Wanted: A Few Good Pairs of Earplugs

Calvin has learned how to scream---and does so quite often these days. He makes me smile...he's just so funny.

I Remember When I Used to Have Time to Read! :)

Okay---so this post is nothing earth-shattering, but I'd like to share with you one of my favorite books (and a good idea for a Mother's Day gift). It is now being made into a movie starring Kate Hudson and Gennifer Goodwin---I'm super duper excited for that. I am hooked on Emily Giffin's books! She has a new one coming out in a few days as well (hint, hint, Perry). :)

That's all--just thought I'd share that!

One More Hug

I was directed to a Web site tonight for a little girl who just passed away today from brain cancer. I don't know Layla Grace or her family, but thanks to the internet, she has thousands of people out there who are praying for her and her family. Of course, a story like this always reminds me of Natalie's fight three and a half years ago. Reading the posts from Layla's parents brings me back to those terrible days in the hospital at Natalie's bedside. I don't know how many times I sat there in the darkest of hours whispering into Natalie's ear to keep fighting and stay with us. I told her over and over not to leave me. No parent should ever have to experience that. We were the lucky ones. Natalie made it...but many others don't. In my quiet moments with Natalie, I often whisper in her ear how thankful I am that she fought to stay with us. Hug your babies! Let them know every day how much you love them. There are many parents out there, like Layla's parents, who would give anything for just one more hug.

Our First Home...Saying Goodbye

I know those of you who read this blog probably want to see pictures of our new house...but before I can do that, I want to share with you why we will miss our "little house" so much.

When we first moved here, life was much different. I was just a few weeks pregnant with Natalie, and we had a lot of work to do on the new house.

Nearly four years later, we've finished almost all of the projects we had intended for the house, and at the same time, we have outgrown it. There are so many reasons we will miss it...here are just a few:

This is the little tree Perry received for Father's Day after Natalie was born. It really took off this past summer, despite the fact that rabbits targeted it as a source of food last winter! In the spring, it looks like a giant flower.

For the record, it's a Spring Snow Blossom...and it's a fabulous tree.

This is our adorable little kitchen...the place where we ended up doing the most renovations. Even though it's small, it had so much character, and I turned it into my '50s retro kitchen. I love it so much!

The cherry contact paper my cabinets were lined in. That took forever, but I loved the finished product.

We tiled the backsplash in the kitchen. It was necessary to do this after we put in the dishwasher (long story). I was a trooper, though, and put up with an unfinished product for well over a year. Tiling was fun...I think we'll do it again in the new kitchen! Perry wasn't a do-it-yourselfer until we bought this house. Now, he's a Handy Manny!

Our living room... ...the place where we spent so much time. It became so small in the end. Perry refinished the floors...another project he had never tackled until we got this house. We spent many nights with restless babies in this room. We watched many Twins games and Natalie had many therapy sessions here.

The bathroom! How many baths did we give our babies here? It was the site of both Natalie and Calvin's first baths. There are so many pictures taken in here. It was a cute little bathroom...emphasis on little.

Natalie's adorable room. I'll miss this room the most. While I was on bedrest with her, my friend Abby dreamed up this concept. She did such a wonderful job. I told the new owner that I'm just going to imagine that it will stay pink and green forever. It makes me sick to think that those stripes could be painted over. I cried in this room the night before closing. I wish I could pack this room up and take it with us...but the memories will be with us forever.

These stairs...I wonder how many times I ran up and down them! :)

Our master bedroom...very small, but good enough for us. I spent 10 weeks laying in bed in this room while pregnant with Natalie. Each day, I would cross off another square on the calendar. It became my home, and people would come and visit me while I was in bed. Some nights, we would pack a bunch of people around the bed and play games or just talk. I'm so lucky to have wonderful family and friends who kept my spirits up during that scary time. And...for the record...breakfast, lunch and supper in bed is not fun.Ahhhh...the blue and green carpet tiles. When we toured the house before buying it, I swore it would be the first thing to go. Nearly 4 years later, they remain on the wall and I wonder if the new owner will take them down. I guess that fell down pretty low on the priority list in the end.



On closing day, the new owner told us she loved the house so much during the tour that she didn't want to leave. That makes me so incredibly happy. Many memories were made in this house...but it's time to move on. We'll always remember it as our "little house," and I imagine I will drive by it many times in the future, it's only two minutes away from our new home.
This was the 17th move I've made since leaving my home in Sherwood...and it was certainly the most difficult. It's time to move on to bigger things and make new memories in the home we'll be in hopefully for decades to come.

Oh, How Time Flies!

It's amazing how quickly a month can fly by when there are two little ones to keep you busy all day long. Calvin was baptized on January 3rd at Little Flower Catholic Church. He has two sets of godparents; Carolyn & Charlie, and Tahnee & Greg. Tahnee is now required to go through with her plans to marry Greg in the summer since she is now a godparent along with him! :) This was our last time trying to figure out how to host a large group of people for a family event. Our little house is adorable, but doesn't fit more than 5 people at a time. The new place will be great for entertaining.

Calvin and Natalie keep me on my toes. My bedtime is now around 9:00---I used to make fun of people for going to bed that early.

Calvin is quite the little character. He loves to smile and is starting to make funny noises. He has also discovered his thumb and I will often hear him grunting away as he chews on it.

Natalie thinks Calvin is okay--just as long as I'm not paying TOO much attention to him. It's quite the balancing act I perform between the two of them, since Natalie can't understand that there's a little baby I need to take care of---and Calvin doesn't care that there's another person in the room other than me.

But no matter how stressful it gets, there's nothing like having your little baby look at you with that great big smile. He melts my heart!

Moving day is just a couple of weeks away. Yipee!!

Big Changes Coming...

I realize January (or early February) is not the optimal time to move to a new home, but apparently, that's what we'll be doing in just a few weeks. We weren't even considering moving until AT LEAST springtime, but fate stepped in and handed us a house that will be perfect for our family.

There it is, in all its summertime glory! What's so special about this house, you ask?

It's WIDE OPEN! There is one short hallway to the bedrooms, but other than that, it's handicapped accessible. Natalie will have plenty of space for her wheelchair or any other equipment she will require in the future.

Here is the formal living room that leads into the great room.

Here is the main bathroom...

Here is what will be Calvin's room:

This is the bathroom that will one day be renovated to fit Natalie's needs. It's also the laundry room. Right now it's kind of a strange layout, but there's plenty of room to make it work for us in the future.

Natalie already has the cutest bedroom in the whole wide world...

This will be her new room...

...and Grandma Lori was kind enough to find this cute wall art for Natalie. It's adorable! Now I have to figure out what color to paint her room. I kind of like the color in the picture. Hmmmm... Oh, the projects we have ahead of us!

I can't tell you how excited we are to get into the new place. It's going to be a busy month for us. Thank goodness the real estate market in Minot is so incredibly wonderful. There will be more to come in the weeks ahead...