New Additions

I've been MIA for a while, but with good reason -- we've had a few changes around the Lambert house. We have a newly painted dining room (in the beautiful Apple-a-Day red), a new table in the dining room, a completely cleaned-out garage (in hopes of morphing it into what my dad refers to as a 'man-cave'), and a brand-new teenager living upstairs in the bonus room.
As a friend of mine said, "Congrats! It's a 16 year old!"
Ha ha ha.
Seriously, though, my sister has moved in with us until she finishes up her diploma...and we're having fun. Hannah is forcing me out of my usual habits of solitude and hermit-ism, which is good for me (I guess!) and I'm forcing her to read short stories and do writing exercises, which is great for her (I know!). And since she isn't a picky eater, I'm getting to try new recipes, which is such a great change after years of eat one bite. Just one bite of the veggies. Please. Please try it. Please eat it. Vegetables make you strong and healthy. Eat it or else. Eat. It. Now. Eat it or you're NEVER EATING COOKIES AGAIN.
And that's just talking to my husband. Don't even get me started on the dinner battles I have with the kids.
As Hannah would say, jk...jk. (Oh, the text-speak. Don't get me started on that, either. [For those of you not living with a teenager, thats 'joking, joking'...])

So, this is to say -- welcome to the chaos, Hannah! <3 you! (She taught me how to do that, too! :) By the time she moves out, I might actually be sort of cool again! Emphasis on the 'might' and the 'sort of''.)

In Lambert-Land

If I had to use one word to describe my life these days, that word would be: busy. From the moment I get up in the morning until the time I fall asleep at night, there is always something to do. (I’m not talking anything extraordinary here—think laundry and the school pick-up line.) I don’t mind this (usually). I like having my list and marking off what I’ve done…one thing I’ve learned about myself is that I like productivity. I like having a goal and accomplishing it. Feeling aimless makes me anxious and crazy.

But since my free time is limited, I have to choose wisely when filling it. Lately, that has meant this blog has gone untouched. My writing time has been dedicated to the second rewrite of the novel I finished for NaNoWriMo. Since I’m taking some space from it before continuing to the third draft, I’ll have a bit more time to spend here.

Anyway, things have been good. Sean loves kindergarten…it is incredible to watch him learn. He is to the point of reading small books by himself and helping me read our bedtime books…and he is proud of himself when he knows the words. Seeing him proud of himself fills me with such gratitude and joy. His school-journey has begun so positively…and I’m thankful.

Christian is four years old now…he is still silly and compassionate, smart and full of energy…he loves playing pretend and with his Hot Wheels cars. We’re working on all of his pre-k skills…he won’t start school until the 2010 school year, so he’ll definitely be ready for it.

Kailey is nine months old and wonderful. She crawls at rocket-speed and, to date, has six teeth. She loves to play with her big brothers and her daddy…they can make her laugh so hard with their silly faces and voices. I am cherishing these moments with her…her baby-months are flying by and I am doing my best to live and appreciate every minute of them.

So that’s where we are…striving day by day, step by step, to love fully and to be conscious of these fleeting moments.

Recent Moments That Have Stopped Me in My Tracks

Sean started kindergarten. Which is wonderful, weird, and scary all at the same time...he loves it. From day one, he has been excited to share all of the new things he's learning and doing, from Art class to centers to 'chasing dragons' on the playground with new friends. The weird and scary mostly apply to me. It's so strange to see him developing this new part of his life...he's creating his own independent world, apart from me. It's good for him, but it's been hard letting go of the 'control' over his days that I've had until this point. He's picking up new phrases, he knows people I don't know, he's learning things I'm not teaching him....he's becoming his own person. I'm incredibly proud of him...I just have to pray every day that God will protect him out there in that big world and that he'll have good experiences in this foundation of his education. (Also, there was that 'yikes' moment of realizing that I'm old enough to have a kid in school...wowsers.)


My sister graduated from nursing school and then passed her license test. She's a for real nurse. She can stick people with needles and stuff. Congrats, Mandy! I couldn't be prouder of you...


My in-laws are moving to a different state...they'll still only be a few hours away, so it's not as bad as it could be....but that leaves us here without any family around. Which is daunting. My parents-in-law have been incredible to me for as long as I've known them and they're definitely my go-to people...I've always been able to depend on them whenever I've needed an extra hand (which, with three kids, can be often!). Plus, the kids are accustomed to seeing them on a really regular basis, so I know it'll be an adjustment for them to not have their Papaw and Mimi around...but it's a good move for them, and I have to look at the bright side here. I'll learn lots of lessons in total self-reliance, which is good for me. Right? Right???? (Big, loooong sigh.)


