I've been holding off posting any seasonal pictures becasue I was waiting for that one perfect shot that really captures the entire season in one view. But I don't think I'll find it. Instead, I'll have to settle for several different peices of the greater seasonal puzzel. I like these because they're changes that are happening in our yard, our forest, our field ... and that makes the changes personal ... which is better than perfect.

Autumn in the Mid-West looks a bit like this:

Kids running up the front lawn after school eager to roll in the newest leaf pile.

The trail that connects our street to the school yard.

Looks a bit like the Hundred Acre Wood I think.

These trees surround the field at the edge of the school.

I am amazed at the range of colors in just this space:

green ...

orange ...

yellow ...

brown ...

red ...

pink ...

purple ...

This tree greets us at the top of the hill on the way to school.

The sun hits it perfectly in the morning to make it glow.

A neighborhood cat ("Zip") perched in a sea of fallen leaves.

After meeting Zip for the first time Sunny turned to me and said,"I need someone to take me to the pet store to get a cat. We really need a cat."

Gage on Polotics

Gage came home from school yesterday and asked to borrow some paper and a marker. He made a poster supporting McCain. He asked us to put it up in our front yard. He told me he was going to vote for McCain. He told me that Jon McCain can help families. Then he asked Sunny who she was going to vote for, "McCain or O'bama." She said, "O'bama, because I want to win." He never tried to sway our decisions about who we would vote for, he just wanted to let us know where he stood. He's actually been on a solid McCain platform for the last few weeks. I have a feeling the other kids at school are talking politics.

p.s. Gage only agreed to have his poster appear on my blog because he thought it might let other people know that McCain can help them. So ... now you know.

Waddle, waddle, balance check ...

I love the learning-to-walk phase in a baby's life:
Waddle, waddle, waddle ... balance check ... waddle, waddle, fall down, look dissapointed, fuss in protest. Stand back up, waddle waddle ... balance check ... look to see if mom if watching, giggle and grin.

Tired in Michigan

A peek into our Michigan lives ...

Wednesday:

8:30 - home late from work (awake 26 hours straight)
- dash to get Gage to school on time

9:30 - finally ... lay down for a few hours sleep
- Steve juggeling kids and homework

12:00 - wake up, take over as parent, Steve off to class

1:00 - Sunny at neighbors, Ike napping, Jean back to bed

3:40 - overslept! wake up Ike, run to pick up Gage from school

4:00 - come up with a dinner plan that won't end in "You want me to eat what?!?"

4:30 - no clean socks for Gage, start laundry

5:00 - quick shower

5:30 - eat, clean up, try not to snap at kids

6:00 - Steve home from class, takes over as parent

6:15 - scriptures, family prayer, huggs, kisses

6:30 - in the car, back to work (12 hours)

8:00 - single dad puts 3 kids to bed

Thursday:

8:30 - home late again, "run" Gage to school

9:30 - Jean to bed, Steve juggeling homework and kids

10:00 - Ike fussing incessently while pushing new teeth

10:30 - Sunny "bored" and bossy

12:15 - wake up, take over as parent, Steve off to study

12:30 - lunch, more laundry, more cleaning up, still trying not to snap at kids

1:30 - Ike's nap (hallalujah!!!)

2:00 - time for a blog update =)

I think this picture says it all ...

Science

A day at the local Science Center and Discovery Museum.

Learning included, but was not limited to:

1. Teeth - how many, how to clean them ...
2. Bubbles - what they're made of, how they form, Noah discovering that your head can indeed become soaked when dunked in the soap tray =)
3. Music - exciting sounds and tones ...
4. Light - how to bend it, how to make colors with it, seeing our shadows on the shadow wall ...
5. Space - reminded that the middle star on Orion's belt is not a star at all but is in fact a nebula - a star factory - world's being created before our eyes!
6. The heart - how blood flows through it, how arteries clog, seeing an actual cows heart in a jar of fermaldahide ...
7. Pulleys - 4 instead of 2 makes a job a lot easier ...
8. And a robot exhibit that is under construction ... hmmm, guess we'll be going back!

Sunny declared she would be a scientist when she grew up. Good choice! I smell a nobel prize in the making (do they make them in pink??).

-Thanks to Jessie, Noah, and Baby Gage for sharing the fun.

the 3rd "First Birthday"

The first "first birthday" is more than a party. It is a mighty celebration of survival. Survival of your first year as a parent. Proof that what does not kill you (though at times you were sure it would) indeed makes you stronger.

And then a sibling is born and you relive all those firsts. And the whole time you keep telling yourself, "It shouldn't be this hard ... I've done this already." Except you haven't. Now you have a whole new set of firsts because you have a second. Which makes the second "first birthday" another mighty celebration.

Then something strange happens when two become three. Suddenly you lose track of the third's firsts. You wonder to yourself how he learned to roll over? ... where those teeth came from? ... how long has he been able to stand like that? And before you know it, the day of the third "first birthday" has arrived and the third mighty celebration takes place. But this time it's the first and the second that makes the third's so special. No jealousy, no bitterness ... just pure excitement for their third to have his first. Makes me a very lucky mom.

Ahhh ... sleep.

Sleep ...

So many factors to consider:

• are the kids tucked in ...
• did I brush my teeth ...
• have I remembered to pray ...
• do I have the right pillow ...
• will I be cold while I sleep ...
• should I put on a pair of socks ...

And then it comes; one of my favorite life moments ... the feeling of my head finally sinking into my pillow. I love this feeling. It feels like "I'm done for another day ... I'm finally getting some ME time ... I can let go of the things that are giving me furrow wrinkles in my forehead for a few hours and run away ... far, far away."

Have you ever listened to your body as it falls asleep? Any night shift nurse can tell what an art the act of sleeping is. Your body starts to relax ... your thoughts slow down ... your breathing becomes rhythmic and soothing ... your limbs become heavy ... and then finally, you're gone ... out into the black.

Do you dream while you sleep? Steve seems to be in constant turmoil as he saves the world night after night in his dreams. He usually gets shot at at least once before he wakes up in the morning, thankfully living to tell the tale. Do you have a recurrent dream? I have two. The first is a tornado dream in which I look out my childhood bedroom window and watch a gigantically frightening twister race up over the dry farms toward the house collecting dust and debris as it comes. I blame The Wizard of Oz for this one. The other is a little less specific but usually includes a common theme - marrying the wrong man. Sometimes I'll dream I'm at the temple with an old boyfriend ... knowing that we shouldn't be getting married but not being sure how to break the news to everyone. I usually think, "Something about this just isn't right. Aren't I already married?" No matter how the dream unfolds, it is always a relief to wake up and realize I'm sleeping next to the right man in my 'real' life.

As a night shift nurse, I'll take sleep whenever I can get it. I've been known to choose sleep over food. I'll frequently go 25 or 26 hours without sleep. I think the longest I've ever gone without sleep was 40-ish hours. I woke up at 6:00 am Saturday morning and didn't make it back into my bed until 10:00 pm Sunday night. Thankfully this is a rarity and I don't recommend it. Granted, the body can endure amazing things when it has to ... but it starts to divert it's remaining power to the main deck for "life support" leaving all other areas of the ship without power. Areas like "rational thought" and the "patience zone" are gone and for some reason it becomes that much easier to cry over the silliest little things. A tired body is an emotional body. I've been told that lack of sleep takes years off your life ... which I can live with as long as it's the last ten years of my life. =D

Happy Zzzz to you all.