all things new

I posted three years ago today. A WHOLE STINKIN' LOT occurred in those three years. Catching up would be tough since there's so much to share, so maybe I will entertain Flash Back posts in the future to remember the incredibly wild ride God's led us along as we wrap up our time in New Mexico.

Oh, that's right. It's moving time. Uncle Sam said it was time for us to move on, and we're excited about the future. Today, our HHG (house hold goods) were loaded into a giant moving truck, and in about a week, they'll arrive at a storage facility. About a week and a half after that, they'll be delivered to our new home on the sunny Emerald Coast. Boy, will we miss New Mexico!

More on that later.

If I had to pinpoint one of the greatest events that happened in the last three years, it would undoubtedly be the birth of our third child. Yes, we'd felt God's call to adopt, but that road proved wrought with disaster, and at times, confusion. I believe God used those painful moments to help us grow, even when we were unaware of why it did not work to grow our family. Our plans changed again in the fall of 2013, and as we proceeded down the next step toward adoption, we discovered the good news of our little EJ.

Not only were we finally blessed with another child, but we were blessed with a daughter! I adore being a Boy Mom, but being Mommy to a little girl has been such a beautiful experience. Her brothers love her deeply, despite a bit of sibling rivalry seen from Nugget. He was the baby for almost 7 years!

In the fall of 2015, we found out we were expecting another baby. We traveled to Arizona and California in November, and I suspected it the entire time. That was interesting. I remember riding Space Mountain in Disneyland and asking God to protect the maybe baby from the forces of the roller coaster. Fortunately, it was too early for morning sickness, so we all survived. (I'll have to blog about that trip because it was THE best.)

In March of 2016, we discovered that we were expecting another girl! Two big boys and two little girls. A full heart. So much blessing. So overwhelmed. EJ is going to be a sweet big sister!

So, it seems fitting to adjust my blog title from My Dandelion Boys to My Dandelion Babies. Or something like that. I plan to post more frequently, and I achieved some success a few years ago, so there's hope for me yet. I don't know who reads this, and I don't really need to know I have a following (because that sounds creepy,) but I still have friends all over the world, and there's no sense in not taking advantage of a platform that I enjoy. An outlet to improve my writing while sharing my daily life with friends? Win-win, in my book. Here's to All Things New!

apple-ker-key

Sandman had a four day weekend over the Labor Day holiday, so we headed over to Albuquerque!  Until recently, one of the boys used this pronunciation.  Super cute, but as with most cute-kiddo-speak, it's been replaced with the correct name now.

We really enjoy the mountains there.  And that it's not flat in every direction.  And that you can see mountains. 

 Buddy and Sandman know just how to freak me out....take pictures near the edge.  Or 15 feet from the edge....we were so not going to fall.  I'm going to be a mess when we finally take that trip to the Grand Canyon.

 

We've been to the Sandia Mountains a few times now, but this was the first time there wasn't any snow!  We took advantage of being able to hike some trails without needing skis.

 

 

He claims he wasn't nervous.....

 Love my boys!

 

We visited the zoo twice and toured the aquarium again.  The ABQ zoo is one of our favorites...lots of wonderful exhibits and a great train ride.  The boys also experienced their first baseball game!  We watched the Albuquerque Isotopes and enjoyed fireworks after the game.  If anything, our little trip was a great escape after a crazy summer.  We wouldn't mind pcs'ing to ABQ someday!