = I have no idea.

The truth? Not a single one of us had read the book. I think "book club" has simply become a code word for a night out with NO KIDS ALLOWED! We actually don't even talk about kids very much at all. Other than a story here and there . . . and my announcement of our new little guy's name, we always have too much else to talk about to bring up kids.

Last night we talked about racism and politics and other things I won't write on the blog! I had actually debated whether or not to go last night since we have so much to do around here with getting ready to leave tomorrow morning for New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. But I am so glad (Tiffany made me) I decided to go. Actually, it was my wonderful husband who said, "You only do this once a month. You should go." that pushed me over and made me feel not feel guilty about leaving all my boys at home. So off I went!

I mention things I love about Joia fairly often but her love for desserts and her diligence in taking pictures may be two of the most popular things that cause me to love her. She is never afraid to ask the waitress to take a photo of us during dinner. At the time, I'm always wondering if I have food on my face, but afterwards, I'm always glad we took the time for a quick smile. I'm also glad she is okay with me stealing the pictures from her blog and putting them on my blog later. Joia is the queen of pictures. She recently reached the maximum size for her blog, and she has only had her's for like a fourth of the time I have kept mine. The difference is my abundance of words and her abundance of pictures.

In addition to her photo skills, I loved her idea of everyone ordering an appetizer for a meal and then ordering a dessert as well. I opted for a pasta dish instead of an appetizer, and we were all so full and the desserts so big that we decided to share them with a partner.

Okay everyone. Easy question here. Out of these three desserts: key lime pie on the left, Chocolate Explosion (or something like that) on the right, and the ice cream cookie sandwich in the front, which one do you think Wendi partnered in devouring?

Yes, you are all right. I got the chocolate devotion or indulgence or whatever the word was that went with chocolate. Chocolate is the important phrase. It's the give-away for what Wendi participated in.

Well everyone, not sure when you will hear from me again. We are leaving very early tomorrow morning. Our plan is to fly to New Mexico and stay with Lee & Kristi until Tuesday. On Tuesday we will drive to Moab, Utah where JB will be taking place in a wilderness medicine conference while Isaac and I bond in the hotel room. I'll be working from there as well. We are then off to Colorado where we plan to spend a day with Kelsey before heading home.

I will take a ton of photos, but they will most likely have to wait to be loaded until we return. I'll try to update the blog regularly but stay tuned for the photos.

Please pray that we have a safe trip and that I am able to get everything packed with all these new luggage requirements. Pray also that I am comfortable during the travel days and that Isaac is his normal, well-behaved self!

See you all in the west!

Sleepy boy

Here's a video of me trying to wake Isaac before our big trip back to Eglin AFB. We finally had success after about 45 minutes of gentle rousing.

Night out on the town

Our weekly care group meeting decided to have a "Date Night" for couples. Awesome Joia took Isaac for us so that we could go to dinner at Panera Bread and then to a movie: Fireproof. One of the gals from our Care Group (Kendra) was babysitting for the kids, but she had four of them, and I didn't want to add a baby to that group and totally swamp her for five hours. So, Joia to the rescue!

Leave it to Joia to take some photos of the evening. I've included one of my favorites, but to see the rest, you'll have to jump over to her Happy Wednesday post from the Emerald Coast. She even includes some proof that our little boy is starting to hold his own bottle!

As for our evening out, it was a wonderful little getaway. I haven't been to Panera in quite some time, and I always enjoy the company of the couples in our Care Group. What great people! The movie was a Christian movie, and despite being a low budget film with some questionable acting (minus Kirk Cameron who was by far the best actor in the film), was actually an entertaining and uplifting film. I'd tell you to "wait for it on video" but I do think it is important that we support these morally sound films -- so go out and see it! If you know anyone with marital problems, they should especially go and see it.

I've also made the decision that movie theatres are not a place for me to visit often during the last few months of my pregnancy. I was quite uncomfortable throughout the film. People keep asking me how I am feeling. I really am feeling good. I am on a medicine two times a day that has helped incredibly with the heartburn and indigestion that was plaguing me. I go for a 2.5 mile walk everyday, and am sleeping pretty soundly. However, I do get a bit uncomfortable when sitting for long periods of time. My desk chair, the movie theatre, church, bleachers, etc. are all pretty much an uncomfortable activity for my lower back. So maybe we'll stick to Netflix until our new little guy makes his debut.

Speaking of new little guy, we have confirmed a name! I don't plan to reveal it via blog quite yet as I want to be able to tell a few more people in person. But he has no longer just a lima bean! Hurrah!

