Amy Scott's Thoughts

Last year, Jeremy introduced the Summer Family Challenge to our church. It’s a booklet packed full of things for families to do together over the summer. It’s a mixture of activities, reading, praying, Bible memorization and community involvement. All of the challenges have a point value that can be tallied over the summer. The families with the top three point totals at the end of the summer win prizes. With a three year old and a one year old last year, I didn’t feel compelled to participate. It seemed a bit above their age range. And truth be told, because Jeremy is the children’s pastor, our family can’t win any of the prizes, so that also wasn’t motivating.  But this summer is different. After a year of preschool, I felt like Owen and I could use some inspiration to stay busy this summer. Some of the challenges listed in the booklet are things we would already do, but I’ve also found it very encouraging to try some new things this summer. The challenge has been officially going for a week now and we’re daily checking things off the list. We have until Labor Day weekend to earn points and turn in our booklet. I realize that just like last year, we can’t win the prizes, but I told Owen that if we are in the top three, I will get our family a prize as a way to celebrate. Not sure what that prize will be, but I have until September to figure that out… that is if we win.

Below are few pictures of the challenges we’ve completed so far.

Ready for the Summer Family Challenge!

Running through the sprinkler

Making a homemade pizza

Our homemade pizza – I was super nervous about how it would turn out since I’ve never made pizza dough from scratch before, but it was super tasty. Despite my kids munching on the pepperoni, cheese and olives while assembling the pizza, they would not eat the pizza once it was baked.

Homemade Popsicles

Homemade Popsicles

Having a picnic

Going to the zoo

Going to the zoo

Family Game Night

It’s a warm day here and the boys have been enjoying the new pool that Jeremy got them on Friday. We’ve been going full speed ahead this summer –  partaking in all kinds of fun activities. To balance our busy weeks out, we’ve had a few quiet days around the house on Fridays where Jeremy is home to do projects outside with the boys following along like little shadows. I’m able to catch up on the housework. I’ve even been able to read a few books. It’s been a good balance. Instead of detailing all our adventures, I’ll share the pictures below. Hard to believe had so much summer fun already and it’s not even officially summer until Thursday!

Weekend projects

Our favorite train park with friends

A park birthday party for Cousin Carson

Carson’s birthday party

Hands On Children’s Museum 

Hands On Children’s Museum 

Visiting GG

Visiting GG

Suckers after buzz cuts. This was Graham’s first and probably last buzz cut. His hair is a little too thin. 

Cousin Bennett’s park birthday party

Cousin Bennett’s park birthday party

Taking selfies with Pastor Jeannie on a MOPS night. Owen might have taken 336 (not all with Jeannie) while I cleaned up after MOPS. 

Wrapping up an awesome MOPS & MOMSnext year with these ladies! 

Grandma’s birthday. Owen is always ready to help blow out the candles! 

Cupcake making and decorating

Magic Painting

Snuggles

Friday morning waffles – my little helpers sampling their work. 

First one in the new pool

Owen loves homegrown snacks from the garden. 

Family day in Portland

Watching Cousin Brinley perfom

Father’s Day

Father’s Day

Father’s Day

Helping around the church 

God works in crazy and unexpected ways. My last blog was about the unofficial start to summer with Owen’s last day of a preschool behind us. It was about my hopes and fears for this summer, this new season that is upon us now. And in the midst of wondering how this summer will turn out, God decided to kick start our first week of summer with a bang, a total shock, a surprise. I’ll get to that more in a second, but let’s build up to it.

Memorial Day weekend was blast. We enjoyed dinner with Nana & Papa on Friday night. The boys played in their grassy yard (oh, how I miss grass). It was nice to visit with them and enjoy a meal together. Saturday, we hosted a MOPS & MOMSnext BBQ at our house. Including adults, kids and babies, we had 34 people at our house. Most of the fun was spent outside in the yard. No one seemed to mind the dirt. We just enjoyed our time together and we had plenty of good food. I’m learning and growing through hospitality. At one time I would have said having people over was my least favorite thing ever. But I’ve changed. God has changed my heart. I now truly love opening the doors of my home and Saturday left me tired, but also really happy. Sunday, I decided to have a quieter morning. I skipped the first gathering at our church and opted to tidy up the house after the BBQ and watch Pioneer Woman, do a little laundry. Owen has taken to going to church with Jeremy early, so that leaves just Graham and I to quietly get ready. Getting one kid out the door is delightfully simple. I love it. Graham and I made it to church and then everyone came home for naps. I napped as well and then settled in to read a good book on the couch. I was feeling all the holiday weekend vibes. And then the phone call came. The unexpected surprise…

My parents had left Sunday morning for week at the Sunriver Resort (south of Bend in Oregon). They were attending a conference there for my dad’s work. When they got their keys, they realized that they were given a 1300 sq. ft. 2 bedroom, 3 bath condo to stay in for the week. Since they had so much extra space, they asked if we could work it out to come down and join them. I have never gone away on a trip with less than 24 hours notice before. I spent the rest of Sunday in a scramble to prepare for being gone. I had MOPS to get covered and I had a bunch of play dates and summer plans to reschedule. Really awesome timing though – I had no book parties scheduled last week, I had just cleaned the house, the laundry done. I was totally set to be gone. I moved all my plans for last week into this coming week and I was ready.

