The New One

K maybe I didn't want it to be too little, as in squished with 6 kids wiggling in my face little... 

We had two weeks to get organized and moved in before our little biscuit was due to be born. I was really fixed on being mostly finished with the details of moving in so we could enjoy the new baby without too much work looming over us. We could never have done it all without so much help from my fam- especially my mom of course. We actually unpacked the last boxes late the night before I went in to the hospital to be induced. I was mopping all the floors right before we left.

This is what our yard backs onto. I can't even believe we have this view so close. I can't wait to go for walks around here.

These are a few snippets of what I did while carrying around a 9 month bowling ball belly.

The owner left behind this ugly brown bed so I painted it teal for Jane's room. She asked for yellow paint so this is how it turned out. She and I did the hoops together.

 I found the metal bed on Kijiji for Scarlet and I spray painted it yellow. Who wouldn't wake up happy everyday in a sunshine yellow bed? Scarlet has her own room until Ezra or Hazel are ready for a bed and she is eager for someone to join her because she's missing sharing with Jane. It's actually really sad to hear her talk about it. We talked to Jane about maybe inviting Scarlet down to her room for sleepovers often to help Scarlet feel better about it.

Scarlet made a magical fairy land beneath an apple tree (why don't I have a picture yet?!) and she can see it when she looks out from her window. Jane helped her pick the spot and get it ready. She planted wild flowers all around it and she remembers to go out and water them all on her own.

She school room is still in progress. I put a lot of mental energy into planning this room. I ended up getting two long, narrow tables from Ikea and putting them against each other with cabinets below on all 4 ends. We'll use the cabinets this year instead of work boxes. I also got stools from Ikea that are compact and can fit below the tables. This way they can be out of the way to make more room when we aren't using them. We were spoiled with a nice big school room at our other house so we'll have to see how this plan works out.

This is the window in the master bedroom. I love how it looks over the driveway and all the trees. I picked toothpaste teal paint for our room and then a darker teal for around the bay window. It looks "funky fresh" as Uncle Mark would say.

I felt much calmer once all our books were unpacked. I need my books organized and accessible to sleep at night ;)

This is my favorite room in the house. It's sunny and breezy because of all the windows. I put the writing desk in here and we keep all our nature stuff here- binoculars, field guides, feathers, pinecones...

This is the view from the kitchen window. There's a fancy bird feeder right there so we can watch the birds while we have breakfast. 

As I think about the mental agony Tim and I went through trying to find the right house for our family, I'm filled with gratitude. It's always so much easier to see the blessings looking backwards of course. We had so many things that worked out for us and I know it's all blessings and answers to prayers. It was a strengthening experience for us to work together to do the best thing for the kids. 

Our family-centered perspective should make Latter-day Saints strive to be the best parents in the world. It should give us enormous respect for our children, who truly are our spiritual siblings, and it should cause us to devote whatever time is necessary to strengthen our families. Indeed, nothing is more critically connected to happiness—both our own and that of our children—than how well we love and support one another within the family.

"There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home, and every effort made to sanctify and preserve its influence is uplifting to those who toil and sacrifice for its establishment. Men and women often seek to substitute some other life for that of the home; they would make themselves believe that the home means restraint; that the highest liberty is the fullest opportunity to move about at will. There is no happiness without service, and there is no service greater than that which converts the home into a divine institution, and which promotes and preserves family life.”

(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 382).