my huntley life

starting over!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 05:55:00 +0000

I've taken the plunge and am moving my blog to Wordpress. I'm already enjoying the experience so much better, just in the one evening I've been dealing with it. So, if you want to keep following our family's little happenings, start checking out the new and improved blog. See you there!

another new beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 May 2011 20:00:00 +0000

"Every new beginning comes

from some other beginning's end."

-- Semisonic's "Closing Time"

Sean about to get his first tooth - July 2005

Sean about to lose his first tooth - May 2011

After three weeks of gentle wiggling and carefully biting his food with his side teeth, Sean's first loose tooth was finally jolted almost free by a stray ball in the backyard. I'm not sure if it was the blood or the extra wiggliness of it that convinced him he was ready to just get it out for good, but after a few hard tugs from Daddy (and a few yells and tears from Sean), our little boy was sporting his first toothless gap.

I was cheering for him on the outside, but on the inside I was still wondering how it's even possible that my little baby is already big enough to start getting his adult-size chompers. I don't think I'll ever get used to the bittersweetness of childhood milestones.


Ta-da!

And then Chris and I had the fun of determining what the tooth fairy's going rate was going to be in our house. Sean was expecting pennies (maybe we should have humored him), and we contemplated a quarter or two until we remembered that we got quarters for our teeth. We figured the tooth fairy's rates have probably changed in the last 25 years, so decided maybe a dollar might be more appropriate. (I was just thankful we had a dollar and weren't stuck with nothing smaller than a $10 bill like one girl I know when her son lost his first tooth. That tooth fairy was broke by the time that kid lost all of his teeth!)

I'm curious: What is/was the going rate for teeth in your house?

elijah's first haircut

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:50:00 +0000

before

during

after

the ride that helped make it happen

We've been in denial for over a month now that little Elijah needed a haircut. His brothers didn't need one this young, and we were hoping we could hold out a little longer--it's hard for us to let go of that baby hair look! But when his hair got so long that it wouldn't stay out of his eyes, and then he got called a girl twice in one week by strangers, we finally figured we couldn't deny it anymore. So off we went to The Hairy Elephant for one more Huntley family tradition first haircut. And just like his brothers before him, the little guy did great. First haircut for #4 was a success.

long-awaited

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 22:14:00 +0000

This depicts these two so well--Ben acting goofy and Sean smiling at him in spite of himself.

They can all now say they've worn a tie. But if they're anything like their dad, they're just getting started.

snow: shadows, angels & snowboy sam (aka rocky)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 04:44:00 +0000

baboons, gooeys, and earwacks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 07:18:00 +0000

Some of Jonathan's adorable mis-speaks here lately:

"baboons" = balloons
"gooeys" = smoothies
"kim-miss" = Christmas (a term which he applies to more than just the day--Christmas lights are "kim-miss", Christmas trees are "kim-miss", Santa is "kim-miss"...and if he sees lots of Christmas-y things one right after another, he starts saying, "Der's mo kim-miss...and mo kim-miss...and mo kim-miss."
"lemons-tines" = clementines

And Chris overheard this gem from Sean to Ben recently:

"Ben, you have an earwack in your ear. I'VE had earwacks in my ears before."

on summer, fall, and the importance of right now

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:19:00 +0000

As Chris always says, I'm perpetually ready for fall. I love the crisp, cool air, the need to wear a sweater, the chance to open up the windows and let the breeze flow through the house, the crunchy leaves on the ground, the smells, the colors, the foods...I love it all. But this year...well, it kind of snuck up on me and I find myself, believe it or not, wishing for more summer. Did I really say that? I feel like I'm cheating on fall. But, it's true. As much as I'm enjoying the changing of the seasons, I'm having to quell a longing for the weather to stay warmer for just a little bit longer, for the leaves to stay on the trees for just a little bit longer, for the evenings to be lighter for just a little bit longer.

I could blame this on a lot of things, but basically it comes down to this: for the first time in my life, I'm starting to feel old. I've had the usual hints of that feeling over the last few years--a kid I used to babysit getting married, a month here and there feeling like it's flown by, realizing that "15 years ago" now no longer refers to my childhood, turning 30. But this is the first time I can remember feeling like the days are truly fleeting and realizing that I must take advantage of the time I have right now before that time is gone. Because this summer I didn't do that...and I so wish I had.

