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Showing posts from 2014

Fall 2014

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We've been having the most beautiful fall.  Simply gorgeous, intoxicatingly beautiful days.  One after another.   It has call caused an interesting inner conflict for me.  We are trying to paint as much of the exterior of our house as possible before the snow and cold make it impossible, so with all of the beautiful weather, I feel like I need to be outside, working.  However, of course when it's fall in the midwest, there is so much outside fun to be had!  I am torn between getting work done, and making fall memories with the kids.  We have definitely had to sacrifice a little on both ends.   Yesterday was another one of those days.  P.E.R.F.E.C.T weather.  A yard FULL of leaves.  TWO adorable daughters.  Our compromise was to rake the yard, and then reward ourselves with smoothies and the park.  I got all of the leaves raked (well, of course not ALL of them, but 17 bags worth, anyways).  We got our smoothies and drank them in the sunken garden of our favorite park.  Th

Love notes

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Claire and I have been exchanging love notes on her boogie board.  This is the one I found by my bed tonight.

June...

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June has always seemed to be the crown jewel of the calendar year.  In June, it is summer, in June, the weather (in the midwest) is perfect.  In June, things start to bloom. This year, June had a different reputation.  THIS June, we were so busy with extra shifts at work, the height of the landscaping business, VBS, two kids in softball/baseball, TWO birthdays, and so many household projects that I would question why it was we ever moved.  Also, this June we received walnut-sized hail that nearly ruined my garden and damaged my van.  This June, our city received 13 inches of rain and had a colder than normal month.  I CANNOT believe how little the plants in my garden still are.  Will I EVER get ripe tomatoes? But, as June draws to a close, I found myself flipping through the images I captured... so glad I did, as without them I'm not sure how much of this month I'd remember.  It turns out, this June was beautiful after-all :) First year of softball for Claire We le

TEN

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Fisher is now a DECADE old.  Thanks to  this  blog post by Jen Hatmaker, I was able to enter the week of Fisher's birthday with a great attitude.  I have realized long ago that my baby has grown up, and while I will always cherish the many memories we made together when he looked like this: I am also so proud of the boy who looks like this: I am enjoying his great sense of humor and sarcasm, and I am in awe of his intelligence and sensitivity. For his birthday, we had family dinner with family and he requested a coffee cake.  The next day, he got to do laser tag and Buffalo Wild Wings with his grandpas, uncles and cousins. One week later (today) we took him and 3 buddies to a movie and then to play dodgeball at a park.  They had such a good time together.  Still little boys, but growing up so fast. Lance hunting the boys down with the dodgeball This play structure proved to be the ultimate dodgeball arena Hard to believe they will be in 4th grade.  They h

Last Day of Preschool with Miss Julie.

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Another bittersweet moment in motherhood.  My baby's last day in Miss Julie's preschool class.  Next year she'll have preschool again, thank goodness, but those four and five year olds seemed so old! Miss Julie was such a wonderful teacher.  So patient and loving with the kids and Holland absolutely adored her. Holland has been growing up so much lately.  There are too many words and yet no words at all that can describe how watching her change before my eyes makes me feel.

April (snow) Showers

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Goodbye, Woodlawn Drive

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Late last fall, we decided to make a change.  We bought a new house.  An OLD new house; 125 years old to be exact.  If you want to learn more about this OLD new house, please visit www.myqueenanne.wordpress.com We decided to make the move not because of anything wrong with our lovely home on Woodlawn Drive.  We loved that house; it's big sunny rooms and wood floors.  The quiet, treelined streets in a quiet neighborhood filled with very neighborly neighbors. This house was a house that I spent most of my intense mommy days.  When we moved in, Fisher was just 4 and Claire was nearly 2.  That seems impossible now; that they were that little and it blows me away to think of how much they changed while living in that house.  Holland was born 4 years ago and was brought through the front door in her carrier.  We spent so many hours in the kitchen together doing arts and crafts, baking, cleaning, eating together.   Outside I will always remember Fisher's "climbin