{ Loved }

The other day I was watching Tim spreading bark on our flower beds in preparation for spring.  I was absolutely overwhelmed by how much this man loves me.  I mean I've always known he does, but it still gets me when I see him in action like this, doing things I didn't ask him to do, just because he loves me.  He tells me all the time he is trying to take good care of me, and he does.  I realized I need to be more proactive about recording these "little" things because it is exactly this kind of love in action that keeps a marriage strong.  It is service and it is laughter, and he's good at both.

 We talked about love languages recently.  Tim's is overwhelmingly "Acts of Service".  It has helped me a lot to recognize this, because I am much more likely to think of writing him a nice card, sending him an email at work or putting my arms around him, and he likes those things, but it is service that makes his eyes light up.  I distinctly remember when we were dating he had mentioned wanting to get a portion of the driveway swept.  I took on the project one afternoon, while waiting for him to get home from work.  I could tell it meant the world to him when he drove in and saw me there, covered in dust.

He prays for me all the time.

Spends hours in the cold doing maintenance on our vehicles to help make ends meet.

Washing loads and loads of dishes.

Meeting me at the grocery store to do the lifting and loading.

Putting the kids to bed because by then I need a break.

Getting me out of the house as much as possible during the winter to keep me sane.

Carrying the laundry up the stairs.

Spending time with the kids when he gets home from work so I can finish dinner.

Washing the cloth diapers.

Opening doors for me.

Making me tea.

He says it is so little and that he is just trying to take of me and it doesn't seem like much.

I pray he sees that it is a lot to me.

Saturday morning he helped with the very overwhelming project of uncovering the bassinet for our soon-to-arrive baby.  It meant pulling everything out of the guest room closet, sorting the clothes by sizes into totes and putting them back in.  There is still a long way to go, but it is so much better in there.... and our baby will have a place to sleep :)  Silly Oliver tested out the new bed!

Then there are the many hours Tim puts in at work to provide for our family.  He is doing his job to please God.  It is his greatest desire and it humbles and excites me to witness his faith in action.

This past month and a half, on top of work, he has plowed through mountains and mountains of paperwork and hours of phone calls in the aftermath of the medical emergency with Katy Grace.  I've seen him discouraged, clinging to God's provision.

I've seen him praying.

I've seen him tested.

Challenged.

I've seen him grow.

And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much he loves all of us and how far he'll go to show it.

{ We're all crazy about this guy }

Today he took to day off to spend with his dad who is visiting for a couple of days.  It has been a cold and rainy day and this afternoon both grandpa and kids were down for naps.  Tim suggested a fire in the fireplace, just the two of us.  Then he made us afternoon tea.

How did God ever decide to bless me so fully from head to toe with this man who knows so well how to love me?

We have our struggles.

We get overwhelmed.

We don't always get along.

But because of God and His love, we're keeping at this marriage and it is beautifully rich.

{ Summer Days }

Our summer days, here on High Street, have been such a busy time.  

There are so many projects underway, things that desperately need to be taken care of that haven't been done in many, many years, but that will last for many, many years or our lifetime once they're finished.  I am posting this mostly for me to remember.  I never want to forget how hard my husband is working to take care of his family.  He has chosen, mostly out of necessity, to do most of the repairs himself.  

Let me just list the projects:

Replace the furnace that quit in May

Repair the chimney

Insert a chimney liner

Replace all of the duct work in the basement

Replace the main water line to our house

Put in attic vents on the roof

Remove and kill the moss on our roof

Clean out the gutters

Collect firewood in his "spare" time

Act as mechanic to replace several parts on our vehicle

All this on top of working his normal job and coming home and helping me with the kids, keeping up with our substantial lawns, and helping with dishes, diapers and laundry.

In case I have or ever will doubt that I am married to an amazing man,

he is living proof.

 

Some of these projects are completed.  Most of them are still in progress. 

