Where I Left Off...

As far as where I left off with the last update, the new year started off with Mark being gone the whole month of January. He was on an out-rotation for work, and it was the first time that he's been away for longer than 5 days. It was tough saying goodbye knowing that there was so much time from then until we'd see him again next, but after the first two weeks, time went more quickly, the kids and I got into a routine, and we managed pretty well. It was weird having such quiet at night, and many nights I stayed up way too late watching Jane Austen movies and finally teaching myself how to knit.       

My first ball of yarn :)

I have such a deeper appreciation now for those women whose husbands are/have been deployed or whose husbands are away on business a lot. It's tough! By the grace of God, we got through, though. :)

Moving into February, we made our first ER visit in 7 1/2 years with children. Lincoln fell on some metal landscape edging and had a nice split right under his throat, above his breast bone. {It was in a scary spot, and he was being watched over to not have the wound another smidgen up into his throat.} Seven stitches and a few hours later, he was in great shape. What a tough boy he was, never crying through any of it and actually quite enjoying all the special attention. :) Again, God was with us, as this happened literally days after Mark returned from out-of-state while he was already at the hospital working and just done with his day. He was able to meet me and the kids at the doors of the ER and stay with Lincoln, so I could keep the others. What a blessing that it turned out so well! {I'll spare you the picture of this...} :)

Our Lincoln, all boy...

Spring has come quickly here in North Carolina, and we've been enjoying the weather, green, and bird chirping tremendously. The Dogwoods and Wisteria are blooming and gorgeous around here! We've started on our garden for the year, expanding it to about three times the size of last fall's garden. The "soil" is pretty much sand here, so that's a change from gardening in Ohio clay. :) Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures as it comes along. In other spring happenings, there's not much to report, so until next time, here's some pictures of my Loves enjoying their springtime play... 

This picture of Finn just cracks me up. Can't you just sense the zoom of his toddlerhood scamperings in it?

All aboard for morning pj play :) 

This so well captures Brigham's personality. He's our little comedian. Not usually is Finn in such terror over it, though!

Our first with all-over waves. So precious...

An Update

After my post last week, I had fully intended to update with some pictures and brief ramblings on what's been going on with us over the past many months that I've neglected to do so on here. Then we got a worm. A computer worm. Ick. {I thought only computers in movies got those... Thank you Pinterest.} Thankfully, though, it wasn't a huge deal other than shelling out some cash to have it fixed by the company that was already protecting our computer when we got the worm. Yep, doesn't seem right does it? In return for our cash, we now have 365 days of full computer, printer, smart phone, and all things techy support. We've vowed to call at least 365 times and get the most for our money. Anyways, our computer is all better and now I can update on things other than our computer's love of worms. I'll break my update into two parts, so here's the fall and winter up to Christmas...  

Ruby

First, I'll introduce you to the newest members of our family. Like my sidebar says, yes, we have gone completely mad and got not one, but two Boxer puppies in the fall.



Tess

We didn't set out to get two, but Mark and I were split on which we wanted and the breeder gave us a two-for-one type deal. Also, we figured that we'd just get through the puppy stage right away, instead of waiting a few years and adding another puppy as a second dog like we were hoping. Yes, they are cute. {These pictures were within a few weeks of getting them, taken in October.} No, it wasn't {isn't} easy having two puppies. At all. *thud* The last time we had a puppy was when we had no children. Now with four little ones, my time is directed towards them, not a fur-baby. But, I think we are finally through the worst. They are good girls, really, and we look so forward to having them be a part of our family, especially in a year or two... ;)  

We had a nice fall and just focused on settling down a bit more in our new home. Mark planted a few things in the garden {there's already a huge plot here!} for some cool-weather crops, and we enjoyed campfires and camping in the pines next to our house a couple of times. Our baby boy turned one in September and tore into his cake and devoured it like nothing we've ever seen before. I think he finished it in a minute flat!

 

It was so great to have fall-changing leaves again after missing them so much in south Texas last year. Oh, how I had missed the reds, golds, and oranges! Down here in the south, though, we had to wait a lot longer into the fall for them to make a showing...

We sold our SUV and purchased a much bigger, much older SUV that will hopefully be with us for a long time. It's big, y'all, but I adore my big truck, Tanker. {And it actually has room for both a stroller and groceries. Score!}

Finally, for the fall and winter, we had decided to head back to our hometown in Ohio to celebrate Christmas with our families. We hadn't been able to go the year before with being in Texas, and we already know that we'll be moving over the holidays this coming year. {I know... Right?} So, we made good use of our new monster truck, loaded it up, and headed north in search of snow and family. The snow skipped out this year, but we had a great time spending time with our families. We even got to spend some time in our beloved town {and stop by our old house!} that was home for five years before heading south as an Army family.



The four siblings all went together and got my parents family pictures this year... My cousin's wife, Brittany, took them at my Mom & Dad's around the farm and did an amazing job. So fun! :) 



For my fellow OSU fans :)

See you in another few days {pending no more worms} for the rest of my update.

On My Mind

Every time I sit down to write or catch up on here, my mind is blank. It's awkward. It seems foreign to me. I'm not sure how to start back up, so I just... don't. I'm not certain how I evolved into feeling this way about my own space, my "journal" of sorts. After all, it's just me talking to and catching up with myself and writing out loud what's in my head. It's been a love-hate relationship. Awkward? It shouldn't be. I think the part that hangs me up is that the journaling is not just for me. Through the years, it's been a way to connect and meet some wonderful friends and ladies whom enjoy what I enjoy, understand who I am, and goodness, have even helped bring out the real, true me and in the process helped me to shape my desires and convictions into my own. I love this about blogging. There's an ability to have and create friendships and connections that sometimes can't be fostered in the traditional day-to-day tangible way. That's not the hard part, though. That's the love part. The hate part? Well, let's just say that I'm a pretty private, guarded person, not one to easily show transparency. Sometimes I worry what others will think of me. I know, I shouldn't... After all, I'm a grown woman with a husband and family, and we are confident to make our own decisions even when they aren't mainstream. I can't help it, though, because the truth of the matter is that I do worry. I'm trying to get better at that. {The part about being myself and being proud and confident in who I am to not just some people, but all people.} So, while I try to get back into the rhythm of journaling and sharing and growing relationships, just remember that if I come up missing again, it's not you... it's me.