The Weekend.
February 22, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Eve, It's What's For Dinner, Judah, New Mexico, Photos, Texas | 16 Comments
It was fun.
It was busy.
It was supremely tasty.
Friday night we ran lots of errands and then Daniel took our family to a local Mexican restaurant. So fun! We ate our dinner while listening to live music. Loved that.
The food was mouth-watering delicious and authentically New Mexican.
We had a wonderful time until Judah melted down in the parking lot. Such is life.
Saturday we headed out to the Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo. Amazing. Seriously breathtaking. It’s a wild sensation to be driving across the plains, surrounded by enormous fields and stinky cows, and then BOOM. A huge canyon. Red walls, massive rocks… a refreshing change of scenery.
The kids had a fantastic time “trailing.” Daniel and I realized that I don’t do so well with “off-trailing.” I’m not so adventurous, apparently. Along the trail we saw some interesting animal tracks; some that struck large amounts of fear into my heart. Like, the fresh ones that looked like them belonged to a large cat. I got the chills looking at those! Yikes! Good thing Judah brought his “trusty ‘ol gun,” as he fondly calls it.
Daniel explored a cave and took the kids up the side of a cliff. Fun times in the beautiful weather. Unfortunately, because the trail was so low, we lost the sun and warmth fast. Brrr! I couldn’t get back to the truck fast enough. Eliza and I were popsicles! Daniel and I took a second before leaving to take a couple of photos, proof that we were actually at the canyon with our kids. I live with a goof-ball. A mean goof-ball. These photos were right before he stuck his ice-cold hands onto my back!
Since we were so close to Amarillo, and Target (!), we headed into town. Hiking made us very hungry so we stopped at Blue Sky for some burgers. Daniel had heard it was great and indeed, it was! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of grease.
And the Anaheim chili sticks… awesome!! Wowza. I wanted to lick the bottom of the basket. I refrained. It was touch and go, though.
Sunday, we recuperated.
An awesome weekend! I am so thankful that Daniel is home. Life is so much happier, goofier, tastier, and more adventurous.
P.S. Not so sure about the big photos. I’ve never really cared about them. But, with the (blasted, horrid, I am horrible at making them) blog boards, bigger was better. We’ll see about the bigger photos… I find it annoying to have to scroll down to look at the whole thing.
My Funny Valentine.
February 15, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Lovers, Photos, Valentine's Day | 13 Comments
My funny Valentine
Sweet comic Valentine
You make me smile with my heart
You’re my favorite work of art
Don’t change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Each day is Valentine’s Day
How was your Valentine’s Day? Do anything special? We didn’t. But it was still sweet ’cause I’m with him.
P.S. Lyrics from the song, My Funny Valentine
Eve’s Valentine’s Day Tea Party 2010
February 14, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Eliza Dove, Eve, New Mexico, Photos, Valentine's Day | 18 Comments
The Valentine’s Day tea party was a success.
The girls had a wonderful time from what I surmised.
Eve said it was all she had hoped for.
And I lived.
I deem that a success. Hooray!
I kept the party small and simple. I work better that way. I read a line on someone’s blog this last week and while I can’t remember the exact wording it went along the lines of: sometimes simple is not only good enough, it is the best. I took that to heart.
Five little girls and one big girl were invited. A two hour party. Simple. Good.
I bought little princess crowns at Hobby Lobby and heart shaped bracelets at Target. I set those out for the girls to help themselves to. They played for a bit in the beginning. Mozart wafted through the air while the girls decorated sugar cookies with either pink or white frosting and some sprinkles. Consumed. Chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting, chocolate covered strawberries. Fancy tea cups steaming with red berry tea. Consumed.
They played a bit more while I cleaned up the food.
Little girl imaginations crafted their pretty party favor boxes with glitter and glue and candy hearts, a few stickers and some ribbon.
Inside the boxes went homemade chocolate caramels.
That was that. Simple. A bit magical. And good.
