in love.

Our house is so wonderful!  It's almost 1,000 square feet bigger than the house we just moved from and it has an amazing backyard.  I love that there are all kinds of trees and living things back there.  I'm so looking forward to the kids playing in our almost 1/2 an acre yard where we have a LOT less mowing to do!  As Ann, our neighbor knows, we had a pretty hard time keeping up with mowing our huge yard in Utah with our push mower.

When you walk in our house there is a huge room that I'll be using for my studio until I find one in the price range I'm looking for.  I'm very excited about it and I'm looking forward to seeing how my awesome studio in Utah transfers into my home...that will be a while yet, though.  I've got to get the rest of my family settled into our home before I get my studio up and running.

The kitchen is along the back of the house with a great breakfast nook and family room.  There are some wonderful windows all along the back of the house that I really love.  All of that natural north light coming in is just gorgeous.  At the top of the stairs is a loft/sitting room where we'll have the art room....and a great sitting area.  I'm excited about how that room is going to evolve.

All of the bedrooms are upstairs.  This is a huge plus for our new house.  In Utah Emmett was downstairs from the rest of us and that got old really quick.  The heater, water heater, washer/dryer, and all of the weird house noises were down there freaking him out every night.  He was upstairs sleeping more than he was downstairs, I think.  We also have a guest room and can't wait to have Grandma and Grandpa and the cousins over soon. 

We're also loving that we're finally going to have a bathroom in our bedroom.  This will be the first time since we got married almost 14 years ago.  Yay!

We are so excited to be living here in South Carolina and especially thrilled about our home.  Come and visit us!

new. LIFE.

silent films.

This summer as the kids and I were staying in the little 3 bedroom apartment, with no yard to play in and the heat and humidity too much to go out in, we started reading books.  Each afternoon after we had gone to the pool or in the morning before going to the pool we would lay on my bed and I would read to them.  I will always love this summer just for that reason.  Having all of my kids laying on the bed with me completely enrapt in a book is a wonderful feeling and a great time.  Every time I would say, "Okay that's it for the day.  We'll pick up there tomorrow."  The would always beg. "No Mom!  Read some more.  Just one more chapter.  Please!"  Not only did I love having their imaginations caught up in a book I also loved the worlds that reading together opened up for them.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret opened up the world of silent films to them. If it weren't for this book they wouldn't have loved silent films as much as they do now.  I think if, before Hugo, I would have said, "Hey, let's watch this George Melies film...or this Charlie Chaplin film"  They would have thought I was crazy to watch a show with no dialogue.

The way Hugo Cabret is written is so imaginative and completely different from any other book I've every read or seen.  It's written like it IS a silent film.  In the introduction of the story it asks you to 'imagine that the curtain is being lifted to reveal a giant screen.  In the first few pages you will see the sun coming up over the city, it will zoom into the city, then to a train station in the city, then to a boy, follow him...'

What a great beginning to a book!  It had us hooked right from the start!  The illustrations of Brian Selznick draw you in as though you are watching a movie.  We couldn't put the book down!  This is a book the kids didn't want to have end.  After the last page we immediately got on the internet and found films by George Melies, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin.  The kids couldn't stop laughing as they watched Charlie Chapin in the boxing ring and George Melies's The Black Imp. 

The illustration below is a film still from one of George Melies's films.  They were amazed to see the film 'Le Voyage dans la Lune' with the picture in the book below.

Now when we see a black and white movie on TV they want to stop and watch it.  I love that they are interested in the classic beginnings of film.  Thank you Brian Selznick!

new. LOVE.

Make sure to check out the video of George Melies's 'Le Voyage dans la Lune' below (After the picture from the book that goes with the video link):

breakfast.

After the kids went to school yesterday Gracie, Mike and I sat on our deck and had breakfast.   I have to say it's amazing.  We LOVE it!  It also helps that it's the ONLY room in the house that is not a chaotic mess of boxes (and boxes that have been unpacked by 7 year old girls looking for the toys that they've been missing for a month...) and things thrown all over the place.  It's our refuge from our house when we can't take the boxes any longer.

We are loving living here.  I'm hoping to post pictures of our house (before we moved into it...because trust me, you don't want to see it right now...) so that you can see the finished product.

Thanks Matt!  We love our house!

home. LIFE.

Slice.

Yes, we did go to the emergency room.  And No.  I guess things weren't crazy enough...

Emmett sliced his finger open and had to have 6 stitches the day before school.  We just got home.

It's almost 10pm.  No one is in bed.  School starts at 7:30am. 

Gotta go.

safe.

Beds are a safe place in our family.  Every night we read to our kids there, sing, and talk about the things in their lives that are important, exciting, or scary.  They are the safe place to spill your guts,cry, be comforted, be listened to, and be heard.

I know it sounds a little crazy.

This sweet moment with Mike and Gracie happened just as the day was getting started.  Gracie felt that she was being left out of the play and the kids were wanting to do some grown up playing that they didn't think exactly worked with Gracie involved.  Sometimes it's tough to only be four years old-- wishing you could be older.  I love though, that she knows that she can come to us and we'll have the time to talk to her, hear her sadness, and get a sweet and understanding hug. 

Don't wait to make a safe place in your home.  A place where anything can be said and heard.  A place where your toughest secrets can be shared and a place where you know you'll be loved no matter what the rest of the world may think.

One night when I was laying in bed with Emma talking about how scary school had been, how much she didn't like going, and how much she missed Gracie and I every day..the truest reason school was so scary finally came out.  Emma was scared of lunch time.  She would stress out as she stood there looking at all the choices knowing she had to decide with all of the class standing behind her telling her to hurry up.  She couldn't take the pressure.  Right then and there we decided to look at the lunch menu every night so that she could decide if she wanted to eat lunch at school and, if she did, what specifically, she was going to eat or if she was going to take a lunch.  Since that day school has been wonderful for her.  World Problem Solved.  There's something about the sleepy time just before bed, talking about the way the day went, the lights being off, and wanting to make sure everything in the world is just right before falling off to dream land. 

No matter when or where -make sure there are safety places in your life and home.  You'll have wonderful moments that will open your eyes to the depth of you and the sweet people you live with. 

love. LIFE.