Serpent Mound

Saturday we took a little road trip to see this

Gabe got to try out his camera skills with our old camera

Since I was testing out our new camera

(Happy Mother's Day to me!)

We need to work on the subject matter of Gabe's photos.

A snake skeleton that is displayed in the same shape as the mound

My sweet boys after being kicked out of the museum and gift shop. Porter knocked over a $90 Indian water jug. Thankfully, it didn't break, but we were kindly asked to leave : )

A top the lookout tower

Me and the boys on top of the lookout tower. See the serpent in the background?

For info on Ohio's Serpent mound click here.

Puppet Show

Gabe's preschool had a puppet show today and invited families to come watch with the kids.

Grandma Jan came and watched with us.

Gabe was chosen out of the audience to go up on stage. Here he is being a "human scale".

I love Gabe's preschool! It's great they have fun activities like this for the kids, but more importantly Gabe's had the most amazing teacher! She has helped him learn and grow so much. She's recognized things in Gabe that I didn't and has helped me understand him better. She's also been great about finding creative solutions to his behavior problems. I can't tell you how much it means to me for him to have a teacher that cares to put in the extra time and effort to help him instead of taking the easy way out. She's had him sit in a rocking chair at school and has even spun him around in an office chair at times. Strange, maybe, but I LOVE the inventive solutions to his behavior problems much better than a written prescription, especially when they work for him and we see results!

Sorry, I didn't intend for this post to be about anything other than the puppet show. I guess I'm just getting sentimental knowing that we are leaving and this will be his last month at this school.

Message

Saturday night I called our friends and left a message on their answering machine. Their machine "transcribes" the message and sends it to them in an email. Here's the message I apparently left:

"Hey Mr. C it's Rachel. Hey we were supposed to come over and play games in a few minutes and we are actually gonna back out it's just been a long day and we're ready to just touch for a while. So we're gonna pass on games for tonight and done because it feels like any of it because it was his idea. But we're gonna pass all and yeah we'll talk to you guys are well. See you tomorrow at church. Okay bye."

Okay, I know it was Saturday night, but honestly, do you think I would tell our neighbors that we were ready to just touch for a while? And then it appears I can't form a sentence that makes any kind of sense. I laughed so hard when I read this I was in tears and I'm pretty sure our friends got a good laugh at this too! I think I'll be a little more careful about leaving them messages in the future. So embarrassing.

Happy Easter!

This picture is just for you Cheryl. Gabe actually loved the bunny ears! John hated them, called Gabe a girl, and tried to throw them away. Porter wouldn't leave his on long enough for me to get a picture.

Change

Monday, I went to presidency meeting and was told me the bishop didn't feel it was time to release me from my calling as RS secretary. What? We are moving in six weeks, how can it not be time? (Yes, I murmured.)

Tuesday, we get word from the Air Force that our assignment has been postponed. Change of plans, we're staying in Ohio for a while longer and this is okay: we love our friends, ward and neighbors. Plus, testimony building experience, maybe the bishop really is led by the spirit and this is why I'm not getting released.

Wednesday, rebooked our vacation to Michigan that we'd had to cancel since we were moving. Can't wait for this!

Saturday, took a trip to Ikea and purchased bunk beds and duvets for the kids. I also came home with a mile long wish list.

Sunday, headed to church on a spiritual high from this week's testimony building experience and ready to dive back into my calling since we'll be staying for a while! Stake president gets up and changes the ward boundaries and does a mass release of people from their callings. I pretty much cry for the next two hours. We are no longer in the Beavercreek ward. This ward has been our home away from home. We have made so many friends here. We have learned and grown so much in this ward. I will really miss it. I knew we would be saying goodbye soon, but I was not ready for it yesterday.

With so much change the past few weeks I feel so grateful for the constants in my life: my husband and kids. When I'm on an up and down roller coaster, John is so level headed and is always there to support and reassure me. My kids, well they just don't let me stop, and there's nothing better to get your mind off of something than staying busy right? Here's what the crazy guys have been up to this past week:

Potty Training!

The Potty training outfit:

sweatshirt and babylegs to keep warm!

Gabe testing out his new rain gear from Jim and Jan

Picture with the Easter Bunny

(I figured I owed them this, since I didn't take them to see Santa this year.)

Don't they look thrilled to be there?

Fun at the creek!

Video: Kids Get Stuck in the Mud

Thud. Thud. Thud.