I liked it. We’ll do it again next year.
Did I mention…
January 30, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Life Stuff, New Mexico, Photos | 17 Comments
That we painted our livingroom wall blue…
‘Cause, we did. And I love it.
Promise I’ll show you more when I’m all done decorating!
Daniel and the kids re-unite video…
January 7, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Deployment, Eliza Dove, Eve, Judah, Military Life, Perspective, Video | 44 Comments
I thought you all might like to share in our joy.
I video-ed on my mighty little Flip video camera when Daniel and the kids first saw each other at my parents house.
Just try not to cry.
Untitled from andrea hub on Vimeo.
This video is after a few minutes had passed and Eliza was in the process of warming up. Thank the Lord for Skype! Daniel and I directly attribute Eliza seeing him and talking to him via Skype to her recognizing and quickly being comfortable with him.
Eliza warms up from andrea hub on Vimeo.
The “reintegration” process has been absolutely seamless. The kids have fallen right back into rhythm with Daddy; the only issue I can see is that they have to learn to trust Daniel again. Trust that’s he’s here to stay… they tend to get a little frantic, asking for him when he leaves the room or to run out to the truck. Especially Eliza.
Right now I am laying on a couch on Columbus AFB in Mississippi watching the Texas/Alabama game with Daniel. We are well on our way back to New Mexico and it has been a wonderful trip thus far. I will write a detailed blog about our trip once it’s over but truly, it has been an amazing time as a family. I am thankful for every minute I sit next to Daniel in our truck. The kids have been complete angels and we have made some great memories.
This is the first time I have been on my computer since Sunday (I KNOW!) so to say blogging has had to take the back seat would be an understatement but this family time minus any distractions has been a blessing. But I am very much looking forward to getting back into a rhythm. I am so much happier and peaceful now… as my brother David said today, I am a “totally different girl!”
And I really am. Daniel does that to me. I’m so thankful for my magnificent husband!
The red-heads re-unite!
January 1, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Crossfit, Daniel, Deployment, Photos | 45 Comments
Oh yes, my husband has red hair. Did you not know that?
Well, I did. And I love his hair. But he loves to shave it right off. For my birthday all I wanted was for him to grow out his hair. It was a sacrifice but he did it and oh….. it has made me happy!
So yes, the red-heads have re-united! And what did we do?
We went and worked out, of course!
You can’t see the bar but we are hanging from the pull-up bar over at the Crossfit gym…
My mom and dad took the kids for us and we have so far had a day and a half of togetherness. And it has been amazing. We have had such a blast just being together. I’m so thankful for my magnificent husband.
Thank you all so much for sharing in our excitement. You are a blessing to my life and you bring me much joy.
Today the kids and their Daddy are going to be re-united. We are all so very excited!!
Crossfit
December 21, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea, Crossfit, Eve | 8 Comments
Daniel has been doing Crossfit for the last three years or so. And I, amidst having babies, occasionally worked out with him. But I was always so stinkin’ sore the next day, like, I didn’t want to walk up the stairs… don’t touch me… don’t breathe wrong, kind of sore.
As a mother of three young and very needy children, I couldn’t be incapacitated like that.
I knew before moving up to New York that there is a Crossfit gym in a town near by to where I was going to be living. And I knew that I wanted to work out there while Daniel was deployed. I mean, I did lose fifty pounds of post-baby weight (my body absolutely hates me and does crazy things after I have my babies) while Daniel was deployed last time. I had to do something spectacular again, right?!
But I was scared.
As the sole care-taker for my kids I knew that I couldn’t be so sore that I wouldn’t be able to deal with my kids. But I really, really wanted to work out at the Crossfit gym. While on the website one day, I noticed that there were kickboxing classes being offered. I thought: Hey! I could do that. Kickboxing classes would be a good way to get my toes wet.
So I signed myself and my Dad up.
Guess what. The classes were kickboxing… with a side of Crossfit.
