Currently

I only follow a few blogs still - they come through my email and if they look interesting, I'll click on the link. That's what happened a week ago when I clicked on Emily's Currently post. I've been wanting to get back on here for a while, but haven't had anything to write about. I'm either way too busy to write (too many things to write about, not enough time) or bored to death with nothing to write about. Or too foggy to make sense of what's going on in my life. More on that later. Today. I'm kinda experiencing a little of everything - Not too much going on, not quite bored, a little foggy.

And NOW that we have a desktop computer after going without for the last 8 or so years, it's so much easier for me to sit down and blog. Writing on a full sized keyboard with a screen larger than my head is so much easier than being hunched over a laptop.

Here goes my first post of 2019...

LOVING: This desktop. I already mentioned going without for almost a decade. It's nice to get off of my phone and laptop and scroll with an actual mouse again. Even though it's a bit more masculine than I would like in my little corner of my dining room, I'm enjoying the ease of getting on here again. Also loving a warmish house. Windchills reached an epic -50 degrees here. My mind still can't even process that number. That's a 120 degree difference between outside and inside our house. #jawdrop. 

READING: Per usual, I'm reading more than one book.

• Daily: I started New Morning Mercies at the beginning of the year for my morning devotionals. One page per day (totally manageable), full of beautiful truth - I basically have to fight the urge to highlight the entire page as I read. Really happy with this purchase.

• Audio Book: "The Good Neighbor" (Maxwell King) 

• Book Format: Iron Gold (the 4th book in the Red Rising series - my fave!!)

• Random: I'm also perusing through "Cozy Minimalist Home" (Smith) and "Simply Clean" (Rapinchuk). 

EXITED ABOUT: Getting my hashimoto/Auto-immune disease back under control. I was doing really well this Fall season (mainly because I was couch-bound for so long with weeks upon weeks of bronchitis). But then I got healthy and the holidays hit and I over-did it. My body started to shut down and I would find myself taking multiple naps during the day, walking around like a zombie and forgetting things. A friend of mine who also deals with chronic fatigue sent me over to google to look up the "Spoon Theory". I was surprised at how much sense it made to me - especially because the name is a little silly. Reading about it and seeing how many people this resonated with after scrolling and scrolling through the hashtag allowed me to feel like I wasn't alone in this lonely world of chronic illness. 

For more info see Scary Mommy's Post

So back to being what I'm excited about (this post turned depressing super quick). I'm EXCITED about my little bottle of miracle oil. I've done a ton of research on CBD oil and have listened to multiple friends talk about what it's done for them with auto-immune disease/hashimoto/chronic fatigue. I'm hoping that this "smart plant" helps me. Please Lord. 🙏

LISTENING TO: My boys jumping.off.the.walls. These negative degree temps need to GO AWAY. And school needs to start up again. Today marks the 5th straight school day that they've been home. I'm also listening to: The Good Neighbor (audio book), MPR radio (for the latest news), A Star is Born (soundtrack) and Wes Urbaniak's "Here I Go". 

MAKING: When the colder months hit Minnesota the yarn projects come out. Just like books, I usually have more than one project going on. I'm currently working on a bunny, two hats and a blanket. 

Foodwise, I've been making a lot of salads. Trying to shed those holiday lbs. There are so many of them (holidays). MLK day put me back a few pounds, but that's to be expected, right? What? You don't celebrate every single holiday with calories?

DREAMING OF: Is it too cliche to say that I'm dreaming of warmer weather? I don't really care, because that is indeed what I'm dreaming of. Take me back to Arizona! My thoughts wander to laying out in my hammock with a good book and the hot sun shining down on me while my kids play across the street at the park, running through the greenest of green grasses that needs mowing so desperately bad. That's what I'm dreaming of. That and better health. And cheesecake. Always cheesecake. Squirrel.  

WORKING ON: Various yarn projects, slowly but surely de-cluttering, and listening better to my body.

ENJOYING: The sunshine shining on me as I write.  I'm also enjoying my Ember coffee mug. Hot coffee for longer, yes please.

WEARING: Layers. Also, my hair down. This is the first winter I can remember where I didn't need to wear a scarf around our drafty 1916 home to keep my neck warm. Now I can just let my hair down and not feel like a layered fluffy person. I really am loving this longer hair. I'm glad dug my heels and was patient. So many times I was tempted to give up and go back to short. I will someday, but while I can get away with it, I'll be enjoying it long.

