moon date.

There are some things in life that are so beautiful you find yourself dropping everything to appreciate it in complete fascination. Tonight, God showered us with some of his best work- an amazing sunset that made me drop everything and run out the back door and up the hill, leaving our little man completely confused, to watch the reds and purples flash across the sky because I knew the masterpiece would be gone in a matter of seconds. And then there was the moon. Oh my, the moon. Amazing. Jackson looks for the moon every night- hunting for it from inside. He goes from room to room in hopes of finding his loyal friend peeking from behind the clouds or from beneath tree branches. But tonight the moon put on a show that was worthy of stepping outside, worthy of chasing it down the driveway, worthy of throwing a little-moon-loving-man into the car for a moon date. A moon date with mama- driving through the valley and up the hill to see the moon clear of the trees that surround our house. He loved it. And so did I...

monday morning play date

hibernation.

sometimes it's nice to go into hibernation mode for a couple of days. to slow down a little and soak each other up doing nothing out of the ordinary but living. just living.

and so we did just that this weekend. and it was so needed after the holidays and after a couple of weeks where germs totally over-stayed their welcome. we cleaned and we cooked and we played and i even caught up on a little sleep. it was perfect.

and this kid, yep this one right here, slept for the very first time in his BIG bed! please, please do not call it a big boy bed because he will surely refuse to sleep in it if you do because after all he is not a big boy, he is a baby. just ask him, he will tell you.

we are just one month away from my little man turning 2. the fastest two years of my life, no doubt and to add even more sting, our Audrey turns 2 months this week. unbelievable. this morning while i was holding audrey while drinking a cup of coffee i was thinking about how perfectly happy i was in that moment, when all is peaceful and perfect. and then i heard two chubby little feet running through the house and i realized that sound- of little feet- must be one of the best sounds in the world. and the moment became that much more amazing. we are so, so blessed.

recovery mode

happy (slightly belated) new year!

we are in recovery mode... recovering from a lot of christmas'ing, a lot of renovating (renovation is FINISHED!) & most of all, recovering from a lot of germs. one really big christmas gift we received (but did not want) was the stomach flu... and all 4 of us received it. i was really dreading taking audrey out so much over the holidays in fear that she would catch something and my fear was realized. it took the poor thing days to recover- there is really nothing worse than seeing your baby suffering. and i really feel like it was partly my fault for not being as disciplined on asking people to wash their hands before holding her (it always makes me feel awkward although necessary... i wish they would just remember on their own). anyway, hopefully we are all back to being healthy again for a long time.

and YES i did say that the renovation is finished! what a HUGE relief. many, many photos to come in a few days once i have things a little more organized. right now there is a lot of furniture shifting going on. we are going to try to go awhile without buying new furniture so now we're trying to figure out how to best stretch the stuff we already had... right now there are a lot of almost-empty rooms, but we'll figure it out and make-do for a bit.

and now for my new year's resolutions... because giving me a time of the year where it's totally expected of you to make new goals is like letting me loose in a candy store. i am sure that i'll think of more, but here is my list so far (as inspired by Sydney):

be HEALTHY:
-workout at least 4 times a week
-stretches & core exercises daily (jp is a big fan of doing these with me- he thinks they are hilarious)
-make healthy meals at home (i.e. eat out less often)
-run a long race in the spring (not sure if it will be a 10k, 15k or a half marathon yet)

be WISE:
-budget! (i LOVE keeping our family budget, bill-paying days are my favorite...seriously!)
-use coupons (i have tried this a million times & always forget them at home or can never find any for things we actually buy, but even if i only use a few it's better than nothing)
-spend time daily deepening my faith
-become a DIY'er (as i mentioned, we have a LOT of space to fill now so i'm excited to build/design/decorate my little heart out)

be ORGANIZED:
-meal-plan weekly & create grocery lists from the plan (this should also help with reducing our grocery bills)
-develop a cleaning schedule (we are taking a break from our cleaning person while i'm on maternity leave- pair this with more than doubling the size of our house with the renovation and it makes it hard to keep up)
-simplify & organize every room (especially our disaster of a basement)
-catch up on our family memory books

be GRATEFUL:
-date dan regularly & take the time to tune into each other multiple times throughout the day
-write thank-yous regularly & REAL letters (you know, like through the mail with stamps and everything)