Oh, baby. Was I ever sore those first few times. The weekend I was most sore I had a couple of photoshoots, my birthday, and a wedding to second-shoot with Amanda.
Did I mention that my apartment has stairs leading up to it? Lots of stairs?
It has been six weeks now; I started out with a two time a week schedule, now I am working out at least three time a week though last week was four. I can see and count my abs. I can deadlift 135# which is not much in the Crossfit community but for me it is ten pounds more than my body weight, ten more pounds than I could deadlift the week before, and it feels good for this beginner. There is so much I can do that I never knew I could do before I started going to Crossfit.
Deadlift from andrea hub on Vimeo.
(In this video I was making fun of my 135# deadlift “PR” (personal record) but I am proud of myself for doing it. Also, you get to see first-hand that I am a dork.)
We women…. are strong. Did you know you are strong? Oh, you are. A whole lot stronger than you think you are.
I have discovered that I love Crossfit. It’s hard-core, brutal, exhausting and I never want to do anything else as a method of working out.
And while I started out with “looking good naked” as my goal, I have discovered that what I really want to do is get a five rep 52# shoulder press on my record instead of the 50# that I currently have. I want to do pull-ups without using any bands. I want to back squat more weight, do a heavier clean and jerk, on and on…. that looking better naked part has happened and keeps happening. Only now it’s just icing not the goal.
Eve has been watching me work out for these six weeks. She has seen Daniel doing Crossfit for half of her life… Saturday I took her with me to go do a work out. Her workout clothes had been picked out and tried on for three days; there was a countdown; I heard of not much else all week long.
She loved every minute.
Eve doing squats
Eve’s favorite exercise: Pull-ups. Her feet had just slipped through the harness but before that happened she was able to complete pull-ups nearly unassisted.
Can I just tell you, I really enjoyed working out with my daughter. Even though she is young, learning good fitness is a lesson you can’t begin too early. Eve’s countdown to our next work out is up and running!
( Eve and I post workout. She is holding the deck of cards that we used as the basis for our workout)
I have a feeling that we are going to be a Crossfit-ing family.
Bring it on!
Can I pull off the “rockstar” sunglasses?
October 25, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea | 32 Comments
I’ve been working up to trying “aviator” style sunglasses for like, I don’t know, 28 years now.
I’ve always wanted to try them out and see if I liked the way they look on me. Because the way sunglasses look on a person really matters, wouldn’t you agree?!
I found a pair of the aviators at Old Navy for 6.99 and I thought, “Hey, I’ll give them a whirl for that cheap price.”
The first time Eve saw them on me, she put her hand on her hip and said, “Um Mom, no.”
End of story.
The next time Eve saw me wearing them she put both hands on her hips and after a minute of checking me out said, “Mom, rock stars wear those kind of glasses.” Which clearly implied that I am not a rock star.
End of story.
To her, anyways.
I shot back with a witty, “Well, I’m Daddy’s rock star!” ( So there!) (Take that!) (Put that in your pipe and smoke it!)
She “hmmmff-ed” at me and walked away.
What-EVER.
So, can I pull the rock star sunglasses off or is Eve right?
We found a new place to play…
October 18, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea, Eliza Dove, Eve, Fall, Judah, Life in New York (the apple trees and dairy cow part... not the city!), Photos | 18 Comments
I love finding new places to take the kids on hikes…. they call it “trailing.” That term always makes me giggle a little.
With three (active) kids, one who is particularly prone to wander,
…walking on the sidewalk through town doesn’t work out so well. Besides…. snore…. boring.
The other day, while on the hunt for a road-side stand that sells spaghetti squash (still looking, by the way), my eyes found a new trail! One that I have driven by approximately 48,297 times over the course of my short-ish life of 28 almost 29 years.
Hooray! The kids loved it. And I loved it because the wanderer…
…could wander all she liked and I didn’t have to worry a bit. The trail was quiet, except for one very sneaky biker (Scared me twice! Who knew a bike could be so quiet on crunchy leaves!). We played and played.