SINGING: "How Could This Happen To Me" - Simple Plan and "The Sound of Silence" (hello darkness my old friend). *ONLY* because my boys sing those lines every time something "bad" happens to them. And both songs get stuck in my head for dayz.

NEEDING:  Cheesecake.
I desperately need to run a load of home-and-closet-and-storage rejects to our local thrift store. Along with the rest of America. #mariekondomademedoit.

THINKING ABOUT:  My Grandma in Pittsburgh. 

I'm adding one more, because I think I would like to come back to this and see what I was watching. 

WATCHING:

1. This is Us (current season)
2. The Bachelor (current season)
3. Victoria (current season)
4. Riverdale (current season)
5. The Masked Singer 

Okay, I did it! I finished a blog post and I'm hitting publish. Not letting it sit around in the draft folder with all its siblings. I feel like I accomplished something huge.

Happy {Third} Birthday, Miles!

My baby turned three two weeks ago today. ::Hallelujah Chorus:: 

Two was a hard year for us. Miles' big brother at age 2 was great and so fun! I loved that year with Simon. I would eye-roll whenever anyone would label 2 as the terrible year. Simon got his terrible on at 18m...and again at 3. The odd years seem to be harder for him. But then Miles came along and I was able to fully appreciate the terrible of two. Towards the end of year two (or technically would that be year three?), I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Miles is talking more, communicating better and understands at a deeper level. Three has to be better, it just has to!

I believe in birthday weeks. We kinda had to do that with Miles anyway. I guess that's what happens when ones birthday is on a Monday and your birthday party isn't scheduled until the following weekend. We had to keep it alive somehow so he wouldn't be so confused when his party came around. ;)

We celebrated his actual birthday by building a snowman (it's hard to believe we had that much snow only 2 weeks ago!), eating a requested dinner of Waffles (strawberry and cream edition), and a trip to Cupcake that evening - where he picked out a gorgeous green frosted cupcake.

I think it's safe to say his favorite present that day was his Gordon train. He's kind of obsessed with trains. When we asked him what else he wanted to do that evening, he was quick to say "go to the zooooo!". Of course the zoo was closed and so we headed home instead. Peter surprised us that next morning by staying home with plans of taking our little boy to the zoo. I tagged along.

From my Instagram: "Shhh, don't tell Simon, but we went to the zoo this morning. I don't think I've ever been to the zoo with snow on the ground and windchills in the teens. A first for everything. Hardly any crowds though and the winter animals were quite active. So it was worth it."

Our neighborhood Como Zoo is his favorite, because they have his favorite animals: Polar Bears and Lions....and Monkeys (lots of monkeys). Oh and fish. I cannot forget his aquatic friends.  

The day before his birthday party was fully devoted to cleaning, baking and decorating for his fish-themed party - such a fun theme! Pinterest to the rescue, of course. I know I've done it before Pinterest, but seriously how the heck did I party plan before this wondrous site came to be? Party planning is so much easier with it around! 

The decorations for his party are all self explanatory. It's amazing what you an pull off by just looking at pictures. That's usually all I need when it comes to getting my creative on. I hardly ever actually click on the picture to go to the website. I use Pinterest and Google image search a lot when I need inspiration.

Edible decorations. Both were fun to do, but the marshmallows were definitely easier to assemble.

A School of Fish

The amazing cake (I totally failed on the color scheme when it came to the cake. Oh well...it's the color of sand. Yeah, sand.). AND the fun and whimsical water scene in the background. Which is still up. :P

I found the chocolate peanut butter cake recipe on Pinterest as well. What a gold mine of a pin. Probably the best chocolate peanut butter cake I've ever had... with a few adjustments here and there, made by me. I shall devote a blog post solely to this cake and frosting.  It's that good.

 

The family party was really fun.  I made a huge pot of Loaded Baked Potato Soup for the adults and Star Fish PB&J sandwiches for the kiddos. 11 adults, 6 kids in our tiny house. Loved every minute. Miles' Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles know him well. He received adorable clothes, a basketball hoop/mini basketball, bubbles, an adorable stuffed puppy dog and his very own DVD of The Sound of Music - seriously, his favorite movie everrr. He's constantly asking to watch "the Goodnight Song" and "Doe a Deer" on Youtube. Love him.   

