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We've been back in the Dominican for almost three weeks and Landon says to me last night, "Mom, I never want to leave the Dominican again." I think they are happy to be home...and it looks like if you want to see Landon you're going to have to visit him here!

 

my joy.

when i realized that i hadn't posted on our family blog since september, i just about died.  if you knew how much i love to write and share stories about our growing littles, you would know why i am so horrified.  i have completely slacked.  but i AM going to turn this corner.

so let's just pretend i have been consistently blogging for the past four months and we are well acquainted with all that has been going on in the braisted home.

moving right along.

my little emi is three.  (and yes, someday, i will post pictures from her third birthday--which happened two months ago.  ugh.)  she has changed so much over the course of the last two months that she is hardly recognizable.  she still sports her golden locks and sassy brown eyes but she has changed into this little person.  

she dances at the first inkling that music is going to play.  she has moves and motions and "hips that don't lie."  seriously, we are going to have to chain her to her seat when she gets older.  she can shake it like a real latina.

the last year with her has been a little rough.  she is bossy and independent, mouthy and defiant.  what was adorable as a nine month old, was not adorable as a two year old.  i promise.  but she has really come into her own over the last couple of months.  don't get me wrong, she still has her "moments" but she definitely has decided that being obedient and polite is a better route than punishment and disappointment.

i have really enjoyed her.  i've had flashes of the future of her and i, the best of friends, chatting about life over coffee.  i mean, we have to survive teenage-hood first, but i can see it nonetheless.

she cuddles at a moments' notice.  hugs with abandon.  swoons over princesses as they are kissed by their prince.  coddles a crying baby doll and soothes them with a song.  she is all girl with a hint of tomboy.  just like her mama.

i don't know what the third year will bring but i am doing my darndest to hold tight to these precious moments with her.  it feels like we just brought her home from the hospital and here she is dressing up in gowns and pearls.  

oh my little emi.  you are my joy.

the boy sure is creative!

Landon's Creative Game - August 2012 from Amanda Braisted on Vimeo.

...and they're off!

I am going to pretend that the summer isn't over.  I am also going to pretend that I am not old enough to have two children in school.  I am currently pretending that they are not there now, as I write.

There's a lot of pretending going on in this house today.

No matter what I want to make myself believe, I do indeed have two children sitting in their classes at this very moment.  One in Pre-Kindergarten and the other in Preschool.  I literally can't wrap my mind around it.

Landon had a rough time as usual.  Cried quite a bit once he got to his class.  He was all excited to start school today but it fell apart once he got there.  Let me tell you, if Mike had not been there with me today I would have grabbed him, ran out of that school yard, hugged him and told him he never had to go back again.  Listening to your child cry out your name brings up way too many feelings of bad parenting and abandonment issues.  I can just see him resenting me when he's older.

Emi on the other hand was smooth as pie.  She was a little confused as to what she was doing there with a bunch of strangers but no tears, no problem.

Drama aside, I did take our first day of school pictures and I can't believe how grown up they look.  And I'm still in shock that Emi joined Landon this year.

Here's to lots of learning, less tears and a great school year!

Time flies to FIVE

This day, five years ago at 5:30 in the morning, I felt my first contraction.  I got up, ate some breakfast, took a shower and decided to wake Mike up around 7:30.  We called our doctor, got on the road and we were at the hospital by 9:30am.  The rest is history.

I remember changing my mind when they wheeled me back to the birthing room.  I decided that I was quite comfortable with Landon in my belly (although heart burn, bruised ribs and cankles the size of tree trunks would say otherwise).  I really wasn't ready for him to be out.  But when his little heart rate started to drop and they uttered the words "emergency c-section" i just wanted him safely in my arms.

There's something quite peculiar that happens when you see your child for the first time.  In an instant, a minutes-old infant changes your entire life yet it still feels like they have always been a part of it.

He was the most beautiful boy I had ever laid my eyes on.  He smelled like nothing I had ever known before.  I held him on my chest and felt his little heart beat knowing that somehow, just hours before my body was sustaining his and now here he is.  Pink.  Brown-haired.  Round nose.  Tiny Fingers.  My son.