And took pictures… I like this one in particular. Miss Eliza is giving her brother the look that sums it all up… “the sideways look.” You know, the look that says, “I’ve got your number.” And oh, she does. She’s a force to be reckoned with, that one.
It was a fantastic time. We couldn’t wait to go back!
So today, after the kids did the jumping, begging, clapping hands thing, I said, “twist my rubber arm… we can go again!” Immediately I was crowned “Mother Of The Year.” And I stayed “Mother Of The Year” until the next time I told them, “No.” to something they wanted. Fickle, fickle small children.
The girls were so staid; quietly walking down the trail hand in hand.
The boy? Like a bull let out of the pen!
Three year old boys are such a phenomenon. He makes me laugh, he makes me cry… Long-suffering sigh… All I’ve got to say is, “Thank you, Lord, for little boys and their birthdays.”
I would be at fault if I failed to mention that Miss Eliza Dove chose her red shoes today. And I commended her, you know. Because every day is a good day for red shoes, I say. Even “trailing” days.
We had a great time until we hit the wall. The “cold” wall. And then it was time to take our chilly selves home. We had nachos and pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting to eat, and “101 Dalmations” to watch. Nobody fussed, not even poor Eliza… though sometimes it’s really tough to be the little guy.
Happy Sunday! Here’s to a great new week….
Beauty
October 14, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea, Photography, Photos | 30 Comments
A couple of months back I had my friend Amanda, who is a brilliant photographer, take some photos of just me. I wanted to send them to Daniel, just so he would be able to remember what a I look like. While we do use Skype, the connection is so slow that I am a blurry blog of girl to him on the computer screen.
I wanted a photo for him to look at and be able to say, “My wife is gorgeous.”
My photo session was a blast, at times it rained, at times it was sunshiny; I stood in the middle of a road, stuck my toes in a puddle, dressed up, I even put lipstick on…! And I laughed a lot. Three hours of feeling absolutely beautiful. With photos to look at and remember long after my special afternoon had passed.
Monday I was able to give Jen her special day…
Four children in six years, a homeschooling mama; she’s a wonder.
There was no rushing, no children; we had so much fun. And now Jen has beautiful photos to hang up on her wall so when, as she said to me, she’s “covered in spit-up” she can look at those photos and remember.
Do you have photos that show you just how beautiful you are?
I think it is desperately important for us women to see ourselves as we truly are, absolutely beautiful. Because we are.
You are!
I know, it is the state of our heart that is treasured above all else. But, it sure is nice to have a photo of this lovely woman that God created.
My life right now looks like…
October 11, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea, Deployment, Eliza Dove, Eve, Judah, Life Stuff | 28 Comments
this…
I am so busy my head spins. I am pulled in every direction, so thinly that at times I am certain you can see right through me. Everybody needs a piece of me, right now.
I have lost myself along the way of this deployment. I’ve known this for awhile. But, I can’t care. It’s not about me right now. Life is about the kids, about keeping Daniel’s spirits up, about keeping life moving along.
There are moments, more often than I’d care to acknowledge, even in the vein of this honest post, that I feel I just can not go on. Not another moment. Not another breath. I can’t deal with anymore, anything. And then I do. I do and I do and I do.
Sometimes I cry. I gnash my teeth. I yell. I pout. I stomp my feet at God. I feel that all of this is very unfair.
And then I move on. Because I must.
I am doing pretty good right now. Usually at this point in the month, I would be very funktified and yet, I am not. Even amidst the craziness of life, the kids and I have been having a lot of fun; we are enjoying Fall and enjoying homeschooling. We have had a long string of really good days dotted with some terrific outings. And there are plenty more on the horizon. With five birthdays in the next two months and all of the holidays… none of us can wait!
But keep praying for me, will you? I sure do need it.
