Good Morning...or maybe afternoon? What is today?

Since that momentus day on Sept 29, 2009, I haven't been able to keep up with the days, to save my life - they all sort of melt into each other. Did you know the other day I found out it was NOVEMBER?!?!! And now someone told me the movie, "New Moon" was coming out today and I was like, Oh no, that doesn't come out till the 20th! Note to self: Never seemed so assured of yourself unless you have a clue! November 20th???? That means Thanksgiving is like 1-2-3-4-like next week! Which, by the way, I'm very excited about because I GET TO GO HOME TO VIRGINIA!!! That means Gabe gets to meet his whole other side of the family! Granted, at this point, Gabe is kind of take it or leave it, but I am very excited and his other grandparents are very excited!

I had some new pictures for you but here's my deal. This is what I've been up to a lot lately.....



...and this is what Sam has been doing a lot lately....



So there you have it folks. All that to say, besides the fact that my life is a perfect tragedy, Sam is out hunting again today and took the camera with the new pictures on it, with him!*

Congratulations to my mom! She has finished her rounds of radiation with flying colors! Now she is busy preparing her house for all the Thanksgiving festivities. My aunt and uncle are coming up from Florida tonight or tomorrow and they are off to parties and festivities. Then on Tuesday, Sam and I fly in with the Gabe-meister. We land in DC and stay there with extended family till Thursday, when my brother and sister-in-law arrive from FL! Can't wait to see everyone and I'm so glad that mom has finished her radiation and had a little time to rest up in preparation for everything!

Gabe-man: He's doing great, besides the fact that he just spent the last 30 minutes crying himself to sleep. I put him down sleeping like a baby and 10 minutes later, he woke up crying, it was a tired cry and I was fighting myself for going in there to check on him or pick him up and snuggle that adorable little man, but everytime I couldn't take it any longer, I'd head in that direction, he would stop crying and act as if he was sleeping.... Then I'd come back and get settled in - all over again, for 30 minutes!! But I haven't heard him for the last 15 minutes, so I think he's finally sleeping! He's starting to smile more! That sure is fun! Whenever I have things to do and people to see, he doesn't seem to make that too easy! I think he likes getting uninterrupted sleep! Imagine that! Anyway, among my new pictures to post are some smiley ones of him, so keep in touch - they will be arriving shortly - as soon as Sam gets home from earlier mentioned hunting! :)

And me: I'm getting stronger and stronger by the minute. In fact, Sam and I went on a walk yesterday and I climbed a huge hill with the little Gabe man attached to me via Moby wrap. It was really quite nice! Speaking of our walk yesterday, well, maybe I'll wait for my camera for that story.

I was complaining to Sam the other day that I've lost all my funny-ness. I'm pretty sure that my stories revolved around the crazy things he does and now I spend a lot more of my time feeding the baby, changing diapers, laundry, dishes and straightening the house.... There really is nothing funny in that. And although our walk yesterday didn't turn out too funny - still, another crazy adventure!!! Tune in next time...

Well, folks, the little guy just woke up again... I'll have to check on him and get him calmed down - actually he stopped again... But I should go - it's getting close to tax time, so I need to get my paperwork in order! Until next time,

Concentrating on my blessings in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

*My life may not be accurately pictured here. Some facts may have been exaggerated to illustrate a point. Some pictures could have been brought in from archives, but alas, some are current! I still have the best husband ever even if he has been gone the last 15 weekends in a row for whatever reason! ;)

Ok.

Turns out my mind is mush. I thought I downloaded my frozen pond pictures before I deleted them. Evidently, I didn't. So disregard my previous note on banner picture. Until I get a good family picture, you'll have to endure pictures of the cutest little guy in the world! :)

It's about time...

I'm posting some pictures that may not be appropriate for the faint of heart, but they were so cool, I couldn't pass it up!

First of all - the little guy, Gabe, just reached his 6 week mark on Tuesday! I heard someone once say that it DOES get easier and frankly, I had my doubts. But it's true, well, I don't know about easier, but better, definitely better! The last few days he's been such a joy, waking up happy and smiley and then eating perfectly and then going back down for a nap. We definitely have had our days, but overall, it's so much more enjoyable.

I wanted to share this pictures - for my Aussie cousins - here's little Gabe, the Kangaroo!



Here are some we took at about a month....











Here are some from way back when - 6 weeks ago!











Ok, well, this is what we have right now. Now that Gabriel is getting some personality, and not just sleeping, eating, etc., we'll get tons more photo's and video!!! He is going to be visiting his Grandma and Grandpa in VA and tons of aunts and uncles and cousins in about a week and a half - so that will be tons of fun!!! Stay tuned...

Oh and one more thing - the new picture on my blog banner - I just had to show you - that was in October sometime. I haven't started keeping track of dates yet, but I wanted to show you how we really do live in the Tundra - even if yesterday was 60 degrees!

Keeping it real in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

Giveaway Winners!

I'm sorry it's taken so long to get back to you - all of you - my faithful followers! I feel like I have been hiding under a rock - Erik, thank you for pointing that out!

Today I figured out who was going to win Sam's print by guessing Gabe's birthday... It's between two people - Wes and Aleycia and the winner is..... Aleycia!!!!! Thanks to a helpful patron of Boneshaker Coffee - Aleycia, you are the winner. I will get in touch with you to let you know what prints we have available!

Well, the little man, Gabriel is nearly 6 weeks old - they told me it would get better and it has. I never thought the time would come when I wouldn't mind going out in public just in case he woke up! But right now, I'm sitting in a coffee shop typing along with the little man sleeping at my side! Sam is off deer hunting and won't be back till tomorrow. That has certainly been an adjustment. I used to get to spend so much time with my best friend, Sam... Now I get to hang out at home with Sam's little man - Gabe! And that is fun, but an adjustment. Gabe has started smiling a lot today, especially and that certainly makes life more fun! :) But I continue to ask for your prayers - for all the adjustments!

We head home to VA in a couple weeks - pretty excited about that. Even though I've been home all this time, I need a vacation! Can't wait to introduce the addition to the rest of the family - especially his grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles!!!!

Trying to think of what else has been going on lately - mostly just making the bed and doing dishes and laundry on a more regular basis - and that's not too funny... I did take a load of junk to Salvation Army yesterday and opened the hatch of the van only to have all of it come pouring out on my toe and end up breaking most everything in there!!! So luckily there was a dumpster right by the door. Mission accomplished either way - so that's not that funny of a story - I guess you had to be there! I find that most of my funny stories revolve around Sam and I haven't been able to hang out with him much lately, so I'm fresh out. We haven't even had a Sabbath in weeks, it feels like. I hope we get to take some time off this Sunday since nice weather has touched down in the Tundra - seriously - it's 68 degrees right now, maybe even 70!!!

I was going to post some pictures, but I'm getting ready to go on a walk and don't have time. But for any of you that are on Facebook, I did post some there. For those of you NOT on facebook, I will try to get them posted here soon!!! I hope I haven't lost all of you! We will be getting internet soon and I'll be back in business.

So, to you, all my family and friends - thanks for hanging in there with me! I will be back soon, I promise, with video and pictures of Gabriel's "Early Days!" I didn't even post those on Facebook!

Well, gotta run and enjoy the last minute warm weather in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah