When you finally get around to hanging curtains...

We've lived in our current home for almost 4 years.  We never intended to live here that long, but it's just the way things worked out.  We've made it "home" as much as we could during that time, but since it's a rental we never did a whole lot.  We hung pictures and curtains on most of the windows and that's about it.  But one thing we never did was put up curtains in our dining room.  We have a long bank of three windows and I didn't have any curtains that fit.  And whenever I would mention buying curtains for those windows, Chris would grumble and say something about not wanting to spend money on a rental.  Which made sense, I guess.  So I never bought curtains.  And for three years those windows were naked.

And then we started house hunting.  Two years ago.  We had put in offers on FIVE houses and obviously came up short on each one.  The chances of us actually buying a house were looking pretty slim.  So in one sense I kept hesitating putting up curtains because, you know, we could move any time.  But with each house we didn't get, the more anxious I was to make the house we DID have more of a home.  I wanted curtains!!

Well a few months ago I was talking with a student of mine who was interested in bartering for part of her class cost.  When I found out she was a seamstress, I asked if she would sew us some curtains for our poor naked windows, and she happily agreed.  I received those curtains about a month ago and right away I bought a curtain rod and made Chris hang them up.  He still wasn't excited about hanging curtains in a rental house but he saw how happy it made me and he installed the curtain rods with a smile.

He then said jokingly "You know, now that we've hung curtains, we're going to buy a house and move, right?"

"Well, if that's all it takes!" I laughed.

We continued to house hunt, but I was mentally preparing myself to spend yet another summer in our current house, making the best of our little piece of yard on our small corner lot.  It's a good house.  We've enjoyed four summers here and we can enjoy one more.

But one Friday morning a few weeks ago we went to yet another house showing.  It was a foreclosure on the west side of town (neither of which were very appealing) but it looked big in the pictures and it was definitely in our price range.  So I bribed the kids into the van and bundled ourselves up to look at a house with no heat in March.

It was a 1978 retro looking house on a huge corner lot in a really nice neighborhood.  There actually was a back yard (not something you often see with a corner lot) and it was fenced in.  That's a good start.  Then we walked inside.  The house was dirty, the cabinets were old, and there was this funky retro rock wall in the basement.  And. we. LOVED. it!!

It really wasn't much to look at, but the more we walked around, the more we saw all the possibilities in this home.  And the more we realized that all the "work" that needed to be done was cosmetic and really not that hard to do, the more attractive the house became.  Paint and a good cleaning would go a loooong way with this house.  Plus, it's HUGE!  The house has over 2400 sq. feet, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms!  Holy giant house, batman!!  It's far bigger than any other house we even looked at, let alone put an offer in on.  Our only concern was that since it was a foreclosure, you don't get a property disclosure statement.  So you never really know what you're getting into.

But we thought about it and prayed about it.  Chris went back a second time with his boss from work and their site manager to look at all the little details.  I mean, who better to "inspect" a house than the president of a construction company and his right hand man.  They climbed on the roof, looked in the attic, checked out the foundation and they both said it looked awesome.

We decided to go for it.  Let's put in an offer.  We both felt really good about the house and really loved all the space in it.  We did our best to not get our hopes up considering our lousy track record with buying houses.  But maybe, just maybe, this was "the one".

So we put in our best offer and waited.  It was a Sunday and we didn't expect to hear about the house until at least Tuesday.  We did our best to put it out of our minds and to be honest, I was already planning my pity party.  How am I going to grieve the loss of this house?  With five other offers and no houses, this was surely going to be #6 in the pile of houses we didn't get.

Well, Monday around noon Chris comes home for lunch - like he does every day.  But this day?  This day he comes in with a box of 'Oh My Cupcakes' and a stupid grin on his face.  Then he says "I have good news."

Shut up!  You're kidding, right?  RIGHT?!?  He was most definitely NOT kidding.  We got the house.  Shock.  Disbelief.  We put in offers on houses.  We don't actually buy houses.  But this one we bought.  This was OUR house.  The boys came running into the kitchen (apparently the sight of their mother squealing and throwing her arms around their Daddy's neck is cause for concern)  We told them the good news and they joined in the celebration because, they too, had been dragged to dozens and dozens of houses all over Sioux Falls in hopes that each would be "the one".  We cheered.  We jumped and danced (for real, we jumped around the kitchen like a bunch of fools).  We hugged and laughed.  And we thanked God.  Thanked Him for his provision and wisdom through the whole process.  And thanked Him for the house that we've been waiting for for so long.