More than half way through now…
Life is life…
September 28, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Deployment, Eliza Dove, Eve, Life Stuff, Photos, Vermont | 15 Comments
I have three drafts sitting in my folder. Three times I have tried to write a post and bleh... they stunk like a skunk.
But this one is the one. I am determined to post it, good, bad, or otherwise.
I am not sure if, in the nearly three years I have been writing on this tiny space that is mine all mine, I have ever gone this long without posting. All I can say is, I am not me without Daniel. He’s my lighthouse.
Last weekend and part of this week, the girls and I spent time back in Vermont. Oh, it was happy. Very, very happy. I finally felt like I was home. Though the getting there was a wee too exciting for my liking. Little Miss Liza-Lu determined we needed a slight detour and landed herself in the ER for a dislocated elbow. It was terrifying because we didn’t know what happened. I thought she broke her hand or her arm! It took me right back to the last time Daniel deployed and Judah had his seizure. Thankfully the PA popped it right back in and she was her chubby happy self again. My poor heart though!
Once in Vermont much happiness ensued…
We went to the apple orchard that our little family has picked at since Eve was one year old. With the exception of last year, of course. I am planning on a “through the years post” of our annual apple orchard sojourn.
It was so thrilling for my heart to see how well Miss Eliza Dove fit in with the Vermont-ness.
It was fulfilling for me to see her perfect in her birthplace…
Our visit to Vermont was the best ever. Our friends spoiled us rotten. Rotten. It was wonderful! I was even able to connect with some friends and neighbors. Not much has changed and that was comforting. Though, you should have seen Eve’s face and heard her exclaim with indignation, when we drove by our little red house, that, “SOMEONE LIVES THERE!” Yup. They do. But it was much homier when we lived there. Poor little red house. I wish I missed it but after four years and two more children, we definitely outgrew the space. I’ll never outgrow the memories though.
Hey, catch this…. Liza got her ears pierced while we were in VT! Hooray! I even held her during the entire process. MAJOR victory. I am a big advocate (just like you) of my kids living pain-free. But I wanted her to have the earrings more. She barely cried… literally two tears. Eliza is one tough cookie. I can hardly picture her without earrings now. So happy!
Let’s see… what else did we do… We took rides on the Morton’s antique fire engines… like we did on the 4th of July a couple of years ago. The kids look so young; it was just Eve and Judah though Lizie was gestating in my belly.(Watching that slideshow made me realize that I really need to grow my hair back out. I love it long, it’s truly me). We made earrings and bracelets, Amanda made an awesome necklace. We saw a calf, just an hour old, try out it’s very shaky and brand new legs.
We visited Shelburne Farms (one of our favorite places and also where Eve did pre-school!), saw all the animals, I even braved the hen’s nest and came out with two eggs! And escaped with no pecking!
Vermont will always be in my heart. I really loved every minute we spent there this last week. Thank you Ginger and Erin and Ken for making me and the girls feel happy and at home.
We are back to normal life now. Phew. Today was our first real day of homeschooling. It was really wonderful! Eve remarked to me this afternoon that she didn’t want to go back to regular school anymore. I think we have embarked on a grand new adventure.
Life is life right now. And I miss my husband like crazy. I had no idea a heart could yearn in the way mine does. Sometimes I am okay and sometimes the loneliness washes over me and I can’t breathe… days where I can’t breathe for missing him so deeply.
Daniel, to say I miss you doesn’t even scratch the surface. What we have… it’s a soul thing. Every bit of me loves every bit of you…
Somethin’ is different…
September 16, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea, Life Stuff, Photos | 25 Comments
Do I look different to you?
No?
Are you sure?
Somethin’ is sure different, ya know.
Okay, it has nothing to do with my looks.
It has everything to do with my name.
Daniel and I finally share the same last name!
Hooray! It’s only been eight years, three months, and six days coming.