{ The chimney repair:  We hired a mason who allowed Tim to assist him.  We were able to save a substantial amount of money this way.  Tim carried all of the brick and mortar up the ladder. }

{ Here is the inside of the chimney and what it looked like before it was rebuilt.  When they went to tear it down, they literally picked up the brick by hand, no demolition needed.  Yeah, it was time to replace it! }

{ After the chimney was finished, a chimney liner had to be added.  Here are a couple guys from church helping Tim carry it up. }

{ Here is Tim cutting holes in the roof to put in attic vents.  He is amazing!  It was over 90 degrees that day and that is smoke as well as dust you see.  He had burns on his arms from the asphalt shingles. }

I think we would love to experience the lazy days of summer,

but then again, neither of us likes to sit still, so we can see that this life if probably best for us.

The timing has been perfect on these projects and God is clearly, unmistakable leading each

step of the way.  We have saved literally thousands of dollars and thus far remained debt 

free, which is nothing but the loving provision of God.

All of this has also brought us closer together.  We've actually spent more time as a family.

Don't get me wrong.  All of this has been a challenge, too.

It has pushed us to... and often past our limit, but I'm so thankful 

for the opportunity to get some of the ugliness out of my heart and and an adjustment for 

my attitude.  We're learning to work together as a team and juggle marriage, and kids, and home.

 Aside from projects, we've been having plenty of summery fun.

We've spent evenings at parks,

watched sunsets,

tried new wines,

played in the kids' little pool,

had a family backyard water fight,

played frisbee,

and planned our vacation.

We are picking raspberries,

enjoying our flower gardens,

going out for ice cream,

spending time with friends and the kids' grandparents,

and enjoying shorter work hours for Tim.

I am also enjoying more energy this summer.

This is the first summer since we got married that I am not pregnant!

We've still been living with less sleep.  What am I saying? With kids, less sleep is pretty much normal!

This week that sleep has gone to comforting while teeth come in:

Katy's first two teeth

and Oliver's molars

We are also putting both kids to bed in the same room.

This is to prepare for our first family vacation, 

which we leave for on Monday.

There have been several very long evenings

and plenty of tears while they adjusted,

but they are doing great now, and I am

actually hopeful that all of us in one room,

in a different place every night for a week 

is going to be possible!

To say we are excited to take a vacation would be an understatement!

To say we are still a little nervous about traveling with two little kids is also true,

but I am sure it will be so worth it!

 It has been a wonderful summer and I'm so looking forward to the rest of it!

{ Happy Birthday America }

Family Time

Small Town America Parade

Little Miss America

{ Da-Da's Day }

It's pretty sweet to hear Oliver saying "Da-Da" these days and seeing him point him out in pictures.  I decided it's high time I blogged about Father's Day, in attempt to get caught up on this little spot of ours. 

We've been working really hard on our house this summer (which is a post in itself to come), and we just hadn't had a weekend off in a very long time.  Saturday of Father's Day weekend, Tim and I decided we wanted to get out of the house and just enjoy a day as a family.  Over breakfast we decided what we'd like to do and then we packed everyone up and drove to Spokane for the day.  It was a wonderful day of no agenda, beautiful sunshine, happy kids and good conversation.  Tim and I find that one of the best things about being together in a car is just the time we have to talk.  We have far less distractions.

 Tim and Oliver had their first carousel ride together!

We spent the morning and early part of the afternoon at Riverfront Park.  We played in the playground, walked over the river to the old flour mill, had lunch at Red Robin and wandered around the mall for a little while.  It was a very good family day!

{ High Street Weekends: A Family Affair }

For sometime now, Tim and I have been considering joining forces to do this blog together.  Writing is a mutual interest of ours and this spot is a story of my life, of our life.  Why not take turns writing here?  I think our kids will appreciate both perspectives as the years go by.  So, though I will continue to do the majority of blogging, I'm sure, may I welcome my wonderful husband here as this spot transitions to "Our Life on High Street"!  It is fitting that our first post together should come after a weekend spent with his college friends that took place a couple of weeks ago, over Memorial Day weekend.  The floor is yours, Tim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even before I met Anna, there was the innate desire to share this beautiful house and yard with others. When Anna and I joined in matrimony we both tried numerous ways to host social events at this historic Victorian style house with a wonderful back yard. There had been successes and lots of misses in our attempts to open up our home and share with others.

