Thank goodness for bunnies!

Praise the good Lord above for the new bunnies He brought to the pet store in the mall!

Seriously.

For the last month Cale has asked to go see the dogs at the mall nearly every day, but what he really means when he asks for the dogs is that he wants to see the bunnies.  Perhaps with Easter just around the corner the bunny supply has been low and there haven't been any bunnies for the last month.  Cale points to the bunny display area and very sweetly does his sign for "bunny", and when I tell him there are no bunnies he gets that infamous frown on his face and makes me lift up the little bunny "house" to prove to him that there are indeed no bunnies.  He doesn't throw a fit, he doesn't cry, but he frowns and keeps his sign for "bunny" up in the air for everyone to see until we are completely out of the mall and  sometimes even the entire car ride home.

But last night when Cale asked to go see the dogs we were ecstatic to see that there were four new bunnies for him to ooh and aah over!!!  He was so happy and kept his nose smashed up against the glass until the bunnies were no longer exciting and he realized there were fish and turtles to still be seen.  Who knew a bunny could make a kid so happy.  Maybe that means when it's time to get his picture taken with Easter Bunny he won't be freaked out.  Here's hoping.

I love how the littlest of things can bring so much joy to his life.

Mission Impossible

There is a big difference between keeping your house clean and keeping it "open house" clean. I'm naturally a clean person, largely due to my mother who would call my room a pig sty if I had one lonely sock laying helplessly on my bedroom floor, but constantly mopping floors, scrubbing sink basins, and rotating loads of laundry is exhausting my inner need to be clean. Add into the mix two incredibly messy toddlers and you have what I like to call a "mission impossible". Please pray that our house sells soon so that I don't become clinically insane.

On Sunday I turned 26 years old. Alex's birthday is only a few weeks before mine and since I was in Seattle on his birthday, we decided to celebrate jointly by having our friends over to our house for dinner. Four adults and four children equated to a fabulous chaotic and fun time. I got some really nice headphones for the gym and also a new lens for my camera! It's supposed to be 60 degrees today and so I think I'll take the kids somewhere outside to test it!

My mom is coming to visit later today. Thank goodness for moms! I'm looking forward to having someone to play with during the day while Alex is at work. I'm not sure what we'll do but I'm positive her time here will include some shopping and good meals! Hooray!

I'm itching for spring to be here for good and although today is forecasted to be absolutely gorgeous, I'm preparing myself for at least a few more cold snaps and probably another big snow. Blah. I'm ready to play outside!

Hopefully I can capture some good photos today and have them up on facebook by tomorrow. The last few times I've tried taking pictures of Riley she's thrown a fit and told me "no". Cross your fingers!

happenings...

Wow, where do I begin? The last several weeks have been crazy, to say the least. We ventured to Cabo sans kids, put a 'For Sale' sign in our yard, and toured the Pacific North-West hospitals with Cale. I will try and sum up the above in the least amount of words possible. First up, Cabo!

Glorious Cabo. Six days and seven nights of pure bliss. Even though leaving the kids was complete torture and I cried like a baby, it was 100% worth it and I would do it again tomorrow in a heartbeat! I love my kids, obviously, but spending that time with my husband in such a beautiful place was like getting a second honeymoon! A honeymoon with our best friends, however. Not that you would ever bring along your best friends with you on your honeymoon but you catch my drift. We went with Thaiv and Crystal Armerding, who also left behind their two little ones, and they were the perfect traveling companions. I can't speak for them, but we never once got annoyed or irritated with their company. We spent our days lounging by the pool, zip-lining and rock climbing, playing beach AND pool volleyball, and just pretending to be kids again without the responsibilities looming back at home. It was a PERFECT way to spend a vacation! I can't wait for the next one. :)

We decided, rather quickly and unexpectedly, to sell our house. One day we were perfectly content in our home and the next day we were pounding a 'For Sale' sign in our yard. A God-given opportunity was given to us and now we find ourselves in the stressful and chaotic position of trying to sell a house in today's rough economy. I've found it nearly impossible to keep my house "open house" clean day in and day out and the stress of finding crumbs on my floor is about to put me over the edge. Two little kids who are constantly into anything and everything basically makes me a human vacuum as I chase after them. The God-given opportunity that was given to us is the chance to purchase a home in an incredible, clean, established neighborhood. This house has more than double the space we currently have and it has a view overlooking the city that just screams God's greatness! Missoula is truly a beautiful place. It's in the school district of an elementary school that is supposed to be THE BEST for children with special needs and I want so badly for Cale to go there. The school and our church are within walking distance and if you stretch it a bit so is Alex's office and our gym. It really would be the perfect house for our family. We signed a buy-sell agreement a few weeks ago contingent upon the sale of our house. We've had two open houses so far which has attracted a fair amount of traffic and a few people who have come through on their own. Please PRAY that our house will sell soon!

On a completely different note, Cale and I took to the skies and flew to Spokane and Seattle to see a neurologist and a gastroenterologist. The reason behind seeing the neurologist in Spokane was to either confirm or rule out the possibility of Cale having seizures. (I believe I posted about this awhile back) After having to see my baby's connected by hundreds of wires, the final word came back that Cale is NOT having seizures! Wahoo! We flew from Spokane to Seattle and saw the GI doctor, however this appointment was a complete waste of our time and money. Alex is going back in May with both kids and I will explain in a minute why I won't be there. Traveling with Cale, alone, was a bit frightening. First off, I LOATHE airplanes. I cry when I walk through security because I realize then that there's no turning back. I cry when the airplane starts to taxi and then when it finally reaches the runway. Taking off is the absolute worst. Tears are definitely flowing by then. This time, however, I was completely calm. I don't know if it was because I had to focus so much on Cale that I didn't have the time to focus on my own fears but I made it through all of my flights without one single panic attack. Success! I did however, not like having to sit through those doctor's appointments without Alex there for support. I hate that we have to take Cale to all of these specialists and I hate that, for the most part, no one wants to try and help him as much as we do. Sitting in those offices while I tell the doctor everything that is wrong with my child is absolutely heartbreaking and at times impossible. Doctors don't ever seem to catch on to the emotional side of these appointments. Oh well, we're doing the best we can for Cale and I suppose that's all that matters at the end of the day.

Oh, and why I won't be going with Alex when he goes back to Seattle in May is because I am lucky enough to be able to take a girls only trip with my mom and sister! Oh my goodness, we have talked about doing this for years but nothing has ever come to fruition. This time, though, we've taken the mindset of "Go big or go home!". Obviously, this trip wouldn't be chosen by everyone, but for me it's a mini-dream coming true! The last day of April I will fly to Seattle and then on to Los Angeles, CA to spend four days with my best girl friends! We are going to an episode of "ellen" (whom I just think is the funniest person on the planet) and then to disneyland one of the days. Thanks to my dad, who hooked us up with the "ellen" tickets, he also is hooking us up with a tour of the Warner Bros Studios lot! Again, I realize this may sound lame to you but it is so exciting for me! :) I guess this makes me a nerd but I already knew that about myself anyway.

So that's what's been going on lately in my life. I must apologize for my seemed disappearance off the face of the earth but I am indeed still here and will hopefully be better about blogging since we are, for the most part, settled back in.