House pictures

Here are some pictures of our new house (sorry about the random order) The Master bedroom. I love how much space we have!
Master bed

The boy's room. It's hard to see but we got all three beds in and they each have their own drawers for their clothes. They also still have a lot of floor space if they want to play. The playroom is across from their room but it was super messy so I didn't take a picture.

Our pool!

Backyard

Kitchen/family room

Kitchen - I want to paint the walls a different color and I want to paint the cabinets white and get new counter tops....eventually.

Family room - our new couch!

This is supposed to be the dining room off the entry, but it's going to be our office.

"formal" living room

There is still a lot we want to do to the house, but the previous owners left it in such good shape that it looks great the way it is. We eventually want to re-paint and add more of our own personal touches. It's so nice to have a house of our own again and to make it ours. We're so grateful for this house.

We Moved!

What a crazy week it's been. Yesterday we decided that we were going to spend the night at our new house and not wait until Saturday when we were going to officially move. So the whole day was spent throwing things in boxes that we were going to need, taking beds apart, getting clothes and bathroom stuff, gathering up enough food and dishes and toys. By the end of the night I was exhausted like I've never been before. My fabulous husband managed to bring a ton of stuff over to the new house, loading and unloading everything on his own. Logan slept in our room, no one fell asleep before ten and by 6 I was awake to go back to the old house and get the stuff from the extra fridge to bring over to the fridge in the kitchen so we could have breakfast. It's been a whirlwind and everyone is on edge. It's stressful and tiring and some of the kids are having a hard time with the change. Even with all of the packing and moving we did manage to get a swim in this afternoon. I have to admit I LOVE having a pool. I'll post some pictures later when we get things in order. But for now we'll have to live with a little bit of chaos.

The TV debate

I like watching TV as much as the next person. Maybe more. I love sitting down on my comfy couch at the end of the day and flipping through the channels until I find something interesting to watch. I love cooking and home decorating shows; The Voice is one of my new favorites; I love finding movies to watch; and I am a little ashamed to admit that those women who claim to be "real housewives" often find themselves on my television screen. A little while back the TV broke. The lamp went out so you couldn't see the picture. I put a big "Out of Order" sign on the TV and for 3 days it didn't work. I have to admit at first I was a little bummed. I wondered what I was going to do when I needed to fold laundry or how I was going to stop the kids from fighting. But after the first day I was kind of liking no TV. And by the 3rd day I was ready to just pretend the television never existed. It was so nice not having the TV, not having the ease of just plopping on the couch and vegging out for a while. But we fixed it and went right back to watching it. But recently we had a conversation with some friends who decided to get rid of their cable. They have a 2 year old daughter and they mentioned all of the things they have been noticing on television that they daughter sees that they never realized before. And then I started thinking about the things my kids see that I probably don't really pay much attention to. I don't want to be one of those families who shelter our kids so that they never know what is going on in the outside world (no offense to those people, though) but I do want to be more responsible for what I let my kids see and how much time they spend in front of the screen. I want there to be less things they want to watch and more things they want to do. Dave and I decided that when we move we're getting rid of the cable. We'll still have televisions so we can watch the local channels and movies, but we are both hoping that by not having as many channels our kids won't be able to go into the family room at any given time during the day and find a cartoon to sit and watch. I know it will be an adjustment for the kids, but I know they'll do just fine. And I have a feeling that they won't really miss it as much as they think they will. And neither will I.

Dancing

I babysit my sister's son sometimes and this morning I caught him dancing with my boys. Of course he was dancing more before I got the camera rolling but he was still doing some pretty good moves. I'm glad he has three older cousins to play with. I think he'll have a fun summer with all these boys.

Best teachers ever

School's out. What a week it's been. What a day. I was at the school three times today in the span of 3 1/2 hours. It's been a good year. A great year. My kids had the best teachers ever. Colin had Mr. Bryson for kindergarten and loved him. Colin did so good in kindergarten this year. He made a ton of friends, he learned so much and I can tell he changed in the way he looks at things and the way he does his work. His teacher commented on his report card that Colin's attitude towards challenging and new things has really improved and that he is a great worker. Colin really did an amazing job this year. After school he cried a little because his teacher probably won't be at our school next year so Colin thinks he will never see Mr. Bryson again. I am praying we will see him again. He was the best teacher for Colin this year.

Trevor had Mrs. Nix. On the second day of school Mrs. Nix called me to tell me about a meltdown Trevor had in class that day. By last week she was telling me how mature Trevor's gotten, how responsible he is now and how much his behavior and attitude has changed and improved. We love Mrs. Nix. She was amazing and knew exactly what Trevor needed. She was strict but kind and she loved Trevor and he knew she loved him. She really helped him gain confidence in his reading and writing where he's always struggled and he really improved in those areas because of her. She was a great teacher to him and a great support to me. I loved working with her and getting help from her and learning what I needed to do at home to help my son succeed. Trevor did not get the honor roll this year but he did have amazing grades and we're so proud of all he accomplished. Every year I pray my kids will be placed in the right classroom with the right teacher and this year my prayers were more than answered. Both my sons were exactly where they needed to be.

Content

Yesterday we were driving somewhere and Logan asked if we were getting Trevor from school. I told him no, it wasn't time. Then he said, "Awww, I miss Trev. He's my best friend." Sometimes he is and sometimes he isn't. There are times when Logan likes Colin better, or when Colin wants to just play alone and not with his brothers. There are times all three of them fight and I wonder if they will ever get along and then there are times, like right now, where all three of them are playing together, getting along and including one another. I look at them and think how well they all fit. A little while ago I kept thinking about babies. I was seeing lots of new babies at church, I had friends announcing their pregnancies and I was reading a book about a woman who had 7 kids. I wondered if we had stopped too soon, if we were done having kids for the right reasons, if we needed a girl to balance things out. Dave and I talked about it and decided we'd think about it for the next week and then fast and pray. We had done this all before and felt good about what we had decided, but I almost felt like there was pressure around me. Things I would hear and see made me wonder if we were being selfish by having "only" three kids. But during that week I was blessed to really see my kids in a different way. I noticed things about them I had not noticed before and there was a peace in our home and in my heart when I thought about my family. And the answer came to me quickly, on a Tuesday afternoon, not a Sunday after fasting all day. I was going around the house picking up stuff to clean and in my head I heard, "Just be a good mom to the boys you have." And that was it. I was good. I was content and I stopped worrying. It didn't matter if my friend had just had her fifth baby or that I had several friends pregnant with their fourth baby. It didn't matter that the lady in the book I was reading had 7 kids, that Dave's mom had 7 kids or even that I used to think when I was younger that I wanted 4 or 5. I have 3 great boys and I needed to be happy and focus on what I had. And they are good boys. They are crazy and they fight, scream, yell, talk back, hit, disobey and all that other stuff. But they also do so many good things. They have good hearts, they are sensitive to other's needs, they say thoughtful prayers and ask interesting questions and they are kind and loving. And when they are asleep they are the sweetest things ever.