An Update and A Few Pages

The house is moving along! It's bricked and lots of progress has been made on the inside as well. The stucco guy is coming tomorrow to begin, so where you see the Stine plastic...that will be stucco. Obviously, the boards will down too...they were needed to keep the rain out.
And here's a view of the back. I LOOOOVE, LOVE, LOVE the huge windows!! I want (translate neeeed) lots and lots of natural light, so I'm head over heels for these windows! The small posts on the patio will also be replaced with 10x10 cypress posts. I have so many ideas swimming in my head with how we will landscape the back yard. :) And now, on to a few scrapbook pages I've done this past week.

Ordinary Moments:
Journaling reads: It's in the ordinary moments that life becomes extraordinary.


Remember This Moment:
Journaling reads: Flowers. From my little boy. We had just arrived at Point du Hoc. I had to stay in the car to feed Noah. Brady and Daddy got out and started looking around because B was in the middle of a tantrum. About 15 minutes later they showed back up at the car. I could tell that B had a handful of something. Rocks, I assumed. Instead I was sweetly surprised. For in his little outstretched hand were a bunch of the prettiest little yellow and white flowers. I'm a sucker for these offerings. These tiny little treasures made me pause in my frustration. They made me realize that though our parent/toddler relationship isn't perfect, I'm doing okay by my boy. After all, he still wants to give me flowers.
Very Sweet:
Journaling Reads: Life Is Very Sweet Being Your Mom

Window: (This LO is for a "Life Lessons" book I'm putting together for the boys.)

Journaling Reads: Life Lesson 102: If one door opens to another door closed, keep on walking til' you find a window.

Free Bird:

Journaling Reads: Oh, B! This is what you most loved about Paris. Chasing the pigeons at the Louvre. I think it may have been my favorite part too! :)

That's it...have a great week, y'all!

Images are linked for credits.

To Everything A Season

I type this tonight in an almost empty house. Today, the movers came. They packed up and whisked away most of our belongings.

It's so bittersweet. Moving always is. God may call us to do this for another 23 years, but I don't think that will change. I feel like I'm leaving half of my world behind every time.

You get to a new place. You no know one, have no place to live, no bed to sleep on for a while, no pots to cook in and only a suitcase to live out of. But, you make friends fast. You make an empty house a home. You quickly learn where Wal-Mart, Target, the PX and Commissary are, and within the first week, you know the best restaurants in town. You put down roots and they grow fast and deep. You learn to not only survive in your new dwelling; you quickly begin to thrive. It's not just a place. It's home. It's where your memories are.

I have to admit, that as excited as I was to move to Germany, I was scared to death. I boarded a plane 31 weeks pregnant with our first child, just before Christmas, and flew across an ocean...to a place where the people didn't speak my language and where my family couldn't simply get in their car and drive a few hours to get to me if I needed them. I knew that my husband would be going to the field a week after we arrived and deploying 3 months after that. I felt more alone than I ever had in my life.

When those wheels left the ground, the tears started falling. I wanted my family. I wanted home...and I hadn't even left U.S. airspace yet.

Fast forward 10 hours and European soil appeared in my window. I still felt gut-wrenching sadness, but now it was mixed with a twinge of excitement. I walked off of that plane and into a new season of life.

It didn't take me long to fall in love with this place, just like all the others. We quickly made good friends, had great neighbors, and found a wonderful church home. I was just beginning to enjoy the culture (and unpack my household goods) and a beautiful little boy surprised us by coming a month early. Although I missed my family immensely, I was at home in this place that I have grown to love.

I love the culture, the opportunity for travel, the beauty of God's creation, the food, the romance, the alluring history of this land. I will miss everything about it.

My babies were born here. We brought them home, right here in the sleepy little town of Baumholder. For that reason alone, my heart will forever be tied to this place.

The good news is, the other half of my world is still waiting. Home. My real home. The place that no matter where I am is always in my heart. No matter where I go, I can't pretend that I've found something better than where I've been. It's who I am.

And I know that when I step off the plane next Friday, the smiling faces I'll see, the love I'll feel, will erase the sadness of my heart in leaving this place.

It's been a fast 3 years. Who knows, maybe one day God will lead us back to this place. If he does, I'll willingly go, but for now this beautiful season of our lives is nearing it's end. And as much as my heart is hanging on to this one, I look forward with joy to the one about to begin.

I leave this place with many wonderful memories. To those of you who have made them with us (you know who you are) we will greatly miss you. You have been our family for the last 3 years and you will always have a special place in my heart. Much love.

Until we meet again, my freinds...

Check This Out!

Here's two more recent LO's I've completed. One for each of my precious boys! The kit is Into The Night by Stolen Moments and it's on SALE right now for 30% off! This is absolutely one of my favorite kits!! It's gorgeous!! Perfect for girl pages, boy pages, wedding pages or LO you want to add an easy elegant touch to!

Hello, Perfection:

I Love You:

Images are linked for full credits.

Mmmmm.....

This past Monday, I started Noah on his rice cereal, or mush as I like to call it.

He really wasn't sure what to think as he took that first bite. The look on his sweet face was something like, "Moooom, what are you feeding me? And, whhhhyyyy?". Pure, utter, confusion! He was so cute!

I thought for his first time, he was a remarkably good, clean eater. And, over the course of the week, his skills have improved even more. :) Now, he gets really excited when he sees the spoon coming at him. He now tries to grab it and feed himself! (Whoa! Slow down there buddy! Baby steps! ;))

Here are a few pics we snapped.

The first bite...judging by that face, he wasn't liking it.
And, out it goes... Second attempt...

