'Tis the Season.... 'Tis the fun.

I can honestly say that I tried to post just after Christmas and my computer was not cooperating. In order to not throw the computer out the window, I decided to step away from it and return later to post. So here I am about 1.5 weeks later. Like most of you, our last few weeks have been jammed full of gatherings, family time, gifts, roadtrips and chasing Rowan. It's kinda crazy for me to think that last year things were a lot different. No moving baby, not much traveling, a lot of sickness, etc. This year was so good in that regard! Besides having to travel a lot (which is fun, but gets old) we were all healthy for the holidays and Rowan was a ton of fun as we opened gifts and gathered with family. I'll get right to the point and start posting pictures that document our holiday weeks. :) The pictures are in backwards order b/c the blog isn't cooperating again with me. Or maybe I'm just that much of an amateur. :( Enjoy!

Capping off a great break with a weekend trip to xcountry ski in Valpo. Great friends, great weekend.

So thankful for the past 8 yrs. A lot of memories have been made!

Rowan banging on pots and pans with his Grandpa Pattison.

Rowan's first time playing in the snow. Kyle pulled him around the yard in his new sled!

Ally, my niece, sporting her new boots I bought her!

Rowan on Christmas morning :) My favorite time....



I can't help but love that face. And his elf outfit!

My handsome nephew Brady & my beautiful, PREGGO, sister Michele. Baby boy Vince to arrive in May :)

Around the house.

Well, we've pretty much started a whole new life for ourselves now that we've moved. We're getting into the routine, although each week seems to be a little different, especially with a 1 yr old in the house. I am continuing to work two days a week and I have a bible study every Wednesday morning. Just this week we joined the YMCA in order to get ourselves physically, emotionally & mentally fit this winter. It seems that every winter I get into this sort of funk with it getting dark early & people not being outside. So, after a minor emotional breakdown on Sunday, I took my paperwork in at 7:30am Monday morning and signed us up for a family membership. So far, Kyle & I have swam twice (not together though) and Rowan has visited with other kiddies in childcare. It is truly a blessing to have childwatch onsite b/c I NEED that 30 minutes of alone time in the pool. So far, so good. (even though we're only on day 3 of the membership) Other than that, we've been gearing up for hosting some Christmas gatherings and randomly making shopping trips to get odds & ends for family. It seems like we're not buying as many gifts this year, but that's definitely a good thing. So, I'll get to the good stuff. Here are some recent pics of our family .... okay, of Rowan. I'm not sure Kyle & I have been in a picture without him in a while. :)

Rowan & Tanner's favorite spot..looking out the front door/window.

They're buds.

Beginning his musical career early :) He carried the keyboard from the playroom to this spot to perform.

Listening to Grandma & Papa read him The Night Before Christmas.... the book made me cry.

"Helping" dad set up the treehouse. Or just trying to play :)

Rowan's Bestie

So, come to our house when the entire family is gathered and it's no guessing who Rowan's favorite person is. Without a doubt, Rowan's "bestie" is....

Yes, that's my dad. He's "Papa" to Rowan. It's so fun to see them interact with one another. I'm sure my dad feels his age after playing for a bit because Rowan is everywhere, but we all know it's worth the little back pain, right?

Tis the Season!! Our Christmas treeS, yes we have two, are up and decorated. It's so fun to experience Christmas with a baby. It makes me excited for him to know the whole meaning and look forward to Christmas celebrations. Speaking of Christmas celebrations, our little family went to "Christmas on the Farm" sponsored by Salomon Farms here in Fort Wayne. As a new friend of ours put it, it was "good, not great." They had cookie decorating, a live manger scene, and hayrides for everyone! The highlight of Rowan's night was to pet the little goats that were part of the manger. The highlight of my night was seeing Joseph's black washable marker beard. Seriously, I about laughed out loud. It was a good attempt anyway. No, the highlight was definitely meeting up with new friends, the Clarks, and getting out to enjoy the holiday season!

Today we went to Crossbridge Community Church and really enjoyed it. It's definitely a smaller, growing church, but we're ok with that. We're still trying to find our home in a church, so the prayers and the hunt continue. We will definitely at least go back to C3 and keep it as an option for now.

In case you didn't get to see an earlier video through facebook, I wanted to post a little glimpse of our funny little guy. This is from earlier in the summer, but it's worth watching on repeat. Enjoy!

Calm after the storm...