Through all the attempts we have always had families come and stay with us. On one such occasion, Memorial Weekend 2011, my college buddy Rob brought his family over to our house for the weekend at my begging and pleading. I was so impressed with the family visit that weekend that I realized how much greater this was than the other social events we’d hosted. Recently these weekends have felt like the old church retreats I grew up going to. There’s so much more than just socializing and catching up. You have time and proximity to sow into each others lives all over again. The fellowship has more time to grow deeper and to extend across the whole family. Kids learn about each other and have time to become friends. The spouses of established friends have time to establish their own relationships. Unfortunately for the men visiting, I’m ashamed to say, it also gives me more time to put them to work.  My wife often complains (and rightfully so) about how I end up putting someone to work. Thank God Rob is such a great buddy, because I have worked that poor man to death on some of his visits. Usually it is cooking, which granted, is his passion.

When Memorial Weekend 2012 came around this year, my poor buddy Rob again answered my beckon call to come over with his wonderful wife and kids. Everything started out like a normal family weekend with kids running amuck. Our son was playing and interacting to a whole new level with their boys. He was honestly rough housing for the first time with other boys and I was blown away with the deep belly laughs and that smile that permanently affixed to his face as he tickled, wrestled and jumped on the older boys and was in turn ambushed. We took everyone for a walk around campus on Saturday and then out to the grizzly bear pens. The food was amazing the whole weekend. Rob and Anna put together a phenomenal southern style dinner of oven backed spiced chicken and collard greens.

In preparation for this weekend, I thought a few of the old college mates still in the area might enjoy a get together in the backyard for a bbq and visit with Rob on Sunday, after church. Rob loved the idea and phone calls were made. By Saturday night, what was supposed to be 10-12 old friends was now over 25. As it turned out, one of the families of six that were invited, happened to have another family of six from the same time period visiting them so we said they were welcome.  Another friend who had been invited, a dynamo of energy who motivated us all through that time of our lives agreed to come down from the big city. She called while she was driving down to let me know she was bringing four college students. Oh boy…It just kept getting bigger and better. More people were recognized at church and invited and 33 people were present when all was said and done.

  Our friends brought their dog along.  He's not very big and you'd hardly even know he's around so it cracked us all up when he all of a sudden decided to take that cat on!  He just stood there barking and barking at it, telling it who was boss.  We couldn't stop laughing!  He wasn't that brave when we later visited the live grizzly bears, though.  He was quiet as a mouse! ~Anna

Rob had again offered to work the grill magic for us. At first I was planning on doing that so he could visit and relax. That didn’t last for long and Rob and I had to go for a late night run Saturday evening for chicken, dogs and burgs. He worked his marinade and spice rub magic till late that evening.

After church, we were frantic getting ready for the meal. Nothing quite went according to plan, but I think that it was a good time had by all. Kids were running amuck and neighbors were helping. The weather was too windy but only one wine glass was a casualty of the gusts. This turned out to be three times bigger than anticipated and it really drained us all.  I have struggled with the whole idea of what happened. It appeared that God was behind it all but it just drained us. Rob and his wife worked way too hard but a really good time was had by many people. I hope God was glorified and those there greatly edified.

 I was absolutely numb with fatigue after the fact. Rob and I sat down by the fire outside and smoked cigars and didn’t say much of anything. I had worked that poor man to death again.

 When they said good bye on Monday I was sad to see them go but glad for the day of recovery for Anna and I. These family visits are invaluable for us and I can see that they have the potential to be a major part of our children's lives as the year's go by. In turn these weekends could also be an important part of the lives of the children from the other families as well. So much more work and preparation go into these weekends but these High Street Weekends make memories to last a lifetime not only in the young but also in those of us who are not so young. To our friends who have shared in our home, and especially to all the guys who have endured my buddy-do-list, thank you and blessings from my home to yours.

