Life's Blessings & Trials: October 2008

Autumn Activities...

The colors have been absolutely beautiful this fall and in our new place they've been impossible to ignore. I'll forver be a true blue lover of summer, but fall is a very close second, especially when the sun is shining.

Where's The Pause Button?

Corbin turns 6-weeks tomorrow and it makes my heart ache just acknowledging that my baby won't be a baby forever. I love him so much, I think about him getting older and already the hurts that I won't be able to protect him from forever bring a tear to my eye. But for now, I will hold that precious life as close as possible, nurse him whenever he so much as looks in my direction, and watch him sleep so peacefully without a concern about the big scary world out there.

From the mouths of my babes...

The boys have each said things lately that made me smile so I wanted to pass them along.

First from Noah, you must understand that every other word that comes from his mouth is "why?" right now. So as we were packing for the move, things went like this:

N: Mom, why you packing my truck?
Me: So we can take it to our new house.
N: Why we getting a new house Mom? 'Dis one broken? (That's the part that cracks me up, and then I think why are we moving to a new house? Many people may move to a new house if there's something broken with thier old one, but not us, we found everything that was broken with it, Andy fixed it, and then what do we do, then we move... Hmm, good point Noah)
This is when Andy chimed in and said "So that you can have a great big yard to play in Noah!"

Then there's Fisher, he's 3&1/2, going on 13! I was talking to my mom on the phone last week and he asked to talk, of course she didn't mind. So there he is walking around with my cell phone up to his ear and hand on hip, jabbering about his day and apparently ran out of things much to say, when the phrase "Well, I'm just trying to figure out my life right now," comes from his mouth. Did I mention he is 3?!! Where on earth did he hear that?

Oh to understand how those little minds work...

County Livin'

So not only am I living in a house without a sidewalk for the first time in my life, but I also now live on a gravel road! Don't get me wrong this was not a house Andy had to talk me into by any means, I liked the idea of having a yard bigger than a city lot and still do. I continue to love the location, but I have to say it's been a bit of an adjustment for this self-proclaimed city slicker and still continues to be. But this afternoon, on our walk, with a canopy of turing leaves over head and the crunch of gravel under foot I knew without a doubt that this home will be a place of much joy for this family! So here are a few photos of the new pad, but I'll be posting more outdoor shots as the leaves change and we get outside to do more playing, now that our week of rain has finally come to a close. One of my favorite things about the house is the open floor plan on the main floor between the living room, a huge kitchen, and dining room. It's been so nice to be able to keep up with what what's going on in the living room while I'm getting meals ready! This is the view from the living room looking into the kitchen and dining room.

This is the view from the kitchen looking toward the living room. The doors to the right of the sliding door lead upstairs to what I've come to refer to as the "boy cave." But don't let the name fool you, there's nothing cave like about it.

At the top of the steps there's a big open area, which will serve as the playroom (seen below). The boys bedrooms are to each side and their bathroom wraps around the stairway you've just climbed, sort of behind you to your right. My hope is that we'll be able contain all the toys and excitement that goes along with being a boy in their space (is that too much to ask, since I am giving them the entire upper level to do their thing, for pete's sake).

Not shown on the main floor is a hall that leads to the master bedroom and bath and laundry room, as well as a half bath. Andy's favorite part of the house is the basement, it's a walkout and it's huge, but unfinished at the moment. Andy's organizing a space for his workshop and scheming up a plan for a theatre (that's what they call them in the Porter homes), and I have my eye set on a space that will be a scrapbooking and sewing space. It has the electrical, heating, plumbing, and egress windows set up so that it could easily have two additional bedrooms and a bath finished down there someday. Definitely enough space for us now and as the boys grow. Until I can snatch a few more spare moments to write, I hope you are able to catch a few spare moments of your own to experience the beauty that is autumn!

A few pics from the new digs

Sorry to dissapoint, but all I have time for at the moment is to upload a few pictures. More of the house and some narrative to arrive later, but wow, things are crazy, even though we live in the woods and spend a lot of time just enjoying our new house, it's a full time job and then some just keepin' up with all these boys. Currently, Andy and the big boys are outside picking up brush. Corbin's swinging while I try to do a little tidying up. Maybe tonight after bed time I can get you all a little more caught up on the specifics of the Bogard happenings! Enjoy the changing season's until then!