We're so excited to move!  Exited to have a big back yard where the boys can run.  Excited to be in a different neighborhood.  Excited to finally have a place to call our own.

Now, I just need to find a place to hang those curtains ....

Congratulations Auntie Kayla and .... the guy that goes with Auntie Kayla

Two weekends ago we packed our van with nearly all of our earthly possessions, loaded the DVD player with movies, packed enough snacks to feed three families and hit the road to Green Bay, WI.  Why?  Because my little brother was getting married :)

My two big boys were commissioned to be ring bearers and they were SO excited to be in Uncle Adam's wedding.  We talked about it, bought matching outfits, shopped for "fancy" shoes, talked about it some more.  They couldn't wait!

And they did awesome!  They carried out their ring bearer duties with keen attention and precision.  Well, Carter had his grumpy pants on tight that day, but even so he managed to walk 20 steps down an isle without incident.  That was huge!  The ceremony was beautiful.  The reception was a blast!  All in all the wedding was fantastic.  I'm so proud of my little brother and his new wife Kayla.

But as fun as the wedding was, I will mostly remember that weekend not as the day my little brother got married, but the day my big boys fell in love with Auntie Kayla.  I mean, fell.in.love with her.  She's been dating Adam for several years and it certainly wasn't the first time they'd met her.  But this weekend was different.  Perhaps it was wedding ceremony.  Or the party.  Or the fact that she looked absolutely stunning in her dress.  But my boys were smitten.

After the wedding, we had several hours of down time before the reception,  The baby took a nap, Carter rested on the couch, and Brooks worked diligently to make wedding cards for Adam and Kayla.  He carefully folded the paper, wrote out the words and drew them pictures.  At the reception, he kept asking to give them their cards.  It was such a busy day and they were always surrounded by people that I even suggested that Brooks just drop them in the card basket on the gift table.  But he was insistent.  So we weaved through a sea of people, found the happy couple and gave them their cards.

Several times throughout the night, he found Adam & Kayla and gave them hugs.  And each time they were so gracious and took the time to talk with him.  Then the best thing happened during the dance ... Brooks got to dance with Auntie Kayla!!  He loved the dancing anyway, but with Auntie Kayla??  That kid was on cloud 9!

We danced for quite a while, but when it was sufficiently past their bedtime and Benny was running on fumes, we loaded up and headed back to Grandma & Papa's house for the night.  Carter was tired beyond words, but as I was tucking him into bed, we had this conversation.

Carter:  Mama, I want the sheet over my head.

Me: Over your head?

Carter: Yeah, like this.  (he proceeds to put the sheet over the back part of his head)

Me:  Why do you want your sheet like that?

Carter:  Because I want to be like Auntie Kayla.

Me: ??

Carter:  Auntie Kayla had that thing on her head (a veil) and I want to be like her.

I couldn't help but laugh.  And sure enough, he slept all night long with his bed sheet "veil" on his head.

Then he started talking about his birthday, because, you know, why wouldn't you discuss your September birthday at 10:00 at night??  He says to Chris:

Carter:  Daddy, do you know what I want to do for my birthday?  I want to go to Thunder Road and ride the go-karts.  And you know who I want to come with me?

Chris:  Who?

Carter:  I want you to come.  And Grandma Marty.  And Papa Dave.  And Auntie Kayla.  And ........ who's the guy that goes with Auntie Kayla??

Chris:  Uncle Adam?

Carter: Yeah, Uncle Adam.  He can come too.

We laughed.  Oh, did we laugh.  So now my brother is no longer Uncle Adam, he is "the guy that goes with Auntie Kayla" :)

(Note: In an attempt to be more "unplugged" at the wedding, I didn't take a lot of pictures.  I kinda wish I had, but I was also glad to be able to enjoy the people I was with that day without sticking my nose behind a camera or phone.  All their wedding photos are loaded here.)

What a difference a year makes

Ah, one year ago.  One year ago I woke up 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant, big as a house, in a ton of pain from a delightful case of shingles and fully convinced I was going to be pregnant for at least another week.  And one year ago, I fell asleep in my own bed with a dark haired, squeaky, beautiful baby boy snuggled next to me.  What a difference a day makes.

And what a difference a year makes!  I know everyone says this on their baby's first birthday, but seriously, I can't believe it's been a whole year!  It seems like just a few months ago Bennett was born.  And yet, I feel like he's been a part of our family forever.

Fitting right in!

But I can't imagine our family without him.  God knew we needed him in our family.  When our third boy was born, I really had no idea how he would fit into our family.  What was his role?  His personality?  But he fits perfect.

