What Can Change in Less Than a Year

I can't believe what has happened in less than a years time. This time last year I wondered if we would ever move. If we would ever have the space that we needed for our growing family and if my husband would ever truly relax again. I'm not sure if I'll have time today to even touch on a quarter of the blessings that have occurred. There have been some heart aches but those have definitely been overshadowed as the windows of heaven have opened up for us and showered us. I think one of the reasons that I haven't posted about all of this on here is the fear that I might be seen as bragging. I really do pinch myself sometimes to make sure it's not a dream. But then my wondrous Sunshine girl will get poop on the rug after having a blow out, and I'll know, yeah this isn't a dream, lol. This weekend though as I contemplated beginning to blog again, I realized that I did need to blog about these blessings and changes. Not just to give thanks for them which we've already been doing, but to show maybe just one person that might be feeling as desperate as I was last year to hold on and don't lose hope. Continue faithfully and things do change and in the blink of an eye. I know some blessings take longer than others and some blessings aren't meant to be. Maybe, I'll blog about that one next time, but right now I'm enjoying the many and letting go of the one that hasn't come :)
So I'll start with the big one. We sold our house. After years and hours upon hours of remodel. We sold it! We then started looking for a house. Which at this point I will interject that Big Red had changed where I was looking to a neighborhood that I had never heard of. The community and house that we ended up in surpassed my dreams. It is so exciting for me to continue our love for outdoor exploration with our kids. To have so many church members within our neighborhood that I can walk to do my visiting teaching. To have neighbors, not of our same faith, that are friendly enough to bring us pies to welcome us. (That's right more than one was so thoughtful, blew me away).
Lil  Red and I had such a special relationship with our old neighbor and her dog Hera. I will never forget our tearful goodbye. But we have been blessed to have new neighbors that also have a big dog and Lil Red has been quick to bond with them. My morning walks have been filled with smiling faces and pleasant greetings. And no I don't live in Pleasantville :P
Another huge blessing was that in the process of trying to rebuild for my in-laws house which was lost in one of the many wildfires last year, they decided they wanted to live near us. They now live within walking distance and I have already reaped many wonderful blessings from that. It has been fun for the kids to ask to go spend sometime making cookies with Grandma and gives me a couple of hours to do an errand or spend time with just Sunshine girl. A couple of weeks ago, she walked them back to my house to deliver my two urchins to me. Laughingly she said, "they probably need a bath and Jamie might need a diaper change." They had dug up dirt in her back yard, turned on the hose, made mud pies and then proceeded to throw them at the side of her house. I'm so glad they have a loving Grandma and Papa near by to help nurture them.
So one of the pluses of this house for us is that it has a pool in the back yard. This has definitely been a huge blessing to my husband. He has spent night after night with the boys teaching them to swim, so we don't worry about them, but also going and relaxing himself. Sitting in the back and contemplating. We have a nature preserve behind us, so he can stare into the trees and foliage and let go of the day's stress.
We still have tiffs, but the dynamics are so much less stressful. One of my favorite parts of our home has been my new office/playroom/ schoolroom.

I love having the space for the kids to decorate, but also having the ability to decorate in a way that will influence them positively and in a deep way. I have already broken out my beads and let my creative juices flow into new pieces. And I've been blessed to find two like minded mothers to form a co op preschool group and that has been so much fun already.

I have my own printer, so I am printing coupons again. With space to organize, we are using all of the learning tools that we own. And I'm feeling like I'm moving forward again and not just treading water. Today as we were cuddled on the couch, my sweet blue eyed boy said to me,"this is a nice house". I hope we never stop marveling. I hope we never fail to thank God for any of our blessings. And I promise that my next post won't be long in coming :)