The Mom War

****warning*******this post is probably gonna peeve (really to be honest, I'm thinkin' of the other word...but as I have to think about it in order to type it...I am holding back;) a lot of people off. And I'm totally ok with that. Totally. Cause it's my blog, and it's my opinion, and if Bobby Brown can have a prerogative, so can I.

I was trying to find some answers from the great Cesar Millan regarding my puppy's recent food aggression issues and I came across THIS CLIP. It is PROOF that you can apply some of the same principles from Cesar that you do for your kids! *note...I don't promote South Park or watch it...ease up people..it's funy** I often times joke that I'm gonna write a book on parenting. Not that I think I'm this amazing parent or anything, but more of a funny, satirical look on all the stupid things that people (ESPECIALLY first timer/newbie parents..myself included) do. Like....for example...The t.v. totally babysits my kids sometimes. When I need something done or I want to hit them where it hurts or I want to just simply take a shower without the company of tattling or other kids jumping in....On it goes. I said I wouldn't do that. I also said I was only gonna feed my kids vegetables and they weren't allowed to eat fast food and they wouldn't be sleeping in my bed when they first came home and that changed the minute I found out that I turn into a nutso zombie freak after zero minutes of sleep. The thing that really disappoints me the most about myself is that I was so uptight about my grandpa visiting when Faith was first born. He was a smoker. A serious smoker. He and my stepgramma arrived the day Faith was born, and they stayed at my parents for the whole week. Now, don't get me wrong, I know how dangerous even a little second hand smoke is to a newborn and I would to this day never let someone smoke in front of them. But I was just so uptight and almost ridiculous because I didn't even want him to hold her (though I did) knowing that he would transfer the smell of smoke on her. I hid in the backroom when we were there with her pretending that she was nursing. He died 8 short months after that visit of emphysema and that was the last time I saw him. I just think if I had known then that was the last time I would see him, that I wouldn't have been so uptight. I wouldn't have hid in my moms bedroom so that I wouldn't have to have them want to hold her. I don't think he even knew that's what I was doing, but I did. I should've soaked up that week as if I KNEW it was the last time I would see him. Clothes can be washed, babies can be bathed...but I will never have any more memories of my grandpa, and I wish I would've been more relaxed that week with him.

So onto what everyone else does that annoys me. Since I've proven in the past that bullets are my friends, I will break it down in bullet point. Most of these refer to those first time parents, some not so much. Enjoy:

• The "Organic" movement. I'm all for eating healthy. I'm all for a balanced diet. Half of the year, I try and follow one. The other half is usually drowned in a cake-drunken state and that's probably where all my grouchiness is derived from...hence this particular blog post. I get grouchy when I'm on the sauce...and by the sauce...I mean sugar. But when people get all nuts and "I'm ONLY feeding my family organic food" when it costs $8.25 for a loaf of bread but complains that they can't make their house payment, it tends to annoy me. And while I'm on it, really.....how do you KNOW it's organic? I have news...if it comes in a jar or a bag or is sitting on a grocery shelf...it' ain't organic. Cause in order for it to have shelf life...it has to have some preservative to hold it there. Wanna buy from a local farmers market or grow your own food (something we plan on doing this year) GO FOR IT! I applaud you. But please...dear God PLEASE don't start wearing Birkenstocks and hemp clothing and spout the evils of Walmart or Meijer cause I just don't wanna hear it.
  
