Freedom.

Today, we are thankful for Freedom. So many different kinds of freedom.

Religous Freedom

Political Freedom

Sexist Freedom  (regardless of what the Dem's might say)

Racial Freedom (also, regardless of what the Dem's might say)

Freedom to sit inside my home with my children and play without concern of a war being fought in my backyard.

Freedom to have all of our Armed Forces filled with those that choose to and are willing to fight to protect all of these freedoms that we love, rather than having those fight that are forced into it, thus leaving their heart out of the fight.

Freedom to choose what path is right for our family.

We are so very lucky to live in the wonderful United States of America and have all of the freedoms and liberties that we do.

I truly hope that every one got out and voted today, whether Republican, Democrat, or somewhere in between.

I had the opportunity to take Derek with me. Obviously, he was unaware to what was really going on but it's important that we all show our children the importance of voting.

I didn't take Dallace because she was already at school for the day.

When I picked her up I explained that I had gone and voted-which she seemed to think was very exciting until she realized I was saying VOTING, not BOATING. She did really like my sticker, though!

Medicinal convenience

Today, we are thankful for all of the conveniences available to us. The last day or two, Derek has had a stomach bug and at any point day or night we are able to run out and get pedialyte, Gatorade, and diaper rash cream. While it's no fun at all to have a sick little boy I cannot imagine not having these items readily available or even worse, having no where with heat to stay due to a massive storm  or simply not having the means to afford these necessities. Our hearts and prayers certainly go out to all of those families in the North East that are still suffering through the effects of Hurricane Sandy. I've been seeing all sorts of wonderful works of kindness from people all over our nation. I've seen ads for people with vacation homes offering to allow families with young children to stay there for free if they can find a way to get down to the homes. People are coming out to help from all the way in California to try to restore power to those who do not even have heat to keep their family comfortable. It breaks my heart to think about trying to explain to a 3 year old why you can't turn the lights on at night or make the home (which is most likely destroyed) just a little warmer. We are so incredibly blessed to have all of the comforts of home within our reach. I pray that our family never experiences anything as devastating as those families are experiencing right now.

Luke

Today, I am thankful for this very handsome, oh-so- charismatic husband of mine.


I really lucked it when I found this guy.

Some of his favorite things include:
Watching football
Watching basketball
Watching baseball
NOT watching soccer
Playing with the kiddos
Taking me out on super fun and creative dates
Relaxing on the couch
Laughing
Taco Bell
Cuddling
Watching ANYmovie that has Chris Farley in it.

The best part about this list is that I, too, love all of these things ( minus 1).

Luke is such an amazing husband and father. He knows what needs to get done to take care of our family both now and in the future and although it seems like an uphill climb at this stage he is impressing me every day with his determination and ability to put his head down and get up that mountain. I'm so very thankful that I met him and feel so incredibly blessed that he chose me to spend eternity with!

Derek

 Today, we are thankful for this little man. Derek is now 16 months old going on about 7 years. He thinks he is bigger than his britches and without fail nearly gives me a heart attack each and every day. He's fearless when it comes to climbing and jumping. He absolutely adores Dallace, Daddy, and Mommy (in that order). He's too handsome and so sweet when he wants to be.

Some of Derek's favorite things:

playing Monster with Dallace (he's got pretty strong ROAR)

climbing on anything and everything

playing at the park

eating peaches & grapes

wrestling with dad

playing catch

giving Mommy kisses

his must-have giraffe toy at nap/bed time

 Avoiding car rides

Dancing

Running away with something he should not have in hand

He was the cutest little shark for Halloween this year 

I can not believe how fast he has gone from baby to toddler. He is such a blessing in our lives and I don't know what we did before him. I can't wait to see the man he grows up to be!

Dallace

How in the world is it already November?? 2012 has absolutely been flying by! Our little family has had such a busy and wonderful year, and we have so much to be thankful for.

Today, though, I am thankful for our sweet little angel, Dallace.

 Dallace has got so much personality packed into her pint-size little body. She's funny, compassionate, helpful (most of the time), and so quick to forgive a certain little brother that doesn't know how to ask first for anything, yet. 

