{a trip west.}

After nearly 2.5 years of living here in the Midwest, we finally packed our bags at the end of January and headed on a much-needed trip WEST. We had talked about going, had even made tentative plans over the past 18 months about going, but THIS WINTER, we had decided, it was going to be FINAL. It finally worked out. We were gone for 12 days. It was far too long in many ways, but not nearly long enough in other ways. There was just not enough time to spend with all the wonderful people there are to spend time with. We chose our time carefully, and tried to pack it as full as we could, but just not full enough that the boys would be totally overwhelmed. They were anyways. But all in all, they did exceptional! That's my lil men.

We spent the first week in Washington. We had lots of fun, saw as many people as possible, played hard, talked alot, slept little, and ate too much.

Here's some pictures from the first half of our Washington time:





{2 certain little boys loved the airports and flying!}

{nap time on the "middle-sized momma bear airplane" as miles said. yes, goldilocks and the 3 bears is his favorite story right now. everything is measured by the size of a bear.}

{jasmine and miles. they had so much fun playing together!}

  

{auntie katy loved their coffee.}

{on layne's behalf, i must say... i foresee a future relationship here. he LOVED chloe!!}

{my newest "nephew". he is most adorable. sailor remington- how i miss you!}

{miles and his precious "micole" or also known as nicole.}

{so much fun riding with daddy in this big tractor!!}

{poor guy. i woke him up from his nap so he could ride the tractor... he was so tired, but he wanted to go so badly!}

{fun at kendall & mary's. miles adored their very sweet and lively children!}

So, after a week in Washington with precious time used up... We made our way to OREGON... Which was every bit as fun!! It was so good to see Dan & Katie, their home, but most importantly-Keegan!

{uncle dan & aunt katie have a SLIDE in their house- so fun!! he also got rug burn on his nose from this adventure...}

{driving the van.}

{no comment. but katie said- take a picture, you'll laugh later. so wise, my friend.}

After 3 days with them at their house, we all packed up and headed to Seaside, OR for the last few days of our adventure to the Pacific Northwest... Seaside is where Matt and I went on our honeymoon almost 6.5 years ago, so it's a special place for us. If you are at all familiar with the Oregon Coast, weather is completely unpredictable... but we got super lucky and had FABULOUS WEATHER! It was WONDERFUL! We even considered extending our tickets and staying a few more days... but, alas, reality was calling. The boys L-O-V-E-D the beach and it was by far the most relaxing time on the trip. I had no idea the boys would love the beach so much, but I foresee a beach trip in our VERY near future ;) They are truly their momma's sons, because they sure don't get that from their dad! He's Arizona/desert/dry all the way.

{dropped his whale crackers. i thought it was adorable how intent he was on getting them picked up.}

{love this picture. he just couldn't get enough.}

{we took a multiple-person bike ride... here's the kiddos. they thought it was great.... for awhile.}

{and all of us.}

{it was so nice, we sat outside and played rook. super fun times!}

{cannon beach in the evening... it was chilly, but so beautiful. love this picture of my precious little.}

{it was an amazingly beautiful night.}

{love, love, love him.}

{we love this family!!}

{not to keep saying love... but I LOVE THIS MAN!}

{and not to exclude this little precious- i wish i could have captured truly how much he LOVED the beach. he was so adorable!!! and so adventurous! i love his spirit!}

{and alas, the dreaded time came. time to pack the suitcases- and hope they weren't over 50 lbs.- and make the early morning trek to the portland airport.}

We had a fabulous, wonderful, exhausting, and all-around GREAT time! We miss our friends/family so very much but we just love that we have the freedom to visit like we do! And we feel so encouraged by our time spent with you and we know our friendships were only strengthened! WE LOVE YOU ALL!

We continue to feel at peace making our home here in Ohio, and that was a nice feeling to come home to. But not a day goes by that we do not think of you, and pray for you! And count the minutes till we can see you again!!   

{the eastern sky.}

Recently, I have felt myself becoming overwhelmed with the dailyness of life. It is exhausting- trying to keep it all straight. In this house, we have 2 busy, busy littles. One of whom has just found his voice {excessive squealing} and is exercising the various pitches he discovered it can make when paired with an array of situations that range anywhere from extreme delight to pure frustration to simply a "demonstration" of his new hobby.

The other little has discovered he has a will that has need of enforcing. An opinion. A mind of his own. A way that is better than all other ways. And his way of "demonstration" would not run along the lines of "force" or even a "tantrum" of sorts, his "demonstration" is nicely masked with negotiations that appear in all shapes and forms ranging from sweet talking the current problem to determining that he can keep himself awake at nap time. Oh, yes. He can. {This momma is working on winning that battle.}

The last few weeks around here have been emotionally draining. And from what I can tell, this feeling is normal for a Mom in my stage of life. But I don't feel hopeless about it. I do occasionally feel frazzled and I do occasionally get on the phone to my own Mom and tell her I'm running away.