On Monday morning, Jeremy (who was able to take vacation time) and I loaded up the boys and made the drive down to Sunriver. Since the condo came fully equipped with a kitchen, we met my parents at Walmart in Bend to do some grocery shopping before heading back to check out the pool and then go to dinner. We spent the rest of our week having lunch out and then making dinner ourselves. We had many adventures in Sunriver and Bend. We went to the High Desert Museum, Lava Butte and the Lava River Cave. We swam in the pool and hot tub every day, Jeremy took the boys golfing on the putting course, we went to the playground every day, walked all over the resort, threw sticks and rocks in the river, I finished my book and thanks to the full size washer/dryer came home with suitcases full of clean clothes ready to unpack. Simply put, we had an amazing time. A total surprise, out of the blue blessing. It’s been a long time since we took a week off to be together as family. It was the first trip we’ve really been on with no agenda or expectations. Each day was a gift. God gave us a vacation. The boys got t-shirts from the resort. Jeremy got a mug. I brought home three pine cones from resort. A totally free souvenir, but a powerful visual reminder that God is the giver of good gifts, that he shows up unexpectedly and blesses our socks off sometimes. I placed my pine cones on the window by my sink. I will see them every day and they will stand as an alter to God’s goodness.

I’m pretty much beaming, glowing with gratitude for our fantastic week away. I had the chance to go out of town at the end of April to two different conferences. My kids were home sick which made it hard to be away from them and anything with a “schedule” isn’t a vacation.  I was just telling Jeremy two weeks ago that I’ve been day dreaming about travel. And then bam, a vacation was just handed to us. God is so good. I don’t expect to kick start every summer with a surprise vacation from God, but I will be thankful for this one. I will remember this blessing.

While I had reservations about our summer, this trip did wonders for my attitude. I am now filled up and ready for more fun. I ready to make more awesome summer memories. And this week will be packed full of good things as well. We have play dates, family birthday parties and I have dinner plans to reconnect with an old friend. These are good days. I love getting to invest in my family, into my friends, into my community. I am thankful for our Sunriver surprise and I am ready to share the love this summer.

Enjoying time at Nana & Papa’s house 

Enjoying time at Nana & Papa’s house 

Pure bubble joy 

MOPS & MOMSnext BBQ

Day one in Sunriver! Owen was so brave at the pool – jumping in and going under water! 

Poolside snuggles 

Braving the bunk beds! Surprisingly, no one fell out! 

Trying to get a family picture is always an adventure!

This kid is a fish! 

Hot tub time! 

Three slides, three boys 

Lava Butte

Visiting Lava Butte, but when you stand in front of the sign and block some of the letters, you get a funny picture! And very unintentional!!! 

Taking selfies in the cave entrance! 

Thankful for Grandpa & Grandma inviting us along! 

So sweet! 

Golfing adventures!

Saying good-bye to the condo

My pine cone reminders of God’s goodness

Today is our unofficial start to summer. It was Owen’s last day of preschool. He will head back next fall for another year in a new class, but for now it’s on to summer days. I’ve adjusted quite nicely to the quiet time that having Owen out of the house has brought. Graham is very chill on his own and I’ve enjoyed our one-on-one time together. Owen usually wakes up earlier than Graham from nap time, so that is when I get my one-on-one time with him. I will admit that I’m nervous about these summer days, all of us together. My boys are pretty good if I can keep them busy and out of the house. If we’re off on an adventure then they behave fairly well. Our down time at home tends to turn into endless fighting pretty quick. They often fight over toys or someone wants to do one thing and the other has a different plan. It is draining to constantly be stepping into brotherly battles. With this is in mind, I’ve made a list of things I want to do this summer with the boys. I have about 10 outings/events thought out. And then of course there will be play dates with friends and visits to the park. I hope I can keep them busy and occupied. And I hope I have the energy I need to keep up with it all! I also plan on using my book rewards through UBAM to stock up on activity books. Owen and I created a summer crafts Pinterest board after nap time yesterday. I’m optimistic we can survive the summer and actually enjoy it as well!

I wish I had a victorious potty training update to share with you. This week we’ve had more time around the house, so I thought it was the perfect time to start potty training Graham. I was wrong. While we had some progress, the truth is Graham doesn’t want to potty train. The rewards don’t motivate him. I decided to hold off for now. I’m not sure if I’ll try again this summer or wait until the fall. I would really like for him to be interested in it. The two days that we attempted it this week were a constant battle. So we’re off to buy another box of diapers this weekend when go out shopping. Looks like we’re not quite there yet. Each kid is different and potty training Graham is nothing like potty training Owen. I didn’t know I had it so good with Owen until now.

