school pictures

A few weeks ago, Noah had his school pictures taken. I meant to write after we got the picture back because it was so funny, but then life got crazy and yadda, yadda, yadda.

I was talking to a friend and we were saying how it's way cheaper to just go take a bunch of pictures yourself at the park - and they'd turn out way better - but there's something about the school picture you just have to have.


Kindergarten is usually ok. you know you're supposed to smile and it still comes fairly naturally.

By first grade, you still love being there, but it's hard to smile when you're trying to figure out what exactly went wrong with this years haircut.

By second grade - you give up on the hair because the permanent teeth have come in full force and all you can say is "it is what it is. own it. love it."

By the time I hit sixth grade I figured it out. If I squinted just barely and had a slight smile, nothing too big - just a hint, then I could look just like Marilyn Monroe...

As you can see - it totally worked

As for Noah - his pictures I can't help but love. His kindergarten picture was going to be PERFECT! he'd lost his two front teeth just weeks before, so his smile was all about showing the missing teeth. you couldn't help but smile when you saw it. That morning I had his hair done, his clothes were clean and matched and when he smiled it was so freakin' cute. I couldn't wait for pictures to come back. Later that day when Noah got home from school I checked him out. Hair still looked good, clothes weren't stained - it was clear picture day was a success. I asked him how it went and if the photographer was nice, etc. he said it went great and he had a lot of fun. I then asked him to show me the smile he did for the camera. Instead of showing me his big smile with those darling missing teeth, he said, "Mom, I decided to try a new smile today."

two weeks later, we got his pictures back...

His First grade picture was all about the hair, because the smile was going through that if-i-concentrate-hard-enough-i-know-i-can-smile stage.

His most recent picture - Second grade - was darling. His hair was back to normal, his shirt looked great and his smile was one of my favorites.

when he came home with this one, Aaron's mom and my mom were both at my house. Aaron's mom asked him what the photographer did to make him smile so big. Noah said, "he didn't do anything. when i sat down, i just did what my mom told me to do. i pictured the photographer in his underwear"

(in my defense, I don't actually remember telling him that, but then again, I wouldn't put it past me)

a special night

A few years ago I was going through my cedar chest (which was my grandma's and eventually handed down to me) and found a tiny baby dress. It was clear this was a very old handmade dress with little needle point flowers and crocheted edging on the bottom. After a little research I found out it was my mother's dress when she was a baby, made by my great-grandmother about 70 years ago.

Wanting to preserve it, I talked to my friend, Emily, and asked her if she thought this was something she could shadow box. Within a couple of months she had a friend of hers fix some tears in the dress and had it dry cleaned so it was now smooth and wrinkle free. We spent some time picking out the wood to frame it in and the matting for the background. There was some really cool wood, but I figured Aaron would kill me if I spent $500 on framing one dress. So Emily did a lot of searching and found the perfect wood for this dress. I was pretty excited about preserving this family heirloom and being able to put it in Reagan's room.

A week after we made all the final decisions for the shadow box Aaron lost his job. I called Emily to let her know I'd have to put off the framing until Aaron found something else. I just couldn't justify the cost when we were trying to figure out how many months we could survive without work. I was really worried she had already spent the money to get the supplies and I wouldn't be able to pay her for them. When I told her what was going on the first words were that this is the last thing I should be worrying about and for me to not give it a second thought. She then spent the rest of the call comforting me and making sure I was ok and wanting to know what she could do to help.

It is now two weeks later and a few hours ago Emily showed up. She had finished the dress and wanted me to have it, regardless of the fact that I have no way to pay her. She said it meant a lot to her that I have it up on my wall where I could see it any time I wanted. Words can't express what this has meant to me.

Emily does framing out of her home and has three young girls, for her to take time out of her already busy schedule and time from her framing jobs that pay, to complete a job for me, is pretty exceptional. It was a beautiful gift and one that I now treasure all the more.

 

If there's one thing I have learned in the last couple of weeks is that when things go bad... I mean really bad... people come out of the woodwork to help and support in any way they can. We've had so many calls from friends and family telling us to hang in there and how much they love us. So many people have called and e-mailed Aaron with ideas of where he could find work and who's currently hiring. Friends have called to have Noah over just to give us a break. They say it's so Noah can play, but I know it's more for me than him. While it's been unbelievably scary to not have a job and not know how long you can survive without one, it's been amazing to see how friends and family step in when you need them the most. I can't thank you all enough for the love and support that has been shown us these past few weeks.

I love you all.

If anyone can make me laugh... it's Noah

no matter how bad life has become, Noah still makes us laugh. Here are a few examples of things he has said over the last few weeks.


1. Noah and I have a plate of cookies we were taking to leave on a neighbors doorstep. As I was in a hurry I told him to just throw on a pair of shoes that he wouldn't have to tie. He walks out of his room in his huge snow shoes. As we're walking out to the car I'm explaining to him how when we pull up to the house, he'll get out and take the cookies to the door. Once he sets them down, he'll ring the door bell and then run as fast as he can back to the truck. Noah, without even pausing, says, "Mom, how in the hell am I supposed to run in these boots?"

