Life With Two Older Sisters

Sweet Mia! She tolerates life with two older sisters very well. She loves to smile at them and I know they will be two girls she always looks up to. She relishes their attention, but some times their attention can get a little crazy! :)

 Ellie was sharing Monks!

 Multitasking!

 Teaching her how to use the phone at a young age!

 These images are signature Quinn. It is often I find Mia with items in her car seat when she is sleeping or animals set up next to her on a chair or on the floor, or even sometimes Quinn is the item. :)

Big Girl Bed

Now that we are in Minnesota Ellie and Quinn are sharing a room. We are staying in a furnished 3 bedroom town home that the church owns and is a huge blessing to our family as we transition to a new place. Since we knew we were moving we held off on moving Quinn to a big girl bed meaning Mia was sleeping in our room in her swing. Now that we are here Quinn began sleeping in a big girl bed once we arrived. She has really done great, but is more adventuresome than Ellie was. Ellie did not venture out of her bed for weeks when she moved into a big girl bed and Quinn thinks it is great to get out and jump around in and out of the bed. It is a true representation of their personalities. Ellie does get her to goof off, but when Ellie is tired she just completely zonks out and Quinn is still talking to herself and reading books. It is an adventure and Quinn loves being a big girl! Ellie on the other hand has informed us that sharing a room is not good, much to Quinn's dismay as she will not love being in a room alone as noticed during nap time, and that we need to be looking for a house with enough bedrooms for her to have her own room again. :)

The room they shared when we first got here, which is now Mia's room as it is on the same level as Ben and I.

 First night in her big girl bed!

 The pics below are for the grandparents. We are living in a split level town home. They all want to see where we are living and so I am slowly going to post some pictures. Many things were here and we also brought things here to make it our own and feel like home. Below is the room the big girls share now. It is the smallest room and is in the lower level. They have to share that room due to the fact that we wanted Mia on the same floor as us. It is working out for the time we will be here. Quinn's bedding made it to the town home but Ellie's did not as the last morning in Charlotte the movers were taping boxes and her bedding ended up being put on the truck without being properly labeled, so she will see it again when we buy a place.

 Shared Closet and Dresser

 Ellie wanted the desk to stay and it helps in storing books and some of Ellie's clothes.

The town home is furnished so in this room the only things we brought were bedding, clothing and a hamper and Ellie's bean bag. It has been a huge blessing to have this interim housing as we figure out exactly where we want to live.

New Adventures

A moving company came and packed up our home in Charlotte and the very next day we loaded up in a packed van and ventured out on the two day drive to our new home. We were excited and looking forward to what awaited us! The trip was long and Ben and I went to places we have never been before. We are excited to be on a new journey for both of us. We have been in a season of prayer and waiting on what God wanted for our family and He answered us in a way we could have never imagined. We are excited about all that is ahead and are at such peace at where He has an is leading us. We are now settled in to our new home, a 3 bedroom furnished town home owned by the church, and adjusting to our new life and exploring new places. We have hit the ground running as with kids you can not just sit around. We have visited parks, located our shopping places for groceries, are checking out different areas, meeting new families and meeting our new pediatrician and dentist. This coming week will bring even more adventures and we are eagerly looking forward to them. Ben and I keep saying to each other how much we really like it here. We are so thankful to be here and grateful for all those around us that have really loved on our family in every step of the way both in Charlotte and here. Here are a few pictures of our journey here and our first few days!

 Watching a movie while the only house they have ever known was packed up around them. 

Growing up I have never lived in one home my whole life. This home was the longest I lived in one house and though my past experience has prepared me for this and made it easier for me in many ways that last morning as Ben prayed for our family for the last time in our home the emotions did get the better of me for a second. It is the home Ben and I brought all our girls home to and is the house that Ellie and Quinn walked for the first time and had their first birthdays. It is a home that has seen many joyful moments and moments of great challenge. Though we will look fondly on our home in Charlotte, at the end of the day it is only a house and you make a home where your heart is and my heart is my family. No matter where we live as long as we are together is all that matters. 

Windmills in Indiana! They were everywhere! We had never seen anything like it and it was amazing! 

 Chicago

As we drove through the plains we saw a double rainbow. This is the best picture we got, but it was unbelievable and the most bright and clear rainbow I had ever seen. God has really been showing up in our lives. We also saw an amazing rainbow at the beach. He always knows when to give you the assurance that He is in control and you are walking on the right path.

 An amazing park the girls and I have been going to near the house. What a view!

 Some delicious bread and amazing vanilla bean honey brought over by a new friend from church!

 Ready for the park!