That's the sound of me banging my head against the wall. I am so frustrated right now. I was finally feeling good about this move to Alabama and that rug was just pulled out from underneath my feet. Our assignment has been postponed until the end of September for the time being. So we are going from full blown "we're moving in six weeks" mode, back into "we have no idea what's happening with our lives" mode. I hate being in limbo!!! I hate not knowing what, when and where! And it sounds like we'll be in this phase until June at least. Grrrrrrrrrrr! Mentally I feel like I've already moved out of Ohio. We just feel done here, and feel it's time to move on. It's going to be hard to get back into the mindset of knowing we'll be here all summer and honestly, I'm scared to even think that because who knows what will change between now and then. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I'll keep you posted on what happens, but for now . . . thud . . . thud. . . thud. . .

Birthday Pictures

Since we celebrated Porter's birthday a couple of weeks ago with our neighbors we had a pretty low key birthday yesterday. We had homemade mac and cheese for dinner, brownies for dessert, opened presents and played at the park. Porter walked around saying "birthday," but when you asked him how old he was he would say, "choo-choo." (We'll have to work on that some more.)

The Birthday Boy!

Presents!

Update

First of all, I have to say Happy Birthday to our Porter bug. He is two today and I have no idea where the past two years have gone. He continues to be easy going and happy 99.9% of the time. He loves to make us laugh, and is always crackin' us up! Happy Birthday Porter, we love you!

Second, I thought I would just update everyone on what's going on right now. If you haven't heard we got orders to go to Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. This came as a complete shock to us, but we are slowly warming up to the idea. John will be teaching ASBC, which is a six week course all new lieutenants in the Air Force are required to take. I think John will be a great teacher and hopefully we'll end up enjoying this assignment. As for me, my last experience in Alabama (when we were students at ASBC) wasn't all that great and I'm pretty sure I put it on my list of places I never want to live. So, when John told me the news I laughed a lot, cried a little, and started planning. Honestly, now I am looking forward to a new adventure and a new part of the country to explore . . . it just took me a few days to get used to the idea : )

We got word of our assignment on March 23 and John has to report June 1. So we only have two months to close up shop in Ohio and make Alabama our new home. My biggest concern was housing. Neither one of us wanted to live on base at Maxwell since it's in such a crappy area. So we found a home to rent off base and this has taken away 74% of my anxiety about this move.

The remaining 26% of my stress has been entirely devoted to moving. We are doing a DITY move, which means we are packing and moving ourselves, instead of having the Air Force move us. So if blog updates are lacking the next couple of months it's probably because I can't find my kids or sanity amongst all the boxes and packing tape. We'll be saying good-bye to Ohio and all of the people that have made our experience here so incredible. And finally, we'll be heading south to where our new adventure begins!

My Favorite Things

This is just for fun and because my friend did it and because I have to do everything my friends do. So, in no particular order, here are a few of my favorite things!

Plastic Storage Totes

I LOVE these storage containers. I love walking down the aisle at the store that has these. All the organizational possibilities just make my heart happy!

Chap Stick

What would I do without you? You are my first true love. I will never leave you, but lucky for me if I do forget you somewhere you are only $0.99 and easily replaced. Kisses.

Swivel Sweeper

Yep, just like you've seen on TV. This electric sweeper make cleaning up after my kids a breeze. It has a rechargeable battery so there's no cords to mess with. Just pull it out, sweep up and you're done!

Mac Computer

I've been converted for life! I will never go back to a PC.

Cozy Coupe (the real smart car)

I bought our Cozy Coupe for $5 at a garage sale, but the way my kids love this car if it broke tomorrow I would pay the $50 for a brand new one! Well worth the money in my opinion.

Sonic Happy Hour

Half price drinks from 2-4PM.

Large drinks $0.99 before 11AM.

Mmmm . . . I love a good Sonic drink!

Family Fun Magazine

John's grandma gave us this subscription as a gift and I love it! Gabe and I always have fun looking at this together and choosing fun activities out of it. In fact, just yesterday we made slime. We found the recipe in the latest issue of Family Fun. I think John and I had as much fun playing with the slime as the kids did. Here's the recipe if your interested: Mix together 3/4 cup warm water, 1 cup white glue, and a few drops of food coloring. In another bowl, combine 4 teaspoons borax and 1 1/3 cups warm water. Pour contents of the first bowl into the second and let it sit for 1 minute without stirring. Your slime is now ready! I halfed this recipe and it still made plenty. Store in a zip lock baggie.

Legos

Currently my favorite toy. They keep Gabe entertained for hours and there's no parental guilt involved. (You know the guilt that comes from letting your kid watch too much TV or playing too many computer games.) Kuddos for an awesome toy that inspires creativity, uses imagination & teaches problem solving skills!