Bright spots amidst the boxes

The month of May has slipped through my fingers.  Packing, organizing, cleaning, and then unpacking, organizing and cleaning again pretty well sums up my month.  Aside from that monotony, here are a few of the other activities (happy, new, and/or rewarding):

•  The park near our apartment hosted half a dozen food trucks several weeknights in May.  We took advantage of food coming to us and had a picnic.  
• My friend from church, a Wisconsin transplant, asked me to design a little garden space in her backyard.  I drew up a plan, she loved the design, and wanted to implement it immediately.  We went to the plant nursery together (should have seen us...giddy as school girls) and picked out all her plants.  Before I moved she had finished the installation.  I bust a button or two seeing the plan on paper become a real garden space that she can love.
• The physical therapist made weekly visits right up until our move day.  Progress is slow, but there is progress.  Ezra can lift his torso off the ground now, pivot some, and scoot backwards.  I appreciate having help from the therapist, and recognize Ezra's good efforts!
• My sweetheart and I were asked to speak in church on Mother's Day (gulp...)  But, despite the potential emotional whirlpool on that day, I think we did alright.  The next Sunday, the choir sang one last time, a difficult arrangement of "Praise to the Man", and I have never been so relieved as when we finished that piece!  It was our swan song, albeit dramatic and fortissimo.  
• We moved the same week as two other families in our ward, but the good news is, not everyone was burned out, and helpers showed up to assist.  Dallin had originally reserved a 20' truck, but at the last minute we decided that maybe something bigger would be better.  We upgraded to a 26' truck--and filled it!
• We moved to my in-law's house (we will be surrogate care-takers for the next year while they are in China) on a very rainy morning.  The good news is, we had taken special care to put down sticky plastic carpet protector, so the newly cleaned carpet stayed nice. 
• One of our first dinners after moving in was courtesy of the garden!  The Asian Mesclun salad mix that I planted in late March is up and beautiful!  I can't tell you how wonderful it was to walk out the back door and harvest veggies!  The greens were picked, made into a lovely Asian salmon salad, and thoroughly enjoyed.  
• Our first post-move-in date night was spent at a local plant nursery where we bought summer vegetables for the backyard raised beds, and annuals for the decorative pots on the front porch.  I was most pleased with getting to play in the dirt again, and feel like a very lucky Liezel to have such a terrific bit of earth to tend for the next year.    

Relocation

This has been home for the last two years.  We are moving on, and in the process of relocating, I realize how much I have loved living here, and how leaving will be hard.  I have lived in enough places, however, to know that there are always plenty of goodies around the next corner, but have felt extra nostalgic about leaving this place.  I have felt nostalgic because this was our first home together as a married couple and because our first baby was born here.  There are so many important and meaningful memories that give this place a special spirit.  I suppose I am also nostalgic because it has been such a good beginning for our family and a certain amount of looking back in gratitude gives me faith and courage for the next leg of the journey.

He's Back!

For the last week Ezra's personality has been altogether different.  He slept poorly.  He refused all baby food.  He nursed grudgingly and fitfully.  He cried constantly, whether he was being held or not.  He wouldn't play, he wouldn't talk.  And he wouldn't laugh or smile.  (A baby without a smile is incredibly depressing!)  The lost smile was especially noticeable; our friends at church noticed, family noticed, even strangers in the grocery store noticed.  The cause?  Baby's first tooth.

Today, the old Ezra came back!  He smiled all day long, and he laughed!  He played with his toys and started to verbalize and coo again.  Hallelujah!    

I thought I was a fairly patient and charitable mommy, until this last week, and learned that I have a long way to go.  But, for better or for worse (gulp..) Ezra has a lot more teeth yet to come, so I will get another go at patience.

p.s.--and today Ezra is eight months old!