A year ago..

One year ago, we moved away from the comfort and support of my Mom and Dad into the world of the East Coast. Living in near D.C. has been a treat, and a big adjustment (mostly in good ways). Here are some of the things we've gotten used to:

On my mom's birthday last April, we went to a huge garden to look at these tulips! 

 - Traffic. Lots of heavy traffic. We've learned to not even hit the roads at certain times of day (works well for a stay at home mom!) I can just park it:

- Community Pools -  All the fun with friends at the pool, without the work. It's been wonderful! Feels sort of like vacation with neighbors. Love when Mark is home - an extra pair of hands at the pool is a wonderful thing.

Lochlan was so small last summer! 

Monocacy Battlefield 

Air and Space Museum (this flier's favorite)

Blueberries for Emmy

My funny little fishes in the kiddie side of the big pool, getting better and more comfortable in the water. 

Lochlan loves getting eating the mail every day

Smaller kitchen, but we can still roll out soft pretzels! Mont's favorite after church treat.

- Mark's new job in West Virginia. Great pilots, old and young, funny guys. Long drive, but thankfully it's against the city's traffic. Beautiful state! (but we like living in Maryland)

 

- So many people. A storm is coming? Don't go grocery shopping unless you plan on Black Friday conditions! I make sure my pantry is stocked with our essentials, with about a week of give. Our family hardly gets through the major stuff, so we could live well for a good few weeks before needing to break out the food storage. WIN!

- Neighbors to each side. This has been a good thing. I feel as secure here as I have anywhere else we've lived. I have two doors and a few windows to make sure are locked all the time, but the backyard is ours and ours alone. No passersby could look over or hop over with ease (as long as our garage is closed). Three stories up (where the two oldest sleep) is again like a tree house, like we used to call our home in Alaska - with a tree top view of everything around.

- The smells of delicious exotic restaurants nearby floating into our windows. Making our boring toast and mash look even more boring!

- Kindergarten at a public school - Mont loves his class and teacher, and has so many favorites about his day, it's hard to choose when we talk at dinner time.

- Loosing teeth - what?! Mont freaks out over the smallest things sometimes, some of them being immunizations, dental x-rays, and pulling his teeth out with the least bit of help. I think we need to show him some more mature movies to help toughen him up a bit. Like... Never ending story where Atreyu accomplishes the impossible tasks before him. His horse dies. He faces a scary, night-mare-inducing (in my case) black wolf. You know... scary movies for kids since I'm doing a terrible job at pointing out that some things just aren't a big deal. (ps - this movie has been on Mark's radar for the last week or two, and I'm finally warming up to the idea of showing it to the kids - tears and all)

- Stairs - no gym membership needed over here. ha! Nevermind.. I could still benefit from a gym membership. But at least I travel up and down the stairs a good amount each day. Win!

- Sleep - the last little while, our little man Lochlan has become a much better sleeper. Except currently, because he and Emmy both have double ear infections. When Lochlan is sick and uncomfortable, he becomes a terrible eater and sleeper. I am a wreck after those tough nights! Looking forward to this kid sleeping like a baby again.

- The Kentlands Ward - such accomplished people! I feel that there is an infinite amount of interesting people, and getting to know each person has been such a treat. The ward still has it's needs, and I still try to find where I'm able to help, and try to do it without too many gripes.

First Sunday attending our new ward (last April)

Stake Conference solo + three kids! They did GREAT!

- Smaller living - our kitchen table is currently my old antique painting table. When guests come eat at our home, I introduce it as our "restaurant seating" for better conversation and more intimacy between friends. I'm not sure if they buy it, but at least everyone has been a good sport about it! Helps that the food isn't boring toast and mash when those nights come around. Smaller living has also been fun because while the two older children have a jack-and-jill style bathroom, I have (for the last few months) been showering them in my bathroom since there's a detachable shower head that makes it fun and sort of a novelty (at least it was.. now baths are the novelty - until Emmy screams that Lochlan is splashing her to madness). Family bathroom is on my list of final home hope-fors.

our little backyard

Lochlan

- Everything's at our fingertips, or at least a short drive away. Living near stores, and restaurants, schools, and church, a temple, the beach, the mountains, the history of the East Coast has been a dream. No more 45 minute drives to church, planning for lunch in the car has been marvelous!

DC Temple after Stake Conference (crooked.. sorry, I took it in the car!)

Colonial Williamsburg, VA

Carolina Beach with the Lundbergs (Heavenly!) I've really got to stop moving while I snap a picture!

- Beautiful, unexpected moody weather. Growing up in the desert, I wished it to rain just about every single day. Waking up the cloudy overhang meant that no matter what happened, it was going to be an exciting day, and nothing could derail my happy mood. Watching the rain drops hit the massive puddles and watching their little crowns of water dance and spark still is vivid in my memory. I knew it was impractical to have rain there every day in the desert, so I used to negotiate in prayers that it would rain just a couple days every week. Never happened. But here?? Prayers were answered... just for me? haha Probably not, but I'll take it. It rains a couple days, then sunshine blasts through the skies into our windows and onto our faces. Then it's cloudy and windy, then perhaps a day of sunshine, then a thunderstorm with gusty wind and slapping rain. Never know what to expect. I've gotten used to looking at my phone's weather report every morning before I suggest what to wear for the older two. It's so nice that we have technology at our fingertips like that. Weather? let me see..

We love walking through the Kentlands' bricked sidewalks

Catching a little sun on the buns at Flag Ponds Beach on the Chesapeake (looking for shark teeth)

Rain storm after an art museum visit

Flag Ponds + a picnic lunch

Wore the hat to give this little guy a bit of shade - then forgot about myself. My back was a little burned..

- Parks - Something I nearly always tried to avoid before. Rude kids? germs? dirty slides? rainy wet muddy swings? weeds? In North Dakota, my dad was my hero and set up a swingset with Mark one week while visiting, and the kids never had to go far to play on swings, slides, and monkey bars. I didn't know what I would think of being in this new home with no personal swing set. The parks here have been wonderful for my kids. My top rule, besides being kind to everyone, is "Don't be the loudest at the park." Screaming can be tolerated... if it's not my children. ha! The kids at the park all play relatively well together, and the age groups and gender groups usually play against each other (usually they're pleasant about it), and/or with each other. It's been fun to see how Mont and Emmy can always have each other, and together they can meet so many new little friends to play with (even just for a few minutes) at the park.

- Walks - While staying with my parents through the 2014/2015 Autumn and Winter, we became accustomed to daily walks to the sound and around the neighborhood, pushing a stroller, and riding scooters. The kids have kept up this routine as well as I could hope. We walk every day, sometimes small walks, but it's every day. Our long walks are lovely. Especially when everyone is fed and happy; when the energy levels remain high for an extended time.

Scouting out the bus stop location for the school year (not really, but this is the bus-stop)

dad on the run!

- Bike Rides - Add to the list, bike rides! Mont is almost ready to go with us this summer on the paths we take through the neighborhood. Last summer involved a lot of hop-falling off his bike (a little too big for him, so we kept training wheels on until the end of summer), this year he'll do great!

- Beaches - I've sprinkled some beach pictures throughout this post, for weather, for fun, for any reason... beaches reign supreme for places to be. I could only ever dream of living near-ish a beach where we could visit during warm months. While living in Alaska, I never dreamed of getting in that frigid, whale inhabited water! But here? It's a short trip away. Maryland never crossed my mind when I would think of ideal places to live, but here I am saying I'm glad we found it. It is a nice fit for our family, and I only wish I could tie this world to our parents' worlds in West. I miss family, terribly - it's a dream when they come to visit and we GO to the beach. Heaven on earth! 

I'm just realizing Mom always hides behind people in photos. HA! MOM!

- Work & Hobbies - My work, I love.. is first and foremost, our children. I love being a mom, and I love the fun we have while we grow. I learn so much from these funny little ones, and I hope I can teach them what they need to thrive. We do so many things together that we enjoy, and some things we don't enjoy as much, but somehow we still smile through most of the day. In my quiet moments, when I still have some energy left, I have begun to paint again. Lochlan is getting a big older now, and as he can have play time, or sleep during certain hours of the day, Emmy and I enjoy getting down our brushes and filling a jar of water. We let loose, and it's been a wonderful hobby to share with her. My painting has branched off into a small little shop online, where I sell some of my pieces. It's been exciting, and I've felt blessed to have the right amount of work that I can handle without taking over my time with my kids. 

Mont, summer 2015

Emmy, summer 2015

Lochlan, summer 2015

Flamingo for Abby

Seagull for Shauna

dessert for me.

Hummingbird - loved and listed.

-Can't believe it's been a year.

scrambled

SCRAMBLED seems to be the perfect word to describe me, the children, our lives, our living situation, our schooling, and anything else... especially my thoughts. I am sitting here on the couch, feet propped up onto the table top, Lochlan is asleep on top of me, with his cute little bum rounded and sticking out, Mont just woke up from his much needed nap, and Buckwheat came over to beg for something. I'm not even sure what. But he is now licking the carpet (probably where Lochlan spit up earlier - gross). No matter how crazy I feel.. at least it's just the dog that licks the floor, and not my children. Knock on wood. ("Buckwheat! No." - There. He stopped.)