Over the last 12 months, we've had the most amazing privilege of getting to know Bennett Lee.  He loves to smile and laugh and make people around him smile and laugh.  He's the comic relief in our family and he rarely has a grumpy day.  He has definite opinions about certain things, but is mostly laid back and just rolls with the punches around here.  He's a great sleeper but a horrible snuggler and prefers to have his own space.  And we recently learned that he likes cake, but not frosting :)

And since I'm the one who gets him dressed in the morning, he's a Packer fan too :)

It's been so fun celebrating our smiley boy this weekend with friends and family.  I'm a little sad that he's not my baby anymore, but really excited to watch him grow and learn over the next year.  1 year olds are so much fun!!

Benny's First Christmas

If I had to sum up this year's Christmas in one word it would be this: Simplicity.  We had a beautifully, delightfully simple Christmas.  In the past we've traveled to visit family for Christmas.  And although we love to see family, we decided to stay home this year (as we have the past few years) and start developing our own little family's traditions.  And boy did we have fun.

We played in the snow, baked cookies, saw the Western Mall Christmas light show (several times), drove through Falls Park, made paper chains to decorate the doorway, ate all the cookies, listened to lots and lots of Christmas music, decorated our house and the best part .... we did it all in our own timeline.  Nothing was forced or rushed or mandatory.  If I'm honest, I do sometimes feel the social pressure to "do" Christmas a certain way.  To send out cards, to buy expensive gifts and to move a shelved elf around every day.  But we didn't.  Not that those things are bad (I love Christmas cards!!), we just decided to keep it simple.  And it was a perfect way to celebrate Bennett's first Christmas!!

Every year growing up, we had a real Christmas tree.  Some years we'd hunt it down in the woods.  Other years we'd go across the street and buy it from the tree lot.  But it was real.  Always real.

Every year since we've been married, we've had a fake tree.  I bought it in college and each year either due to lack of funds or lack of space, we kept putting up that same 6' fake tree.  I pleaded my case to buy a real tree this year, but with a crawling baby who loves to put everything in his mouth (ie. pine needles) we decided once again to put up our trusty fake tree.  With lots of help, of course.

Carter helped haul lights!

Opening their new tree ornaments from Grandma Marty and Papa Dave

Benny approves of the tree :)

this picture would be very conflicting if we actually cared about college football

I don't think any one thing could be more work than mixing, rolling, cutting, baking, frosting and then decorating cut-out cookies.  (sigh)  But it just wouldn't be Christmas without them.

"Hey!  Where's the frosting??"

One of my favorite new traditions?  Matching Christmas jammies for the boys.  I know they won't let me dress them all matchy matchy forever, so I am going to take full advantage of it while I can!

And it was our very own Christmas miracle that all three boys looked at the camera ... at the same time ... without any weird faces.  For real, that never happens. 

I love having kids at Christmas time.  Well, I love them all the time, but it's especially fun at Christmas.  As an adult, Christmas is nice.  You decorate, you exchange gifts and it's, well, it's nice.  But with kids, Christmas is magical!  And we celebrate everything!  

I wish I would have videotaped Carter opening presents.  He was literally bouncing all over the living room.  And when he opened the bookmark that Brooks bought for him, he cheered "Oh wow!!  Oh wow!!  I will put it in my very favorite book!!!"

Seriously.  It was a bookmark.  But to Carter it was the best thing ever since it was his.

Bennett's reaction to receiving clothes for Christmas.  Sorry kiddo, we'll do better next year.

paper eater

Benny sitting like such a big boy in his new chair from Grandma Gale

I wish our families lived closer so we could celebrate with them, but we've been so so so blessed to be adopted into the Gale family here.  We spent Christmas Eve with them attending church and then going out to eat.  And we spent Christmas afternoon with them as well, eating lots of food, playing games and just spending time with amazing friends we get to call family!

Praying for a House

The Anderson's are house hunting.  Sort of.  I mean, we're looking.  But not with a lot of hope of actually finding something.  Because we've been house hunting for nearly two years.  Two. years.  And even if we DO find something, my optimism is waning that we'll actually be able to buy it.  Because we've put in offers on four houses in the last two years, obviously coming up short each time :(

We moved into our current house a little over three years ago when I was pregnant with Carter.  We knew it wasn't our forever home (since it was a rental), but it's what we could afford and it was better than sharing walls with our increasingly noisy neighbors in an apartment building.  And it's a good house.  Ugly.  But good.

