New Year's Eve in DC - it's cold.....but it's home

Well, here we are in Springfield, VA. Our belongings from AZ won't get here until late next week. BUT, I think we were just ready to be in OUR house. Living a gypsy lifestyle is not natural/easy for me or Brian.

*** side note here - the above was in no way a knock on our time living with Amanda. all things considered, it was a wonderful experience. I got to really start knowing my nephew and nieces and the boys their cousins. Not to mention spending some FUN, goofy times with Amanda! ***

Anywho...we drove up yesterday afternoon and enjoyed some awesome DC traffic! ha ha ha! I guess I have to get used to it, right? It wouldn't have been so bad but I was in Brian's car that doesn't have GPS. I didn't realize how used to 'Naoki' I'd become. (that's what Zachary wants to name our GPS as soon as we can change to a male voice! We stayed in a hotel last night and had two friends from Tiger Band days come by and lend us some sleeping bags and other things.

Today I hit what is to become MY Target! It's only a mile or so from Zachary's new gymnastics, so I am sure I will frequent it. Then I did a massive grocery store trip at Safeway of all places. I didn't realize they were out here. There was even a nice Irish boy as my cashier....Sean O'Brien

The boys have had a blast playing in their new, big backyard. There's still snow on the ground, so they played in that for a while. We even met one of our neighbors, Cindy & Marty.

I also took a little jog before the grocery store trip. I think it will take a while for my body to not only get used to the colder weather, but all the hills in our neighborhood.

a job update

Just before Thanksgiving, Elijah lost his first tooth! He lost his before either of his brothers! He was so proud of himself.

Most of you know the following, and I am only adding it for continuity in my blogs! :) Accenture finalized Brian's job for the DC area (Arlington to be exact). He will be doing some Homeland Security government contract work for about the first year. Maybe he can say hi to AZ's old governor! :) His job is to start on January 12. Brian, Zachary, and I drove up to Manassas after Thanksgiving to hunt for a rental house. It was a quick trip, but we found one!


While we were in DC house hunting, Harrison and Elijah were enjoying being in public school. They so enjoyed riding the bus (though getting up around 6:00 am was NOT a favorite)....and just generally liked school. They are both smart little guys and did very well. They are going to miss their newly made friends.

One Day...

One day soon I am hoping to update the blog. SO much has changed since the last post.

Don't believe anyone who says God doesn't have a sense of humor

So we made the big drive out here last week. I think at the end of the week we find out we might have potential renters. GREAT!!! Around that same time, Brian found out that Accenture (the company probably hiring him for a DC job) still likes him (awesome!) but that he may not need to re-locate. WHAT?????!!!!! We just drove across the whole country because we financially needed to and couldn't wait on the job to finalize.

The day we got the actual rental offer Brian was in communication with Accenture several times. Once, she told him that the private sector was now interested (whereas originally it was government, hence the DC location). Even still, she can't do ANYthing until she gets word from higher up to send an offer.

Then later that day (I believe this was all on Monday), she e-mailed Brian back to say that they had gone through MORE talks and gaver her the green light to offer Brian a job....in PHOENIX!!! Can you believe that? The boys and I just left there!

Renters.......job back in Phoenix.....Lord - what in the world are you trying to tell us? Brian and I were somewhat dumbfounded, and I had to laugh some. The person who actually figures salary amounts was out of the office today, but they've gone ahead and started the background check on Brian. It seems to be progressing quite nicely. But I'm not holding my breath - not til Brian gets his first paycheck anyway!

So, Brian and I have been praying and thinking a lot! We think we are going to go ahead and rent our old house out and try to find a smaller house to rent in the same area. This would only be for a year as that is the time amount for the contract. This would also help me & Brian save some money over the next year with a much lower rent. (This past year - yes, it's been almost a year - has been hard on us)

Maybe God was giving me this chance to be with Amanda and her family. It has been wonderful to see my boys playing with their cousins, whom they are just now getting to know.

God's plan is perfect, and sometimes it's a little crazy and funny while you are going through it.

I just went in for a physical.......

So I just went in for a physical and am now spending my last few days in AZ running from doctor to doctor!

