packing, hugs & goodbyes

Packing was not a desirable part of our move. As we started the tedious pack up process, Miller canvased the house from room to room asking what we would take with us. "Can we take my bed?"  "Do my toys get packed up?" He quickly figured out what Miss Carla & Mr. Jeff would need us to leave to make their new house work {like kitchen cabinets and the sink...ha!}.  We left behind his memories of Islandora too..we couldn't pack his neighborhood friends up in boxes to take with us.{sigh} It's the people and coziness of our block that we'll miss the most.

 We had many drop in packers over the summer to help us with the tedious bubble wrapping process and box assembling. Miller really got into paper cutting and assuming the role of master packer. Friends delivered boxes and extra bubble wrap from their recent moves. Such a blessing to our family & we loved the camaraderie too. I made it a goal not to let packing ruin our summer fun. Taking time to play as a family was a priority during all the madness.

We cleaned, donated, and threw away so much. At times, I felt like we were just one stack away from the TV show Hoarders knocking on our door.  The kids loved the freedom of open spaces in the rooms as we packed. Eliza Kate joyfully unpacked a couple boxes. It takes lots of patience to move with preschoolers.

Miller was at the perfect age to help.

He even role played the part of our professional mover with a loaded up dolly cart.

My man worked hard to get everything done that we needed to do. This was our first move together...tack on a couple of kids and we had so much stuff. He organized and took apart the beds before the movers pulled up our driveway. He was directing the movers while my neighbor helped me pack up our kitchen. Little by little our rooms were cleared.

Miller was just a little disappointed that he missed the truck while at water camp. His depression lifted when I pinky promised the truck experience on phase 2 of our move. As we went from room looking at our empty house, I remembered what it felt like when we moved in and planned out all our rooms. I got excited for the newlyweds taking over our home and I realized that 406 was no longer ours.

Kisses , hugs, and rowdy goodbyes before we drove down the block the last time. It's not goodbye for good, just see you later.

KuJo & Miss Katie where even on their nightly walk to wish us well on our way.

A couple of friends made their way down the street to say one last goodbye. Blessed to know that Miller is so loved. A sweet little time with our last few moments at our home. We waved a thousand waves and it tugged at my emotions with our final goodbyes.

 It's official! It's sold! God taught us patience to find just the right buyer after our first buyers backed out in April. We learned a few lessons in endurance, faith and resting in God's perfect timing.

 Excited about our new journey & praying for our new direction. We know our next home with leave us with new memories to carry with us.. We're hoping that we fall in love with our new house soon.  In the meantime, we're stalking neighborhoods and listings. It's taking patience for just the right fit for our family. Trying to step out of the search, so God can step in. We want to be just right where he wants us as a family.

Isaiah 30:18
¹⁸But God's not finished. He's waiting around to be gracious to you.
He's gathering strength to show mercy to you.
God takes the time to do everything right—everything.
Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.
The Message

our first home

Part of my heart will always be at our first home on Islandora Cove. I remember spending countless Saturdays when we weren't ironing out wedding details, searching for just the right nest for us to settle into after our late August wedding. I remember ruling out quite a few houses from our showings, losing a bidding war in another subdivision, and then finally landing on this perfect little starter on Islandora. It was ours.
Landon moved in first and put his bachelor stamp on the place. a lava lamp, UT ottoman, orange trash can...... and all.  Those college apartment accessories were quickly removed once I moved in . And, we put our mark on our first little place together. Many weekends were spent painting, maintaining the yard, and spending many hours at Home Depot. Fun little house projects like newlyweds like to do together....

I became a wife at this house. I remember brushing up on my novice cooking skills in our first kitchen with all our new gifts. It was an exciting season of life. I learned that you win some and lose some when feeding your man. My "husbands delight" casserole was a complete flop. But, I did  eventually win Landon over with my Chicken Enchilada crescents. 
I also was introduced to the title of mom inside these four walls. A first time mom...whew!

Two years later, we welcomed baby Miller into our little nest and set up his first bath right on the kitchen counter. If he wasn't bouncing in his jumping johnny while I cooked, he was found hanging on my legs in that kitchen begging me for more food...ha! A few years later, our family grew with the addition of Eliza Kate and she taught me that my love could be shared and multiplied with two kids.
Both babies practiced tummy time right there on the living room floor. They spent many hours lounging in the play gym. First crawling strides and wobbly steps all took place in the living room. As they grew into toddlers, they chased daddy round & round the kitchen/dining room loop. Gotta love open floor plans with that feature. Infectious giggles quickly filled the spaces of our once quiet first home. Yes, many milestones and memories all within our four walls.
Am I sentimental or what?

