10.

today we celebrated our tenth anniversary.  i'm still trying to wrap my mind around it.  ten whole years married.  in many ways, it feels as though we've lived a lifetime in those ten years- two crazy young kids stepping into a life together having no idea what twists and turns would lie ahead.  so many adventures, so many stories of God's goodness to us.  and even including the harder times, i've loved living this life with phil.  i love being able to laugh together over our shared history, all our "remember whens" in each of the seven places we've lived in these past ten years.

and what did we do to commemorate this special day?  why, we cleaned out the old house we moved out of this past weekend, of course.  it was a task that had to be done and it had to get done today.  but we marked the day by ruefully announcing "happy anniversary!" to each other while doing some particularly unsavory chore.

if you had asked us on our wedding day what we thought we'd be doing on our tenth anniversary, spending the entire day cleaning out a tired old rental house would probably have not made the list of guesses.  not by a long shot.

that was us then.

but in ten years, i like to think we've mellowed some, grown up some, and learned to take these things in stride.  king solomon wasn't kidding when he said, "to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." (ecclesiastes 3:1)

and so we were totally okay with the way we spent this day.  and we were totally okay with each other, too.

for today, we had to work.

and next week comes our time to celebrate like the two crazy not-as-young kids we still are.

celebrating God's faithfulness and goodness in bringing us through these past ten years.

hand-in-hand and ready to face the next decade together.  :)

today.

i have four days left before our move.  so it's officially crunch time in terms of actually getting everything packed up.  i'm still foolishly optimistic that i'll get it done in time.  :)

all the packing, selling stuff on craigslist, feeding three small kids and one dog, tending to one newborn, keeping three small kids entertained, and all the myriad other things that need doing has left me feeling pretty frazzled.  and just plain tired.  so this morning, like most mornings for the past couple of weeks, the kids woke up before i did.

thankfully, they're very, very good about letting mommy sleep.  oftentimes i'll come out to find them quietly playing in the living room or listening to a book-on-cd.

lately, they've also taken up the task of getting themselves dressed, too.  so now in the mornings, i come out to find them all dressed and ready for a new day.

and that is just about the sweetest sight to this tired mama's eyes.

this is my girl, allie.  she refers to herself as a "mommy in training".  she's the one who will clean up the kids' room all by herself, make her brother's bed for him, or change her sister's diaper for her.  without being asked to.  she is most definitely my right-hand girl.  most mornings, she is the one who not only gets herself dressed, but her little sister too.  but today, she wanted to stay in her pjs.  and that was totally fine with me.

this is my boy, mikey.  he is usually the one who wakes up first and gets himself dressed and tries to be quiet so as not to wake up his still-sleeping little sisters (they all share a room).  today, he had a surprise for me.

this was the surprise!  today, allie was still sleeping, but lauren was awake by the time mikey woke up.  so mikey got her out of bed, changed her diaper, and got her dressed (though i'm not sure who picked out her ensemble).  all without being asked.

and because i believe helpfulness that is done without being asked should be duly rewarded, i gave him a quarter.  and because one cannot get his little sister dressed without some cooperation on her part, i gave her a nickel.


and both were very, very happy.

(not to worry, allie's earned many, many quarters too and wasn't sad at not getting one today).

the end.

back to packing.

fellow-pomp and circumstance.

ok, so a few days after mikey's graduation came phil's graduation from fellowship.  and his graduating from fellowship meant that this ten-year road of medical school (with an extra year to get a master's in public health thrown in for fun), internship, residency, and fellowship has finally, FINALLY come to an end.  well, almost.  phil has ten days left before actually being done.  why they do the graduation and then make you come back for three more weeks of work is beyond me.

last year's graduation from residency had more pomp than this year's graduation from fellowship.  it felt a little more exciting last year, even though we knew there was this extra year tacked on.  but this year felt more like we were limping across that finish line just because of the particularly difficult past six months or so.  and well, we're both just kinda tired.

this was phil's sixth post-high school graduation.  funny that it coincided the same year as mikey's very first graduation.  :)

so yes, this graduation was much more low-key and less pomp and no circumstance than mikey's kinder-graduation ceremony.  but, we really enjoyed the more relaxed and casual atmosphere.  the graduating fellows were all called to the upstairs patio.