Tuesday was a stressful day for me to say the least. So I was already stressed when I went in for my yearly physical that afternoon. My appointment was at 4:15, and I planned on going to a heated yoga class at 5:30, just a short drive away. The nurse checked my temperature, it was high....around 100.2. Then she checked my BP. While 120/90 is good, it is high for me, so I mentioned this when the doctor came in. She had the nurse comeback in to check since I'd been lying down for a few minutes, It had gone UP!! It was then 130/?? I could feel it rising. I told the doctor about all the stress going on right now. She wasn't too concerned, but said to really watch my salt intake for a bit.

Next thing, She starts doing the breast exam...all routine.....except my left breast is much different than my right. She examined the left one for quite a while. E-mail me and I'll tell you Brian's remark about this! :) I told her my mom and one sister had had benign tumors. She believed it to be nothing, but wanted to get me a sonogram to be sure.

Next thing - routine heart listening...or so I thought. She was having a hard time hearing one of my valves. She put me in to all sorts of weird positions to listen, all the while I'm only covered by that beautiful tin piece of paper! She heard a little abnormality. SO, she wanted me to go get an electrocardiogram.

oh...and there's the routine blood work....

So at this point, I am getting stressed even more. Then she tells me it's 5:10. I think that's great because if I leave then I can still make my yoga.....which I really needed at that point. She 's a great doctor, but a slow talker. She was trying to make a follow-up appointment to go over blood work. She kept trying to put it on Thursday around lunchtime. I tried to quickly tell her that was a bad time because it was the last day of the enrichment program for Harrison and Elijah....and I was NOT going to miss it.....blood pressure rising..... I could feel myself getting to my breaking point, and I really wanted to keep my composure and remain respectful. But I finally had to tell her I needed to go NOW, so I could go to yoga and chill out some. She seemed a little baffled that I was SO adamant about going to yoga and not finalizing my appointments. Exercise is a major stress reliever for me. I really think God has put exercise high on my list to keep me sane! :) I did make it. The only way I made it and not TOO late was that I changed while in my van. Whenever I got to a stop light, I'd throw the van into 'park' and start changing....except my top! :)

So here is what my last week has looked liked, and this is just my doctors' visits. This doesn't even include the 'normal' school activities or packing or anything else!

Tuesday - yearly physical
Wednesday - follow-up with orthopedist about my foot (a-ok)
- blood-work following yearly exam
Thursday - follow-up with blood work
Friday - sonogram and ekg at Chandler Regional in the morning

Part of me thought about not even going to most of these appointments. If they find something, I can't do anything about it for hopefully just a few months as I will not have insurance while in VA. But i guess it is ultimately better to know and educate myself than be surprised later. I'm sure it's all nothing, but it's just a lot on my plate right now.

God's looking out for my mental well-being! :)

For those of you who don't know, I injured my foot running. Running was going to be my main source of exercise once we move in with Amanda since I probably won't have a gym membership. Cardiovascular exercise is like an anti-depressant for me. I think, that without exercise in my life, depression would rear its ugly head a lot...The first thing my doctor told me was NO impact exercising. She even told me to be a couch potato - she obviously doesn;t know me!

The pain started 2 weeks ago and kept getting worse, so I went to my Primary Care Doctor last week who ordered an x-ray. The x-ray was negative for a break, but it could still be a stress fracture. She wanted me to see an orthopedic surgeon. I start to stress big time. I'm thinking it's going to take a long time to get the appointment, so I start telling them that my insurance runs out at the end of October, so I really want this taken care of or it won't be! I was like, Lord please let this happen quickly. I don't need anymore stress right now'.

They told me the closest orthopedist who specialized in feet that took my state insurance was in Glendale - which is a haul from my house in Gilbert. Frankly, though, I didn't care as long as they could get me in. I called them today to find out that they had an office in Gilbert AND an opening for TOMORROW at 11:30 AND the office is only a mile from my neighborhood!!! Praise God! I jokingly told the lady at the office that I could walk there.......she said, 'Oh, no you don't!' :)

beginning our 'lasts'

We asked the boys for a list of a few things they wanted to do around here before we leave. Elijah and Harrison both wanted to go to the Desert Botanical Garden, and more specifically the Butterfly Pavilion within it! Our public libraries have started this wonderful program where we were able to get 4 passes to the gardens for free! We took a different path than we normally do, and viewed some beautiful sights.