Our first piece of furniture purchase as a new couple. Delivery took 8 weeks and we anxiously anticipated it's delivery before Thanksgiving. I remember hosting small gatherings of friends in those early days. We loved entertaining with family in that room too. Our kitty Jackson's favorite spot was under the dining room chairs...a safe haven from rowdy kids.

Miller's big boy room {sortof got finished}...minus window treatments and final accessories. Juggling a new nursery, working part time while pregnant with # 2 & big boy room planning almost did me in. That was a crazy season in our home.
But, Miller loved everything about his truck room. He loved his own territory at Islandora.  He hosted his first friend to spend the night on his trundle bed. We loved to snuggle in to read bedside stories in this room. Tuck ins & making our boy snug as a bug in his bed were fond memories of this room. And, he read his first sight word book in his room....I remember late night peek ins on my boy only to find him peacefully snoozing away in the dim glow of his truck night light.

We said goodbye to his room with a little impromptu last photo on his bed. A proper documentation of goodbye was in order.

The nursery...this room tugged at my heart strings whenever I even thought about packing her room up. I remember rocking both babes in the glider, late night feedings in a silent house, first diaper changes, and gazing at sleeping babies cooing in the crib. There were lots of "cry it out" screams coming from that nursery too. Then, the sweet satisfaction that Baby Wise brought to our sleep trained babes. I don't know if I'll ever be able to let go of a nursery in our home. Since there's no baby waiting in the wings...who knows if I'll set up the crib in our future home..

 This was our baby girl's last night in her little nursery.

All cozy & snug in her bed. I could hardly stand to pack everything up in her baby room. I may be way too emotional, but in a way it's closing the door to her babyhood artificially too soon in my book. I had 9 more months of nursery still left with Miller at her age.

The master bedroom sold us on the purchase of this home. We loved the layout. Many Saturday morning snuggles with the kids happened in this room. I hate to admit it, but lots of jumping games happened on this bed too. Landon played a fun game { or three } of crocodile river raft chomper involving the kids' toes in this room. 
You could always tell what season of parenting and bible study we were in from the selection of scattered books on our night stands. My collection started out with What to Expect when You're Expecting to The Strong Willed Child by James Dobson.  Our room rarely looked so clean, so why not celebrate with a perfect picture?

We said our goodbyes to all the bedrooms with a family picture before all the furniture came down and was moved out. I wanted to capture a few moments together...one last Saturday high atop the bed to remind Miller and Eliza Kate of our days on Islandora in the future. We have fond memories as a family of four to carry with us.

 

And, one last jumping pillow fight to signal pack up time! Bittersweet days in our house.

wrapping up the 4th

Popsicles with friends is a great way to wrap up the July 4th holiday. And, a perfectly acceptable lure to keep the kiddos stationary for a photo op. Our annual pop picture is too cute not to share. With the 4th on a Wednesday this year, this was an after party. It just meant that there were more days to celebrate America.

Miller found a "surf board" to paddle on in the pool. He still has anxiety jumping into the water if he's  not sure of the depth.

Little sister created a serving tray from the surf board. It's a swim up serving tray of sorts. I love how my all boy and all girl kiddos use the same pool float for a unique function. They really are wired so differently.

Thanks for inviting us to your festive celebration Kristen. It's a cookout that we always look forward to.

stone mountain

The Stone Mountain tradition was a favorite of the Miller family growing up. I still remember making the trek to the mountain with the aroma of Kentucky Fried Chicken & fixins' smelling up our car. Mom would spread out a quilt and we would run up and down the hill chasing eachother. I cartwheeled until I was dizzy. We often made the trip when grandma & grandpa Miller and cousins came to town. They too enjoyed the laser show as a popular Atlanta tradition.

Years have passed and some attractions at the mountain have changed. But, the wonder of wide open spaces continue to be a childhood favorite. It made my heart happy to see Miller enjoy Stone Mountain as much as I did as a child. He hamster rolled down the hill until I got nauseous watching him somersault his way down the slope.

 The Thrasher fam invited us to join them on the lawn for the evening. While we didn't dine on fried chicken, we enjoyed a relaxing picnic.  Both families left our smallest members at home. We love our special nights out with our first born. He likes to brag that it's just him enjoying us for the night. We had this threesome perfectly posed for a picture until M.C. Hammer's "You Can't Touch This" boomed through the sound system. Like clockwork, Miller jumped up tapping his foot and folding his arms like a little rapper...{where does he pick these moves up?}

Anna is quite the dancer. Before long, she was shaking her tush to the beat...lol!

 Jackson had some white boy moves like Miller too. They were up to some serious moving and grooving. It was hilarious to watch and they were laughing hysterically.  This series of photos brings me nothing but joy to see the contagious laughter!

