Off to Brazil

I won't be posting for a few weeks as we adjust to our big move, but here are a few pictures so you don't forget us!

Too tired of the airport! 

 Laying down on the patio outside our home

 Babies chillin on the airplane 

There He Goes Again!

One of the most annoying things about raising children is that they grow up.

I mean, you'd think that's the goal. It is the goal. After all, I don't want a forty-year-old son living in my basement.

But still, the growing up thing can be difficult. Because once they grow up, they have the nerve to get lives of their own.

All that care and effort I put into raising them, and then they decide to go live their own life. I mean, is that fair?

They do crazy things like, get married.

Move to another country.

Go off to college.

That last one they do at the end of every summer. Just when I'm getting used to having them around, they take off again and I don't see them until the holidays.

Rude!

At any rate, this guy is headed off to college for his sophomore year so I'm asking you, what advice do you have for him?

And by all means, your advice does not have to make sense. After all, my grown kids rarely do.

Happy Thoughts Thursday

So you've made it through half the week, but it's still not Friday yet. Sometimes by Thursday you need a little lift to make it to the weekend.

Our solution? Happy Thought Thursday. On Tuesdays you can drop a pet peeve or an irritation. On Thursdays, give us a praise, a thankfulness, or something that just makes you happy. Your contributions on Thursday can be deep and spiritual, such as thankfulness for your salvation, or as shallow as a cup of coffee or a good hair day.  Here are our happy thoughts for this week:

Stephanie: we arrived in Brazil!
                   
Kylee: my to do list before baby comes is getting shorter!

Jill:  My children are serving God!


 what about you? What makes you happy today?

You Know Your A Mom If...

Being a mom is a wonderful thing but it’s a hard thing. Here are some moments and memories that give you a glimpse into motherhood.

You might be a mom if…

Your purse doubles as your diaper bag.

Your bed is no longer yours…

Your alarm is “Baby Shark do do”…

You have to change your outfit at least one time before leaving the house.

You’re never on time!

Lego’s and Barbie shoes are your worst nightmare.

You call your kids by their siblings names…

You randomly find a rock, a hair bow and a my little pony in your purse.

You find showering before 10 P.M. an accomplishment.

You are a hide and seek master.

The ringtones on your phone are theme songs to Disney movies.

You no longer remember what personal space is.

You have the ability to know just what your child is getting into in the other room.

You are able to get away for an hour but you are still shopping for or thinking about your kids.

You have magical boo boo healing powers.

There you have a glimpse into my life as a mother.

Anyone want to add to the list?

Testy Tuesdays

It's that time again. Just below are the pet peeves that are driving us crazy this week. Add your own in the comments, or ditto someone else. Commiserate with each other, blow off steam and go on your merry way.

Kylee: When you go to get your clothes from the dryer, only to realize you never actually started it.

Stephanie:  packing, organizing, limited space on airplanes, cleaning, goodbyes, and running out of hot water.... to name a few 

Jill:  When your children grow up, get married, have kids, and then move to another continent.😢

Now it's your turn. What's bugging you?

Bon Voyage

  Tomorrow is the day! We load up ourselves and our three littles and our 25 pieces of checked luggage and off to the airport we go!  Yes, you read that right, 25.  Don't believe me?? 

  That's our belongings right there in those containers. We've widdled everything else down to this. There were some things that were hard to let go of, like the $20 quilt that for some reason I cried over leaving. Then my husband so sweetly found room for said quilt. My hero!

  Because of this craziness in our lives right now, I won't be posting for a few weeks. Maybe by the time I come back, I'll stop being so late with my posts! 😲 For the next several weeks we will be posting some pictures on Mondays of our progress getting settled in Brazil.  So make sure your still stopping by on Mondays! Until then, So long for now!
 

How Do You Say It?

Adios.

Sayonara.

Aloha.

I've been thinking about this lately. There's a lot of ways to say goodbye. Some ways are hard. Some are fun. Some are awkward. It takes a lot of finesse to be able to say goodbye properly.

Some people do it quick. They don't like to linger. They don't want to show emotion. They give a quick hug or better yet a nod and then they're on to other things. Men and toddlers tend to be the best at this type of farewell.

Some people just can't seem to rip the bandaid off. They've announced that they have to go. They've got their coat on. Their keys are in their hand, jingling, as they linger over bits of trivia and mind-numbing small talk. All the things of importance have been said, but they can't quite get to that last farewell. Those last few minutes are punctuated with long awkward silences because nothing more needs to be said. Then one or the other finally says, "Well ...". And then another round of awkward pauses and more awkward small talk.

Then there's the surprise goodbyes. The goodbye itself isn't a surprise, but the person saying it will suddenly throw out a comment containing the most important information of the entire weekend. "Well, you take care now. By the way, Uncle Ryan wrote you out of the will. Have a good trip!" They've been sitting on that little tidbit all weekend, and they finally work up the courage to say something as you're heading out to the car.

You also have the clingers. They go in for a hug and don't let go, sometimes squeezing your neck until you're gasping for air.

It's adorable when you're two.

Not so much when you're thirty.

I think the goodbyes that I hate the most, though, are the crying goodbyes. If someone cries when they tell me goodbye, then I end up crying.

I prefer to do my crying in private so usually I swallow back the tears, put on a brave smile and say a quick goodbye. Then after the leave I can go back in the house and sob. This doesn't work so well if you're saying goodbye to someone who always hurries back because they forgot something, though.

I'm thinking about goodbyes because I have to say some this weekend. I am not looking forward to them. I'll probably stand around making awkward small talk. Hopefully I won't have any last minute surprises, but I probably will hug and squeeze for as long as they'll let me.

I'll do my best to hold back the tears. After all, I've got a nine hour drive after they get on the plane. That's almost enough time to get all the tears out.

So how do you say goodbye?