But as good as it is and as many great memories as we've had here, our house is just becoming too small for our family.  I mean, for the size it is, the space is laid out well.  The kitchen is a good size, the dining room is big & open to the living room and I love that there's an attached double stall garage (a rarity in our neighborhood).  But our 2 bedroom, 1100 sq foot house is just, well, it's just small.  The boys are sharing a room and Bennett is sleeping in our room.  Not a horrible arrangement, but not ideal either.  And someday Chris and I will decide we'd like our room back and move Bennett out.  The reason we haven't yet is that the logistics of having three boys in one room is kind of overwhelming to me.

And not only is our house small,  but the yard is small too.  Our house is on a corner lot and all we have is a small patch of yard on the front and side of our house.  We've spent hours playing in that patch of yard over the last three years, but my heart just aches for a big, fenced in yard where my boys can run!  Oh, how they need to run.  And let's be honest, I would love a yard where I can send them out to play in the frigid cold and I can watch them from the warmth of my kitchen :)

We would love a house with at least 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and a double attached garage.  We would love a big kitchen and dining room to host friends & family and a separate family room so I can get all the kids crap toys out of our only common living space.  We would love to be in a better neighborhood where we don't suspect anyone of selling illegal substances across the street and preferably not on a corner lot.  We would love a ranch style home with a big back yard.  And we would love to find a house that meets all of our needs and fits within our single income family budget.

We already have so much to be thankful for - an amazing marriage, three healthy kiddos, a roof over our heads, and food in the fridge - that I feel even a bit selfish wanting a new house.  We truly are rich and we have more than we need.  But I know that God cares about the big things and the small things in our life.  So we're praying. We're praying that God provides a house for us.

And every time I bring this need to God I feel like He's telling me to go outside of myself for this.  To ask for prayer and for help.  And so, would you pray with us?  Would you pray that God would provide just the right house in just the right neighborhood for just the right price?  And I know God's timing is perfect, but I'm really praying for a house soon!

Our summer .... summed up in one picture

This spot in our yard, this barren, grass-less patch of dirt, is where my boys spent hours and hours of their summer playing.  It was a perfect spot for excavators to dig, dump trucks to haul and tractors to plow.  

This spot was a favorite as well.  It's funny how what I see as an ugly, broken section of sidewalk, Carter saw as his personal quarry pit and a perfect place to dig and haul rocks.

This is what our summer was made of.  Playing.  Playing in the dirt, playing at the park, playing in the water, playing at our friend's houses ... we just played.  And it was perfect.  My boys weren't in baseball or swimming lessons or karate or soccer or any other organized activity.  And not that those things are bad, but I figure we have the rest of our lives to race around to practices and games and live according to everyone else's schedule.

But not this summer.  This summer we played.  We set our own schedule and we came and went as we pleased.  If we wanted to have a picnic at the spray park, we did that.  If we wanted to stay in our pajamas all day and watch movies, we did that.  If we wanted to play tennis, we found cheap rackets at a garage sale and learned how to play tennis.  When Brooks wanted to learn how to play marbles, we pretended we were in the 1950's, bought marbles and learned how to play "Ringer" in our living room.

We took impromptu trips to see hot air balloons launch, took hikes in the woods and ate popsicles in quite possibly the messiest way possible.

We celebrated birthdays, played with grandparents, and had a whole lotta picnics in the park. (because food just tastes better when you eat it outside!)

Brooks' birthday dinner

Most days Chris would come home from work, put something on the grill for dinner and play with the boys in the yard.  They'd hunt for grasshoppers, ride bikes around the block, or inspect our sunflower seeds we planted in the spring to see how much they'd grown since the day before.

And this little dude just came along for the ride :)

It was an amazing summer.  And I'm already excited for next summer when Bennett will be 18 months old and running around with the the rest of us.

 (ok, that was more than one picture.  sorry.)

They just keep getting bigger

All three of my boys have weighed about the same at birth.  8lb 4oz.  8lb 9oz.  8lb 5oz.  But what I find super interesting is how differently they've grown since then.

For instance, at 1 year old, Brooks weighed a whopping 17lbs.  He was a very petite baby.  And he's still a tall string bean of a kid.  Carter weighed 17lbs around 8 months.  Pretty average.  And Bennett hit the 17lb mark at FOUR months!

Here's a picture of the three boys when they were all about 6 months old.

Brooks

Carter

Bennett

It's amazing how three kids from the same parents, all fed the same, can be so totally different!!  Our theory is that it's a survival factor.  They have to keep getting bigger to avoid being crushed by their big brother :)