photos by request

G.G. (short for great- grandmother) has requested some more pictures. Actually, in my birthday card she wrote "Send more pictures!" So she's pretty adamant about it :) I got some really nice ones this morning. Annabelle is sitting up fairly well, so Rebekah can easily hold her in her lap, and as you can see, Annabelle wants to crawl right now! She woke up at 3:45 a.m. today, not hungry or crying, just getting up and trying to crawl. I wish I could have slept through it, but she was also very noisy. Every time I tried to feed her and rock her and put her back down, she just got up on her hands and knees and tried to crawl around in her bed. She didn't go back to sleep until 5:30, and I just stayed up after that. I will not be fit to speak to this afternoon.

on the lake

This week I began my last year as a twenty- something. Shannon gave me a cake and a balloon, both of which Rebekah has enjoyed immensely, and he also gave me a bouquet of sunflowers. Those made me smile because he gave me sunflowers for my birthday the year we were dating. Last weekend we rented a pontoon boat for a couple of hours and spent the afternoon on the lake. It was such a nice, relaxing time. Poor Annabelle didn't know what to think of her little life jacket, but she eventually snuggled down into it and went to sleep. Shannon and Rebekah actually ventured off the boat into the water, but Rebekah wouldn't let go of the ladder. Shannon tried to encourage her to get out into the lake, but to tell the truth, I was glad she was too scared! If you ask her, though, she went swimming and she wasn't afraid because her life jacket kept her up.

leap of faith

Here's the big news: Shannon quit his job.

His job as a restaurant manager was good for a long time, but with the kids now, he is away too much. That job will always demand many nights and weekends, and we have decided that it will be better for us to find something in a different industry. This is not a rash decision, but it is a difficult and stressful one, and it will carry a lot of changes and sacrifices. We have decided not to buy the house, and we will move back to the university town that we have come to consider home over the past four years. We have signed the girls up for a Montessori school and we have a lead on a rent house. He's got a few more weeks to go, then it's moving time.

We are blessed to have the support of friends who will once again live close to us. We are so happy to return to our church and have had calls from many members of our Sunday School class with everything from words of support to job offers, and always prayers.

We don't know what the future holds, but we know that this is the best move for our family.

revolving blog title

The blog has another new title: Sarah, Shannon, and Some Silly Sisters. I think we'll stick with that one. It's appropriately cheesy (despite the flawed alliteration--maybe we can convince Shannon to drop the "h").

We have big things to tell, but we're not quite ready to make the announcement (no, it's NOT another baby! Two silly sisters are quite enough for the moment!). Please pray for us as our family continues to go through big changes.

Bekah's first haircut

Rebekah got her first (professional) haircut last week. I brought her into the salon and told her how exciting it would be to be a big girl and get a beautiful haircut. But Rebekah would not have it. She hid behind me and kept repeating, "I don't want a haircut." When I asked her why she didn't want a haircut she said in the saddest voice, "but, Mommy, I have curls." The poor thing thought that if she got a hair cut she would have curls anymore! And she is quite proud of her curls because everyone who meets her tells her how cute they are. After ten minutes of begging and bribing (notice the sucker) and promising that her curls would still be there, she finally consented if I would sit in the chair and hold her in my lap. The stylist cut off the split ends and cut her hair into layers that made her curls spring right up like Shirley Temple. She looks so cute! After it was over, she decided that getting a haircut was pretty neat, and she called both sets of grandparents to tell them how beautiful she looks. She has also been asking to go back to "the haircut place" so she can be beautiful again. When I told her that she didn't need another one, she thought for a moment and said, "Mommy, you need to get your hair cut. It's not beautiful." Nice. I didn't take it too hard. She usually has lots of sweet compliments for me, so I let this one slide. She told me right after that that she hopes we can be best friends forever, so I'll hang on to that one :)

Bouncy Belly

Annabelle (or Belly, as she has come to be called around here--but Shannon says we can't keep calling her that because she can't go to Kindergarten with a name like Belly) has a new toy--Johnny Jump-up! She wants to stand up all the time, and my arms get tired, so I thought she'd like it. The first time I put it up, she just sat on her bottom. Rebekah jumped all around her trying to show her how to jump, but Annabelle just laughed at her. Rebekah can make her laugh out loud better than anyone! She did seem to enjoy sitting up and watch from a different angle, though. Poor Rebekah wanted to get in it so badly, but we had a nice talk about all the things that she can do that babies can't, so she finally felt better. The next day Shannon adjusted the height on the Johnny Jump-up (duh) so she had to stand instead of sit. She still wouldn't jump, though. She scooted around and pivoted on her toes, but she still seemed happy, so I think the toy is a success despite the lack of actual jumping. With a little more practice and sister's help, I'm sure she'll be bouncing soon. For now, it's a great chew toy.

Shannon's birthday

I found a USB cable, so now you're due a run-down of what you've been missing.
Shannon turned 34 last month, and in honor of the event, I made the same Superman cake he had when he turned six. I also made him a chocolate pizza, which turned out really cute.