Want to Sneak a Peak?

Before I say anything, I have to say this.... God is SO GOOD!

This house is such a HUGE blessing to us and we

would have never been able to find anything like it back

home. I am not going to tell all you Kearney people how much

we paid for this house because you would be SO jealous

you would probably throw up. So, go ahead and think

we paid way more for it then what we actually did .... it gives me

secret pleasure:)

 Please Note: the bedrooms are not  painted yet and I didn't put up a pic of the third bedroom because it is basically storage at the moment.

Addi's Room



This is the master bedroom. The one room I am completely helpless
when it comes to decorating. It also has a master bath

 This is the house that I walked into and had that "THIS IS IT" moment. We actually bid on another house though because it was four bedrooms and cheaper. God knew where we were supposed to be and Iam so grateful. You are all invited to come stay with us any time.. nothing would give me greater pleasure!

Halloween 2010

Halloween. We have always been a bit non-traditional in our Halloween festivities.

I grew up going to The Bibleland Carnival instead of trick-or-treating. It

was more of a celebration of fun rather then evil and scariness. We dressed up as Esther and Ruth

in costumes that were sewn by my Mom.

Andy and I wanted to do celebrate with our

friends by having a little Halloween party at our house.

You know the term, "you bit off more then you can chew"? Yah, that doesn't even begin to describe our Halloween. I think you could probably say that we tried to swallow a horse when we decided to host a Halloween party three weeks after moving into our new home.

Instead of getting stuff done Saturday, we spent the day watching the Huskers play on TV. I had a feeling that there was not going to be a lot of time Sunday afternoon to tackle the huge mess that was our house. Plus, we had some "little" projects to get done... you know the kind that you think are going to take 30min and it ends up taking like two hours. The kind of projects that result in Andy throwing stuff across the kitchen... ummm yah. That was our Halloween.

Our friends were showing up at 7:00pm and by 6:30pm I had just finished making my soup and had yet to put on Addi and I's costume. Just to add to the chaos, Addi's shirt would not go on. It literally took both Andy and I yanking and pulling to get her arms through. Needless to say, Addi was not pleased with this dressing tactic. Her headband then disappeared and all I could conjure up was a newborn hat... good thing it was stretchy. My headband also went MIA... that headband was the whole point of my costume. Without it, nobody would know that I was supposed to be a flower. With 10 min to spare I ran outside to take a few snapshots of Addi in her way too small bee hat. As you can see.... she was a very busy bee. I only managed to get this one, none blurry picture of her.

By the time the head band was found, she was done with the camera..... So no family shots were taken.

Andy was a honey comb, if you were wondering.

Another project that was being done at

6:30pm.

If I look smug it's because I am.

But friends arrived, dressed in their costumes and things finally settled down. We enjoyed the rest of our night with our friends and we were thankful we had a home to entertain in...

Rodeo clown/ cowgirl

The Waldos

.... and the Duggars (ok I should have turned the

camera the other way b/c Leslie was wearing a long

skirt.. and she is pregnant)

Now I am welcoming in November. Time to turn

my focus to the holidays that are teetering

on the brim of anticipation.. ready to fall full force into my

lap. I am ready to catch it, with arms wide open. Welcoming the

excitement that the holidays bring. A time of thankfulness

and celebration of my king.

The Rablings of a Mom

I think there was a reason my blog kept freezing on me earlier today. I was extremely frustrated and just wanted to rant and rave about how horrible my day was. I am over it now and ready to write with a much better attitude and perspective.
Sometimes as a stay at home Mom, I get so focused on all the things I am NOT doing or getting done. My lists are long. It is easy to lose perspective and to let lies creep into the mind. I get caught up in others people's blogs or facebook posts... you know the ones where everything just always seems hunky dory. It leaves me wondering if I am the only mom out there who doesn't have a perfect child. I don't know... it is always my goal to be real and open. That's just who I am. I have always hated fakeness (if that is a word?) and I am completely turned off by those who put on shows.So, I talk about the ugly days and I talk about those perfect days too.
 I had a friend say the reason she doesn't have a blog is because she didn't want to be like "hey, look at my life". If my blog ever turns into that, then it has lost its purpose. AND just for the record... I am not saying that people who only post the good things are fake or lying about their life. I just appreciate the not so happy ones because let's face it... that's real life.