This weekend should be a fun one! On Saturday, we are hosting a BBQ for our MOPS & MOMSnext group. I’m looking forward to opening my home up to our group and having their families over. The yard is a bit rough and I expect a lot of dirt will get walked into my house. I’m mentally preparing myself for it. Hopefully good food and good company will make up for it. On Monday, I have a family BBQ to attend in the afternoon and then we have our regular MOPS & MOMSnext meeting in the evening. I expect attendance to be down because of the holiday, but that’s okay. It should make things cozy. We have a powerful DVD lesson on forgiveness. It should inspire some great discussion around the table.

It’s hard to believe that May is wrapping up in a week. To me if feels like it’s still the start of the month. The time in our house continues to be such a blessing to our family. The boys have loved having the grandparents as neighbors. Now that the weather has been warmer, we’ve been out walking and playing in the evenings. Grandpa & Grandma often join us. The boys don’t seem to mind the dirt and prickles in the backyard. Graham has already reclaimed his position has King of the Swing. That kid would sit in a swing for hours if we let him. Jeremy and I combined some gift cards and our own Mother’s Day and Father’s Day presents to get the boys a new play set. If I want to survive the summer and enjoy my time outside, I need the boys to have an awesome place to play. It should be arriving on June 12th and I’m curious to see how long it takes to put together!

That’s the beginning of summer update for us! I’m sure there will be lots of posts in the future about our fun summer adventures and how we keep busy during these long sunny days. I’m looking forward to making some memories and making it back to the fall routine again!

Loaded Graham up for a coffee date. Remembered snacks and toys, but forgot his shoes. 

While Jeremy was away at conference last weekend, Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie April and I loaded the boys up for an adventure day in Portland! 

Trying out a new donut shop

Enjoying a visit to Powell’s City of Books. I thought we would buy 2 books and instead we walked out with 5. The problem of being a book lover. 

Reading with Grandpa

Taking a power nap at IKEA

A wonderful McDonald’s dinner at our favorite park by the train tracks. 

Waiting in hopeful expectation for a train 

We almost left but a train finally arrived. And it was full of garbage. It smelled so bad but the kids were so happy! 

Watching the Royal Wedding with Owen… and a penguin. Makes sense, right? 

Have I mentioned my boys are wild?

The combination of an unmotivated potty trainer mixed with an overly enthusiastic older brother was a bit of a disaster.  

Such a good picture of these two! We were super happy to have Daddy home after being gone all weekend. 

Loving the warmer weather for walking our long driveway! 

Sharing one of my favorite childhood storybooks with Owen. 

Celebrating the end of the school year at Burger King! 

The difference a year makes! 

This last week I got to go to my first “Muffins with Mom” at Owen’s preschool. I really didn’t want to go to Owen’s preschool at 8:00am and eat a muffin, but I also didn’t want to supply my child with the scarring memory of his mom not being present at a Mother’s Day event. Despite the early morning, it was fun to see Owen in his classroom. The class performed a Mother’s Day song with a slideshow in the background. The moms were all present with a craft bouquet made of sticks, glue and confetti pieces. I felt very honored.

I’ve now celebrated 6 Mother’s Days if you count the one where I was pregnant with Owen. It’s hard to believe it’s been that many. Now that my kiddos are older, it’s fun to see what card they create with Daddy. This is the first time Owen has been able to sign his own name to my Mother’s Day card. He is getting so good at it! This year we celebrated Mother’s Day with lunch with Nana and dinner with Grandma. It’s a blessing to be able to share Mother’s Day with our families. The highlight for me this year was being to host the meals in my home. I didn’t really have time to make anything homemade or fancy with it being a church day as well, but I enjoyed yummy Mexican take out for lunch and  pizza for dinner. We stocked up on cake, pie and ice cream, so of course, it was a good day! Owen performed the same song he learned for school at church on Sunday morning. It was great to watch him sing and do the motions. Like a true paparazzi mama, I took lots of pictures of videos. We also took a fair amount of pictures on Mother’s Day due to our new selfie stick. I got it for MOPS since we had a selfie photo contest last night, but Owen took an instant liking to it and I’ve now created a selfie monster. The best part for him is the remote that detaches from the handle.

On Friday, I got my hair cut. It’s the shortest it’s probably ever been. I feel like I’ve fully embraced the mom hair cut. It’s so quick to style in the morning. I love it! I was heading to coffee with a mom friend on Saturday. I got there first and took a few selfies to check out my new hair… here I was sitting in my minivan, with my high-waisted jeans and mom hair… all I need now is a kid in soccer. I am such a stereotype these days. And you know what? I am okay with that. Except the soccer part. I’m not into soccer. Anyway, I’m loving my life with my wild boys. I love my mom friends. I love my minivan. All of it.

Even being a part of a direct sales business feels a bit like the mom stereotype as well. I’m still loving my book business. Facebook made some changes in April that totally change how I do parties. It has complicated things. Since I’m always on the fence when it comes to how much time I will give this business, I’ve decided to scale things back. My new plan is do one party a week. This will mean that my parties won’t overlap as much and let me just focus on one party a time. This should also free up my time for three important things – my kiddos, my hubby and myself. I often work from home when my kids are around. It’s all balance and while I don’t feel bad working in front of them, I just want to work less in front of them. I thought when I moved and got my own space that it would take my UBAM business to the next level, but instead I find myself wanting to scale back. I feel more drawn to quiet time during nap time. Because I have the perfect spot for it in my new big master bedroom – I’ve started doing yoga a few times a week. We had one of our steering team members lead a yoga session in March for Spa Day and I loved it. It totally calmed and relaxed me. I’m using YouTube videos and I darken the room a bit. It’s nice to take 20-30 minutes to slow down, take a deep breath and do something that I enjoy. It might just be a phase, but I really hope to work a few days of yoga into my week. I’m also enjoying my usual hobbies of reading, journaling and blogging.

