Letting stories unfold around the table
Before we actually moved ourselves and our children into “the pretty house” in June, we had a top priority: update the kitchen. The overall layout of the kitchen was beautiful. I liked that it was open to the rest of the living space but still somewhat closed off so my children couldn’t run through it screaming while I was trying to cook dinner (yeah, that happened most days at the old house).
But this gel stain? We weren’t so much a fan.
Well, hello! It’s been quite a while since I updated here (considering that my last post was Jackson’s birth story and he’s now a rambunctious, mobile 15 month old). It’s been a crazy few months but I thought it would be fun to share an update: We’ve moved!
Our old house is beautiful and has more than enough space for us to raise our family for many years, but the longer we lived there, we realized there were a few things about it that weren’t ideal long term. The street was the main thoroughfare of the neighborhood and cars came flying by our house full speed, something that became increasingly scary as Caleb started riding his bike and exploring the yard more. The wooded backyard that we loved to look at was actually really difficult to play in because it was so muddy, buggy, and shaded most of the time. We knew we’d probably move eventually but figured it might be in a few years before we left this brown house of ours.
Well, long story short, when a beautifully updated house in our current neighborhood came on the market this spring, we had a whirlwind few days of praying and talking before deciding to make an offer. God swung wide open more doors than we could count, and before we knew it, the house was ours! These are the pictures from the real estate listing of the previous owners and even though we’ve already made quite a few changes to make the place our own, you can see why we fell in love with the place while looking through these pictures.
Oh my goodness, y’all, there aren’t words for how much we love this house. There are so many things about it that are exactly what we’d always hoped for our in forever home. It’s on a much quieter street with a three car garage and a sunny, open backyard perfect for letting the kids run around. The floor plan is open like our last house with a living area full of big windows and natural light.
I love the overall layout of the kitchen with that big window, the pretty lights, the taller counter above the actual kitchen counters, and the big pantry. We didn’t love the gel stained cabinets and replacing them is actually one of the first things we did to the house before we moved in (post on that coming soon!). The updated cabinets are white and beautiful and I can’t wait to share them!
The entryway and dining room are big and open with mirrors and pretty wainscoting and molding. I’m excited to eventually get a new dining room table and chairs and pretty rug for in here.
I feel like I’m having to stop myself from just saying everything is beautiful and bright but….the master bath and bedroom are beautiful and bright. 🙂 The master bedroom has a huge window (not pictured, unfortunately) and the bathroom has skylights that fill the space with pretty natural light.
The boys’ rooms are a bit bigger and have a fun little jack and jill bathroom between them.
The last bedroom is the guest room and it’s technically a second master because it has its own bath as well (this is pretty much the grandma suite).
There’s a bunch more pictures I could share but I’ll finish with another one of our favorite parts of the house: the basement! We love having a big finished basement as a play space for hosting friends and kids, as a training space for Jordan, and just another living space. I’ve already hosted our neighborhood play-group several times since we moved in and I love having this space full of friends and kiddos.
When we started the process of selling our old house and moving, Caleb started referring to the new house as “the pretty house” and the name stuck. It’s been a whirlwind of a few months getting our old house sold and moving into this new one but we are so, so grateful for this new home and all the ways it’s already been a blessing. I can’t wait to keep making it into a space that feels like ours and then filling it with the friends, family, and neighbors that we love!
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more occasional updates about the new space!
Our second little boy is almost two months old, and this week I’ve been reflecting on the day that we met him for the first time! His birth wasn’t exactly how I expected it to be but it was beautiful and we are grateful to have a healthy, happy little boy.
Since Caleb arrived a few days before the 38 week mark, I was secretly hoping that Jackson would do the same. I’d had a lot of the same pre-labor signs I had with Caleb and was already dilated to a 2-3 and 80% effaced at 36 weeks, so I really thought Jackson might be early too. But then the 38 week mark passed with no signs of anything and the days kept ticking by closer to my due date. I was trying to soak in the time with Caleb and Jordan but at the same time was so uncomfortable that I was more than ready to get this show on the road.
Right before leaving for the hospital!
