Did that just happen?

If you want to get really stressed and undo all the relaxtion just accomplished from vacation, then just head on over to Winco with your three kids!
That's what I did this afternoon!
The shopping part went fine, the check out was a different story. First of all using WIC coupons is always more work, worth it of course, but more work. Then as I am trying to pay, the cashier accidentally does something wrong and has to call over a manager. While this is happening I have been scolding and trying to contain my kids and bag the groceries! Zeke is somewhat helping, Sofia is just grabbing stuff on the counter and tossing them into the cart, Moses is taking those things and putting them back onto the conveyer belt. All the while Zeke is pushing the button to move the belt so that bread is crushed and the milk is falling on top of eggs.
Finally the cashier gets it worked out and I go back to pay, when I turn to look back Moses is standing in the cart on top of a box of cherrios and is holding an egg. Sofia is eating my granola through the plastic bag, literally just gnawing on the bag.
Who are you kids I ask!
As we are driving out I say to them that they really need to be big helpers when we are at the store. Zeke informs that he is always helping me with things. For example he says he helps me drive safely by telling me to slow down and stop at red lights. He says he also helps me remember not to say bad words like hate and oh crap.
This is true he keeps me in check!
At least it wasn't hailing when we were putting groceries in the car!, oh wait it was.

catch up

My life is all about catching up lately! It seems like I am always behind on something! Housework, Laundry, bills etc! And so it is with blogs as well, so this one is a catch up on the Lances.
Where to start, life has been so busy the last few months. Dan is booked with things going on, building stuff, staff stuff, life in general is busy and full. He is tired but doing good, ready for a vacation!
I have also been full and busy, we had our women's retreat, family visiting two weekends in a row, then I got picked for a trial and had jury duty. I am also ready for a vacation! I also decided to go blond, just for the heck of it. Here's the picture mom, I know you will love it!! :)
We had my parents visit and bring my grandparents who live in Indiana! So fun to have them see our life here in Redding, we had an awesome time with them!
The kids are doing awesome, so full of energy and life, never a dull moment. Zeke is all about planes and cars right now, he is constantly taking things apart and building new with all the parts he comes up with. Today I was cleaning Sofia and Zeke's room and behind his bed was a whole pile of broken car parts, wood, sofia's hair clips that he took apart and used the clips to hold things together. It was amazing. And this happens every time I clean their room!! He loves to figure out how things work then build his own version. We are constantly amazed by his mind!
Sofia our little sweet girl. She is all about dressing up and dancing around the house in her crowns and heels. She loves to be delighted in and loves to perform for us. She is really progressing with her speech, we are so proud of her and have seen some real improvement lately! She also loves reading to Scarlet when she will pay attention!
Moses, our little love. He is such a sweet boy, loves being held and cuddled! He is all about hats and dressing up as well. Probably because that is all Sofia does, Moses wants to join in as well. It cracks me up he is always wearing something on his head! He is talking so much it is amazing. He will repeat anything and everything we say, so it keeps me on my toes! He is saying 4 and 5 word sentences right now and it is crazy to see our little baby saying so much.
All in all we are doing great, life is full and we are thankful for this season even though it is hard and tiring. We have a trip planned down to Riverside and the beach soon, so we are so excited that some rest is in sight!!

things I want to do this summer

Some old summer photos ( we didn't take many pics last year!)

First of all I can't believe it is so hot already!! It felt like 80 degrees this morning at 7:30!!
There is so much I want to do this summer, so many projects!! I don't know why I think I will have more time than normal in the summer, I think it will be the opposite with 3 kids home all day!!!
Anywhoo here are some things I want to do and get done:
* My garden!! I was hoping to get dirt and plant today but now it is Monday!
*Clothes line in the back yard, don't know where yet but I've got to get it going soon!
*Hanging shelves in my bedroom
* Art piece I have been working on for a month already!
*Finishing my bedroom, we started this project when my parents came in Feb. and I have had no time to devote to it!
*Finishing my quilt (this could take me forever)
*Being more consistent with cloth diapers
*POTTY TRAINING! (yikes I am so tired of 2 kids in diapers)
*Going to the lake
*Going to the Farmers market
*Going camping!
*Going on vacation with my family to Indiana! (lake house, so fun!)

I think I must still view summer as if I were in school and it is vacation, free time, time to do whatever I want. But really I am 31 now and it is just like the rest of the year, but I am going to act like it is fun free time and hope I do all the things on my list!
Happy Summer!

What a diffrence a year makes!

What a year! I was looking back at the kids from a year ago and it is amazing how much they have changed!!

I have been missing taking pictures. Whenever I am out I always see things I would love to take pictures of, but I never remember to grab my camera, I am lucky to remember all my kids with shoes and coats on!
Anyway I know one day I will have more freedom to take pictures.
I guess for now my pictures will be of the kids.
I think they are pretty fun to snap anyway!
cute too, right!

32

This morning was so peaceful. Sofia and Mo timed their naps perfectly, it does not happen often!
I got to take a shower,dry my hair, read the bible, enjoy a cup of coffee quietly! And all the while it is softly snowing outside. It made my whole morning that much better.
Zeke is always asking if is is 32 degrees yet, because then it will snow.
Last weekend it snowed and today it just started, I put on White Christmas as I picked up the house and I just love that we get to have fun cold weather!
The heater keeps kicking on and I have it set at 63, so it must be really cold outside!
Yay for big warm coats and scarfs!
Yay that Moses is finally starting to take long naps!
Yay that he slept from 8pm until 6am with only a couple of little cries in between!
It is the little things that keep me going!
Happy snow day!

been awhile

So much has happened in the last couple weeks!
We packed up our apartment, very quickly, worked on our new house painting, cleaning etc, then we moved. it all happened so fast there was barely enough time to get everything done! Our new place is still a mess but I am ok with taking our time to unpack and settle in. The kids only let me get so much done anyway!
I turned 31, wow i can't believe i am in my 30's now!!!
Celebrated halloween in our new house,
Dan preached, all of this in one weekend, we are tired!
Moses is doing so great getting so big and he has been giggling lately and I just can't get enough of it!!!!!! He gets a huge smile when zeke and sofia talk to him, it is so sweet.
It took us over a week to get internet, so i will
try to keep up with the crazy blog world now!
For now some pics will have to do!

my crazy week, so far...

