Life Update: Our September

It's been wayyyyy too long since I last posted. I knew that this would be the case but I didn't realize just how busy I would be. I can happily say that we are moved into our house, belongings and all, and we are slowly turning this place into our home. There are still several unopened boxes and most of our walls are bare but I will take this over trailer living any day of the week.Kaiden is loving pre-school. His speech has been improving greatly and according to the teachers, he listens to what they say (for the most part, ha.) I'm starting to work on sleep training with Skye. She still wakes up every three hours at night and although we are bottle feeding, Ethan can't help because he has to wake up for work so early. I found an amazing article on sleep training that I think I will be trying to implement with her. They both get along with each other so well. I've heard horror stories of the older child not liking the younger, but Kaiden is always giving her kisses and hugs. He loves to show her his toys and she laughs at all the goofy things he does. They make a great team.Ethan is loving his job as an Airborne instructor. He just graduated from the "India Program" which is the training that all Airborne instructors go through. In order for him to receive his "black hat" (a respected hat that is worn to signify Airborne instructor status,) he must memorize a 7-page lesson verbatim and present it to several of the people who oversee him. We found a great method of memorizing things verbatim, in case you ever have to do so.The photo business has kind of been put on the back burner. I haven't been pursuing it as hard as I did when we first moved here but family comes first. My goal has been to get us on all on consistent schedule. There is also another project that God laid on my heart about a year ago and I'm really considering pushing forward with it. The thought of doing so scares me because it could completely flop but I know the only way it will succeed is through God's working so I'm just trying to make sure this is His calling for me and not my own. I can't wait to share with you all what it is when the time is right.Taking a break from Facebook was much needed and gave me the opportunity recognize heart issues and internal struggles that I never noticed before. I got so used to have a phone or laptop in my face that my thoughts were always stolen by the latest happenings. I was able to focus more on my family and untangle (so to speak) the mess I called my relationship with God. All in all, life in general has been challenging but I've learned so much about both God and myself through the process. I'm thankful for the growth and for the place it has brought me to.We still have the most basic internet. (AT&T lady screwed up.) It took forever to upload these pics but they are both growing so fast, I need to keep up. Once our house is a bit more settled, I'm hoping to get some pictures of that up. I also have a senior, family and commercial session still to blog. Thanks for your patience, friends! It's been a busy, busy September.

Life in A Fifth Wheel: The Blog Tour

We have officially been living in Georgia and our fifth wheel for  one month now. (Collectively, with the road trip it's been longer.)  I knew that living in this thing would get old after a while but it wasn't what I expected. I thought that I would feel cramped and get sick of the less than 200 sq. foot space I had to see everyday. But that wasn't/isn't the case. I'm actually adjusted to such small quarters. We have everything we need...a kitchen (minus a working oven), microwave, seating, beds, toilet and hot showers. We've learned to live simply --by American standards that is-- and it's crazy to think that we have a storage full of belongings that I don't really miss. But back to my point...the area that has tested my sanity is my kids. The combination of them and the fifth wheel has been an equation for disaster.For a while, I didn't understand why I had such a short fuse. I didn't understand why I found myself not wanting to be even remotely near the kids. It wasn't until I broke down to my husband and he pointed out that this fifth wheel leaves me with no separation from the kids. I am literally with them in the same room 24/7. Trying to get Kaiden and Skye to nap during the day is such a huge challenge and I rarely have success. If Kaiden jumps around or yells or does anything Kaiden related, she wakes up. Skye is still waking up every three hours at night and so even in my sleep I still attend to her. Because Kaiden hears it, he wakes up and wants to crawl into bed with us. I'm still adjusting to having two kids (which is hard enough) and in addition to that, we've been so busy running errands, getting to know the area, start up my business, switching over insurance and doctors and dentists, and dealing with my husband's new job/work schedule. There has been little to no consistency in our schedule.Friends, I am so tired. Life has been farrrrrr from glamorous and every morning I wake up looking forward to the moment I get to go back to sleep. I hate feeling like the life has been sucked out of me but I am constantly giving and giving and giving. Skye needs me, Kaiden needs me, my husband needs me...I'm left with no energy. I hope I don't come across as complaining because I don't want to have that kind of a spirit. I take it all day by day and it is only through God-given strength that I keep moving.All this to say, I just cannot wait until we move into our new house which should hopefully be sometime next week. Also, Kaiden started pre-school today and that gave me a much-needed break. I've finally got around to to posting a tour of the space we have been living in. It's taken me so long to take pictures because quite honestly, it's always so cluttered that it's not really picture worthy. When you have such a small space, it's hard to maintain.This whole experience has been an interesting journey. It's taught me a lot about myself (and my capacity to handle things) and most importantly it's helped me realize how much I need God in my day to day.Our bed ^^ It's actually quite comfortable and is a queen size so there's a decent amount of room. // Attempts at making this place a bit more like home.Kaiden has a little too much fun jumping on the bed.Our dinette area. I hope to one day re-cover all the ugly blue cushions. Under the table is Oakley's little hangout spot. Both the dinette and the couch next to it turn into a bed. // This second picture is our entryway area. The stairs lead up to the bed.Found this at a thrift store in Oklahoma for a dollar. Score!I say we live simply but we still have a Keurig coffee maker haha.Please excuse my poor handwriting haha.So there are two  bunk beds in the back. The top is our "garage" since we don't have many places to store things. // The bathroom. Pretty tiny but still better than none at all!We still have enough floor space for Kaiden and our dog to roll around.Kaiden in his bunk.