• Epidurals. Seriously. This and my next bullet point is SUUUUCH a controversial subject with the likes of those newbie moms. Let me just start off saying: I had all three of my kids "au natural" and without the use of an epidural, pain meds, whatever. Ok...I'm sorry..."technically"(I was actually informed of this by someone) it wasn't "natural" as I had my water broke by a midwife with all three of my kids and side note: I felt every "natural" bone of their little "natural" heads coming OUT of my "natural" body. Two of the three times, I had a "natural" baby sitting my my "natural" intestinal track keeping me from being able to "naturally" relieve myself. My bags of water are like titanium steal and in order for things to move along healthily...breaking the water was necessary. I'm like a birthing warrior and if anyone else has the nerve to tell me that I didn't have them "naturally" again I will honestly tell them to kiss MY "naturally" white rear and go shave their legs. So....I'm all for a a woman wanting to birth without the use of drugs. I will tell my story when asked for it, and I will support ANYONE who wants my support regarding having a natural childbirth. It was THE most empowering thing I have ever done...but...you will not hear me spouting my birth stories (and I have stories...let me tell you) allover the internet or facebook or to whomever doesn't really care to hear it, and here is why: Not everyone has babies this way. I will never forget what the worlds most amazing midwife told me: "Whatever you have to do to have a healthy baby is what you need to do" including and not limited to: Epidurals, pain meds, screaming, cussing, biting, praying, cutting, scraping, chastising your spouse, ...whatever is necessary. I will use my sister as an example. She was recently diagnosed with MS, and stressful situations can/will send her into an episode or an exacerbation of her condition. Guess what? Yeah, childbirth tends to be a bit stressful. So she will be ordering an epidural at the door, and that is totally fine (fyi...she is not pregnant so lets NOT start that rumor). And you know what else? Even if she didn't and was 100% the picture of health and statue and STILL ordered an epidural at the door....more power to her. In fact, I only know of a couple people (my cousin is even more of a birthing warrior than me considering she delivered almost 11 pounds of rolling thunder naturally) who have NOT had an epidural, and they had healthy, happy, bouncing beautiful babies and they should not be looked down upon for making a choice that lead them to that outcome.
  
• Breastfeeding. Holy.freakin.cow. Aren't moms supposed to band together and help each other out? Are we not supposed to support other new or not so new moms and navigate those unsure roads of motherhood and all the crazy things that go with it together? When did we (and of course I do NOT mean me..cause I would never do this..ha...;) turn into such "witches" (again..I mean the other word cause lets face it...) regarding how another mom chooses to feed their baby? Unless of course they are choosing to feed their baby with alcohol or something equally negative, then by all means...get judgy. What really irritates me is when people who DO breastfeed have to shove it in your face...like..."Yeah...I'm sitting on a bench in the middle of Walmart and I'm gonna whip it out and feed my kid and its natural so just watch me and DEAL with it." Or my favorite "I don't ask you to eat in the bathroom, so don't ask my baby" First of all: Yes...breastfeeding is natural and the best way to feed your baby if at all possible. Again...I did it with all three of my girls. I loved the nursing experience, I did. And yes...It is natural. So is conceiving a baby and we don't do that in public. Urinating is also natural, but we have doors on bathrooms for a reason. I'm not talking about a woman who has one of those new fangled cover-ups (why do they make all this cool stuff after I have kids?) and discreetly nurses their unruly or hungry baby. I'm talking about those woman who INSIST that they show everyone their amazing (or in most cases..NOT amazing) new mommy tatas in order to spark controversy. I cannot tell you the amount of times I had to go and hunt down an empty dressing room in order to nurse one of my kids. I don't want to make someone feel uncomfortable. That's just how I roll because I think we've established what an amazing person I am. But while were on the same subject....if a woman decides not to breastfeed, why do we feel the need to chastise her and make her feel like she is making a horrible mistake? Really? It's been established that breastfeeding is best. No one is debating that here. But some woman simply can't do it, either because its a physical issue, or an emotional issue, or simply because *gasp.horror.SHOCK* they don't want to. What? Yes. They have other things going on in their lives and breast feeding is just something that they choose NOT to do in order to make things easier on them as a mom. AAAAaaaand it's totally fine, because THE most important thing is that THAT baby needs is adequate nutrition and a mom that is not crazy.
  
