House: The Playroom

Our home has three bedrooms, and with two kids one would think we would use the bedrooms for the kids. But, when we lived in our townhome we created a play space for Isaac under the stairs in a closet. We learned the value of having a play space for the kids. So, at Isaac's request, the kids share a bedroom (more on their room tomorrow), and the kids have a playroom.



The playroom is often messy. The toys are out, being played with, the train track runs across the floor and Caitlyn is often found in her bouncy seat just hanging out with her brother.



Isaac and Caitlyn are very blessed with their own TV. They are able to watch movies on the Wii and sometimes Daddy rents a special movie from the Red Box. They also spend time together watching movies that are just for Caitlyn, movies Isaac watched when he was younger, he sings along and Caitlyn laughs and laughs!

On most days, we have time during the day that we call no TV time, they can still play in the playroom, but the TV cannot be on...



...Spider Man, Buzz and Woody often come out to play...



...books come off the shelf and are read over and over again...



...stuffed animals are everywhere...



...Thomas and his friends are always busy running on the tracks, they often share space with the Monster Trucks that have recently come home.



And we must not forget Lighting McQueen and his friends. They race and race and race.

The play room is a room just for them. It is their space. It is the place where they can play together, rest, laugh, watch movies and make memories. It is the room that is suppose to be messy, it isn't suppose to look perfect. It is perfect, just for them.

House: The Living Room

The living room is where we live. We laugh, we dance to Jam CD's, we watch TV, mama writes at her desk, we race cars, monster trucks and trains and we read.

The couch is big, it is comfortable and it is where we snuggle together at the end of the day. It is perfect!



This is often my view as I feed Caitlyn, watch Isaac play, read, do some Bible Study or just rest. The quilt is my favorite, it was my husbands before he was my husband and it was made by his grandmother whom I love.



Pictures of our beloved family and friends surround us. Hand painted art is not hard to find in our house and the things that make it home are displayed and very much loved.



The clock was made by my husband in 1996 and is one of those beloved items we will have forever. Books and diapers fill the entertainment center.



Caitlyn plays in the pack and play in the corner.



She spends time in her bouncy seat which moves from room to room in our house, it has been seen in the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom and the playroom.



And sometimes she naps in her swing.



My desk is the place where I write, blog, cut coupons, sort mail, read, research, run Girls Only Ministry and feed my addiction to office supplies and caffeine.



We do a lot in this room. We live in this room, we laugh here, we rest here and we are at home here. It is perfect!

House: The Kitchen

One of the things I love about the place we now call home is that when you come into the house you come into the kitchen. It is comfortable, it is HUGE, it is one of my favorite places in the house!



The window above the sink looks out into the neighborhood and it has a cute window ledge that is home to some of my favorite things. The wine bottle from our honeymoon, a coffee cup from a beloved friend adorned with a fabulous heart made by Isaac just for his mama, a red vase with yellow daisies (which happen to be my favorite flowers) and a simple reminder that the Lord will bless us and keep us! The Columbine that hangs in the window reminds me of the place I first saw it. It hung in the window in the kitchen of a house in Keystone where my family gathered when I was a kid. It hung in the window where the HUGE glass canister filled with an assortment of candy sat just waiting to be opened. We use to spend the weekends skiing and the house was large enough for all my aunts, uncles and cousins to be there too. The house is a now memory and the Columbine now hangs in my window, as it once did in that beloved home.



There are some Swedish/Norwegian tiles to the right of the window. These remind me of my Papa George and MorMor. The decorate our home and add a little family history as well. The second one from the top reads "God bless this home", the third one down reads "Home Sweet Home" and the last one reads "Blessed unto you".



The counters are decorated with the necessities. Pictures, candy jars, flour, sugar, the crock pot, some cook books and much more are scattered around.



It is where we gather for dinner. This is where we do homework with Isaac. Isaac and I eat breakfast and lunch at the table together during the day, we laugh, we talk and we eat. We bake together and we make a mess. It is a fabulous place, it is home, it is a blessing and it is perfect!

4 Years Younger...

One of the best things about Caitlyn being 4 years younger than her brother is that I get to experience the the new born stuff all over again and still enjoy the things that come with a 4 year old.



The snuggles, the laughs, the falling asleep in my arms is addicting!



The tummy time, the "talking" and the drool are my favorite!



The simple life of a baby is peaceful. The feeding, the napping and the endless snuggles are tender to me.



The love between a brother and his sister is priceless!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to my Husband!

I love you! I am honored to have your last name and be the mama to your children. I love how you love me. I love that we can laugh together.