Thinking it over... Ahhh...and there it is...the smile of approval!

I've Been A Scrapin'

I've been churnin' and burnin', turnin' out some scrapbook pages (Excuse the corny line. I'm in one of those moods. :))


I just thought that I'd start posting more of my scrapbook pages here on the blog. I know some of you scrapbook too and some of you are interested in PSE and all of the wonderful, amazing things you can do with the program, so I figure you'd be interested. And, if you're not, maybe I can inspire you to start preserving your memories too!


I scrap our lives...our everyday memories, to preserve them for the boys. So that one day they can look back at these albums and remember all of the wonderful (and even the not so wonderful) times. These pages are part of the legacy I want to leave for them.


I'll post the journaling under each LO so you'll know what each one is about. And then, I'll link each image to my gallery with credits in case you'd like to pick up any of the wonderful goodies you see.


And, if you'd be interested in a few simple tutorials, leave a comment letting me know, and I'll see what I can come up with. I'm certainly no pro, but I have enough of a basic foundation, that I could help get you get started and guide you through a few key techniques.


Here are my 3 most recent layouts. For the first two, I tried to embrace my inner minimalist...a challenge for me. I love the clean look of this type of LO, but struggle to get a post worthy page together. I think these two came out really nice. The third LO is more of the style I tend to gravitate towards.


Anyway, enjoy and let me know if you have any questions. :)



Breathtaking:
Journaling Reads: Growing up a young girl in small town Louisiana , I dreamed of seeing the Eiffel Tower...of sitting at a sidewalk cafe, eating croissant, drinking a cafe au lait, as I watched the Parisians walk by. It was a dream I never thought I'd have the opportunity to realize. Living in Germany has provided me with an opportunity to see some of the world's most amazing cities. I will never forget the sights, the smells, the sounds, the beauty of Paris. It took my breath away. I will forever be grateful that I have these precious memories.

A Perfect Day In Rome:

Journaling Reads: The Eternal City. Historic, timeless, rustic, perfection. Rome has always been at the top of my list of places to see, but I wondered if I ever would. It did not disappoint. The food, incredible. The people, warm, friendly, kind. They have a way of making you feel at home. Every day spent there was a perfect day. Around every corner another piece of history was awaiting me. Given the chance I'd go back this second. I could spend ages there, just strolling along the tiny cobblestone streets, taking in the sights and smells of what is one of the world's greatest cities. I traced the footsteps of emperors, stood where Caesar's throne sat, walked the hallowed halls of the Vatican, entered the arena where gladiators fought and marveled at the ingenuity of the Romans. It was truly amazing. I walked a city that has stood for nearly 3,000 years. How do I even begin to describe that?

Pitter Patter Goes My Heart:

Journaling Reads: 20 little things I love about you...you love me, you're an awesome daddy, you're a man of God and the spiritual leader of our home, you work hard to provide for us, you help me out around the house with anything from cleaning to handy work...you're very handy, you know?, you always tell me i'm a great cook...even when i'm not, you have the patience of Job with me and the boys, you let me pick out your clothes, you always come home smiling...even when i know you've had a bad day, you give great back rubs, you think i'm funny, you're proud of me, you still enjoy taking me on dates...7 years later, you're my best friend, you have the most genuine smile and laugh, you can still melt my heart with those baby blues, you think you're the lucky one...even though i know i am, you let me think i'm right...even when i'm not, you tell me everyday that i'm beautiful, you gave me the two most amazingly beautiful little boys in the whole world

The City of Lights...

...Of which I did not see the lights. Having two little boys in tow makes it hard to wait until 10:30 at night when it gets dark and they turn on the lights, and we thought that the Metro might not be a safe place for the kids that late. Paris, however, lights or no lights is a spectacular city!

We thoroughly enjoyed every second we spent there! We'd definitely plan a return trip if we were staying in Germany a bit longer, and plan to one day re-visit Paris (without kids)! We packed in as much as we could in the three days we had. We of course saw all of the touristy "musts"...The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame. All of that was amazing, but I think the best part was the people. Parisians are superbly friendly, helpful, wonderful people. We truly loved this city and it's people! Oh, and the fresh pastries from the bakery just around the corner from our hotel...to die for!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip...

The Eiffel Tower (or Tour Eiffel) as the french would say.
We had to put B on a leash. :) He loved running around this park next to the Eiffel Tower.

Noah just sat in his stroller, a happy baby, taking in the view.

I love this picture. Brady kept climbing up on his bed and gazing out the window at the skyline.

The Mona Lisa. It's not nearly as big or impressive as I had imagined. She sits behind glass in the middle of a huge room, with a ridiculous crowd pushing and shoving to get a shot of her.

Here's the crazy crowd. I actually waded through it to get my picture...nuts, I know.

Oh, how I love this face.

I think Brady's favorite thing was feeding the pigeons outside the Louvre. At one point, I think we had every pigeon in Paris at our feet.

The Arc de Triomphe. Yes, I ran out into 8 lanes of traffic to get this picture...

Noah enjoyed helping Daddy read the map. :)

A shot of the Eiffel Tower from across the Seine.

Notre Dame. Not as big as I expected, but so beautiful. A peaceful haven in the middle of the city.

I just loved this shot.

But, my favorite picture from the trip...this one. This is the view I live for.

Makin' Progress

We're making progress on the house! This picture was taken about 3 weeks ago. Since then, the plumbing has been done, electric wired, and cabinets and granite ordered. This week the roofing will be done and it will possibly be bricked.

I'm just buzzing with excitement! I can't wait to see how it all comes together. Just 5 more weeks!!!