Good-bye MI

So, today I am sitting at my computer surrounded by cardboard boxes. The movers are here, and I have managed to talk them into saving the computer for last. It is a weird feeling to feel like the stranger in my own house. There are four men here talking and working furiously while I kind of drift around, trying to stay out of the way. I am dying to take a nap, but I would feel so dumb to lie down in the middle of all their business, so I do what I can to appear busy, too, even though I really have nothing to do. It is so strange to feel like I don't belong in these walls. I guess this is good - I am becoming detached from my home a little bit at a time.

The other day, my ward friends threw a good-bye lunch for me, and they asked me to talk for a few minutes about what I will miss about MI. I guess I should share it here, too. So here is my list (incomplete though it may be - too many emotions to really think clearly):

* the smell of water in the air
* being within walking distance of many lakes, and at least one beach
* green lawns all the time, and not just in the yards with sprinkler systems
* "tree tunnels" - driving down roads where the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees make a perfect tunnel
* the hands-down, no contest, most beautiful autumns on earth (imagine the aforementioned tree tunnels in full Fall color - amazing!)
* wonderful teachers and schools - especially for Pepper
* dirt roads in the middle of town
* winters so cold, I just HAD to stay home all day - loved that!
* fantastic neighbors! I know the Lord put a little bug in Brad's ear when he was house-hunting for our home here, because when we moved in, we found out we were on the same circle as some ward members - unheard of out here! The Whartons have proven to be such good friends, whether helping me break into my home when Adam locked us all out (sorry Rob, I ratted you out!) or sharing a big turkey dinner with us on the spur of the moment because they had so much food. Almost from the moment we moved here, I felt like the Whartons had our backs - Michelle has said she can see our house clearly from her front window, and it has been a comfort imagining her keeping her eye on us. We will miss that feeling of friendship and security.

and of course...
* the Clarkston ward family. When we moved here almost 6 years ago, it was so hard for me to leave my family. Now I am having the same separation anxiety as I pry myself away from the friends we've made in the Clarkston ward. I can't think of a single person that I don't just love. Yesterday, as I was wandering the halls of the church during Sunday School (naughty, I know, but I needed a moment), I couldn't believe I wouldn't be there again for a couple of years. Sad. How I will miss being there every Sunday and Wednesday night, leaning against the brown-carpeted walls and chatting with whoever else happens to be there. And all the faces there - OK, now I have to stop. I can't have the movers see me down here weeping. Let me just say that I will love the people here forever - they have left a stamp on me that will never fade.

Good-bye MI.

Berlin has some big shoes to fill.

Mother's Day

Every year, I like to take a picture of me with my kids on Mother's Day. It's just kind of fun to see how we've all changed (well, it's fun to see how the kids have changed - I don't love seeing myself getting older).

So, here we all are on Mother's Day 2009. I am such a lucky mom!

Boating, Buns, and my Baby Boy

During our phone conversation today, Brad chastised me for not updating the blog in so long. I think he likes to look at it so he can remember what we all look like. So, here are a few random happenings from April:

After the snow melted, we had a LOT of water in our back yard forest - which we affectionately call "Lake Bitner." One afternoon, Pepper and Adam had the brilliant idea to take their sleds out and see if they could float. I guess they were in the mood for some spring boating. Well, unfortunately, the sleds floated, but not with the boys on them. So, after an hour or so, they came into the house freezing with sopping wet boots. Nice try, though.

Luke is in the thick of the "I'll do it myself" phase. One night, I put him to bed in a perfectly normal pair of pajamas, and the next morning I found that he had gotten up sometime in the night and put on two more sets of pj's on top of the original pair. I'm sure he was plenty warm.

Not long after the pajama incident, he told me one morning that he was going to get dressed himself, or as he put it, "I'll get my dressed on myself!". This is the outfit he came up with - the Lowe's apron and Batman mask.

You can see he was missing some key elements!

Even with all his craziness, Lukie is still my baby.

OK Brad, is that better? We love and miss you!

More Easter

After the kids finished hunting for eggs in the neighborhood, we came back inside the house and colored some real eggs.

I boiled a dozen eggs for each kid to color, which makes a LOT of egg salad afterwards (needless to say, I threw about 1/2 of it out - don't tell the starving children in China). The important thing was that the kids had fun coloring eggs.

I had to laugh at this egg. Pepper was experimenting with dipping his eggs in 2 colors - first half in one color, then half in another. This egg ended up with a little white showing, as you can see. He showed it to me just like this, and said, "This egg looks like a fat lady." I think he meant it looks like the back end of a fat person whose pants and shirt don't quite meet - especially when she bends over. For those of you who don't know Pepper, he doesn't have a mean, judgemental bone in his body. He just calls thing like he sees them - a simple observation. I chuckled about this all afternoon - he was right!

The next morning, the kids were delighted to see that the Easter Bunny had come...

Luke especially couldn't believe his luck - there was candy everywhere! A two-year-old boy's dream come true.

That evening, we had Easter dinner up at Jeff and Jodi's house. Once Erik and Luke found their way outside, we couldn't drag them back in the house. These two little boys just LOVE each other! They call each other "Geeker" and "Owek", and I have never seen two-year-olds play together as well as they do.

A lovely Easter, although we missed Brad all day. Sigh...

Happy Hunting

Every year, my neighbor Michelle organizes an Easter egg hunt in our circle. This year, Michelle had the brilliant idea to have the older kids hide all the eggs the night before, so us fuddy-duddy grown-ups didn't have to leave our warm houses after dark to go hide hundreds of eggs. It was magical for me to walk out this morning and see that all the eggs were just waiting for us!

Here are all the kids ready to start hunting. The snow was mostly gone, but it was still pretty cold this morning.

This was Luke's first year to hunt eggs, so he was a little confused at first. Once he figured out the rules (you know, see an egg, put it in your basket), he had a great time.

As an eight-year-old, Adam is a seasoned egg-hunting professional. He went for it hard core.

Pepper was also all-business. When you're ten, you know that it is all about getting the maximum number of eggs in the minimum amount of time.

Now that Jess is 12, she is officially "too old" for stuff like this. But it is still fun to be the big sister and help Luke.

Happy Easter!

Grumpy Spring Break

OK, so after a too-short visit, Brad left last night to return to work in Germany. And then, as if to kick me when I'm down, this is what I woke up to this morning:

Just be warned, Jill is grumpy today!

Buddies

Yesterday we had a house full of friends here to watch General Conference, and it was a great day. Brad and I both grew up in families that get together to eat massive amounts of food while we watch conference. Since we've lived here, we have been lucky to find friends that enjoy the same tradition.

This year, we invited some friends to our home for the Sunday morning session, and Luke was in heaven because his favorite buddy Landon was here to play with all day. I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos of these two cute little buddies.