He's a pretty fun kid, very passionate, loyal, high-spirited, caring, LOUD and active. He yearns to do everything big brother does. He enjoys a good tune and a good book...and all things sports. He loves Sunday mornings because that means he gets to go to "Hallelujah". He's becoming quite the comedian and thoroughly enjoys making us laugh. He's a handful, but I wouldn't trade him for the world. Happy birthday, Miles Paul.

Cheers to January!!

Never in my wildest dreams would I be so excited about this date. I mean, Monday, January 5th? For one, I used to loath January. Tack on a Monday? In the olden days you would find me all curled up in bed, moaning about me being alone with little children (who found fighting, yelling and constantly asking for stuff enjoyable) and incoherently muttering something about Spring never coming. And yet, I've been looking forward to this date for a while now. Why? Because life goes back to normal. Simon is back at school, Miles is back to his quiet cheerful self (which sadly only seems to happen when he has one-on-one time with either Peter or me), and my house is slowly but surely getting clean again after the messy holidays. Seriously, the whole process of Christmas (before, during, after) takes a toll on my house - it's like a Christmas elf barfed all over it. I hate it. This time next week, hopefully all of the gorgeous Christmas decor will be put away and the house will be less cluttered.

I'm excited about getting back into a routine. I'm excited about Simon being back at school and coming home happy and full of stories about his day. I'm excited about spending quality time with Miles, as well as having having more "me" time...which usually means I'm able to read more and actually have devotions.  I'm excited about the quieter atmosphere... I didn't think having my oldest home or celebrating two holidays could bring on so much stress. But it did. I see that as a flaw in my life. I don't like how all of those combined factors burn me out. How they formed me into a cranky mom and wife. How selfish I became as I wallowed in the stress of each hour...minute...second. It's something that I need to work on. Something that I need to own up to and release to my (ever gracious) Jesus. I keep telling myself that it's just a phase. My terrible two year old will someday not be two and not be so terrible. My boys will learn how to play nicely (and quietly) together, and won't be so needy. Someday it won't be so painfully cold outside - there will be warmer weather and greener grass for my boys to *run* in. Oh, I can't wait to let them loose outside without fearing some body part will freeze off. You think I'm overreacting concerning frostbite? No, it's very real here in Minnesota. Wednesday morning we'll be flirting with -40 degrees. That's negative forty. Oi.

So cheers to January. Cheers to a new year. A new beginning. New grace and more peace.  

"My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Cor. 12:9

The most wonderful time of the year...my birthday!

I turned 31 yesterday.  It was a rather nice birthday.  My day was full of FB well wishes, a visit from my sweet MIL and SIL, a phone call from my dad and my dad's mom - my beloved Grandma who I miss so much, and my bestie, Johanna. With a few texts and an email or two thrown in just for fun. I even had a Starbucks latte hand-delivered to me to fuel my day, Thanks husband.  Miles surprised me by sleeping in until nearly 10am! I felt well-loved and cherished.  That evening we whisked the boys away to the downtown Macy's Santaland in Minneapolis.

You can totally tell it's my birthday. Not a groan or a cry of protest when I spotted this mirror and declared it was selfie-time. Smiles all around...from the grownups. The boys... eh.

Miles was still in my belly when we last went to this magical place. I could hardly wait to introduce him to the beautiful displays.  And I already knew Simon would enjoy it. Especially since there were cookies at the end of the trail. Their reactions did not disappoint. They even got to sit on Santa's lap. Miles surprised us by initiating the visit. I hope I never forget the look on his face or the willingness to climb up on the jolly old man's lap.  A far cry from last year's encounter.  He was in complete awe of the man. And what a Santa he was! A spitting image of what I would imagine him to look like. He spoke softly to the boys and I'm pretty sure they were both under his spell and would have done anything he would have asked. Teach me your ways, old man.

I snapped this one with my phone

This one I paid money for. I think it was worth it. Miles face...I can't even.

After jumping down and waving goodbye, we meandered over to the cookie station. Mmm, I can still taste that amazing gingerbread cookie. So good.

The boys wanted to go through the displays one more time, so we did. That's what happens when there aren't a ton of people.  Yay for weeknight adventures and not having to wait 2 hours in line.

We arrived back home craving cake.

The massive cake that Simon picked out and my unopened pressies taunting me...always taunting me.  Well worth the wait. :D

The boys helped me blow out my candles (of course!) as well as helping me with my presents. Simon gifted me some candy (nomnom) and Peter...well, Peter gifted me a new laptop/touchscreen tablet. My little old netbook was on the verge of driving me to the insane asylum - nothing frustrates me more than a device that freezes, looses work and needs to be restarted all.the.time. So much wasted time and gnashing of teeth.  My husband is amazing and I don't even mind that this was a combined birthday/Christmas gift.  Maybe I'll blog more now that I have a device that actually works.

