13 wonderful years.
2 amazing girls.
1 fluffy dog.
2 homes, about to be 3.
I can't imagine spending my life with ANYONE else.
michael treats me with love, kindess, respect.
he provides for us and enables me to stay home with our daughters.
he is everything I ever wanted and so much more.
I feel happy & blessed.
we found a cute late 1800's victorian, in GREAT shape! 4 bedrooms 2 bathrooms, wood floors. it's awesome except it's on a busy street and some of the other houses in the neighborhood look pretty beat up, but for a year, it will be our home!
this porch is so sweet, I can just imagine sitting here and having coffee!
kitchen
the kitchen is split into two separate areas, I kind of like it.
the first bedroom upstairs
upstairs bathroom....
another bedroom.
blurry picture of the front stairs.
there are back stairs to a servants quarters, huge room.
I think the girls want to make it a doll room~
there is also a living room, dining room and den.
I hope we love it.
this is an adventure. this is us going out on a limb and taking a risk.
this is us living in a small town for the first time since I was only 17.
wish us luck.
in a few short weeks we will be moving.
to upper michigan. where I was born & raised.
we aren't moving to my hometown, I will be 4 hours from there.
but we are moving 5.5 hours from where we are now in IL.
I have such mixed feelings about this.
in some ways, I feel like I am "coming home" and going to be closer to my family!
we will live right on Lake Michigan. it will be pretty and calm, a much simpler
lifestyle. no malls (an hour away). no big city close by.
the girls may have more freedom to be with friends, to explore.
we may get a house in town or we may get a house in the country.
I haven't even been there yet! we are going this weekend to look at houses to rent.....
when we moved to plainfield in 2006, I was excited.
we got this house and turned it into a home.
(look how tiny the girls were. ava was almost 5 and savannah was 6.5)
we met nice neighbors who quickly became best friends, I don't know what I would have ever done
without them. they made our life fun, entertaining. I got to chase after and play with her little babies
and I loved them like no tomorrow. to not have that anymore, well, it's sad.....to think one day they
will not even remember who I am.
the girls are kind of sad, but excited too. I think they go by however I am feeling.
they are excited to meet new friends, find a new house, go to the beach.
ava can't wait to take beach pictures!
so it's a new adventure for our family.
I am going to trust that God knows what He is doing, that He had a hand in this,
bringing me closer to my family than I have been since 1988 when I graduated high school.
I have 4 brothers that live up there and one sister, so I have plenty of family within 4 hours, maybe
they will come visit more since it's closer. who knows what will happen or where we will end up,
but for now, Michigan, here we come!
I am going to be a Yooper again, yah, eh>
I don't even know where to begin. life is crazy. moving at full speed ahead and nothing I can do
to stop it. I will do a post of recent photos with some recent happenings and try to catch up!
we took the girls to see Hunger Games the night after it opened! We only waited in line for an hour, so
it wasn't too bad. They were sooooo excited! Ava had her doll dressed up as Katniss with the braid,
Hunger Games pin and boots.....it was pretty good, but not as good as the book...when you stop
to actually think of the whole concept of the book/movie, it's pretty disturbing actually!
savannah and ava made bow & arrows and playing "the Hunger Games" in our yard, they were outside
for HOURS playing! they had a BLAST!
playing Hunger Games: they were hiding from Cato, probably lol
ava is officially TALLER than her OLDER sister!!! Savannah was 4ft 10 1/4" at her 12 year old
appointment & 70lbs. FINALLY! she's a TINY girl that one.
this is blurry, but it's a note from a boy, saying, "hey, do u think u are ready to date?" he had already
asked her and she said NO. she had to have her friend tell him NO this time, because she felt bad....she
is not allowed to even "go with" someone until she is 16. I think it puts to much pressure on these kids
and she doesn't want to anyway!
taking piper for a walk. he's so SPOILED he will not go on a walk with just the girls, if I don't go along
also! he loves his mama!
ava took this of me, with her camera.... look like my mama here.
michael has been in school for quite a few weeks, updating his certificate (he's a Chief School Business
Official (CSBO) or Business Manager, whatever you want to call it....it's been hard, 3 classes a week.
one is online, one is all day saturdays and another is just a long paper he has to write. fun stuff (NOT).
speaking of which, michael's job contract is NOT being renewed so he is looking for a job right now.