Off to pack for our trip. We leave Saturday morning for New Mexico! Lots to do. I can't wait to see Kristi and her brood!

Isaac the Dinosaur

A video (mostly for the Gramas) demonstrating some of Isaac's new-found noises.

PARTY!

As I type this email, it is early on Wednesday morning. Scrubs, Isaac, and I just got back from a long walk and a romp at the bay with Deuce. Scrubs is sprawled out, relaxing on the cool tile in the kitchen. Isaac is in his swing making a ton of "dinosaur noises" as we now affectionately call them. I managed to capture a dinosaur growling session on video so I'll post it soon. Until then, take my word for it. This kid growls and grunts like nothing I have ever seen. Quite a little boy! Daddy does it right back, and last night when I came home from the grocery store, I noticed Daddy had also pulled out Isaac's dinosaur books to read! Daddy has bought Isaac quite a few dinosaur books already. Most of them are too old for Isaac but that didn't stop them from reading them anyways.

I wanted to include some pictures from our little family party on Monday evening. My parents did a wonderful job putting together a nice little spread, and Mom K. brought a really cute ice cream cake that said "A Son Forever" on it! I didn't get a picture of it, but it was cute!

Here are some photos of our evening together:

Grampa K. and the dinosaur

My Dad and Mom playing on the floor with Isaac. He became obsessed with a plastic cup during the festivities.

A close-up of Grampa Coach and the plastic cup.

More playing.

Aunt AD and Uncle Keith

With Uncle Keith (who fed Isaac his dinner!)

Causing Elizabeth some pain

Being nice to Aunt Elizabeth

Karate Kid

Isaac decided to entertain everyone at his adoption party with his awesome Karate skills! :)

Five months old and back at home

Today, Isaac turns five months old! And today, we have returned to Eglin AFB a forever family of three! (Well four if you count Scrubby and five if you count the lima bean.) We had a great "adoption party" at my parents' house last night. I'll include some photos and video tomorrow when we've all gotten some rest. Have a good night everyone.

The year 1906

Can you believe this was ALL only 100 years ago?! The year is 1906. One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some statistics for the Year 1906 :

• The average life expectancy was 47 years.
• Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
• The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
• The average wage was 22 cents per hour.
• The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
• A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
• More than 95 percent of all births took place at home .
• Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard".
• Sugar cost four cents a pound.
• Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
• Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
• Five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza 2. Tuberculosis 3. Diarrhea 4. Heart disease 5. Stroke
• The American flag had 45 stars.
• The average population of Las Vegas , Nevada , was only 30!!!!
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
• There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
• Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."
• Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
• There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!

Afternoon visit with the VW's

Since Roy & Joan live very close to the courthouse, we decided that it would be perfect timing to stop by there after our official hearing. Bri has her own place now so Joan gave her a call when we got done (much earlier than any of us expected!) and headed over to her parents' house for a visit.

Isaac hadn't slept more than 10 minutes since being woken up that morning, and he was one tired little boy. However, there were so many new things to look at it, that he didn't fuss or cry at all. He just sat with Joan most of the visit, smiling at their dog Andre', eating, and looking at every light and ceiling fan that he could. The moment we climbed in the van to head to JB's folks' house, however, Isaac fell asleep -- honestly we hadn't even made it out of the driveway before he was out solid. That was 11:30, and it was 2:30 before he woke up.

Here are some snapshots from the day. Joan took a few with her camera as well, and I may share those in the future when she passes them off to me. For now, here's a few to enjoy!

Isaac took some time to play the piano. He doesn't appear to have his Aunt Joanie's musical abilities at this point in his life. Quite a cacophony of noise ensued let me assure you!

I love this close-up of him with the piano. Sometimes Isaac's hair looks brown, sometimes, red, and sometimes blonde. Here's a brown shot.

A family shot outside. We quickly gave up getting our tired boy to look at the camera. The only thing he wanted to look at was Andre'!

Another photo with our tired little guy in la-la land. See how blonde his hair looks here? Doesn't Bri look great?! She passed off a lot of her maternity clothes to me. Sort of weird for me to be the pregnant gal and her the non-pregnant gal yet. But I know we are both relieved that it's my turn this time!

Here's Isaac enjoying the water with his hair looking a little red! Our son is a chameleon! (And he really liked the pool water. Anything ot not be hot!)

Andre dragging his rear end on the pavement.

And here is another featuring Andre Agassi on a lizard hunt.