• Working Moms vs. Stay-at-home moms. I've been both, and they both suck at times. No joke. Currently...I AM both. I work FROM home, and it probably sucks the most. This is why I can't wait for my book to get published and go #1 on the NY Times best seller list so I can sit at home and eat bon-bons and make up new cake recipes and only take the pictures that I want to take. I don't wanna hear all your sad stories about how hard it is, they both are hard. Suck it up, pray about it, and decide what you REALLY want and go with it. If you have to work, you have to work. Make the best of your time with your kids and don't feel guilty about it. If you don't and you choose to make the sacrifice of staying home with your kids, do it. It IS a sacrifice, make no mistake, but don't judge another woman because she has to make the same sacrifice on the flip side.
• Home school vs. Public school vs. Private school: I've personally experienced all three. And all three have there ups and downs. I'm not gonna go into details because really, it's between you and God what you choose to do. I pray that we make the right decisions from year to year, and with the way things are going in the world, I will NEVER say I wouldn't do any of those three. Currently we are in an excellent community with an excellent public school system, but if I feel I need to pull my kids out and homeschool them, I'm gonna be open and do it. For the record, I don't feel that currently and the thought of it IS pretty terrifying, but as the title of my book says..."Parenting Ain't for *Wussies*...with a P" (title subject to change)

I think I've adequately offended plenty of people so I'm gonna stop here. Just remember, the next time you think you should make your opinion regarding one of these difficult choices made by mothers EVER DAY, just shut up. Keep your opinion to yourself cause chances are, you weren't asked for it. Remember that life is not black and white. You don't know what's going on in someone else's world, so don't make judgments for them. THEY will stand before God regarding the choices they made for their kids, NOT you. Live your life as an example. A successful life with God-fearing, happy, healthy children should be all the argument you need.

Presidents Day

I can't wait to throw up some finished pics of my house. Were close....so close I can almost TASTE it. Literally....as in drywall dust. Bleck. Soon....soon and very soon.

Russ and I don't celebrate Valentines day. We used to, back in the day when we had money and no kids and a house payment that was cheaper than most peoples car payments. He bought me jewelry (said he bought me all the jewelry he ever had to in our first year of marriage. Ha! Sucker.) But then kids came and the realization that really...its a stupid holiday and just another excuse for kids to get jacked up on sugar at school. Or for the card and flower companies to take over our lives. But we would usually still use the opportunity to have a night out to ourselves without kids. You kno, hit dinner and a movie, typical stuff. When he started on the fire department, his schedule didn't always allow for us to go out on actual Valentines day (which...really...is a SUPER large pain in the butt if you ask me). A couple years ago we went out on the next day we could which HAPPENED to be President's day. And it hit us: This is WAY funner. NO crowds. Half-priced chocolate. Restaurants to ourselves (which lets face it....neither of us are crowd/people fans). So the tradition began.

This year, my sister graciously offered to take the kids early so we could enjoy a day together. I thought I would fill you in on what a day date for a couple who have been married for close to 14 years (together 15) looks like. Enjoy.

• Dropped the kids off at moms at about 2, got out of there about 2:30.
• Headed to Prairie land feeds to buy dog food. We have a frequent buyer program for Moses's dog food. He's a beast. Looked for a new collar cause I almost had to cut his old one off his big 'ol neck. Didn't have one big enough/small enough (he's not an xtra large. yet)
• Neither of us ate lunch, so we were starving. All I wanted was steak. A GOOD steak. Cooked by people who knew how to cook steak. Decided The Ribeye was in order. I was under the impression they opened at 4.
  
• Drove past, realized it was indeed 4:30 when they opened. Crap. Hit ReStore to look for some more home improvement/Pinterest projects. (Pinterest...for those who don't know...is another website that takes over lives. My gramma would be so disappointed.) Found a door for our bathroom.
  