Road Trip Days 7-13: Oklahoma

We spent the last leg of our road trip in Oklahoma with Ethan's uncle and his family. This was one of my favorite points in our road trip. It was so nice to get to know that side of our family better and just spend quality time with them all. We kept our days busy with seeing sights, shopping around, watching movies and sharing good laughs. There were so many people around that I always had a helping hand with Kaiden and Skye. I really didn't want to leave but I knew that saying goodbye meant we were one step closer to our final destination. I took pictures sporadically so this is just a compilation of the here and there. By the end of this trip I just didn't feel like pulling my camera out for every little detail haha.(On a side note: sorry the blog posting has been a bit slow. We've been ridiculously busy and blogging takes quite a bit of time. I probably won't get into a normal groove until next month, after we close on our house and settle in. Thanks for being so patient!)We spent the first day in Oklahoma just hanging out at the house. After a ton of traveling, it was so nice just to sit around and be lazy for once.Our family took us to downtown Enid. The pic on the left is Madison sporting our Ergobaby carrier (and our baby haha.) It was actually pretty awesome walking around and seeing some of their awesome shops. "The Felt Bird" was a favorite of mine.This is a peek of the inside of "The Felt Bird"...pretty cool, huh? A lot of the stuff inside was made by local artists.Grabbing some coffee at a local, downtown coffee shop.The four of us. :) // Kaiden still doesn't know how to sip out of a straw...The coolest thing about this coffee shop was the  fact that all profits go towards different ministries. Everything you ordered was paid for by donation only. I've never seen anything like that before.The next day we went antiquing. Aunt Jill spotted a bunch of vintage toys for only a quarter a piece. Kaiden was definitely in heaven.The best part about antique-ing in Oklahoma is all the southwestern and native american things we came across. My husband actually enjoyed antiquing and spent the whole day shopping around with us. It was pretty awesome.We stopped at a local sandwich shop for a lunch break.I think Madison enjoyed coloring the kid's placemats more than Kaiden haha.And what's a day of antique-ing without grabbing some gelato?Took this lovely lady's senior pictures!They have such beautiful property. This little stream runs through the front of their yard.If we walked under the bridge we would make our way across the street where a little kids train runs on the weekends. For those of you that don't know my son, he is OBSESSED with trains.Patiently waiting the train...I love this picture Madison took of the four of us. :)Snagged these crazy, vintage pants at an antique store for a  few bucks.The bridge to their home.My guys...We ended up driving straight from Oklahoma to Georgia and I didn't take many more pictures. You can imagine how tired I was from traveling AND taking care of a toddler and newborn. I hope you enjoyed seeing the road trip pictures and I'm excited to say that our journey doesn't stop here. We have a whole new territory to discover being in the South and I can't wait to update you on it.