The Beginning

So I'm about to give the cyber-world my blogger-virginity as some may say. I've considered beginning a blog several times over the last four years but there never seemed anything interesting to write about. I was a working newlywed, putting my husband through graduate school. So much has changed since then, it seems hard to believe that in 4.5 years Mitch and I have gotten married, settled in the Wheaton area, had countless jobs, earned a Masters Degree (Mitch), bought a house, became parents to an amazing beagle-mutt puppy named Mickelson and then added to our family by welcoming Elianna Josephine (19 mo) and most recently Jameson Andrew (3 mo) into our family.

I suppose owning a dog and mothering two small children should give me plenty to write about... so here goes!

Elianna is our spunky little love. She is full of life and laughter, loves to give kisses, loves to dance in circles and loves to steal her daddy's heart each time he comes home from work and she runs to him crying "DAAADDDDDDYYYYY!!!" Melts my heart every time! We are currently learning animal sounds, songs, letters, numbers, colors and of course words like, "potty," "poo-poo," and "pee-pee!" Elmo was very recently introduced to Elianna

and boy is she hooked! She definitely keeps us on our toes.

Jameson is such a joy. Despite his early weeks of colic (which we are still "battling"), he has made my heart grow even bigger. I never knew a little boy smile could steal my heart as his does. I love the moments when the colic has subsided and we enjoy coos, smiles, laughs, and often gas together. Yes, our little man can toot up a storm as he only has a BM every 5-7 days!

I am so looking forward to watching his personality grow and watching my Eli Jo and my Jay Bird grow to know one another, love one another, fight with one another and fight for one another! What a day that will be.

My amazing husband fills most of his days with work. We knew getting married young, having children young would come with sacrifices. Mitch has definitely taken the brunt of the sacrificing these last two years as he works 50-60 hours most every week. In the little free time he does have, he loves to mentor guys in our church youth group, swing a golf club (when we can afford a cheap round) and follow his OSU Buckeyes in whatever sport is currently in season. His love for his kids is incredible, to have him by my side is my life's greatest blessing.

Other then keeping the kids clean and fed, keep the house clean... in other words, keeping our home sane, I love, Love LOVE to cook/bake and enjoy finding new recipes to test on Mitch. I love hosting friends to eat and play games at our house. Dancing and theatre are still passions of mine but have taken a bit of a back seat since being married. I hope to begin a weekly dance lesson somewhere locally in the next few months. I am also currently going through Beth Moore's "Fruit of the Spirit" Bible study and am growing so much in my walk with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is teaching me so much about who He is, and what a daily dependence on Him looks like. It's super exciting!

Mitch and I feel so blessed by what the Lord has given us and has done in us the last four years. We are certainly excited to see what else he has in store as we continue serving him in our family, our church and the world around us.

Until next time... keep loving each other!