• Went BACK to The Ribeye. It is now 4:20. This is where things.got.crazy. We pulled in the parking lot and there were already several cars there. Three of them had people unloading wheelchairs and walkers. I'm not joking. We walk in to a crowded waiting area and realize that we are INDEED younger than everyone in there's GRANDCHILDREN. The hostess looked at us and I swear the conversation in her mind was "What the HECK are two insanely amazing and trendy young people like YOU doing in a place like this at this hour" (I did buy a new super cute sweater and did my hair). We got seated and had to fight a few wheelchairs for the salad bar. At one point a 350 pound woman in a wheelchair started choking on her bread and for a minute, my husband was afraid he would have to intervene and perform some firefighter like duties. I reminded him he would get the honor of "Fire fighter of the Year". He said he didn't want it that way. I said it would give me some amazing bragging rights at my HS reunion. We agreed to disagree and the lady drank some water and was fine. My steak...as an fyi....was amazing. I know of NO other place that you can order a well-done steak (shut up you gaspers and lovers of raw meat. I prefer to eat my food when it has STOPPED bleeding thanks very much) and cut it with a fork. Is the Ribeye an amazing, beautifully decorated, trendy, and fabulous place to spend a Monday night? Nope. It's not. I just told someone today that I am at the point in my life that a good, well cooked meal beats out fabulous decor any day of the week. And...it was a delicious meal. As we were leaving the parking lot, it started getting busy with a bustle of a less old crowd. Russ made the comment that it was a good thing we were leaving now, he just couldn't handle that loud, whipper snapper crowd.
  
• What's the next romantic place we went you ask? Well...we have 3.5 acres now, and all we have is a push mower. So to Lowes we went. I mean.....come on. It COULD'VE been Menards. But we made it special and *little* classier. Decided I looked pretty dang good on a riding mower. He wouldn't let me get the one with the reclining seat. Whatevs.
  
• After Lowe's, we hit Slumberland to check out a new bed for our room as ours is too big. The one we wanted was no longer on sale.
  
• Off to the mall. We went to the Sleep Number store to see what all the fuss was about with those beds. Russ was unimpressed. The lady sold me hook-line-and-sinker. Coincidentally, I am a 45. He's a 75.
• Macy's was interesting. After a disgusting ride on an escalator (have you ever looked down at those? seriously...clean them a couple times a year...bleck) we scoped out the upstairs home section, did a little dream shopping, I hit the bathroom, and then we decided that was all the mall we wanted to take in.
  
• We had walked most of our food off and were in the mood for dessert. We didn't want ice cream, and didn't really want to hit any of the Prospect restaurants, so when you think "baked goods" where do YOU think of going? That's right people. Perkins is where its AT! We sat, the waiter came and asked us for our drink order (We only ordered water) and I mentioned we should've hit The Courier. Russ asked if we should just go. I felt bad for the waiter. You see..its a Monday night. And there was one OTHER couple in the restaurant who was probably over 55 and I just wanted the poor guy to make his rent that month (as if my $2 tip would help). I said no....lets stay. Perkins was perfect for the ambiance for the rest of the night. The Courier was just TOO trendy a place for us to go at this point.....I'm in it for a good story, and I have become rather accustomed to eating with my senior citizen crowd. Almost no one was choking at this restaurant. So we stayed. My pie was freezer burnt, and Russ finished his mediocre brownie in like two seconds. Probably should've hit Courier.
  
• Hit the gas station to fill up the truck. Decided we should head home and feed the beast. He had been cooped in a cage most of the day.
• Waited for mom and Di to bring the girls home, made out a little (yes...people who have been married for close to 14 years SHOULD make out a little every now and then) put my fat pants on, and watched a little tv.

Now...ask me if I was disappointed in any of that? Cause my answer is a resounding no. We had a blast cause at the end of the day, we got to spend one-on-one time with each other when we RARELY get to. And after all this time, we CAN have fun eating dinner with senior citizens and pretending to ride lawn mowers at Lowes. He can still make me giggle and makes my heart flutter, and we just have loads of fun together cause he's my BFF:) I think the moral of this story is that people put too much emphasis on the perfect setting and the perfect place and really what matters is having the perfect person for you sitting across the table from you deciding on whether or not your going to have to give someone the Heimlich.

IIII'MMMMM BAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAACK!

