Moving

At the end of this month, we will be moving into a bigger unit here at co-housing and we are all very excited! We have been in our little space for almost 3 years and it has been so good. We started our church here, welcomed Amos here, and have had numerous friends and family visit. For the most part 750 square feet has been good. We are forced to think through every item we bring through the door: where will we put it? is it really necessary? I love that it has enabled us to live simply and without a lot of stuff. Lately, though, I have been feeling tired of being ultra quiet when the kids go down, not having a dishwasher, and having all of my clothes in the kids' closet. Little things have been getting to me and I have longed for just a bit more leg room. I have been praying about this for months and as always God is faithful and He knows when the time is right.

A couple of weeks ago our neighbor approached us about renting from her. Her unit has been on the market and hasn't sold, so she wants to take it off the market and rent to us for one year and then she will resume her attempts to sell. At first we approached the option cautiously because we have had several similar offers that have fallen through, but after a few days of negotiations, we signed a lease! It's official. It's legal. It is still a 2 bedroom unit, but there is another bathroom and an attic and about 300 more square feet. Did I mention all of the closets? Plenty. I feel so blessed to be in a bigger space AND to remain in this community.

Aaron and I have often had the personal space vs. community living conversation. What do we value? We speak about the importance of living in community and talk about how much we love it, but at times our need (desire) for a bit more space would cloud that value. I feel so grateful to be able to be moving within this community. We are so grateful to be here and really believe that God has brought us here.

So all that to say...December will be a busy month with a couple of birthdays (Aaron and Amos), packing, prepping for the holidays, Mason visiting, some dear friends' wedding, and the amazing honor of attending a close friend's birth. And then we will move at the end of it all!! Should be fun. Bring it on!!

Finally Four

"I love being four!"
Announced the FOUR year old this morning.

Yesterday was the big day. Finally four. It's been a long time coming...




We have been celebrating for the last week or so. Last Saturday, Montana had her first kid party while her Grandma and Papa were here from Colorado. Ten kids or so (plus parents too) came (thank goodness for the common house). We decorated cupcakes (I made about 50!), had a book exchange, and whacked a pinata. All in all it was a fun time, with only one minor casualty from the pinata!! I think Montana had a fun time and that's what counts!



Then after her party we went home and opened presents from Grandma and Papa and Uncle Dan and Aunt Sarah and her Colorado cousins. The gift that was probably the biggest hit was the Rapunzel wig! It totally cracked us all up. And check out her pose....

We topped off her birthday celebration day with crab! What a lucky girl....yum!!!



By the time it got to her actual birthday, we were partied out, so we had a very low key day. We started out with pancakes and presents and relaxed most of the day. Montana told everyone she saw that it was her birthday. She was so excited to go to school today to tell her classmates that she is four!

We are so proud of our 4 yr old and the girl that she is becoming. She is imaginative, creative, and silly. She loves being with people. And she knows what she wants! She is riding her bike and enjoying little crafts. She is a great big sister. My heart overflows with love for my special girl.

Happy 4th Birthday, Montana Faith!

Thankful

Another Thanksgiving away from family. But we have come to love our Thanksgiving with friends. We have hosted several years and typically spend it with friends who are away from their families for whatever reason. This year we missed our friends who moved to Australia last month, but enjoyed it with 3 dear friends. We had a feast of food and fellowship.

I have so many things to be thankful for. Mostly I am so thankful for this little life of mine. I live in a beautiful place, in a community I love, doing things that bring meaning and purpose....and all this with an amazing partner and awesome offspring. At our dinner when we went around the table and said what we were thankful for, I said this, and Montana reminded me not to forget mentioning my kids!

Speaking of Montana, the other day we were at her school for a Thanksgiving Party and Montana and I were doing a craft together. She would tell me what she was thankful for, I would write it on a leaf and she would glue it to the tree. Her answers were fairly basic - parents, brother, God, you know, all the expected things - and then she surprised me when she said, the Holy Spirit! That caught me off guard and so I asked her why she is thankful for the Holy Spirit. She said, "because he 'tects us." Oh, he protects us. Earlier in the week she told a neighbor girl that she was "...thankful for God AND Jesus, but they're like the same thing." Oh my little theologian with simple faith. The Trinity does seem easier to understand when you are 4!

I am thankful. Thankful for family, for friends, for faith, and for food. We are never in need and rarely in want.



And as a side note, yes I WILL be brining my turkey again next year. It was amazing (if I do say so myself!)!!! Here's a link to the recipe I used from Sunset magazine. So yummy. I'm actually thankful for turkey leftovers this year!!

Grandma and Papa visit

Aaron's parents came for a visit last weekend. We had them here for 5 wonderful days. It was such a great time together. Montana was over the moon and loved having them here. She went to bed late and got up early asking when they were coming over. (Our guests usually stay in the shared common house which is so nice because our little condo is so small.)

Some highlights:
~Montana's first kid birthday (I will save another post for that major event!) They got to meet her friends and take care of Amos while mom and dad ran around.
~They watched Amos and Montana Sunday morning so that Aaron and I could go to a church service project kid free!
~All of us took the ferry and visited Pt. Townsend.
~We ate crab and La Fiamma pizza.

We already miss them.

Fashion Corner with Montana Faith

As "dot (and stripe)" girl

Somewhere Montana learned about tucking her shirts in and so that's what she does. All of the time. Trend setter? I think so.

Lately she has been dressing in themes. Monday she was "pink" girl and wore all pink. Today she is "dot" girl and is wearing dots. We don't have tights with dots and she said, "that's okay, mom. I can be dot and stripe girl." Great idea!

I also love the hands on hip pose. This girl is amazing!

Fall Fun

Superheros!

Check out that smile. He looks thrilled.

At the pumpkin patch with my pumpkin (gag) :)

Oh I can't stand his cuteness

My superhero princess in all her glory!

Missing you...

No matter where you go, you will always have someone to miss

On Thursday, Montana and Aaron are going to Ohio for his cousin's wedding. They have been talking about this trip for months. Montana is so excited. She and dad are going to eat pistachios on the airplane and Aaron bought James and the Giant Peach to read together. A new dress was purchased and the twirl factor has been approved. Grandma and Papa Walters will meet them at the airport in Denver and they will fly to Ohio all together. Montana has made a book to read to Grandma and "she will love it." She gets to see her beloved cousins that she misses so much.

But today, she realized that she will miss her teacher and her classmates while she is gone. "And I think they will miss me."

"I am sure they will, Montana. But just think you get see your cousins and you will only be gone for a few days. I bet you miss your cousins when you are at school."

And then it hit me. No matter where we go, there is always someone to miss. And I told Montana that.

That's what makes living here so hard. And the longer we stay, the harder it would be to go back. I miss my family like crazy, but there are people here who I would miss if we left. I actually already do miss a few people who have recently moved away. Our very good friends recently moved to Australia and I am going to miss them like crazy. Close neighbors are moving 20 minutes out in the county and I am going to miss seeing them around co-housing almost everyday. There are lots of changes and transitions happening all around. So many people to miss. I miss my family daily and if we moved back I would miss my neighbors and the wonderful friends we have made. It leaves me longing for a day when good-byes don't exist and we never have to miss anyone. What will that be like?

And as I write this, I am reminded how beautifully blessed I am by so many relationships...and that I actually miss them when they are not near. Thank you. You all know who you are.