{our house}

I have a sudden, unexpected quiet moment this morning. The boys are playing in the basement playroom, and I can hear them laughing and giggling. Usually they are upstairs pulling out every piece of Gladware, all the pots and pans, and any mixing bowl they can find. The girls are playing upstairs, and I thought it was the perfect time to catch up on what's being going on at our house.

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1. Blog Publishing

I have been busily editing and uploading the last three years of blog posts (I can't believe it's been that long!) to be published. I just finished the front cover, and I think I'll be able to order them today! I started out scrapbooking, which I love (and still do), but as I've had more children, and become involved with more things, it's gone farther and farther down the list. I absolutely love the blogging format--I can use as many pictures as I want to, and the journaling is much more extensive than I would do otherwise. I love that our daily lives are recorded for the future, and all those little things that I wouldn't remember otherwise are there to enjoy forever.

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2. How many TV's?

In the years since we've been married, we've purchased 2 TV's---one at a garage sale, and the other one (the "old-fashioned" tube kind) for $100 at Walmart. We had another one given to us, which we loved, because it was SO much bigger than our others that were 19 inches.

The thing is that we were perfectly happy with those. We thought having a bigger TV would be really fun, and we seriously thought about purchasing one several times over the last couple of years. In the end, we always decided to spend the money on something else.

Last week our main television finally went out on us, and we decided it was time. Well, I think we've now made up for lost time, because we came home with 3 TV's. 3!!! The kids are loving it--they think it's like Christmas all over again. We have HD satellites being installed on Monday, and we can hardly wait for March Madness this year!

We knew we had true friends when they left their big screen to come watch the Super Bowl at our house on a tiny 19 inch TV a few years ago, but I think we can finally host again. :)

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3. Home for dinner!

After 2 months of absence, I'm happy to announce that Rick was home in time for dinner last night! It won't be every night yet, but the light is finally at the end of the tunnel!

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4. A discovery

Henry has now discovered that he can climb on to the chair, push it over to the counter, and get to anything he wants to. We have counter height chairs, so it took a little longer than with a standard chair, but I was hoping this day wouldn't come. My "safe" places to put things have now significantly decreased, so we are constantly adjusting to this new-found skill.

This is how I found him this morning:



I promise we feed him.

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5. Ryan and Jack

I had Ryan watch the boys in the nursery for a few minutes last night while I cleaned up after dinner, and until I could get up there to put on their pajamas and put them to bed. I went up and found this:


LOVE it.

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6. Running

I'm running 14 miles on Saturday. It will officially be the most I have ever run at one time, and I have to say I'm a little nervous. Excited, but nervous. My life has now revolved a lot around running, and with the miles getting longer, there is even more to think about: eating the right food, how to carry water/get water, what to eat while running to boost energy, what courses to run with ALL THIS SNOW, what to wear for the changing weather, and more. Rick is also training, and now that our long runs are getting longer, our schedules on Saturday take some planning to fit it all in.

With all of that, I'm still enjoying it. I feel good pushing myself to do something I didn't ever think I could, or would do. I'm learning a lot about myself, and strengthening myself not only physically, but mentally. When I'm tired, and when it's hard, I have to turn inward, and tell myself to keep going--that it will be worth it. Many life lessons have been solidified during this process, and I'm grateful for it. Thank goodness for good friends who are along for this ride--I couldn't do it without them.

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