No we're not dead. Just ridiculously and insanely busy. Sunup to sundown is spent working our tails off on "projects". Well actually, it's more Russ that is doing the "project-ing" and it's me that's running interference with smaller creatures of our house, furry and skinned. And by running interference I really mean cleaning up buckets of urine between the house-training puppy, the weak bladdered Chippy, and the four-year-old who often replies "Just a yiddle" to the question "did you pee?" Some day urine will no longer rule my life.

Here are a few things you may have missed whilst we were gone (and I say this as if anyone actually reads my blog and I have followers who are waiting with bated breath for me to post something, anything that would interest them. Just give me my fantasy people):

• Most obvious: We have a new address. It's awesome, or will BE awesome when the freezing cold winter and construction projects are all over and it's painted and pretty and done. Which were pretty much banking on that being July of 2014. Everyone has to have a goal. If you want to see the progress, Check HERE periodically. I have stupid rural internet, so pictures are not something that upload nicely. You can also see some of the "before" pictures HERE. Side note: We moved in on a random Tuesday, so finding help to move was not really simple. My mom took the WEEK off to help us pack and move...THE WEEK! And my brother so graciously took the day off work, and my future-brother-in-law stayed an extra day to help move. I came home and both boys (I say boys cause I am sure that I outweigh them both) had COMPLETELY emptied one truck and were starting on the other which they COMPLETELY emptied before Russ got back with appliances. They used getting Russ's approval to my advantage;) Nice.
• Christmas happened. That lead to a new furry family member which I documented in a previous post. Honestly...hands down...best puppy ever. Were still dealing with a few "puppy" issues, but he's been pretty awesome. He gains about a pound a day...a POUND A DAYYYY! Yikes. You can see how big he is getting and how fast he is getting that way HERE. That would be the mobile uploads album on facebook for those of you who are not my friend. Periodically I will also upload funny pictures of sheer randomness.
  
• New Years happened. And when that New Year happened, I gained a new soon-to-be-brother-in-law. Yeah! He called me on New Years Eve (while I was building a wardrobe insert and hadn't showered in what seemed like 12 years) and asked on a whim if I would give him some advice on ring shopping. I finished building said crappy Menards wardrobe, jumped in the shower, and rushed to meet him. He picked an insanely gorgeous and sparkly ring, tied it around Millie's neck and popped the question at midnight. Super cute. There are pictures documenting it all and it is pretty special. If you don't know who Millie is, that is Diana's cat (ironically who's real name is "Millenium" since SHE came around New year 2000) who also seems to love ham sandwiches.
• Menards owns us. Jerks. Single-handedly I think we are keeping their employees employed.
• Still struggling with the dizziness, and it seems to be a tad worse. I just have to push through it as time is not something I have to go and make attempts at figuring it out. I've done a good job of masking it, most people don't even know it's bothering me when it is. I figure if I pass out while in conversation with someone, at least they'll know I wasn't just faking it. And I can sue those hookers at Carle for passing the buck.
  
• My Grandma is trying to kill me. Seriously. She keeps giving me donuts and coffee cakes and bread and all the sugary, carb loaded crap she can find. She "says" it's for the kids so I don't have to worry about breakfast in the morning and it's quick and easy. I basically have a freezer full of cake people. Cake. I might as well have a freezer full of crack or heroine. If you cut me, I would bleed powdered sugar right this instant. Between that and the People magazines, she's trying her best to turn me into one of those poor people who have to be fork-lifted out of their homes just to go to the doctor, where I will be surrounded by empty boxes of Entemans products and People magazines from 1998. Don't get me wrong, she means well. The poor woman just doesn't understand. I mean, she gets "texting" and "tweeting" mixed up. Here is a conversation we had just not that long ago.
  

Gramma: Misty, tweet your mom and ask if she is stopping by.
Misty: I'm not on Twitter gramma. Do you mean text?
Gramma: No...tweet her, you know, send her a message?
Misty: Yeah...that's texting. Tweeting has to do with Twitter, which is basically
like Facebook and another way for the internet to rule people's lives.
Gramma: Oh, well don't do that. You guys spend to much time on that
internet anyway. Just call her and ask her. Nobody picks up
the phone to call people anymore.
Misty: Ok...I think she's in a meeting still, but I'll call her and leave a message.
Gramma: Oh don't do that...just tweet her. She'll get it later.
Misty: Sigh.....ok.

