What next . . .

Sometimes with the daily routine of life it's hard to take a minute just to breath and reflect. I am so lucky to be able to fill my days with a job I enjoy and a family to have fun with and take care of, but it also leaves me pretty exhausted. It's nice to take a minute to think about how I got to where I am and think about where I want to go now.

Eight years ago, Heath and I were putting the finishing touches on our wedding plans. I was enjoying my job traveling around the state for Purdue and he was anxiously preparing to graduate from PA school and looking diligently for a job. We decided we needed an adventure and landed out in VA. What we told our families, and what we truly believed, was that we were on a five-year plan. What we didn't know was how connected we would get to the life we built with our Lynchburg family. The first few years in VA Heath and I grew as a married couple. I can't say we truly took advantage of life without kids (who knew how different it would be!) but we enjoyed spending time together and going on little adventures. Then we adopted a cat, then a dog and took the plunge with starting our own family. Seven years flew by.

A year and a half ago, we decided we really were ready to move back to Indiana.While I'm a little greedy and think God took my grandparents a little too early I know how blessed I was to have them in my day-to-day life growing up. I'll always remember my grandma bringing brownies to soccer games and watching us play although I realize now just how little she probably understood about the game - it didn't matter though because she was there just to support me. And playing Euchre with my grandpas after family dinners on the weekend. Asher deserves this too.

Who knew what a process moving would be. Despite awesome support from family and friends it nearly broke us. When we put our house on the market I had no idea I'd be given 20 minutes to scramble around the house cleaning spaghetti of the floors, table and ceiling to get Asher and Peyton out of the house for an impromptu showing. I didn't know that despite all the news reports to the contrary we really had "bought high" and were going to have to "sell low" if we wanted to get our house sold. I didn't know that all those people I had called co-workers had really become good friends and the emotional toll it would take to say good bye to them - we weren't just moving across town we were moving across the country and who knew when we'd seem them again. I didn't know that saying good bye to the only daycare Asher had ever known would feel like I was uprooting him from the comfort of the only routine he'd ever known. I certainly didn't know that when a moving company tells you their truck will be plenty big enough for your three-bedroom house that they could be wrong! I also didn't expect as we looked for jobs Heath would find a great opportunity that would end up being just a little too good to be true and we'd have to scramble for a Plan B (even thought it turned out to be a great Plan B). Nor was I aware that we'd have to land in five different stops before we could call ourselves settled again.

But that's where we are now, almost settled. We've decided to build a house in Zionsville that will be ready at the beginning of August. It's our dream house really and we hope to watch Asher grow up there. Everything that we've worked so hard for over the last year and a half is finally falling in to place. Heath and I both have jobs we like (with relatively short commutes) and more free time to be together on evenings and weekends. Asher is starting to get settled in to his new routine at school. We get to have those dinners and celebrations with family that were few and far between in VA. I suppose sometimes it really is true that you've got to have the valleys to truly appreciate the mountains.

Who knows where we'll be another eight years down the road. I'm sure there will continue to be lots of highs and lows. I just pray that my family will be right there with me taking the journey together.

Some Favorites

Happy Birthday, Adelyn! It's really fun to watch your child play with your friends' children, especially to recognize some of the awesome characteristics your friends have reflected in their kiddos.

This has to be one of my all-time favorite pictures :)

Happy Birthday, Papaw!

Happy Birthday, Papaw!! One of the best things about being back in Indiana is celebrating special occasions with our family. No longer do we have to call to say "Happy Birthday" over the phone we can do it in person! Asher's favorite part of birthday parties is definitely the cupcakes!