Here's the Deal...

So people keep asking...and here is the scoop.
We moved out here so that Brandon could join the family business. So we could find a place to setttle that we could actually afford. So we could buy a house. Be near family. Put roots down...all that good stuff. However, that has been on hold because....wait for it.....we may be moving AGAIN...in a year, or so...we really don't know.
Here's the thing. There is a pretty good chance that the family business will move to Nashville in the next few months/year. Now, I would be fine with that...hello, its 2 degrees today and although I have never been to Tennesse in my life, from what I hear it doesn't get nearly as cold as FREEZING chicago and it is quite gorgeous from the pics I've seen and I will still be close enough to drive to see my sister...plus, who doesn't want to get to talk in a southern accent...hello- I will be adopting ya'll as soon as my feet hit Nashville soil...but the hard part is waiting.
We are hoping to have a very good idea in January when the move will happen or if it is even going to. See the thing is, I would be fine staying in Chicago too, (besides the cold) it is fine here....I just really want to know.
I am so ready to NOT be renting anymore and NOT move anymore. We are moving for the 4th time in 4 years in a few weeks and I am happy because we are getting our own place (we have been living with brandon's parents since sept), but I know this is a very temporary move which is hard because I know by the time I make this new place feel like home, I will be packing up my kitchen ONCE AGAIN...but I am hoping it will be the last one for a long time.
We are thankful that we will be able to buy a home, just as soon as we know WHERE we are going to be, thankful that we are first time buyers so we are in a pretty good position for the market these days and thankful that Brandon now has a steady job and despite the economy the company is doing well.
I hope I don't sound like a complainer...I really am grateful that we CAN even rent a nice, big house and that God has given me more blessing than I can count...I just am feeling the itch to really invest in something that is OURS as opposed to living in a white wall home (all white guys--- and I am not allowed to paint..ideas, please????!!!) and being able to put money into something that doesn't feel like a big black hole...that is kinda how I feel about renting these days :)
Anyways, we are all healthy, thankful, counting the days until I can be with my WHOLE family in Indiana for Christmas next week and just feeling amazing about being able to celebrate our Saviors birth. And it really does feel a lot like Christmas here in Chicago with all the snow...which I actually enjoy!:) So that's life in a little tiny nutshell..we are in wait mode...
Lord willing I will have more news come January...Stay tuned :)

Three.

Today I am celebrating my beautiful little boy. He turned three today. Three! It's hard for me to grasp that he is growing up so very quickly. Days like to day make me sad in a sense...I know with each year his dependance on me lessens and their is such a remarkable difference from 2 to 3 that makes me feel like their is no baby left in him at all. He is now potty trained, knows all his letters and their sounds, can count to 20, likes to do many things "all by self", still sucks his thumb when he has his special blankie, loves diego and dora, argues that God made EVERYTHING- even if I say, "mimi, made the brownies" (he says no - God did!), loves going to church, loves to rock with his daddy before bedtime, still has a hard time eating anything at all- besides chicken nuggets, makes me sing the same four songs everytime I put him to bed ( I have become very fast and have created new and extrememly short versions of them all :) and makes sure everyones knows that his mommy, daddy and baby mac are his best buddies.

The list of why I adore this little guys is LONG- too long to even start-because then, I wouldn't be able to stop. But the one thing that I desire most for him is that he would grow to love Christ- because despite all the amazing things about Taeden James- he needs to be saved from his sins. Having a strong-willed first child has made me grow closer to Christ-because i am constantly praying for wisdom, patience, and peace. I am thankful for the gift of this child, thankful because I know I don't deserve this special blessing and because I never knew this kind of love that I have for him until I had him.

So Happy Birthday Taeden..We love you!!!

Sneak Peak...

We had our pictures taken a few weeks ago with Brandon's whole family. The photographer was AMAZING and got some awesome pics despite the fact that we had 6 kids under 6. YIKES...!! She got some really great ones of everyone and some really cute ones of the four of us (which I am going to keep under wraps until I do my Christmas card :) But enjoy a sneak peak of these ones...

Update on My Dad...