to assemble little wooden airplanes and fly them to symbolize how far they've come and how far they would go.  or something like that.  unfortunately, most of the planes spiraled straight downward.  so hopefully the symbolism doesn't really foretell the future.  cuz uh, that wouldn't bode very well for us.

the airplanes turned out to be a very good thing though, because all the kids there had a blast playing with them.  especially this particular kid.

my baby and my man.  sigh.  hello my baby.  hello my man.  (sorry, been reading too many beginning readers with mikey lately.)

it's official, folks.  got his certificate and everything!  he's DONE!!!!!

ho, ho, ha, ha, ha.  we're all good friends here.  "it's all about the fellows!"  ;)

as well as another certificate for "special recognition in research" thrown in for good measure.  because, as one attending told our kids, "your daddy is a nerd."

four fellows.  ha ha.  see what i did there?  double meaning, alliteration, and all?  ok, i'll stop now.

and what fellow graduation is complete without a pinata?  there's our baby getting pointers from her dad.

she done did her daddy proud!

and by golly, our girl was gonna get that donkey to spill its loot no matter what!  (the girl before allie knocked the poor donkey's head off).

the older kids were blindfolded.  my peace-loving, non-violent son gave the poor donkey three gentle taps before stepping away to give the next person her turn.

finally, cuz it was getting dark, and cuz the donkey appeared to have been built like a tank (except for the head), the loot had to be poured out from above.

and that, my friends, is how one does a fellow graduation right!  :)

way to go, honey for a job very well done.  we're so proud of you and can't wait to begin the next chapter of our lives!

kinder-pomp and circumstance.

i am in the midst of packing frenzy.  we are getting ready for our seventh move.  one month ago, we were planning on moving to orange county.  then two weeks ago, the plans changed and we were going to stay where we are a little longer.  and one week ago, an opportunity presented itself where we could be a blessing to some friends by moving, and so... we're moving.

my head is spinning.  someday i think i'll be able to write down the crazy story of what this past month has been like for us, but i'm not there yet.  right now, i'm busy packing.  :)

but i do want to get the memories from mikey's kindergarten graduation written down before i forget too much.  warning: lots of pictures in this one as is only fitting for a firstborn's kinder-graduation.

so last week...

mikey graduated.  from kindergarten.  the graduates were asked to wear their "fanciest clothes".

i had bought matching ties for father and son and now seemed to be a good time to use them.

correction:  i had bought matching ties for father and sons.

grandpa made a special trip down to attend the graduation.  he also insisted on wearing jonah in the baby carrier the entire time.  have i mentioned that i love my dad?

here comes our graduate!

each of the kids had an eighth grade science buddy for the whole year.  the buddies would come each friday to do a science-related project together.  mikey's buddy was a really nice kid named justin.  he would give mikey a hand-drawn card on each holiday during the school year.  phil and i were really impressed with his drawing skills.  i saved all the cards.  anyhow, the buddies worked together to make these life-sized paintings of the kindergarteners.  i saved that, too.

there's my little guy in his 'fanciest' clothes!

each of the kids had part of a speech memorized to say to the audience.  mikey's part was, "and we will succeed.  yes, we will indeed.  98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed!"

at one point, one parent from each family was asked to join their graduate as they had something special to say.  phil said i should go.  i knelt by mikey and he carefully presented me with a flower and whispered, "thank you mommy for helping me with my homework everyday."  tears sprang into my eyes and i very nearly busted out the ugly cry.  i hugged mikey tight and told him how very proud i was of him for all his hard work and great attitude he had this year.  later mikey told me that he was glad i was the one who came up because he meant his special message and flower for me.  :)

though it wasn't long before the flower was claimed by a little sister.

and then another little sister.

it was a veeeery long and drawn-out ceremony.  over two and a half hours of pomp and circumstance.  phil said this graduation was even longer than his medical school graduation.  and that's saying something.  so, we had to find ways to keep the little ones entertained and somewhat quiet.

happily though, the littlest one slept through the entire thing nestled against grandpa's chest.

each of the graduates also had an opportunity to give their thanks, their favorite part of kindergarten, and what they wished for (see?  over two and a half hours!) before getting their certificate.  mikey thanked his teacher for teaching him a lot of things, said his favorite part of kindergarten was you get to do a lot of things, and he wished his baby brother could grow up so he could play with him.

