Settling In

We are all moved into the apartment and have been living in it for the past week. We are starting to feel more settled in and it's starting to feel a little more like home. Neal has been sleeping really well in his pack-n-play, he's actually been sleeping in each morning until about 8:30 or 9:00 which I am loving. So, what does life at the apartment look like so far:

This is what I found the other day when I come into the living room - Neal and Yawkey, the neighborhood watch.


Neal also loves to cuddle up on the couch and watch Sesame Street


The best part about living in the apartment is that we are right next door to Neal's cousins. It has been a lot of fun to walk over and play with them. He is going to have fun this summer playing with them outside, and they have a big trampoline which is Neal's favorite.



Our days right now are filled with some repairs to our home before we put it up on the market. Tyler has been able to take time off work and work on the house. So far we have replaced some molding, windows and touched up some paint and are now working on updating the bathrooms, then plant some fresh flowers outside and we should be ready to put it on the market. It will be really nice once the house is on the market and we can get back to our normal weekly activities and outings.

Moving Out

We have been busy lately packing up our home so we can put it on the market and hopefully sell it this summer. As you all know Tyler and I are preparing to move to North Carolina to serve in full-time ministry with TWR. We are busy support raising and hope to be fully funded and able to report to our assignment in North Carolina some time in January. This goal means that we need to sell our house sooner then later, thus we are packing up and moving out...or moving a few blocks down the road.

Tyler's family owns a small two bedroom, mother-in-law type, apartment that is open for us to live in during the time between now and when we move out of state. This is a huge blessing to us, allowing us to get our house ready to sell and not have to worry about showing the house while still living in it. We officially moved into the apartment Sunday, so one step closer in the moving saga.

It has been a lot of work packing up, but we are nearing the end of this big project. Just some last minute repairs and a good house cleaning and we are ready to sell the house. Neal has been enamored by the whole packing experience. If I don't keep my eye on him he is unpacking a box quicker then I can pack it. I don't think he has played with many of his toys the last few weeks 'cause the empty boxes are way more fun. :)




Besides playing with all the boxes, and packing material he has also been quite the little helper. His favorite chores are sweeping and washing the walls.




We hope to be able to share some good news of selling the house and no longer being home owners in AK soon...anyone looking for a home in AK? I know a great one for sale :)

Fun Filled Weekend

Memorial Day weekend started out without any specific plans. However it turned out to be a fun filled weekend including:

A BBQ at our place, a park play date with friends, and two trips out to GiGi and Grandfather's house where we road the 4 wheeler, feed chickens and horses, and played outside all day.





It was a great relaxing weekend, filled with friends and family...and really, really nice weather.

Sun, Summer and Softball

Summer is off to a great start this year. If this weather is a glimpse of what the summer will be like we are in for a great one.

So what will be filling our summer this year?

1) Softball!
Tyler and I joined a softball league this year. It is a low key co-ed team made up of 16 of our close friends. We have a game every Thursday evening. It is a little hard to find babysitting for Neal each week but if the game is early enough and there are enough people there to keep an eye on him we are able to take him with us. Tyler and I have both had a lot more fun playing then we had anticipated, plus it's great to be able to play on the team together.


2) Parks!
Neal is now walking all over the place. It is perfect timing 'cause now we can go to parks and let him walk/run around and play. Although his new favorite activity at the park is to sit one the ground and play with the rocks...who needs a sandy beach when you have rocks to dig your feed into? I prefer a warm sandy beach but Neal is very happy with the rocks.


3) Camping!
We hope to do some camping this year, and of course fishing. We'll have to see how the camping goes, it's a bit harder with a one year old, but if the weather continues to be great l definitely see some camping trips coming.

Grandma & Papa

Neal got to spend a little over a week at his Grandma and Papa's house in Seattle while Tyler and I were in Orlando for a training seminar with TWR. As sad as I was to be away from my little man I am so thrilled that he got to spend some quality time with his Grandma and Papa. Living up in AK means that he doesn't get to see them very often and so any time he gets with them is precious to me.

Besides, does this look like a kid that is missing his mom?



I think we missed Neal more then he missed us. Grandma and Papa's house is way to fun, especially when he gets to eat PB&J for lunch with Papa.


We got to Skype with Neal a few times while we were away. I wasn't sure what his reaction would be to seeing us on the computer. Honesty I thought he wouldn't really recognize us, but I was wrong. His face light up when he saw us and he even called us Dada and Mama over the computer. Seeing him on Skype was exactly what I needed to get me through a week without him. Since I spend everyday with him at home and take him everywhere with me it really makes me miss him when we are apart.

Besides having fun with Grandma and Papa Neal also had a great time playing with his cousins. Rosemary and Neal got along really well. Rosemary would play instruments with Neal, read him stories and show him how to drive his cars. They were very cute together.


Needless to say, I was very excited to get back to Seattle to see my boy, but was glad he had so much fun. Can't you tell how much they all love playing together?

The potholder swap

A few friends of mine had a great idea to start a friends/family craft swap. I had so much fun participating in a mug rug swap a few months ago that I loved the idea and put together a swap of my own. I decided to create a potholder swap and I had 8 people participate. I'm not sure about everyone else but I had a great time creating my potholders for my partner. I'm pretty sure everyone else had fun as well since I already have several requests for another swap.

For the potholders you had to make one that was inspired by your state flag and a second one tailored to your partners likes. Here are the potholders I made for my partner:

This is my AK state flag potholder. A blue and yellow star on a blanket of snow


This hexagon potholder was really fun to make and I loved how it turned out. I had never worked with hexagons before but immediatly fell in love with them and will be using hexagons again soon.


Just a few weeks ago I received potholders in the mail from my partner. She is from Hawaii and so not only did I get some great potholders (even a large bread potholder with hand pockets) but also some delicious Hawaiian chocolates.


Can't wait for another swap with these gals again soon...Who knows what we'll make next time, the possibilities are endless. And there is always room for more participants so let me know if you want to join the next one. :)

Enjoying the Sun

It has been beautiful and sunny the past few days so we have taken advantage and gone outside to enjoy. This is a great start to the summer and hope that it continues.


Hope you all are enjoying some sun.