Be still my heart. He even bought it in gold. Love that man.

Today, I'm resting and blogging. My health (what little health I had accumulated) relapsed and I ended up loosing my voice late last night.  I'm so grateful that it went away today instead of yesterday - how sad that would have been. However, it did ruin our evening dinner plans tonight. So my amazing husband is bringing home Pho tonight and we'll probably spend the evening munching on popcorn and watching Peter Pan Live with our boys. Simon is SO excited about this show. Advertising works on this kid.  I'll also be working on getting another inventory order together for HWY North. I'll be receiving my first paycheck in a few days. I'm excited and thrilled that my items are selling.

And so with that, I'll sign off. I want to publish this before it gets lost in my draft folder. Toodaloo, my friends!

Goodbye Summer, hello Fall.

Hello blog world. I've had an insane itch to blog these past few months. I've started a few posts here and there, but they've stayed in my draft folder.  This morning, the stars leaves aligned and with a hot cup of coffee nearby and my littlest one playing with his trains, I find my fingers flying across the keyboard, creating a post that WILL be published.

The summer flew by - as it always does. Autumn is here and the days have slowed down a bit - they seem to be getting longer now that it's cooler out (funny how that always seems to happen). Lots of indoor activity has happened since the temps dropped. Cleaning and organizing and making lists, lots of lists. Birthday season is upon us. Peter's birthday came and went, with his mom and nephew's on the horizon. One of the great things about the last few months of the year is getting together with family for birthday parties and holidays. I love living so close and enjoy the company of my in-laws and little nieces and nephews.

Simon started school last month (a month today!). He LOVES school!  Not a day has gone by where he hasn't been excited about going to school. In fact, he no longer enjoys the weekends, because that means he doesn't get to go to school.  My worst fear was making him go to school. I had it in my mind that the first week would go great, but by the following Monday the magic would have worn off and I would be dragging him to the bus stop.  Not so. It's actually the other way around. ;)  He's going on his first field trip on Friday. He's beyond excited. He's also making lots of friends and adores his teacher.  This transition couldn't have gone better. And I'm SO grateful.  His Sunday School at church started up a couple of weeks ago too and now he's even happier (he's starting to like the weekends again).  His happy place is surrounded with lots of happy kids and adults, learning and having fun. I love that about him.  Some of his favorite things about school are: homework (I know! We've actually had to create extra homework for him because he just enjoys it so much. Question: how long will this last? Haha!), riding the bus, math, gym and recess (of course).

Miles is transitioning well to not having big brother around. In all honesty, I think he rather enjoys having all of the toys (and his mommy) to himself. He's a happier boy and has turned into a complete chatterbox. He and I are bonding more too! It's been a rough couple of years for us and I never felt as close with him as I did with Simon. That's changing now, little by little. Having this one-on-one time with him has really drawn us closer together. It makes sense now that I think about it. It was just Simon and me for 3.5 years. Miles has always had to share that time with his big brother.  I'm glad for this time with just Miles. His favorite things are playing with his trains, dinosaurs, watching Caillou (oh, the horror!), singing Hallelujah and My God is So Big.  Random tidbits about him: He calls his brother "Why-ya", his dad "poppa" and me "mommy".  He likes to recite everyone's names (including the extended family). He's really into colors right now and will point at people and say the color they're wearing. It gets awkward sometimes. When asked what his favorite colors are, his reply is "Pink!" and Purple (much to his big brother's chagrin).  When we cough or sneeze, he asks with mock concern if we're okay. And then proceeds to fake cough/sneeze to get us to ask him if he's okay.  He's slowly but surely becoming a polite child, saying please and thank you at the appropriate times and even saying "sorry mommy/poppa" when he makes a mess or gets scolded. His softer side is starting to show. ;) He still has quite the throwing arm and even causes strangers to stop and mention his amazing ability.  

Peter is doing well and just celebrated his 31st birthday. For the next 2 months, he is older than me. ;) He's already busy with year-end stuff at work. He's excited about soup season and happy that the temperature is dropping. He's healthy! I still have people ask me about his health. It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since we first discovered that illusive lump on his neck. I still look back on that time and wonder if it all really happened. I know it did, because I still see the scar on his neck. I still tear up hearing certain songs and I still get flashbacks of how very close we felt to the throne of God during those dark and uncertain days. My heart still swells when I think about all of the people who prayed over us as a family and over my husband as he struggled through the worst pain and fears of his life. So even though at times it doesn't feel real, there are moments when it feels like it just happened. I'll never get over that awed feeling of our Healer placing His mighty hand on my husband and bringing him back to complete health.