While it was a short visit, it was wonderful to catch up with Joan and Bri! They are amazing gals and even without Isaac in the picture, would always have a special place in our family. JB and I were exhausted after our long trip and early morning, but we were so blessed to have just a few hours to spend catching up and letting them love on Isaac.

He's stuck with us forever!

Thanking the Judge for making it official!

JB's mom, my mom, me, JB (and Isaac), and the Judge. (Isaac thought the Judge was very cool!)

Well folks, it's official. Isaac is stuck with us forever now! We aren't sure he understands what he agreed to, but we sure did!

We got up bright and early to make sure we got down to the Broward County Court House by 8:15 sharp. Mondays are extremely busy with jury duty beginning and a ton of traffic. But we made it right on time. Our lawyer didn't arrive quite as sharply, and we grew concerned that this would have us sitting at the court house all day long. But apparently, it didn't impact anything as we were in and out and done by 9:15am! Case closed!

Side note: During this time of waiting, an elderly man with a heavy European accent approached us and told us that based on the size of Isaac's head, he was going to grow up to be a Mathematician. I informed the man that our little boy must not be planning on taking after me whatsoever!

Okay, back on track. Fritz (our lawyer) prepped us for all the questions we would receive and the testimony we would have to give. But all we had to say was that we were okay with what Fritz is charging us and that we agreed to love Isaac like any other biological child we might ever have. The first question wasn't so easy but the second one was a cinch! Would I promise to love this child and give him equal inheritance money as if I birthed him from my own body!? You betcha! This kid rocks. Seriously, could I ever love a child more than I love this little guy? No way. There might be a tie, but that's as close as any other child could ever get.

The judge ended the quick hearing by telling us that it is official. Isaac is our son forever! While we already knew that, it was wonderful to hear it and receive the papers that made this fact official.

I think the only thing Isaac was thinking was, "What the heck are these things on my feet!?" Not only did he wear shoes for the first time in his five months, but he also wore socks which he has only worn a half dozen or so times in his life. He seemed to be okay with it despite trying to tear the laces out on more than one occasion.

I'll be sure to post more of our day later. We left the courthouse and headed to Roy & Joan's for a quick visit with Joan and Bri. We are also planning a little party at our house tonight with family to celebrate our little boy getting to live with us forever.

What an incredible blessing. How awesome that Chris and Bri picked us to be the parents of this little boy. How awesome that we are able to be his Daddy and Mommy forever. We are blessed beyond words. Isaac is truly, the best thing that has ever happened to us as a couple. We will never be the same.

Day 1 of 2

Today we were able to spend one of our two Fort Lauderdale days with both families. In the morning, we hung out at my parents' house. JB and Scrubs went for a run while I went for a walk. AD came over, and my Mom made a great breakfast. All of us got naps and were pretty rested when we left for the Kits. house mid-day. We spent the rest of the day hanging out with JB's family. Mom made a great dinner, and we were able to just relax and watch some football.

Tomorrow is the big day! Pictures to come. I promise. If you think of it, please just pray everything goes smoothly and that we get called quickly to see the judge.

Back in good ol' Lauderdale!

We have arrived! It was a blessing that JB managed SIX straight hours of sleep on his night rotation last night as our little Isaac who hasn't woken up during the night in, well, probably two straight months, decided to wake up at 4am this morning. I didn't go and get him. I just let him jabber to himself. But the hour of jabbering on the monitor really mean that I didn't go back to sleep before I had to get up and start getting things ready at 6am. So the fact that we both got decent but not great sleep was helpful for a long day of driving.

I took Scrubs for a quick play with Deuce this morning to wear him out before loading him in a kennel for ten hours. All my boys (JB, Scrubs, Isaac, and the baby-we-think-we-may-have-a-name-for) did very well on the trip. Mom (that's me!) also did well and was actually not nearly as uncomfortable in the car as she thought she might be.

After hitting the road at 9am Ft. Lauderdale time, we made it by about 7pm. Ten hours. Not too shabby. My parents were at a birthday party and JB's family were exhausted after a long day of work, so we just got ourselves situated here at my parents', ate some great dinner my mom had waiting for us in the oven (how awesome is that?) and decompressed from our drive.

We are hoping Tuesday takes awhile to get here. We are not ready for that drive back!

Humor for the road . . .

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep. An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

My mom sent me this. Could this ACTUALLY be Scrubs someday? With the way our family is growing, I wouldn't be surprised.

Isaac's Journal

Hey everybody! It's me. Baby Isaac. It's been awhile since I have written in my journal so I thought I would take some time to catch everyone up.

