ok, i've given up. we've moved. i promise if you follow us to our new location, i will regularly make you laugh, move you to tears, inspire profound thoughts. or maybe just share random pictures of the kids. (fyi, i know the name is cheesy, but everything good was taken!)

http://thecrispies.blogspot.com

Well, I'm quite sure nobody still checks our blog, but just in case, I thought I'd share another wordy update. I haven't even been taking pictures, so even if it did work, I wouldn't have much to post. FYI, I even tried starting a new blog, and I had problems with that. Do you think it's me?

• picture of big red truck here. So, Patrick has a work truck! It's really nice, I've ridden in it. He's thrown himself into this new job, I'm so proud of him. He's having to do quite a bit of reorganization, nearly starting from scratch with building clientele. Lots to overcome, but L]limitless opportunity!
• picture: boxes of kleenex. The whole family has been sick the past few weeks, and I get the prize for the sickest, I think. Colds, and then the stomach flu for a few days. I can only remember a few days in the past 3 years when I absolutely could not take care of my kiddos, and this was one of them. I'm amazed they survived, Charlie not falling down stairs or me not dropping him. Hannah would get out pieces of bread to feed Charlie, and they carried around snacktraps of cereal. Hannah spent her first night away from home!
• picture: patrick in camo. Patrick went pheasant hunting for the first time, and he did so well, he got 3. (They were good, but I got sick the next day, so it might be a while before I eat them again.) We got him all outfitted, and part of that was waterproof, warm boots. He was gone for 12 hrs, actually hunting for 9 or so. Walking through grass taller than he, lifting those boots, he actually couldn't walk the next day. It was a sorry sight around here. But he had fun.
• picture: cut up credit cards. We are out of credit card debt! I am excited about this, but it did come at great personal sacrifice, so I am taking it seriously. We still have a Lowe's card, and some leftover from one of Charlie's surgeries, but we're on a roll. (apparently it's called the snowball something or other, thanks to Mr. Dave Ramsey)
• picture: Hannah stuffing shoeboxes. We actually use the sturdy plastic tubs with the removable lids, but we still call them shoeboxes. This year she's old enough to pick out items to put in them, and then we went online and watched a promo video from Samaritan's Purse. She payed attention really well, but when it ended I was crying so much I couldn't explain more or pray over our boxes. Any opportunity to share Christ's love and message with a hurting child is always amazing, but to share that with my child is special indeed. Some people try to raise children without influencing them one way or another, without pushing their own beliefs on them. I, on the other hand, try to brainwash/indoctrinate my children any chance I get, through any means! Something God said about when you sit down, when you get up, writing it all over your house, etc. She said she wanted to give somebody her box personally. I told her she can, one day!( www.samaritanspurse.org- you can give a box too!)
• Hannah knows nearly all her letters, and some of the sounds they make. Her numbers came first, maybe she'll be a mathematician instead of a writer. Preschool hasn't been terribly regular these days, but she's doing great anyways. Charlie is getting more teeth, finally. And I'm confident he will walk soon! If you want to see how they're growing, I guess you'll have to come visit.

"I know the plans I have for you" - God

so for those of you who have not been with us since the beginning, let me recap:

when i was much younger, I had my life all planned out. It began with getting married immediately after college, and having a baby approximately 2 yrs later. i am soooooo grateful that isn't how it worked out. we all know life doesn't always go how we imagined, and patrick and i have experienced that time and time again.

fall 2005: get back from Africa, move directly to Longview, TX, get married 2 mos later. now that was a whirlwind. go through a few random jobs before I get my dream job at an amazing gym. Patrick and I live in a little apartment, life is good.

fall 2006: I'm at that job exactly 2 wks before we get pregnant with Hannah. Patrick was in school full time, he had a full year to go.

summer 2007 We switch the apt out for a little house we bought close to campus. I work full time till a month before she's born, then we struggle through the fall.

