Out with the Old, In with the New

We've officially been living in the new house for almost a month now, and things are finally starting to feel like home. 

Last week, Matt Wilson came and had our old house and small barn torn down, taken to the dump, and dirt work completed in five days- can you say amazing! Last weekend we took one more picture of us in front of the old house to commemorate the ending of that chapter of our lives.

On Tuesday when we got home from work, half the house was gone! 

Brady and Ashley took a little time to wave a final goodbye to the house as Matt continued to knock it down. 

By Wednesday all that was left was a little concrete. 

And by Saturday we ended up looking like this.

But I won't lie and say this whole process wasn't a little bittersweet. While our first house together was technically in Pinkneyville, this was the first house that we actually owned. I remember the pride we felt making that final house payment and getting that debt off our back. 

I still see myself crying on the couch in the living room when we found out that Ian had died. I know exactly where we were standing in the kitchen when I told Eric we were pregnant with Madison, and then again where we cried when we found out she too would die.  And that same place we held each other when mourning the loss of Jordan. 

The wall in the "extra" room saw my belly grow with Ian, Madison, Brayden and Ashley, Jordan, and Katie. 

The house was filled with the sounds of baby cries, laughter, and little footsteps once the twins arrived. I'm pretty sure there are dents in the carpet where I shushed them in front of their cribs when they were crying. I could show you exactly where each one took their first steps. The guest bed they loved to play on. The path in the kitchen and living room that they wore out running around on.

There were so many Christmases, birthdays, and anniversaries celebrated in that house. There were tears of joy, of sadness, of anger, of love. We went through our highest highs and our lowest lows there. Grew as ourselves, as friends, as husband and wife, as a family. Brayden and Ashley might not remember their first house, and I know that Katie sure won't. But we will. 

As much as I wanted to finally get out of that house for good, there will always be a tiny part of me that wishes we could hold on to it for one more minute longer. It served our family, and all those families before us, well. 

But now, there's no looking back. We're in the "boo" house (as Ashley calls it), and we couldn't be more excited to see what it has in store for our little family. 

Jam Packed June

What a fun filled month June was! When I was thinking back on last month, I thought we kept it pretty low key. But when I looked at all the photos (read fun) we had, I was happily mistaken. 

We started the month with lots of Katie cuddles, which shouldn't surprise anyone. 

I know I've said it before, but Brady and Ashley are totally smitten with Katie. They both ask where she is at as soon as they wake up, and Brady will get right up in her face and exclaim, "Hiiiiiii Katie". 

Brayden often asks to hold her by putting a pillow on his lap, pointing to it, and saying "Katie", which then causes Ashley to want a turn to hold her as well.

Ashley prefers to help out in every way she can, getting diapers, holding bottles, putting new bottles in the fridge and used bottles in the sink. She really is such a big help.

We spent lots of time outside last month. Some favorites were chalk drawing and wiggle car riding.

On Father's Day weekend, we spent Saturday afternoon at Dan and Theresa's house where Brayden and Ashley had lots of fun with their cousins in the bounce house and little pool. 

Early that next week we went to my mom and dad's to celebrate with my dad. The kids enjoyed being pushed on some little bikes.

Fair week we ventured to the livestock barns to check out all the animals. Ashley proudly exclaimed, "I like cows" multiple times that day. We also found out that they like corn dogs and lemon shake-ups. I think they drank more of our drinks than Eric and I did. 

My mom and dad's pool had been calling my name, and we enjoyed some time swimming in it. Ashley is turning out to be a little fish. Brayden has been showing some resistance in wanting to get into the pool, but once we can finally coax him in, he always has a blast. His favorite thing is to use the pool noodle on the water jet to spray water everywhere. 

The month ended with a trip to Aikman Wildlife Adventure with my dad. Brayden and Ashley loved walking around and looking at all the animals, and their favorite thing was feeding the deer, cows, goats, and sheep. I think my dad enjoyed the trip about as much as the twins did. 

And finally, a little update on the house. We (finally) have siding completed and at the end of the month they poured our back patio! It won't be long until we can actually live in there.

July is already shaping up to be just as fun and exciting as June, so stay tuned!