New Home ~ New Adventure

A short post to update pictures!

We were dirt poor this Christmas so we bottled eggnog to give as our gift this year. It came out really good! Recipe called for ground nutmeg so Stephen and I decided to be fancy and grind it ourselves. In case you were ever wondering what the inside of a nutmeg looks like, I have provided some pics I took for your viewing pleasure. I think we will make Snar'nog'o a tradition from now on. But in packing up to move I also found a plethora of gift cards I had never spent from various occasions and was able to find gifts for family. God is so funny that way. Little blessings right when we need them.

Aria is 16 months now and packing on more personality every single day. She is down to pretty much one bottle in the morning but boy, is she a crank until she has had it. It's like her morning coffee and she has a one track mind until she's had her Joe. Hilarious. She knows all of her body parts, and can identify most fruits. She likes to do things on her own. The struggle is so real when it comes to eating. She's a great eater but sometimes she refuses to eat and it is so frustrating because I know she is hungry. On a whim one day I tried helping her to use a spoon with her own hand and she ate the whole bowl of something I could not get her to touch before I did that. She gives kisses and snuggles without being asked and it warms my heart beyond comprehension. Watching her explore our new home every day keeps me on my toes. She is absolutely fearless, but intuitive as well. It is really quite astonishing sometimes. I believe she's smarter than both of her parents, which fills me with pride but also terrifies me. In regards to the house, she just kinda rolled in and owned the place. She even claimed a favorite flowery chair she loves to climb into and beam with pride because she can sit like a big girl.

Things could not have gone smoother with our big move. Living here has been nothing short of a dream come true. I have never been so excited to clean a kitchen before; because it's my kitchen and for the first time in my married life, I have counters to clean! Putting everything in that perspective, Stephen and I have joked that with all the icky stuff that comes with caring for a house our gratitude outways the work. Stephen even managed to smile when he had to bleach the crap (literally) out of the basement after a crazy cesspool emergency.

The move itself was a beautiful experience. Though we knew that this would be a huge positive change for us, it is always sad leaving a home, especially our first home together, and the home we had our first child in. I thought that would be a lot harder for me. But, we didn't really give ourselves time to grieve over it. We determined to move January 1st, and after a lovely Christmas and New Year's celebration with the family, we did exactly that.
Stephen had been bringing boxes over gradually every time he went out east to work so the day of we didn't have as much to move. Between the truck, a couple vans provided by family members, and our station wagon we got up Sunday morning, January 1st, packed up, brought everything to church and moved in after church. Home is now exactly 1 hour away from church and with everyone making the trip from there and spending the Monday off with us, it helped "Canaan" feel like home almost immediately. Sunday night we celebrated hard. I am so grateful for each and every person who showed up those nights to help and share in our joy.

Canaan = the promised land. See previous post for details on why we chose this name for our new home.
Looking forward to what 2017 has in store. Our story continues in Jamesport, NY.