Some of her FAVORITE things include:

Going to Target with Mommy (has to be mommy only. NO Derek or Daddy)

Helping make cookies

Riding her bike

Having her nails painted and painting Mommy's nails

Playing dress up

Coloring

Going to school

Going to the gym

Going to the park

Going pretty much anywhere

Telling anyone and everyone that her birthday is June twenty-fird (June 23rd) and that she will be 4

 She is my little buddy and will go do anything as long as it's with me. It breaks my heart to think that there will be a time in the not so distant future when she might to care to hang out with me as much.

 She's doing wonderfully at school. Her teacher tells me that she's so friendly and not at all shy around the other kids. They also tell me she becomes extremely concerned if someone else is out sick or gets hurt and tries to figure out what to do to help them. I hope that she never loses this trait.

I can not believe she's growing up so fast. She grows so much everyday and is learning how to be a little lady and now I just have to make sure that my example is the best for her. Fingers crossed!

Fun at CCF

Just in case you've ever wondered what the end of a 13 hour day at The Cheesecake Factory looks like. That's it.

Dallace's Hair

 Derek isn't the only kiddo in this house with post-worthy hair! After bath time the other night, Dallace informed me she would like me to blow dry her hair like mommy's. Without hesitation, I seized the opportunity and one-upped her by flat ironing it (after generously applying some heat protectant, of course!). I love her sweet curly hair, but she does look awfully cute (and much older) with the straight hair. She examined her new hairstyle in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair for a few seconds while saying, "ohhh, pretty!"

Derek's First Haircut

Derek, recently, had his hair cut for the first time. I went in expecting the worst. A little backstory for you:

My little brother is 13 years younger than me. This large age gap has allowed me several opportunities and experiences of young children and majorly traumatic events in their life. Connor's first haircut was definitely a day to remember. There was lots of screaming and crying-both from Connor and my mother.

So, with this event in my mind I took Derek in to the Hairy Elephant, a local kids only salon and decided to go ahead and admit defeat before we even began allowing for no disappointment. When we arrived we sat in the waiting area, which was filled with nearly every toy you can imagine, and watched as two brothers sat there screaming while their haircuts were completed. This only encouraged my emotional distancing from the upcoming situation. The boys ahead of us finished up and Derek and I walked back to the awesomely red racecar chair he would sit in. Tosha, the stylist fastened the smock around his neck and it was time to begin. A few light spritz' of cool water to prep the hair for trimming and we were off.

Snip.

.Snip.

.Buzzz.

DONE!

Tri 1

As I mentioned in the previous post, Luke is in the first trimester of ten in the D.C. program at Logan. Everyone we've encountered in the 8 months prior to him starting told us the same thing. They told us to prepare ourselves, it is a full time job, and we will NEVER see him again.

Well, maybe that last part was a bit dramatic, we do see him but it's just an hour or two here and there. Then, on the weekends,  when we would be able to spend the most amount of time together, I'm off to work. So, this has been quite the adjustment. Now, we've lived through a time with a very similar schedule to this, before. When he worked out at the area,  he would be up around 5:00 a.m, and arrive home a bit after 6:00 p.m. or sometimes as late as 1:00 a.m. There was a lot of texting, calling, and picture messages to stay connected. Now, we are getting back into the swing of that schedule, and learning to make the most out of a quick 10 minute drop by visit or lunchtime. Luckily, we live about 3 minutes away from Logan, making the quick hello super convenient.

