So here I am on another quiet Monday evening taking advantage of my alone time and updating all of our loved ones. I don't believe I have too much to talk about. This picture to the left was taken right after Mike shaved Van's head for the first time. We all joked that Van looked almost sickly. He is sooo skinny now, people tend to forget that he has some of my genes, I was even called Ethiopian in elementary school, and everybody expects him to be this big linebacker of a Billingsley. So the combo of no hair and no fat have made him look like we starve our child. I've gotten kind of used to the fuzzy head and we've been doing it now for about a month, its nice to save the money of taking him to get a haircut too. When school starts up and it starts to cool down, we may go back to getting real haircuts but we'll see.

Last week we got to take Van to the circus for the first time. We actually got some free tickets from friends at church and got to stay in a suite at The Honda Center. It worked out perfect because Van's still a little young to stay seated the whole time and so he had a great view and could still wander safely when he got the urge. We took lots of pics and as soon as I get some more energy I'll upload some of them for you all. He loved it. There was just so much going on, music, lights, some crazily dressed dancers, animals, motorcycles and more. This week we're headed to Sea World on Thursday and a cousins wedding on Friday. Sea World will be another first for Van so that should be lots of fun too.

Can't do blog without a note on Ava...not much new to report though. Ohhh, just thought of something. She has discovered her feet, well discovered them a few days ago and now she is definitely a fan of eating her big right toe. I know it sounds gross, but its actually a really cute thing when a baby does it. And she's eating much better now, baby food...not toes. She wasn't a big fan of baby food in the beginning. She wants whatever I have on my plate so badly though. So the other night Van was eating apple wedges and I gave her one to suck on...poof magic. I fed her some applesauce right after so she could try to connect the 2 tastes and realize I was giving her "big people food" and now she's all for it. She decided to eat apples, pears, bananas, green beans and has even started conquering a fruit sucker with grapes and strawberries. I think it will be no time at all before she's eating right off of our plates. She won't wait long and I haven't been as stringent as I was with Van...you know what they say, you're always harder on the first.

So I noted in my last post that Mike applied to some police departments. He's received some info back from a couple and will be taking some tests in the upcoming weeks, including written and physical exams. Its really been occupying his mind so much lately. It seems to be almost all he thinks about. I can understand that though. This is something he's thought about off and on for so many years now. I can remember talking about it when he was 20 because he was saying you had to be 20 1/2 to apply because of gun regulations. So that was 8 years ago and its always been in the back of his mind. This is a really scary situation for me and probably not for the reasons it is for other wives. I don't worry too much about the safety thing even though this is a dangerous job. I worry for the emotional wear and tear this job could cause. My husband is a very compassionate and sensitive man. I worry that this job could wear him down and really break him. He will see the absolute worst in people and I don't know if he could take it. I worry that he will keep it all to himself not wanting me to have to see that too and it will just eat at him. I know this is such an honorable position and he wants to be something his kids and I can be proud of. What he doesn't realize is that we are already proud of him. We are proud of the fact that he puts us second only to God in his life, that he never goes a day w/o hugging and kissing all of us and saying I love you, proud of the fact that he is confident enough to share his faith in God with anyone who will listen, and proud of the fact that bottom line, he is already an inspiration to other people around him. I selfishly wish that could be enough for him. My husband the dreamer...oh how I love him. I probably have not been as supportive as I could be and I'm hoping to put my worries and insecurities aside. We just have to be confident that if this or any other job change is Gods will, that we will be able to remember to glorify him in that moment. God is amazing to us and I know that he will safely guide us through this lifetime, we just have to remember that in these quiet moments.

Time to log off, my hubby should be home any minute. Hugs and kisses to all and to all a good night.

xoxo
B

Yes, I'm back so soon

Look at that, it's under a week since my last post and I'm blogging again. It was a late night last night so Ava is still snoozing and Van and I are watching some Mickey Mouse so I thought I would take advantage and do a quick blog. Hopefully I get it completed before I have to run to take care of something.

