May 23, 2013

Goodbye Hollow







It wasn't that long ago that our home pruchasing venture fell through and we chose to stay in our little cottage. Life is so different now, with the birth of our children and so many changes with Todd's work situatoin. It's been a wonderful year with our babies in this house, but we are all very ready to move on. The quirks of this home have proven to be a bit too much with two very mobile, and very curious children. And it's been quite a challenge for Todd to manage three jobs along with all of the work it takes to keep this place warm and safe. Not to mention, the ant infestation has nearly driven me to insainty.
 
So this weekend we say goodbye. We are moving to a home on my parent's land just north of here. It's twice the space with a wonderful layout. Jude and Ivy will have grass to play in, everyone will have real bedrooms, and big clean bathrooms. Our laundry can be done inside the house, and we can flip a switch to heat our home. We will have space to store our things without the risk of mice destruction. We can all properly fit around our dining table for meals, without the fear of an entire colony of ants being attracted by a single missed crumb. I think life will be quite a bit easier for all of us.
 
Yesterday, Jane and another neighboor came by to take some pictures of the cottage for potential renters. I found myself feeling kind of jealous of the family that may move in. I guess I just hope they love it as much as we have. What a wonderful home it has made for us. This is the longest either of us have lived anywhere in quite awhile....we have so many memories from the past three and a half years. It has truly been our little hollow. A space carved out for us to enjoy eachother, our children, and to see God's beauty and creativity all around us in every season. We thank God for this place, for Tony & Jane and all of our neighbors. We will always look back on this first little home of ours with memories of warmth, solace, rejuvination, and love.

April 15, 2013

Peek-a-boo


I caught our two little loves in this interaction while I was cleaning up after breakfast last week.  

After recently reaching the big one year milestone, I've been feeling quite proud and sentimental.  We have all made it through the toughest part, right? All of the other parents of twins that I know have said that things really start to get easy once your children can entertain each other.  Well, things have been easier for quite a few months now, and to top it all off we get moments like these-when you watch from the sidelines as your children laugh together.  It brings me the deepest kind of joy, pride, and love....in a way that I just don't know how to explain.

I think this is the best thing I have ever seen!



April 3, 2013

The Zoo!





We finally had a free day to go to the zoo. It was probably the busiest day of the season so far, but we had a good time despite the crowd.  I think Jude and Ivy's favorite part was lunch on the grass! Thanks to Todd's grandparents for the zoo membership.  We are excited to make another trip soon!

(I had my camera on the wrong setting, that's why everything is a bit bright.)

January 5, 2013

Cousins




Christmas, belated.







My sister took a few pictures of us in November so we could send out photo cards for Christmas.  We loved how they turned out.  It's so nice to get a few good pictures of the whole family every now and then.  Ivy loves posing for the camera by the way!

I've been away from my blog for over a month.  All of my free time in December was spent shopping, baking and decorating.  I'm hoping to post a bit more often this year. 

We had a wonderful Christmas together.  The day was spent with both of our families.  Christmas Eve was spent thanking our God with a beautiful candlelight service at our little church.  

My heart was full of gratitude this year.  Christmas is all about family and tradition, and I still cannot believe that we have our own children to share our lives with.  While I was so happy to have our first Christmas together, I was mindful of those families who spent their first Christmas without their children.  I think about them daily, and am also reminded of the tragedy and violence that families experience every day all over the world.  Our world is broken, broken, broken.  Greed, selfishness, pride, fear and gluttony are everywhere and inside of us all.  Lately I've felt like giving up on humanity.  Can we be saved?  In my head I know that we can, but it's been difficult for me to feel hopeful these past few weeks. For now, I am trying to make better choices with how I spend my time, and what I fill my head and heart with.

"There is both light and dark in all of us. What matters is what we choose to act on."  J.K. Rowling