spring 2008 Patrick gets a job with Premier Aircraft Sales, immediately after graduation. we sell the house. we move to Opelika, Alabama. Buy another house, put in flower beds and a vegetable garden, paint the bedrooms, have block parties with the neighbours, all for approx. 10 mos, at which point Patrick has the opportunity for a promotion. So, we sell that house, and move to Dallas.

fall 2008 after losing so much selling our last house, we rent in Frisco, north of Dallas. During this time, Patrick works as regional sales manager. A few months after the move, he's informed his contract has been changed and there will be no salary, only comission. Due to financial constraints at Premier, he home offices for much of our time there. we get pregnant with charlie right after moving.

summer 2009 charlie's born, I'm staying busy working at church and keeping other kids at home. We're really starting to make friends, get to know the small universe of dallas/ft worth, and looking around for where we want to buy a house. Business, however, is not going great.

spring 2010 patrick finally decides he's given premier all he can, and he resigns. THAT VERY AFTERNOON he is presented with a job opportunity in pratt, Ks, just down the road from where he grew up. However, this means leaving aviation. Being a pilot wasn't just a job, it was Patrick's lifelong dream. Giving up aviation was a huge sacrifice for Patrick. However, unable to deny the coincidences, we soon accept. A few months later, we're packing up and moving to Pratt.

summer 2010 we stay in a rent house for a little while till we finalize the sale of our new house. night before the closing, a wall collapses. we step back and think about what we want to do, decide to proceed, but it takes months before we can move. During this time, and since, we pour so much into this house, financially, emotionally, and physically. We have high hopes for selling this house down the road, at a profit.

10 days ago patrick hears his company is being sold, and there will be no jobs for anyone. we cry, we are speechless with disbelief, we are very confused and possibly angry at being led into this situation only to have it turn out this way, but most of all, we decide: we ain't movin. no packing, no more unsettled, no more pizza on paper plates, no more introducing ourselves to the neighbours, at least for another few years. we dont' know what we're going to do, but whatever it is, it's happening here. or at least within a commutable distance.

7 days ago Patrick is offered a job with a local company, managing one of their divisions. completely new field, but basically sales in a managerial position. Today, he accepts this new job, and starts Wednesday. more details later.

take a moment to catch your breath, as i feel the need to do when i think of the changes that have happened in the last 5 yrs. another bend in the road; we'll see where it leads.

technical difficulties with the blog. again.

so, i can't get any pictures to upload. anybody else having that problem? it isn't my computer, i think it's a blog problem. we had a great visit with my dad last weekend, and we've been working really hard on the house, one of these days i'll have to take some pictures of the house. so in absence of pictures a few news bites:

• i have stitches for the first time in my life! in my mouth, not fun. as far as surgery goes, even minor outpatient surgery, it really wasn't that bad. he cut open a flap in the roof of my mouth, attached a chain to the delinquent adult tooth, and sewed it back up, and now the orthodontist can pull on the chain that's attached to my braces, and in another 18 mos, i should no longer look like a hillbilly.
• we are no longer carolina panthers fans. seeing as how their games are never on tv here, we can't talk about it with anybody here, and, let's face it, they suck, patrick has exercised leadership in this area and decided we are kansas city chiefs fans. maybe next year we'll go to a game!
• hannah is night time potty trained! we just took off the pull ups, and she hasn't had a single accident. we're quite shocked. i had her bed made with two layers of plastic sheets, i wouldn't let her drink hours before bed, we woke up her in the middle of the night, everything. but apparently she's got it under control. literally. yeah hannah!
• charlie is not walking. i thought that would have made a good news piece if he were though :-).
• I am starting up an hourly childcare business, in hopes of getting some investment capital for the preschool i want to do in the fall. Hannah and I are both enjoying the unstructured approach we have now (fyi, she's now working on counting 10-20, and recognizing those numbers as well. i'm so proud of her!) however, i think i would also really enjoy teaching another 4 or 5 kids, as well. i'm already planning out activities, and researching how i watn to stock my centers: music in one corner, art in another, reading, science, etc. I want to have an ant farm, and get them involved in my garden. i want it to be very hands on, as they learn. now that charlie's party is over, i need something to keep me up at night! i do want to host a christmas drop in for our neighbourhood, though. . . :-)
• patrick's good, working so hard at the house. soon i'll itemize everything he's done. it's amazing!