 The Stone Mountain Express captured the boys attention. Their red shirts helped us spot them in the swarms of people at the mountain. They couldn't help but run toward the action near the foot of the mountain.

 They wildly waved to the train passengers.

 .As the sun set, we passed out Dollar Store glowsticks for the kiddos to enjoy. That made their night! Swirling, twirling and sword fighting were enjoyed by all.

The kids settled in for an amazing show on the mountain as the night grew dark. Miller cozied into me as he was all tuckered out. All the classics were still in place that I always remember, but with new technology the show was more engaging with projection images displayed over the carving. We plan on keeping this tradition alive for many summer to come!

street show

We decided on a low key fourth this year and stayed close to home as we packed in between events. Our block put on a street fireworks show & ice cream social for the kids to enjoy. Scooter riding Monkey toss, Frisbee and corn hole fun was had by all. If anything, staying close to home confirmed an underlying sadness that we're going to miss this place.

Gavin and Eliza Kate secured their spots close to the cones. Eventually word got out that we had an ice cream table set up and kids came from near and far to claim their treat. We served 50 cones by the time the evening was over. Of course, some kiddos snuck in and licked 2 cones.

It was hot. Seems to be a summer theme.

Little missy was one of the sneaky ones with two cones.

We can't peel Miller off bike riding this summer. He has a new found confidence now that he doesn't need training wheels. We're letting him stay up late riding each night to soak in every last minute with friends. Riding with sticky ice cream hands is a rite of passage for a boy in the summer.

Dylan secured his spot for the show early. Nothing like camping out under your driveway tent.

Sparklers for the older crowd. The boys like their hand held happy that screamed "Happy 4th of July"!

The kiddos were up way too late. I whisked Eliza Kate up to the comforts of her bed around 9:00 pm while the rest of our family still celebrated outside her window. Miller played for two more hours before calling it quits. When he asks you to go to bed you know you've extended his welcome. At dusk the you could hear the loud pops and whizzing on our block. A few illegal firecrackers made their way into the stash this year which made for an even better show.

I know the above picture looks like an ant attack on EK's face. This sugar addict had a personal helping of chocolate sprinkles with a spoon. They stuck to the sticky ice cream residue on her face like glitter...lol! Her sugar coma look is what signaled the end of her night. What started out as a low key fourth turned into a wonderful last event with neighbors.  Happy Birthday America!

hometown parade

A fourth first for our fam was attending our downtown Woodstock parade this morning. I've always wanted to go but we've had to juggle a morning nap right in the window of festivities. This year was our year to participate in our hometown celebration. Miller could hardly concentrate to fall asleep the night before after we decorated our wagon with stars and patriotic flair. In his five year old brain, he thought that we were decorating an actual parade float.

We met friends an hour early to stake out our viewing post along the parade route. Our crowd kept growing as the morning wore on. Everything about this event reminded me of all the reasons we have loved Woodstock. The downtown area came alive and gave off the small town feeling. Of course, camping out on the railroad tracks & sipping cold lemonade in our red, white and blue topped off our southern celebration.

Kaylee & Eliza Kate entertained themselves sharing rocks like cute little sisters do.... little dawlin's in navy bows. The tracks made the perfect perch to watch all the fourth hoopla. Miller was running up and down the tracks wildly waving his flag in anticipation. He learned an important lesson being in the company of former servicemen that you never let the flag touch the ground out of respect. We're working on that one...

This was the best I could do getting my little firecrackers together. EK was so serious with all the parade action.

As 10:00 approached, we settled in nicely for the parade opening. We spotted Carter our former neighbor with his boy scout entourage in route chanting with his troop. Miller cheered him on starstruck like he was a celebrity.

Patriotic cuties securing the best parade vantage point. They actually took a seat for a photo op.

This was supposed to be our family picture:)

Little missy sipping lemonade from a stand. She knows how to be a lady of leisure at events like these. EK has perfected the art of taking a seat & relaxing in the lawn chair. Must be a girl thing to sit down for long periods of time.

The highlight of the parade for the kids was collecting all the candy, bottled water & ice pops thrown their way. Miller commented that it was like Halloween. We came home with necklaces, water bottles and bouncy balls in our bags. Since it was an election year, the souvenirs doubled as local candidates walked the streets.
See the princess in the background? We were corrected when she introduced herself as the tooth fairy. Even the tooth fairy came to town.

All the local servicemen were in route including military personal. We loved cheering them on for their service to our country.

Elbow, elbow...wrist, wrist...Eliza Kate perfected her beauty queen wave.

 

Happy Birthday America! We feel so blessed to live in our country.