Tomorrow we are leaving on another trip. I know what you are thinking! Man you guys travel a lot! I agree. In my short life I have already been on a plane to Minnesota and to Illinois. I have also taken a road trip to Amelia Island and Fort Lauderdale. I think that's a lot for someone who is almost five months old. I'll be five months in just a few days. Can you believe it?

So what is going on in my life? Well, let's see. Some of my favorite things are sitting in my blue cushy seat. (And no, silly Rachel, they don't make those for grown-ups! Only Babies!) I mostly like to sit in this seat when I am eating dinner with my parents or watching my fishies in the fish tank or helping my Daddy in the kitchen. I am starting to like my exersaucer. And my toy gym is always popular. But of course, my two favorite things in the whole world are walking in my stroller or sitting in my swing. Life doesn't get much better than that! I also like riding in the car. Sometimes I cry when I am being strapped in, but as soon as the engine starts, I am really happy. It's a great time for a nap too.

My least favorite thing is tummy time. I hate being on my tummy. I haven't rolled over yet. My doctor says this is due to my fatness (okay, so I am a little bit overweight) and my content-nature. I'm usually happy so why roll over? But now that I think of it, I am not happy on my stomach. So maybe I'll think a little bit more seriously about that whole rolling over thing.

Another thing I love -- watching Scrubby. He is such a crazy puppy. He likes to lick me a little bit too much. But I see them coming and I squint my eyes before he can get me. I also like to watch Scrubs wrestle with his best friend Deuce at the bay every morning. That is really fun too. Except when the bugs are out. Those little gnats bug me sometimes.

I'm eating rice cereal now. It's good. I eat really well. I hear Daddy say it is almost time to try me on some baby food. Daddy said he is going to make some of this himself. Mommy says, "More power to you." I don't think Mommy likes to cook very much. Actually I don't think she likes to cook at all. Except waffles. I see her make waffles sometimes. Oh and grilled cheese too. But I think that's it.

I also lovvveeee when my Daddy gets home in the evening. We make grunting noises at each other and do karate and I rub his whiskers. He's a great Daddy. I like my Mommy too, but I see her a lot. When Daddy comes home, I just want to see him. That's the best part of road trips. Mommy and me get Daddy all to ourselves for a couple of days. I love that!

This road trip is extra special because on Monday morning, we are going to see a guy in a big black gown, and he is going to make me a Kit. forever! I mean, we all knew it was forever, but this guy will sign the papers that say that I get to live with these cool people forever. I'm so thankful to my birth parents for giving me such a great home and giving me to parents who like to kiss me and hug me a lot. I can't wait for Monday!

Okay, well, it's getting late and I'm getting tired. I don't type as fast as Mommy so this takes me a little bit longer than it would take her. (She's a fast typer.) I'll make sure Mommy posts some pictures from this weekend so that you can see me with all my family and with the judge and with my new birth certificate. That's going to be sooo cool.

See you later alligators!

Isaac and Joia!

I stole these photos from Joia's blog. One of the great things about "hiring" Joia as a babysitter is that she takes a bunch of pictures, and I can see what my boy did while I was gone. :) This was on Wednesday during our "Moms in Motion" exercise class. I go one day a week and Joia the other day a week and we take turns babysitting when we aren't in class. How sweet are these? :)

Locked out!

It finally happened.

Sigh.

I got locked out of the house.

First of all: what is the point of me locking my house anyways? We live on a military base. No one locks their houses. But I guess its the "Fort Lauderdale" that is still in me. I can't give this up. I've tried but still insist on leaving my house locked.

Secondly, I gave a house key to Tiffany, but she had told me it didn't work many, many months ago! I've been pondering this thought for awhile. No one has a key to our house, it's easy to lock myself out, and we don't have a hide-a-key hid anywhere. But did I do anything about it? Nooooo. I didn't regret not doing anything about it either. Until today. When it was too late.

Lucky thing I had baby and dog with me when the lock-out occurred. I thought about just walking to the hospital and paging JB when I got up there. It's 3.4 miles round trip. I can swing that. Only problem was, I would have to enter the hospital with stroller and dog. I didn't think anyone would take favorably to this idea. Well, the stroller might be okay, but the dog is another issue. Don't think my 70-pounds-of-insanity could pass for a service dog no matter how hard he tried. Scratch that one.

I opted to try to page JB from a neighbor's house first. I randomly picked Sarah who happily allowed me to use her phone. JB called me back in a matter of minutes. He told me the window to the living room was unlocked. I corrected him. I had tried that. It was not unlocked. Not that I had completely figured out how I would get my pregnant self through the window if it was unlocked anyways.