Back in June, for the first time ever, Sean and Ben started listing off things that they wanted to do over the summer. Things like make popsicles, ride bikes, go on a walk in the wagon, have a picnic in the backyard. It wasn't a long list, but I knew, probably even more than they did, that it was an important one. And I naively believed that in the middle of finding our new baby routine, and t-ball games and practice, and getting ready to leave for three trips, and being gone on three trips, and recovering from being gone on three trips, and having company, and working, and the usual day-to-day busy-ness, we'd somehow just work in the things on that list. But that didn't happen. And instead, when fall rolled around this year, I was left with a short list of summer things that I knew my boys really wanted to do, but only a few of which we actually did. All because I failed to recognize the importance of right now.

So I'm vowing, from here on out, to do my best to take advantage of the here and now, to put aside the urgent and focus on the important. Because 20 years from now our family won't care how clean our bathroom was today, or how many crumbs were on the kitchen floor, or how many books and toys were scattered throughout the house. But we will care about whether our early family memories are either of mommy being too "busy" to play or of mommy taking the time to make popsicles, ride bikes, and have picnics in the backyard. I'm creating memories right now for these little boys, and I want to make them good ones.

I'm keeping our unfinished summer list from this year to help me always remember. But I think it's time we start a new one for fall...and this time make plans to finish it.

field trip @ the zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:43:00 +0000

One of the many advantages of homeschooling is being able to take field trips when WE want to take them and WHERE we want to take them. Field trip #1 this year was to the zoo, primarily to see the stingrays before they headed south for the winter.

Jonathan could have spent the entire day petting the stingrays, or would have happily climbed in with them if we had let him. Ben thought they were pretty neat, but had no qualms leaving them to get on with his day. Sean kinda-sorta touched one, but quickly decided they were best viewed from a distance. I think the idea of touching some strange-looking creature floating around in the water was a little off-putting to him. We'll see what he thinks of them next year.

what they're saying right now

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 04:28:00 +0000

"pupcake"=cupcake (Jonathan)

"swan-ditch"=sandwich (Ben)

A few days ago, I overheard this little exchange...
Sean to Jonathan in their bedroom: Hide over there on the floor on the other side of the bed so nobody can see you!

A few minutes later, Sean and Ben coming upstairs:
Sean: Come on! Let's go find Jonathan, he's really easy to find!
Ben: Yeah, he's always easy to find.
Sean: Yeah, he's not very good at hiding yet.

brotherly love

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 05:02:00 +0000

The relationship developing between boy #1 and boy #4 melts my heart. Seriously. Sean's always had a soft spot for his baby brothers, but seeing him interact as a "big kid" now with Elijah puts a whole different spin on his brotherly affection, and I love it.

And Elijah, happy as he gets to see anybody enter his line of sight, seems to have a special gleam in his eye and squirm to his wiggle when Sean comes into view.

There's no doubt about it--these two adore each other.

scrapbook moment: watching daddy leave

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:53:00 +0000

Ever since Sean was really little, "watching Daddy leave" has been a big deal. The ritual is always kissing Daddy bye-bye, watching him walk out the garage door, and then running to the front door to wave at him and watch him drive away. For a while, Sean would completely freak out if one of the boys wasn't at the door in time to see Daddy off.

Sadly, I've noticed here lately that it isn't quite as important to the boys as it used to be to stand at the door and watch Daddy leave. I may have to do some encouraging to get this little tradition going again, because I know from experience that not much compares to driving away and seeing 3 sweet little boys smiling and waving from the doorway.

introducing: scrapbook moments

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:30:00 +0000

I had grand plans back when I first had Sean that I would start scrapbooking and documenting his life and our life and the simple greatness of ordinary living. I wasn't interested in accessory-overload scrapbooking that was more about the embellishments and paper and stickers. I just wanted to tell my story in pictures and words using the cleanest design I could come up with, something kind of like a magazine. Back then, though, I didn't really have the money to really get into it the way I wanted to, so in order to start documenting our memorable everyday moments, I started this blog. I naively believed that by blogging I would be able to keep up with all the pictures or moments that I might possibly want to scrapbook later, and through my blog I would have a nice chronological record of all of my scrapbook moments.