 

Sometimes, it can be so exhausting keeping it all straight:

Consistent parenting is the key! {But what about this particular incident? I didn't find it listed on page 42 in the handbook.}

Be on the same page as your spouse when parenting! {Well, YES! That's nice! But what about when your child has you mildly worked against each other on an issue you have not yet even discussed? Is it possible for a 2.5 yr. old to even DO THAT?!?!}

Keep the punishment in line with the misdeed. {How did I miss the publishing of this guideline?!?}

Use every opportunity to train! {When it seems every moment is an opportunity, that means... no rest, weary Momma.}

Always be patient! {Just simply go in the closet and shut the door to scream. That's all that means.}

PRAY! {Yes. ALL THE TIME, in fact.}

 

You get my point. It is just so overwhelming sometimes to try to constantly parent correctly, do the RIGHT thing in the EVERY situation, and always know how to handle the DAILYNESS that life hands you.

 

But last week. I had this beautiful revelation which brought EVERYTHING back into perspective. {I'm not saying that in my mind things haven't gotten out of perspective on occasion since this revelation.} I was driving along. My car was pointed perfectly EAST. Me and the boys were coming home from a quick jaunt to the greenhouse {A.K.A some fresh air for everyone after a stressful morning cooped up in the house}, and all of the sudden, my heart was completely caught up in this thought:

 

 

 As the sun rises in the East,

 So He shall split the eastern sky,

 Sword in hand upon the mountain,

 Fire of Heaven in His eye...

And every knee shall bow,

 Every knee shall bow,

 We kneel before Him now,

AND EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW...

 

 

 

 

 

HOW did I get SO FAR off track? Why was it such a REVELATION to have this thought? Why am I not more eternally focused on a day-to-day basis? Forget the laundry! I have WARRIORS to train in JESUS name! {Ok, realistically, life must go on.} But, seriously, when I looked up at the sky as I was driving straight East, and I pictured the sky SPLITTING, and pictured HIM returning for HIS people, suddenly the parenting stress I had been feeling just literally vanished. NOTHING else in that moment mattered except keeping my EYES on HIM, keeping my LIFE in perspective with eternal things, and training my boys in the ways of the LORD!

There are no easy answers to parenting. There are no easy answers to ornery little boys. There are just no easy answers to anything in this life.

But for me? I'm going to try to enjoy my temporary life more than ever, train my precious, precious littles to JESUS to the best of my ability with CONSTANT reliance on HIM, and keep my eyes focused on the EASTERN SKY.

 

{my lil men.}

Why I attempted a photo shoot with my baby boys, I cannot tell you. I am a terrible photographer. But, I braved it. And it was fun... and busy! {Seems to be how most activities go with them!!} Mostly, I wanted to get a picture of Layne for his 1 yr. picture... And I think I did get a good one... We're going to have our family pictures taken soon, so I may let the pro get some better ones. Especially of Miles... He does not love the camera. It's always been difficult to get a good shot of him. Layne, on the other hand... Turns into quite the charmer when the camera comes out.

{we started out with much enthusiasm...}

{and big brother wanted in the suitcase, too...}

{option 1.}

{fun and games are over.}

{as a matter of fact, i'm getting out of here!!!}

{we tried a new location to inspire fresh enthusiasm...}

{not looking at the camera, but a darling picture anyways.}

{option 2. darling boy.}



So, I'm taking a poll. Which will it be? Option 1 or option 2?
Did I mention how much I love them boys?!?!?  





{a little face lift.}

Since we moved to our home in June of '10, Matt has been dreaming on a daily basis of all the things he would like to fix up, work on, improve, face-lift, add on, change, tear down, cut down, etc...

You get the point.

Matt likes to be busy. It's no wonder I have such busy little boys!! Finally, in the last couple of weeks, he got to do some of the stuff that has been driving him crazy...

He painted the barn.

And he had the driveway sealed.

I didn't realize these things were driving me crazy, too. But it sure does look better!!! 

{the barn on an early day in September... note the driveway.}

{the barn... mid-project.}

 {my man, hard at work on his barn...}

{the barn... on an early day in October. note the driveway again.}

So, that's what he's been up to. And I'll have to say... It does look ALOT better around here!