Well, we're finally moved in. It's official. Not that all the unpacking has happened, but our house is becoming our home. We have two rooms & a garage full of boxes, but the rest is clean. We hosted my family for an amazing Italian feast the day after Thanksgiving and then hosted some friends this weekend. It's very fun for us to have a place to invite people in. The past week has been a bit of a whirlwind for us and this Monday morning has brought a little rest for my body. This week is the beginning of "normal" for us as I will be going to work on Tuesday and Friday, Rowan will visit the sitter's house and Kyle has 5 long days of work. It will be another adjustment for all of us, but hopefully the start of something permanent. I'm probably most nervous about dropping Rowan off for 2 days, but it will be good for us both. I suppose this blog is a place for me to share some prayer requests as well as get feedback (comments) from others needing prayer as well... so here goes... We need to find a home church, a place where we fit in, can serve, and can be ministered to in a way where our hearts are full and our hands are open. We have tried a few churches and just need discernment and wisdom about where to go. Also, we are just continuing to seek divine appointments by God where He will create friendships & relationships for us. We hope to remain open for God to use us and direct our paths. I am thankful for the opportunity to work, for my weekly bible study, for healthy family members and for this season of Christmas and the gatherings that will happen. :)

Family Pics

We finally got family pictures taken by the very talented, generous and fun Ally Inglis. It was a ton of fun playing around and having someone else take pics so that Rowan could be in his element. We got them taken when Rowan turned one so that we could document him but also send out fun Christmas cards.

Of course I didn't post my favorites or the best ones because those are saved for later projects :)

To add to the excitement of Christmas cards & the Christmas season in general... we are now homeowners! We get possession of the house sometime today and we are so excited to make this house our HOME. Let the Christmas decorating begin....okay, so maybe we'll have to put our kitchen together and clothes in drawers first. But the decorating will be soon to follow. It's been a while since we've been together by ourselves in a house and working together as our small little family. It's exciting to think about what will happen in our lives while we live in this new house. All the gatherings, family time & how Rowan will start a new chapter of his life in Fort Wayne. How fun. And for the record, our house is always open to visitors. We both love hosting people and welcoming them into our home. Please come visit!

Time Flies

Well, my little baby turned one last week. This past weekend we had his birthday party in Indy. It was a very fun day with lots of family present. Rowan has two little cousins (each of my sister's kids) who are just a few months older and younger than him, so they played all day. It's kinda crazy for me to believe that it has been a year. Many days I fully believe that it's been a year because I feel exhausted & stressed about something. But then there are days when Rowan does something "grown up" and it makes me wonder where the time went. He has been a bundle of fun & trials all at once. As a first-time parent, I'm still learning to take things in stride, enjoy the little things and capture every moment as he changes. A big thanks to my sister for hosting and to everyone who gave Rowan gifts. Our new home will be filled with toys (hopefully neatly organized... yea right) and we can't wait to share everything with others! Here are a few pics of the weekend....

We celebrated with a jungle theme- monkey & tiger cupcakes :)

The birthday boy & me!

He has no problem eating :)

This is what Rowan did while Kyle opened all his presents.

For those who care to see Rowan walk, here's some of his first steps!

Yearning...

So, I can't quite explain it, but lately I've had this like ... bubbling, yearning, feeling inside. No, I'm definitely not pregnant, but good thought. It's more like this hopeful anticipation that something great is going to happen. I don't know why or how it got there, but I just know that I have a feeling. Part of it is my walk with Christ that has me longing for something greater. I am constantly aware of God's desires for me... not that I know exactly what they are (or am obedient to all of them)... more that I know there is something greater going on in and around me. I have the Shane Bernard song in my head "Yearn".... something like this: Lord, I wanna yearn for you, I wanna burn with passion over you and only you...." (it could be a little off, I'm too lazy to look it up)... anyway, I just have this desire for something greater including deeper relationships, meaningful conversations, a spiritual community, living with others, sharing God's love, learning what God's love really looks like, giving to anyone and everyone..... ugh, just this huge urge!!! Might sound silly, but God's at work and I need to move over and let him get this job done! There is still so much selfish in my being that I can't seem to let go of. I'm currently reading "Crazy Love" and there is one part that I keep repeating in my head. It reads (similar to) .. I want Jesus. And when I don't, I want to want Jesus... It's so real to me right now that I cannot love God and others without God's help. Crazy to think that we need God's help to love Him. He's that big :)

The other part of this bubbling anticipation is the fact that we're moving to Fort Wayne in about two weeks. We have a lot of work to do before it feels like home, but I am so ready to have a place to open to others, have dinner parties, football gatherings, playdates, coffee dates, etc... I feel like God has really called and challenged me to live in community and to initiate community in a world that seems so self-sufficient. I get excited about meeting neighbors and friends and joining community groups. The longer I live, the more I realize just how much we were created for relationships. I have been sooooo blessed to live with my parents this past year. We've definitely had our trials, but we've been living as a multi-generational family and that's been eye-opening. I am pretty sure we're one of the only (if not THE only) nation that has this individualistic mindset as far as family units. It's been challenging and rewarding for us to have experienced this. I have definitely learned the value of having family close and being close with family. So, we are ready to move in our living situation, but we're thankful for the love and support my parents have shown even when the house feels too small.

On another note, our little guy turned 1 yesterday. And, he started walking. A later post to update you on that!