lots to share!

Oh I'm excited! We have lots of stuff going on. Today we are headed to Portland for Registration Day with Homes for Our Troops. We are not quite sure what it entails, but I know this is the day where people sign up to volunteer their services for our new home! A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I can't even begin to describe what a huge blessing this is to us.
And, after much much prayer and a few disagreements, we have changed our final landing spot from Gresham to Hood River, Oregon! We have been looking for land in Gresham for quite some time, and we just weren't finding lots we felt good going with. We were finding lots, don't get me wrong, but none that screamed, "Take me for the rest of your lives!"
Christian is now a police officer with The Dalles, and he loves it. LOVES. IT. It is so fulfilling to him and I am glad to see the sparkle in his eye again. Seriously. He can ride whenever he wants, and he usually goes after Noah is in bed. So it's a really nice deal. I have been missing him at night, but he is so much happier and always has good stories to tell me :)
Anyway, so he wanted to stay here in TD and I said nooo way. But I prayed about it and thought about it. Then I didn't get in to hygiene school :( I was a runner up for an interview, I guess. So that kind of switched gears. Anyway, so I told Christian Hood River would be great with me. It was actually our #1 choice but they had trouble finding lots.
So. We are praying and waiting. We presented 5 lots to HFOT that we love...one in particular. We could see ourselves there FOREVER. It is 1.16 acres, about 6 minutes out of HR. And it is heavily treed...just beautiful. We both got really excited when we saw it and immediately started talking about our lives there. Jumping ahead a bit?? :) So, our prayers are that this lot will work out and be viable for a wheelchair accessible home. It is a bit sloped, but it could definitely be evened out, we think. If it is not viable, we are praying for God to take us where we should be. YAY!
Also, after this deal tonight, I am off to the beach with the in-law gals for a girl's weekend! Exciting! It should be a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to it!
Lastly, I GOT A JOB! Finallllllyy! And it's perfect--only two days a week, Thursdays and Fridays. I am a scheduling coordinator/receptionist. Mainly I was looking for something in the dental field with part time hours. Just to keep me busy and to gain some experience in a dental setting. And I have long since given up the thought of finding something in the Biology field in this little town and economy. So, the people seem really great and I am excited to start next Wednesday! Plus, it takes $1.50/hour off of Noah's daycare costs, because I am working in the medical setting. Another huge plus. Life is good.
That's it for now...lots going on. Finally :)
Blessings!

speaking of...

I was sitting at the computer tonight after our weekend away at the beach for our anniversary, and Christian was sitting in the next room. All the sudden, he says, "So...whendya wanna start working on another baby?" I thought maybe I heard him wrong, so I asked him to repeat the question. Nope. I was right. ( "...Are you serious??!" I thought. ) He was serious! Something to seriously start thinking about, I guess. We talked it over and he said he kinda wished I were pregnant now so the kids could play and Noah wouldn't be too old. So...kinda interesting. I'll keep you posted.

Bye bye teea

Well not much new going on lately, except for I have the most precious boy on the planet. I daily read him a book before nap time and bedtime, and after the book is done, he snuggles up with his head on my chest, right under my chin, and slurps away on his thumb. At night, we talk to Jesus and thank him for all the things we love in life, and for a warm home, a happy family, food to eat, and the promise of eternal life. At the end, I say "amen", and then say, "can you say amen?" and he smiles and says (with thumb still in mouth), "Men!" It is precious. Then just lately, he's started taking his tiny little pointer finger, sticking it up my nostril, and saying, "Nose!" (with thumb still in mouth). Then he sticks his finger in between my lips, touches my teeth, and says, "Teeah!" It is so darn cute I can't stop it. Finally, after several minutes, and him pointing out my hair, ears (eahs), cheeks, and chin, oh, and then nose and teeth again, I say, "Ok, it's time to go night night". He then says, "Bye bye teeah" (thumb still in mouth) "Bye bye nose".
Absolutely precious. I can't hardly stand myself sometimes, he is so adorable. It brings tears to my eyes.
Today I was rocking him and thinking about how I love the fact that he lets me snuggle him at nap and bedtime. I hold him so tight and put my cheek against his and listen to him sucking his little thumb. I can't believe how amazing it is to be a parent, and it is times like these that really remind me. I am so thankful for such a precious blessing. Thank you Jesus for such a wonderful gift. Thank you for the bond you've created between my son and I, and between my husband and I. It is a wonderful feeling to know that your spouse knows exactly how your heart feels when it comes to your children. :)