The reason I went down to New Mexico was so that I could get a New Mexico driver’s license. Lame, huh. Believe me when I tell you, my back was against the wall and it was the only way I could once again be a legal driver.
Long, stupid story, man.
Part of the process of changing my driver’s license from Alaska to New Mexico was changing my last name to match Daniel’s. That was no easy feat, let me just tell you. My awesome friend, Janna, and I had a WILD and CRAZY time getting my name changed.
I can laugh now. Wowza!
Anyway, I now totally belong to Daniel. My brand spankin’ new Social Security card says so. My heart says so too. I feel totally different. Happier. Peaceful. Settled. More in love (if that’s possible!).
I really feel like I should don a white dress and walk down the aisle again.
Eat some delicious wedding cake (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, thank you!) and open a present or two.
Though, I would settle for a simple engraving on our wedding bands. Or even just a kiss.
Yeah, definitely a kiss.
Saying “Good-bye” to my camera…
August 23, 2009 | Filed Under Andrea, Good-bye camera!, Photos | 27 Comments
Before you feel too bad for me (if you were so inclined), know that this was my choice. An easy and happy choice.
But, that doesn’t make me feel any less sad. Or take away the separation anxiety I am experiencing!
Here’s the story…
I have a friend named Bob. Bob has taken pictures for us in the past, actually, it was when Daniel had just gotten back from his last deployment. He’s a great photographer!
Bob is also a missionary. And he is leaving tomorrow for a year long missions trip to Asia.
Bob owns a Canon 20D but really wanted to be able to have a Canon 40D to take with him on his trip. As you know, missionaries aren’t generally rolling in the dough. I caught wind of this and thought… Hey! I have a Canon 40D!
I knew that I would be sad to not have my camera for a year. I love my camera; I refer to it as my fourth child, in fact. But, I knew that letting Bob take my camera with him was the right thing for me to do.
Because, after all, it really is only a camera. And it’s not really my fourth child. He is going to let me use his 20D. And I will still be able to take photos.
I am hoping to some day soon be able to afford the Canon 5D. So, I will have that to look forward to. And I know that my camera is going to bring happiness to Bob. That in turn makes me happy. And I will have my camera back next year. Let’s not forget that!
So, good-bye to my beloved camera. Or rather, as my Grandma Chips says, “No good-byes! Only see ya laters!”
See ya later, camera.
(I’m still going to cry…)
Here are the last pictures taken with my camera… Hilarious, right!!
The top picture was a tin of bobby pins that I bought yesterday. I didn’t even notice the picture on the front until last night. But when I did… I laughed and laughed. And then today I had my friend Amanda take a picture of me because…why not?! This set of photos will always make me smile.
What a great way to say “see ya later” to my camera!
Our day in very few words…
August 22, 2009 | Filed Under 26 week deployment and alphabet adventure!, Andrea, Eliza Dove, Eve, Judah, Photos | 11 Comments
I can hear that sigh of relief, you know!
I do tend to get wordy at times.
Good thing I married a talker. Not only are we a spectacular match, we rarely run out of things to talk about. Happy company, he is!
Anyway, our day was good.
See…
I have beautiful flowers gracing my table.
I found out how much my kids weigh without having to go to the doctor. We were inside a brewery, actually!
I have a sweet baby girl with an insatiable curiosity. Just like her mama.
There were extra opportunities for hugs and kisses.
I stepped in fresh horse refuse. Oh wait… that’s not good. It squished between my toes. Disgusting.
I found Maclaren’s next baby model for their stroller line. If only I could get Eliza’s hair under control. We might have a deal then.
Other good things…
We made a spontaneous visit to the Genesee Country Village – adding another “G” thing to our “G” week, my mom brought us dinner (Yay!), the kids played abnormally well together at bath time, my dad came over and played with the kids while I slipped away to buy… diapers (how exciting!) and the sunset tonight was phenomenal.
Do you know what’s best about this day though? It’s one day closer to being with Daniel again.