So, this cute little girl to the right had her 4 1/2 month check up yesterday and everything went great. She weighed in at 15 lbs 9 1/2 oz, and is 23 1/2 inches tall. She is right in line with her brother, who at this age was 16 lbs 5 oz, and was 25 1/4 inches tall. Both kids, when looking at the growth chart, were a little above average in weight and a little below in height. She was also the proud recipient of 4 shots and 1 oral vaccination. Of course I'm speaking facetiously. She handled them pretty well in the morning, but by the time she woke up from her nap, she was pretty miserable. So we started the Tylenol / Ibuprofen alternation until bedtime. If she recovers like her brother, she should be much happier today. She is normally such a happy and sweet baby, that its so hard to see her sad and not smiling. Even with her sore legs last night, she was really trying to smile and talk to anyone who held her.

As for Van, of course he's doing good. We are now 1 week officially under our belt of no diapers during the day. He's been napping in just underwear now for over a week and I have to say, no accidents. For about 2 weeks prior to this, I was noticing every time I'd get him up from his nap his diaper would be dry so we thought, hey lets give it a shot and see how he does. And sure enough, he was definitely ready. Now he is a diaper free kid from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed. Night time is still a diaper time for now, we're working into that. I'm guessing its okay to do it in stages like this. Its been going so well for us and we don't want to do anything that would make Van regress so we're letting him do it at his pace. Even so, one diaper a day has really cut down the cost of diapers in our household, thank goodness, any way to save money and we'll take it.

Mike and I have been busy too. This week we have something going every single day or night. Its crazy when that stinky "life" thing takes over and you get sooo busy. Mike has decided to apply to some police departments as of late. He's been talking about it for years and somebody lit a fire under his bottom and got him moving. No I was not that somebody. So, he applied to 3 or 4 and I think next he'll take the written test and go from there. I'm not sure if he's really really going to pursue it or if its just one of those things he wanted to do so he wouldn't have any regrets when he gets older. I will keep you posted though. As for me, just being mom, wife, and worker now has kept me busy enough. Some days I feel like I'm struggling to keep my head above water to get everything done. I'm not sure what's gonna have to give as I get older and more tired...I'm guessing everyone would say the clean house or laundry...but for those that know me, they know that's really hard to do. I'm hanging in there for now. I just want to do everything and keep being able to do everything w/o having to leave anything for later...that just doesn't sit too well with me.

Well I think that's all for now, I believe my little girl is awake in her room.

PS Thanks to all those that made my birthday special this year. I felt very loved and that's always a good thing. :):)

xoxo

B

A Leap Of Faith

Since most of you can tell by my lack of blogging, my time is very limited these days. I know I say this all the time, but time is really flying by. I know the picture to the left isn't the best quality and you can't really see Ava, but that is why I thought it was so cute. Mike kept telling Van, "don't cover her eyes" and hence he just did it more completely. Anyways, thought it was cute enough for a blog posting.

Well since I haven't posted in over a week, I guess I should fill everyone in. I've been working like crazy with my new job, and am still really enjoying it. Mike has been wonderful looking after the kids when I need to jump back on the computer for a few minutes here and there. I think I'm doing an okay job managing my time so far, at least I hope I am. I don't want my kids or husband to feel neglected so I really have to make sure I take advantage of every minute of every day. Tomorrow is my first meeting w/ my new boss since I've started and I'm excited to see what she thinks of my work so far and excited to start some new projects.

The kids are doing great too. Ava is so squirmy it makes for quite an interesting day. She refuses to sit still any longer. If placed on the floor or any other surface for that matter, she immediately rolls over and starts moving. She's almost killed herself multiple times by rolling over and almost out of her swing and pushing herself backwards off of her changing table. If it hadn't been for my husband's quick hands, who knows what cuts and bruises she'd have. She is definitely going to be a mover and shaker. Van was a quick mover, but he was also content to hang out on his belly, in his swing, or on his changing table. Maybe this is just her way of getting noticed.

Van just melts my heart, that's all I can say. His vocabulary is growing so rapidly now. He amazes me with the sweetest things now. The other day Van, Ava, and myself had gone for a walk in the morning and as Van and I were walking to his room to get ready for a nap later that day, he looked up at me and said, "Mommy, thank you for taking me outside and for a walk today". Aww, it was just so sweet and sincere, that I almost had tears in my eyes. He can just be such a sweet kid...I know all parents say that, but it still amazes me everyday how much a parent can love their child.

