Magic Moments

Today I had to come to terms with the fact that I have a little bit of a Minnesotan accent. I'm still not used to the southern accent everyone here has. And I've been SHOCKED when people have said to me, "Where are you from? You have an accent." And when they've said that I've been totally unnerved. I've wanted to reply, "I have an accent? Have you heard yourself? Have you noticed your local new station has hired people without a Southern accent? I sound JUST LIKE the people on the news. I speak like a Midwestern. I do NOT have an accent." But I've heard it multiple times from multiple people and even Tom got called out on how he talked. So, now so I'm oversensitive to how I'm speaking and I caught myself today sounding like a Minnesotan when I used the word "about."  Blah. So maybe I do have a tiny accent. Maybe. I'm going to try hard to get rid of it. And I've honestly thought about becoming a hermit because I don...

I'm going to write an entire post about the weather. How lame is that? I'm actually writing about the weather. But, I didn't realize how much I'm effected by the weather and even though Minnesota weather is far from perfect, it's what I'm used to. Being here in this strange climate makes me feel like a foreigner and I just need to get all these thought off my chest so I can move on. I'll try to be to the point... In Minnesota if you want to know what the weather is going to be like you look to the Western sky. If there's a storm rolling in, you'll see it. If you watch the weather you know whatever went on in the Dakotas is going to reach Minnesota a day later. In Minnesota the weather has a fairly predictable pattern....warm, then warmer, then the humidity builds, then a front comes via a storm and brings with it a cool down. Repeat the aforementioned process. In the Winter you know there are 2 weather options. It will either be a day with high...

This morning brought back to back soccer games for Aiden and Sage and it was Sage's first ever soccer game so it was a big deal. Sage was all in! When Aiden first started he was slow to warm up, apprehensive, and shy. Sage wasn't any of those things and it's always so funny to see how different their personalities are. Sage played a great game of 4 year old soccer. Now, I'm not going to lie, I think he may have played a game with the wrong team. Soccer here has been confusing (as with all things) and so when I saw little kids wearing his same jersey and the coaches said, "oh, we're filling in for his regular coach," I figured that was his team. But, I may have gotten the time wrong. I'm still not sure but Sage doesn't know this so I'll get it straightened out for next week and we'll be good to go. Aiden played hard and noticed that this year was his first time moving up to a larger field and playing with a referee. Aiden played mid field t...

A month ago Cade had no interest in putting the block inside the giraffe. But his brain is obviously busy developing because today he did it with no problem. For awhile he was mostly busy throwing the block at the giraffe, but he finally decided to show off his skills. Then he also balanced standing up for as long as I've ever seen him do it. He'll be walking before I'm ready for it. Untitled from Jenny on Vimeo . He's quickly approaching his first birthday and these pictures are from 1 year ago. It's hard to believe.

It's 9:30 and I'm sitting down for the first time today. This day has been long. Doing school while having an 11 month old who is choosing not to nap is challenging. Add in soccer practice and cancelled soccer practice and soccer practice that was moved indoors and a 4 year old who was very emotional about the whole thing and I'm spent. The aforementioned 4 year old finally went to bed after the meltdown of the century. As for the 11 month old, it's a good thing he's cute. I captured this little video today of Cade signing and saying "all done." Ironically, after today I kind of want to throw my hands up and yell "all done" as well. ;) Anyway, I'm trying hard to capture all the things on video for Cade that I captured of Aiden when he was little. I've got my work cut out for me that's for sure. Untitled from Jenny on Vimeo .

Cade turned 11 months yesterday. He continues to be big and he's kind of my rough and tough bruiser of a kid. He isn't gentle, he doesn't stop moving, and by the end of the day my arms are so tired from holding him. He can get to the top of the stairs before I even know he's missing and Cade gets really mad when Aiden and Sage are doing something that he doesn't get to do, like go outside and ride bikes. Cade's communication is exploding. He is using his signs a lot more however his sign for fish, drink of water, bye, hi, and dancing all look kind of the same. It's a work in progress. :) He can say "all done, "night night," "bye bye," and of course "Mama" & "Dada." I suspect he's got at least a month (probably more) before he's walking but you can see from the video below that he has lots of fun trying. Cade hates his toys and wants what everyone else has. Currently he is unpacking the game cupboard an...

