First day of school

I can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that we have a kindergartner.

I’ve had a week to digest this now (a week is enough time to have missed the bus already in case you were wondering) and really thought I would hold it together that First Day until I got a message from Our little girl’s preschool teacher the Morning Of The First Day of School saying “I know Your little girl is ready for this and God bless” that started the tears…

then there was those little legs climbing those giant bus steps that created more tears…

and then little brother who said “Sister, bye-bye, bus” and I lost it. I cried all the way to work (it’s only a mile, but still). 

I was giddy with excitement all day to pick her up and hear all about it. We waited in what has become our spot for the bus to round the corner and drop her off. Her first words off the bus: "can I go back tomorrow?!" 

She was ready. No doubt in my mind. She was up at 2:30am the first day she was so excited. But I guess I wasn't. I'd been thinking of all these fleeting moments of growth and I get very sentimental- this summer she has mastered riding a bike without training wheels, learned to swim on her own and learned to read. And her first tooth was loose just last week. These are such exciting milestones, but reminders that she is growing up- it's bittersweet. 

I want for her to love school like I did- new friends at her new school, new projects, a teacher that makes learning fun. Through tears, I read this prayer I've sent to friends with kids in school over the years, and it hit closer to home this year than in the past.

It's been awhile

After much consideration (the safety and online security of my family being my biggest concern) I decided to continue my blog. It's no secret that I take many photos and although I scrapbook these photos and keep journals for both of my kids, I miss writing about our other moments - our ordinary days, crafting and cooking and playing and being in nature. Living life together. Being a family. Traditions. I enjoy going back to the blog posts to relive the moments and the digital preservation of our family memories are captured in a way that we can watch the videos and see the photos again and again.

So, after combing through every single post to eliminate anything that would give away more info than I was safe revealing (first or last names, addresses, license plates, etc.) I'm giving this another go.

I've quickly filled the time I spent blogging with other things. Mostly being healthier- we eat much healthier because I cook much healthier (which means I spend more time shopping, cleaning and cutting all the fresh foods we are eating) and I've added running to my daily routine, getting up earlier than I ever have voluntarily (who knew I'd ever be a morning person?!) So I likely won't blog as often, but it's my blog so there aren't any rules anyway:)

Welcome back:)

A Tree for Our Little Man

My husband's grandparents planted a tree for all of their grandchildren at their house and I love that idea. They have watched their children grow and watched the trees grow along with them. I wanted to  do that for our children and we planted a tree when our daughter was born (before I started blogging) and most recently when our son was born.

Picking out just the right tree was more work than actually planting it!

We all helped plant the tree once we got it home

This little girl took a break

and found a worm

This little guy mostly just supervised...and played with the yard flags

Now each of the kids have their own tree, we labeled with a personally engraved rock.

~Angela

Brother for sale

Right now our little guy is very mobile and that means he can (and does) get into his sister's things. This bugs her to no end



Of course that frustrates sister to no end. And our little man still just grins at her. There are moments like this that I love stumbling upon...





And then there are moments that our little girl acts like this:


I am sure this sibling dynamic will change as they grow and change, but I'll savor the sweet moments whenever I can.

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The Stump Becomes a Table

You may recall that I found this beauty while on a trip last summer. I had plans to use it in my house but wanted to leave it as close to its natural state as possible

It has been drying out for months since it was quite water logged and I made feet for it to elevate it off the ground a few inches. I sanded it so the top was smooth and with a wire brush, removed all the sand from the crevices.

Then I stained it to enhance the color of the wood and now we use it for a coffee table.

~Angela