I have my computer open, trying to gather my thoughts for a talk I've been asked to give on Sunday. The topic is The Role of Mothers.

I believe - oh, cute.. Lochlan just snorted nice and loud - that I have been asked to speak on this for my own behalf. I need a recharge. I need perspective, and whenever I research a topic, I get it - I can understand something a little better.

Thank goodness for other mothers out there who can help me reach a different, and better perspective. I feel sometimes like I'm drowning.. My dad is the only one who is reading this, I think, and I feel a little bad that I'm confessing all this, with him as my sole audience. However, when we are living with my parents, they have had to take on the role of secondary parents, and step away from their more-fun roles of grandparents. For this, I am sorry. If we were in our home, I wouldn't have to worry so much about the effects of loud children on the ears of others. I wouldn't have to worry so much about the socks, dinosaurs, and papers that my children seem to leave in their wake. I would pick them up soon, but when it's not my own home, I feel I need to do everything all the time. But this isn't even how it happens - that's just how I feel.

What really happens, is that while I am stressing out, my mother and father are there, picking up my slack. They see what extras need to be done; an extra reminder to not bang the side of the swivel chairs into the countertop, the extra warning of 'slow down, someone's going to get hurt,' or the extra hand to clear the table after the children are fiiiinally done eating and the baby is feeding (again). What really happens, is that when I unknowingly sleep until 7:45 am, because Lochlan had just fallen asleep at 6:10 on top of me, and Mont had been awake 4 times the last night, and 9 times the night before, they send Mont down to see what kind of donuts I would like for breakfast - because they are taking Mont and Emmy on a donut run. Such a sweet reminder that they are helping me - in this case, literally!

What really happens, is that I'm not left to do things for myself. I could have gone with Mark to Oklahoma where he trains on his airplane, but we would have had no furniture, Mont would have had to enroll in a school that neither of us know, we would have had a newborn in a small apartment with Mark trying to study his hardest... We could have done it. But it would have broken a few spirits, and would have cost a lot in living expenses, trying to get comfortable enough to live minimally with three young children.

As I research this topic now, I am feeling recharged as I read a dear blogger's remarks on motherhood. It's not easy for anyone. It's not easy for the people who make it look easy. I'm grateful for people's honesty on the subject.. but I also am very grateful for the encouragement that I find in the positive take on all parts that are honest.

Yes, motherhood is hard. But what good thing is never wrought by hard and prolonged effort?? (Well.. chocolate. Chocolate is good, and it's even better when it's not hard to get to.) I read somewhere once that anything worthwhile comes through hard work. Reading what I've found on lds.org, it sure seems to me, that this is a hard work all because of the greatness that can come from it. This is a work that is not bound by time, or by this world. What I am doing now, how I am rearing my children, will affect lifetimes, and span eternities. Sometimes all I feel is the pressure of that. But thankfully, time is not faster than it is. Yes, some moments pass by in the blink of an eye, but for the most part, I can slow down and take a breath as I re-examine some things. I can get perspective, and I can try again. My children wake up from naps and have forgotten the tears and breakdowns that ensued not 2 hours earlier. They are forgiving, and they are good.

I need to remember to take heart in my efforts. While I am far from perfect, I am teaching the basics and the fundamentals that will help them in their years to come... that is if they remember to remember it. Every day, we read scriptures, we pray, we say we're sorry, we smile and sometimes we cry; every week we have family home evening and we go to church every Sunday. We are making an effort. I pray for the blessings that are promised to us in the temple. I pray for the guidance of the Lord's hand. It has been told to us that we are doing a work that is so important, that even angels are sent to protect us and our children. I take heart in that. I take heart that this effort is the most worthwhile thing I could be doing. These children need me so much. They need every effort I have to give. While it expends every shred of energy I have to give, and sometimes every ounce of patience, I wouldn't trade anything. I feel the happiness and the good in every other moment; when Mont remembers a lesson that we had the day previous (homeschool), or Emmy holds her big brother who is lately terrified of the dark, or when Lochlan smiles extra big for my Dad. There are so many moments that I can cherish even more because I have the hard moments to compare them to. Without the taste of bitter, one cannot truly relish the taste of the sweet - right? Also..  I can laugh at the moments when Mont and Emmy play a game together for the first time, and while I see them cheating, at least they're cheating together.

lochlan j reeder

*posted on January 29th, 2015; but to keep chronologically organized, the published date has been altered*

Surprise! Lochlan J Reeder was welcomed into our arms and family on September 5, 2014. He was 7 lb, 12 oz, and 21 inches long. He has been such a joy to us all; Mont and Emmy both absolutely love him. It took Emmy 5 full weeks before she was ready to hold him, but she always doted on him. Mont is the proudest big brother I've ever seen. Mark and I are about to embark on our next big adventure, and it wouldn't be our fashion if we didn't upend our lives without just having had a baby. More to come.