As for Mike and I, we've been very busy. This last week and a half has probably been one of the most emotionally charged weeks of our marriage. We've had to make a very tough decision for ourselves and our family. After much thought, discussion, and fervent prayer to God, we made the decision to leave the church we've been attending since we started dating. Mike has attended there his whole life and its the only church I've been a member at since I really became a christian. These people saw us grow together, get married, and start our family. We have some very close friends that we've made at that congregation and are praying that our decision will not affect those good friendships. Not to mention Mike's whole immediate family attends there, so needless to say it was a very tough decision. Don't jump out of your seats, we're not leaving "the church", just that particular location. We decided to start attending the Orangeview Church of Christ. Not only is it closer to our house, but there are lots of kids for Van to interact with (he was pretty much the only consistent one at Anaheim), more couples closer to Mike and I's ages, and just the general direction of this church coincides more with where Mike and I would like our futures to be heading. We are really enjoying it so far and our transition has gone smoothly. We plan to officially place membership this weekend. As for leaving Anaheim, that goodbye went almost seamlessly. Most people were very supportive and understanding and wished us well in our "leap of faith". A decision like this is so hard to make. You want to always strive to do what you think God's will is, but when it comes down to it, you just don't know for sure what he wants you to do. Mike and I are pretty confident in our choice and have no doubt that God will agree with our serving him at this new congregation. I will ask that you keep our family in your prayers that we continue to always look to God for guidance and glorify him in all that we do.

Well since this posting has literally taken me 3 different log-in's to complete, I can't promise I will be back soon. I will however try to remember all those who love us and are impatiently waiting on me for all of our interesting family news and try to be back sooner next time.

With love,

B

Got 5 Free Minutes...Ready, Set, Type

Okay so I don't have much to say, but thought I'd write anyways. The pic to the left is just for enjoyment. I'm trying to post a pic w/ every blog but I don't have any new pics that will be relevant for this posting...so you get what I have. I'm done working for right now...I think. Mike is catching some video game time, Van is just waking up from his nap (no sooner do I start typing then do I hear him on the monitor), and Ava is camping in the swing. I have already logged almost 12 hours of work in 4 days. I'm hoping to get between 10-15 a week, work load permitting of course. Its going pretty smoothly and I'm really loving it. Ava has started eating solids, well actually she started last week. Rice cereal is just whatever, but apples are pretty good, when they are warmed up of course. This is always very exciting for me, probably more so than it is for the kids. Van is loving helping me feed Ava too, its really cute. Our family was sooo busy this weekend, literally doing something different and visiting someone different everyday. Boy this makes our time fly. Like I said, not much to say but thought I would take this small opportunity to write a bit...sorry its so short, duty as mom is calling me back. Hope to back soon.
B

How Times Have Changed

"Spaghetti Night" began around 5 years ago with 4 couples getting together to hang out and enjoy some relatively cheap eating. One couple did the spaghetti, one salad, one bread, and one dessert. We all got to eat good for very little contribution. It usually began between 6pm and 7pm and would end around 11pm or 12am. A yummy dinner would be followed by some nice chatting and usually a little game playing. As you can tell from the picture above, times have changed. All of the babies pictured above have been born within the last 3 years. We now have a 35-month old, a 34-month old, a 28-month old, 3 11-month olds, and a 4 month old. Our dinners now begin around 4 pm, we run around like crazy racing after kids, rushing to get dinner out and everyone fed, usually not at the same time, then wrap up right before any of the kids get into a total fit because they are so tired, usually around 8pm. All I can say is that times sure have changed...but look at how cute they all are.

As far as other things around here, we've been very busy. I started my new job this week and I love it. I went in the office on Wednesday to get going and my new boss is going to be wonderful. Its so nice to have some real mentally challenging stuff to put my mind too. I hunkered down Thursday while the kids were sleeping and really got some work done. I'm not sure if I'll be able to blog as much as I was before. Most of my free time now will be spent working or spending time w/ my hubby. Its not like I have a lot, but I really want to work hard for this company and prove that my being a telecommuting employee will still be beneficial to them and won't affect my input at all. And don't forget that I have a husband that likes attention too every now and then so my down time will probably be very limited. The kids are doing great. Ava rolls over every opportunity she gets now, usually when I stop paying attention to her or walk away as if to say, "hey mom where'd you go, okay here I come". Van is status quo...getting really skinny now, he definitely has my chicken legs...hope he beefs up pretty soon or his sister will become the family linebacker. I can't think of much else going on and my husband is staring at me like he wants some wifey time so I'm off to go be a good wife. Hopefully will be back soon. Love, love, and more love to all of our friends and family.