(seeing how he had served quite the sentence for calling his friend 'duck head', which i thought he had said, 'dick head', i felt i would let this one slide.)



2. A few weeks ago Aaron was in D.C. starting his new job and I was here with the kids trying to sell the house. Keeping it realtor ready with my two kids is not an easy task. I'm afraid I got a little crazy trying to keep it constantly clean. After a realtor tour I had many comments that the back yard needed to be raked up. It doesn't look like much work, but it's really quite the project. we have scrub oaks and the roots create all these little shoots that can't be pulled, but have to be individually cut. so, besides raking, there are thousands of shoots that have to be cut to get rid of the ghetto look. After 4 hours of working out there I realized there was no way I was going to get it done in time for a showing, so I called my sister-in-law and asked her if I could hire my nephews to come and help. At one point, me being me, I started to cry on the phone - with Aaron being gone and me tyring to keep the children alive and the house clean, i was feeling a bit overwhelmed. When I got off the phone, Noah came around the corner, gave me a big hug and says with the most sincere I'm-here-for-you voice, "Mom, I need to finish watching my show and then I'm going to play the wii, and then I'll need some dinner and then I'll watch one more show and then (he takes a big breath and gives me the sweetest smile) I'm going to clear my schedule and help you rake."


3- The other night it was way past Noah's bed time and he is doing everything he can to stay up later. One more trip to the bathroom, one more drink of water, one more confession of going to think time at school, on and on and on. We're starting to lose our patience and have told Noah to get to bed or else. He thinks for a moment and walks over to aaron.

Noah: (puts his head on Aaron's shoulder) Dad, will you please come and tell me a story about one of the prophets of old before i go to sleep?

Aaron: No. I've already told you it's time to go to bed and I need to work on the computer tonight. i'll tell you stories tomorrow.

Noah: Dad, Don't you think that sharing the gospel with your son is more important than working on the computer?

(that's noah's new thing lately - "mom, don't you think playing with your son is more important than doing dishes?" "mom, don't you think it's more important to cuddle your son in the morning than making him clean his room before school?"
he's quite the manipulator for so young)


4- To preface this next conversation, it's best to bring everyone up to speed. Three weeks ago Aaron was offered a new job in D.C. which we were very excited about. Aaron flew out and I stayed behind to sell the house. On his eighth day of the job, Aaron was told that the company had decided he wasn't the guy they wanted and let him go. This, obviously, has been quite a devastating shock to us. His old job had already filled his position and he was now across the country without his family and no employment. They offered him no severance package, which has left us in a bit of a bind. Unfortunately, we had just shipped Aaron's car there, so I flew out and we drove the car back together as we made a game plan for the next coming months as Aaron begins job hunting.
I was going to post about this when it happened a couple of weeks ago, but my first draft was way too depressing, my second draft was a tad bit too angry for a family-friendly blog, so I'm going to have to wait until I can look back and laugh at all this madness before I can dedicate any specific post.
Anyway - last night we were driving home from seeing grandpa and Noah started asking why we couldn't go out to dinner and how it had been SOOO LONG since we'd been out to eat. We tried to explain that while daddy was getting a new job we were going to be really careful with money and not eat out a lot. Noah didn't quite understand.

Noah: so, we don't get to go out to eat tonight.

Aaron: No, not tonight.

Noah: When do we get to go out?

Me: Not for awhile, babe. When daddy gets a new job we'll go out somewhere fun to celebrate.

Noah: so... we can't go out to eat until then???

Aaron: that's right.

Noah: well (so matter-of-factly) why doesn't dad just get a job at Quiznos?

(aaron and i just look at each other)

Aaron: um, that's not exactly what i was planning.

Noah: then how about MetLife or Texaco?

(we realize that Noah is just naming off stores we're passing on the road)

Aaron: Noah, I'm looking for jobs that I can do specific things with. I promise, I'll find a job soon.

Noah: And we can't go out to eat until then and you can't buy me toys or take me to fun places?

Aaron: (tyring to stay patient) Noah, until i have a job we're not spending money if we don't have to.

Noah: (with such horror in his voice) ARE WE POOR???

(it took us a few seconds to respond because we were trying no to laugh at the utter horror and exasperation in his voice)

Me: No, we're not poor, we're just being careful with are money.

Noah: poor people don't have money and they can't go out. so, we're poor - aren't we?

Aaron: Instead of saying poor, lets just say we're being financially careful.

Noah: seriously, does that mean we're poor?

Me: (now i'm just trying to end the conversation before we start laughing and really upset him) yes, noah, we're poor.

Noah: I knew it! I knew we were poor!

Aaron's worried that not being in the car with us, this conversation may seem sad and depressing. You have to understand, that how it came about, Noah's ideas of employment and his tone of voice at the end was so funny. It's the first time Aaron and I have really laughed since getting home. Maybe we really are losing it. I figure it's better to laugh than cry.