And me. What's up with me? Where do I even begin...? For starters, I started watching my little nephew about a month and a half ago. He's only with me a few hours a day. I love hanging out with him. The timing couldn't be better. Miles goes down for his nap and L arrives. L goes down for his nap and Simon gets home from school. L leaves for his home and I start on dinner and Miles wakes up. It's a lot of trading off, and hardly any overlapping. I'm so glad we live close enough that I can watch him. He's a fun little guy.

I'm also in the middle of getting things sorted out to start selling on a consignment-based setting in a cute little shop that's opening up nearby in our neighborhood. I'm excited and NERVOUS about venturing out into unknown territory. My etsy shop has become my comfort zone. Although, I can see a freedom of selling in a shop and not having the stress of having to take pictures, write up descriptions, ship and have the exact items in stock to match the said pictures. Selling in a live shop will be a lot less behind the scenes work. Starting out will be the hardest I think. Making labels, setting up my table, pricing, not knowing what the inventory will need to look like... Yep, freaking out a bit. I've only talked to the owner on the phone once, but from our short conversation, I feel really good about working with her. I'm excited about this new adventure. If all goes well, the shop will be open late October, just in time for the holiday season. :D

I'm enjoying life and have high hopes for this winter...yes, this is still me writing.  I really do think this winter will be easier for me. Having Simon in school and Miles being older both help I think. I thrive being on a schedule and that's where Simon being in school comes in handy. Having things to look forward to, even if they are mundane things, like drop-offs and pickups from the bus stop (I'm already shivering thinking about walking down the street in below zero temps and thigh-high snow drifts), and watching my nephew will help get me moving.  An entire year in toddlerhood is huge too. Miles is a lot easier at 2.5 than 18 months. The closer he gets to 3, the better in my book. ;)

So that's us in a nutshell.  I would have loved for the summer to have lasted longer, but in reality, I'm really enjoying this (chillier) season. It was time for a change. And so I'll leave it at that. My coffee needs to be reheated and lunch needs to be made for my littlest one. I shall sign off with hopes of another blog post in the near future. Thanks for reading, my faithful friends.

State Fair, August 30th, 2014

{The Month of May} That Times of Refreshing May Come...

It's been over 2 months since my last post. A lot has happened since then. Especially in the weather department. I am happy to report that Spring has finally arrived in Minnesota.  Actually, I think we might have skipped spring and gone straight to summer. It's been in the 80's all week - I'm not complaining, not one bit. I'm super happy that there are now leaves on all of the trees, they finally match the brilliant green grass. As I type, I can see lilacs bursting forth on our bushes right outside our dining room window. My peony's are starting to form tiny buds. There are already armies of ants crawling all around them, pleading with them to open. I'm pleading too - I can hardly wait!!  My tulips did not do so well this Spring (and the ones that did open I had to race to grab them before our mean old rabbit chewed off the petals - grrr - I'm still bitter towards that furry creature! I'm this close to trapping him and making rabbit stew. I'm kidding!
Sorta.

The lucky tulips I was able to rescue from the mean old rabbit.

The birds are alive and well and their chirping wakes me up in morning. My boys require nightly baths due to sweat, dirt and sand, and our yard is already showing wear and tear thanks to many mini-baseball games in our front yard. My heart is slowly thawing towards the weather. It's hesitant to really believe that the warm weather is here to stay. This winter really abused it. Trust is something my heart is working on reestablishing (Note: I'm this close to going in and seeing if I have a seasonal disorder).

The month of May has been a whirlwind of activity. Between birthday parties, Mother's Day, a LONG roadtrip (27 hours spent in the car with a whiny/teething/2 year old - not cool), visiting with my family, getting a short hairdo for Summer, meeting my newest nephew - gosh, I miss him, visiting my grandparent's farm (my last visit there was when I was 17!), unpacking, farewell gatherings for sweet friends, enjoying a full and beautiful Memorial day weekend with my boys (MN Zoo - ftw!!). And now current day - I'm packing for yet another trip - this time I'm getting ready for a mini-anniversary trip with my favorite (which will start on Sunday, June 1st!! Hello June!).

