the little things

Often I think about the things I love about my kids and grab my camera and try to capture a simple moment.  Even though the lighting is terrible I know that if don't I forget later to capture those small things that just make my heart melt.  This was just part of our morning.

Art Time

With our little home schooling project happening we are always adding something in including Gracie's favorite, art time.

that's my boy

My son for some reason loves his camo pants and his Chiefs jacket and would wear them all the time if I would let him.

as Troy would say, "that's my boy"!

Time Away

Right now Nolan is obsessed with being with Gracie at all times.  For the most part Gracie loves it too but sometimes she is ready for his nap or asks if she can have quiet time.  Quiet times most often means she cozies up in our bed with her ipod but on this day she found a new place to relax...

Our New Sylvan Life

I have not talked much about our newest location and the new happenings, so here we go.
Since we did not sell our house in Canton we needed to rent something. It was a little difficult to find something in our budget in a good school district.  We were actually laughed at by a real estate agent at one of the houses we looked at renting.  $1,300 to rent a 3 bedroom in a terrible school district was just crazy to me.  Finally we found something through Trinity.  We call it a 1 1/2 bedroom house.  The kids share the biggest room and Troy and I have the smallest.  The living and kitchen area has plenty of space and is perfect for us.

When we moved here so much had and continued to go wrong it was so hard to be positive.  Troy had been out of the family routine for 6-months and our focus was to get things as quickly as possible back to our normal, working as a team.  He had literally been living the single guys life in a dorm making roman in the microwave.  It was time for our family to work as a unit again.  This was not easy.  In the midst of coming together we had a family vacation that had been planned pre-us know we were moving.  Vacation was the last thing we wanted to do seeing our family had a ruff couple of weeks trying to get moved in.  Vacation ended up getting us back on the right track.  Not being able to focus on the house was good.

I have never moved before with kids and without a job to immerse myself in.  It was hard being by myself so much.  I tend to go through a hate relationship when we move into a new area.  I tend to hate everything about it until, well, until I don't.  Most people in my life don't know what it's like to move where they don't know anyone, where they have to start from fresh with a husband MIA.  Now I do love the start fresh opportunity portion of the move and somehow what my plan was, always, thankfully, gets over ruled by God's plan.  He is always protecting us but during the process it seems like everything but.  This time I have turned to enjoying our new life a lot quicker.

We started attending 2 different church's on Sunday mornings.  The kids loved the first church because of the donuts and the other they just got so excited when we pulled into the parking lot.  I have meet some amazing ladies already in my MOPS group.  It seems that most of the ladies have also moved often for their husband's jobs.  The comprehension of the transition world was understood and women loved and encouraged each other.  I have sat at my table at both bible study and MOPS and listen to women as they cry about how lonely they are and how disappointed they are in there friends for forgetting them. These things are all to familiar to me and so many amazing connections have already been made.

Sometimes I don't always find the best way to describe my feelings.  Then I hear it put in terms that are perfect and I say that's it that's me and perfectly put.

1) Don't push a loyal person so many times, that they no longer give a crap(i inserted a clean word).
This was on one of those silly FB drawing/encouragement pictures that are going around but when I saw it I thought, that is so me!  I have people that have done this and I get to a point where I just say forget it.  How many times can a person be burned.  How many times will I let myself and is it worth it to keep trying?  Plus those deep seeded issues that did not exist seem to come out when you parent...always for an interesting discussion.

2) "I am 34 years old I no longer want those how's the weather relationships.  I am too old for that stuff.  I need those people that can handle being there during the hurt of my life.  Some people just don't want to hear about it and can't handle it." {not exact, exact but close}
At homecoming a friend sat with me during the game and poured her heart out.  Not just the part she felt safe sharing I mean the whole thing.  The parts people as Christian's tend to hide.  She laid it all out.  This is me, this is how I have been struggling, this is my world.  I loved every darn pickin minute.  {not that she was struggling but the honesty} These are the type of relationships I want and need in my life but I have not ever actually heard another women say it like this until my time here.  Mrs. P an amazing women at our church just spoke about this and the relationship/friendships that are so needed in each women's life.  It's hard to keep those deep relationships when we move so much but those women have meant a lot to me and therefore a renewed and deep appreciation will be given to them as much as I can.

