Christmas Cards 2017

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Catch-Up

Tony is on call tonight so he's gone working. Both boys are sick with yucky colds and congestion and I can't sleep.

I have so many raw, need-to-be-finished (edited and proofread) blog entries about life lately.
Not because anybody really reads them but I love going back and reading them and have plans that some day-- again, one more thing on the to-do list-- I can print them out and make a book. It's like a form of journal/scrapbook for me.

Anderson is 7 and a half months old. HOW did that happen? He is my constant ball of cuddles... I carried him in my body for 9 months and we're going on 9 months of constantly being in my arms, too! Haha.  He has 2 bottom teeth, is pulling up on everything, has the biggest smile, perfect blue eyes, crazy red hair, and a laugh that can melt any heart. He also has his mommy's strong will and when he wants something, he's going to let you know... and when he's mad, you better fix the issue asap. ;) He is exactly what our family needed. He loves his brother with a crazy passion that is so evident and his big brother is utterly obsessed with him.

Elliott started school. WHAT? I can't even. Well, it's not really "school". It's Mother's Day Out two days a week, but I feel like I may as well order the high school graduation announcements now because time is flying by faster than the speed of light. He is the funniest, smartest, and sweetest toddler I have EVER met in my life. He loves anything to do do with letters-- singing the alphabet, making letter sounds, and playing "ABC" games. He's got a humor that makes me laugh daily and a sensitive spirit that makes my heart proud. I seriously want to bottle up so many little moments about these days as I watch him grow and become his own little person.

Both my boys make my heart explode. I have no idea what I ever did to deserve such a beautiful life. Lately I've just been feeling so thankful for everything. Although this new chapter of having a baby, moving, and Tony starting a new job hasn't been the easiest, life truly is beautiful and I wouldn't have it any other way (well, I might have Tony home more... but this is the sacrifice we have to make for many many years of reaping the benefits of this short, intense, training time that kinda sucks; also, thank God for an amazing mom who helps!) I love my boys. I love my house. I love my husband and this crazy life we're creating together.

Childhood Memories

"A memory is essentially a unit of experience, and every experience shapes the brain in meaningful ways. Specific memories may be forgotten, but because those memories form the fabric of our identities, knowledge and experiences, they are never truly or completely gone."

Every single day my sweet boy's brain is creating memories. Research shows that around age 7 a lot of these early days will be forgotten. However, one of these days he will have a memory that stays forever. My husband and I were recently talking about our first memories and it really got me thinking- what kind of memories am I creating for my child? Only time will tell what his first longterm memory will be, but when the time comes for him to recall his childhood I want there to be a whole lot of silliness, laughs, innocence, grace, and love filed away in that brain for recall. 

Today I let him strip down naked and go run around out in the rain. Because, why not? It made him laugh so hard and those are the memories I want him to keep. Not to mention, these days will all too soon just be memories for me too. ❤️ (...And it wore him out and made nap time a whole lot easier! Ha!)

Sometimes I just like to step back and enjoy the simple things of the world through his eyes. 

Solar Eclipse of 2017

In a family of space nerds, a day like today is not just another ordinary day. 

After SO MUCH searching for these solar eclipse glasses, we found some! (And thank you to Nana for express shipping some from Nashville to us- we got them this morning just in time!) We went up to daddy's work to enjoy it with him. Only problem, both boys were asleep in the car. HAHA. Elliott woke up at the end and was a little confused at what we were all looking at. But at least we have pictures to document the occasion. 

Holding You Up

"You were an angel in the shape of my mom
When I fell down you were there holding me up”

As I was standing in the kitchen making lunch, Ed Sheeran’s “Supermarket Flowers” song came on. I just stood there and cried. This is a hard season of life right now. Not bad, just hard. In the past six months I feel like I’ve been thrown into some big crazy emotions and life changes. [Recap: our house flooded, we had to live in a hotel for 8 weeks, welcomed a baby to the world, spent a week in the NICU, moved back into our house, Tony graduated, sold our beloved first little home, bought a new home, Tony started a new job, and we’re still settling into this new town, home, and lifestyle of him having to work all the time.] Back to today. I have two sick babies and we’re all running on very very little sleep. I had to run to the bank (and by “run to the bank”, I had to google where it was bc I know where nothing is around here and got lost so a 4 mile drive took about 30 minutes) and by the time I left the bank both boys were screaming. I was in the kitchen making lunch, worn out and cranky, trying to hold myself together with lots of prayers and anticipation for naptime when this song slapped me in the face. I want this sentiment to be how my children feel about me. I’ve realized lately that I have unfair expectations for myself. I want everything to be perfect. I want to be the best wife and mother. I want to be the best housekeeper and decorator (let’s face it, I’m not a merry maid nor am I Joanna Gaines). I want to be the best organizer and Pinterest doer (when do I even have time for that sh*t anyway?!). I want to run this home and be the best record keeper and bill payer (I prob should make sure the bills are paid on time though😆)… there’s just so much to do everywhere I look. The lack of sleep, the unmet to-do lists, and all the pressure I’m putting on myself is stealing my joy. Does it really matter if I always seem to have never ending pile of clean clothes on the couch waiting to be folded? Does it really matter if I suck at keeping my kids on a strict sleeping schedule? What if I don’t always give them the recommended daily servings of vegetables? When was the last time they took a bath? The real question is, WHEN was the last time that I actually took a shower?? Do all the petty little things really matter at all? No. What’s really going to matter down the road is that I loved my family and that we were happy. How I act now is how they will remember me later. My mood matters. The words I choose to use with my children matter. My attitude matters. The smiles and encouragement I can give to my husband in the few minutes a day I actually get to see him matters. I want to be a more gentle, more patient, more kind, and happier woman, wife, and mom. I want to choose words that build up my boys and make them confident and happy. Instead of complaining, I want to count all the blessings. I want my kids to look back and remember me for being silly, warm and happy, not so serious, stressed out and impatient. Most importantly, I want to extend myself a lot more grace that will overflow into all the other little nooks and crannies of my life — it’s okay if life is a little messy right now as long as we can all stay happy.