This week has been anything but uneventful!
I think "oh Zeke is gone, it will be quiet", which it was in the noise sense, but otherwise it has been crazy.
We put our name in on a list for some apartments that usually take 6 months to a year, and not even a week later we get a call that one is available to us. We get all our paper work etc. in, it looks great and we start to freak out about moving. (at least I freaked out)
Then Monday evening I got really sick, I think I did it to myself. I drank some sweet tea from McDonald's that I am sure has 1 gallon of sugar in it! I did water it down, but when you also eat almost a half of a watermelon by yourself it is a bad combo.
So I was up all night cursing the indigestion and stomach ache that was haunting me.
All day Tuesday I felt horrible, thank you McDonalds.
Tuesday evening I had a bit of a break down, anxiety and stress over moving, missing my son, missing my family etc etc. Had a good cry, felt better.
Wednesday Dan and I sit down go over the pros and cons of moving, we come to the conclusion it is totally worth it to move, the money we will save alone is great! We feel good about the decision and start going through things in house doing a clean sweep.
Thursday I pack a few boxes not much, but continue to go through the house down sizing.
Thursday night we get home from our staff BBq and I am walking out the front door to take Scarlet for a potty trip and I bite it hard. I guess I tripped I don't know, I slid across the pavement on my side. I at least had a little bit of time to turn on my side and not fall on my stomach! Luckily Dan was there and he is so great under stress. I was starting to freak out and he is like your fine, you were close to the ground, you didn't fall too hard, everything is totally fine. I have a few scrapes up my arms, legs and booty but all in all I am ok. Moses was moving right after so that made me feel so much better.
Friday today, Dan gets a call that we did not get the apartment. He was so bummed, as was I. It is hard when you start planning and getting ready for something and then things change. So I guess God wants us to stay where we are for now and be content in that.
Needless to say this week has not been low on stress, anxiety or action.
I think I might take a nap today!

strange times

It is so funny how much easier it is to write a nonsense blog rather than write what I am feeling or struggling with.
I could just write how I am sitting here listening to Coldplay's new album, which is amazing by the way (Nate is crazy to say otherwise!). I could write how I am eating egg salad sandwich again for dinner,(pregnancy craving) how much I accomplished today or what the kids did. It is much easier to write those things.
On July 4th I was sitting outside in the smoky weather reading my Bible, writing in my journal trying to hear something from God. The 4th was such a lonely day for me, Zeke was gone so the house was so still and quiet, we had no family or friends to hang out with and I just felt this sadness.
It feels like forever that I have been going through the motions of dailyness.
6 months of being in a funk, being sad and down, feeling lazy and unmotivated. I know it has maybe a little bit to do with the fact that I got pregnant finally after 7 years, moved our whole family and started a new life in a matter of a month. Now there is no family down the street, there are no friends that know you so deeply and live life with you daily anymore. I have to start that all over again and it does not happen very quickly.
I don't want to whine or be a Debbie Downer, but it has been hard.
I hate that when I go into labor I can't call my mom and tell her to come over to watch the kids, or that my kids can't go down the street anymore to their cousins house to play. So many daily things that seem so little but are actually huge to me.
Or maybe they are magnified because I am 8 months pregnant and an emotional wreck 98% of the time!
Anyway I felt like on the 4th God said ask for people to pray, let people know your struggle. Be vulnerable, it's easy right!
So at church Nate gave us the opportunity to pray with the people around us, and Rebecca and Erica prayed for me and it was so comforting to not pretend, but to have others who understood and prayed for me. Thanks girls it meant a lot.
Anyway I am longing to climb out of this funk and i hope it can begin now.
I am so very thankful for where God has us, but that doesn't mean it has been easy or will be easy, we sacrificed a lot to come here and sometimes that sucks. But I do not want my family to be anywhere that God doesn't want us to be.
So that means we keep moving forward, living out what God has called us to.
I hope a year from now I can look back at this time and see all the amazing things that came from the hard times!

The Sun is shining!

The last few days it has been sunny or at least not raining! So of course Zeke wants to be outside! The pic with the dump truck is of Zeke in our backyard with our really tall weeds, yes some of them are about 3 feet high! It is hard to be motivated to go clean up a backyard when it is 40 degrees out! Zeke doesn't seem to mind in the afternoon when it is in the mid 40's out. Yesterday we went for a walk around 9am and it was so cold, Dan loves this kind of weather, clear but really cold out. It burns my face off! You can see Sofia was quite bundled up, she didn't complain the whole time we were out.
Unfortunately I do not have a lot of interesting updates to give you, we are pretty boring lately. We are still getting into the groove of school and a schedule so we pretty much do the same things daily. This is actually comforting to me, having a routine makes things feel normal and doesn't give me time to feel sorry for myself! I have to admit the house is still a mess and there are still boxes to unpack, but it is slowly starting to get me motivated!
Dan lead worship last weekend at the Stirring and it went great, we are starting a series called When God dreams, I think it is going to be really good.
Alright I gotta get back to building legos with Zeke! In the mornings when Sofia takes her nap we do homework then build cars with legos!