That hasn't happened. Life got busy (somehow 4 kids in 5 years will have that effect) and blogging kept falling by the wayside. And as a result, pictures and moments and stories haven't been recorded because I didn't have the time to document them right then in that moment in time when they happened. I'd get frustrated, try to do better with blogging, wonder why I couldn't keep up with journaling my life when other people had no problem blogging regularly about theirs, and finally almost gave up on the idea. Almost.

And then a few weeks ago I had a light bulb moment: if I were scrapbooking I wouldn't stick to the here and now--I'd go back days, months, years to record pictures and moments that I never want to forget and that I want other people to know about. So why not do that now, any time I want and about whatever I want, on my blog?

So, here's introducing Scrapbook Moments--pictures and moments of our lives that aren't from the here and now, but that tell our story of where we've come from and maybe a bit of where we're going. They'll more than likely be totally random, completely non-chronological, but also more than a little memorable. At least to us, which is what really matters.

I'll still blog about current happenings, but the posts that go back into the archives of our lives (whether it be months or years ago) will be set apart as "scrapbook moments." And I assure you I have PLENTY of those.

ohio: the summertime version

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:39:00 +0000

Ohio is usually one of our winter vacation destinations, but we made a special trip this summer for Nana and Papa to see Elijah. And now the boys may actually have memories of Ohio that don't involve snow, memories of some Ohio summertime fun...

playing at the school playground next door...

playing backyard baseball with Papa...

getting haircuts worse than what Mommy gives...

swinging away in the backyard swing...

discovering Lake Erie...

riding rides at the county fair (including Sean & Ben's first ferris wheel ride)...

reading with Papa...

& being loved (though they get plenty of that during the wintertime too).

Sean declared that the next time we came to Ohio, he wanted to go swim in the lake again. When we reminded him that the next time would probably be in the middle of winter, he quickly changed it to the next time we come in the summer. I think summertime Ohio was a hit.

the best part of texas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:42:00 +0000

Our long-awaited trip to Texas finally happened last week. When vacation time is limited, and you have more than two places you'd like to go, at least one of them always has to get deleted. For us, Texas has always been that place. But this year, we were able to make it happen, and I'm so glad we did.
Texas has always been a favorite of mine. I don't love it like the natives do, but I do love parts of it, for sentimental reasons mostly. My entire family (and I do mean entire) except for me and my sister was born in Texas, so with relatives filling up half the state, it was the consistent vacation spot during my childhood summers. We split our time each year between the relatives, so parts of our vacation were spent going here and there, but the one constant year after year was Grandma and Grandpa's house. It's what comes to mind when I think of summer vacation, playing with cousins or visiting grandparents. It's where I first rode a four-wheeler, swung in a hammock and climbed through a barbed-wire fence. It's the reason why I love pine trees--the smell, the blanket of pine needles underneath with sticks and pinecones scattered everywhere, the branches reaching way into the sky. And it's the reason why I have a strong attraction to Spanish-style houses, red roofs and charming household courtyards. This was the place where all the good stuff happened.

I'm thankful that my boys got to visit there. There's something magical about walking through a place with my kids where I used to play as a kid myself. They may not remember it when they're grown, but I'll remember the joy of showing them all the best spots about Grandma's house. I was able to get pictures of most of my favorite bits and pieces, but there were so many places inside that I never took pictures of and wish I had--the red lamp in the big bedroom upstairs, the chair and desk and mirror in the little bedroom, the green bathroom, the red bathroom, the blue bathroom, the wooden cutouts in the doorways downstairs that Grandpa copied from his childhood home, and all kinds of knick-knacks and pictures that belong only in that house.
Grandma has the house up for sale now, and I couldn't help but think as I went about the place that it might be the last time I went through that door and walked through those trees and swung in that hammock. And if it indeed was, I'll be forever grateful for these pictures, and most especially for the memories.