My dad is currently in the middle of his cancer treatment. Normally when people are in the midst of treatment, they feel horrible, BUT I am so thankful to be able to say that my dad feels GREAT!!! This is because he is taking a different approach in attempting to rid his body of this cancer. Because traditional medicine had no options for him, my parents did tons of research (along with my uncle who literally to a leave of absence from his job as a doctor) and found an alternative treatment from a world renowned doctor that just happens to be located only an hour and a half away from my parents home. This doctor was just recently featured in Susan Somers new book called "Knockout- Doctors that are curing Cancer". I am enjoying reading this book and learning so much ( I would highly recommend it to anyone who knows someone with cancer or has cancer in their family, as it gives good ways to prevent cancer in the first place.)
Anyways, my dad is now an organic fanatic and doesn't eat sugar or meat. Now if you know my dad at all, this is a huge change. He has always loved food, but suprisingly this change was very easy for him as he knows he is doing it for having his life in exchange. I am so thankful that my dad is so passionate about fighting this cancer and am so thankful that my parents were able to get my dad into this doctor who has given hope and life to so many. We obviously don't know what the outcome will be but we are praying for a miracle and praying that the Lord would heal my dad of this diesease. The only thing about this therapy is that it is EXPENSIVE because insurance won't cover a penny of it,( even though this doctor has kept people alive with this therapy with the most deadly kinds of cancer for over 25 years)! So if you think about it, please pray for my parents, my dads health and that God would give my dad many opportunities to share the gospel with people that he is in treatment with! Thanks!!!

My Flea Finds...

Ok, so one of my favorite things about where I now live is that there is an AMAZING flea market 10 mintues away every month. I had some SAAAWEEEET finds today. I so excited to use these items in my home one day! Oh and they were all crazy good deals too. I spent a total of 32 bucks on all the items!

How cute for the corner of a bathroom- 7 bucks!

Seriously, I am obsessed with windows and I love everything about this one. All I have to do is dust off the cobwebs and its ready to go. 6 bucks.

So I thought this would be amazing for a big fruit bowl in the middle of a kitchen island. I will say it was the one item that my husband said was nasty and looked like it was from an old mans garage. (it probably was :) But I love it anyways and for 2 bucks-are you kidding me???

I kept seeing these jars around and people were asking for crazy amounts for them. Then I found a guy at the end who gave me all three for 5 bucks. Hollaaaa! Not sure what I will put in them, maybe cotton balls, qtips or something for a bathroom, but I would love to use them in my kitchen too--what would you put in them??? oh and my favorite part about them is that they are a cool tealish blue. love!

Ok, favorite find of the day. 12 bucks got me this cool old scale that I am obsessed with. How cute with a pumpkin on top for fall or candles!!! Ahhhhh---I am dying to decorate with this little guy.

Anyways, if any of you want to get away for the weekend and do some awesome flea market shopping come see me! I promise you will not be dissapointed(how sweet would it be if all us bloggers who love cool old things could meet up for a girls weekend away and flea market shop together...ahhh, a girl can dream, right???)

Halloween...

Well, its Halloween. Definitely NOT my favorite holiday with all the nasty stuff out there, but fun for the kids to get dressed up and go ahead and ruin my diet by bringing in candy I would NEVER buy (darn almond joys, don't worry I have only had three so far.) Anyways, Taeden fell in love with a Tiger costume a few weeks ago so that is what he was and Macalan took over Taeden's first costume as a monkey. We had fun trick or treating in the cold then going back over to Wayne and Heidis house for pizza and a movie. Wayne is always a trooper and dressed up as a clown. It was a little freaky, but pretty funny. Taeden was so cute saying, what sounded like "kiss or feet" and yelling thank you until the person giving out candy acknowledged him. Poor Mac is coming down with yet ANOTHER cold so he just hung out and rested with Dad.

Always ready to bring out the smile

Sweet Baby boy

Wayne as the clown

Me and my boy

Little Tiger man

Finally Pics of My Cute Nephew.

Little Oaks is so scrumpty and from what I hear, pretty much a champion baby. Only waking up once in the middle of the night and going right back to sleep and being an angel all day long. I am so thankful for this! My sister needs her sleep because their big move is just around the corner. In one week they will leave my parents house (where they have been living for the past few months) and head out to Indiana. I am praying that the transition will be easy for all of them and can't wait to visit them in their new home!

Bundle Me

This is now what we are slowly getting used to doing before we go outside to play, that is, when its not too windy, rainy or freezing to go outside. sigh.

I miss the days when I just made sure he had a diaper on so he could run loose in our backyard. I think its going to be a loooong winter.

It's My Party and I'll...

Barely touch my cupcake if I want to.

That, right there, should have been how the song went for sweet little Mac's first birthday. I was pretty pumped, first of all that I made some cute cupcakes all by myself and I couldn't wait for Mac to make a cute little mess of himself by smashing it all over the place with great joy.

Well, turns out Mac didn't want to make a mess, didn't even want to taste the amazingness of my cupcakes and well, what's a mom to do. Now we just have one long and very boring video of Mac sitting in his highchair and many pictures of him looking at us like we are crazy.

So enjoy the boring pics of my cute little man.

The one and only time he even touched it.

Yep, I went all holly homemaker and busted my buns making these doggie cupcakes and cookie bones. I was a little proud.