And then we come to MOPS & MOMSnext. Last night was our last craft night and it was a huge hit. We made pens that look like succulents and we gave all the moms a Free Indeed theme magnetic notepad. We did a selfie competition to get some pictures of our moms having fun together. We got some great photos last night. Super creative! I’m proud to report that my group won the contest. We took our picture with mops and then my table leader provided us with Mardi Gras beads. It was a very classy photo! We have two more meetings left this year before we switch over to summer play dates. This year of leading of MOPS & MOMSnext has been quite the adventure and I get to do it all over again next year. I’m in the process of looking for a few new team members. I have two more roles that need to be filled. If you think of me, pray that this team comes together! As this year comes to close, I’m already dreaming, planning and preparing for next year. Our theme will be “Find Your Fire” and focuses on moms getting back to those inner passions that make us uniquely who we are. This year’s focus on freedom has been good. I can’t wait to see how our moms use this new found freedom to spark a wild fire in their lives.

And that’s me and this mom life in a nut shell. I want to say a special thank you to my hubby for all the ways that he supports me and cheers me. I couldn’t any of this without his love and encouragement. He has been working hard away in our yard so it’s a place our family to play in and enjoy this summer. He has watched the boys for me so I can attend coffee chats, MOPS and invest in relationships & ministry. He puts the boys to bed on nights that I have book parties. Most of all, he listens to me.  I process a lot with him. He is always my rock, my second opinion, the voice that tells me it’s going to be okay. I am so grateful. Motherhood is hard and sometimes I’m in survival mode, but he makes everything 100% better… so I guess I’m transitioning this into a Father’s Day post. Just kidding! All that to say, my family is a blessing. I feel loved and I am loving where I’m at right now. It’s been nice to re-evaluate my schedule and what I feel called to do. There is so much freedom in walking through life knowing your purpose. God is good!

Doing some homework

Spotted kiddo. Thankful that Graham’s allergic reaction has now finished. 

Owen’s preschool creation

Muffins with Mom

Muffins with Grandma & Nana too

Muffins with Mom 

Testing out the new selfie stick!

Got to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday with a big family dinner. Owen clearly looks like the party is for him in this photo. 

Super silly, but our first family picture in our new home! 

Trying to get a picture with my boys on Mother’s day, but Graham wasn’t having it. 

Graham face makes me laugh so hard! 

The best one I could get with both boys. 

Graham opted to cry on the other couch while Owen the Selfie King wanted to take more pictures with me. 

Singing at church 

Lunch with Nana

Dinner with Grandma

The winning “MOPS” photo! I love these ladies so much! Blessed to be surrounded by such great mom friends!

Our last MOPS craft for the year! Super cute! 

Okay. I know that having kids is an adventure. A crazy, wild adventure. In my last post, I shared about Graham getting strep and Owen getting a flu bug and ear infection. We’ve been squirting bubble gum flavored medicine in their mouths on a daily basis. Just because it’s pink and smells sweet, doesn’t mean it tastes good and kids will like it. On Sunday, I looked at Graham and told him he was done with 10 days of torture. No more meds for him. However…. when I changed his diaper on Sunday morning I noticed two spots that looked like his diaper had rubbed the wrong way in his sleep. Poor dude. We got dressed and took off for church. Then as Sunday morning progressed Graham broke out in a rash. We gave him Benadryl since I now keep it in his diaper bag after our walnut reaction this fall. Graham conked out for our annual vision lunch after church (aka business meeting). I was worried about how the kids would do staying late at church, but Graham was amazing… since he was drugged. Again, poor dude. Anyway, long story short, Graham is having a full on allergic reaction again. He is covered in angry, red, itchy spots. He has swollen bumps all over. Yesterday he couldn’t walk on his feet because they were too swollen and hurt too much. We took him the doctor yesterday afternoon and they gave use some additional medicine. He just breaks my heart with how sad he looks. He is really uncomfortable. We know he ate a new food Saturday night. It doesn’t say that walnuts were a part of it, so maybe he has another allergy as well. It’s time to officially get him allergy tested.

I feel like the kids have to keep up with each other. One can’t be more interesting than the other. When Owen got up this morning he couldn’t straighten his leg out fully, so he was limping around saying his leg hurt and he couldn’t walk on it. With some coaxing we were able to get him into the bathtub and that helped loosen things up. He was able to go to school. I asked him how his leg was doing when he got home from school and he told me it still hurts a little. I figure we can do another bath after nap time is over. Owen is also still taking antibiotics for his ear infection… So Graham gets cherry & grape meds multiple times a day and Owen is still plowing through the pink bubble gum ones. I feel like a nurse doing my rounds and keeping track of patient med charts.

