Country Living

On Labor Day of this year, I called a realtor. We had finally, FINALLY decided to move. Anyone who knows us well, knows that this was a really big decision for us. We had talked about moving for several years. Mark and I bought our first house 11 years ago, and we had been there ever since. We brought two dogs home there, took care of two litters of puppies, survived two house floods, replaced all the flooring, painted (and sometimes re-painted) every room, and most importantly, brought all four of our sweet babies home to our Faith Court home.

After Max was born, we started playing musical rooms as we tried to figure out the best arrangement for the kids. Jack and Max started out sharing, but because Max was a baby, he did better sleeping in his own room. So then, Bella and Jack shared, so Max could have his own room. And then Max got older and moved back in with Jack, and Bella had her own room back. You get the idea. So, when Finn was born... holy cow. There wasn't a good place to put him. So, his crib took a permanent residence in the master bedroom. Along with the desk and computer. It was COZY.  :)

After Finn turned one, we both new something had to give. We had to finally make the move that we had been talking about and also dreading. How do you even begin to move after living somewhere and making so many memories over the last 11 years? Several times through the process I got teary just thinking about all that had happened in this house. We were very anxious to say the least.

We got the ball rolling though, and before we knew it, a for sale sign was up in our yard.

After nine days on the market, we had a contract on it, and we were thrilled! We had also been looking for our new house and had found one that we loved... it met all of the things we were looking for and more. It was bigger, had more rooms, gave us a little over an acre of land, and was out in the country. It was actually further out than I wanted, and I originally discarded it from consideration. But after lots of insight from several people, we put an offer on it, and it was accepted. Everything was falling into place, and it felt surreal! I won't go into all the yucky details, but the next two months proved to be one of the most stressful times we have experienced. We had major delays with our buyers' financing, and our closing date kept getting pushed back. We lived out of boxes for weeks just waiting for the call. It wasn't a pretty time, and I've told more than one person that I was often disappointed in myself in not handling the situation better. But I can't change all that happened, and I have already spent much time in prayer that I will learn and grow from the whole experience.

But let's just jump to the present where I can say WE MADE IT! Our family of six finally moved into our new home, and we have been overwhelmed with gratefulness for this home that fits our family SO well. Not just the home itself, but the land around us, as well as, friendly neighbors that have been nothing but kind and helpful. We have our piece of land, in addition to, a creek and a small lake. The kids have already been exploring their little hearts out (and getting majorly dirty), and everyday my heart overflows with thankfulness.


Moving day!

I've heard myself say more than once... "No crawfish in the house!"

We are loving our fireplace... we didn't have one at our old house.

The sunrises and sunsets out here are gorgeous!

Making friends...

This was a picture I put on Instagram... it's one days worth of shoes I had to wash because they got muddy. We promptly went and invested in some rain boots!

We have a school room/game room that has a big window... I love when the morning light shines in.

And we have stairs... we decided that instead of messing with a baby gate, we were going to let this little guy master the stairs. It had it down the first day. :)

We are learning to make the most of our trips "in town". It's nice leaving the noise and busyness when we finish our errands... we start out on the county roads, the kids get quiet (sometimes), and everyone starts looking out their windows for animals. I really appreciate where we live... we aren't completely isolated... we do have neighbors and there are kids for our kids to play with which is wonderful. But we are just far enough out to enjoy the quiet, the sunsets, and all the stars. Thank you to all who prayed for us through this new chapter of our lives... we were so thankful for them. And we are so thankful to get to make new memories in our new home.

Max turns 4!

Our third born, Max Palmer, turned four yesterday.

Even though he's not the baby anymore, I've still considered him little... I think because he was the youngest longer than Bella or Jack ever were. So the fact that he is FOUR just seems really old to me.  Getting older though has brought a lot of change for this little boy. He was nicknamed Max Danger for good reason, but he has almost outgrown this title. About 8 months ago, he really started to mellow out, and he stopped doing really outrageous things. His outrageous shenanigans were constant and exhausting. And I would often end up in tears over what he was doing next. He received so much discipline, and that in itself was discouraging. But this year, that wild little boy has turned a corner and let me just tell you he is ONE SWEET BOY. Oh my goodness. The boy LOVES to be loved on... hugs, kisses, cuddles... he can't get enough.

He is still very adventurous, and he still loves loves loves critters!

Max's emotions are BIG... he's either really happy or really sad.

He fills his words with emotion too... what he says is usually pretty heartfelt.

When he doesn't like something...

"I'm not going to be so happy."

When he does like something...

"This is more better."

When his love tank is full...

"I love my daddy. I love my mommy. I love my family."

Max is very sweet to Finn... he loves the big brother role. The little brother role still involves quite a bit of crying... he gets his feelings hurt very easily, and he wants everyone to be his friend all the time. I mean, who doesn't, right?  :)

Max is also still very attached to his daddy (as I'm sure he always will be) and loves all things that his daddy loves... hunting, outdoors, animals, pocket knives. If he is walking beside Mark and holding a pocket knife in La Grange, he is living the dream.

It's cliche, but I really am grateful to be this little boy's mom. He stretches me and helps me love as big as he does. We love our Max so much.

Happy Birthday Max Palmer!

Jack turns 6!

I am a little behind in posting this, but our Jacky boy turned six last month.

This is a random picture of him when he was two, but it's one of my very favorites. This kid. He sure has grown up. Literally. The boy is huge.