We visited the butterfly pavilion twice. During the fall it's filled with Monarch butterflies. Apparently they don't like to get too close to humans. In the spring (with various butterflies), they will land right on your shirt! Either way, still a beautiful creation.

We went on the 'Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Trail' this time. Here are the boys relaxing at a desert oasis!











They had this area set-up for us to try our hands at some typical Sonoran living. They would grind the pods of a Mesquite tree into a sweet flour.

Harrison tried first.









Zachary got excited about the chance to pound at something as hard as he could!

















Elijah getting his chance




















Elijah and I taking a moment in the wickiup.












During their weekly art class I decided to hike up Hayden Butte, which is very close to campus. As you can see, Sun Devil Stadium is behind me. I could even hear ASU's marching band getting ready for the game that day. They are on one of the fields beside the white dome looking thing in the background.







Zachary was glazing in class. Here is his sarcophagus - with glow in the dark glaze.












There was an art gallery opening that evening titled 'Faces'. We met up with the Evans family there. Elijah and Emma never stopped holding hands. Emma was showing him around and reminding him of the rules. It was very sweet.









Here Harrison and his buddy, Ethan. recreate this piece.....with coordinating striped shirts!

All of the artists were at the opening, so it was neat to see the artists who had created self portraits of some kind.

more art and more ASU

Last week during art class my camera went crazy and I couldn't take any pictures!! This week it was still acting a little weird, but I finally got it going.

I thought these fake palm tree benches were really cool. If you're just driving by, the look pretty real.













The Fulton family has put a LOT of money into ASU. Here's a picture of the engineering building with a plane flying just above it.










ASU football's home opener was last weekend. But since my camera wasn't working I couldn't get any of the football game day preparations....still doesn't beat gameday in the south though! :)
























Harrison (his buddy, Ethan, is in the background) is putting some detail work on his clay creation from art. He must have been taking a slight break because if he were truly concentrating, his tongue would be out.















Mrs. Jenny had Elijah's class 'sculpting' using that green foam stuff that is used with plants sometimes. He was using different tools to make a cupcake.....then his table decided all the green powder created from this foam was fun to play with. One girl's hair ended up pretty green! :)














Zachary created a sarcophagus and mummy. i don't think his created mummy was true to life. He took a little creative license and had his mummy's eyeball popping out! You can see it at the top of the inside of the sarcophagus. Boys' creativity is so much fun!!














Harrison's dojo had an inter-dojo tournament. Here, Harrison is performing his bo kata. While he was the only one in his age group, his sensei made a point to congratulate him in front of everybody and emphasize how young he is to be doing it!














Just a goofy shot of us while we were watching other competitors.












Sensei Shannon. Harrison got a 1st place medal for his bo and a 2nd place medal for his regular kata. they had to compete head to head. He lost his first match, but won his next 3 to get 2nd place!

He is so proud of his medals. As we were leaving Sensei Jeremy and Sensei Clint both told congratulated Harrison on how well he had done.

...we're going to miss this dojo

a few more details

So our current plan is to have us stay here through Halloween. We usually go to a friend's neighborhood for trick-or-treating, but Zachary said he wanted to stay in ours this year. I can't say no to that. I don't think we've stayed home once since being in this house in Gilbert! His best bud is going to have a haunted house too! So once Halloween passes, we are tentatively scheduled to start the big drive the following morning, November 1.....strategically planned, also, to miss Daylight Savings! :) I don't yet know who will be driving with me. Brian may and then fly back out to AZ - as he will stay here for a while, possibly until our house rents.

Brian's been packing a lot still. Our house is starting to look bare as there are few things left on the wall. I've already gone through and packed all of mine and the boys 'colder' weather clothes to take with us to Amanda's. Amazingly, I think the only things we will have to buy are a few pairs of pants for Harrison and maybe a pair of shoes or two.

