We Are Home!!!!

After two days of traveling with three grumpy kids I have never been so glad to walk! Although the kids did exceptionally well for the long trip they were just as done as we were. We were greeted at the airport with most all of Kevin's family. We had a little Tim Horton's and we went on our way home. The kids got their second wind and were up until past midnight. We all slept in, except for Liam, which was nice. There were a lot of people willing to hold a cute baby though. Katie Hannah and Jake were here and the kids have been having fun with their cousins all day! Katie Hannah is a natural Mom to the little ones. She just does everything to help. More later.....

The Princess and the Turtle Part II

So today I when I picked the kids up Havilah was indeed a princess. She came down the stairs quietly and on her tip toes and with her hands with all fingers together in a little wave motion. That is when she exclaimed "my nails, momma they pretty see" and to her delight I noticed even her pretty little toes were painted a light very princess shade of pink as well. I think the only moments I have ever seen her so calm and composed are when she thinks her nails are still wet from polish:)

And the turtle..... he wanted a second head hole cut so that he and Havi could be a two headed turtle. Sometimes we are just amazed at how well they play together...and sometimes not. We have noticed a huge difference in them(and us) since we have not had tv in the house. At first it was hard because it was an "easy" babysitter when we needed to do a few things. Now that we don't have it..well we have two headed turtles being created and little princesses prancing through the living room. Lego creations coming out our ears and lots of hugs and kisses. Owen even made the comment to Kevin the other day "dad, we don't need a tv because we can watch the really big one out my window" Kevin looked and sure enough our neighbor had a wall sized tv and his blinds wide open. Of course we hope that Owen's window gazing will be curbed by an appropriate age:)
And Liam is eating carrots, bananas, peaches, apples and peas. All from a baby food jar. I don't like the shift in what shows up in the diapers now that he is getting all this fiber(WMD) . We leave for Michigan and Canada in 3 days!!!!!

Dancing Princess and the Turtle

When I went to pick up the kids from the sitters today I was welcomed by Havi in full princess ballerina gear! She had a purple satin scarf, double strand of pearls around her neck, a red and gold sparkling tutu, and other beautiful decorations fit for royalty. She greeted me with a up and down jump of "I'm a princess mommy. I dancing princess!" Well I was led into the living room for a private performances of two toe taps with each foot, a full spin and a very thoughtful curtsy. She had a hard time keeping her balance for the bow:) What a cutie.

We also have a empty turtle shell in our living room. It is made out of the last of our moving boxes. Owen and Kevin started the sawing and cutting and it evolved from a head hole to a full blown turtle shell complete with arm holes, leg holes, tail and the markings of a brown and green shell. I think the greatest part was seeing Kevin trying to demonstrate how exactly Owen should move across the floor like a turtle. I guess it is a one size fits all shell:)

As usual Liam is just chillin' like a villain, sitting up, falling over, and crawling for anything he can get into his mouth. He loves Havilah's hair and blankie. Of all the things he could pick he picked the ones she screams the most about. Owen can still get him to light up like no other. He is starting to look like a British rock star again, his hair grows so quick.
Kevin has also been wooing me. We have been able to have breakfast out together and tomorrow we go to our new favorite Mexican restaurant call Jose Peppers. Yum Yum . We are doing well but there are still a lot of life things to sort through as we adjust to a new life and ministry here in Kansas. We miss so many of you! We also leave in less than a week for CANADA!!!!!

Neat Freak and The Translator

Tonight we went to Olive Garden for dinner as a family. Someone gave us a very useful gift card and it was wonderful. The kids have really gotten a lot more....peaceful since Kevin has joined us here in Kansas. After a very nice dinner we went to Target to get some cute clearance clothes I had seen the other day.
Well as Havilah and I were shopping she could not pass clothes or shoes that were on the floor without stopping to pick them up. She would exclaim "Ooops someone drowped it" and she would set her own selections down and neatly pick up the items and place them back neatly on the shelf or rack. What other 2 year olds do that? I have raised a neat freak. Needless to say....Havilah loves shopping but it can take a while to get from one isle to the next.
And as for our little Spanish speaking Owen... He has really been into wanting to know what the Spanish words are for many of the things we talk about. Well tonight on the drive home he was asking about what the different Spanish words for colors, when I answered five in a row right he threw in Purple and I didn't know the answer so he just made a word up that sounded Spanish. If I didn't know better I would have thought he knew what he was talking about. He is so funny. And just in case you need to know translator Owen's word for purple, it is Sudante.
Liam is referred to as "doll baby" here a lot. I guess it is a southern term for too cute:) He really is getting into this whole moving thing. He will be crawling soon. We move Saturday!!!!! We have been blessed by our friends here who have opened their homes and hearts during these transition weeks.

"Friends trust each other"

Tonight Kev and I took the kids to the pool after a sizzling 98 degree day!! Although the heat is not fun at all, our little Owen and Havi keep things fun! Just today Owen was trying to convince Kevin to do something or give him something. Kevin told him no and Owen pulled this one out of his pocket..."dad, trust me because that's what friends do." I think maybe he has watched Finding Nemo too much:) Havilah and Owen had a 15 minute long accusation conversation in the car on who said "stupid". I think enjoyed debating the word stupid without getting in trouble:) As for Liam... he is up on his knees and rockin', it is helping clear the congestion from his cold. Poor little man. I am sooooooo glad to have Kev here with us....all together the way we love to be!