trick or treat.

this year we put on our holiday best.

fake glasses, netting, glow in the dark bracelets, temporary tattoos.

and went trick or treating
in our new neighborhood.

we met lots of wonderful people.

who offered trent the entire contents of their candy cauldrons.

there was: mr. sam, some loud puppies, and even a little girl trent's age.

the nicest?  that sweet little couple behind us in the alley!
(my parents! did you know that? our house is directly behind them!)
seriously pinching ourselves that this is all true!

first home.

as my babies napped today.

(and my big baby watched football)

I began packing up our sweet home.

I was overwhelmed with emotions. memories. and gratitude. 

I love this home.

these walls have surrounded us the last five years.

this is where tom and I use to sit on the couch
and drink wine and eat bread and cheese for dinner.

and slow dance in the living room with the lights off.
our first days as a couple.

I remember bringing home our puppies maddie and finn.

they would slide across these hardwood floors.

this is where we first brought home both of our babies from the hospital.
pacing these rooms all hours of the night.
our first days as a family.

this house looks great with the lawn mowed.

and even better with christmas lights.

we have been blessed with great neighbors.

and an amazing park.

and an incredible place to start our family.

renters and roots.

so today I begin packing up our very first home.

to return to my roots. 
back to my childhood home and room.

(with 2 babies. 2 dogs. and a hubs this time)

prayers of thanks to my lovely parents.

and prayers of patience.

 for all those who will be living under one roof.

with one bath...

I am quite excited that there will be more mouths to feed around the table.

and more hands to change all the diapers!

growing.

the crib.

life is good.

God is great.

and we are busy in the best way.

after supper site visits.

after supper we like to take the kids over for a site visit.

and yes, thats a roof!

despite trent's request, the wood planks will soon be replaced by actual stairs.

baby lila's first look at the new house.

we all love this place already!

first house guests.

tonight we had our first house guests.

we gave them the grand tour.

and then since we have no food. drink. or bathrooms.

we went out downtown for gelato.

wow.

wood. walls. wow.
we went from basketball court to house fast.

we took the kids over in our boots and stood in our own rooms.
pretended we were in our own beds.

and danced around when we saw how big the windows were. 

it looks like an episode of handy manny around here.
and we couldn't be more excited!

a penny and a cross.

good news: our lot officially looks like a large basketball court.

right before the concrete was poured, tom took two things.

a cross. and a 2009 penny.

he went to the part of the lot where our bedroom will be.

and put the cross and the penny there, under the concrete.

love him.

"but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"
Joshua 24:15

here we grow!

It's official.

Today we started building our new home.

Labor day weekend brings plans of ordering the initial supplies, hitting Home Depot sales, 

and scouring over design magazines as the kiddos take their naps. 

and as this is our first official post, we must make our first official predicitons 

of when our project will be complete.

tom: 1.15.10

yaya: 3.31.10

This lot will no longer be filled with just potential. dreams. and adirondack chairs.

...here we grow!