After doing ALL of his undergrad online, due to working 60+ hours a week, this "real school" thing is both awesome and awesomely difficult. As anyone who's taken an online course can tell you-they can be so easy. Most of them, anyways. Now, Luke is back in a "real classroom." He says to some degree it makes it easier, actually having a teacher there to bounce questions off of or request feedback. And to some extent it's much more difficult. Either way, I couldn't be more proud of him. He set his mind on what he wanted to do and he worked harder than anyone else I've ever seen to get our family here. It makes me feel such an intense sense of pride to know that he is the example Derek will see growing up of how to work. He's such an amazing person, husband, and father. It's also been reassured to me, here, that he is my best friend in the world. No one can make me laugh the way he does! I definitely miss my favorite ladies up in Washington and I would do anything to convince their husbands to change their career paths and decide to become chiropractors and go to Logan..immeidately. However, no matter how compelling my arguments were, they said they would just hold my place in our little circle until we return one day. I guess I can settle for that. We are already a month into Tri 1 and I have a feeling the rest is going to fly by!

Just Sad.

To clarify, it is not I that am sad it is this "blog." I have a hard time calling it a blog, if anything it's acted  more like electronic post it notes that will forever be stuck to the internet.  Very few details of events between here and there. Nothing consistent or really meaningful. So, here I am once again attempting to jump start my "blog." We'll see how it goes this time around. I would also love to guarantee tons of posts of updates, pictures & growth stat's- however to be realistic let's just do a quick round of catch up.

Luke: Luke is busy in Tri 1 of school. For those of you unaware of how his program goes-there are 10 trimesters and anyone who goes to Logan or husband goes to Logan will undoubtedly begin their introduction to you with asking you what Tri he's in. It's definitely bittersweet to FINALLY be here and IN the D.C. program. The first 8 months we were here consisted of undergrad classes Luke needed to finish up. He's gone most days from about 5:30 or 6 until about 6:00 at night (unless, I have to work then he comes home at the appropriate time). It's definitely going to be a long strenuous road ahead, however, time's already flying by here in Missouri (still weird, by the way!) and we've been through way busier/more hours in the workday than this before, so I'm sure we can manage.

Brittney: I'm being the mom. Which thanks to an awesome new book my mother in law sent me I realize is always being done the right way if it's what works for MY family. I've always struggled with comparing myself to what the what I lately refer to as the "Pinterest Worthy Mom". Just because I don't have my spice cabinet labeled with with vinyl lettering which I did while my kids simultaneously took 4 hour naps after eating a perfectly well rounded meal which most likely was shaped and garnished to look like something awesome like a dinosaur, doesn't make me any less of a mom. I am working at the Cheesecake Factory, which I LOVE! It works great around Luke's schedule and the extra cash on a student budget is definitely a welcomed extra. I had two super fun visitors this month: 1. My high school friend, Miss Ashley Stasiak! She came up for about 5 days and it was great getting reminisce and laugh like I was 17, again. Then, this last week my mom got to come up after we found super cheap tickets the day before she arrived. Hooray Southwest!

Dallace: This little girl is hilarious. She has her first joke, which she came up with herself.

Knock. Knock.

Who's there?

It's me!

hahahahahaah

She loved her time with Nana for sure! I can't believe she'll be 3 in just a few short weeks. She did have all of her alphabet down and in order but all of the sudden she ends it with:

....w x y and 8, 9, 10.

So, we are retouching that area of study this week. However, she can recognize all the letters and trace all of them, and write most of them by herself. So, I think she may just be being silly. Her favorite places to go are Target, the Mall/Mommy's work, and the "blue park" which is just over by the mall. Sometime this week we will be hitting up one of the several aquatic centers around the area. They are like mini water parks that are super cheap and convenient.

Derek: My little man. He will be one year old in just a few weeks. How did that happen?! He started walking at 10 months and didn't slow down from there. He tries so hard to run to chase after Dallace or anyone walking out of the front door. He is such a little beggar when it comes to food it doesn't matter if you're eating zucchini salad or pizza-he wants a bite. He could swing all day if you'd let him at the park and loves to go for walks in the stroller with big sister pushing him. I don't foresee him enjoying this too terribly much longer so we're trying to take advantage while we can. He has 6 teeth and has had three ear infections in the last 3 months. I am pretty sure tubes are in our near future. 

So, that's how everyone here in Missouri is doing. I will be making a genuine effort to keep this beast updated. With pictures in following posts (seeing as my camera is in the diaper bag in the car and that is terribly far away when it's as hot as it is outside).