there were also three or four songs to perform.  this one involved star-shaped sunglasses.

and finally, there was the throwing of their caps!

but it wasn't over yet!  there was also a father/daughter dance (the chicken dance) followed by a mother/son dance (la raspa).  yeah, kinda random.

my sweet boy and i survived kindergarten!!!  (and i couldn't be prouder of him).

then it was time to eat!  each family was asked to bring a family favorite dish.  here was my chance to show off my culinary prowess.  so i dug deep and made...  mac 'n cheese!  hey, it IS a family favorite anyway...  and was a big hit with the kids.  : p

mikey and one of his good buddies.  who asked him mom if he could stay with mikey the one time i forgot it was early thursday and was forty-five minutes late to pick him up.  hey, it was soon after jonah was born...

the graduating class of 2011!

these two little sisters would often see each other while coming to pick up their older siblings from school throughout this year, and became friends along the way.

i asked ms. ella to take a family picture for us.  and here it is.  thanks, ms. ella!  :)

he DID it, folks!!

ok, so the graduation was on tuesday and there were still three days left of school.  so here's mikey and ms. n on the actual last day of school.

mikey and another good buddy, d.

and the kiddos with the class volunteer, ms. ella.  she worked every day in mikey's class and stayed as long as the teacher did to help her out- for free!  she was also especially sweet to our girls and encouraging to me.  and also stayed with mikey the one time i forgot it was early thursday and was forty-five minutes late to pick him up.  hey, did i mention i had just had our fourth child?  just sayin.  in any case, we're gonna miss her.

and there you have it- the kindergarten graduation of our firstborn child.   whew!

now i gotta go pack for reals.

11 weeks.

jonasu (another new nickname) is eleven weeks old today.  huh.  that's odd.  i really thought he was ten weeks old today, but i seem to have missed a week somewhere in there.

in any case, we have had an impossibly sweet, laid-back, happily cooing and gurgling little baby in the house for the past eleven weeks (really?  it's not ten?).  he's so far been the textbook definition of easy baby- eats good, poops good, sleeps good (he's been sleeping 7-8 hours most nights since he was 5 weeks old without my having done any sleep training with him!).

jonah has fit seamlessly into our family and into our lives and i can't really imagine life without him.

God is so good.

but like my dear friend put it, it seems like you have to put life on hold for a few years when you're starting over with a new baby.  i definitely find that to be true.  we have to begin at the beginning again.  we go back to the starting line.  we do not pass "go".

and aside from ambitious weekend birthday trips, we've lately just been staying close to home.  it's so much easier that way and thankfully, the kids all really enjoy staying home and having lots and lots of time for free play.

like allie said yesterday, "mommy, i like it best when everyone's home together."  and i absolutely have to agree.

because staying home means...

that allie-girl gets lots of time to love on her baby brother.

and okay, lauren also enjoys a good cuddle with the baby too.

hello, little brother.  hello, big brother.

i believe i mentioned that allie loves baby jonah, yes?  enough to where she loves doing anything for him, even changing his diaper.  i don't know what i'd do without my little helper girl.

daddy checking for baby foot funk.  (and no, he didn't have any).

this is jonah's most favorite way to sleep.  correction- if you picture ME there in place of the pillow, then you'd know his MOST favorite way to sleep.

allie loves baby jo...  wait, i said that already, didn't i?

when two little sisters set up a pretend picnic in their room and ask you if they can have real food to eat at their pretend picnic, the answer to that is always yes.  so you give them grapes, goldfish crackers, raisins, raspberries, and homemade lemonade.  and it most definitely helps to turn a blind eye to the otherwise messy room.

there were a few weeks where jonah would get into a fussy snit in the evenings and laying him tummy-down across an arm was one of the few ways to calm him.  phil wondered if it was just because it was harder to cry in this position.  i said he just liked it.  why, doesn't he look happy to you?

thinking deep, eleven-week-old thoughts.

so, while having a new baby in the house does mean having to give up certain freedoms and putting many things on hold for a good long season, it turns out to be a small sacrifice after all.  because the trade-off is worth it a million billion times over.  :)