Photo Credit: Amy Free 

bonfire sendoff

Our good friends and neighbors are leaving this afternoon when their kids get out of school, so last night we had a neighbor bonfire to send them off in camp-fire style. When Mark and Matt were playing Red Light/Green Light with all the kids, Grace somehow managed to run smack into the side of the house (hence, the cold packs!). Fun can't be had without one injury - poor girl! 

^^from the left: Cooper, Soleil, Coral, Blaise (in hoodie), Judson (in front), Jake, Grace (with cold packs), Selah (in grey in front next to Emmy), Emmy, and Mont.^^

^^I believe Mark told them to say, "stinky garbage" for this one^^

^^Lindsey Davern, Sharon Dremann, Cami Moberg, and myself - taken from Sharon's facebook - I am going to miss these ladies so much. Cami moves out first, then Sharon, then Lindsey, then us (another post to come)^^ 

^Mark leading a game of Monster Tag(?) with Matt, and the kids loving every second of it!^

Matt and Cami 

Jim, Lindsey, and Sharon without her arm candy Tony 

Mark and yours truly (conveniently next to the s'more table) 

Mess pot Emmy (what you can't see are the smears of chocolate all over her face!)

Thanks Mark. :) 

last girls' night

This was our last night out for us four after dinner and frozen yogurt stop a couple of weekends ago. These girls have been some of my closest friends while living in North Dakota, and I have to point out so I remember, that they weren't even members of the church. This is the first place that I've lived so far apart from other members of our church, that the closest friends I have had were my very own next door neighbors; I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls. These girls are so kind hearted and teach their children faith in Christ, and love of our Lord. Their children are good and sweet, never harsh, and always looking out for one another. Our kids will miss their kids, and we will all be sad as we all head in different directions on the map. Sharon is heading to San Antonio, Lindsey to Virginia Beach, Cami to Mississippi (that IS fun to type!), and we are heading to the D.C. area. Hopefully our military feet will cross paths again in the future. But if not, we will always have these sweet memories to last us. Love you girls!

tulips for two girls

Molly and Grandma Stacey came to visit this week before Molly left on her mission, and did I get any nice pictures? NO!! Of course not! Because I am losing my reliability when it comes to bringing out the camera. Rats... So what we have to remember these girls by are the flowers Emmy chose for their visit. We'll miss you Molly! We'll be writing you LOTS while your'e in Japan!!

fly boys

Out for a lunch with the Squadron boys + Mont - Mont was pretty thrilled to get to hang out with all the pilots, even if he did only eat a whole two fries for his "lunch."

I think Mont will be nicknamed "Squints" in his foreseeable future! 

^^trying to wink, I couldn't get it fast enough.. So here is Squints again.^^

drizzly day for drizzlers

The snow has all melted, and with April's closing, we are luckily getting a few rain showers. 

As we were expecting them around lunch time, I wanted to let the kids get some outside time today too (yesterday was sunny and warm, so we spent some time at the park). I rushed them into their clothes, and threw a sweater on each.. that wasn't going to be warm enough.. so a scarf on Emmy and a hat on each. VOILA! AH! They even turned out to be my favorite color combo by accident.. I love days like that. ; ) Had to get them in a picture just to remember the soft purple and grays.. 

Dad we love your scarves! 

Mont's chipmunk cheek holding a lifesaver, and Emmy with her favorite thing to do: blow bubbles. 

Later, we'll bring out the umbrellas!

319th Sq. egg hunt

I have such reverent children... HAAA. This picture looks like they're praying they'll find all the best eggs or something, right?! Crazy kooks! :) Why can't they just smile at the same time?.. yet they can look down at the same time my finger hits the shutter button. Nice.. :[

Mark helping her locate the egg treasures among the chair legs and table bases around the office. Emmy was one of the younger kids in the older age group, so Mark wasn't shy about helping her out to beat out all the 6 and 8 year olds. Thank goodness for Dads!

warm for a day

superhero dishtowel capes,
shorts, sweaters, and hats,
lollipops,
cowboy boots...
all made for a pleasantly warm afternoon
outside.

3.. no 2!