 Another day at the park!

 Eating lunch on the screened in back porch!

 Such a cutie!

A beautiful little lady got her first library card since she is almost 5! To say she is excited is an understatement! We love the library in our family! 

 This little lady was sending good luck pictures to her Uncle Drew and Miss B as they took our new cousin Cooper home from the hospital on this day!

 Our first Sunday at our new church!

 Exploring some more new parks!

This girl and her sticks!

2 Months

Mia was 2 months on October 10th. I made sure to pack her sock monkey so I could get her picture during the move. She turned 2 months two days after we arrived in Minnesota. She is the sweetest little thing. She is relaxed and goes with the flow. She tolerates when Quinn touches all over her and loves to watch her sisters. She is smiling like crazy and cooing. She loves smiling at Ellie and Quinn and brings them such joy when she does. As I write this she now officially has a room and is sleeping in her crib. With the move we postponed moving Quinn to a big girl bed but that has since happened opening up the crib for Mia. She eats great and about every 3-4 hours. I am working overtime to make sure I feed her every 3 hours or so as I am trying to make sure she stays on the growth chart knowing full well that she may not but it is completely fine as long as she grows at a good rate. We went to our new doctor, Dr. Anderson, this week. Thanks to a new friend here she got some great referrals for me and this doctor seems great for us. He was very nice and seemed laid back. Mia did a great job and scored 50% for her head circumference, which was the most important measurement he said. She also weighed 9 lbs. 10 oz, which was over a two pound weight gain since our one month check up and is huge for us and our babies as we struggle for them to pack on the pounds, and was 21.75 inches long. She was in the 10th percentile for weight and height, which is also completely normal for our little ones. She also got her first round of shots. She screamed and I felt so bad for her, but she quieted down quickly and Ellie made sure to bring Mia's favorite toy to soothe her.

 She was screaming just before this picture and you can still see her pouty lip.

 Just needed a friend to lean on! These past two months have been hard work for Mia, lots of growing! :)

Sweet Mees!

Back In Business

We are back! We have moved and our items arrived on the moving truck this past Friday! I finally have the computer back and we are back to blogging! I am going to do a little catch up from before our move this post. I will post other posts on our move and our new adventures here in Minnesota! Let me just say we are thrilled to be here and God is showing up in more ways we could have ever imagined. We are looking forward to these new adventures!

Here are a few images of our last times in Charlotte as we said good byes, had some lasts and tried to still have some sense of normalcy with a new baby and boxes all around us. I will say having Ben home with us for a few weeks was great and allowed us some great time as a family to recharge and tackle this big transition in our lives.

Warning: Lots of pictures are included here! Grandparents and Great Grandparents have been starving for some images of their grandkids and great grandkids!

 One little girl has been very successful at potty training! She earned a reward of ice cream and Ellie was very excited to get to cash in on one of Quinn's rewards as usually Quinn is always the one cashing in!

 Quinn loves laying next to her sweet Mia!

 Park time at one of our favorite parks in Charlotte!

 Ellie loves holding her Mia!

 One last dinner with Mr. Brenden and Mrs. Lindsay! We love them and love how they love our girls! We miss them and are looking forward to having them visit us and seeing them when we visit North Carolina!

 Ellie and Seth! We have been blessed to know Seth's parents since we were all newlyweds. I was then able to watch Seth when he was about 6 months old for a couple months while his mom went back to work. Ellie and Seth are only about a year apart and they have a great time playing together. Now many years later and 5 kids between us we were thrilled to have them come visit us before we moved. They moved to Virginia last year and we have missed them but know we can keep up through emails, texts, letters and calls. We also hope to see them when our travels take us back to NC for visits.

 Elliott, Seth, Ellie, Mia and Quinn

 Most pictures looked like this!

 Last visit to the aquarium! It was also Mia's first. We got season passes and were happy to know they have a SEAlife aquarium here and we can use our passes there too!

 Last visit at our Charlotte home with Geep and Gran! All pictures are provided by Gran as she always takes the best pictures for our get togethers. We look forward to them visiting us in Minnesota!

This is an amazing canvas made by our sweet Erika in Charlotte! She was a student in my group from 6-8 grades and is now a sophomore in college. She interned with Ben this past summer at MAXlife and has now become a volunteer leader there. It has been a huge joy to have watched her grow through these years and Ellie loved her. She created this art for us and surprised us with it. It is a special piece that will hang in our home and always remind us of her sweet heart.

 Love giant puzzles supplied by Gran!

 Sister time while eating their bananas!

 ADORABLE!!!!

Getting in some last sleeps in her favorite chair!