Now it's not that I am not having those update conversations or get to know you convos but I need those deep relationships.

although hard to see but there is a
double rainbow for mymorning walk

I know that 10 years ago when we were considering the Sterling, Kansas job we knew we did not want to raise our kids here, Chicagoland.  I have learned the places I really don't want to go tends to be the place I need to be the most.  It has been true in every move we have made.  And as true as it is for our new location to the Chicagoland area, to Sylvan Lake in Mundelein, IL, to Trinity.  We have been so blessed already by the rekindled friendships, new friendships, and the surprise people that have been put there to encourage us.

lake sylvan sunset taken with my iphone

We are in love with our little community and had no idea a place like this existed here.  It's something from the 80's, the 80's I remember.  A neighborhood where all the kids play together at the play ground that was built by a man and his son who now have grand kids and great grandkids in the same neighborhood.  Where sister live next to each other and family have grown up here and came back to raise there kids in the same great neighborhood.  All crazy right.  Literally everyone knows your name. They have 4th of July BBQ's, Octoberfest under a big white tent complete with band, hay rides, face painting and a bomb fire.  They have town meetings at the local fire department and the can kids ice skate and play hockey on the ice in the winter.  People walk and run every day and people say hi to each other, uncommon for the area.  On top of all this Gracie and I took a tour of the school where she would attend next year.  I was in love.  I am so excited and Gracie is so ready but we still have a little time before my baby girl is off to school for a long time.  Right now we are excited to see what God has for our new chapter at TIU.

And what started off as a short informational went a tad long;) enjoy!

Around Here

We tend to keep ourselves pretty busy with daily play and trying new things, which is everything.  So here are some of our happenings.

everyone got their hair cut

Gracie wanted hers really short but I was not sure if my cutting skills could 

cut anything much shorter.  She always looks so much older with her hair short.

Nolan playing at the library

tractor at one of the local farmers markets

we have made it a summer thing to find the best one

I wrote this lady on facebook about her amazing cookies

it turned out I went to school with the owner at TIU

the cookies turned out awesome and they were yummy

I knew we would not make it home without the plea for a taste 

from the peanut gallery but as you can tell they enjoyed them.

Happy Birthday to Mr Troy

Due to the weather going from gorgeous to cold every other day I had to get out winter clothes and try on a few things to see what fit.  Nolan loved the Cheif's jacket and his camo pants, of course.  Add in the John Deere t-shirt he was already wearing and you have yourself a true Kansas boy.  

Daddy was proud!

Homecoming

As crazy as it may sound but it is so, I just went to my 10 year reunion for College.  WOW.  Like my friend mention its been a century, Yikes!

Who would have thought 10 years ago I would marry the man I meet at Trinity only to return to where it all started with a family, pretty neat.  On the morning of the 10-year Gracie and I did the 3k portion.  Due to the grass portion of the walk/run the bike had to me eliminated the day of the event.  Gracie was a trooper and as we started she took off jogging.  I was trying to get her to pace herself but she kept telling me we were in a race.  So we went full speed and she wait to all the encouraging fans on the sides.  We were the tail of the runners and ahead of all the walkers.  We even got in a cheer from daddy and the football team which was great motivation to get super she and then to try and run even faster.  She did a great job but at the end she was wanting to stop and check out the flowers and talk to everyone around us.  I did not want to be last either so I kept encouraging her to finish.  She was excited to be done and even more excited for the refreshments after.  She chose for herself a huge cinnamon roll.

Nolan was more then happy to go along for the ride.  He was quiet most the ride except for the occasional shout from him, "run".

we were giving only on bib why would all of us need one?

Gracie was serious about having on like all the other runners

proud of this little lady

Strange to see our girls together.

It's a Boy's Life

In my little boy's world anything that makes loud noises is AWESOME!

Nolan is my morning walk buddy.  He loves it and more then the walk he loves the planes he gets to see fly over his head.

Plane watching

garbage truck love

and loving on gracie's stuffed animals

Practice

Gracie and I are doing a 5k at Trinity for Homecoming so we have been outside a lot practicing the length of our ride.  By the time you read this hopefully we will have been successful at our completion, I hope.

oh and training wheel free has been requested

loves his sunglasses

Puppy Love

Yes we got a puppy!  Did you just freak out!?  Ok I am totally lying, lol!  But my friend did just get the adorable dog.  And if she had an extra to give me I would have taken it.  This little lady was so sweet, loving, and laid back.  The kids love this little thing.  And it is the first time in a year gracie has said she wants something over a sister.  That in its self made me want to take it home.

sorry they are so blurry, phone + inside = bad pics but cute