eat sleep and farm

We decided a bit last minute to go spend Christmas with our families. Its such a hard decision every year because staying home is easy, comfortable and fun... but we know how much our parents appreciate seeing our kids on the holiday and we do always have fun there :)  When we realized it would be decent weather over the pass, we decided to go for it.  Jason bought travel DVD players and ear phones for the kids - both ended up being perfect for our trip! I stocked up on new travel (mostly trivia) games and we set off for the long drive.  We decided to break it up into a 2 day trip and to stay over in Oregon, so we didn't have to do 16+ hours in one day.  here we go!  our stop over at a hotel in Oregon.  Ends up its perfect to drive about 7 hours the first day and 5 1/2 the second day.  arrived at my parents house just in time to watch the Seahawks beat the Rams (!!!)  and the next morning my Dad made us killer omelets....

December has gone by in a whirlwind. I had grand dreams of it going by slowly and enjoying every single moment. Going to all our favorite holiday places and really relishing the month.  Then we decided to drive to California to spend Christmas week with our families.  And some dear friends of ours decided to move to Georgia (we hate Georgia now, just FYI)  and we hosted their going away party... and I hosted my annual ladies only cookie decorating party.  And then we finished up school, celebrated a small Christmas here, went to a couple parties, packed and left town.  my friend Katie had me over with her sister and Mom for a cookies and cocktails  party, which was super fun. We baked cookies together, drank cocktails and laughed a lot.  evidence of said annual cookie decorating party.  I bought these leaves at a market in Tacoma and have loved the color  they've brought to our house! And as a bonus... they're sti...

Merry Christmas!                                                {all photos taken by ivy & tweed photography } 2014 is almost over and while I can't point to anything that made it a bad year, it was a hard year. Lots of changes; some good and some difficult, and it felt long . Most years feel like they flew by, but 2014 has had moments where it feels like its dragging on and on. Our family had good health all year. No terrible sicknesses or hospital visits (woo-hoo!) and we did some traveling which is always fun. Jason had a business trip with Amazon in November and I got to tag along with him, which was awesome. We enjoyed the alone time and enjoyed a few things about Vegas. Its a fun place with weird people :) We took a month long trip to California in June and while the visit went amazingly well, we decided a month is way too long to be away. We were...

We had our annual family Christmas pictures taken a few weeks ago and as per-usual, I mostly love the hilarious outtakes. Miles doesn't like to pose, because, well, he's 2 and a half. He'd rather jump, spin, show 2 fingers or completely turn around and pretend not to see you. Thought I'd share the silliness here with you all :) this one isn't very funny until you see it with the rest.  I told Miles he should stand closer to Kara...  So he did, but he also started jumping, frantically.  and then Mommy said "Stand still, Miles!"  Kara is bouncy too.  and then, of course, we all had to be crazy on purpose :) 

Oh, hi. I have a blog. Its coming on December now and while I love to write, I'm finding I don't have the time. If its a paper that's NOT due for a school-something-or-other, it goes unwritten. I suppose its the phase of life I'm in, but who knows. Its also possible I've just lost the zest for blogging frequently. We moved into our new home back around October 1st. The move did not go very smooth and at the time it seemed horrible. Almost unbearable. Now, looking back 2+ months, I laugh at how silly I become when things aren't easy. How quickly I forget God is in complete control and I am not. There's a Steven Curtis Chapman song called God is God and I am Not  that I find myself humming a lot these days ;-) The short version of a very long story (with all the dramatic details you'd get if you were sitting here sipping coffee with me in person) is... the man selling us the house wasn't ready to move out when he said he'd be out. We got here...

Moms, these days are fleeting. Like them or not, relish the moments or wish they'd go faster, they're goin'.  I have days where I constantly feel myself thinking, "just a few more hours!"  and days where I'm literally wondering if God is playing tricks on me and slowing the clock down until bedtime. Like, I'm convinced on those days that the hour literally took 2 hours and someone is laughing at me as I climb a never ending cliff, trying to find the top.  Lately though, I've been feeling a little bit of both in the same day.  I love getting up and starting the day with my kids. I love breakfast time and usually make a meal that's probably over kill, but its my favorite meal of the day, so my kids have to deal with it ;-)  I love going on our morning walk. Sometimes we walk to a destination, but usually we just wander and talk and pick flowers and sing.  But there's this moment I face lately, in almost each day, where I'm done ....

This summer has been a doozy. I always leave the school year with this dreamy attitude about Summer. Like, sleeping in, gourmet breakfasts, totally obedient, cheerful kids, weather that cooperates the entire summer long {this means no intense heat, among other things}, fun day trips and weekend getaways, out of town guests and meeting new friends as we play at new places....  and every end-of-August I find myself growling because the summer did NOT go as the above little story was laid out. For the past couple years, we've found ourselves moving at the end of Summer into the beginning of the school year. Jolly good fun. Its a total thorn in my side, but every year we get through it. Last year we got through it with a quick trip to CA to see Jason's ailing Grandma, brought my nephew back home with us for a week long visit, sent him home on the plane just in time for Miles to fall and fracture his skull, landing us at the Children's hospital in Seattle for 2 days, only to ...