{this moment}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:43:00 +0000

inspired by soulemama

meet frederick 1 & frederick 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:56:00 +0000

Made in honor of Frederick. I guess I shouldn't expect their originality to carry over in naming their mice.

home again

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:18:00 +0000

The boys and I came home early last week from ten days spent in Kansas while Chris was away at camp. The time spent out there was exactly what I'd hoped it would be--lots of relaxing, reading, playing outside, splashing in the kiddie pool, hanging out with the family, making and eating 12+ quarts of homemade ice cream, and getting lots of help with four little boys. I loved every bit of it, but the hardest part about coming home has been getting used to handling all four boys on my own most of the time again. We'd been home for two days before I finally realized that the reason my body probably ached all over was because my muscles were having to get reacquainted with holding the baby full-time--with two adoring grandparents and a doting aunt around, I pretty much only held Elijah when he was hungry.

It's great to be home again, but we're all missing the Kansas fam...and I think at naptime and bedtime, little Elijah misses his Aunt Jo most of all.

{this moment}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:56:00 +0000

inspired by soulemama

{this moment}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:34:00 +0000

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

-inspired by soulemama

one month

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:16:00 +0000

The month since this little guy made his appearance has been such a crazy one that I can hardly believe it's already been a month since he was born. Trying to get back into a normal family life while dealing with a hectic t-ball schedule, back-to-back bouts of strep throat (both mine), and a complete upheaval of any kind of routine in general has been interesting, to say the least. Stressful and hair-pulling and insanity-producing might be more accurate descriptions. Fortunately, that doesn't apply to little Elijah. He's been such a calm, easygoing baby and I've thanked God countless times for his sheer sweetness. I couldn't have asked for more.

{this moment}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 May 2010 04:55:00 +0000

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

-inspired by soulemama

overheard

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:03:00 +0000

Sean was explaining to Ben yesterday something about bodies getting older and I heard him end with this tidbit of wisdom: "And THEN, when we get bigger like Mimi and Poppy and Nana and Papa and Mamaw and Grandpa, THEN we'll DIE."

I knew his grandparents must seem old to him, but this is going a little far, I think! I would hate to hear what he thinks will happen when they're "bigger" like Great-Grandma.

{this moment}

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 May 2010 02:25:00 +0000

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

-inspired by soulemama

settling in

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 May 2010 18:37:00 +0000

I read somewhere a few years back that after a mother has a baby, she should do nothing but sit around in her pj's and hold the baby for 6 weeks. I don't know what kind of fantasy world that person lives in, but mine would have to pretty much stop moving for that to ever come close to being a reality. My experience has been quite the opposite, and I've always found it interesting how you can bring a new little life into the world, make such a huge and enormous change in your life, and yet everything else in life keeps right on moving as if nothing ever changed. Laundry still has to be washed, dishes have to be cleaned, groceries have to be bought, meals have to be planned and made, big kids have to be tended to, bills have to be paid...and on and on. Life doesn't stop for the little one, as sweet as he may be. And you just kind of figure out how to work him into the routine as if he'd always been there.

We've been on our own now for two days and life already feels like it's back to normal, with just one small little adjustment. Little Elijah has settled quite nicely into the #4 spot and is trying his hardest to be as little of an inconvenience as possible--never cries unless he's hungry or getting changed, eats like a champ (the little porker was back up to his birth weight at 5 days old), sleeps and sleeps and sleeps, and is the sweetest little baby when he does finally wake up.

And so, it seems I'll still be spending my time doing the usual--doing laundry and washing dishes and planning meals and tending to big kids, because some things never change. But the rest of my time, I'll spend doing this...

...because some things do change, and these are the ones that matter.

worth it

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:04:00 +0000

When the days start running together and the dishes won't stay clean and the laundry never ends and the discipline doesn't seem to be working and the cooking isn't enough and the potty won't get used (thus the laundry never ends) and the big projects never even get touched and it takes every ounce of energy just to do the bare minimum and it all seems so completely and totally and utterly pointless...it's nice to have a day where the 5-year-old, after eating a supper of ham, beans, rice and cornbread, says, "Mmm, Mommy, that was delicious! Thank you for making that for us!" and the 3-year-old, while getting ready for bed, looks up at me with his scrunched up, shy little grin and says, "Mommy, I like you."

I guess these little people are worth it after all.