home

This is our sweet little home.  I've blogged about our house before, you can check it out here.  It's an old little house, built in 1896.  It has creaky floors, transoms over the doors, 10 ft. ceilings, and windows big enough to make any natural light photographer inveous.  And I love it.  Like really, really love it.  There is so much character and history here.  Are there problems with the house?  Yes.  It's ridiculously expensive to heat because the walls aren't insulated and the windows are single pained.  There's two entries, the front and the back, and since our garage is detached and behind the house, everyone walks in through the back door.  Coincidentally, this is the laundry room.  So everyone walks in to see that I can't keep up with my laundry.  Not ideal, but hey, it could be way worse.  We don't have a ton of room to host things, and I would love to have more space for that.  The biggest problem of all, though, is the fact that it's only two bedrooms.  When we bought the house 4 years ago, we had no idea that our family would grow so quickly.  Having only 2 bedrooms didn't seem like an issue when we bought it.  

And then Kason was born.  Suddenly, I feel like hot wheels cars and basketballs are taking over my life.

So when I found out I was pregnant with Baby G #2, we knew something had to be done.  We had tossed around the idea of trying to finish the attic and add on an additional bedroom a couple of years ago.  After going and looking at bigger house, with lots of storage and big living spaces, I quickly decided I wanted to just wash my hands of this little, old house and move on.  We were literally about a week from listing our house, and had already found a house we liked, when my emotions took over.  Maybe it's the fact that I'm very hormonal with this pregnancy (poor, poor Duane), or the fact that I realized none of the houses we looked at had near the character ours does, but I suddenly wanted to stay here.  So, I gave in to my husbands request to contact an architect and see how we could make our house work for our growing family.  After all, a remodel with a toddler and large pregnant belly sounds better than packing everything up, only in turn to unpack it all again in a new home. Yuck.

Today we met with an architect and I couldn't be happier with how it went.  He walked through the house with us and was so positive about the reality of adding a bedroom and playroom, as well as giving us some more living space.  He seemed super thorough, and not one to just plop a room onto our house that doesn't look like it matches.  I'm so, so excited to see the plans he comes up with.  I'm thrilled that we will most likely be able to stay here for at least 5-10 more years, and then hopefully build a house that we love just as much.  When I left my full time job to stay home, I knew there were sacrifices I'd have to make.  Staying in a house with 2 closets may be one of them, but I'm okay with that.  After all, I love this little old house, and can't wait to bring Baby G #2 home here. :)

christmas bucket list {part 2}

We've been able to cross a few more things off our Christmas bucket list!  Starting with a visit to see Santa!  Let me preface this by saying I knew how this was going to go.  Kason is a big fan of Santa pictures, status, or on TV, but in real life...NOT a fan!  He has a huge fear of anything that's dressed in a costume, has it's face painted, or just looks off.  

We took Kason to our local gym to see Santa.  It was free, and I knew he'd scream, so it was perfect for us.  As soon as Santa came out and walked by Kason, the screamed started.  He stopped for a few minutes, but as soon as we got close to Santa, the screaming and shaking started again.  I handed him to someone, who put him on Santa's lap for literally 10 seconds and this was the result....

Maybe next year will go better....:).

We also had our small group Christmas party.  We joined this group in September and have LOVED it.  It's perfect fit for us, and we love growing and learning with this group.  We got together for pizza and games, and of course, a white-elephant gift exchange.  It was so much fun!

Another list item was craft making. We made some stockings and attempted to make an ornament.  Kason LOVED it! :)

We also had a Christmas party with some of our favorite people!  We got together with Kason's buddies to exchange gifts and let the boys play.  It was so fun, and I can't wait for lots of other Christmas celebrations together! :)






Loooove these shirts that my friend Megan had made for the boys...

Merry Christmas!

Just a little glimpse into how our family has changed over the past few years. . . 

2010

2011

2012

And in 2013, our Christmas card will look a lot different because. . .

