Taking It Back to 1977.

This is me. (Pretty sure my mom recycled that outfit from my brother??)
Here I am again. Wearing a bit more pink ... and getting some Jeffrey Howard love ...
This is Audrey. Wearing the exact same outfit that I was in 1977.
And the same booties.
Getting some Joshua Howard love.

Ahh. Finally someone who looks like me. And the pictures to prove it.

Mr. Spicey.

I have never seen a pout that I love more than his ... he slumps his shoulders, creates fake tears and then turns his back ... just for effect! It's fantastic!

Our Vacation: In A Word (or Two).

First Smores.
Delicious.
Cleaning Nature.
Job completed.
Lounging.
Running.
Picking Flowers.
Making Noises.
Hanging.
Dirt Playing.
Outside dining.
Ping-Pong diving.
Nerf Battles.
Candle Stacking.
Elk "Hunting."
On Roading.
Gorgeous Sunrise.
Champion Stacker.
Massive Pancakes.
Family Photo.
Tough Hikers.
Vacation Over.

And for the Illinois crew ... this is what we like to call "The Eli." It's been showing up in just about every picture for the last week! Nice, huh?

It's Tough Being the Middle Kid.

Yesterday, Joshua marched off to Pre-K.

Okay. It was more of a slow trudge as he screamed along the way ... but marching sounded better. He couldn't find his skateboard shoes. Then he gave in and decided to wear his crocs. Which was a good choice until only the right croc could be found while the left croc was apparently not interested in attending Pre-K. Meanwhile ... Eli had switched into his 4th pair of blue shorts (he wears nothing else these days) and Audrey ... woke up screaming from her morning nap. Nice.

Yesterday, I learned that I need to be more organized. That there is no possible way to remove three FULLY CLOTHED children from my home ... with smiles on their faces ... if I am not prepared. I'll even ditch the smiles. I'm just shooting for fully clothed. So tonight ... we'll be sleeping in our clothes. I think that will help us get out of the house on time??!!

So since the pictures we took before getting in the car did not show J. How at his finest ... full of scrunched up facial muscles and a lovely display of tears ... I opted to try it again at school.
Ahh. A much happier kid. Oh ... and the backpack ... is currently in the wash. Someone's mother forgot to wash it BEFORE school and it was sporting some serious grunge action.
My crew. Yes. AEB is screaming. I'm dripping in sweat ... I think it was 100+ and 90% humidity at 8:45am and Eli ... well ... he just wanted to get in on the action. Thankfully, the leader of this crew graciously offered to be my pack mule and haul a few things into school for me. Really. When you have a 3rd kid ... you should be sent home from the hospital with another arm. That would be so helpful.
J. How and Miles ... hope you have the BEST year!
And ... Miss Audrey is 2 months old today. Really? Two months, already?
She is developing quite the personality...
Looks at me often like I'm crazy ...
Has the best crooked smile ...
And has been the PERFECT addition to our crew. And we love her even more now that her colic symptoms are gone. Not that our love was conditional or anything ... but ... well ... she's lucky she's cute because all that screaming was driving us a little crazy! Happy TWO months, Audrey Elizabeth!

As for Eli ... I'm sure he's going to do something super cool any minute now and he'll get a post all his own. Until then ... I'll just keep putting money away in his "Middle Child Therapy Jar."

Connected.

We've been away. On vacation. Seven days with no internet and sporadic cell phone service. I actually read a book. (Okay ... to be fair ... I read the first 46 pages ... but it was 46 more pages than I have read in a LONG time!) And ... I got to spend a LOT of time with this crew ...
It was lovely.

Something Cool.

I've always wanted to be cool enough to work at Anthropologie and when the gal who was helping me there today referred to herself as a VISUAL MANAGER ... it made me want to work there even more. I need to come up with a cool name for my current job. Any suggestions??
My current job includes such perks as receiving flowers ....
Listening to an older brother call his sister "beautiful" and "gorgeous" ...
Entertaining some of our favorite friends from Colorado ...
Supervising golf instruction in our basement ... (perhaps another post should be written about the day a golf net made me cry?? No worries ... I've since accepted it's ugliness and moved on! Well ... sort of).
Supplying ample encouragement to the golf trainees ...
And providing such nighttime activities as glow sticks ... in 100+ degree weather ... wearing nothing but shirts and undies ... in the front yard ... for all to see. Um. I was fully clothed. It was the offspring sporting the undies look.

So ... what should I start calling myself? And if I could get some clothes to go along with my new title that were even half as cool as what I tried on today ... that would really help.

Seven.

Audrey Elizabeth is hours from being seven weeks old. Last week, Ben and I took Audrey to meet with Dr. Urig. Our last appointment. Strange. In a sense, I hardly know the man and yet he has played such a huge role in our lives. Dr. Urig called us hours after we learned the diagnosis of our Gracie Anne and prayed with us on the phone. He walked with us through my pregnancy with Joshua and was the first to welcome him into the world. He rearranged his surgical schedule to make room for Eli's birth. He grieved alongside us last spring. He and his wife prayed for our family over breakfast as he sought wisdom on how we should proceed. He prayed with me after we learned our baby's heart had stopped beating. He sat with Ben, in the waiting room, after everything went as well as could have been expected. And he smiled, about as big as one can, when he learned that we were having a little girl. And we all rejoiced in the miracle of her birth. Even more so when it was discovered that my uterus is paper tissue thin and had it not been for God's hand of protection on both me and Audrey, life in our house might have looked quite a bit different. So last week ... I told him it was bittersweet that we were done with this stage of life. The stage of needing an OB. He laughed and said, "It's how it always goes. Dr. Urig just fades off into the distant past."

We are beyond thankful for Dr. Urig. A man after God's heart and a man who has walked alongside us through many of our darkest days and has rejoiced with us as we have seen God's blessing ... THREE TIMES OVER!