Life is a Bowl of Cherris: 2009

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Two Months

Two months. That's how long it's been since I've written on my blog. And for good reason.

The last two months have been another turning point in our journey of life. There were so many things going on that were uncertain that I didn't feel like blogging about things that may never come to pass.

First and foremost, Shawn applied for a job with a nearby fire department. They had a crazy series of several interviews, each about two weeks apart. So the entire process lasted nearly the entire two months. Shawn really wanted the job, but he did not make it to the final round of interviews. Instead, he was placed on a hiring eligibility list for the next year. Out of 750 applicants, he made it into the top 41 somewhere (he doesn't know what his official "ranking" is). In theory, if another job became available with that department, they would look at their hiring list to find qualified applicants. In reality, it is extremely unlikely.

So, a closed door there.

The second major event was that there was a tax levy that the City was trying to get passed by the H'ville voters that would change the fire staffing from an 8-4:30 schedule to the regular 24 hour schedule that most fire departments have. Shawn was hoping it would pass and spent the last couple months trying to do things to promote the ballot measure and to educate members of the community. It was a very stressful time, but the measure did pass, so H'ville will go to a 24 hour schedule beginning June 15th. So that means Shawn will work in 24 hours shifts on rotating days. He will work one day ON, one OFF, then one ON, one OFF, one ON, then four days OFF. That will be his work cycle.

Because it looks like at least for a little while we will be staying with H'ville, we have considered buying a house in a nearby town. We've spent lots of time looking at it and dreaming of what we would do if we bought it. It is a foreclosure and a fixer-upper. By fixer upper, I mean just that. It needs a lot of work. Fortunately, the price is very low, but it would cost many thousands of dollars to get it up to par. We were looking at it for the last two months, but could not put in an offer on it until we found out if they were going to lift the requirement that all H'ville firefighters live within city limits. Last night the council agreed to lift the requirement. As these kinds of things go, the house we're interested in is now up for auction instead of just being on the market. We are still waiting to find out what that means.

There are so many things going on and it has given us a roller coaster ride of emotions. Shawn and I have both been wrestling a lot with the question of where we want to live, how long we want to live there, what we want for our lives as a family, couple and individually. I go back and forth between wanting to buy that house we're interested in and wanting to move somewhere else and embark on a new adventure.

To make matters even more emotionally complex, last week we found out that Shawn's mom has a tumor inside her skull that is pushing on her brain stem. The doctor is fairly certain that it is a benign growth, but that it would still require surgery to remove. We don't know at all what to expect and that unknown is very scary. We are still waiting to hear all the details from the neurosurgeon. It makes us question whether we should stay in the area, or whether moving somewhere else would be possible.

We are still at this turning point. Should we look for another job and place to live? Or should we sit tight here? Ultimately we know that we really just want the best for our family and we are waiting until we have a more definite idea of what the best thing is going to be. It's the waiting and not knowing that is the hard part.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Trip to Little Rock

That's right--five car seats in the back of my sister's car. Elle, Luke and Kai took the back, then Claire and Quinn in the middle row. It was packed.

At my grandparents' graveside in Pottsville, Arkansas.

Marines waiting for my grandfather's casket to arrive.

On the trip home--Luke, Elle and Kai all fading in and out of sleep. Quinn and Claire were also asleep, but there were just too many children and carseats to get it all in one picture.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Chuck E. Cheese Outing

Quinn gets a ride from Uncle Henry.

Claire and her abuelita.

Elle getting hopped up on soda or some other sugary beverage. My kids did likewise.

Quinn and Shawn at Chuck E. Cheese's.

Chuck E. Cheese Outing

Last weekend, I went down to visit my family. The grandparents decided they wanted to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's in Springfield. All I can say is one word: chaos. It was total sensory overload. It was packed!

Walking into the place was traumatic. Somebody had puked all over the lobby and the outside area. It seemed completely impossible to me that all that puke could have come from one person! It was crazy! Whatever the case, it was really gross and there was a line out the door to get in. So, that left my little family standing basically in somebody else's puke. Not appetizing and not a good start to the outing.

However, once we got inside, things got better. We had lots of pizza and ended up winning lots of tickets. The kids really enjoyed it, but of course it ended with a group meltdown from all the kids (Kai, Quinn, Claire, Elle and Luke). Fun. Good times.

Quinn wasn't satisfied with just one piece of pizza at a time.

Grandpa makes the rounds with Kai.

Claire, my mom and Celeste.

Luke playing a driving game with his daddy.

We Miss Football

That's right. Football season is over. And in our house, that is a very sad thing. So one evening recently, we decided to take the kids to the H'ville football field to run around with the football. We thought the kids might want to get out. We had fun for about ten minutes, then the kids all three had a total meltdown at one time. It was comical, yet not comical.

Kai outside the stadium.

Claire.

Claire bundled up for the occasion.

Shawn showing the kids how to kick the football.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

More of the Kids

Quinn got the hair that I got--thin, fine and very, very prone to static electricity.

Claire smiling as she plays on the floor.

Kai expressing his frustration over something or another.

Claire in her ExerSaucer.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Lesson of the Day

Here is Shawn with Quinn less than an hour after she was born.

The lesson I want to impart to you is this--BACK UP your pictures.

We had a separate hard drive for all of our pictures and I never backed them up. Well, that hard drive crashed and we lost two years worth of pictures--almost all of our pictures from Bahrain. It was devastating, because they were pictures of Quinn right after she was born and when she was infant, as well as all of our Middle Eastern adventures.

A few weeks ago, my mom called and gave me very good news--she had some of our pictures backed up to her computer from when she came to visit right after Quinn was born. So, though we do not have all of our pictures, at least we have a few months worth. I am posting some of my favorites from that time period......