All that to say, things are interesting around here. Keeping up with these kids is a bit insane at the moment. I’m starting to develop a “what’s next” mentality. Just as one thing wraps up another thing comes to take it’s place. Never a dull moment.

Other than keeping track of the little patients, we’ve had a big week of working in the yard. By “we” I mean Jeremy, his Uncle Dave, and the boys, even Grandma. Jeremy’s uncle came out last week and spread out the big pile of dirt we had and moved it around the yard. Then Jeremy took his riding lawn mower and spread the dirt out more evenly around the yard. The boys have been busy taking rides with Daddy on the lawn mower. The boys (and Grandma) have been active planting things in the garden. And the boys have gone fishing a few times now that’s in season. Jeremy and Owen took the family on a walk down one of the trails around our house. Owen led the way and was a total trail master. He is so comfortable walking through the woods. Graham asked to be carried most the time which I just viewed as a way to burn more calories on my little nature walk.

We’re still loving the play date/hospitality life! We’ve had cousins up and friends over. I was able to host my MOPS & MOMSnext Steering Team meeting at the house last night. This group of ladies has loved on me and supported through the building process. It was so exciting to welcome them into my home and show them the completed projected since they had heard so much about it. Friendship is a blessing and my heart has been so full as I have been able to open up my home to so many wonderful friends. Again, if you’re a local friend or family member and you haven’t been up to the house, consider yourself invited! I’m a party animal these days. The kids love showing off their toys and if you’re not scared of mud, we have a fantastic backyard to make a mess in!

Made French Breakfast Puffs for the first time. So yummy! I also made meatballs for the first time last week and did some Pinterest research for new meals this week. Wish me luck! 

Raising a baker!

Playing with cousins! 

We have tadpoles…

Doing tadpole research

Find the frog

Grandma got a Corgi-gig to put in her raised bed! 

Watching Uncle Dave move dirt around the yard and waving each time he drives by! 

A trip to the park! 

Going for a nature walk around our house

Pausing while the others admire the trees. 

Fishing. He is having a good time despite what his face might look like! 

Graham’s version of fishing

The beginning of the Benadryl haze for Graham

Putting the long driveway to good use on a sunny Sunday. 

Pulling Graham

Balance bike pro

Planting flowers, beets and pumpkins with Grandma

Now time to water

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks since I last shared with you. April has been a full month to say the least. We partied hard with many play dates and visitors over to see our new home.

I made the mistake of thinking that I hadn’t been home with a sick kid in a while and then BAM! The boys went down. We went down to see my nephew, Carson, play baseball a few Saturdays ago. We were all excited for the cousins to play while watching Carson. Graham, however, didn’t join in the fun. He just cuddled into Jeremy & I’s laps and sat on us through the whole game. Talk about a warning sign. When we got home, Graham had a low grade fever. He didn’t really didn’t have any other symptoms. Just some snot from time to time, so we didn’t feel a rush to take him into the doctor. He would play happily for a while and then he would be flat somewhere resting. It was difficult, but we left for Network Conference last Monday even though Graham was still having fevers. Network Conference was in Vancouver, WA this year. It was nice to have a short trip there. Part of our staff rented a house together. It was fun to sit up and talk with them after the evening sessions. It was a great way to connect in a causal way and deepen our relationships. Graham’s fever remained through our trip and when we got home we decided to take him to the doctor on Thursday. Turns out Graham had strep throat. Poor kid. He got antibiotics and perked up quite quickly.

Thursday was a day for the record books. Not only did Graham need to go to the doctor, but Owen came down with something as well. Owen developed a fever and by 9:30am on Thursday morning both of my boys were sleeping on the couch. It was crazy. I’ve never had them both fall asleep at the same time on the couch. I got the boys into their beds and prepared for the sick day ahead of me. Owen threw up twice. I’m happy to report he has learned the knack of throwing up in the toilet and he made it both times. I was seriously concerned for our new couch and new rug at the onset of his tummy issues. I was really wrestling on Thursday with my weekend plans. I was supposed to leave for Ladies Retreat with my church on Friday and be gone through Sunday. I couldn’t imagine leaving Jeremy with two super sick kids. Thankfully, once Graham got his medicine, he bounced back quickly and was a happy camper on Friday morning. Owen, however, struggled through the weekend. He was just a bump on a log. He didn’t move from the couch and had no energy. While I felt bad leaving Jeremy was a sick kid, Owen was a super easy kid to watch because he didn’t do anything but lay there. Graham was a happy clam because he didn’t have to share the toys and he played by himself all weekend while Owen rested. Even though the boys were in good hands with Jeremy, it was hard to be away from them with illness in the house. I got home yesterday afternoon and we took Owen into the aftercare clinic. He for sure has an ear infection and they decided he might have strep. Since you can treat strep and an ear infection with the same antibiotic they didn’t test him for strep and went forward with the meds. Now that Owen has a couple doses of medicine in him, he is back to his happy, normal self. I let the kids destroy the house this morning because it was just so nice to see them able to play together again after over a week of illness.

