Well, sorry, folks, 'cause I didn't use it very often. As I scroll through the photos of our Dec 29-Jan 6 trip to Phoenix I realize there is a multitude of things/happenings that never reached the lens. I think caring for a toddler in a time zone two hours different than his own and dealing with nausea and weariness probably pushed the thought of picture taking a bit further out of my mind. Since trips are not able to be rewound I'll have to settle for the few that did make it back home. Excited traveler #1.

Excited (but not ready for the camera) traveler #2.
Excited (but quickly tired of the "ayeplane") traveler #3.

And all through the house,

My nausea was raging,

So I felt like a louse!

And I will stop the poetry (or attempt) for your sake! :-) This was by far my roughest Christmas season since nausea is no respecter of persons! The kiddos had a great time though, and that is more important to me. It can be a bit difficult to be festive when food smells send you running, and life itself sends you gagging! May I never again be sick the month of Christmas!!!!!!!!

The boys assembled their own tree and decorated it. What a relief and bit of sadness as it was another step of independence on their part.

To be perfectly honest, nausea + anything = ick! That wretched stuff has a way of sucking the life out of you! And your appetite. And family. And blog. And life in general. Many days I wake up only to wish I could fast forward the day, but then the evenings are sometimes my worst part of the day. (Who came up with the name "morning sickness" anyway?!) Well enough whining I suppose. :-) And, yes, I have tried every notion and fanatical thing in the book minus eating beans, of course. That was a new one I just discovered, and since I do not like any bean on a good day. . .I don't think something which reminds me of a dead roach will get past the gagging sensation in my throat! So during this pregnancy, three things have seemed to help (other than Zofran): 1. Playing the piano. Not sure why but it sends the nausea packing. 2. Crying. :-) Found that out when I hit rock bottom one night due to the intense nausea, and I burst into tears. In a few moments. . .it vanished! Tried it time and again, and it works. The problem comes in when I am nauseated in public. . . Somehow walking around sobbing might do more harm than the nausea! My verdict is that the hormone produced by tears must outweigh the hormone that produces the nausea. (You have my permission to call me Einstein! :-) 3. Whining on the phone to my mother, sisters, or some sympathetic friend (preferably someone who has endured nausea).

There you are, dear friends, nausea busters 1,2, and 3. You can begin to pity the person who sits near me on the plane later this month! They'll have to listen to me sob or whine! Ha. Maybe the pilot will let me sit in the front with him as I always do better up there!

My previous whining is to explain the lack of blogging. When good moments swoop in, it seems a bit more profitable to do laundry or dishes. (You again have my permission to call me Einstein! :-) Not that the laundry always gets done, and the dishes are often clean. Nausea has a way of making one lethargic, and let's hope it is not permanent damage as I have always loved to clean. The problem is with the lack of blogging, I tend to forget the fun and little patches of life that are worth remembering, and when I get around to scrapbooking life in VA. . .well I'll be in trouble! With no further whining (drum roll, please), this often nauseated woman vows to be a better blogger for the sake of scrapbooks and posterity (and a MIL and all the kind people who tell me they read this blog). :-)

"I'll begin by heading back into October," blushes the author. Yes, I typed October, but it was as soon as our company (Angie Oliver and crew) left on October 31st that my life caved in. Not because they left, but because November 1st was the day my normal life ended. Let's see, that makes 50 days of severe nausea so far! Oh, wait, I was supposed to stop whining in the last paragraph, wasn't I?!

Back to the Olivers, it was a delight to have friends from SC visit for a few days. It was nice to be with someone with whom you have some history. New town, new church, new house, new life can get a little too new sometimes, so it was wonderful to visit! Six people under the age of ten is always an adventure as well! :-) And add two woman without their husbands. . .well, we made some memories! :-)

My two morning helpers.

For the first time in years, we spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my parents. (The indoor felines are gone, and so was the dander!) It was a fun time of games,

It's a good thing that Silas is the last one to have a birthday this year as I keep getting further behind in my postings. The little lad turned two on the first of this month, and we have enjoyed celebrating him! Hard to believe he is the same child after seeing his birth photos. He's gone from a 4 week early 7 pounder to a 40 lb 2 year old. (You should see my left bicep! :-)

Here I go again. . . I accidentally deleted this picture later in the post and have no clue how to slap it back in the middle. :-( It is a lovely view of the nice hardwoods, but it would fit a little better in the middle of the living room shots. The lighting isn't the best either. Most of that is due to the fact I am still learning how to use this camera and need to reread the manual. (Ick!)
Well I am fiiiiinally posting the longed for photos. :-) As you can see by the date (9.21.09) I began taking these weeks ago. . . According the the neighbors, this house was a pitiful sight before the remodeling process began. Consequently I had to wait for the crews to finish some of the work before I could get the "after" pics. The front still had a few things to be done in this shot, and Seth and Ethan are diligently picking up rocks to help the landscaping.
I had hoped for a one story small (but adequate) house that wouldn't cost too much to heat/cool. I had a few desires but didn't actually think they would materialize. . . You can imagine my thrill when we got here and I saw firsthand how nice it was! No, it's not big and full of amenities, but it is all brand new (minus the toilet in my bathroom)! The location is on a hill at the end of a cul-de-sac which is a huge plus for me! We had lived on one in SC, and it is so nice not to worry about traffic. The back is very private and opens up to woods (yippee!!!!) on one side and an open field on the other. My little guys are good at bringing me handfuls of wildflowers from the fields. The back has a shed attached and a nice sized deck which I hope to make the home of a "handy dandy" grill next year. :-)

Happy Fall, Friends!

"Virginia is for lovers," and I'm in love with this state! I am not sure where to begin in my gushing over the beauty. . . So, before I fling a barrage of photos your way, I wanted to include some scenery near my home.

Now for the pictures to soothe the heart of my mother in law! :-)

Many of you know of the shed saga where Silas accidentally locked himself in the shed to which we have no key, and I thought you'd enjoy a few snapshots of the tale. Pardon the nasty door; the landlord had not yet replaced it.

It was a looooong 30 minutes of Silas' wailing along with tears from his older brothers who thought he would never be released from his prison! As you can tell by the picture below, Silas wasn't the least bit thrilled with the Rough Green Snake that we had found on the porch right before the ordeal. For the rest of these photos, I do not plan to add captions as I might be here for several hours. I'll just label the destination. Enjoy! :-)
We walked, enjoyed a picnic, relaxed in the meadows, walked a nature trail, and spied beautiful flowers.