Y’all, it has been over four months since I posted here and I’m not really sure how I feel about that. Sometimes I miss the consistency of writing and the community I’ve found here and other times I’m grateful for the free time that’s opened up in my schedule when there’s no deadline to meet or other tasks to complete.
But I thought it was about time to pop back in and share one of the main reasons why my free time has mostly been filled with napping and reading the last few months (and it’s not just because I’m lazy!). Right in the middle of our fun and busy summer, we had what will probably be one of the biggest surprises of our lifetime – we found out that baby #2 will be joining us in March 2018!
Well hello, friends! I’m popping back in this space to share an update on the last few months with our crazy, adorable, and constantly moving toddler. I probably won’t share monthly updates now that he’s not a baby, but I still do love documenting his life as he grows each month. So here are a few fun pictures and updates from the first few months of our little guy’s second year of life!
At his 15 month appointment, Caleb was weighing in at 21 lbs 12 oz and measuring 30 inches long. That means he’s finally bumped up to the 25th percentile for weight after hanging down there in the single digits for a long while. I’m just happy he’s healthy and I sure do love squeezing his little thighs and kissing his little belly. The other day when I went to scoop him out of his crib he seemed so long and lanky and I felt like he was all arms and legs. He looks like a little toddler and I love seeing him grow!
I posted a few weeks back that I’d be stepping back from blogging as regularly and it’s been almost a month since I posted. After more than two years of blogging multiple times weekly it was a strange feeling to not even open up my WordPress dashboard for almost a month. But if I’m being honest, it was mostly just freeing. I totally took the pressure off myself to do anything productive during nap-time and aside from preparation for classes in my new job (see below), I’ve done a ton of reading, yoga, and other things that are good for my heart. This slowness feels right for our family right now and I am so grateful for God leading me in that direction! I missed y’all though and writing a little update felt right.
What a fun few weeks it’s been! With a birthday, some fun new milestones for Caleb, and a new job for me, it’s been an exciting few weeks in the English household.
Ladies and gents, we have a WALKER! Woot! Caleb has been pulling up on furniture and cruising for a few months but he finally took his first steps last week. After only a week he is already so steady on his feet and loves walking around our house holding random objects and waving his hands in the air. It’s pretty much adorable how proud he is of himself and my heart about explodes when he walks toward me with outreached hands and the biggest grin on his little face. Watching him grow is the BEST!
When I started blogging over two years ago, I was so excited to make this space my own. I had big dreams of it growing into an online community that would encourage and inspire women. Knowing that we would soon start a family, I also envisioned the blog being a potential source of income for us. I spent hours and hours designing my site, reading hundreds of articles on how to grow your blog and social media, joining link parties (are these even still a thing?!), visiting other bloggers’ sites and trying to build relationships with them, and so much more. For the most part, it accomplished what I was hoping for!
I saw my social media and readership begin to grow, even if not in viral ways. I developed a community of faithful readers whose comments and perspectives still challenge me and bring me joy to this day. I saw my page-views increase, especially as a few posts gained traction on Pinterest. I had a few successful sponsored posts that earned us some money and felt consistent with my vision for the blog.
When we had Caleb over a year ago, I was so excited to quit my job and spend my days taking care of him and blogging. But where I thought my passion for my blog would grow with motherhood, it’s surprisingly done the opposite.
Almost 1.5 years after my hubby qualified for the Boston Marathon, we all headed to Boston this past weekend so he could make his goal of actually running one of the world’s most famous marathons a reality. Words can’t express how proud of I am of him for how hard he trained and how dedicated he was to reaching his goals for the race. More on that later though!
Caleb turned one at the end of February, and I’ve been itching to capture the joy of this stage with some fun pictures since then. Fortunately for me, my college bestie Haley flew out and we were able to take advantage of her amazing photography skills in a little family photo shoot. Haley has documented so many parts of our lives, including our proposal and engagement pictures, parts of our wedding, our pregnancy announcement, our maternity photos, Caleb’s newborn pictures, and some fun six month photos. Seriously, this girl’s the bomb and you should check out her blog/website if you get the chance!
