ONE DOOR CLOSES AND ANOTHER ONE OPENS...

A wise woman once told me that, "if you want to enlarge your heart, put more people in it." It's true. Texas now holds little pieces of our hearts and the people that we love will always have a special place. 

When I look to the future, I usually find it very easy to be thankful for open doors and new directions in life. I can see how our lives are planned so perfectly even when open doors are unexpected and the results surprise us. 

Usually, I reflect on closed doors with a little bit of  lot of sadness....
Sadness for what is left behind. Sadness for what will be missed.
I'm learning how to be thankful for closed doors....understanding that they are a part of the plan too. 

I'm also thankful that when doors open and close that it's always with perfect timing. 

And so... I move forward....thankful for the closed door and thankful for the open one... very, very thankful for the open one.

A GLIMPSE OF LIFE AROUND HERE

Jaina was sitting at the table today and said, "Ava, I just need some awone time."

Ava- "Mom, can I have an avocado?"
Me- "Why don't you have an apple instead?"
Ava- "Well I was thinking about something more exotic."

Me- "Why don't we have pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?!"
Jaina- "How about Craptain Crunch?"

I showed Ava a cute picture....
"Oh! That's adorbs!" 
What?!?!

I was talking with Ava about moving into a new house and decorating her new room and making it all cozy.....
"Mom, decorating is not cool....it's AWESOME!!"

Jaina said to Ava, "Sshhh! I'm trying concentrate here!"

Ava went on a walk with Donald and told him that, "Right now I'm the princess of Texas and pretty soon I'll be the princess of Duluth. It's going to be tough living in Minnesota because we have to rake leaves in the fall, shovel snow in the winter, chase bees in the spring and relax in the summer."

A {ONE SIDED} LUNCHTIME CONVERSATION

"You know what I think? I think that when we move to Minnesota we should get a St. Bernard. And, I think he should live in the house. You wanna know why? Cuz their body temperature is over 101 degrees, so in the winter, we would pay less for heat. Another reason: Tap is not very good at cleaning up things like this. (points to a pile of rice left by Ava on the table) If we had a St. Bernard, he could just clean everything up in like a 6 inch swath."

~Donald

OSCAR DEAN {9 MONTHS}

• 24 lbs 11 oz (95%)
• 29 inches (75%)
• 18 1/2 inch head (90%)
• 18 - 24 month clothes
• size five diapers
• 6 teeth
• big feet

I just love this kid. He brightens every day and his smile is contagious. He seldom cries unless he has a good reason to. 
He pulls himself up and walks between furniture.
Just the other day, he taught himself how to clap! He thinks it's hilarious. 
Our sleep situation has improved greatly. He goes to bed at a decent hour....wakes up sometime between 1 and 3 and then again sometime in the early morning...6:30ish....and usually goes back to bed for a couple more hours. And, he's getting better at putting himself to sleep. Much better than it was. 
His favorite things are the dog dishes, toilets and the girl's princess toys. 
He's not very good at eating chunks of food. He can handle little bits of banana and very soft sweet potato chunks but anything else (egg pieces, black beans, peas) he chokes and gags. He likes his baby snacks (puffs and rice crackers) but otherwise his food still needs to be mush for him to eat it. 
He's been pushing around (on his knees) the little lion that both Ava and Jaina learned to walk with. It's only a matter of time...
He loves his bath and went swimming for the first time over a couple of weeks ago. 

JAINA {UNCENSORED}

This is a "Jaina" post so yes, it will involve lots of bodily functions. Consider yourself warned. :)

Last month, she had the stomach flu for the first time. She woke up in the middle of the night....Her bed was a mess. She was a mess. She touched my bed so it was a mess. Donald did at least four loads of laundry that night. She couldn't even keep water down. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep....She threw up 10 times in 12 hours. It was awful. At noon the next day she took a nap and woke up much better and was able to keep sips of water, pedialyte and a few crackers down. It took her a few days to fully recover...

"Can I take a bath? Say 'yes' mama!"

"Can I have an apple? Say 'yes' mama!"

She calls Dennis "Jennis"

Donald found Jaina staring into the toilet.
"Jaina what are you doing?"
"I'm just smelling Ava's poop!"

"Jaina I see your cute bum!"
"My bum is not cute! It does not talk! It toots in the toilet!"

Dennis was snoring in the chair.
"Jennis! Stop saying pig!"

"Mama, you're my best friend ever."

"Mama, you're the best mama ever!

She's really having hard time with certain aspects of potty training. She feels like she needs to go but when she can't, she won't sit there and wait.....by the time she can go, she isn't fast enough to get to the bathroom.
Dry nights are hit and miss....if she wears a pull up she's dry. If she wears her underwear, she has an accident. 
Our latest hurdle has been a week of diarrhea. She doesn't act sick...she doesn't have a fever...she eats and plays like she normally does. Hopefully it clears up soon. 

"Your food is moving your ears!" (chewing)

"Jaina, lets take a bath."
"That's a great idea!"

"I love your purple underwear, Jen! I love your white hair, Jen!"
Oh, the honesty of children.

Jen took her to the bathroom while swimming and she was shivering....
Jen asked, "Are you cold, honey?"
Jaina said, "Yes, I am. Are you cold, honey?"

"Does God go poop?"

"Who's your best friend Jaina?"
"Jen. Jennis and Jen. Jennis thpanked me yike dis (demonstrates spanking) and I freamed (screamed) at Jennis."
Hilarious. 

"Do you wuv my golden hair?"

"Is dat police car gonna thpank me?"

Her favorite song to sing is "Have I Told You Lately that I Love You?"

She loves her new Bible and sings, "Tell Me the Story of Jesus."

I love having conversations with this girl and I appreciate how easy going she is about most things.

OUR ONCE IN A LONG TIME DATE NIGHT

We went to Red Lobster. We sat next to each other on the same side of the booth. We appreciated a rare moment without the littles. 

2015

It's hard to put into words how I feel about this new year. 

This year will bring lots of changes...not that other years haven't brought change...it's just that we can see these changes coming. 
In less than two weeks we'll be moving to Minnesota. It seems surreal. 
 Last night, Ava was asking about Grandma Lund's birthday and I told her that it's just next month (in February). She said, "Maybe we can call Grandma on her birthday and send her a present!" And then I told her that maybe we'll just spend the day with Grandma on her birthday...because we'll be there. Her eyes got wide and she just grinned.

My brother John is going to marry Victoria this summer...

We'll hopefully buy a home and settle down sometime this year....

Oscar will turn 1 this year and he'll start walking....

Ava will start kindergarten in the fall...

My goal is live with purpose....to learn the things I've always wanted to learn....to do the things I've been wanting to do....

I think that 2015 will be a very good year.