I’ve spent my day disinfecting everything and catching up on the laundry. April has been a full month. I looked at my calendar and there were only a few days this month where I had no plans. We’ve spent the month either having people over or running busily around the PNW. On Friday the 20th before all the germs settled in, I enjoyed a full day at home with nowhere to go. It was amazing. I sorted through hand-me-downs for Graham and organized his dresser with new options. I’ve been proud of myself for keeping up with meal planning this month. I’m getting into a new routine of writing out our meals one week at a time. I need to be brave and experiment with some new recipes since I can make about 7 different meals. Other things I’m adapting to… cleaning the new house. I haven’t gotten back to my routine of cleaning on Wednesdays. It’s landed more on Sunday/Monday this month. I was worried about the time it would take to clean a bigger house and another bathroom, but it hasn’t been too bad. Better than I expected actually. It’s good thing I love to clean. I’m also adapting to traveling to and from our new location. The big change for me is I don’t use the freeway much anymore. All my usual spots are best accessed by back roads. It’s weird. We also live in a spot where were there are lots of ways to get to the house and they all take about the same time to get there. I guess that gives us options and variety, but I’m not quite used to it yet.

And that is the end of April wrap up! It’s been a wonderful first month in our home. My travels were fun, but a bit dampened by concern for sick kiddos. I’m very curious to see how May pans out. I’ve had so much fun with visitors, play dates, cooking in my new kitchen and settling into my new household routine. I can only hope that May is just as joyful as April.

Grateful to be here! 

Our new entry bench has great storage

Using our lawn mower for the first time

Jeremy’s gardening buddies

The day Graham went down

Backyard ready for the first BBQ of the season with Nana & Papa. 

Home from Network Conference and snuggling my sick boy.

Two little bumps on a log

At the doctor’s office

Getting a smile from my sicko before I left for retreat.

Cannon Beach with the ladies 

Selfie with Haystack Rock

Group picture with our speaker! 

Back to the doctor’s office

Letting them destroy the house since they finally have the energy to do that! 

Life is full of chapters. Some are longer than others. Some go by in the blink of an eye. I’ve had time to think about my most recent chapter. We put our Winlock house up for sale in May of 2016. We spent April of 2016, cleaning the house, doing projects and getting it ready to go onto the market. This means that we’ve been in a two year process of selling the Winlock house, moving in with Jeremy’s parents, preparing to build our new house, actually building the new house and then moving into the new house! It feels odd to be at end of what seems like a really long chapter in my story.

Here is where my mind wandered this week. It’s strange to finally be in our home – at the final destination of two years worth of hoping, dreaming, working and waiting. The big thing that stood out to me is that our story isn’t over. It’s not “Jeremy, Amy, Owen & Graham moved into the new house and they lived happily ever after. The end.” – This is not “the end”, this is just the beginning. The beginning of a new chapter and a new season for our family. I guess we could be seen in the “happily ever after” portion of the story, but I’ve been on this earth long enough to to know that happily ever after doesn’t really happen this side of heaven. That is for another time and another place. But… here I sit in this new home, this new blessing that still smells like new carpet and fresh paint. Let me tell you, I’ve had waves of anxiety. At first I felt super materialistic and freaked out by new house. Surely, I don’t need something so big, so nice. What was I thinking? Then I reminded myself that I want to open my doors to others. I have space to be gracious, hospitable and welcoming. I reminded myself that if the Lord allows it, I will some day have teenagers in this house and we picked this floor plan with teenagers in mind, not just toddlers. This also led to the next freak out – what if we can’t stay to see the boys be teenagers here? What if something changes and we have to move? Do I have my heart too set on living here “forever”? And then a peace settled over my heart. God whispered to me “Do not fear. Just enjoy while it is yours.” I was almost too scared to build this dream house two years ago when the opportunity presented itself. I thought of all the “what ifs” and all the ways things could go wrong and I didn’t want that pain. And then I realized that was the voice of fear, not of Jesus. We boldly went forward with this crazy plan of selling our first home and moving in with family (something I thought for sure I would never need to do) and then built a lovely home (something I thought we  never would be able to do). It’s amazing how life turns out nothing like we expect and yet it is still good. What would we miss out on if life turned out the way we thought it would? We wouldn’t have the chance to be surprised by God who has so much more in store for us than we can even imagine.

As you can tell, I’m wrestling with all the thoughts, feelings and emotions that come with change. No matter what the change – even good change, there is a shift in how we do things, how we think, how we process. I am loving our space. I am settling in and truly do feel at home here. I look around and I feel blessed beyond measure. One of the biggest blessings of the last week has been sharing my space with others. I am so excited to be a hostess and have people over. This means that in a week’s span of time I will have had two close friends/mentors over and two play dates for a total of eight guests in one week. What a blessing! What a joy! I want to have everyone over. I want to share my space, my home, my life and welcome in everyone with open arms. We’ve been given a gift. I don’t know how long this next chapter will be, but I am ready to embrace it for all that it is.  So, if you’re a local friend or family member and you haven’t had a chance to come visit me, know that my door is open and I am ready! Let’s have coffee (or if you’re like me, soda, juice or water) and we’ll let the kids destroy (aka play in) the playroom. I want to share what is mine with you! Because deep in my heart, I know it’s not really “mine”, it’s God’s house and I want it to be used for his glory and his purposes! Amen!