Somehow, that baby is nowhere to be seen.  And what is left in his place is a smart, curious, creative, challenging, energetic, intuitive, sensitive, and passionate five-year old boy.

This year was so different than others.  We had a big note on our calendar marking his birthday and everyday he would ask how many days were left.  He was acutely aware that his special day was coming and amidst the craziness of our summer schedule, we wanted him to know just how special his day really was.  How else do you do that but light birthday candles on your morning peanut butter and nutella sandwich?  He couldn't believe his day was already starting out like this!

The next seven hours were spent in the pool.  Our friends Tim and Samira loaned us their big kid pool and Landon couldn't get enough.  Both Landon and Emi spent most of seven hours swimming, coming inside only to eat (and that was because I forced them too).

Landon's best friend, Hanani, came over to swim too and if his birthday would have ended right there, he would have been perfectly happy.  Friends do that for birthdays.

And then Daddy had the evening off and he swam too.  I'm not sure the smile came off of Landon's face the entire time they were all swimming together.

Poor little Emi just didn't get it.  She kept walking around the house saying, "Emi birthday, too."  Wondering where her candles were and where her best friends were and why she didn't have a pink cake waiting in the fridge.  But she made the most of undivided Daddy and Bubba time.

We ate cake and opened presents and you would never guess the thing Landon was most excited about.

Tape.

Yes, we got him tape for his birthday.  Duct tape, masking tape and scotch tape.  If you could see a picture of his room (which sometime I'll have to put a picture up here) you would know why tape was the best gift ever.  This kid LOVES him some tape.  He tapes pictures on the wall, makes contraptions with tape, finds sticks and toilet paper rolls and old game pieces to hang with tape.  He is insane for tape.  I couldn't imagine what he would have done had any of the stores here had the kind of duct tape with prints on it or in different colors.  We might have had to pick him off the floor.

Somehow we have a five-year old.  I hate to think how quickly time is flying by but with every passing year there is something more to love about our little guy.  Or big guy, rather.  Wouldn't want to accidentally say "little" in front of Landon.

It was quite fitting that one week, to the day, before Landon turned five, he lost his first tooth.  Every five minutes he'd stop whatever he was doing and run into our bathroom to look at his empty space one more time. 

I love you, little man.  I've never known anyone who can bring me such joy or challenge me the way you do.  Your Daddy and I couldn't be more proud of the boy you are becoming.  God blessed us richly with you and I couldn't imagine my life without you, my first born.

What's New

i always seem to skip over the fact that my kids are growing up right in front of my eyes.  and the reality is i get to see them growing up, at least.  family and friends back in the States don't.  so this quick little post is just for all of you (whoever you are) that follow our family blog.

these two have been a handful lately.  it's a 50/50 shot what kind of day its going to be.  they can be the best of friends; sweet, kind, helpful.  then they can be the worst of enemies; throwing things, hitting each other, slamming doors in each other's faces.  it feels a bit like a reality show for parenting around here lately.  i keep expecting that British lady to show up on my doorstep and tell me all the things i am doing wrong.  then out of nowhere i will get a hundred "please's" and "thank you's" and hugs and "i love you's."  i would call our house a ying and yang right now, if i believed in that sort of a thing.

emi is a princess with a capital "P."  she has me put makeup on her almost every morning.  she walks around in cinderella heels.  she gets really sassy when she wants something and stands there with her hands on her hips until she gets it.  and she is loving her some friends.  the other day my friend, audrey, came over with her little girl, ruby ann.  emi thinks she is ruby's mom; takes care of her, tells her what to do, puts her pacifier in her mouth if she's dropped it.

she has another set of friends, amelia and stella, who live across the street.  i don't have any new pictures of the three of them together but they all stand at their own gates and yell across the street at one another.  it is so incredibly adorable!

landon has come out of his little shell.  he is not nearly as shy as he used to be.  he says one of his favorite things are "groups" (or the missions teams that come down to the dominican), and he loves to see himself on the camera.  for example; the frames below.  haha.

