Pregnancy || 34 Weeks

21/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2018"

Jaden: You didn't have that pole in the water a full minute, and you'd already caught a fish! Summer got off to a good start this past weekend. Now if only we could figure out a way to keep you from falling off your bike! You've wiped out three times in two weeks and keep scraping up the same leg over and over again!

Brandon: You've become a Minecraft fanatic recently, designing elaborate structures on the iPad game and requesting the PS4 version, too. You love to watch YouTube videos of other Minecraft junkies, to gather ideas and see tutorials, and your dad and I are convinced that you're on your way to becoming an engineer/architecture major one day.

Happy One Year, House

"I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it." 

Today marks our one-year anniversary of our big move into this home of ours. I feel like I could write a book on everything we have learned through this housing journey - not just over the last 12 months - but really over the last three years. This journey began so long ago with our first attempt to sell our first humble abode and the disappointment that manifested itself in our souls when that effort failed. We actually had an accepted offer on a different house three years ago - an offer we had to pull when our house wouldn't sell the first time - but now when we look back on what could have been and compare it to what is... we are ever so thankful. God knew. He always does.

We love this place - this piece of land that was meant just for us and the building that occupies it. And even though we felt happy and content the very first night we moved in, our love for our home only continues to grow and deepen. Sure, part of that is because we have worked so hard to make improvements inside and outside... with so many plans still in waiting... but our happiness here goes deeper than home improvement projects and modernization. It comes from feeling that we have been placed exactly where we're meant to be for this season of our lives. I laugh sometimes when I think about how many houses Cody and I looked at over the course of a couple of years and how we had so much trouble coming to agreement - either yes or no - on all of them. Until this one. During our housing search, there were fights and there was worry that we'd never find one we'd agree on. And then this one came along - and we almost chose not to look at it all! But something about it nagged at me and pulled at me and once we saw it, there was this slow fire burning inside both of us that we might have just stumbled into a secret gem.

See for us - it was never about new or completely updated. It was about space and location and family and surroundings. We knew we needed trees and a big yard and an open floor plan and a solid, established neighborhood. For us, that was what always felt right and comforting. And God provided in abundance. This yard of ours is our sanctuary and has brought us so much simple happiness. This home has become a frequent and common gathering place for those we love most. Our doorbell rings constantly with neighborhood kids waiting on our front steps. And we are within walking distance of our closest family members - and our favorite home away from home - the UNI-Dome. ;)

And we have done so much in the last 12 months! We have re-landscaped the entire front and back -- with plans to complete the fire pit area with rock and furniture and plantings sometime this summer. I can't wait to watch as the flowers, plants, trees and new landscape matures over the years, and we have had several neighbors approach us and thank us for what we've done to spruce up the look and feel of the street. We've replaced all the windows, built a beautiful mantle for the fireplace, painted the entire main floor, transformed it from a three bedroom, three bathroom house to a four bedroom house and added outdoor lights to the patio area... just to name a few things. We are finishing Jaden's new bedroom and the baby's room... and will begin other areas of the basement remodel sometime this fall or winter - plans that include shiplap and built ins around the lower level fireplace. The biggest upgrade will come when we can finally remodel the kitchen - which includes eliminating a wall - and though it will take some time to work it into the budget, the plans and drawings are already completed, and it is going to be beautiful when the time comes. We're okay with being patient... we decided to have another baby first instead of a brand new kitchen, and I don't regret that one bit. ;)

Just a few pictures of the inside... with images of Jaden's and baby girl's rooms still to come.

Brandon's room makes me smile every time I walk into it. It's so perfect for him - a big closet and a big floor space for him to spread out and build all his favorite things. Star Wars images and figures in every corner and a paint color that I let him choose on his own. He is happy here.

We love our four seasons room, especially now that the windows are all brand new, and Lucy and Cody especially love the bird-watching views from these chairs. :) We will soon have a desk in here for my work space and the boys' homework space, and then this room will be complete and loved even more.

What I've learned most of all over the last 12 months is that home truly is a feeling - not a building or a structure. We will continue to labor over this house of ours - but it is truly a labor of love.

20/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2018"

Jaden: You had a whole bunch of buddies with you at the pool last week, and it was so fun to just sit back and watch you all interact with each other. You all looked like teenagers, hooting and hollering at each other, wrestling with each other in the water, and cheering each other on while going off the high dive. You were in your social butterfly/party element, and when we left you said it was the most fun you'd ever had at the pool. Some of the pictures from this night are some of my favorite summer pictures ever.

Brandon: You also had a great time at the pool on Friday, racing one of your buddies down the two big tube slides, playing with Molly in the basketball pool... and coercing your Mommy onto the lazy river with you. And by the end of the night, you had worked up the courage to try that high dive again... and then you couldn't walk away from it! Our pool nights are always some of my most cherished memories of summer, as each year seems to mark more milestones, and it's so easy to see how much you boys grow from one year to the next when we're at the pool. A lot of change is about to come this summer, but these pool nights will remain a constant for us every year. I'll make sure of it!

Pregnancy || 33 Weeks