his ends on June 30th. this weekend he will be interviewing in a teeny TINY town in Alaska, called Healy.
if you know anything about it, please comment to me! have you been there, lived there? any advice?~
the girls have started stories on their laptops, I love that they are typing them up! they are so creative!
ava started 3 different ones! now the key is to get her to finish them!
they do this crazy thing when we have to leave to show our house (it's on the market now) we have
to take the dog, so we run errands and we take turns going in for the errands so one of us stays with
the kids/dog....so they open the sun roof and hang out of it acting like animals. sooooo silly.
just some pictures that I love. gosh I am happy that I have my iphone or I would never take any pix!
piper in the car, he's so adorable, going to turn 5 in june, can't believe it!
sister whispers, the cutest thing: unless they are whispering ABOUT ME!
in the woods: they wanted me to GO AWAY so they could play Hunger Games again...
I love this shot, not sure why, but I love it. she looks sweet and tiny, maybe that's why. I can pretend
she is still 5....lol
they fell asleep in my bed. soooo sweet and innocent.
well that's it for now....another post soon.
--so proud of her! she got on the High Honor Roll again this quarter.
--she is taking more responsibilty, if you don't count the fact she lost her ID card yesterday *ahem.
no really, she does her homework without being told (usually) & she sees me in the kitchen and
--she comes in and starts to help or asks if she can help. she sees me folding laundry and comes in to
talk and just starts folding. she still just wants to be with me too, which is nice.
--she's so excited because we are going to see The Hunger Games TONIGHT! she loved the book so
much and it's all she can talk about!
--she LOVES school and her teachers and she wonders what she will do over the summer because
without school she has no idea what to do with herself. she is a person that likes to be constantly
busy and I just am not that way, so I never know what to do with her either. She is going to have to sign
up for some classes or something!
--she's growing up and it scares me, but it also makes me so very proud to see this amazing person
she is growing into.
--I love her sooooo much.
more iphone pictures because that's all I seem to be taking lately:
banana smile: ava is wearing a t-shirt with her handprints/footprints from when she was 13 months old.
on my nightstand: just finished Cutting for Stone and oh my goodness I loved it so much!!! Savannah is reading Catching Fire (the 2nd book of the Hunger Games Trilogy) and my journal that I have written in every single day of 2012~
Savannah had the start of a cold earlier this week, but now is fine. this is her favorite thing to do when sick, her ipod touch. this thing has gotten so much use!
Ava is offically taller than her older sister! they are 19 months & 2 days apart exactly...the top left is probably the best representation, it's not by as much as the other 3 photos seem! they have been the same height for about 2 years now!
the girls snuggling with their daddy.
ava & her zillion camera faces....love her.
ava begged me to play VET with her in her room. we used piper as our patient, along with her stuffed animals! she had a BLAST and so did I!
now that I have cleaned out the girls rooms they are finding cute things to do: savie made a little reading nook on the corner table in her room...
the girls at barnes & noble. they love to find ALL things Hunger Games and read through it. they also love when daddy buys them snacks! they weren't into the Twilight or Harry Potter, so I am loving that they are getting into the Hunger Games! they have both read the first book! a year ago savannah was NOT ready, but she has grown up a LOT in this past year!
ava at her friend's house last weekend! we spent a night with our best friends, love them and we miss seeing them more often! (hi maria, emily and frankie)
savannah got some new shoes and she loves them! I love that she is wearing them, they are super cute!
ava was so sick with a cold from wed. to saturday this week. poor thing. could not stop sneezing!
saying goodbye to daddy!
saying a prayer.
I am reading this now and so far, LOVE IT!
the other day we had these AMAZING clouds that almost looked FAKE! I love when I can really and truly see God's creations in a tangible way.
savannah was so happy to get on the High Honor Roll again! yay! she's doing so well. she loves being in school more than anything! it's been such a big help for her and for our family. she's HAPPY and thriving, what more could we want?
ava did these with her daddy's iphone, LOVE THEM. esp. her little curl...
ava and her cousin, kendra who came to stay with us for a couple of days. she lives in chicago and is attending Optometry school, hence the cute glasses!
well I think that about wraps up our life lately.