things have still been a little difficult around here with some pretty heavy spiritual attacks, sleepless nights and temper tantrums but when i see photos like the ones above, i am reminded that His mercies are new in the morning and He guides us through the most difficult of times to joy on the other side.

insane, ridiculous, fantastic

i felt the crazy desire to blog this morning.  i have taken a little hiatus from our personal blog, not really intentionally, but not unintentionally either.  in fact, i kinda forgot about blogging about our family life until my mom mentioned that my last post had been about Christmas crafts in late November.

quite frankly, i didn't feel like blogging.  our family had a rough six months that included some pretty serious spiritual attacks, tough parenting stuff, hard decisions and overwhelming exhaustion.  i didn't feel like blogging about "pretty" things when life just didn't feel that pretty.

but this morning, as i sit in one of my favorite houses that rests on one of my favorite farms, our littlest one came around the corner with crazy bed head and the sweetest smile.  i simply forgot the past six months and wanted to share with whoever follows this blog, one of my life's greatest joys.

this little one was an answer to prayers we didn't even know we needed.  she helped us through one of the most difficult times we've ever faced and many times i look at her sweet little face and am reminded that even in the midst of her temper tantrums, she literally saved our family from sinking too deeply into our grief over losing mike's dad, joe.

she is rowdy and rambunctious and pushes buttons i never knew i had.  she is fiery and opinionated and independent.  she draws me to my knees everyday in prayer asking God how on earth i am supposed to raise her to be the woman He wants her to be when i can barely get her to listen when i ask her to simply pick up her toys.

she questions everything and does very little i ask her to do, the first time.  she antagonizes her brother and taunts her father and overwhelms her mother.

but she is insanely passionate.  ridiculously nurturing.  fantastically loving.  she is the funniest little thing that comes up with the craziest ideas.  she is expressive and outgoing.  she's never met a stranger and likes everyone she's met.  she resists her boundaries but holds tightly to them too.  she is one of my life's greatest joys and i couldn't imagine our lives without her.  in fact, our lives would probably be pretty boring and mundane without her.

and above all, i know, without a doubt that all the things that drive me crazy about her, God will find a way to make those things work for the good of His kingdom.  And for me, that's all the confirmation I need to watch and train and guide her even through the toughest of her little stages.

Crafts for the Soul

a little while back i was doing some soul searching. i found myself always feeling stressed. always feeling like i was working; not only for my job but my wifely and motherly duties as well. i was really asking God what it was that was making me feel like i was drowning. i've had stress in my life before. i've had sports demands and school demands. i've been over-committed and under pressure. but hadn't felt like this too many times before. then it hit me; i had no creativity in my life.

so about two weeks ago i made it a priority to carve out 20 minutes a day to do something creative. it didn't matter what it was, it just had to be fun and require some imagination.

we've been on a pretty limited budget but we've been diligent about setting aside some money for fun things. mike recently built the kids a little wooden playhouse. and i have been wanting to do something but didn't know what. then the holidays came. and i knew what i had to do.

christmas decorations!

so here are a couple of my projects that i've worked on the last two weeks. some of them were completed in one 20-minute creative period...others over a couple days. enjoy!

no sew tree skirt

materials:
1 yd red felt ($2.10)
approx. 2 yds gold ribbon ($1.00)
hot glue gun and glue (already had them)

time: 45 minutes (i did this on a weekend, so i went over my allotted 20 minutes)
total cost: $3.10



christmas stockings

materials (for all four):
2 yds red felt ($4.20)
2 squares white felt ($.55)
2 squares brown felt ($.55)
fake greenery (approx. $.10 for all four)
buttons (already had them)
hot glue and glue (already had them)

time: 30 minutes to cut pattern and sew the stockings
10 minutes to glue white felt
30 minutes to make felt flowers/glue greenery
-------------------------------
1 hour 10 minutes (did it over 4 days)

total cost: $5.40 for four ($1.35 each)



kids "masterpieces" display

materials:
piece of scrap wood (already had it)
paint (already had it)
10 clothes pins (already had them)
hot glue gun and glue (already had them)
screws, anchors and a handy husband :) (already had all of them)

time: 20 minutes to paint the board
20 minutes to paint/glue on the clothespins
5 minutes to hang
-------------------------------
45 minutes (did this in one day, 20 minutes in the morning, 25 in the evening)

total cost: FREE!!!!



