This is our last week in our little house on Rambler, so I thought I would post a little montage of the best/most memorable times there. It’s not really in any order.
10. May 27, 2009. Monkey breaks her arm and Bear is born. On the same day.
That day will go down in infamy for sure. I went into labor really early in the morning and called my friend to come over to watch Monkey. The whole family came (mom, dad, & two young boys), we prayed and the Dude and I left for the hospital. 7 hours later Bear was here and I get a call from my friend saying “Congratulations!! Oh, and by the way, Monkey fell down the stairs.” They brought her up to see us and she wouldn’t really use her arm. So the Dude left my side to take her to the doctor and they came back plus one big pink cast. Going home with a newborn and a 20 month old in a cast was….. challenging.
9. Moving Day
The day we closed on the house the Dude and I ripped carpet out of the bathroom and slept on sleeping bags. The next day my parents arrived and we painted every wall in the house and replaced all the flooring on the main floor. It was intense.
8. Cookout with family and friends. There is really nothing better than having a bunch of friends over for a cookout. Kids playing outside, hubby cooking, good food. Nothing beats it. {Sorry I don’t have pictures of some of these… we’ve also been through 4 laptops at Rambler Road… pictures lost along the way}
7. Craft Weekend
Inspired by Meg’s craft weekends, but too cheap to attend myself, my girl Arwen and I decided to host our own. We sent out invitations, planned 3 crafts, brought in dinner, and pulled an all-night, no kid, girl only, craft-a-thon!
6. Movie nights
This isn’t really one memory, but a montage in itself. If you mention the words movie night to me I picture these people.
Coming over to eat, putting our kids to bed, and enjoying a movie or game together. Or even just a night of watching previews and YouTube videos until it was too late to actually watch anything.
5. Bringing our three boys home.
One
Two
Three
4. Planting our first vegetable garden. This was a whole-family project. The Dude built the raised bed and filled it will dirt. I planned out what we would be planting and the kids helped me plant and harvest. They would eat cherry tomatoes
right out of the garden.
3. Our porch swing.
Many family pictures were taken here, many summer nights spent watching the kids run in the backyard, many deep discussions, many long phone calls. Most of the interactions we had with our neighbors happened on this swing. It was a good swing.
2. Birthday Parties
Pirate, Princess, Trucks, or just simple with the family. The birthday parties here were always special and fun.
1. The Little Years
This was the house of the little years. Where my kids were little enough to all sleep in the same bed, to take baths together, to be disciplined for things like biting, fussing, and throwing food on the floor. This is where the Dude and I became comfortable in our role as parents, not perfected, but comfortable. This is the house where I gave up on my standard of perfection and learned to rely fully on grace in parenting. This is where Monkey and Bear learned to read and write. Where the Little Dude learned to color. Where they boys’ favorite toys were plastic swords and hand-sewn capes. Where Monkey taped pretty pictures to the wall by my bed so I could look at them while I fell asleep. This is where they were small enough to sit in laundry baskets and take baths in the sink.
Thanks for coming along at this look back at the last 6 years. God has blessed us greatly in this house both with the things you see here and immeasurably in Spirit and Truth. I’m beyond grateful for this chapter in our lives in this house and move on with full confidence that God will continue the good work he has started in us! {Phil 1:6}
gracefullhome 