Random bits of life....

Snow has fallen steadily here in Cincinnati over the past 36 hours.  The world is once again pristine and white and I'll admit the girls, Zach and I listened to a few Christmas carols in the car yesterday just for fun.  Once New Years and the rain hit, the Christmas season faded as fast as the melting snow.

As the large flakes slowly danced and swayed toward the ground, I had to pause and watch in awe of their beauty.  I once again could enjoy the elegance of winter and soak in the Christmas spirit just a bit longer. 

The tree was down on January 1, but we had such a magical Christmas and New Years that there was no sadness as I boxed it away.  It was strange to think that once again when I opened the containers of Christmas decor it will be in a new place, a new home, but I am excited for the change that 2011 will bring.  Not only in Rich's job but for the growth and new discoveries we will gain through enduring another move.  Our second one in less than a year and this time across the country.

I would like to think I'm helping the kids learn to do hard things and moving to Cincinnati for the length of one school year was tough, but I have seen drastic changes in the kids for the better that I know it was worth the pain and heartache leaving Lexington made them endure.  Trey has bloomed.  What once seemed like a dire situation has brought out the best in him.  His teacher adores him.  He made lots of friends.  He loves doing the morning show and even when student council meetings get a bit dull, what a marvelous opportunity he's has to be the VP this year.  He still has a huge, soft heart and can't watch a scary or sad movie if his life depended on it, but I can see how much he has matured and how it will help him when he's once again the 'new kid' in Utah.  Josh and Matt have continued to excel in school, even when they are not quite as challenged as before.  Rich's dad made a profound comment when he said sometimes it's just more than academics that can be learned.  These invaluable experience of being the outsider and learning to adjust and settle in are the very things that will help them when times get tough later in life, especially when they are on a mission.  Now if I can just get them to sweep the floor and load the dishwasher without being asked...

The girls have thrived here.  They have a wonderful preschool that I can't say enough good about.  They have a darling dance class and have made some wonderful friends, all of which are not LDS.  It's great to have that connection with people of different faiths which allows me to share little glimpses of our church.  It makes me happy to be a missionary in my own very small way.

Zach, well he's a complete character.  He's killing me at the moment.  He's utterly bored every day in our house, but with the cold and snow our only trips out are often to get the girls from school or venture to the grocery store or Target.  He constantly finds entertainment in emptying cupboards, dumping out boxes upon boxes of cereal, is fascinated by the oven (purchased and installed oven lock today!), is enamored with the toilet, would climb on anything if he had his way, loves sweeping all his food off his high chair tray onto the floor below after taking only one or two bites, could spend every minute of the day exploring the freezing cold garage, loves to eat things out of the garbage can, pulls his diaper off the second his pants come off, constantly gets a firm grip on my hair and howls with laughter as he tries to rip it out of my scalp, delights in turning the TV on and off and giggles when he kicks out my workout DVD while I'm mid-squat, would escape the house in an instant if we let him and is currently a non night time sleeper.  Oh yeah, and if you let him cry it out in his crib at bedtime he will vomit.  100 % guarantee.  It's awesome and my carpet cleaner loves the extra use.  Yes, he did cut four molars over Christmas break and I do cuddle with him at night when he wakes up, otherwise he'd wake up the entire house since we are all upstairs and within 10 feet of each other, BUT I'd sure love him a tiny bit more if he'd stop flushing toy cell phones down the toilet, stuff food, combs and toys into heater vents, bite every eraser off every pencil in the drawer, flush the broken toilet causing it to overflow and sleep more than 4 hour blocks at night.  I love you to pieces sweet Z boy, but man, you are work 24/7! 

Rich is busy and on interventional again.  It's been a better week compared to some, but he's dead tire all the time and this year has been wearing on him.  Thank heavens some humongous board exam is not looming in the near future otherwise life would be getting high stress instead of just remaining in a state of constant chaos.

The three old boys are playing basketball.  They started two weeks ago and they got lucky and got a fabulous coach- their very own dad.  Trey is on a fifth grade team and Josh and Matt are on a third grade team.  Luckily the league worked out a schedule where their practices are back to back even though the days of the week change.  Games start the end of January and go past mid March.  Rich desperately misses the incredible league the boys played on for three season in Lexington, but enjoys this opportunity to work with his sons.  He was Josh and Matt's coach for three years, but this is his first time working with Trey.  Rich was able to find a couple of dads who will be his assistant coaches since there will be times when he gets trapped at the hospital and unable to get to the practices and games.  Let's face it, I can't help with the hoops with my trusty, ever present sidekicks- the chicks and the little dude-, so it's nice to know that there are other people who can take over when Rich is not there.

We bit the bullet and purchased eight tickets to fly to Utah in March.  Rich needed to feel like it was absolutely necessary to go to justify the price, but the truth is we do need to go out to look at neighborhoods and areas and try to figure out where we will call home in six months. 

Things on the Lexington home front are beginning to feel more upbeat.  We had an open house last Sunday and five groups came through.  One was a woman who had seen the house online and wanted to check it out in person.  The best part of the open house was that the realtor discovered our main floor/downstairs furnace wasn't working properly and contacted us so we could arrange for it to be repaired.  The temperatures had been so low and Lexington had two snow days just this week (for a whopping total of six already this year, compared to our one here in Cincy) and if it had gone noticed I am sure we could have had a huge problem if pipes would have broken and flooding ensued.  It ended up only being a faulty thermostat which they replaced, so we were grateful it was an easy issue to resolve.  We had a showing last night and heard word that a buyer from overseas (probably from Japan since many Toyota employees come from Japan and live in the Veterans Park area) have shown interest in the house.  I feel like it's only a matter of time until our perfect buyer is found.  Hopefully sooner than later, even when that means we'll have to move the rest of our things up here for a third time and figure out what to do with that beat up old Lexus sitting in our Kentucky garage!

Life continues to move forward at a rapid pace and I am really trying to stop and take a few second each day to count my blessings, hug my kids and Rich and give my gratitude to my Heavenly Father who helps out in countless way and fills in the holes where I am often lacking.