So much to say.. so little time..

I started writing this post two weeks ago.. and then I stopped! Things got crazy and I've been slow on the pick up. It pains me to not finish a post, but some of it sort of timed out during the last two weeks. Undeterred, I'm sharing it anyway! :)

Here’s how it began…

I have SO many things to write about! We are busy, busy, unfortunately, not with packing. While packing is ever looming on the to-do list, it very rarely gets priority status. One of these days that is going to have to change, I’m afraid. But hey, until the clock strikes midnight, we are still over a month away.. so who needs packing?

UPDATE: This is now false. We have started packing and we even have an official pick up day from the moving company! Scaaaaaaaarryyyyyy. As of this very moment, four boxes are packed. That feels good, but we still have a long way to go before next Friday. The good thing is, I find a well-packed box insanely satisfying so that keeps me going. You should see the first four :) Not a lick of breathing room for anything.

So then I continued..

I got my haircut this morning and the walk over is probably 15-20 minutes depending on how tired I am. I forgot, when I was deciding on what route I would take, that I would walk right passed the Boys Brigade Hall. The BBH is the building our church used to meet in when we first moved here. I came up to that building and took a peek at it, and I felt a catch in my throat as I remembered our early days here. That first Sunday when we were so kindly invited to lunch by three very special undergrads. I just remember laughing and laughing through my jet lag/culture shock haze. Those first weeks that were so unsettled and uncomfortable, and yet so exciting. Exploring our new little town, meeting people, discovering how if you were confused about something there was almost always someone at the ready to take you under their wing (perhaps all the while shaking their heads at the incredulous thought that you might be confused about such a thing).

I am trying so hard to just let myself be in denial. To ignore the fact that we are leaving. I keep thinking, ‘Why does this feel like such a big deal? I’m just going back to where I came from..’ And yet, it does feel like a big deal. If I ponder things for too long, I quickly spiral into despair over all the things I will be missing.. friends’ babies growing up, sunny days in the sand, lamenting the darkness together in mid-January at Bible study. It is exactly like when we moved here, but opposite. When we came, every little thing I missed back home broke my heart into a million pieces. Now, as we leave and I am accustomed to missing those things, my heart breaks to consider missing this place and these people, knowing it will never be this way again. It is fluid here, a university setting. People are always coming and going, and even if we stayed, all of our friends would eventually go.

I am treasuring, though. All of these last things and the goodbyes that are just beginning. I am storing up these special treasures and memories. I know they will be sweet and they will ache when I revisit them in the years to come, but I am thankful for them.

The rest of the post is not so time-sensitive. I think we are starting to move into the ‘please can we just get this over with’ phase. I am still finding myself caught off guard by the feelings that come with transition, but the need for finishing tasks and figuring out logistics is doing a good job at squeezing the life out of most of my thoughts. I predict it will take some time to sink in that life is really changing :) Especially since it may change again in about 8 months if the Lord blesses Ian with a job this year.

I am so thankful that I have three sweet guys to enjoy through all these changes! There is a baby that lives in this house who is threatening to turn 6 months old. He keeps us on our toes and is always at the ready with a dimpled smile. I have honestly never known such a smiley baby. He whole body smiles. It's awesome.

Note the playdough next to his head :)

This is old news, but he has joined us in the upright world! It began with an easy reconfiguration of the buggy..

And has expanded tremendously!

He loves being in the exersaucer, which has had to be raised since this picture was taken for our ever-lengthening child.

And big brother often plays with his toys right on the edge of that contraption, which is pure entertainment for little brother (and welcomed free moments for the parents!).

Since Aed tends to be an avid little reader, Asher often gets thrown into the mix regardless of what ‘level’ book is being read. I caught Daddy reading a Bob the Builder (or BtB as we covertly refer to him now so as not to excite a certain someone) book to them, and snapped a priceless picture.

I love love love those furrowed brows! :) It just cracks me up to imagine the various scenarios that could lead to such faces, but the reality is, big brother DOES NOT like it when little brother touches him! He gets very territorial when reading with a parent and gets ever so slightly bent out of shape if baby brother joins the fun. Most of the time Aed is really quite happy and affectionate towards Asher, but touching without Aed’s permission is a no no! :) Try telling that to a child just figuring out that he can swat and pat and grab and hold.

We are also well on our way into the world of solid foods. Asher has a pretty good handle on eating and seems to be following in mama’s footsteps in his preference of fruit over everything else :).

First time in the bumbo!

It did take a few tries to get him to warm up to the idea, but he will straight up yell at you if you’re too slow with the shoveling these days.

Aed is being a super-fun two year old and learning all kinds of things. He’s a great counter and managed to learn the alphabet song without us knowing it :) He’s starting to learn letters and loves pointing them out on our shirts and the cereal boxes. He is doing pretty well so far in dealing with our upheaval, but we haven’t really gotten to the hard part yet. We would so appreciate your prayers for our sensitive little guy. I wrote him a story to get him used to the idea of what is happening, but I think we will still have some hills to climb with him. I love his sensitive heart, but it is, like most things, a blessing and a curse.

Anyway. He loves being creative! Aed gets so excited when I get out the paints, but a few weeks ago I handed him a sheet of stickers and let him have at it..

And he was so sweet to let baby brother join the fun.

He kept showing him the stickers, telling him what animal it was, and saying ‘baby bruva’s havin’ it!’ So cute.

Aed continues to be obsessed with all things wheel-laden and for a few weeks loved having us build structures for his cars to go in.

  

And, continuing with his creative streak, he took some self-portraits! :) Here’s a fine one..

This kid cracks me up.

I will be back with more about some of the fun outings we’ve had recently. There is lots to share before we go, so here’s to hoping my writing fingers are up to it!

Oh, and by the way.. documentation that I push a buggy in a cold place

This is the ultimate farmer’s tan (if you can even really put it into the 'tan' category).. all the way down to my wrists! :)