So my darling husband drove home in between patients to let his little family back into the house. He had a good attitude about the inconvenience. (Mainly because he got to see Isaac, who, as a rarity, was still asleep when JB left this morning.)

In other news, I am busy trying to get my life in order before we head back down to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday morning. JB has call on Friday night meaning we plan to leave on Saturday morning after he has possibly been awake for well over 24 hours. That should be interesting. I guess I'll be doing a majority of the driving? In addition, John has some BIG presentation tomorrow which he has been working on every free minute leaving me to do the majority of the trip preparations on my own. Not only are we prepping for this trip, but we get back on Tuesday and leave Saturday for another trip out west. That's a lot to think about!

Most of you will be relieved to know that we do not plan to travel, like, well, ever again, after this trip out west. I am done with it. We are going to take some significant time off of doing anything but hanging out as a family on good ol' Eglin AFB.

But that plan doesn't go into effect for another few weeks. Right now, I must pack.

What a day!

Today was our weekly lunch. For the first time in a long time, we held this at Tiffany's house. Tiffany has been unable to walk without crutches for quite some time (I think about two months!) Therefore, we let her off the hook for holding lunches. (How kind of us?!) However, her parents are in town, so she decided to be the hostess once again!

Here are some pictures (thanks Joia!) of our afternoon together.

Isaac hung out with Tiffany's Dad nearly the entire time. All of a sudden, he fell asleep in Richard's hand. How cute is that? (I don't know why half the picture is cut off, but you get the idea!)

Here's a close-up of a very content little boy.

We managed to get a photo of all five kiddos semi-looking at the camera! Quite an accomplishment. From left are Jonathon, Della, William, Isaac, and Keenan. Believe it or not, we will have eight kids in just a few months!
Here are the five ladies who have made my life at Eglin an amazing experience. I truly don't know WHAT I would do without these gals. From left: Andrea, me, Sarah, Joia, Tiffany, and Jodi. The six of us are a great team and support system for each other. They truly are my lifeline here.
Here's a great picture of Isaac with his two big buddies -- William and Keenan.

Overall, it was a fairly rough day for me today. Between an allergy attach, the wifia lunch, my four hour work day, my "Moms in Motion" class in the afternoon, and my two boys, I didn't slow down much at all.

I have struggled with allergies (it's Ragweed mostly) each fall. In Minnesota, it's usually quick because it freezes there in like, well, May or something I think. (Just a joke Minnesotans!) I also got a shot in Minnesota and truly could have kissed the feet of my allergist, who changed my life! But here, the season goes on quite a bit longer. Last year I was able to take some good medicines. But this year, I am pregnant and quite limited! I am hoping the Claritin I can take does the trick or that this passes quickly. I told the gals today it feels like there is a feather stuck up my nose and being slowly twisted continually. Those of you who deal with allergies know how much they knock you on your butt.

In addition, Scrubs was just a little stinker today. It's amazing how that dog can be good for weeks and then just decide, like a little kid, to have a stinker day. This included running over to visit the neighbor's dogs after I took his leash off (he usually walks right inside the house), refusing to come in from the yard (until I brought out the correct motivation -- food), and not leaving Isaac and I alone while he was eating.

In addition, our morning started earlier than expected as well. First, Scrubs started his stinker ways by waking up at 4:30 in the morning! He jumped up on JB's side of the bed and JB sent him flying! Scrubs has quit coming to my side because I roll into the middle of the bed and ignore him completely. We are still trying to figure out why our "used-to-be-lazy-in-the-morning-dog" has decided to wake up before the sun comes up. I am thinking that due to him "training" with JB for the half-marathon, he is not getting quite enough to eat as he goes RACING to his food bowl as soon as we open the bedroom door. So I am going to try feeding him a bit later in the evenings, and if that doesn't work, up his food a bit as well. He's lost quite a bit of weight since our little "chunky" stage a few months back so it may be time to up his intake again and release him from his diet.

All right, time to take a shower and get ready for Care Group! Hopefully tomorrow will slow down a bit.

Helping Daddy Cook

Last night JB decided it was time for Isaac to join him in the kitchen! I was a bit concerned since he was making Indian which means lots of onions which really bother my eyes. JB decided that Isaac needed to be broken into frying onions early on so that he didn't grow up to be an "onion wimp" like me.

Isaac loved sitting by Daddy and actually hung out with him during the entire cooking session. Here's a few snapshots from their adventures. (Oh and there is a reason why there is TP in the background. I had just grocery shopped and will still putting things away. We don't normally store the TP on the kitchen counter!)