If our children compete as swimmers in the Olympics someday it will come as a shock to me. ;) Swimming lessons here have not gone well and we are not the ones to blame. So, I'll be teaching the boys to swim. And even though I taught many swimming lessons back in the day and have spent my fair share of time in the pool, I didn't really want to teach my own kids to swim, mainly because I teach them a lot and I frankly didn't want to. But it's okay and we're making progress. Aiden is at a swimming level where he listens to instruction pretty well. Just today I taught him the elementary back stroke in about 5 minutes.  He's working on the front crawl and he can tread water and use the slide in the 9 feet. Sage is still learning, he still has some fears, and he still just refuses at times. And that's ok because he's doing fine and developing basic skills on his own. In a few months when his fears subside we'll do more. For now I have to trick him and say ...

Each time we go to Carter Caves we hike past a cave opening that is probably 12-15 feet up the side of a rock wall. And each time Tom sees it he wants to somehow get in. And each time he has tried, he's failed...until today. Tom finally got up to the cave opening. I know he felt quite accomplished once he got in, but then he was faced with the dilemma of getting back down. He shimmied up a log to get in the cave and that wasn't an acceptable way to get down. After 20 minutes of debate he finally just jumped out. He jumped, landed with a HUGE thud, caught himself on all 4's, rolled, and then managed to pop up on his feet and try to decide if he was injured. People at the park later told us they were praying for him because it was a long way down. I didn't really realize how far down it actually was and what the impact would actually be or I would never have allowed this. I have 3 boys, but today it was clear that I actually have 4 boys and I am stressed out. The longing ...

I got the text on Saturday while Tom was at work. It read: Monday = New River Gorge. Tom was ready for more exploring. That meant my job was to have enough food to feed my hungry army. :) We left early and made the two hour trip East. We were closer to the mountains, but not quite there. I'm so curious about them. I know they won't be as big as the Rocky's, I've prepared myself that maybe they won't even stretch to the tree line, but I'm still hopeful. Anyway, the region was more Appalachia than here and very beautiful. We stopped at the Visitor's Center first thing and got a map and enjoyed the look out. We then drove to the first trail we chose, which was through the thick forest to a lookout of the river. Tom and the boys wanted to go farther than crabby Cade, so Cade and I headed back to the van. The forest was eerily quiet so I sang hymns the whole way hoping to draw close the Holy Spirit and fend off anything or anyone. Hah! I'm sure the two people...

 We're starting to feel like the lonely days have begun. After feeling so much family love at the cabin it's hard to come home to so much quiet. Last week we were busy unpacking,  buying groceries, getting the yard under control and such so we were distracted from home sickness for awhile. But, the boys are arguing a little more and complaining a little more and I 'm trying to be patient because I get it. It's hard to give up 400+ feet of lakeshore filled with family and come home to not much. We are so very glad to be with Tom. We're looking forward to watching the Olympics. And of course there are house projects I need to work on. But today just has a lazy and lonely feel so we're not doing much. I'll be productive tomorrow. Aiden has been almost imobile as he has been swept away by Harry Potter. He sits and listens until I make him go play. Honestly, I'll be a little glad when the Harry Potter phase ends. 1 more book to go.

All 4 boys in my house are always ready for adventure. They are ALL happiest when they are outside. It's like nature calls to them and when they are deep in a forest all they can think about is exploring and conquering. Tom wonders why we left so much of Minnesota unexplored. The answer is while we lived there our kids were too little or I was too pregnant. This is the first year we've been able to consider doing some hiking. And even now Cade and I spend lots of time on a blanket in the grass while the other 3 roam around. And even now the entire day is super exhausting. But, it's so worth it and I keep reminding myself it will only get easier from here on out. On Monday we packed the cooler and got in the van and headed to Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio. It was a 2 hour drive but it had me curious because of the advertised water falls. We spent the day wondering through the forest, hiking to a couple water falls, and checking out Old Man's Cave. It was a really pr...

Cade. I have so much to say about him yet he is the main reason why my blogs are infrequent. He is a busy boy, crawling everywhere, pulling himself to stand, balancing on his own and pushing the boundaries. So, he needs a watchful eye 110% of the time. He is very communicative. He waves hi and bye and also says "bye" if he's in the mood. He says "no" as well which is sad since he probably hears me say it so much. Cade has also started saying "Mama" and "dada" in response to Tom and I which is so fun! He's happy and good natured, but he's a boy who knows what he wants and if he is upset about his situation he'll let you know. Cade LOVES to dance to music. His dancing involves mostly just waving his arms. He isn't picky about his music. He even dances when I start the dryer. Evidently he thinks the dryer has some sort of a beat. I was surprised yesterday when I told the smart speaker, Alexa, to turn on. Right away Cade pointed t...