Okay. Fine.

Okay, fine. I submit. I have failed as a blogger. But I do have reasons... all of my readers know them already. I will admit, I do have ADHD. Take meds for it, but still life and blogging passes me by, each and every day.

So there. Forgive me! We are in the throws of moving. In the past 2 months, we have been told that our family was not qualified to move to Misawa Air Base, Japan because of some sort of medical hinderance. Little did we know that it wasn't Noah's asthma: it was because of the pulmonary embolism (blood clot in my lung) I had post Ellyotte's c-section.

Misawa's medical group commander needed reassurance that Dan and I weren't planning on having any more biological babies. While bittersweet to accept, we gladly did so in the face of Dan doing 2+ years away from his wife and children (we were facing that and I was a mess for a good 2 weeks till we found out otherwise!). Dan told the commander that we have a method in place to prevent future pregnancies and that I - of all people (after my hematologist care, etc for one whole year and the botched c-section that caused me to not be able to carry any more children...) - understand the risk of having more biological children. And IF I were to become pregnant, Dan would have me on the first flight out: Misawa doesn't have a high risk specialist. And it seems to be the hobby to have babies in Northern Japan. I guess the 9 months of winter gets to some folks!

So... no more babies for us. It is a hard pill to swallow because we want more perfect Noahs and Ellys but my body cannot handle any more pregnancies. There would be babies without a Mom. We have decided that we want to expand our family 100% by adopting. We haven't started the process, but we have acknowledged it. That's the first step.

Dan promotes to Major this next week - exactly 10 years and several "officers of the year" later. He will promote and then the next day, we will final out from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana and head to Alabama. After 2 days there, we will catch a flight to DC to visit the Bealls and our extended family/friends for a week. Then back to Bama/the condo in Panama City Beach, FL till Dan heads to Northern Japan the 3rd week of June. He will go over with our sweet cat Gumbo (Piper, our beloved dog, has a new home where she is LOVED so much!) and he will get us set up in our new home, with new cars, new everything.

Our home here in LA hasn't sold yet. Boo. But we have everything out of it and have sold our washer/dryer as well as lots of furniture and Dan's Camry. We will leave my beloved 4 Runner in Alabama for the 3 years we are in Asia. Dan will have to get us two new cars once over in Japan: they drive on the other side of the car, other side of the road and have totally different emissions standards.

We are living in the hotel (TLF) on base in LA right now and having fun. Noah has walking pneumonia on top of some severe asthma issues and Ellyotte has yet another ear infection. But, we are loving our adventures as a family of four. Those will end mid June when our Daddy heads to Japan without us.

Dan will come back mid October for us... because he's a groomsmen in Kelly (my precious baby sister) and Adam's wedding that I am Matron/Maid of Honor in. We are so excited for their wedding. Adam is a perfect match for our crazy yet normal yet weird yet perfect Hawkins family. And the babies are both in their wedding. So Dan has to be back for it! And has to be back to get us to take back to Japan with him.

So, I will be in Alabama with my folks - moving back in....with two babies and my yet unwed sister!!!! - till the fall! If you wanna hook up and hang out, holla at me. Can't wait for this crazy summer!

My sweet little ones

"Go Go" time! That's what E calls popsicles!

One more visit from my folks before we moved outta our house

Breakfast in bed for Mother's Day!

Mudbug Madness festival in Louisiana

My friend Amy and me out for a crawfish dinner

Burning time and energy - with markers! - in lodging on base

Not looking forward to being away from him for 4-5 months......

Last day at our beloved pre-school in Louisiana. Noah's been there since he was 18 months old!

Best looking reason I've ever seen to buy a house ASAP

Excited about markers!

Family fun at Mudbug Madness

My sweet girl - and her busted head :(

Exploring the bayous of Barksdale AFB, LA - definite GATOR siting!

This is what a 4 year old redhead with walking pneumonia looks like: at the hospital getting some breathing treatments.

Moving out! Noah was screaming in my ear because he wanted ice cream... not cuz he was sad!