Living, Loving, Learning

We had quite a time last weekend at the John James Audubon State Park . It was about a thirty minute drive to our house and we were all itching to get into the woods as soon as we arrived. We hit the nature center first, hoping to get some good advice about a family hike. It was a gorgeous building that was in the process of being decorated for a wedding there later that day. There was one lady in the nature center that gave us a suggestion to just take the shortest loop after we told her that Griffin could comfortably walk a mile. We should have said a flat mile, or a city mile...regardless, either this lady had never hiked with a 3 yr. old or had never actually walked those trails. At the start, the park was really beautiful, and very alive with the chorus of birds singing. As we walked, we would stir up large groups of birds that would all take flight in an amazing display of teamwork and organization. Then came the STEEP uphill climb. The trail was a maze of tree roots and loose ...

I just wanted to tell you all about Griff's BIG day yesterday. He jumped off the diving board at the pool for the FIRST time!! I was so proud of him. The lifeguard asked him if he wanted to try, helped him put a life jacket on and that was it. I waited in the water and he just walked over to the board, climbed on, counted to 3 and jumped, and then did it 20 more times. I am so proud. OK, got to go, we are headed to the Audubon State Park for a family walk in the woods. They are know for their awesome bird diversity so I will definitely bring a camera. Have a great weekend. P.S. We put in an offer for a great house last night....they have to reply by Monday morning....keep your fingers and toes crossed for us.

We had a fantastic weekend in Nashville. It is a very groovy little city. It is a much smaller town than I had pictured, but that lent it a certain feel of down-hominess and it was certainly easily navigated. We pulled into the downtown area before noon on Saturday and after ten minutes of driving around, we had successfully located the shopping/entertainment/tourist area. About 4 blocks of kitchy souvenir shops, BBQ joints and honky-tonks spewing the smell of stale beer, fresh smoke (for those of you who don't know, I quit smoking the day we moved here so this smell was not even enticing to me) and lively bands at 11 am. The first thing to do: stop in one of the tourist shops and buy a little something to keep Griffin's hands full for the next hour or two...hence, the tambourine. We enjoyed peeking in a few more of the stores and we even bought Griffin a Christmas present there. SHHH don't tell him...it's a small, but real guitar...we felt like getting his first guita...

Well, as one of my little fairies just wrote to me, "It wasn't meant to be. Let's call it fate....there was a reason you did not get that house. I know it is heartbreaking, but just find comfort in knowing everything happens for a reason. Someone is looking out for you!" These words bring me PEACE. So, the dream house will fulfill someone else's needs and we will continue to look for the right place for our family. I even told myself not to get attached, that there was every chance in the world that we would not get that house but I failed miserably and there have been many tears shed over the past couple of days. It is hard to be here without the physical presence of friends and family to see us through the ups and downs of such a huge adventure. I can say though, this last six months have brought Bruce and I to a new level in our marriage. We have fallen more deeply in love, our spirits more tightly entwined, our roots becoming one. We now have clear shared dr...

Hello there friends. I am having a hard time blogging because I am so focused/excited/scared right now. We found THE HOUSE. I almost can't believe it exists....perfect size house only 10 years old on 5 gorgeous acres (3 acres open, 2 fenced and currently housing chickens, goats, dogs, cats, miniature horses and whatever wildlife passes by like deer, foxes and bunnies) and UNDER our budget. It's only a 15 minuted drive for Bruce to work and a 10 min. ride to the local schools for Griffin. I had the chills as we first pulled into the driveway. The family that lives there now is lovely and happy and will leave behind good energy for us. Anyways, we are waiting on our mortgage approval (very complicated because we still own the house in Michigan, Bruce's student loans and a career change) so we can't actually make an offer yet but are hoping by the end of the day today, maybe........ Anyways, I will let you all know, and post some pictures of the house as soon as we find ou...

OK ...so I have to mention the peculiar " kentuckyisms " that we run into as we go along on this journey. The best one this week was when Bruce went into a highly recommended barber shop (the Razor's Edge, I believe...it's all in name) and described to the young barber what type of style he wanted. The barber's response, "I ain't too good with scissors." And, just to remind us how far away Michigan is: It doesn't even show up in the editor's spell check.

We had a really great time this weekend with Grandpa and Grandma Huggins. Griffin was on repeat play with Grandpa "Do you wanna play with me?" , and of course, the answer was always yes. We were able to show them around this little corner of the world, play at the city park and take a quick peak at a house we are VERY interested it. It sure is nice to have family around.