Green Thumb

So glad someone in this house aspires to have a green thumb.
Lord knows her Mommy doesn't!
Ms. Gabs planting bulbs with the neighbor 11/04/09

Hello 11373

October 16th we said goodbye to 20929 and hello to 11373.
After much thought about "moving up" we stepped out in faith in late January and listed what is now our previous home. Our hope was that our house would sell quickly and we could profit from the low interest rates and buyers market to upsize. We waited and waited AND cleaned and cleaned for many, many showings, but our efforts weren't fruitful. It was yet another testing of me being patient and waiting on God's perfect timing. It wasn't until mid August that we received an offer. With much reluctancy (on my part) we accepted and advanced in the search for our new home. What we found meets not only our needs (or should I say wants?) but far more. I have posted a couple shots taken in late August prior to our possession.

Front Elevation

Private wooded back yard (playset was previous owners).
The previous home owner had her son's bedrooms painted with murals that we {currently} can't bring ourselves to paint over. They are done beautifully and are pretty darn cute if I can say so myself. We chose the transportation themed room for Dawson for obvious reasons.
What boy doesn't love trains & tractors?


Dawson's bedroom murals

This giraffe is my personal favorite!
We had every intention on painting Gabrielle's room as soon as we were settled. She had her heart set on pink (her previous bedroom was a bright green). We didn't make it past night one in the new house when Gabi let it be known she LOVES her new bedroom and we ARE NOT to paint over her jungle friends.


Gabrielle's bedroom murals

When Mommy isn't watching

This is what happens when I am packing the pantry and the little man is
HUNGRY

Getting Settled

It has been a long few weeks and I couldn't more thankful that it is now behind us. Travis and I worked diligently to pack up our home over the past month or so. I won't go into all the details, but just know we dealt with about every emotion there is to experience throughout the selling/buying process with this transaction. Our close date got moved not once, but twice! Then the morning of our scheduled closing there were yet further delays.

It all worked out and we are the happy owners of our new home (which needed a lot of elbow grease and TLC - which is why ALL these cleaning supplies came in handy).

For weeks we lived like this - boxes, boxes, everywhere boxes.

My one regret was not photographing our garage just prior to the move. Travis was meticulous about placing the boxes in "sequence."
One aisle for the kids bedrooms, one for the kitchen, one for the basement ... you get the point.
It made the loading and unloading so seamless.
My other regret was not photographing our movers and help. They were amazing beyond what I could possibly put into words. WELL worth the small investment! I am happy to give you a referral if need be in the future.

We will deeply miss our FFV home.
{Front Elevation of our "old" home shown above"}

It is the home we purchased when we had just found out we were expecting Gabrielle. The home we brought both of our babies home to. The home we spent 5 1/2 years of our 9+ years of wedded life together. It is not the house so much as the neighbors who became like family to us that we will miss. Even though we moved just a little more than a mile up the road, it isn't the same as walking across the street, up the block or around the corner.
We are thrilled about our new home and the memories we will make here. We love the additional living space and the wooded lot. The kids quickly made friends with the next door neighbors and I have met several of the moms.
The ONE negative THE SKUNK invasion!
Apparently they have found our neighborhood to be a well suited home for their ENTIRE family. From what I understand from the neighbors it is not unlikely to see them on a frequent basis. One greeted us Friday morning in the front yard at 5:45AM!!
Pictures to come soon.

Facebook Ministry

I have a confession - here goes!
I am somewhat of a Facebook addict. There are days I may log on a half a dozen times to get the latest status of my online "friends."
Many may say "So, what is the big deal?"
Well, the way I look at it is that is time wasted that should be spent somewhere else.
On mothering, reading, cleaning, anywhere BUT on Facebook.
Well, after 4 plus days without phone, cable & internet I have spent a little time last night and tonight playing catch up. I have a point here ... stay with me.
I have had a heavy heart recently for several reasons. Some mentioned, some not.
- I have been dealing with chronic back pain for over two years and it has me knocked down further than ever before. It has changed my stamina, my attitude, & most importantly my spirit.
- I have been dealing with self pity about the fact that some dear friends stepped out in faith and traveled with a team to Africa on a mission trip (and I kept telling myself it wasn't the right time for me). They returned to Kansas with their lives forever changed while I still have the aching desire to leap out and GO!
- There are family health issues that have created undue concern.
The list goes on.
Sooooo ... tonight I logged onto Facebook and I was ministered to. It may not seem like a big thing, but it "spoke" to ME.