Ahmadinejad, dictator of Iran, attending an 'international dialogue' dinner in New York and showing up as a guest on Larry King Live. Dude. This guy, by his own testimony, hates America and Israel. In fact, he was just gloating about the fact that the American empire was crumbling...and we, in turn, open a welcoming door to him. I can understand tolerance. I can understand being gracious to our enemies, to a certain extent. But inviting them in, letting them spew their hatred on our own soil, on our own networks--that, I cannot understand.


Oh, the election. I'm fascinated with the passion that has caught our nation up in this year's race, and I'm glad that there's a political discussion going on....but I'm irritated with negativity for negativity's sake. Spotlighting negative attributes that are based on facts, however...that's also called education. That's called knowing the candidate. I'm also irritated with certain media groups for being so blatantly unbiased that it's passed ridiculous...and when you expect your own opinions to be heard, people, you have to listen to the opinions of others. It's fair. The conservative party is constantly accused of being closed-minded, but it's a condition that is on both sides of the line. Do your research. Know the facts. And, of course, vote.


I sold a short story! Woo to the hoo! I'll link here on the ol' blog to the magazine's website when the story is up, which should be closer to the end of the month.


With the rest of the county, I've been watching the economic crisis with a scared, slightly confused, sense of foreboding. I have all these images of the Great Depression in my head, which include this movie my family used to own that came from Feature Films for Family...this really spoiled girl hits her head and goes back in time and experiences that period of time (which, of course, cures her of the brattiness and shallow attitude)...it's odd, but when I picture the Great Depression, I see everything in this sort of brown and grey color scheme....like the country was so poor that we didn't even have color anymore. Anyway, I think of the stock market crashing and suicides and hungry families...unemployment...nothing good comes to mind. The threat of an economic breakdown in our country is scary, no doubt. Even thinking of it makes me want to plant a garden, buy a cow, and stock up on toilet paper. But the key, I think, is to not panic. I, of course, have no idea how to solve the problem, but I am hoping that our leaders can figure it out before we all get a metaphorical hit on the head and have to learn some needed lessons the really, really hard way. Unlike the lucky girl in the aforementioned movie, we don't have the option of waking up to a restored present and apologizing to our grandparents for our selfish candy-bar business and questionable fashion sense.


And, in hopes of ending this session of blogettes on a positive note, I'll say that every day with my family stops me in my tracks with thankfulness. Because, even with the turmoil this crazy world is in, at the end of the day...I have a happy, healthy family and lots of love to fuel our future. We have to all remember that hope--and action to back up that hope--has gotten this country of ours through many, many, many uncertain times...and I believe that it will again. So let's all let our little whistles ring out loud and strong...(okay, I can't actually physically whistle--I never have been able to get the hang of it--but I'll hum, if that counts. Or sing. Or play Sean's Kazoo.)

Disney Adventures, Part One

So when you've planned a vacation for a good two years, there are certain things you expect to do on the day you're supposed to depart - there are last minute items to be thrown into suitcases, pesky dishes to be loaded into the dishwasher, the trash taken out, books to pick out for the road trip, excited kids to direct out of the way of the packing. But last Thursday, the day we were leaving for our trip to Florida with both sides of the family, things were...ummmm....a bit more complicated.

The morning started with Sean throwing up. Several times. When I called my parents to complain about this unfortunate happening, they answered on their way to the doctor's office - my mother had broken out in a painful rash, which they were hoping was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic she just started....fortunately, it was a reaction instead of something contagious. So armed with new medications and the rest of the kids, my parents headed towards my house. They were getting close when Neil made an observation...one of Christian's ears was completely red and swollen...it was hot to the touch and we completely panicked, as I had also noticed two weird looking bite marks on his arm that very day. Off to the doctor I went, to find out that it was a simple inflammatory reaction to those pals we all know here in the south - the mosquito. The doctor gave us several medications for him....so with the new meds packed up with the inhaler he has already been using to get through a bad cold, we finally left town....about 4 hours after our goal. An auspicious beginning, eh?

Regardless of that crazy Thursday, the rest of the trip was wonderful, even with the tropical storm that decided to show up. We didn't let the rain stop our fun....with both sides of our family there and watching the kids discover what it's like to go on a real vacation, I feel more than blessed with memories(....and my dream came true!).

Our view of the resort from our ninth floor apartment....you can't tell from this picture, but we could see the big Epcot ball and the Tower of Terror!

While waiting to check in, my sisters couldn't resist the Dance Revolution...and below is our first theme park day (my family's first trip into the Magic Kingdom)!

I know...we look stunning in our fabulous 3D glasses...I'll never forget my sister, Hannah, jumping out of her skin when the 3D mice "ran" over our feet!

What's Disney without Mickey and Minnie? The kids were a bit shy with the famous mice, but my mother-in-law got a nice big smooch from Mickey before the camera clicked! Kailey spent most of the day like this...snoozing. In this picture, though, she looks like she's conducting music...
and here's Neil spinning my siblings at warp speed on those infamous tea cups. My brother was thrilled to get behind the wheel of a car all by himself....and Christian loved watching the parade (intently!) on his Papa's shoulders.