Apparently, the hat that I made...scared the crap out him as well. It was the fringe.

We still had a great time celebrating this precious kid and I think he was pretty excited to get some new gear and not have the hand-me-downs that he is very used to.

TIFFANY SESTON...I NEED YOUR HELP

Don't you love my dramatic plea. Tiffany redid my boring old blog before I moved and made it the prettiness that it is now and while she was at it she added a bunch of the blogs I read to my blogroll at the bottom of my blog. Here's the thing. I can't figure out how to add anymore...for example...the parson's blog. love it. read it. can't stinkin seem to get it to the bottom of my page. so, how do you do it...kirra, tif, any body else that is smarter than me.
ps. i have tried various things like...adding it but then it just shows up at my dashboard and not on my actual blog. i don't get it.
pss. if anyone has a magical formula that makes all the ridiculously cute things at anthropologie cheaper, i would love that as well. thank you.

Oaks and Blessings

I am more than excited to be here in California meeting my new nephew, Oaks Ward Letterman. I am thankful that God has blessed our family with another beautiful gift. I am overly proud of my sister, who had an extrememly hard labor and was a champion through it all. I am praying that Oaks will be able to join his little family who is waiting here for him to be able to come home (he has a high bili count right now)! I am blessed that my kind and amazing husband let me come out here without my kids so that I can focus my attention on being a help here and that my awesome mother-in-law is lovingly watching my boys for me while Brandon works. I am overjoyed that my dad is able to be home from his treatment center in Reno for the whole weekend and that he is passionate about the treatment and positive and looks great! I love that my brother is here with us. I am missing my three boys that aren't. I am rejoicing in the fact that God is sovereign and continues to bless us in many ways.

Ps. I am really bummed that I don't have a picture to post of Oaks. He is too cute for words so hopefully tonight I will get ahold of a camera and get some pics on here.

One.

Yesterday marked a milestone. Our little Baby Mac, as he has come to be known, turned one. He continues to steal our hearts each day as his sweet little personality shows itself more. He still is the happiest baby I know and he loves his mommy dearly. I say that because Taeden is definitely going through a "I am obsessed with daddy" stage and it makes me pretty happy that Macalan prefers me, for now. Taeden still loves his brother so much, but I am gonna be honest...sharing is becoming an issue...oh, the joys!!! :) Mac is content crawling for now and I am soooo ok with that and enjoys chasing after his big brother. I am thankful that the Lord has blessed Mac with great health this year, now more turning yellow for him, which means his blood condition is staying under control. We are so grateful!
We can't imagine a life without our sweet smiley little guy and can't wait to see how he grows and changes during this coming year!
On another note, I am going to become an auntie again TODAY!!! My sister was induced this morning and I am waiting by the phone for updates. I fly out to California on Friday, and though I am bummed I am not going to be able to witness little Oaks making his entrance, I am thrilled to be able to be there for the first week of his life to help my sister out a bit!
Been trying to upload pics , but for some reason the computer won't let me...bummer!! I had some cute ones of Mac, but I will try again later!

Alive and Well

Just a note to say:

I am here (here being my new home..Illinois).

I am alive.

I am thankful for family here.

But miss my family horribly.

My dad may be getting treatment in Reno- a non-conventional one. they are encouraged. We remain hopeful.

I am daily trying to remember that God is in control of my life and I am not!

Brandon has started his new job. He leaves early, but is home early and once he is home, he is HOME and not running off to soccer games, meetings and activites. I love that!

Brandon's parents have been beyond gracious by letting us take over their home.

I love the weather here. 70 degrees is fine with me. You'll have to check back with me in the winter on that one.

Did I mention I miss my mom and dad????

Going home in Oct...only a few weeks away!! I can't wait.

We miss our friends! and Wolf Creek. Badly!

And now I am realizing that this post is getting much longer than I intended. Opps.

And I have no pictures to post. Sorry! :)

August in Pictures...

Shower for my sister and baby boy Oaks!!! Can't wait to see what he looks like in a few weeks!!!

We all grew up together and I love them all!!

At my cousins wedding

My parents dancing the night away!

Me and my sister doing my dad's famous dance move with him...both thumbs in the air :)

me and my "little" brother

me, my sis, and our oregon cousins, megan and mallary..don't get to see them often enough!

me and my daddy!

brunch at our place before the wedding

I am not sure what we were doing, but we were laughing pretty hard!

Taeden and my parents new dog..labordoodle Bailey! He is huge and the best puppy ever!

papa and taeden hangin in the hot tub

taeden loves being thrown in the air by johhny

we are going to miss our friends mandy

and johnny soo much!!!