• Still on my photography hiatus, but BURSTING with excitement about starting up again. I have a couple sessions scheduled in Feburary, but I will probably not jump in full time until March. This property in the Spring so promises to bring some amazing shoots, I just cannot wait. I'm waiting and praying about the direction that I need to take this year. Last year was a constant game of catch up. I am going to have to do things different this year. It is no longer a hobby...it's a job. It's a business. It's how I'm feeding my family, or paying for my car insurance and quite frankly that is going to have to come with a price increase. Nothing drastic, but I can't hide behind the "I'm just starting out and want to build my portfolio" excuse anymore. I think if I figured it up, last year what I made and the hours put into it, I basically made $.50/hour. Half of a dollar. Ridiculous.

So....that pretty well sums up life right now. We have amazing family and friends that have been INSTRUMENTAL in helping us get to where we are. Without you guys, we would still have the moving trucks parked in the barn full of crap:)

Final

We are putting everything in a box today. Packing it all up and dragging it to the garage to be moved into the truck bright and early tomorrow morning. I can't even tell you how much there IS to be done...Omigoodness it's overwhelming. But I guess it's a good thing I'm busy cause if I had a few minutes to really stop and think I would probably be sad and emotional and cry. I'm happy we are moving, I really am. I am not looking forward to not being settled and having us all share one tiny little bathroom until we refinish the tub in the other and build a whole new one for us. I am not looking forward to all the work my husband has planned for us during the whole Christmas holiday season. But I am excited to be somewhere we can stay forever. Cause if this process taught me anything...it's that I myself don't really enjoy change either. I guess Emmy gets that honest from me. I didn't have this reaction when we moved from Tolono. I was also pregnant and we had way outgrown that house and moving here was exciting because we never dreamed we would be able to have a house like this...let alone a BRAND NEW house. The kids were so little and I wonder if their age now is playing a part in my "sadness" because I know they are a little sad to leave the only house they've ever known.

So my mom and Russ are here and I need to give direction...actually....I need someone to give me direction:) My brain is fried and I just want to take a nap! I am hoping to not forget to get a picture of us all on the front porch before the night is over......

Sibling Rivalry

You can tell we are all on edge....here was the conversation that came from my girls bathroom this evening:

Faith: I miss Mae Mae!
Em: Eh...not so much.
Faith: Your mean! How dare you say that about our baby sister!
Em: Why? She's mean to me most of the time and drives me crazy!
Faith: Fine...you can't say no to this. Would you save her if she was falling off a cliff?
... Em: Um...
Faith: YOU PAUSED! You wouldn't save her?
Em: It's a ridiculous question. She's not ACTUALLY falling off a cliff. Plus we live in Illinois. There ARE no cliffs.
Me: Sigh.....

Week of Lasts

I can't believe it's already been almost a week since my last post...man time is flying! Tonight....even though there is only like 20 minutes left in the day, starts the week of lasts in this house. Even typing that I got a little teary eyed. It's not that I'm not happy and thankful for all that has happened in the last couple months, and it's not that I am not excited, but this is the only home my kids have really known. Faith was 2 1/2 when we moved here, and Emmy was 2 weeks old. We had the house built. We've been THE only people who have lived here. Faith is handling it well....just a little sadness for the loss of nostalgia, but Emmy...well...she doesn't enjoy change. If you ask her if she's excited about moving, she will look at you with her "face" (those of you that KNOW Emmyrson KNOW the face:) and will point blank tell you no. She's excited for the things to come, but she doesn't weather change well. She will probably be the one that stays with us and takes care of us when we are old and gray. I am pretty sure the family buying our house isn't in need of an 8-year-old girl, and given the fact that we would probably start missing her after a week or so, I guess were going to have to figure it out.