sick

Did I mention that all of us, along with pretty much anyone and everyone I know, were totally sick and out for the count last week?
It began at MOPS. I go to MOPS at a local church here every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. One of the gals who attends has a little girl who also goes (along with Noah).
In her blog, she stated that her daughter had thrown up all over the car on the way home from MOPS. I thought to myself, "Hmm...Noah's never thrown up...I wonder if now is the time." Sure enough, Saturday night, we had friends over for pizza, and Noah kept lifting up his little shirt and pointing to his tummy. I kept saying, "Yes! That's your tummy! ...can you say 'tummy'?!" Well, I put him down to bed at about 7:45 pm, and Christian decided he was going to bed at about 8:15pm. He had been up riding the night before (reserve policemen) and was way tired. So I figured I'd get ready for bed, too. Normally I go to bed at about 10:30 and check on Noah right before I do, but I decided to check on him early. So I open his bedroom door and immediately the sickeningly sweet and sour vomit smell wafts out. Ughhh. He had puked, in his sleep, and continued to sleep and roll around in it. It was all over his face, in his ears, hair, down his pajamas, all over his stuffed animals and blankies. Every.where. So Christian had to put his legs on so he could clean up the mess while I bathed Noah, who was puking. And puking. And puking. He proceeded to puke until about 11:45, when I finally decided to take him to the ER. The poor little guy was just exhausted. He could hardly hold his head up. And I was rocking him the whole time. To top it all off, he was afraid of the puke bowl and kept pushing it away, so I ended up just having him puke into a towel. Eight puke soaked towels later, he was still going.
So my mom and I sat in the ER for a few hours (coulda been way longer, I know) and they gave him some stuff to stop the vomiting. Along with the most precious little baby hospital gown EVER. Open in the back and everything. I could have died, it was so precious. Because once he got the anti-nausea pill, he was his happy peppy self, and was beebopping around the ER in that little gown. Precious.
Well next it was my turn. Started feeling sick Monday night, and puked all through the night. Then it was Christian. Oh, and my mom also got sick, same time as me.
*Note to Jen--(if you're even reading this)--I still wasn't as sick as the time you took me to the hospital. Gosh, never have I been sicker than that.
Anyway, so thankfully, we're all much better now, although something is going on with Noah, I think. He's been SUPER fussy lately. Since being sick, I mean. I'm wondering if he has an ear infection or something, but he's showing no other signs of one. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. We shall see.

Tuts my Barreh

I'm sorry, but this is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. Just watch it. You won't be disappointed. It came from my sister. She always finds good, quality stuff!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=52642135

Click on the link!

Melissa

Noah dancing

Noah loves dancing and it is so precious when I can get him to do it. I figured I'd post my first video on here. We were just getting him ready to get in the bathtub...we don't normally let him run around in just a diaper! (He also likes to play hide and seek in our closet!)Also figured I'd post one of the only pictures I got from our girl's weekend at the beach. It pretty much sums the whole trip up!

A Case of the Clingys

That's right. I've got a handsome, cute male constantly on my heels. He doesn't say much, he eats whatever I make for dinner, and he adores me. He's my son. It sounds completely lovely, but, am I alone here when I say that it's somewhat annoying to me? Noah is SO clingy right now. If I'm doing the dishes, he manages to wriggle his little baby body in between me and the sink (his head comes to about my mid thigh) and he puts his arms up in the air and squeals "Mama! Mama! Maaammmaaaaaaa" and kind of bounces up and down. It is urgent to him. And if I try to finish one thing, or (dare I say it!) WALK into the other room, it's over folks. He cries. It is the saddest little face you ever did see. His little mouth opens and his lips contort and he gets SO upset. I should actually try to take a picture, since it WOULD be worth a thousand words. It's so so sad. But he wants me to hold him all. day. long. And it's physically impossible for a gal to do. It just is! Is he like that toward Christian? No.
After reading "Bringing Up Boys" about a year ago, I decided to pick it up again tonight. This time, I skipped straight ahead to the chapter about moms and boys. I remembered that there had been discussion about boys being clingy with their mothers, and then letting go slowly and clinging to their fathers. I couldn't find it.
Please somebody tell me that this is normal! It's not like I'm gone all day at work or anything. It's not like we don't play and have fun--we are together all day long! But he still just can't get enough of me! (I am, I guess, pretty much kind of a big deal) Anyway, Christian said the other day, "This CAN'T be normal. I have never seen a child behave like this!" But I tend to think (or hope) that it is. Anyway, any suggestions or comments out there? I know that these days will pass all too quickly, and believe me, I am trying to cherish them. I count my blessings every day and hug and kiss Noah so much! But I wanted to see if anyone else had any thoughts??
--Clung to in TD :)
PS--did I mention that he is 32 pounds? I tried carrying him around with me everywhere for a few days, and although he was happy, my right hip and bicep were not.