My emotions are still fluctuating daily. Most of the time, I'm ok....but then I'll hear something, see a certain place, think of a certain good time with friends......and my sadness has returned. Zachary and I have been reading through the books of James and Proverbs. Sometimes I don't like to hear what James has to say to me, but it is always reassuring to hear how God uses these trials, that WILL happen, will strengthen us.

A Polen Life update

Our lives are an ever changing big ball of chaos! I am having a hard time, as I personally like to have a plan....and we cannot make anything definite right now. Once again, I'm thinking God is reminding me to rely on Him.

Our mortgage company has been very gracious to us and put our payments on hold. But we have to start paying it again in November. Without a job, that's kinda hard. SO, with the current economy we figure the best option is to try and rent. To properly 'show' our house, we need to get out. Since I homeschool the boys, we are home ALL the time and running around creating messes. :) We are currently planning on me taking the boys to live with my sister, Amanda (in Hampton, VA), after October. Brian's thoughts are to stay here and take care of the house until it rents.

He had a potential job offer in DC. That offer is still there, but has been delayed. He's never stopped looking, however. He's too smart for that. :)

I've been able to emotionally detach myself from this because the BIG change is not here yet. Arizona has become home to me. The friends I have here have been such a blessing and are more like family to me in some ways than my real family (since we live so far from them). ...and the boys...this will be the first move I've had to make as an adult with children who understand what is going on...have friends they have to leave....

Another big change is that we are also considering putting Harrison and Elijah in public school while we are with my sister. This will be a significant change for both them AND me.


.....but from the mouths of babes......

Zachary told me the other week, that family is more important than friends! :)

Art classes at ASU

My friend, Jenny, is a graduate student in the art department at ASU. This Fall the students are leading different kinds of art classes for kids. Jenny also hooked me up with how to get these classes for F-R-E-E!!!! This is a big blessing. My boys enjoy taking art classes, and I am not the best at supplementing when we can't send them to one. This past week I decided to start strolling the campus during class. I haven't spent much time here at all during our time in AZ and figure I should now that that time is almost up!

There is a crazy story about this chapel. About 100 yds East is a gym where Zachary has had several gymnastics competitions. His first year of competition, I had taken Harrison and Elijah out for a walk during some down time. Apparently there was a college group filming a short movie here. One of the 'producers' approached me about being in it. I decided to listen to him for a minute. He told me, ME, that he wanted me to portray the Pope in his film. I said absolutley 'no', that would be completely distasteful. He tried to re-assure me that it would in fact be tasteful. I don't think so....but still, an interesting story.

This is the entrance to the gym where Zachary has had competitions.

This is just a short walk from the gym. I think it's called 'Palm Way'. I thought it was pretty.

Though they have 'McAlister' spelled wrong :), I still wanted to take a picture. This is on the main drag of campus...or one of them anyway, just off of University Ave

This is the top of the library. You actually walk down steps to get into it, so it's really underground.

Zachary is taking a pottery/ceramics class. They get to use both the pottery wheel and create something from a clay slab. Again, Zachary being a 'doer' really enjoys this kind of art class the most. He still approaches from a logical way, so it's really cool to see some of his creations.

Elijah's teacher is my friend, Jenny. Here, they had just made their own stamps with cardboard and aluminum foil and were getting ready to roll paint on it and stamps away. Elijah loves to draw and create anything. It's an odd day that goes by that he has not made me something. Right now his favorite drawing is of the two of us, with a heart and rainbow!

Harrison concentrates a lot when drawing. I think he likes the emotional release from drawing, and he is always so proud of his work. On this day, his class was drawing an underwater scene. Harrison created a few, new, undiscovered fish!

It's been a while, so this is a long update :)

Sorry it has been a little longer than I'd like for a Polen update. We've been very busy. I can't believe that I am now the mom of a 10 year old!!!! Zachary has put up with me well the past few days. I kept kissing him last night saying saying it was the last time I would tuck him in as a 9 year old....and I was doing it all day today too. (and he is not a touchy feely kinda kid)

So here is a brief overview of our recent happenings:

Here is Harrison on the morning of September 1, opening his present from me and Brian. Brian, as always, found an awesome deal on a little mp3 player. He was very excited......and still wearing his beloved AZ Cardinals jersey!