if anyone has thoughts on my blog problems, let me know!

flashback to August

although these are 2 mos old, i still wanted to share the pictures. (they were on my mom's camera, and i couldn't get them until she came). the kids and i drove up to my mom's, then patrick surprised us for the last few days! it's approx 18 hrs, and the first 15 hrs of scenery look exactly the same: farmland. it was cold again this year, but warmed up enough at the very end to get in the water. charlie loved it, he wasn't scared at all.


patrick had great success fishing this year. one of the kinds he caught is extremely difficult to filet, so bob was giving him a tutorial. there's my girl, right in the thick of fish guts.


we had a bonfire, which they do in that tub thing to lessen the risk of forest fires. hannah had her first ever smore. it was worth it just to hear her say "marshmallow." if i remember correctly, i ate 3, and felt sick for days!

this picture makes me think of a story my mom (and nana) tells me all the time, i guess she thinks i forget :-). we've had the floating dock for as long as i can remember. when i was 5, we were having a fire at night like this one, and somebody realized they hadn't seen me in awhile. a little bit of yelling later, i yelled back from out in the water. apparently, i just headed out to the dock by myself, not thinking i should ask or tell anyone. but hey, we were good swimmers!

building a sandcastle with bob. hannah is still at the stage where she likes to build something for the express purpose of jumping on it right after. it can be frustrating for the adults.

my mom has taken up kayaking for exercise, and patrick tried it out.

it looks sooooo different from when i was growing up. but still recognizable. that thing at the very back of the property that looks like a fence is the solar panels for electricity. that's a newish addition, it used to just be the generator.

hannah did really well in the water, even though it was cold. she still won't be in by herself, without someone holding her. trying to tread water and hold a 3 yr old, even if she's wearing a lifejacket, is harder than it seems!

charlie, just watching the show

i have no idea what is up with my face, so focus on my calvin klein model here.

heading home after our picnic across the lake.

sorry about the squinting, it's the wind and sun. charlie, in my lap, fell asleep nearly immediately. just like nearly every other baby, i think. tired out from playing, and the hum of the boat, works every time.

early(ish) morning serenity

but not for long, with this impish grin around

ah, siblings. (i get nostalgic seeing charlie before his haircut :-(

so as you can imagine, there is quite a bit of wildlife in the area. unfortunately, the bears are halfway domesticated and come every day to eat at the dump. it's somewhat of a tourist attraction. not only is it sad, i can't imagine what it does for their health. but anyways, hannah got to see bears. i do have to mention, though, that we did actually see a real bear in the wild, the morning we started our drive home.

entertaining the kids inside, seeing as how it was about 50 degrees outside.

while i huddled up inside making charlie's bday invitations, hannah "helped" out with various projects. hopefully nothing involving power tools.

it was a wonderful visit with grandma and grandpa bob!

so, a few days ago i did my much anticipated target trip. My orthodontist is an hour away, which is a drag but gives me a real reason to go to a real town. (compared to here, anyways). I can also hit target, starbucks, and hobby lobby. The kids actually need some winter clothes, so it was guilt free. well, except the pumpkin scone. is it emotionally unhealthy that the instant i walk into starbucks i simply feel better about life? it also helped that i only had one child with me. Anyways, pumpkin scone + %50 off all fall decor at hobby lobby + clinique gift time + being allowed to get the kids some new clothes = a happy me. and i needed that encouragement, as shallow and short lived as it was, because around the time i headed home, the wrenching pain from my braces started up and is still going strong. I had a cartload of slimfast at the grocery store and i felt the need to qualify to the checkout person that i just had my braces adjusted, i wasn't doing a liquid fast because i wanted to. not that they care what kind of diet i do, i'm sure.