Anyway... (back on track) today was rough. Addi has been really fussy and annoyingly clingy. She had two more teething coming in, but I think they have already poked through. All she wants to do is nurse, nurse, nurse (while I am trying to begin the weaning process). When she isn't attached to my boob(sorry)she wants to be constantly held. Which would be fine if I had nothing else to do. So, being the wonderful mother that I am, I got mad and frustrated at her and in return she screamed and threw a fit at me. Where does that leave us? Two angry and senile people forced to spend the day together. Unfortunately, Addi can get away with this a little bit easier, considering she is a 10 month old. I, on the other hand, am a 25 year old mother.... who really has no excuse. So in a cry of desperation and help, I finally just yelled out, "LORD!?" Thankfully that is all I have to say and he gets it. Not like when I yell out, "ANDY" and he is like "What?!?!?!" (It's good to have an all knowing God.... and probably good that I don't have an all knowing husband)
I can't say that calm immediately poured over me like a waterfall(insert sarcastic voice...would that be considered mocking God?) and things were great again, but slowly peace returned. I got refocused and moved forward. I can sit here and say that I am honestly thankful for the opportunity to stay at home with my sweet girl and that I have a loving and patient husband. God is good and moments like these are great learning opportunities for me.I think all mom's who are home with their children all day have day's like these ..... unfortunately... I don't know any around here. So, if you are a mom that is shouting "Amen" just be kind and leave me a comment so I know I am not alone. However, I will be rather depressed if I find no comments...my suspensions will be made true.

Dear Fall,

 Oh Fall, I miss you dear friend. I miss the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet. You know....the ones I would purposely go out of my way to step on... just so I could hear that wonderful sound. I miss my world being painted by the changing leaves. A beautiful canvas of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns that lined every street. I miss your breath of crisp air creeping in from the north and leaving a slight chill on my cheeks. I miss the permission you give to pull out my thick sweaters, boots, and scarves without the annoyance of bulky coats. But I think what I miss most of all, is the secret delight everybody shares in  knowing that you are here. We try our best to find you, in an area where you seem to be banned by the hot and humid air. I see signs of you here and there.... I see you in the crunchy leaves on my driveway and the sweet pumpkin patch down the road that beacons you near. Yes, you are here in some small way... allowing just a glimpse of you, my kindred friend.

Things have been crazy around here. Unpacking
coupled with tons of little house projects has = utter chaos! I was busy rushing around, needing Andy's help on some project... but he was no where to be found. I peeked my head in Addi's room and found this sweet scene..

I don't know about the rest of you moms out

there...but there is nothing sexier than

a husband being a good Daddy!

Napping Strike

Addi has declared this week a NO NAP week! Yes, tis' true.... she has downright refused to take a nap for the week. Even the car will not sway her. I am sure this whole moving thing has thrown her off. Maybe she isn't completely comfortable in her new room AND We have been off our nightly routine. I am sure when you combine all those things together, you get the disaster that has been this week.

Miss Addi has never been a big nap taker. I feel very blessed if she makes it through her whole sleep time CD, which is about 40min. I NEED that 40min (or 20 min as some days present) of  time. I am not even (usually) using that time for myself. Typically it is spent running around the house, trying to frantically get anything done that I possibly can. Laundry, picking up, making lists, dishes.... eh.. scratch the dishes... I leave those for Andy (HATE doing the dishes). I finally put my foot down today and forced the sleep upon her. Typically, I don't make her cry herself to sleep. Not because I think it is bad for her, like some ..I just can't stand to hear her cry for so long. BUT today I had HAD it! Soooo she screamed AND I MEAN SCREAMED (for a good 30min + ) I have tried this tactic before, but I typically give in and bounce her to sleep.

I guess I warned her. Before we moved, I had told her that I was done with this half hour bouncing business..... the time has come dear child. All good things must come to an end.

Undoing What's Already Done

{I had just put Addi's clothes back in her draws, after the move
As you can see, she is busy at work taking them all back out}

I think kids just have this instinct that draws them to the things they AREN'T supposed to get into, touch, play with, eat..... etc. We're no stranger to that concept around here! Addi is really good at undoing the things that I had just done. As I sit and fold laundry, Addi is sitting on the other side of the basket pulling out my nicely folded clothes. Do I really need to say how frustrating that can be? Seeing all your hard work laying crumpled on the ground. It isn't just the laundry though.... its everything. I have a draw full of headbands that Addi will pull out one by one .... dropping each on the floor after she examines them. I think her favorite is my nursing pads. She LOVES to pull each wrapper out of the box and then wildly push them around making an already big mess even bigger. I guess that should be my cue to move things to a higher shelf, but I am strangely attached to my placement of each item. So, I guess it is my own fault really... can I really get onto her for placing something so irresistibly fun right in her line of sight and reach? I'm not sure that would be fair.

{Headbands and nursing pads wonderfully scattered across the
bathroom floor}

.... and what do you know? Even as I type this she is sitting on the floor pulling out Pledge wipes of the bag.