a Sunday evening ...

this was back in May - apparently I had forgotten a few photos from May! I bought a new ball for Annicka's hamster, Ohna, and she really enjoyed it - it's neat too because it doesn't have to roll all over the floor - it can function like a "wheel" too!

of course, the boys had to get in on the photo taking! lol

beyond adorable!

this was one month ago ...

Zoey was all ready for church, sporting
some of her new bows I had made!

oh my word - how I love that girl!

(signing "baby")

sweetness ...

oh, how I wish I could remember every detail of the past fifteen minutes.
from Liam's request for me to cuddle, to laying down and cuddling
up to him - only for him to say "cuddle me".
"I am", I say, and he replies "your eyes aren't closed"!
oh, ok. hee hee.

I want to remember how his adorable face looked, as -even
with his eyes closed- he kept smiling. it would start
with that little smirk, or lips pinched up like they were trying
to not smile ... but it kept leading up to those
gorgeous teeth and his sweet little smile!

I want to remember how when he thought I was going to
leave, he said "I wanna big cuddle" ... so, I put my
arm around him (he's sometimes picky about the arm
being around him) and just enjoyed laying there
next to him. playing with his hair, caressing his face, kissing
his cheek. moments of absolute sweetness.

but, most of all, I want to remember how the love I
have for my precious little boy welled all up
inside me and it was as though nothing else existed
for just a few moments. it was just him and me.

and that, my dear friends, is probably the biggest reason I
am so addicted to blogging. a week from now I won't
remember tonight and how sweet it was ... sure, there will
be more cuddles - and they may be just as memory
worthy - but if I never wrote them down, I might eventually
forget them. I never want to forget these moments.
when my children are grown, I want to have something written
down that can take me back, that can ignite that memory
and give me a mental photograph of a time long past.

I'm really enjoying the "phase" that Liam has fallen into
this week! he is all about cuddles and hugs and
kisses ... it's a complete one-eighty from the little boy who
was making growl faces and wanting to kick and punch
everyone a week ago. I absolutely love this
change! he comes to me several times a day and wants
a hug or wants to kiss me or have me kiss him ...
and the cuddles, he is just loving them - and I love it!!!

Liam, tonight - it was just me and you.
laying on your bed, right underneath bubba, cuddling.
your sweet little "cookie cut" hair, your big blue
eyes, your sheriff Woody pajamas, your adorable little grin,
your soft baby cheeks.my arm around you, your arm around me.
pure sweetness.

the long drive home ...

Thursday the sixteenth had come so quick - too quick!
but we were all packed up and ready to get on
the road ...

we got to break up the trip a little ... we drove two hours to my aunt's
house and had a delicious dinner with her, my grandma, and my parents!
leave it to me to get photos of everyone except my poor aunt,
she probably felt very left out and now I feel really bad!

Zoey and her great grandma

the kids loved my aunt's piano

I was sure to get some pics of all the children
with their great grandma, my dad's mom!

I was also sure to get some photos of my parents
with all of the children! they may not be
anything spectacular, but they are definitely memories ...

oh dear, we're losing Liam ...

there he goes ...

loving this one!

after dinner, photos, and a little visiting - it
was time, once again, to get in the van and get going ...
this time, headed all the way home!

I had driven to my aunt's and the hubby
didn't really nap, so he asked me to drive the first
stretch - I took a "five hour energy" because
when I drive at night, I fade fast!
(ie - on the way to Oregon, I drove one hour total - and it was hard!)
I'd say it worked pretty well because
I was nearing three hours before I started to fade ...
we pulled over and switched at that point!
I drove one more stretch later, so in the end I drove
about seven hours ... made me feel good to
be much more helpful with the driving than I usually am!
I enjoyed the driving too - I saw two bright shooting
stars while driving and I was driving during
the sunrise - which I love!

(I think these next two were actually after breakfast,
beginning our final leg of the long journey home - just a few hours left)

we stopped a little after
7am for breakfast at a cute little place called
"old fashion burger queen" ... I got a kick
out of Jericho saying "it's burger king - not queen"!
it took a while for our food, it was cooked
fresh ...

being silly

sharing with daddy

there's the "tiny firetruck mater"

nothing beats french fries for breakfast!
(his was actually pancakes and eggs, but we shared)

Annicka and I had burgers, yes - for breakfast!

I love these pics!

and just a couple hours later we were home sweet home! we walked in and it felt so weird and different ... of course, my awesome friend had picked up (yah, I left it a little messy) and vacuumed and even had done some cleaning ... AND her and her hubby had even bought us some food so we'd have stuff when we got home, seriously - how nice are they!!! (they had also been hamster sitting, and delivered Ohna home for us - Annicka was thrilled to see her straight away!)

so, there you have it folks, the entire Oregon journey
has now been documented to remember
forever and ever!

I miss you mom, I miss you dad ... we all do!

Oregon - day eleven ...

day eleven began with haircuts for two of my boys!
you may have noticed that Liam's hair was hanging in his
eyes ... in fact, it was to the point that the poor kid
was looking up constantly to try to be able to see! needless to say,
he clearly needed those bangs trimmed!

Zoey watches as Liam gets his bangs trimmed!

and of course we had Yaya do the honors!
I was very sad that we didn't get to see her too much -
it was such a busy, running around trip - but
at least I got to see her at work!
I got to have two good visits there, first when she
did my hair ... and then this day while she
did Liam's and then the hubby got
a hair cut from another lady there!!!

the results:

ok, I admit it, my hubby is right ... when we just trim his bangs
(which I've done many times, myself) it does sort of make him
look like a girl! luckily, Yaya's 9am appt. still hadn't shown up,
so we decided to risk him having half a hair cut and she got started ...

he was getting a little impatient!

big hugs for a job well done!!!

all smiles - I love this pic!
and I love Yaya, not only because she is the first
person to interpret my description of the haircut I've been
wanting on Liam for a while now (having the hubby
there also describing may have helped) but because she is
so sweet and so good to us!!!
we love you Yaya!

they had to do a silly one

talk about loving a photo!!!

he was very excited to get a blue lollipop!
and as we were leaving he broke into tears over having
to put the "tiny firetruck mater" back in the
toy box ... we asked Yaya if we could buy it, Liam
suggested a price of "fordy dollars" -yikes-
but she said that if he would do real well in the car
on the way home (no crying) then he could have it!!!
he was in cars heaven!

after the hair cuts we returned to Nana's - I can't remember, but
I'm sure we had some lunch in there ... and then it was time
to see the clock for one final time ...

and then ... it was time to hit the road again! that's right, we're near the end of our fun time in Oregon now! I had so much fun and -for the first time ever on a trip- I wasn't ready to come home! usually by the time one of our trips is coming to an end, I'm itching to be back in our own home and back to our normal routine ... not this time. in fact, every time I thought about being back home I just got knots in my stomach ... I would have much rather stayed up in Oregon with all the people who love us so very much! but, we had to return to reality at home ... so, hit the road we did ...

(and by the time we were nearing home, the knots were gone and I was getting excited to be back in the comfort of our own house again)