so the other day, patrick got me a gift. just for no reason, except he saw it and knew i needed it and it would bless me. (it's the recipe book holder, up there). and it sure did bless me! saving me counter space when i'm cooking and protecting my recipes, sure, but knowing that he was thinking of me like that! i was very impressed.


i love my children! (not that i wouldn't rent them out for an afternoon to, well, anybody!)

david and des came for a quick visit last week, we didn't take many pictures because we didn't do much,, but they did get to spend time with the kids. they're actually praying about a job opportunity over by wichita. they helped out so much with our house over the summer we were glad they were able to see the (somewhat) finished product.

so, Hannah started out a really difficult baby then got easier as she grew up. charlie was an incredibly easy baby, but he's making up for it these days! last night was the first time he's slept through the night in i dont' know how long. we're down to one nap a day, but he doesn't sleep for long at all and wakes up so cranky, and stays that way till bed time. so, if he wakes up too early, the afternoon is looooooong! there isn't really anywhere to go, either. we used to go to the playplace at the mall, the train table/kids section at barnes and noble, various parks and nature areas, even toysrus because they have alot out to play with. i'm not complaining, we just need to come up with some different ideas for when we have bad weather and cranky children. patrick is going to have the basement finished really soon, and that will be our play/preschool room. anyways, all that to explain the picture: it was raining, but we went on our walk anyways.

charlie opening his birthday present from nana and pop pop.

he just loves it. and so does hannah. she always try to steal it away from him.

of course the box is also fun to play with.

so, i got my harvest table in plenty of time to celebrate, well, harvest! in case you missed the post awhile ago, patrick made this table. his grandpa vic and david had done it before him, so he thought we needed one to, and we love it. it is so nice to have so much room at the table. you'll have to come see!

we love fall: pumpkin bread, apple cider, scented candles, sweaters (hopefully eventually. it was 85 today), decorating. i love every season, but we're ready for fall. we've both lived in much warmer climates for quite a while, so this will be a change.

so my mom will be here next week, and lar is also coming to celebrate charlie's party with us. i'll try to post again before, i've done quite a bit of prep work already, and we're going really simple with the food, so i'm hoping it will be low stress. patrick especially is hoping it will be low stress!

apparently my life is flying by because i thought it had been only a few days since i update, and here it is, almost 2 wks. this is just a little example of how much hannah, uh, helps me out! she loves to climb in charlie's crib and play with him, so often in the morning or when he wakes up from his nap and is crying, she'll go entertain him and i'll get a few more minutes of productiveness. i guess it's actually productivity. anyways, she loves dumping everything out in one huge pile. but then when it comes to picking it up. . . ! there's a giant trash bag of toys sitting in the closet for that exact reason. the toy jail is full these days. but then i think, if she can keep herself so amused when she's missing half her toys, can i just go ahead and take the bag to goodwill?


now that's what i call pizza dough!


i can't get over her pose here. the eyes and everything, her finger on the pastry brush. like she's doing a cooking show. when i have the patience for it, i love cooking with hannah. there's alot she does already, like peel garlic or pull the herb leaves of the stems. and, apparently, brush oil on the pizza crust.

"Alright guys, i'm all ready for my first haircut. let's get this show on the road!"

"uh, i'm sorry, what did you say was going to happen? he's going to come at me with scissors? yeah. . . "

"well, i can see your point. it is getting kind of long around the ears. but only if i can play with this nifty brush."

"careful now. my do is important! i dont' want to lose my reputation with the ladies at playgroup"

"alright, alright. i'm diggin it!"

mommy thinks he got a little carried away with the razor, and should have stopped after the scissors. but he's a boy, it'll grow back fast!

my next batch of supercharlie food: quinoa, lentils, butternut squash, collard greens, and beets.

if only we all ate like that! (right, patrick? :-)

turns around to see if i'm watching. . .

and yep, he's going for it! i can't believe he's big enough to reach the doorknob. and that type is so much easier to open. patrick got it for me because he knew how my hands are always full, and it's helpful to just use an elbow to open the door. but i forgot it's also alot easier for the crisplings.