And even though this picture looks like it's staged, it's not. I was probably bribing him with ice cream and candy or telling him that the photographer farted just so he'd smile for the picture, but it turns out this is way better than any picture with us looking at the camera and smiling!


Edit: I posted this on FB and I wanted to copy and add this comment so I can save this incredibly nice comment from my brother. These words mean so much to me. 
1- No matter how much you accomplish, there will always be more to do. Forever!
2- You're being stupid and looking at your life (recent past) all wrong. Seriously, you guys have made it through the past few years like f'ing savages, crushing the obstacles that would end most people's sanity (not mention marriages!). Knowing that should have you walking around with you chest puffed out, your chin up and feeding off the energy of what you've done and the thought that so many others couldn't come close to what you have. 
You're not weak because you're tired and didn't finish some never ending list of crap to do. Your tired because you're busting your ass checking things off that list and surviving. So stop whining and keep running around like you did every single time I knocked you down as a kid. You're a freaking BOSS....act like it. 
And I luv u

Goodbye, Three-Twelve

Oh, 312. My heart aches closing this chapter but I know it's time. Two young married kids moved into this little house 9 summers ago. We had some growing up to do and became adults here. We've poured our hearts, creative minds, and so much work into making you a home; it's been exactly everything a first home should be. Overall, it's been a really happy place. We had some of the best days with our trio Henry, Alex and Molly, and then our puppy Edison. We did so many projects where we learned about tools, paint, plumbing and more. We dreamed of our future and celebrated milestones and accomplishments in life along the way like college graduations, careers, more school, medical school days and medical school graduation. I will miss everything about this house- the kitchen, the bedrooms, the closet Tony rebuilt for me, my gardens... And I know it's silly, but I'll even miss my bathroom, the place where I could close the door and relax in a hot bath and the place where, on two special days, I took pregnancy tests and saw two double lines and cried. And then, there's the most important thing about this house- We brought home two beautiful baby boys and started a family here. Over the years it got a little messier with kids but it only got happier. Tomorrow we move into a new home where we will make even more memories, but we will never forget this special home and all the love and memories that we had here. We love you, little home. I hope over the years other people can find happiness, love and memories here like we did. 

Here's a little walk down memory lane in pictures. The first time we saw the house we climbed through a broken back window. Tony had just come home from Iraq and we were going to need a place to live when we moved back to Norman to finish our undergrad degrees. THIS is what we wanted. I still remember the drive on the highway back to Tulsa both being so giddy with excitement and hopeful that we could get it and dreaming of all the work we could do to it. 

We got it and WORK WE DID. This will always be the beloved little home of our younger years.





2008: We crawled through a broken window and saw this. Not our stuff, by the way... just stuff left when it was abandoned. There was trash, disgusting messes, a big grease (maybe) spot in the middle of the living room, wall paper borders, holes punched and kicked in the walls. BUT SO MUCH POTENTIAL. 




       

We (mostly Tony) lived on a pallet on the floor for about a month or two while we got it ready to move in. We cleaned and scrubbed like never before, painted, got new carpet, and gathered all the hand-me-down furniture and decor we could to make it homey. I also started learning that I liked having gardens.

             

Many many years passed. My decorating styles changed and we slowly were able to make it the home we wanted. We did soooo many projects. The second extra bedroom went from a messy college kid space, to a study room, to a nursery. The backyard saw 4 awesome dogs, a vegetable garden, kids learning to play and so much more.

And this is where we leave it after 9 years.
(Realtor photos and some of the colors (bricks on house, carpet, and laundry room paint color) are really enhanced.)