life lately

On May 26, we welcomed our third child into our home. His name is Hosea John. 7 lbs, 13 ounces. 20.5 inches long. He was born at 12:57 am in our tiny bedroom, assisted by two midwives and my dear friend, Michelle.

He is a perfect, smile-y, happy little boy, and we are thrilled, to say the very least.


It feels almost unfair to be joyful during times like this... on the heels of the devastating shooting in Charleston, the terror attacks occurring virtually everywhere, etc. But we are thankful. We are feeling so very blessed, and certainly do not take these blessings for granted. We certainly do not take our lives, or his tiny & precious life, for granted.


xoxo

lately

I don't have much to say, but wanted to share these sweet faces.

Life is good.

when things don't go as planned

I can admit, our decision to move halfway across the state was a bit rushed. It really felt like the timing was right! Andrew's job had relocated, we had found the perfect new home, and had a lot of interest in our current home, meaning it would be easy to sell. But things didn't work out that way.

I've been sort of contemplating how to even phrase it all... the series of events that led to this moment. There's not a lot to say. The timing wasn't right. God had something else in store---something very unexpected, and very challenging.

We took my 19 year old sister in and began to work with her, not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into. Now she has left, and is, hopefully, going to truly begin her life, free of the past.

The story is long. Emotional. Painful. And still a little too fresh to dig into. We are praying for her, and trusting that all of this---all of the changes, dreams put on hold ... all of the sacrifices---were for her benefit. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.


More soon.

back again

What day is it today? Is it really only Monday?

Okay. I inadvertently took a three week long blogging absence. Totally wasn't planned, and I actually have, like, three posts that I started writing? I just couldn't make it happen. It has been a little crazy around here.

We officially have our house on the market. (!!!) This is bittersweet. I love this house, and I love Minneapolis, but it's time. We have already been in talks with the lovely owners of our farm house about when we will begin moving out there, etc, so it's time to get this ball rolling. It is so crazy! We would have never bought this place if we knew we would be turning around and selling it a year and a half later. It's a little bit nuts, honestly. But this house has been a dream, and, I mean, my baby was born in it! The memories here are all good ones, and it will be just as much fun to move into our next house & start creating new memories.

Speaking of moving, another move happened last week... My youngest sister moved in with us. My parents are moving back to Japan this fall, and Madeline decided to stay here in the states. When my parents initially told us that they were moving, I, of course, offered to take Madeline if need be. She is 18, and technically an adult, but doesn't really have any college aspirations, and hasn't really had much experience yet as far as working. I know it will be a little while before she is comfortable with getting a job, apartment, etc. So, yeah, naturally, we offered her a room here. I guess I didn't know she would accept? I mean, Japan! But she is here, and I'm looking forward to getting to know my baby sister a little bit this summer. We are 8 years apart and haven't lived under the same roof for about 10 years now, so a lot has changed. Also, HELLO BUILT IN BABYSITTER. Yes.


Anyway, the babies are asleep, and I am about to put my feet up with a book. I just wanted to squeeze out a little post here while I had a minute. It feels good to be back!

xo

life now & my thoughts on weaning

My daughter has been away for almost a month now. While I miss her tremendously, I also have really treasured the time I have had with just Elliot. I feel like he has grown up so much this month! He is almost one... AHHGG. I can't believe we made it a year.

I had a goal to nurse Elliot for at least a year. With my daughter, I didn't make it that long. She started walking around 9 months and after that, she became pretty independent. We kept it going for about two more months, but she just wasn't interested. She was on the go! When she turned one, I switched her over to almond milk.

Elliot, on the other hand, seems to be a LOT more attached (no pun intended, HA) to nursing. He has probably taken a bottle from me, like, twice. He still gets up at 11 pm and at 3 am to nurse and after almost a year of this, I am tired! I am craving some serious sleep. That is not the reason I want to start weaning, not at all. But I think it's time to start eliminating a day time feeding or two. He is ready, and I'm feeling ready.

I have been so much more relaxed with Elliot as far as introducing foods to him. It hasn't been an issue because this little dude can eat, but with Eve everything was scheduled. She had all her meals at the same time, all of her snacks, had perfect portions of vegetables, etc. Elliot gets to nurse as often as he wants. This is great, but I don't think it would be bad to start a schedule of sorts for him.

So, I guess this is it... We are entering the weaning stage. Not only is he being weaned from me, but I am weaning myself from him. Truthfully, getting up all of those times in the night has never really felt like a chore. I love that little boy. I suppose it could be a few weeks or a few months more of this, who knows, but I feel like it's time. He won't be a little baby forever.

hello

Over the weekend, my husband and I looked at a small house in western Minnesota. A small house on a ten acre farm, I might add. To add some perspective, my husband was born in Tokyo, one of the busiest and most populated cities on the planet. I was born in St. Paul, the capital of this state, and lived a portion of my life in Tokyo as well. We are straight up city kids! Why on earth would we be looking at a farm house?!

I guess we aren't exactly 100% sure why we looked at the house either. But it just felt... right. Simplifying feels right. Stepping out of the ordinary feels right. Becoming less and less distracted feels absolutely right.

This year we have had several goals: to get out of debt, to get rid of unnecessary things around the house, to stick to a frugal budget, I had a personal goal to get rid of 1/2 of my clothing (which I did, I think before the new year even began?), etc. We have been marking these goals off of the list, and it has been awesome. I always say that this year (so far) has been very little talking, and just a lot of doing. (It probably doesn't hurt that Andrew and I both work 12 hour days and spend a minimum of 4 days apart every week, so there isn't a whole lot of talking going on. But yeah.) We motivate each other, I think, and life with less clutter feels so good.

Earlier this year I began looking into what it would take to start up a self-sustaining farm. I spent a lot of time researching how to make this happen here in the city, and on our .25 acre lot, it just wasn't going to work. I shelved the idea and plotted out my three small gardens instead, and started sketching out the design of a chicken coop that I was planning to build in our garage. I have had successful gardens for 4 years now, so that isn't anything new, but the chickens were to be a new adventure. Then Andrew got a new job working in the country. Then he met this family selling their small farm that is literally equipped with everything we would need to become self-sustained! Quite a coincidence, right?

I have been feeling weighed down by my selfishness this year---by my earthly passions and by the things that distract me from what matters. It seems extreme, but like with smoking years ago, I had to just quit cold turkey. I am not a person who can have a cigarette here or there and not become addicted. I get addicted to absolutely everything. I'm honestly probably addicted to the thought of moving to a farm at this point! But in all seriousness, this place was perfect. Far away from the city, close enough to town in case we need anything, a little run down but not falling apart... just perfect. It needs inhabitants and a little tlc.

At this point, I'm not sure what God has in store for us. We are doing our very best to seek first His Kingdom, are working hard at everything we do, and are waiting patiently for guidance on this one. Moving to a farm would in no way be easier, but a simpler life with less electronic distraction, less emotional distraction... for me, anyway, sounds so, so great. I love to be challenged, and doing my part to maintain a small farm house would be an incredible challenge! And wow, what an amazing place to raise children.



I'm hoping to use this blog space to keep these thoughts somewhat collected, and to provide my future self with a timeline of the events yet to come. We'll see what happens.