When you are going through a transition, one Lamby will not do. You need them all to get you through. Owen is doing better (with the support of Lamby and the back-ups)

Working from home looks like this…

My little bin dumper! Doesn’t take too many bins dumped and then you can’t see the playroom floor anymore! 

A visit to the bulb farm to get flowers. The pond is the best part for the boys. 

Graham found the Cars potty in the garage and asked to bring it in. While he sat on it like a champ, he did no business. So we hid it away in the garage until May after our travels. We don’t want to start this too soon, but glad to see he was interested! 

Working on train sticker books on a rainy Saturday. 

Sticker book Saturday

We had our first play date yesterday at the house and they brought us flowers! So sweet! 

Roaming the woods around our house with Daddy! I think we have a pretty great neighborhood, don’t you?

Graham got a hair cut! Looking good, kid! :) 

We’ve now been in our house a week and a half! The first day that I was home with just the boys I was overwhelmed by the size of our house. We’ve never lived in a space this large before. It took a few days to get used to it, but I’m less freaked out by it now. Having everything unpacked has helped, as well as getting pictures and magnets up to make it feel homey. I can relax and get used to the space now. I’m getting to use to all the new sounds, where everything is, how the appliances work. I’m loving our appliances.  Especially our large capacity washer and dryer. I’ve put them to good use doing our daily laundry and also washing all the towels and bedding that have been in storage boxes for over a year. Things need to be freshened up, for sure.

One of the additions we made to the house this last week was a motion sensor on the driveway. With the way our house is positioned you can’t tell if someone is at the house until they are practically at the front door. Unless I want to stare out my master bathroom window all day, I can’t see the driveway. The boys are loving the “ring” of the sensor. They know that is means Daddy is home or Grandma is walking TC (her corgi dog). They run to the window and cheer when they hear the ring. It’s helpful to catch when packages are delivered to the door. I’m expecting my first package from Costco’s two-day shipping program today. We received our first Amazon packages last week, so now it really feels like home – knowing that UPS & USPS have no trouble finding us. Online shopping is the best thing ever!

In the next few weeks, I hope to host some play dates and have some friends over. I can’t wait to share my house with others. The boys have plenty of toys to share with friends. They pounced on all the “new” toys that have been in the storage unit (the noisy ones that I’ve kept hidden as long as possible). I’m loving my home office space. It’s perfect for working on my book business, MOPS stuff or blogging like now. We got a new printer over the weekend. It’s set up for wireless printing from all our devices. Super handy. We love our new spaces! And we’ve already broken them in with dings and dents and scratches. I made the first “dent” and that was hard to swallow, but now I’m just shrugging. I’m human. I live with humans. We all make mistakes and accidents happen. No way to stop them. It doesn’t take a house long to be “lived in”, trust me!

So what’s next for the Scott clan? It seems like this giant mountain has climbed. We made it to the summit and we are enjoying the view! But life never slows down and there is always something next to focus on. For Jeremy, what’s next is the outside landscaping. I know that he has lots of thoughts and ideas for our yard and outdoor spaces. Now that the inside is settled, the outside will need our attention.

For Graham,  potty training is what’s next. I was originally thinking we would start this month, but I’m out of town at the end of the month, so I’m thinking May will be best, that way I can give a full month of at home focus. It will also give Graham some time to settle into this house before thrust something new on him. He isn’t too motivated to start potty training, so prayers are greatly appreciated! The reality of no diapers seems so close and yet so far away yet.

For Owen, he is wrapping up his first year of preschool in June. He has had a great year adjusting to a school schedule. We are looking forward to summer for play dates in the park and a more flexible schedule. Owen has had the hardest time adjusting to the new house. He does really well with everything until bedtime and then it hits him that he wants to be with Nana & Papa. We’ve had talks, lots of snuggles and prayers to work through these emotions. My boys were blessed to have a fantastic season living with Nana & Papa. We certainly miss having them around daily. Luckily for Owen, he gets to see them when he goes to school most days and we’ve been using FaceTime to keep in touch. It’s helping with the transition.

What’s next for me? Other than keeping up with the wild guys in my life? Well, I’m wrapping up my first year coordinating MOPS and I’m already thinking, planning and praying about next year. My first year was so amazing and I am bit overwhelmed by the thought of doing it all again. God is good and he will help it all unfold. I trust him! I also plan on keeping up with my Usborne Books & More business. And at the end of the month, I have a week of travel without kids. Can I get an “AMEN!”? Once a year, I get a few overnights away from the clan of wild ones. It’s very refreshing.

That’s it. We are settled. We are loving our new home. I can’t wait to share the many memories we are going to make here with you!

Baking in the house for the first time!

Puzzle time

Snuggling

Still living in a construction zone! 