I love that you come home to me, that you want to come home to me. I love how hard you work for us, I admire your hard work and I am so blessed by it. I love how we can just relax at the end of the day, on the couch with a back scratch and some TV.

You are a great communicator. You keep me honest. You help me communicate how I am feeling. You have encouraged me to be myself. You accept me. You love me with your kind words.



I feel safe with you. I trust you. I love you. I am excited to raise our kids together. I enjoy being around you. I want to be with you. I love the way you smell. I love the food you cook. I love the kind of dad you are. You are kind, patient, loving, understanding, helpful, funny, creative and wise.



I cannot thank the Lord enough for the kind of husband He gave me when He gave me you. I am so blessed by the kind of dad you are to our kids. Thank you for working so hard and being so understanding. I am honored to be at home during the day with our kids, even if some days are harder than others, it is such a privilege to be able to be their mama and spend so much time with them. Thank you for making that possible!



I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, I pray that I can continue to love you how you want and need to be loved. Thank you for asking me to marry you. This adventure has been wonderful and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store this year!

Play Time...

Caitlyn LOVES the pack'n play....



she kicks her feet and talks and talks and talks...



she adores her toys that her brother hung up for her...



... Isaac picked out all the fun toys from the "Baby Sister toy bin" and strung them across the pack and play with ribbon, it was really cute, he got frustrated because they kept falling off but I helped him tie the ribbon and now the toys are there to stay!

Caitlyn loves to be in the pack and play. It is fun to see her start to play, "talk" and interact with us and her toys.

Valentines

It was so fun this year... Isaac and his daddy found a box of SpiderMan Valentines! We have spent a little time each night putting them together for his friends from school. It is really fun to watch him write the names of his friends in the place labeled "To" and to write his name in the place labeled "From".



By the way, notice the green cape, that means "Flysaac" has come to the house. Flysaac is Isaac's super hero name, so when the cape appears, so does Flysaac!



Bless his heart, he has worked hard on his valentines. Writing each and every one. Spelling the names of his friends, taping a piece of candy to each one and decorating with a heart shaped sticker!



It has been fun. I am so glad to have these kinds of things to do at our kitchen table. It makes my heart happy!

Brownies for the neighbors

We now have neighbors, not that we didn't before, but now, we have real neighbors. You know, the type that help you shovel, the type that have kids who want to play with your kids.

So, my son wanted to make them brownies so he could go over and say Hi! It was really cute!



So, we spent some time baking... Isaac did it all, he cracked the eggs, he stirred everything in the bowl and he waited and watched as the baked...



Truth be told, we all ate them before they got to the neighbors! So we are going to make a new batch and not eat them. What can I say, everything that we needed to bake was packed for so long we were all so excited about it, we couldn't help it!

She loves.....

... the binkie! It took her a few months to get it, but she loves it now! And it is the cutest thing ever! The binkie in the picture is the ONLY one she will take. I love it, it is pink, it is cute and it is totally different than the ones her brother loved. I can't get enough of her beautiful binkie lovin self!

Bath Time - Play Time

Isaac LOVES bath time - and Caitlyn does too! It is the best part of the night. We put them both in the tub together and they laugh, play, read and "swim" together. Caitlyn loves to be in the water, no tears, just hanging out happily with her big brother.



I know it is not made for this, but the Bumbo chair is a fabulous bath chair! It keeps Caitlyn upright, she can "float" and play with her brother, without getting cold! We love it!

Snow Day!

My son is so blessed to have a backyard all to himself! He has been praying for Jesus to give him a yard for a while, and man, did Jesus deliver!

Today, the ground is covered in snow, so around 8:30am Isaac got all dressed and ready to go outside!



He dug out his toys that were covered.







He ran around and kicked every ball that was in the yard!



It made his day to play outside first thing in the morning!







He piled the snow in the back of his trucks and drove it from point A to point B, over and over again!



He laid down and rolled over and over!



He came in covered in snow, shivering and happy!

Home...

We have been packed for a while, two years actually. We started the moving process in 2009, and we have officially MOVED!

The Lord has blessed us with the perfect home. The house is cozy, it is yellow, which happens to be my favorite color. The house is peaceful.



The kids share a room, the play room is full of laughter, movies and toys. The basement is the perfect place for a guys night. The kitchen is by far a favorite of mine, it is open, it is big with lots of windows and space for our table. It is peaceful! It is home!

It has a great porch. The backward is a place for Isaac to run around and be a boy.

Our boxes are unpacked, the pictures are hung and we are settled in. More to come soon!