CRAZY.
but good moments.
wouldn't trade it for anything.
so what are you up to?
what are you reading?
more iphone pix....so busy lately I haven't had time to even blog, respond to emails, or much
of anything!
the girls being cute.
goodnight hugs from daddy.....
ava spanish workbook~
savannah had her 12 year check up: she's 6th% for weight and 13% for height. tiny girl....
our house. so cozy.
ava is reading this book that is chock full of cute little stories!
ava and one of her dolls, I can't keep them straight, she has TOO MANY!
and my 3...
back with more SOON!
I have missed so many pictures/memories on here that I am going to do a random instagram post!
poor savannah was sick and missed 2 days of school: fever, cold symptoms. cough. sore throat.
I love nothing more than to see them hug/kiss goodnight every single night. sweetest thing ever about being a mom. I love the way they love each other.
Michael was laying in ava's bed and he literally FELL ASLEEP with her teddy bear LOL! so funny!
I ended up taking savannah to the dr. to make sure she didn't have strep. it wasn't thankfully.
aunt ellen came to vist and we went out to do a little bit of shopping...always a good time with aunt el.
this girl LOVES to have her feet rubbed or tickled. she will go to her daddy and stick her feet up to him and of course he does it.
kendra came and spent the night and of course that usually includes some wii time!!! they love their cousin! (she lives in chicago and attends optometry school there so we see her every month usually)
michael is CRAZY about clay pigeon shooting, he tries to go as often as he can....
pony tail hair-do by savannah...ha ha!!!!
it was so nice out, but raining a little and the girls took piper for a walk...he LOVES to be outside with us!
savannah has homework pretty much every single night..she is doing great, taking responsibility, loves middle school and her teachers so much! so proud of her for getting on the High Honor Roll, All A's for her very first report card of middle school....
ava finally read this book, savannah read it back in 3rd grade and I had been trying to get ava to read it for the last 3 years! she ended up really liking it a LOT!
just one that i thought was super sweet of avey.
ava had a little fun with my photo booth app on the iphone...love these!
my journals from top to bottom: Books I want to read, childhood memories, homeschool, quotes/bible verses that I love, story ideas of stories I would like to write, prayer journal to write out prayers for others, ava's journal that I write to her, savie's journal that I write to her, my personal journal and OUR family 2012 journal that I write one memory a day (or more) into! I am LOVING having all of these different journals put to good use. some I write in only once a month or less, but I love having a spot for each type of thing....when they are all filled I may then keep just ONE journal for all of the different things into one. EXcept the girls journals, I have been keeping one for each of them since I was pregnant! they each have 3-4 filled already!
ava looking all cozy and reading. she reads an hour every single morning, it's a good start to her day!
here is ava's stack to choose from. she chose the bottom book, which is a collection of short stories. she's loving it so far. she's also reading The Hunger Games!
savannah looking beautiful wearing MY tank top as a dress, I think I need to give it to her, looks way cute on her!
and lastly, all cozy in their robes!
that's a wrap, I have about 15-20 more I could share, but they can wait for another post!
I had ava pose for a quick few snapshots...
I've had this idea in my head for awhile, probably have seen it somewhere, I am sure it's not my
original idea!
she wanted to read this book like Matilda does in the movie....
and then I grabbed Little Women off the shelf. I so want her to read that book, probably soon! Savannah started it in 3rd grade, but never finished it. I think they should both read it now!
Ava has been a reading machine this school year! She has read so many books! probably around 20 chapter books on her own, plus reading for school, the read alouds we do and then the Mandie Collection I read to both of them at night...she is loving to read lately.
In fact, she is on page 190 in the Hunger Games and LOVING IT! both of my girls can't wait to see the movie now that they read the books! If you need a list of good books for your 9-12 year old, just ask and I can send you a list. My girls rarely read the same books either, so my list is quite extensive and varies with personality!
we have been cleaning out, packing up stuff.
giving stuff away. to friends. to goodwill.
I have gone through box upon box. drawers, cabinets. dressers.
when it came down to this bitty baby, ava could not part with it.
or her bitty baby twins. she got the bitty baby (bald one) when she was
17 months old for Christmas....we have it on video & I think there are just too many
fond memories for her to part with it. and that's okay.
I wish I had a photo of her with it when she was 1...I might somewhere around here, but not digital...
glad I took this shot of her with it now. someday she will treasure it, I think?!