I thought it would be fun to throw out some of my favorite memories (since this is basically my journal to my kids when they are older) of our times here. All our pictures are packed, and everything else is backed up on a hard drive, so words will have to do.

• Shortly after moving, going "puddle jumping" with Faith when the streets flooded due to backed up storm drains (we suspect all the construction material from the houses being built). The water was up to Faith's waste and my thighs.
• Sitting in a chair in the middle of the kitchen and barking orders to everyone as to where I wanted things when we moved in. I had just had a baby and was bed ridden for two weeks after, so I could do nothing. But bark orders.
  
• Researching, hunting, and shopping to find THE perfect red color for the kitchen and dining room. We found it...and it only took 6 coats of paint to get it perfect.
  
• Camping in the backyard with the kids.
• Hunter....sigh....Awe HUNTER (I totally cried re-reading that post)
• Decorating this house for all the various seasons.
  
• All the various LOST PARTIES. Yes I know we are freaks. No I don't care;) (click on both links for double the party fun)
  
• Making my kids all kinds of fun cakes for their birthdays. Of course I don't do that anymore...I don't have time and Walmart has become my bakery of choice. But I used to have time. And SKILLS.
• Many many MANY many days like THIS
• Many day's like THIS too:)
• Bringing my last little monkey home from the hospital. I was much more relaxed with her than the other two.
  
• Sitting in my jacuzzi tub. Really gonna miss that. Didn't realize how much til the other night when I was sitting in my jacuzzi tub.
• Watching Esther jump off the back deck like a flying squirrel. I will have to tape this before we leave.
  

I know I'm missing a gazillion things...I might add more as I think of them. It's now well past midnight, and I probably should try and get some sleep. There is just so much to do, I don't even know which end is up! Tomorrow (or today I should say) we go to the new house to clean and get everything good and sparkly and ready for us to move right on in. First thing on the agenda (after getting all the boxes in of course) is to go and buy a Christmas tree and get it put up. Second thing on the agenda is this:
Meet Moses....but SSHSHHHHHHH! He's a secret. He's part of the kids Christmas present. We will pick him up the weekend after we move. He's a mastiff....and he will be HUGE. What's a puppy on top of moving? Eh...we got it;) We made two promises when we told them we were moving. #1 was a puppy (we knew we needed a larger dog being out in the country than a 7-pound Chihuahua) and #2 is a kitten. The kitten may wait til Spring.

So....off to bed. I pray sleep will come to me easily.

........What?.........

Pretty much. That's life these days. Always changing, always surprising....it's utter chaos.

Biggest news? Were moving. Yep.....when was my last blog entry? Sigh....Yeah. It's crazy. At this point I am not even sure I can muster up the energy to BE excited, but I should be. Because the only reason it all even came about is God, and it's really a pretty cool story. On a random comment by my husband like "hey...this houses price dropped, lets go check it out" on October 6 to signing final offer acceptances on November 4, we were bought and sold in 4 weeks. Our house sold in 3. Three week. Three. We were on the market for almost a year last year, with not even a hint of an offer, and in the end, we ended up having two offers (one was ridiculous, but still) on the house. When it's God, it's God. Were moving to the country people! If you want to see some pictures I posted on Facebook, check the out HERE. That should be a public link for you to see them and sort of see what I commented in order to know how it's all gonna be laid out. Is it my dream house? Definitely not right now. It is a well-built, super solid, upgraded house on a GORGEOUS 3.5 acres with a BARN...yep...a barn:) We can live there the rest of our days on Earth comfortably, and that was the most important thing to me. We can decorate and change things up course, and I will add some fabulousness to it:) There's room in the basement for an eventual indoor studio....theres a TON of room for some amazing outdoor photography, my husband's gonna grow me some wheat and wildflowers for more outdoor photog stuff, and I have about a billion apple, cherry, and pear trees for me to make some great home-ade goodness. It's gonna be awesome....sigh.....

So...off to get some sleep. I'm tired. It's well past midnight, and I only have a billion things to do in the next 13 days. Yeah...13 days. well...now it's technically 12. Oh my.....