Merry Christmas from our soon-to-be family of 4! :)

God in schools

It's been a dark few days in the country.  Really, in this world.  I haven't slept well the last few nights because my heart just aches for those involved in the tragedy in Newtown.  I cry for those parents that lost their babies far too soon.  I cry for those first grade students that saw their teacher get killed right in front of their eyes.  I cry for the teachers that had to go through this and loose their former students, colleagues, and friends.  The whole situation  makes me so sick and so, so sad.  I just don't even understand it.  I don't think anyone does, nor will we ever.

Over the past few days, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have of course been abuzz with opinions on mental illness, gun laws, and school safety.  I by no means want to get into any sort of political debate.  Quite frankly, I don't know enough to debate these things and would rather keep my opinions to myself.  There is, however, one statement I keep seeing that literally makes my heart break.

God is no longer in our schools.

I am so tired of people/the media insinuating that God isn't in our schools anymore.  That statement is crazy, and just NOT true.  I'm not sure what God you serve, but the God I serve can't be kicked out of anywhere.

  I taught for three years in the public school system and let me tell you something, I felt God more in my school building than I did almost anywhere else.  Yes, even in church.  Can you believe that?  Do you know why I felt God so strongly?  Because I asked him to be there with me. I begged for him to be there.  I asked him to give me the strength to love those kids that were hard to love.  To not give up on a student and consider them a lost cause.  I desperately needed him to be there with me.  

And he was.  Every single minute of every single day.  I felt his hand moving me along through the toughest situations.  He was there with me, helping me show my student's his unconditional love.  Teaching them about Jesus not through scripture or prayer, but through love and actions.

You see, we can't kick God out of schools.  That's not how he works.   Let me be cliche here for a moment and say that God lives in people, not in buildings.  Even in a school building where 80% of students live below the poverty line, and there is so much anger, God is there.  

As a mom, it's my most important job to teach my son to take Jesus with him wherever he goes.  To love others the way Jesus loves.  If I can't teach him this, than nothing else matters.  I want him to always take Jesus with him and know that God cannot be "kept out" of anywhere.  If he wants to pray in school, he can pray in school.  If he wants to share his faith in school, he is free to do so.  No one can stop him.  I will make it my number one priority to teach him that.  That is my job, not his teacher's.  If God is in the homes of the students, then God is in our schools.  And every school I've been in, I have felt God's presence there.

God was there at Sandy Hook, and it's absurd the state otherwise.  This horrific event did not take place because "God wasn't there".   God weeps, just as we weep.  His heart is broken just as ours are.

So please, stop pretending that God isn't in our schools.  Because he's there, and he always will be.

**This blog says it better than I do, but I needed to get this off my chest.** 

christmas bucket list

Oh, December, how I love you.  

This month has always been fun, but once you have a baby, the Christmas season because so much more fun.  I know how fast it goes, so I wanted to make a "bucket list" of things I wanted Kason to experience this season.  We've been able to do a couple of our bucket list items the past few days, and my heart is so happy.  

On Friday we went to Jolly Days at the Children's Museum.  We went with my sister, and a friends and her daughter.  It was crowded, but we had a good time!  The Hot Wheels exhibit, although not very Christmas-y, will always be Kason's favorite exhibit at the museum.  He could literally spend hours in that one room. :)

Today, we went to another museum to the Jingle Rails exhibit.  I've been SO excited about this.  Kason has a deep love for trains, or "choo choos" as her refers to them. :)  I wish I could have taken his excitement and bottled it up.  The second we walked into the exhibit, he was enthralled.  There were so many trains, he didn't even know where to look!  He kept saying "woaaa!" over and over again.  Seeing your kids experience something new is such an amazing experience.  

I have to admit, I actually teared up today watching my sweet boy explore the exhibit.  When I found out Kason was a boy 2 years ago, I was so excited.  However, I was also a little nervous.  I grew up with sisters, and had no idea how to raise a boy.  How would I relate to him?  What would we do together?  These are all thoughts that went through my (somewhat hormonal) mind.  Since I've had Kason, I've realized that boys are SO much fun.  I love playing with cars, trains, and basketballs with Kason.  The trains today just made me realize how silly it was for me to have those thoughts. :)

Here are some photos from Jingle Rails.  Everything was made out of different types of woods.  So neat!

{State fair!}








{Downtown Indy}


{Photos with a 21 month old are IMPOSSIBLE!}