This funny little sprite has turned three!! Her birthday "is... April Fourf," as she loves telling everyone. The last few weeks, she's hit some big milestones for herself. She recently decided she was ready to try the whole underwear thing, and a few days before her birthday, we snipped apart her pacifiers (sorry if you're not on board with that whole lifesaver thing...), telling her they must have just "gotten yucky" because she'd used them for so long. I wanted to do this before she turned three so she would have something to look forward to (presents and cake!). It worked like a charm with far less tears than I had expected. It was miraculous. However, even with the cake and presents, she still wants to stay a "little tiny girl" and stay 2 for the rest of forever. Sorry Emmy! You're three now!!

^^ Singing happy birthday to herself before we even had started - she was ready!! ^^

Sure, we have "normal" pictures of her blowing the candles out, but this one is my favorite! I can't stop smiling over that sputter-out candle blow.

snowed in

Once Mark was home with us, Mother Nature decided Spring needed to stay away a bit longer, and threw us into the most exciting blizzard we've seen since living here. The winds were so unbelievably strong and the snow was just coming down as fast as it could. Our garage had about 3 feet of snow blown against it, and it wasn't even the worst of the drifts around us. Our neighbors across the street had a 6 foot drift out their back door, just to name another. It lasted for two days, and the base was completely shut down. Even huge snow plow trucks were getting stuck on the streets outside our houses, and needed to be pulled out by others. It was insane! (And very fun to have Mark home for this one!!)

coming home

Mark made it home safe and sound on March 29th - and while I had tears, I assured Mont that they were nothing but happy ones. I was nervous about how Emmy girl would react, as she wasn't in the talking mood any time we face timed with Mark through the deployment. It was 11 weeks of Emmy mad at Daddy; but when she saw him, there was no holding her back, she was in her daddy's arms as fast as she could get there, and didn't want to let go or be put down for a very long time after. Mont was jumping up and down so fast that Mark had a hard time giving him a hug! It was adorable, and a moment I'll cherish forever. Seeing them reunite with their dad was very very sweet. We missed him so much!

And our friend Andrew who doubled as our phone-photo taker. :) He's about to head out to Chicago for his residency at the hospitals there. We'll miss having him around! He is one of Emmy's most favorite people: 

princess diary from a younger sister

While she can pretend to be a princess.. her brother will pretend her dress is a fort. 

(hot air vents work wonders for a dress's billowing abilities)

puzzles for patience

This is the week! It's the week Mark is coming home from his 11 week deployment to the middle east. Monday morning I dumped out a puzzle to help keep my impatient thoughts on something else. Puzzles always remind me of the time my family would spend at our Grandparents' cabin on Cedar Mountain in Utah. Puzzles meant family time for chatting and laughing, usually at someone's expense, but that's how it works. : ) I would have a puzzle out every week if it didn't take up so much 'valuable space!' 

Even the kids like to sit near and either do their own thing or wait for me to find a piece's place and hand it over so they can feel that satisfying 'click' as they push it down with tiny little fingers.

... one more day! Well.. 36 hours, but that's just a detail. 

March roars on

After a blizzard last Friday, some brave friends/neighbors (the Jones') drove the kids and I, plus them and their kids around in their big truck. I had thought about going out on my own, except I had JUST washed (inside and out) my car for a friend to borrow that night (to help us out no less).. so I voided that plan. Ha! Anyway, we drove around and admired the path of the storm the night before. This was before it hit again, and we got to spend all day at their house (we walked home later on and the kids just about lost it on that 4 houses-down walk) and the base was declared "closed." 

The odd thing about this storm is that it was warm enough for it to be watery in the beginning, so everything that was touched, first has a crust of ice, then the snow came, and stuck to the ice; the temperatures then dropped, freezing everything (both ice and snow) in place for a week! The roads were incredibly icy (both crunchy and slippery), so it was good we were the only crazies on the road, in a nice big heavy 4 wheel drive truck.

Through the window:

Down a ravine:

"pascetti"

Emmy will every now and again get the hankering to try something new. The other day it was spaghetti (and we had none in our pantry! ... I'm a penne lover), so when we next went to the store, we picked some up and promptly made it. She wanted no sauce.. just "pepper" she said. So I added a little olive oil and salt as well (just to keep things going!), and she dug right in: 

Now if only Mont were as "adventurous" in trying new foods - is it weird that spaghetti was a 'new food' at our house? haha She does love pasta, so it wasn't too new-outta-the-blue.

cow boy boots

These were their outfits for church yesterday, Mont even telling me "No tie, please." Emmy was thrilled to be wearing Mont's old boots to church, even though they are in desperate need of a good polish! 

I can never seem to get one good picture of them both, so enjoy one blurry and one with eyes closed. :)