Enjoying the Spring Family Movie at Bethel Church – Downtown Centralia. We love free popcorn. 

Discovering a new game that was in storage. 

Dipping their pretzel stick in water… because that makes sense, right?

Here we go! First blog post written from my new home! Woo hoo! Let’s start with the inspection process for occupancy. The inspection was supposed to be on Tuesday, but the inspector had the wrong information. He thought our septic was pending approval, but really had been approved already. We aren’t sure how he got the wrong information, but in just a short amount of time, he had removed us from his lists for homes to inspect on Tuesday. The hard part for me is that I was mentally prepared to “fail” our home inspection on Tuesday. I never thought it wouldn’t happen, so that was a bit of a let down in a different way than I expected. I also had a stressful appointment at the eye doctors that day, so my emotions were running high. In hindsight, I now see what I was viewing as needing glasses and strain on my eyes for a while now has really this dry eye condition I’m dealing with. My vision is 20/20. My eyes just aren’t happy. The doctor is keeping me on the same prescription and I’m to come back in 3 more months. I guess this really does take a while to see improvement and I’ll probably have to take some form of over the counter drops on a regular basis to keep my dry eyes in check. Not the news I wanted to hear.

Anyway, moving on from my eye issues… back to the house! Wednesday was the inspection and we passed!!! However, we weren’t able to close with Adair until Thursday because they had a few things they were working on to get the house ready for us. Thursday afternoon we were able to get the keys and start ferrying over our first couple of loads. Between Thursday and Friday, we were able to get all our boxes over from Nana & Papa’s house which left only the big bulky furniture for our Saturday move day.  On Thursday evening we were also able to get the washer/dryer and fridges into the house as well. Our main goal was to test them out before moving day. And we had a personal shopper (aka a sweet friend) run to Walmart & Costco for us. We gave her our giant list and she got everything we needed to restart our own pantry! It was such a blessing. She was able to deliver our food on Thursday. It was nice to not have to throw a major shopping trip into our plans this weekend.

Saturday was the big day we cleared out the storage unit! I was able to help direct where things needed to go in the house and then the truck took off to take a second load to my in-law’s house. During the time they were gone, my sister and I went room to room and started unpacking all the boxes. I saved the kitchen for last because I was so scared it wouldn’t all fit and I didn’t want to deal with it. I’m happy to say that I did find a space for everything. I had everything unpacked on Saturday which was nice and very helpful for feeling settled.

Sunday, my parents took the boys up to GG’s house for Easter festivities which gave Jeremy and I alone time around the house to get stuff done without kids underfoot. I went through toy boxes and sorted out what items needed to go to Goodwill without the kids seeing them and wanting to keep them all. Then I was able to move in all our saved baby stuff into the playroom closet. The garage in our Winlock house was lined with Pampers’ boxes full of baby clothes, blankets, toys… I knew that if I had space, I wanted to store those inside and out of Jeremy’s domain. I was happy to see that there was room for them inside now. After that, Jeremy and I went room to room hanging up artwork. I updated pictures in our frames. All the frames I unpacked had photos of Baby Graham in them and I needed to change them to reflect our toddler boy now. Once the boys went to bed that night, Jeremy settled into watch the new Star Wars movie. I took my first bath in the big soaking tub. I finished off the night by putting all my Scentsy warmers into their new places and then put away some office supplies on my new desk.

Yesterday, we were able to show Jeremy’s parents and one of his aunts our house. The boys were thrilled to see Nana & Papa again. I know they will miss seeing them every day.  Jeremy spent a good part of the day making headway on the garage which was full of boxes, packing supplies, yard stuff and general storage items. It’s not an easy task. He took two loads to the dump. We also have the van loaded with Goodwill items.

It’s nice to see the house all put together. For such a long time, I’ve been daydreaming about where everything would go and what it would be like to live here. In some ways we are being reunited with things we have missed. But at the same time, we bought a lot of new items for this home and just stored them until we moved. So it’s like being surrounded by old friends while making new friends. We are surrounded by both old and new stuff. It’s going to take some getting used to. Jeremy had Monday off after Easter, so today is our first day back at our “new” routine in our new house. I’m excited to settle. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity. We feel so loved and so supported. I look forward to starting this new chapter. Owen told me this morning at breakfast that he loves his new home. I told him that I do too. Here’s to many happy memories made under this roof!

Owen’s class performed for the ladies Bible study on Wednesday. Can you see my cute bunny?

I was truly amazed at home much stuff I could pack in the back of my minivan. 

We officially have the keys from Adair! 

Gotta love a well stocked pantry! 

Getting to know our new fridge.

Owen was super excited when the U-Haul pulled in. He loves big trucks. 

The empty storage unit! 

Settling in on the first night

Settling in on the first night

Easter Morning – A little tired and with crazy hair, but we were thankful for the first night in our new home. 

Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen

Play room 

Graham’s room

Owen’s room. He has more print to go up, but the frame needs to be glued. 

Our huge master suite! 

I might have to take up yoga! Haha. I have room for it. Also, I’m loving having a desk again! 

Reunited with my friends! My book wreath by my book shelf makes my heart happy.