the one-handed post

so i'm typing one-handed cuz Zoe's laying on the other one, nursing, & one hand typing sucks so here it is as brief as poss:

Got a job in Waco, Tx. no cracks about branch davidians, pls.

Went there last week for 5 days to house hunt. Not fun with 3 sceaming kids in tow. imagine.

Got a 1400 sq ft duplex, pretty good price.

Waco's pretty...come visit, y'all. we have no money to visit you.

cheers!

More pics:

I've gained some weight...can you tell? 10 lbs at the last doctor visit! Yay!

Ok, so the way these pics upload, you have to do this backward: this is the "after" pic, after the boys got their hair cut.

Aaaannnd: this is before. Can you tell Dillon doesn't like his picture taken? Looks like the FBI's 10 most wanted.

These next few are "the many faces of Zoe".

And if there was any question, she got Rudow/ Browning feet.

Updates:

Hi, Majin Folks! Here's a quick update for you of what's been going on recently. Hang onto your hats, because I'm gonna breeze through the 5 minute version:

I delivered Zoe (I should say the Doctor delivered Zoe) via C-section on Aug 17th at about 4:30 PM. Thanks to some well-placed equipment overhead, I actually witnessed the operation...quite educational. Zoe has been a very very well-behaved baby, sleeping more than I ever knew babies COULD sleep, and just in general a very well-dispositioned baby, thank God.
Abi & Andre came to help us for 2 weeks just when we really needed them...and thank God for them! I can't describe what a help they were, and the kids just LOVED them. Dillon still asks for you, Abi. He called her "Mom" for almost the whole time they were here. It was such an indescribable relief not to have to worry about the kids & just to know they were being loved & cared for as good or sometimes even better than us parent do! So thank you so very much, Abi & Andre. We really really appreciate it!
Mom arrived about a week afterward, helping out at all hours and doing all sorts of things that she shouldn't have been doing for her arms & hands (sorry Mom!).....we couldn't have done it without you! Esp. when Abi & Andre left. Mom just took over the kids almost full-time....I think we totally wore her out, poor thing. DC, you'll have to make sure she has complete bed rest for about 6 months when she comes home. But she worked so hard for us & uncomplainingly ate our sub-standard food (hey, we were moving & had a brand new baby) and was up at all hours with our wakeful young. Thank you SO MUCH too, Mom. We really enjoyed your visit!
Jeff's Mom, sister & husband & 2 children, and 2 brothers came for a weekend visit & his brothers helped Jeff move some of our stuff into storage. THANK YOU Frank & Kenneth, and thank you just as much to Kara & Kim who very generously allowed their husbands to leave them with the kids on a long weekend when I'm sure they all had much more fun, interesting weekends planned. You guys are awesome & we really appreciate it!
As mentioned above, we have moved. Our beloved home is no more. It's very sad, but it's quite wonderful that it sold as quickly as it did. We had to put some money into the transaction, but not too much at all, and it's better to be out from under a house payment at this time BECAUSE......
we still don't have a job.
So we're in an apartment now, hoping for some doors to open for us.
That's it in a nutshell. Thanks for all the help to our family....we sure feel loved by you all & know everyone is rooting for us. It means a lot.

Pics

Update

So I wanted to just update everyone on young Zoe san....the ultrasound shows that she turned again, and is now in the right position! So for now it seems no C-section. There is no guarantee that she will stay that way, but we're hoping for the best, of course. Thanks for everyone's concern & kind words & hopes. May she stay down and come ASAP!

My biggest son just had his birthday on the 23rd. I can believe that he's 4, having lived the last four years spending every moment with him, but I can't believe how big he's grown. He almost is really that big boy that he believes himself to be. But also still my baby. He asks SO many questions...this must be that phase that you hear about, and it irks me sometimes, but I'm also proud to see how inquisitive his little mind is & how intelligent. He works out the most amazing things on his own. I tell him often what I write now: that I always knew I would have him, that I used to dream of having a blonde boy years before I ever knew I would have children, and that he's my most special big boy. God gave him to me and I'm so proud of the way he's growing & learning.

Enjoy the pics below:

After fielding about 20 questions a day as to when his birthday was, I created a calendar on his whiteboard & he put his little magnets on each day until the day of the blessed event. This is him on his big day, putting the last magnet on.

Awww, happy boy with his presents.

We recycled the Spiderman bag from last year (thanks, Grandma!) and he was thrilled. Notice Dillon Redpants in the background, taking a small break from earnestly trying to get all the balloons off the walls.

Noah playing with the birthday gifts. The camera was probably his biggest gift, and he really likes it. The toys at his feet are the Disney "Tarzan" toys, courtesy of E-bay!

In the water at "Surfin' USA", or the Wet N' Wild Waterpark, with friends Ethan & Zach...his fondest wish come true.

Oops...didn't turn this one sideways. Opening a final gift from his friends, a T-ball set & glove. Thank you, Marsden family!

Jeff holding the jury-rigged pinata while Noah takes a swing. Jeff acknowledges the retarded way his feet are positioned, but agrees with me that this is the best picture we have of Noah & the pinata. So deal. :)

Thank you, family members who called/sent e-cards! Noah appreciated & liked it! We love you!

Baby update:

Yes, friends, I am still pregnant. I feel like I should have delivered by now...like I've been pregnant as long as an elephant, which I understand gestates for over 5 years. Or something. Also, I begin to greatly resemble the elephant. But I digress.
I am 37 weeks pregnant, or 9 months (for the uninitiated). Biology lesson: most people carry their babies until about the 40th week, and then segue into labor and delivery in a natural, drug-and-hospital fest, with nice, compact, 6 or 7 lb babies to show for their pains. My family: not so much. All of us, my mother & older sister & I, ROUTINELY carry babies until they are ready for kindergarten or have at least grown hair long enough to be put into a pony tail. This is a big problem for doctors these days, who can't seem to understand that to us, a 12 lb baby with wrinkled, stained skin from swimming around in it's own meconium (poop) for a couple weeks is par for the course. (Hey, childbirth is not for the faint of heart.) So I don't really have a chance in hell of delivering naturally, because in order for it to be natural, I would go into labor about a month after my due date and my doctor would be medically disbarred or whatever they do to them. So all this to say, I'm almost certainly going to have to be induced.
But maybe not, she says with false enthusiasm! Because I found out that young Zoe has, in the immortal words of the poet, done the hokey pokey & turned herself around, but it is NOT what it's all about at all, because she is now breech. All of which to say, I may be having a scheduled C-section in the next 2 weeks unless she decides to turn again. I will find out this next Thursday and keep you posted.