cinnamon christmas candle

materials: 1 red cinnamon scented candle ($1.85)
cannister of cinnamon sticks ($.50)
fake greenery (maybe $.03)
twine (already had it)

time: 20 minutes
total cost: $2.38



decoration wine bottle
materials:
empty wine bottle (already had it)
silver spray paint ($4.50 and used very little)
gold decorative greenery (2.10)
twine (already had it)

time: 20 minutes
total cost: $6.60 (and would have been cheaper if not for SUPER expensive spray paint here)

no sew christmas advent calendar
materials:
2 yds green felt ($4.20)
5 squares white felt ($1.37)
5 squares red felt ($1.37)
4 squares light green felt ($1.10)
gold ribbon (already had it)
paint for numbers (already had it)
glue and glue gun (already had them)

time: 4 days x 20 minutes each day = 1 hr. 20 min.
total cost: $8.04

(do you see the little paper man next to the advent calendar? landon made him and he calls him "the christmas boy." love his imagination!)

piece of heaven

with our fall schedule slowing down a bit we've made weekends intentional and a priority. we try not to schedule any "work" related stuff. we stay away from our computers more. we play outside a lot. and the most recent activity the kids love...

painting.

i have to say i grin a little when the kids say they want to paint. sometimes i groan, thinking about taking out all those paints and using tons of paper for just three brushstrokes. but mostly i get excited at the possibility of my kids being artists.

look how different they each hold the brush

art has played more than a huge role in my life. it has played a ginormous role in my life. i've always said that i didn't care if my kids were ballerinas or ball players. whatever they choose, i'll support them in that. but i definitely wouldn't complain if they chose to be painters. or photographers. or cartoonists. or sidewalk chalk artists.

emi is my careful painter. i know she's not even quite two but she has a delicate hand. she never goes off the page. she always holds a paintbrush like she is touching the most sacred piece of paper. she has this super adorable focus face where she purses her lips together and her eyebrows indent inward. so cute.

landon, although my wild painter, has quite the imagination. he is always mixing pictures with the new letters and numbers he is learning. he also never forgets who the picture is of or what animal he painted. he seems to be painting a lot of caterpillars, spiders and gagas (mike's dad who passed away in 2009) lately.

in parenting, i feel like it brings out the best in me and the worst in me. my ugliness rears its head in heated arguments (yes, those happen even with toddlers) and cuddles and kisses take all of my burdens away. there is just something about watching these little ones create that makes me hope and wonder and stand in awe of these beautiful creations. my beautiful creations. mike and i's beautiful creations.

god's littlest, most beautiful creations.

Maine - Day 3

...also known as the day i took, like, no photos.

we spent the entire day at the cabin. we went straight from pjs and breakfast to swimsuits and cold beverages on floaties. landon's dreams came true when our neighbor decided to take his plane out for a spin. he couldn't believe it could float on the water.

we were just as in awe when we realized some fish we'd had on the stringer suddenly disappeared. we knew something was in the water as we discovered remnants of fish guts and slashed scales floating near our dock. i was thinking the theme song from jaws but really it was just a ridiculously huge snapping turtle. and when i say huge, i mean, like, almost as big as emi. like, the kind that can rip fingers and toes off of your body. creepy.

when we were sure the monster was out of our midst, we gave the kids a green light to swim again. emi wanted to be like the girls and float around, basking in the sun and sipping iced tea. she was a natural bathing beauty, although she wasn't fond of her photo-fanatic mother ruining her sun time.

and, surprise, surprise...papa (that's what the kids call my dad) went fishing and came back with some breakfast for the next day. this time reeling in a bass and bluegill. landon was thrilled. again. this kid never got sick of our daily jaunts to the dock to see what papa had found on his trip in the boat.

and as the day was heading towards dusk, i happened to go check on a napping emi and fell upon the cutest picture ever. how on earth her pacifier stayed like that, i have not a clue.

six to go. and tomorrow i'm sure will be just as good as today. it's maine. how could it not be?