These are the days

These are the days

I hardly ever eat sitting down.....

really sometimes after making breakfast, feeding Sarah, emptying the dishwasher, watching the cat eat (yes she won't eat unless I watch her), brushing hair, changing a diaper, pouring milk, getting vitamins, feeding the baby more and cleaning up a kitchen mess, I have almost forgotten to eat at all.

My mornings are a clashing symphony, they are chaos, loud, and sometimes obnoxious but somehow routine and organized in a strange way.

I usually don't look in the mirror at all, seriously who has time for that?

Some mornings by noon I realize I haven't brushed my teeth (way nasty, I am a hygienist) Then I freak out and brush for like 10 minutes. 

By mid morning there are already a pile on the stairway, a collection of things for me to take upstairs (I try to take a load up every time I walk upstairs)

I clean the kitchen WAY to many times a day.  I really can't leave dishes all day...they get so nasty and gross and harder to clean, plus I stress out if the kitchen gets out of control.

I have to pick things up off the floor non stop, because I have a little human vacuum who has already pooped out a pile of stickers and glitter sequence (for real)

Sometimes I just resort to putting food directly on the floor (it's good for her immune system)

I say "No" way to often (trying to work on that)

I have to break up fights, and put children in time out

 I usually never go to the bathroom by myself, yet my girls demand "I need privacy!" when they go, sheesh

There is usually many moments of crying (I mean, it's all girls living here)

We are usually never at home all day because of many of these reasons, but some days I love to be at home simpy because of many of these reasons

Like seeing this smiling face every time she wakes up, she is always so happy!!

Or when I see how much they love each other, or simply show it

 

Or  when we cuddle on the couch

Or when we play "road trip to Texas" for the 20th time

Or when we just stop and dance

Sometimes I just want things to "feel" easier for me, for the girls to be more independent, but then some days I just don't want them to grow up at all, I want to cuddle their tiny bodies forever......

And today I just want them to stop and be little. Forever.

Omaha {June 2012}

Dear Omaha, NE,

you are the place I spent 4 years of my life, the place I spent my first married years, the place I went to school, and the place I met a lifetime friend.  I am sorry for not enjoying you more while I had you, I am sorry for being so guarded with friendships with others because I knew you were not my permanent home and I am sorry for not visiting sooner.  Thank you for being so green and beautiful on our visit and thank you for providing the best zoo in the US.  Oh how I miss your vast array of restaurants, your college world series,  your lightening bugs, and friendly neighborhoods.  You are never the farm town I anticipated you to be.  You are the heart of a mid west city, friendly and beautiful with so many things to do.  I think I see you in a different light, now that I have been away, now that I am a mother.  You will forever hold a special place in my heart, deep down I will always root for the huskers and wish I was there in the fall for Vala's pumpkin patch. I will always wonder what it would have been like had we stayed.......

Here's to our visit

cupcakes

 Frienships

 

Fountains

 

zoo

family

   Treasured friendships

Celebrating marriage

 

new memories

 

slumber parties

 

and moms together

haha, not one child is looking at the camera, but Sarah and I are

 Thanks Omaha, for the Cz's, they are the real reason we love Omaha

It's been a week

I apologize for the quietness on my blog lately.  It just has been a very strange and crazy few weeks.

I am sure all of you have seen on the news somewhere about the large Waldo Canyon fire here in Colorado Springs.   It has been devastating and mesmerizing and the same time. Thankfully our home is very far from being in danger, but that does not mean it has not been impacting.  It has been so heart breaking and so hard to watch a large and beautiful area of our city being destroyed.  It has been so hard to see haunting photos of peoples homes burning.  Business' everywhere have had to close, so many people have been displaced from there homes, at one point 36,000 people were evacuated from their homes and 346 peoples homes have burned to the ground,. The smoke has also been heavy at times, even for those far away making air quality so poor that many people can't go outside.

You must know one thing about Colorado Springs, probably about 1/2 of the people who have homes here to do not air conditioning.  What?? you might think, but really there are usually like 2 weeks out of the year that people really might need one.  The average high temperature in June is 83 degrees, yep that is it.  The average high last week in Colorado Springs was right around 100 degrees!! Crazy!  So for many, even if they have not had a fire near their home they have probably felt on fire in their homes, not being allowed to open their windows bc of smoke with 100 degree temps is insane!   I couldn't feel more thankful that we had an AC installed last spring, WORTH. EVERY. PENNY!

I have a little bit of understanding of what it is like to lose something, not a home though.  So many people have been thankful that there hasn't be a huge amount of deaths from this (2 so far), which is so amazing, but at the same time for people who have lost their homes, their memories, their stability it is so incredibly difficult and I think incomparable to the death of a person, it is a completely different kind of loss. I think it will be very hard for people to move on and move forward simply because they can't just move on right away, building or finding a new home takes time, lots and lots of time, and it may be a lifetime before the areas that have been burned to ever look close to the same again....I hope we can remember these people months from now, when they still don't have a home.

Here are a few photos of the fire

(I did not take these)

The first night of the fire (Saturday night)

Some very strong winds came in on Tuesday late afternoon and this happend (the fire literally doubled in size)

People had to get out quick (not everyone had a lot of time)

Because this is what happened

seriously haunting

......

And my goodness, the amazing work of the firemen and other law enforcement.  I think this photo says it all

seriously sleeping on the ground, not giving up..

We were at a Park on Friday night and a couple of fire trucks stop by because they had a concerning phone call (there was nothing to worry about though).  We got a chance to thank them and they were so kind and let all of the kids explore their truck.

Norah, didn't like it so much, she is actually crying in this photo

The fire is not totally out, about 45% contained, they have made huge progress that last few days!

 Ezekiel 36:33-36 "I'll make your cities livable. The ruins will be rebuilt. The neglected land will be worked again, no longer overgrown with weeds and thistles, worthless in the eyes of passersby. I, God, rebuild ruins and replant empty waste spaces. I God, said so and I'll do it."

 and He showed us a sign of that promise

This fire had been right behind garden of the gods, this was taken on Friday morning

Still praying for our city and those that have lost so much