He still has a heart to match his size. And an even bigger appetite. He eats as much as a grown man. And he's not picky which is nice. His favorite food is probably a cheeseburger. :)

Like I said, his heart is big and sweet. He is still sensitive and bashful. He has grown a bit of tough skin though when it comes to his little 3 year old brother. There's lots of pestering, arguing, and antagonizing thats goes on between them right now. Usually at bedtime is when they start getting along, being silly, and laughing a bunch... and I'll admit that I let it go on for quite a while before I interject because it's so nice to hear them getting along. :)

This past year Jack has grown leaps and bounds in his confidence. He has always been shy and unsure of new situations. He took ski lessons, a basketball class at our gym, started at a school in Ft. Worth, and participated in a triathlon. He was very nervous about all of these new things, but he put on the bravest face he could muster and went for it. And he LOVED all of them. We were SO proud of his desire to overcome each fear.

I am on my second year of homeschooling him, and he is doing great. He has, as expected, a different learning style from Bella, so I've had to learn how to best teach him. He doesn't always like to put in the work, but it does love to feel successful, and one of his favorite things to do is show his daddy what he has learned. The boy craves praise.

He loves legos, horses, super heroes and anything boy... sports, bikes, outside time. He also loves to doodle. Give him a notebook and pen, and he will doodle all day. He has filled up several notebooks with words, pictures, and chicken scratch. It is really cute.

Jack has a great laugh... he can get to laughing so hard that you can't help but laugh along with him. I hope he always has that outlook on life. He is growing in Christ too. He loves to talk about how he loves God the most. He asks questions, memorizes Scripture, and loves to pray. It fills my heart up.

We are so blessed by our oldest boy. Did I mention he gives the biggest and tightest spontaneous hugs? :)

Happy Birthday Jack Anson!!!

Bella turns 8!

My first born and only girl has a birthday today. She is 8. How come every birthday with every child seems so shocking? When do we stop being baffled at how fast these kids are growing up?

Bella, Bella, Bella.

This girl, as always, is something else. Here are some words that really fit her right now.

//mature//

Bella is blossoming into a very mature girl. One thing I've always had to be aware of in myself is the very high expectations I place on my girl. She looks and acts so much older than she is. She has a heightened awareness of her surroundings and the people in it. She is incredibly insightful. She sees and hears you when you don't think she does. She remembers every word you've ever spoken in regards to something promised to her. :) She also prefers adult conversation over playing with kids. I regularly have to remind her to play with her friends and let me talk to mine. :)

//brave//

Her heart is brave. She tries new things, doesn't need help with much, and has big ideas. She has a very tender spot for those less privileged than her... she currently has posters hanging in her room that ask for money to feed the poor. She has had long discussions with me about us fostering children in our home. She is a fixer. And she has genuine compassion. I see true evidence of the Holy Spirit living inside of this girl and beckoning her down His path. That is what I'm most grateful for when I look at her life.

//motherly//

I'm certain I could walk out of the house with my 3 boys under Bella's care, and when I returned, all would be well. She is very bossy with her brothers, and through her strong persuasive skills, can almost always get them to do what she wants. She puts them under a big sister spell or something... I've found the boys cleaning her room many times. Haha! She adores baby Finn and is so caring with him. Her name is the only sibling name he can say right now. She carries him, reads to him, gets him snacks, swims with him, rocks him... they both eat it up. She was born with those mothering skills!

I love this picture... she dressed up her brother and cousin in her clothes.

//strong-willed//

This one will always describe Bella. Once strong-willed, always strong-willed. Because she is older, we have lots of conversations trying to work out frustrating situations. Mark is very good at this. His reasoning skills are outstanding, and she listens to him. Her and I though... the mother/daughter relationship is very unique. Especially if the both of you are very much alike. I understand her very well, and I become incredibly proud of her and the decisions I see her making. But as stated above, I have high expectations for her, so I equally get very frustrated with poor choices or lately, poor attitudes and sassiness, and this is where it gets tough. I consistenly pray for our relationship... that the struggles won't beat us but grow us.

//diva//

This girl is 100% pop-star diva obsessed right now. She loves fashion, music, dancing, stars... oh, and mirrors. She loves to sing and dance in front of mirrors. It. Is. Hilarious. She loves high heels, sparkles, hair colors, make-up, purses... I'm pretty sure she envisions herself as Taylor Swift. She wants music blaring and the floor cleared for her *performances*. We are keeping a close eye on all of this... because it's bad news bears out there ya'll... too many public figures that I would be happy with Bella never ever ever knowing about.

Her double sister a.k.a. cousin Macy

//self-motivated//

Bella has recently gotten into some athletic hobbies... she was watching closely as I trained for my triathlon. :) She joined a swim team this summer, and I was most surprised by her self-motivation. She found a clock, learned how to set the alarm, and was up and waiting every morning on us to drive her to practice. She practiced hard and was very competitive. Bottom line is she wanted to win. And she swam as fast as she could. This is all without Mark or I ever saying a word to her. One day when I picked her up from practice, we proceeded to have this conversation...

"How was practice?"

"It was great... I won several times."

"Oh, you were racing today?"

"Well, not exactly. I was racing kids on my own during our laps. I looked over at this boy, and he was looking right into my eyes, and I knew it was on. I knew I had to win."


Ummm... I didn't even know what to say. I was laughing inside and trying not to smile. And also wondering what in the world we were going to do with her. Maybe give her a humility medal.

She wants a road bike for her birthday, she is running a 5k with me in a couple of weeks, and she wants to give volleyball and basketball a try this year. And so it begins...

She was the first to make me a mother. The first I nursed. The first I rocked. The first I fretted over. Being her mother is a beautiful challenge... an incredible journey. And there's still so much to come. So instead of being sad that my girl is growing up, I choose to be grateful and joyful today that my girl is GROWING UP... that is is gift!

I heard Bella using photo booth on the computer this morning. When I went back to look at her pictures, these were a couple that I found.

Beautiful and looking too grown up.

Also, photo booth provides an unlimited amount of selfies... she took 54... with all the effects. And so year 8 begins...

Happy Birthday Bella Kathryn!