When a fellow CRCC member that traveled to Africa was asked if she could share one thing that Christians could apply to their lives. This was her response.
"Well, we might just rely on our "stuff" and ourselves too much ... I think we crowd out God. I think we don't see miracles b/c we would rather insert our human effort into the equation ... we're not comfortable letting God hold up our cause and be our provision."
And this is the response from the individual whom asked the question.
"I am encouraged that you mentioned miracles!! We have put so much emphasis not only on stuff but on man. We are ready to go and fix it because it's a good thing ... but is it the right thing? Sometimes suffering and depending on God's provision is the ultimate fix, but we are not comfortable with that. To be able to experience a peace that surpasses all understanding is the miracle."
RELYING ON OUR STUFF = CROWDING OUT GOD = SUFFERING
DEPENDING ON GOD'S PROVISION = COMFORT
See the message?

Goodbye Summer Days

The kids and I had a free day today so I loaded them up and headed to Buffalo Park to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. Beautiful AND windy!!! We decided in short order that it was a little too windy for our liking so plan B was a near by McDonald's playland. The kids made fast friends with some fellow visitors and played extremely well for the better part of the late morning.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then shopped for Mema's birthday present. We spent the evening with Papa, Mema, Aunt Linda and Paige eating homemade potato soup and watching the Minnesota Twins versus the Detroit Tigers. 12 innings!! What a game! Our Tigers ended up losing :0(

Love you Mom - more than words can ever express! Happy Birthday!

My boy is TWO

Monday September 21st we celebrated Dawson's 2nd year of life. The weeks preceding his birthday I found myself flooded with emotions. I caught myself crying on several occasions. I would watch him playing or would be loving on him and the tears would come. I am sad knowing that the baby stage is behind us. I miss all the newborn canoodling. I miss nursing him already and it has only been a few short weeks since he weaned (I thought it may never happen!) & believe it or not I miss his complete dependency on my fulfilling his every need. On the other hand I am overjoyed knowing how far we have come since his entrance into this world. We had somewhat of a rocky start with his trivial medical concerns in the beginning. Now here we are a year later and I have quickly forgotten about all the running from doctor appointment to doctor appointment. I look at my baby D and see a healthy boy abundant with energy, fearless, FULL of life. I continue to fall more and more in love with him daily. He is a handful and keeps us on our toes. I think he is 100% boy in full fashion :0)
I am honored that God hand picked me to be his Momma. I fall short so many times in my parenting, but I continue to strive to do my very best. We have been blessed with two very beautiful children, and for that I am eternally grateful!!

They say there is a special bond b/n daddy & daughter, mommy & son. So true!
Maybe it is because to me he is still my baby, but this little guy sure pulls on his Momma's heartstrings.

I asked Dawson what he wanted for his birthday and he said Mickey Mouse. I think he has seen it a total of 3 times (if that). It could be that he and sister play with the stuffed Mickey at Mema & Papa's frequently. We often hear him say "Oh toodle!" Love it!

I am throwing in a couple of cake pictures because they're cute. Just sayin'!

LOVE this kid!
What I want to remember about this stage of Dawson's life:
his amazing vocabulary
his love/hate relationship with his sister
how he knows no stranger
the neighbors total infatuation with him (they shower him with hugs and kisses)
my special time with him in the mornings while Gabi is at preschool
how he coined the name Daddy-O for Travis
his fierce stubbornness when he wants things his way