picture 252

(Ida and I in our old house)

Way back, long ago, when Josh worked as an operations officer at the airport, a different airport than where he currently works, he was in charge of sorting the lost and found.  It seems that his boss must have known that we were starving non-newly weds with two children needing this special job within his job.  Because I am a thrifty person and a trash rat, I made Josh promise he would bring home anything and everything in that lost and found box that was one second past it's holding date.  It was totally legal and a bonus to the lost and found sorter.  The heavens parted and the thrifty gods shined their used goods upon us many a time.....one Columbia winter coat for daddy, two North Face jackets for mommy and daddy, one winter coat for Emerson, one mp3 player, two booster seats, one laptop bag and a Cannon camera.  

I found this picture on the computer, #252, that Emerson took with that Cannon camera and the memories flooded and swirled all around my tired brain making me pretty emotional.  

It took being where we were to get us where we are.   

Wow, I like them both.

Am I getting old?

Urban and big green fern

Urban is two months old.  Here he is at one month and birth.

And, just for fun and because he is cute.

 

beautiful, but also, not

 It is snowing cotton balls.

I fear all of the Frakers have fallen victims to the cabin fever.  We took a not-so-valid-or-even-a-vote vote.  My persons didn't know they were voting, so much as talking with the mother of the house.  

Josh: It is COLD out there!  Jeez.  Has the furnace turned off today?  (Remember?  He is run by the fear of spending money.  I kinda have a love/hate relationship with that quality.)

Ida:  It's snowing again!  This is terrible.

Emerson:  Is tomorrow Spring?  I thought tomorrow would be Spring. 

Urban: ..............................(Right, Urban can't talk, so he didn't say anything.  I just feel terrible listening to him breathe with those darn crusty boogers in his nose.) 

I, myself, suffer from season confusion.  I love living where we can enjoy all the seasons.  I am fond of the winter months before February and the falling snow.  I think hot chocolate is liquid magic and saucer sledding would be an entertaining high school sport.  I do like cold weather clothes (especially after birthing a baby).  And, what's more, cold shrimp equals dElicious.

However......

I HATE being cold, having a cold, and getting into cold sheets when it's cold outside.

 

So, after my analysis of the house, I think the winter blues are creeping in.

Playing Hide-and-Seek-the-Baby lifted our spirits today.

Guess who's in there!

I promise he could breathe. 

Ida had no idea I put him in the hideous, we-found-you-for-free-and-made-sure-there-were-no-bedbugs, very comfortable and perfectly rocky rocking chair for his morning nap, so I suggested a game of Hide-and-Seek-the-Baby.

She scoured the house and finally found him.

Her reaction was priceless. 

 

 "Pretty awesome game, Mom.  Let's play again."

Those who think this game borders a slight form of child abuse, you will be happy to know that we will only hide him in properly ventilated, soft, in-eye-sight locations.

See, he was really in there.

Don't you love his turquoise, pink cat shirt I found at a garage sale that he wears to bed at night under his tight, cozy, almost-too-warm swaddle?  It is the worst 80's mid-drift shirt ever!  He would melt and claw himself to pieces without it though.

Ida brings you

the morning.

She usually does something around the house other than eating breakfast.  On this particular day she found the camera.

I seriously can't believe I am showing you this because:

1.  It is so unflattering and honest

2.  It reveals our kitchen which hasn't been touched since we moved in.  Can you tell?  Of course you can, the cupboards aren't robin's egg blue.

 But, it was just such a great depiction of what goes on around here.

A snow day makes for a happy school goer.

On school days he is usually on the couch in the dark (by choice) sitting by Ida watching Scooby Doo while waiting for the family bus to take him to school.

Seriously, cute kid and awful lights in the kitchen....see picture above.

Now, don't you tell our secrets!

where all the thinking leads

Sometimes we really get to thinking over here on all these acres.

Okay, not all these acres.  I guess I should just say "these acres."

I think about acres a lot, actually.  Acres and chickens. 

"When are we going to start the whole chicken thing anyway?" I ask. 

Josh replies, "Well, chickens or pallets or worms or bison or ultralights."

"What?  Ultralights?" I question.

"Uh-huh, I have a lot of ideas," Josh confesses.

I decide to leave that kind of thinking to Josh.  I will think about things I am good at thinking about instead: sleep, supper, cleaning and clipping finger nails (all of the kids are needing a good clipping right now and I just can't seem to find the time to get it done. It's gross.  Sorry children.  There, now I got that off my chest.)   

I miss sewing.  That is what happens when I think.  I work my brain all 'round and come out wanting to sit in front of my Kenmore stallion and make this, this and this for Urban; this, this, this, and this for Ida;  and this for Emerson.

I will sew again someday.

This is what Urban looks like when he is almost done thinking.
He thinks himself all 'round and then poops.
Isn't it funny how happy and relieved one can feel knowing ones child is pooping?

entry

Do you remember this post?  My urge to nest was driving me crazy while I was large with child.

It is still a nagging factor of my everyday life, but the difference is that I feel like we are getting somewhere.  Because I'm not pregnant anymore I feel like I can contribute SO much more to our progress....and things are progressing.  The entry is finished (minus an umbrella stand)!!!!

 

 

I love having a handyman living at my house....almost 100% of the time.  There are times I wish Josh would hire someone to do something he knows how to do because that would mean he would hire someone for something.  Then I would be able to spend more time with him.  But, having said that, I am SO grateful he has developed his talents in every area and can teach our kids so much.  Anyway!

This is our new entry.

I LOVE this mirror.....it was from grandma's attic.

I found these gorgeous Readers Digests at a flea market.  I got 10 books for $5.

I saw this bird feeder in grandma's garage and told Josh it would be a light someday.

 

This is free printable art from Feed Your Soul.  This site is awesome!  I recommend you stop in and print something.

Here are my before and afters.

I found this coffee table while I was thrifting for $4.50.

 

I found this table the same day for $5.00.

 

The birds were $2.00

 

 

I love our entry.



the view

I was washing bottles yesterday and felt so blessed to live in this country. 

The view from my windows reminds me everyday.

 The view in Urban's room is pretty gourgeous too.

 Because Emerson and Ida were born so close together, I suffered a little from the baby blues.  I just didn't feel like I was myself.  I was moving through the motions of things and not really feeling anything.  It took me a very long time (about 3 years) to feel like I even wanted to have more kids.

Then when we wanted another one we had to wait until we could get pregnant, which proved a testament as to how much we really wanted another baby.

Now that we have Urban, dare I say that I wouldn't mind having another.  The view has just been so awesome this time.