At long last, I have come back!

The Palmer's have not fallen off the planet.
I have returned to the blogging scene.

These months have been months of celebration and choices.
We do have to say GOOD BYE to Flying J! And Hello new Job!

About a month after we moved into our new house, Flying J declared bankruptcy.
We were unsure for all of these months about the security of Brian's job.
So we hunted and searched, and searched and hunted.
We were able to get a job for Brian only ONE mile from home.
We are so relieved.
Brian is working now for .....Software as a tester and developer.
They design the software used at collection agencies, and they stated to Brian that they have NOT seen any bit of the recession in their company. We hope this is true.
We are grateful to have a new job close to home.
We had to take a cut in pay, But we will be okay, it is better then a cut job. Especially with so many lay-offs in other places. The choice to get another job wasn't easy, he really looked very hard at going back to school and getting a new degree in Nursing. Random, I know.
But he wanted to get something more secure with a greater earning potential. Reluctantly, I was behind him. I would do what it would take to make him happy and help us in the future.
In our investigation we kept running into trouble with deadlines and other things. The biggest wall that we hit was the MONEY. We would have to find a way to make it 3 years with little or no income. We have done it before, this would be different. We now have more obligations.
Finding a lender provided nearly impossible, we even looked at the Navy, the Air force and the Army. Alas, some would not return calls and the age cut off was an issue for others.
When it came down to it though, we wouldn't want to be in the military at all.
For all that do it, I applaud you greatly. I don't think it is the life we want.
So, as the last door closed in exploring all of our options, Brian received an acceptable offer for this new job. We are so grateful! The process of finding this job proved to be flawless. Something that happens to us when things are JUST THE RIGHT THING!
I am not sure how it happens to you but when things are right they just seem to fall on our laps.

Brian is ending his vacation and begin his new job tomorrow.
He is excited and anxious and is looking forward to not having to travel anymore.
The kids and I are happy that he will be here with us now.

Madi had here last day of school and Brian walked with her to take pictures. She loved school and was at the top of her class. She was accepted to an accelerated learning center here. So I will be taking her to school from now on. No more bus. She says that is okay because the bus is TOO LOUD anyway! I think she will really like learning all that they will offer.
She loved school and did well, but I think that she needs more of a challenge as she has been knocking out chapter books like mad.

She really misses school, but it is nice to have her home.
Nori loves seeing her all day, and playing with her.
Owen stays busy with her too. That really helps me.
I love my Madi!


June 1st, marked My little Eleanor's birthday.
She is four.
For her birthday she wanted a "Funny Four" party.
So they wore their clothes backwards and inside out.
She was able to have four friends and they played some crazy games.



Here they created marshmallow creatures and towers or shapes out of toothpicks and marshmallows.


Here we played pin the NOSE ON NORI, That was a fun thing to watch.

HERE IS HER DIRT CAKE!
She really wanted to have jokes at her party,
so what better way then a cake that looks l
like a scoop of dirt with rocks, worms and bugs.
I don't think anyone dared eat it right away.

They also had Jello in a cup....they were told it was kool-aid.
They got a big surprise when they could not drink it.
I think they had a great time.

I just can't believe she is FOUR....noooooo! She is my Nori Baby.
I don't want her to grow up.

Owen had his birthday on June 8th. HE IS TWO AND IS HE EVER!

He is the busiest little kid I have ever seen. He is talking, climbing, yelling, singing, dancing and always getting into something.
He loves to cuddle under a blanket and read books. He is an avid fan of hats of all kinds.

Here he is sporting a fabulous Strawberry Plant bucket.
The latest fashion at the Palmer home.
We may make our millions with this one.

With as busy as he is I have to put it to good use.
Here he is cleaning the chairs.
I know this is child labor and it is illegal---don't report me.
Notice the cute hello kitty apron, also a favorite fashion item.
He now owns a more masculine one with cars on it, so no worries there.
Despite all his activities and how he wears me out I love watching him grow and learn.
He is my Owen Boo!

NOTES OF INTEREST:

Life has been full, and has really thrown some things at us.

Owen has been diagnosed with breath-holding attacks. These are scary episodes where he stops breathing, passes out and has seizures, when he is scared or hurt, which is often, the episodes don't happen every time though, they are really random. After a few trips to the ER, we have an answer and we now know what to do when he has them.

It is still a scary thing to see, and I still get an adrenaline rush every time, but we are getting better at handling the situation. Which makes him calm and his episodes are less severe.

He is supposed to out grow it by the time he is 6 or at the latest 8 years old.