Later that day I brought cookies for Harrison to share with his friends at his enrichment program in Mesa. Here, his teacher, Mrs. Roland. is getting the class ready to sing to him. Harrison loves having attention on him. When they were singing, he was just kind of dancing around there at the front of the class with a big ol' grin on his face!













Zachary and I are working hard to keep practicing his guitar. The dining room has become the music room (Harrison has his keyboard set up here too). He's a perfectionist and a kid - so he wants it perfect RIGHT NOW!! I can see him improving as he practices more.








In science, Zachary and I had been discussing fossils. Zachary is a doer, so I got some of his play dinosaurs and made them into fossils. This way, he was DOING something pertinent to the lesson while I was reading to him!















When I was going to bed late last week, I was looking in on Harrison and had to stop! Brian, smartly, suggested I take a picture. Yes - he is asleep with his water bottle sitting on his chest!










Zachary had a couple neighborhood buddies over before his birthday. Here is Zachary opening his card from his Wilkins cousins....I just love the face his friend, Jakob, is making behind him! :)















I sent the boys on a scavenger hunt through the neighborhood and then had clues hidden throughout the house. In this picture are Jakob, Zachary, and Nick. Jakob is getting ready to fish out the chlorine holder......and getting ready to fall in!!








On Labor Day, Chick-Fil-A was offering free sandwiches to all who wore something from their favorite sports' team. We proudly wore our Clemson finest (minus Harrison - still in his Cardinals jersey) and enjoyed our sandwiches! Elijah was sitting beside me when I took this picture and did not want to walk around to be in the picture.






My poor Boo-Bear. His eczema just seems to be getting worse. His outbreaks are covering more of his body and they are harder to control. The doctor has him on a pretty strong steroidal cream that stings. He used to cry a lot because of the stinging, but now we've worked on a pattern of blowing and him doing a chicken dance that seem to help! :)

This picture was after we'd gotten it under control and he'd had it for over a week.



Last, but not least, Zachary being just plain weird! He was lying like this on the floor on Tuesday while we were going over some schoolwork.

job update.....sorta

We are still waiting on the official word from Accenture about Brian's job. This is completely expected, but it will still be nice to have it.....anything can happen between now and then. In the meantime we (Brian especially) has been keeping busy by packing. We don't know exactly what is going to happen other than we are probably most likely, maybe going to be moving. :) SO, since Brian is here right now, why not pack, right? We are trying to go ahead and de-clutter somemore and pack up all non essentials....though Brian can get in a mode where it seems like everything is non-essential!! :) I like to be a little steadier about things where he is more like a roller coaster.

Harrison's birthday party

Harrison has had a very exciting week. First his karate testing and then he had his birthday party last night at a local pizza place. He was debating between that and a pool party at the house....until he saw the new projection screen at the pizza place. It also worked out well that there were 2 NFL football games on - one being the AZ Cardinals - Harrison's favorite. We let him open his gift from Grandma and Papa McAlister early, and he was very excited.

He got chocolate cake on it at the party, so we washed it so he could wear it to church tonight.











Obviously - here he is blowing out the candles. We had Costco make a football cake with Clemson colors!










His buddy, Andrew, lives pretty far away so we picked up earlier in the day for a playdate before the party.



















Here's the whole crazy crew....minus Elijah who wanted nothing to do with this picture. Look behind them and you can see the projection screen. I think Brian was envious - it's bigger than his! :)











opening presents....I think he's holding the money he got from Aunt Amanda and her crew. He had a lot of fun. Harrison is not a child who minds having a lot of attention on him. :)

Harrison - karate testing

Harrison tested tonight to get his brown belt in karate. He's only 6 years old! I know he will be 7 next week, but it is still a huge accomplishment. He has so much to remember.















Elijah was sitting by Brian while Sensei Shannon was speaking to the kids testing. This was cute because Elijah usually sticks by me and doesn't go near Brian a lot. :)
















Here is Harrison and his buddy, Jacob, after testing. Jacob received his advanced brown belt tonight.












Harrison, so proud, with his new brown belt and Sensei Shannon.