so, we finally had a cool day. that would be, something under 100. ok, maybe i'm exaggerating, but just a little, honestly. i had a hot chocolate craving (more specifically a starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate craving. alas, they don't even make that anymore). so i decided we should start a tradition of making hot chocolate on the first real fall day of the year. i would love to say it was all happily ever after, but our milk had gone bad. we didn't know this until after we wasted the time and ingredients making it. does anybody know if raw milk goes bad faster? or is it because it's whole, as opposed to the skim we used to get. i don't know, but we never get through the gallon before it goes bad.

she's getting so strong! this adorable outfit was made by Grandma (my mom).

i mentioned how much she loves puzzles. i got her a new one to challenge her a little bit. we did it together, but i really only helped with the border. she is learning so much these days. the other day we were talking about food, and i mentioned protein, and started listing different protein sources she eats. she piped up with, what about eggs, mommy? i said yes, eggs too. are you learning your food groups? she says, yes, in homeschool, just like my letters! (that isn't something we talk about specifically much, because the word school just isn't that important at three. but apparently she already knows what's going on!)

also heard around town:

• mother and daughter and baby are in store. mother is on phone with mother in law, and distracted by son in cart. mother periodically loses daughter, and calls to her. daughter responds, loudly enough for other shoppers to hear: "mommy! don't bother me!" (it's unfortunate that rebellion can sometimes seem so cute, isn't it?)
• H has a certain CD called animal songs, from the cd display at walmart. it's one of those things she begs to listen to ALL. THE. TIME. i simply must have a break occasionally. instead of expressing myself appropriately, i have been known to yell, in response to begging, NO! because i am so sick of your animal songs cd. sooooo, other day I make chicken pot pie. i thought it was the best chicken pot pie ever. i used leftover gravy, maybe that's why. anyways, H decided she doesn't like it. i tell her to eat more. no, she says. are you full? no, my tummy's sick. oh, you don't feel well? no, i'm just sick of this food. just like you're sick of my cd. whoops.
• daddy and H are talking before bed. H refers back, all in a jumble, to numerous convos H and mommy had throughout the day. relating to babies, nursing, marriage, and for some reason the 2nd coming of Jesus. (not sure how that related, but anyways.) H tells daddy she is going to get married to a boy, and we don't know his name yet, but Jesus knows his name. she then tells daddy this boy will give her babies. (now those weren't even my words, so don't think i'm getting all scientific on her already.) he will also have blonde hair, blue eyes, and be able to do this (insert picture of Hannah making fish face here.) You mean he'll kiss you? (i ask because mommy and daddy do like to kiss, even in front of children. gasp!) no, not kiss, just fish face. she will also have a pink and purple wedding ring.
  

my charlie man is such a climber. he can't walk, but he climbs up anything he can. he gets in hannah's rocking chair and stands up. (we have all hardwood, so i don't like this stunt). he climbs up the slide, as far as he can. he speeds his way all the way up the stairs. on his way to the rocking chair or horse, actually. i can't believe i have a preschooler and a toddler, not a toddler and a baby. (a toddler who just got himself 2nd degree burns on 3 fingers, from the oven door :-(. he really doesn't seem like a baby any more either because we're pretty much free of each other in the nursing dept. I wasn't tired of nursing, just the stupid supplementer. so, no more mixing up formula. when i get sad thinking about moving on from that stage, i just think, hey, no more corn syrup solids for charlie! (if you don't know the whole story i understand that sounds confusing. just roll with it. i'd be happy to explain later :-).

oh, if it weren't blurry, this might be the sweetest picture ever taken of any 1yr old boy. i love how intent he is on his tractor, a birthday gift from grandma loretta and grandpa alvin. whenever i get it out for him to play with, hannah swipes it, though.

next week david and des are coming for a few days, then mom and lar are coming the weekend of charlie's party, then dad and bunny the next weekend. i'm really excited about the company! we kind of get bored here :-) so, whoever comes, can you bring me a pumpkin spice latte? :-)