{ Valentine's Day... and a Birthday Thrown In }

I have always valued time with my man, but now that we have two children, I value that time to a whole new level. Being alone is a treat, and being able to talk uninterrupted is enough to make an evening spectacular. We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day the Saturday before. Tim arranged to have my parents come up for the evening and he lined up a very special evening for us.

 We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant downtown that we've been hearing good things about. The food was delicious!  We savored our meal and lingered over it: appetizer, meal and dessert.  It was wonderful just to be together and have the time to talk and to just be quiet.  I love that we enjoy a comfortable silence.

After dinner we headed to a local winery.  Tim had intended this to be a surprise.  He is always a little frustrated that he struggles to come up with original date ideas. Being in a small town contributes to that! Earlier that week, he received an email invitation to a local winery where a friend of ours would be performing with his band (he played at our wedding reception). The trouble was, my dear husband left the email up on the computer and I happened upon it! Oh well, it was the thought that counted. It worked out well in the end, I think, because it would have proved a little disappointing had that been the only thing we did. This was my first time to visit a winery and it wasn't as fancy as I anticipated it would be. It was rather cold in the building and very casual. It was a fun experience overall, though. We enjoyed homemade chocolates along with our wine.  We laughed and flirted and held hands.

The evening was still rather young when we left there, so we decided to go listen to jazz at a pseudo Irish pub downtown.  We stopped back home first to feed and put Katy Grace down for the night.  On our way out the door, Tim couldn't find his phone.  After looking for it for a few minutes, I decided to make things easier on us and call it.  It was in my purse, which I was holding at the time... oops!  We left and a little while later, when we were settling in, I decided to check Tim's phone to make sure my parents hadn't tried to call (I'd left mine with them).  I realized I had a missed call from my phone so I went outside to call them back.  They told me they hadn't called.  I was confused.  Then I realized that was the call I made to find Tim's phone.  I wish I could say this is the first time this has happened to me, but it's not!  It happens on a rather regular basis!  Oh, dear!

Then came my birthday.  My poor husband has Valentine's Day to remember, followed by my birthday a week later, but he always makes them both very special.  He surprised me with these beautiful roses.  I love them because they remind me of my wedding roses. 

We did the majority of celebrating on Sunday.  Tim helped me go grocery shopping and put up with me while I shopped for jeans at the mall.  Thankfully I found a pair so it was time well spent!  Later in the evening he got a babysitter and took me out for dinner and dessert.  Over dinner we had a fun time talking about the re-decorating we want to do in our master bedroom.  It was fun to dream and look forward to the completion of this project someday in the future. 

{ Birthdays just aren't complete without cake.  My mom had given me fun cupcake supplies for Valentine's Day so it was perfect.  They were soooo yummy! }

{ And my guys did the dishes! }

This is my last year to be in my twenties... and probably the last year I'll admit my age.  I actually received a card that referenced getting old.  *Sigh* I knew it had to happen eventually.....

{ The Last Day of 2011 }

Every New Year's Eve the family Tim lived with for many years hosts a bonfire party.  I don't know how many years they've done it, but it's a well-established tradition, and all year people come out to their farm to contribute to the pile with anything that will burn.  It is a HUGE fire.  This year I could feel the heat from the porch, far from the fire.  See for yourself:

It was a lot of fun and it felt good to get out of the house and have everyone meet Kathryn for the first time.

We came home early to get the babies to bed, and I was in bed well before midnight.   This is the first year I didn't stay up, but sleep is at a premium these days and I have no regrets!

{ Oliver was very impressed by the fire.  I think it was a little overwhelming! }

{ This dog must have known that Oliver loves dogs.  }

{ Sweet moment }

It's a few weeks late, but Happy New Year!