The Other Thing About Moving Is....

You get behind on blogging. 

We are semi-settled now into life in Chattanooga. I am still pinching myself over this fact: that I live now live in Chattanooga. Many days it still feels like we are just here for a long visit and that in a week or so, I will have to go back to Alabama. Now, Alabama isn't bad. I'm a big fan, but living in Chattanooga once again surrounded by family and friends was a dream that I had gotten used to believing may never happen for us. So I am still trying to wrap my mind around this dream come true. The other morning, I had taken Hudson to the back bedroom to change his diaper and had left the boys in the living room watching a video only to come back to find that my boys were sitting on my Mom's lap giggling with each other and swapping kisses and hugs. She was there, had stopped by  on her way to work, just to get kisses and hugs from "her boys" as she calls them. And three nights ago, Alder asked me if he could spend the night "just by himself with KeeKee, JoeJoe, and Uncle Jes" and asked me to "call KeeKee to check and see if that would be alright." I did and he went. I can't believe these things are happening and I am oh-so-grateful! Jared is loving his job. Absolutely loving it and looks forward to a bright future there. Now, if we could just sell our 2 houses in Demopolis so we could buy our own house here and get really settled. I am posting the pictures of the before and after of our house we bought and renovated a mere weeks before we moved. I think it turned out pretty darn fantastic. If you are looking to own a house with the zip code of 36732 in wonderful Demop (its a 3 bedroom, 3 bath with a new kitchen), we would love you to buy 502 N.Main or our other house just right next door.

Isn't she pretty?

502 N. Main 

Before and After Shots

*please ignore the dusty, white hardwood floors. the floors were diligently cleaned after we had moved and i am told they sparkle. we just couldn't get it all done before we rolled out of town.*

The thing about moving is....

You realize that as a family unit you have WAY TOO MANY socks. Seriously, how can 5 people have so many pairs of socks??? And how have I not known this until now? Gracious.

One a more serious note.....

I find myself composing this on the eve of our move away from quiet and sweet Demopolis to the embrace of home. Our original home. The place where Jared and I both grew up and the place in which we are excited to be able to raise our own children. But for the last 3 years, we have called this place home. 500 North Main Ave. It has been a wonderfully challenging last three years. We are stronger, wiser, simpler, and bit more calm in general after our time here in lower Alabama. It has been days full of long walks along the river, boat rides on the Tombigbee, adventures in house renovating, and focusing on just family, our little family. We have learned about the quiet things in life that make a day richer and that throwing a rock into water or stopping by the produce stand can be enough to fill a day. It doesn't have to be more. We have had the luxury of just having a singular purpose of raising a family unhurried by distractions that a bigger town has to offer and, at times, it has made me want to pull my hair out. However, I believe that these past 3 years have been a special gift. I would say that it has been marked by some real joys (do you see the 3 precious boys I have?) and then also filled with some real loneliness and struggle. Probably more of the later and so I feel as though tomorrow I will rise and gather my things and head to the Promised Land of home. Will we still struggle and suffer and have challenges to meet and overcome there in Chattanooga, of course. Always as long as we are on this side of Heaven, but I am proud to say that tomorrow I will certainly feel just a bit of pride as I look at how much we have "grown" as a family during this time. 

Thank you Demopolis for the opportunity to do so. 

A dear local artist drew our house for us and dropped it by this afternoon as a going away gift. My eyes filled with tears.

Rock throwing with a tugboat in the distance.

Peaceful.

My Hunter

Well, its happened. My Alderman has become a little hunter. He and Daddy went on their first dove hunt last week and Alder's first ever hunting experience. He has been so thrilled to go hunting he literally has been counting the days. I was trying to take his picture on the way to the car, but he kept saying, "Mama, stop. I have no time for you to do this. I have got to go and hunt with Daddy. I need to get in the car. Good-bye." That about broke my heart. When did he get this big???

He took along his cap pistol (which is in the picture below) that is at his side AT ALL TIMES around the house and I think after last week, he will always be a lover of hunting. 

Oh, my! 

Thirty

Jared turned 30 at the end of July and I wanted to celebrate him by hosting a SURPRISE weekend at the lake with a few of his favorite people. I found a house on Lake Martin and gathered everyone together for a fun filled weekend of laughter, stories, teak surfing, eating, lounging, latte making, swimming, tubing, grilling, and more laughter. I cannot believe I got everyone together in the same place at the same time. It was awesome. Jared had no idea where we were driving on that Friday and who would be there. He was totally surprised and thrilled. We, the Youssefs, Browns, Joseph and Beth, Mikey Love and Christine, and us piled into the house with 3 nursing babies and I can safely say that none of us wanted to leave on that Sunday morning. I feel like I don't have many pictures due to being distracted by all the laughing and story telling (and running around fixing food and so on) but several there that weekend had cameras and my dear sister-n-law has a great slide show at the end of this post. You should click on the link to her post and the slide show. Great pictures and hilarious action shots.

Happy Birthday again sweet Hubby! 

Arrival of guests and meeting Ella May Youssef for the first time. Do you see her tiny legs in between Jared and Emily? Emily and Josh were such sports for coming and traveling with newborn little Ella May. 

 My goofy husband and his approval.

 The youngest Wingfield cousins. Hudson (4 months) and Hank (8 1/2 months) chilling together in the pack 'n play. No kids allowed except the ones who are attached to the boob. Sorry. Was that too much?  

Mikey Love, Jared's best friend from the age of about 12, being our pancake chef on Saturday morning. My boys call him Uncle Mikey. He rocks. 

 Hudson snuggling with Auntie T. We love sweet and always generous and loving Taylor. 

Boys at play.

 The boys trying to behave.

 The girlies laughing at the boys.

 Mikey Love and Joshie telling stories and becoming bffs.

Jared and his favorite cake I brought up to the lake. Carrot.

Link to Beth's Pictures below:

 http://bethjosephwingfield.blogspot.com/2011/08/jareds-30th-bday-at-lake.html

Its Hot.

I am a lover of a good article because an article is all that I get around to reading these days. I love to read an article and have it evoke strong feelings of the love of literature that I have, but have no time right now to "invest" in. Like I have the book "Edgar Sawtelle" on my night stand (that my Mom loaned me and swears is one of the greatest books she has ever read) that I have picked up a baker's dozen times but can't seem to read due to being in the 9 month of pregnancy, or having a newborn baby, or 3 children aged 3 and under, or feeling instead that I need to read some book titled "How to Train Up Your Children (without beating them or selling them on the side of the road)" and so therefore I fall asleep my first sentence into the book and most likely with drool running down my face in two minutes flat.  All of this to say that my latest love is Garden&Gun magazine. Its a literary jewel as far a magazines go and I have enjoyed reading it here and there when at my parent's house. Jared enjoys it as well and so for his 30th birthday (more on that soon so stay tuned) my parents gave him two years subscription to this fine magazine. On the road last weekend, I read the May issue that my parents had wrapped up for him with a card explaining their generous gift. The May issue of Garden&Gun is a special issue for us native "Chattanoogians" as they featured our sweet and pretty darn cool town as one of their main articles. Anyways, my point of this post is this article that I found among the pages. Its hilarious, so very true, and if you live in Alabama right now (I am sorry Mom and Dad you do not count or any other readers hailing from the Tennessee mountains. I know its hot there, but you live on a mountain and there is a breeze. We haven't had a breeze since January) then you will love and laugh with this read. 

Enjoy!

I did.

Here is the link again in case you missed the highlighted gray "this"

http://gardenandgun.com/article/daniel-wallace-great-indoorsman