When i think about the last year, the feelings that come to mind are ‘simple, stable, and content’. Even though we did a lot {remodeled our house, had a baby, got pregnant with another baby, and moved} it feels like it’s been a really low-key year. With every year that goes by, I think we are settling into our roles as husband/wife and parents a little better. That’s not to say that we’re perfecting our roles…that couldn’t be farther from the truth! I guess, as time goes on and our family grows, we’re learning to have a little more grace and lightheartedness.
If we learned anything from our firstborn, it’s that IT. GOES. FAST. In the blink of an eye Finley has turned into a sassy, brilliant, hilarious three year old. And our baby is on the verge of being not-so-babyish. We look forward to watching our girls grow and all the fun that comes with having older children, but we also know the importance of savoring each moment with them. Over the last couple months I’ve been paying closer attention to how I spend my time. Sure, I’m home with the girls 24-7, but if i’m not intentional with my time, the days get filled up with to-do lists, projects i want to get done, surfing the internet, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with those things, I’m just working on finding a balance that’s good for everyone. I’m hoping that as we go into a new year, and welcome another baby, it’s something that i’ll continue to think about.

Sometimes we look at how much our lives have changed in the last few years and laugh. We have no nightlife {how embarrassing is it that i fell asleep before midnight on NYE!}, we don’t go on exotic vacations, and we would rather buy a light fixture for our house than eat a meal at a fancy restaurant. We are really boring by a lot of people’s standards.

But, I will tell you this, 2010 was full of:

dance parties
slobbery kisses
forts
silly toddler humor
adorable baby babble
and family snuggle time in our bed.

the season of life we’re in might not be the most glamorous or exciting {unless you’re like me and you get excited about a solid nights sleep, or baby poop that is the proper consistency}. but, it sure is rewarding and oh so fun.

 the other morning we brought the girls in our bed for a few minutes before we started the day. for some reason they love playing in our bed. adalaide goes especially crazy over all the down and pillows. i listened to them laugh and squeal and i couldn’t help smiling. Then i remembered that in a little while we’ll be making room for another little girl, and i just felt so complete and content. i know this is incredibly mushy, but God has given us so much. I am just so thankful for my husband, our kids, our cozy home, and the simple things that bring us joy.

wishing you a very wonderful 2011.

and now you can throw up.

…getting the four of us to smile and look decent in the SAME picture.

oh, and it didn’t help that we attempted to get a picture while we were all sick.

here are some outtakes from our christmas card photo shoot. silly me didn’t bother ‘reviewing’ the pictures and my poor mom knows nothing about camera settings. so 95% of the pictures are out of focus and overexposed. oh well, we got something that worked in the end.

this makes me laugh. brian is done posing, and i’m saying ‘come on, just a couple more’.

We have so much to be thankful for this year, namely…
:: our new home
:: our health
:: brian’s work
:: our families
:: our wonderful girls
:: our baby girl {and a smooth pregnancy}
:: and most importantly our Heavenly Father

This year was especially fun because finley really got into the spirit of thankfulness.
We’ve had many, many conversations about what each of us are grateful for.

This year she is thankful for
:: hailey
:: salami
:: for “being a princess”
:: singing
:: adalaide

hope you had a great thanksgiving as well. now on to christmas decorating!

{even though we couldn’t make it all the way up the mountain to get our tree. boo.}

we woke up to a winter wonderland this morning.
by 9 am, we were bundled up and ready for some fun in the snow!

we didn’t have quite enough snow to make a snowman, but we’ve gotten a few more inches this afternoon,  so i foresee one in our future.

ready for some cookies and warm milk!

…or is someone looking rather grown up lately?!

i can’t get over how long her hair is!

It’s been a crazy few weeks, but we’re all settled in our cozy new home and we couldn’t be more thrilled. The original plan was that we would move in to our new place on the 1st, the day after the renters moved out. My family was under the impression that they were ‘good renters’ who would be leaving the house in good condition. holy. mother. of. disgusting. That was not the case at all. My mom and I took at walk through the house and were  utterly speechless. seriously we had no words-just jaws dropped. Before even taking two steps in the door we were hit with the most horrific smell {think animal pee + cigarette smoke + general dirtiness}. And the stains, oh the stains. There were so many pee stains throughout the house, I really don’t know where one stain started and stopped. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE! And the real kicker…. they left the house full of their crap. couches, tables, old electronics, kitchen stuff, trash, you name it.

Needless to say, we had to change our plans and push back our move in date. Brian and my parents worked together to clear the house of their junk, remove the carpet {which allowed us to uncover wonderful hardwoods-hooray}, paint, and disinfect every square inch. Finley’s room was by far the worst in terms of smell. There were pee stains all over the walls, and nicotine crusted in the blinds. Thankfully, the smell is almost gone and she’s not commenting on it anymore. 

The transformation that took place in a week is just crazy. It’s like a completely different house. We are so thankful to my parents who have worked so hard to make this home a nice place for us. My dad gave up his vacation, and took another week off to get this house in order, inside and out. And my mom has been so helpful watching the girls, helping unpack and organize, doing our laundry for us {we are without a washer/dryer for a bit, and i had no idea how awful it would be}. Basically, they are awesome and we are EXTREMELY grateful.

And of course to my husband, too. He unloaded our moving truck and then left immediately to stay the week at our old place getting it ready for the people moving in this weekend. He hasn’t slept in two weeks, and i’ve never heard him so exhausted. We miss you babe, and I promise to let you sleep in all weekend {although i can’t say the same for Finley-she really misses her daddy}.

On Sunday night, I left the girls with my mom and took off for a baby shower. I was feeling so overwhelmed by the house full of stuff {and no husband around}, but most troublesome was the fact that none of us had beds for that night. On my way home, I got a call from my mom telling me that a bunch of family and friends had stopped by. People were unloading, unpacking, and most importantly someone had set up our beds {sheets, blankets and everything}! I just started crying, thanking God for all the people who love us so well. You know who you are, thank you. You have no idea how much it meant to us.

We’ve been settling in all week. I’m slowly making progress on the gazillion boxes we have. I was curious how finley would react the moving, the change of it all, waking up in a new room, etc. She’s done great! Both girls seem very happy here…we all are.

Here’s what we’re loving so far:
:: the location {great commute for Brian, close to family, close to a town with all the essentials}
:: the paved, flat, 6 mile trail that is across from our house
:: the layout of the house. the fact that the playroom is centrally located so no matter where i am, i’m near the girls
:: the big fenced in back yard
:: the large dining room {we finally have room to fit our entire dining set, plus a buffet, and extra storage thingy}

With all our focus being on renovating, and moving, I’ve hardly remembered that tomorrow is the big day that we find out if we’ll be welcoming a baby boy or girl. I still think it’s a boy. So does Finley, and she insists that we’ll call him doofy. Last night during our prayers she reminded me, “don’t forget to pray for doofy”. Could she have come up with a more hideous name? Ha, I love her.

We aren’t entirely sure, if this will be our last child. I would love more. But, 4 c-sections is risky and controversial. I joke that unless Brian gets snipped, we’ll probably have a 4th. Two out of our three have been ‘surprises’. Anywho, perhaps because this could be our last, a teensy weensy part of me has thought about not finding out the sex. Brian wants to, and I mostly do too, but we’ll see what happens over the next 24 hours…