May has been fun...but exhausting.

This morning as I was sipping my coffee I had a thought softly pass through my heart. Be still my soul and know that I am God. Be still. I don't even know if I know how to do that anymore. Have I ever? To be still and meditate on my God. What a wonderful and seemingly impossible thing to do. When was the last time I felt like I could physically do that? Even when it's quiet around here (which believe me, that doesn't happen all too often), there's a bazillion things going through my brain. A to-do list the length of my arm, laundry that needs to be done + folded, clutter that needs to be put away, snotty noses that need to be wiped, timeouts that need to be enforced (why is my 2yo so obstinate?!?), school that needs to be taught, weeds that need to be weeded, toys that need to be picked up (for the millionth time), meals that need to be planned + cooked... Be still. I wish there was a reset button for my thoughts/to-do lists.  I wish there was a soundproof room in our house that held no distractions. But there isn't. And that's not how God made me. He created me to be a multitasker. He created beautiful things for my pleasure (oooh, flowers blooming! Those clouds are gorgeous, my little boy wants to snuggle!...) He created my quirky brain (and probably laughs at all of the silly things I have on my to-do list). But He also created me to yearn for something better, something holier. And so I cannot ignore these yearnings. My time with Him might not be perfect in my mind, but it's time spent together, and right now any time spent together is worth celebrating.

Salomon Farms, Fort Wayne, IN.

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To honor the month of May and the craziness that it's been. I'm going to post pictures. I do love how pictures remind me of the happy moments and the blessings that I live and breath each and every day.

{May Day} My little niece, Leyna, turned one!!  She totally attacked her adorable smash cake that her creative momma made for her.  And she did it while modeling a dizzyfrog hair bow - such a cutie!!

Mother's Day - my 6th!! Gosh, how did I get to be so lucky? Confession: I love to look at still photos of my boys. The main reason?  They aren't moving! And squawking (Miles). It's the same delight I get when I go in and gaze at them as they're sleeping. I can't believe I haven't sprouted any grey hairs. *knock on wood* Lucky, yes. They make me smile every day and bring joy that I could only experience through being their mommy. <3


{Fort Wayne, IN}

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Fort Wayne, the city I where I was born and raised. 

We visited Salomon Farms in Fort Wayne, these little guys stole my heart. SO cute!!

Salomon Farms, Fort Wayne, IN.

I met up with my oldest friend, Lauren and her adorable baby. We've been friends for going on 20 years now. Wow.

Speaking of babies.... meeting this little guy was the highlight of my trip. Luke, nephew #2. First and only nephew on my side of the family. I still can't believe my little brother is a dad!

These boys!! I think they need to form a band. We loved meeting Gray and hanging out with his awesome parents and our other friends, the G's.  Fyi, Gray's mom make these awesome bow ties and infinity scarves. If you're in need of either or both, check out her etsy shop.

{Farming Around}

At my Grandma's farm!! There was a smudge on the camera - we didn't realize it until all of our family pics were taken and we were back home. :(

It was so fun introducing my boys to the wonders of the countryside. 

This lane holds so many memories. The clearest memories are usually of little Jessica on a bike going to get the mail.

 

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I used to sit under this willow tree as a little girl and play on the recorder, sing songs to myself, or write in my diary.  Now here I sit 20 years later, with memories flooding back.

As soon as I was done strolling around the farm reliving memories and snapping pics, I came back and found this man, bringing my past back into my present and future.

{Back Home}

Back home. And more goodbyes. Julia has been such an amazing friend. I love how God brought us together.

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Saying goodbye is tough. Especially for my tender-hearted 5 year old. He latches on to people so fast and hard and it's difficult for him to let go. I'm so glad he was able to spend the day with his friends before they left for the beautiful and warm South.

 {Memorial Day, 2014}

We're at the zoo!! Miles is cracking me up. He did not want to get in close for a pic. And that face!! lol!

Snack break. Their favorite.

Simon was thrilled to have a spider painted on his face.

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 That face!! Oh, I just want to smooch all over it. (waiting for the tractor ride to pick us up and take us to the farm).

LOL! I laugh every time I see this pic.

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My boys were not fans of the water feature. They're kinda like me - they don't like cold blasts of water all over their warm bodies...and splashed in their face. Maybe next time they'll like it more...


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Wow, I could post a ton more pics, but I think I'll stop. I'll just have to post the rest to a random FB album.