tidbits

Honestly, after this extended vacation from the ol' blog I should have an extensive list of funnies from the boys. But my memory continues to get more and more horrible with each passing day. And my hair continues to get more and more frizzy? Correlation? Maybe. Anyway, after sitting here staring at the screen for a good five minutes, these are the ones I came up with:

• My mom was here for a visit last week and as she was leaving, she hollered out her farewell. Something like, "Bye, Henry! I love you!" To which Henry waved and hollered back, "Wish us luck!"
• Warren is toddling everywhere now and his personality is showing up more than ever. Kid's got spunk! This is new territory for Henry because now baby brother fights back. Gone are the days of grabbing any and every toy out of his hands and getting away with it. He comes after you and chomps down on your arm or pinches you with his tiny baby talons fingernails. The other day, the two were fighting over a Mickey Mouse notepad. Warren had a hold of it and Henry wanted it back. As they are in the heat of the moment, I'm trying to encourage Henry to take a better approach by saying, "Just tell him gently that the notepad is a no-no", but all I get out is, "Just tell him gently" and Henry starts shouting "Gently! Gently!" 
• Henry has recently been introduced to the concept of standing up to potty. I had been warned of all the...um...fun that would happen after we reached this point by my other mom-of-boys friends but, oh my, the reality is much worse. Now that he stands to potty in the toilet, he wants to stand to potty in lots of other places. In small containers, on rugs and carpets, in shoe boxes, on other people's rugs and carpets. Ah, life with boys.

we moved, volume 3

Yes, we know many people think we're crazy. We're fine with it. And maybe we are?? Here's a bit of the story: We weren't looking to leave Winterset, but it never fails that those spring job postings start to roll out and you just can't help but look. At first the Pella job looked intriguing but not to the point of drawing us there. It wasn't quite the right fit in terms of job description. But after further investigation/conversation it turns out it was the PERFECT fit! Pella has always been in the back of our minds as somewhere we could see ourselves someday. Since Dameon's dad and step-mom live here, it's been a place we've spent a significant amount of time over the years. We even got married here seven years ago! It's such a quaint little place and so super friendly. So we decided to break our "W" trend (Williamsburg, Waterloo, Winterset) and head east. And we LOVE it! Now I'm no perfect wife and I'm not in a perfect marriage, but I will say that Dameon and I have gotten better at making joint decisions together over the course of seven years. We realized that if we know what our family priorities and values are, when a big decision comes along we just line it up against those values and the decision becomes much easier. If it supports and promotes our values, we jump in! If not, we pass. At this point in life, we have three priorities: 1. Raise our children to know and love Jesus; 2. Raise our children at home; 3. Do everything we can to have Dameon with us as much as possible, while also having his income be our sole source
The move to Pella supports all those things! 1. For the first time since leaving our church in North Liberty, we have a church that feels like we've been there forever. Hard to describe that feeling, but if you're in a church like that, you know what I mean. And a Children's Ministry program that is just stellar! 2. Dameon's position as high school band director plus the hours upon hours he spends writing drill in the summer and running leadership camps allows us to keep me at home with the kiddos and Pella offers lots of opportunities for me and the boys during the weekday, which we haven't had before. 3. The job Dameon used to do alone is now divided up among five (I think) teachers, which means more family time.
Once I get around to snapping some photos, I'll write a post about the transformation going on around here with the house we bought. The before and after pictures are crazy! But for now, a quick snapshot of the boys on the front step.