{reflections.}

It's hard to believe that 2 years ago from right now, I was frantically packing boxes, organizing {as much as I organize- which is not much}, and preparing to make a move across the country. I don't wish for it to be 2 years ago. I look back on that time as pretty much blissfully horrific. Is that possible?!? It was the hardest thing I've ever done to leave somewhere I absolutely loved, somewhere my heart felt truly connected with the people who lived there, somewhere that it just felt "RIGHT"... I don't wish to go back to those feelings, those tears, and the constant pep talk to my heart to "BE STRONG!"... I do not wish to ever have to tell my best friends good-bye like that again... I do not wish to ever again have to say good-bye to the house my first child was brought home to from the hospital and spent the first several months of his little life in... But most of all, I do not wish to have to contend with the confusion my heart felt during the months that followed our move. Moving is a big deal. Moving out of state is a bigger deal. Moving across several states is an even bigger deal. And moving somewhere you don't particularly WANT to live, is the biggest deal of all. 

After the above, I'm sure no one is still reading... But just in CASE you ARE still reading... 

The last 2 years have been a huge growing experience. For those of you who are rolling their eyes at the dramatic paragraph above, read on:

-I have learned that whatever STATE I'm in, I can be content. 

-I have learned that as long as I have my husband, my children, and my Jesus- it is HOME.

-I have learned that no matter where you live, people are human.

-I have learned that even though I'll always prefer to not live here, I have found true peace in living here.

-I have learned that being close to my family is a splendid thing indeed. Something I can't imagine giving up now that I have experienced this luxury.

-I have learned that Ohio is a good place to live, too.

-I have learned, as a matter of fact, I really actually kind of like living in Darke County, Ohio. I kind of even like Greenville.

-I have learned that great friends are hard to come by, and I can maintain my friendships across the many, many miles even if it takes more effort on my part. 

-I have learned that new friends are incredibly hard to make.

-I have learned that even though I think of Washington, and our loved ones in Washington, every single day...

I am truly at peace with where the Lord has brought us. And though it's not always easy, I thank Him for bringing us to where He has brought us. We may never fully understand why we are here, but we are very thankful for His guiding hand and rich blessings to us.

The GREATEST blessing of all that has come from our move is being close to my family... The memories we would have missed by fulfilling something we "prefer" rather than something that has been an enormous benefit for our children...

{miles & pappaw pushing snow in the bob}

{ga-ga stopped by to bring miles a valentine's cupcake... a huge hit with jed, too.}

{fun with cousins...}

{pappaw & ga-ga- the greatest in my boys' eyes. and they made that move worth every tear.}

{a party for the lil man}

We celebrated Layne's birthday Sunday evening with family and a few friends. What started out to be a "circus" themed party turned into more of a "movie-theater" themed party, or so Matt informed me. I'm really not sure till it was all said and done that the party had any theme at all, but it sure was fun!

I had planned to do the celebrating outside on our patio... But it started to rain JUST as I was preparing to bring out the last of the food- AND snap pictures! So, there aren't any really good pictures of the props, in my opinion, but you can have a look and see for yourself.

Layne had a great time and behaved like any one-year-old does at their own party... A little confused about all the ta-do but happy for the attention... But I'm pretty sure Big Brother had the best time of all! We woke him (Miles) up from his nap once everyone got here (and he was STILL snoozing)... He sleepily marched outside and started playing. He had a very thrilled but dazed (and still a bit sleepy) look on his face... But he grabbed a toy and proceeded in the march/bike-riding/toy-pushing down the driveway sweetly greeting all of his friends and cousins...

Layne ate more popcorn than most adults would ever think about eating before the party actually even started... but what can I say- it was HIS party!! (And his Great Gramma was holding him- things like that are to be expected. And cherished.)

Let the party begin...

{i had just started putting the food/drink out... and it began to sprinkle...}

{lemonade with strawberry puree...}

{the elephants are really the only thing that made it "circus-y" in the end...}

{party is now INSIDE the dirty garage... if i had THOUGHT to have parties in the garage, i might have cleaned it out... *sigh. it did start a new brainstorm of how to restore this old thing we call the "garage" which is a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother time...}

 {more of the same...}

{dirty, embarrassing garage... but shelter from the rain for which i was thankful...}

{the older boys eating their movie-theater food...}

 {elliot doing what elliot does... chillin'... and being a cutie!}

{miles with gramma neenie the great- that has 2 meanings. she is great and she is the great gramma!}

{soon to be poked, picked, swatted, splattered, and squished...}

{momma, i really have no idea what to do with this...}

{but it COULD be potentially fun... Ooooh! and is that CANDY?!?!}

{this is really as bad as it got. he was mostly interested in picking the sixlets candy right off the top... fine by me, precious boy.}

{the proud parents.}

{and the worst thing about parties... cleaning up the mess.}