A Small World proved to be a favorite with the kids...Sean was fascinated!
And, at the end of the day, one of the best memories of all - Kailey's first real laugh. A few tickles from her Nana and she was giggling....such a beautiful sound!

So that was our first few days...there's much more to come, including my father as a game show contestant and my father-in-law crowned king of England!

On Being Fruitful and Multiplying...

And then there were five. Kailey Juliet was born on June Tenth. She has already wrapped everyone in the house around her teensy pinky...we're having a great time dressing her up in cute dresses and getting baby-snuggles. I forgot how small the kiddos really are when they're born. She's already grown so much -- and she's getting more attentive, taking in this crazy world around her. But here's a picture of day one, in the hospital, when she was fresh out of the oven....

When I look at Kailey, Sean, and Christian together, my heart feels like it's going to burst at its seams. It's amazing how much love a person can contain, how much joy can fill us up. This is what it is to be blessed beyond measure.

Indulgences

Father's Day weekend was a blast. It was so fun, in fact, that the boys and I had a spontaneous mini-vacation that only ended this afternoon.

We celebrated with Neil and his dad on Friday night...and Saturday morning, after his flight to Colorado left (his band has been playing for a church youth camp all week), we headed up to my hometown to visit with my family. Whenever I'm back there, I have this urge to just stay - there's this wonderful mix of past and present that I don't have anywhere else. There are aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents - it's an entire community of family that sort of makes coming back here to our house seem a little lonely. And, of course, eating Sunday lunch made by the hands of my grandmother, mother, and my mom's sister makes anything I attempt to cook seem colorless and just plain sad in comparison. If I could commute two hours every Sunday for that meal...I'm telling you it'd be worth the cost of the gas.

As the boys get older, it gets easier to travel - when they were more on the side of babyhood than toddlerhood, it felt like every road trip was a precarious, daredevil experiment (will they cry all night in someone else's house? will they spit up on some one's carpet? will they scream every time someone picks them up?). But now interruptions in routines don't bother them as much - during the past two visits, as a matter of fact, they've barely paid any attention to me at all. They love playing with my little cousins and wrestling with my uncles, talking to my aunts and grandmothers, running through the yard after the go-carts and looking at my grandparents' apple trees and grape-vines...and I love watching them discover how fabulously fun and lovable our family members are.

And now...I haven't posted any pictures in a while, and I borrowed a few from my mom's digital stash...so here are some faces to accompany all of the names.

This is Sean, loving the Mexican food that my aunt and Mom made on Saturday evening. It really was a forget-about-the-fork-and-just-eat-it-by-the-handful kind of good.

Christian felt the same way about the Oreo cake we had on Sunday. You can see that Sean's anxiously waiting for his piece back there.

This was during our last visit - Christian was trying to help my brother out after the go-cart ran out of gas. He's my Hercules.

My siblings - Mandy, Jeremy, and Hannah. Aren't they good-lookin', all dressed up for church?

A few months ago - Sean and my mom.

Quintessential Dad humor. This picture cracks me up.

And I'll leave you with a few big smiles...

Home Away From Home, Part 1 : Sam I Am

I acted upon the afore mentioned contemplation of a visit home, in spite of the ants...fortunately, the pest control guy (my new hero) seems to have nipped the battle in the bud. I left on Saturday to go to my hometown (a little over two hours away)...this isn't where my parents actually live at this point, but it is where the church they pastor is...they'll move there when their current house sells. But almost all of my extended family lives there - both sets of grandparents, lots of aunts and uncles, lots of cousins. So I stayed there until Sunday night and then we traveled an hour and a half to my mom and dad's house. I finally packed up and left late this morning. It is hard to leave my mother's home cooking and my dad's funny comments and my siblings' dependable (silly) arguments...sometimes it is just good to pretend like I'm 14 again and still living in that safe haven under my parents' roof. (The two kids calling me Mommy usually brings me back to reality. :) )
I have lots I'd like to blog about - but time requires that I do it bit by bit.
And tonight, I am travel-worn (it's an hour and a half back to my house from my parents' place) and laundry-worn and a little bit homesick, as silly as that might seem. So I'll share just one major revelation of the trip.
Ready?
Here it goes.
I. Like. Cabbage.
No, wait.
I love cabbage.
My mom made an awesome country dinner last night and it included cabbage, which I've always claimed to hate.
I realized, as I watched everyone else take a serving, that I couldn't remember actually ever trying it...I just always assumed that I had tried it at some point and disliked it - how else could I actually be so sure that I hated it?
So I was a big girl. I tried the cabbage. I liked it so much that I had two helpings.
Sam I Am is absolutely genius. You really don't know what you're missing until you try it.