So Busy!

I still need to do an 8 month post for the boys but that will have to wait. We've been super busy lately, Brandon started law school last week and so far he's actually enjoying it! It's sure to get busier and more demanding as the year wears on, but right now it seems manageable. I hope it stays that way! After much eye-rolling, I forced my handsome husband to take a picture on his first day of school.

Juli and Renee are here visiting now, they road-tripped across the country since Renee's moving here for school. It's been so great to spend time with two of my favorite girls this weekend! And I'm sooooo happy that Renee's here to stay! And wonderful Juli offered to fly with me and the boys to California before heading back to Seattle and she even got us buddy passes so we saved a lot of money on the way out there. Yippee for friends with flight benefits, thanks Jules!! We leave tomorrow morning for a week in hot, sunny California. I can't wait! That's all for now, I'll be sure to post lots of pictures of the boys while we're in California!

Big Changes

I just realized that I completely forgot to mention something really, really big that's going to be happening in our lives very soon. I didn't say anything because, honestly, we weren't 100% sure until very recently. We had been talking about it since the boys were born, decided for and then against it several times, told our families about a month ago and I think we've finally decided to go through with it.

Brandon's going to law school!

He starts tomorrow night, so I guess we're past the point of no return now. He will be going to school part-time at George Mason University and still working part-time as well. We're very fortunate that his job is so flexible because they'll allow him to adjust his schedule as needed with the demands of class and family. The goal (which I'm pretty adamant about) is for him to take summer classes or eventually switch to full-time law school so that he can still finish in 3 years.

Like deciding to stay here on the East Coast for the first year of the boys' lives, this was an extremely hard decision for us and for me especially. There aren't many things in the world I want more than to move back home, but for now I've accepted that this is where God has us and where it makes the most sense to live for the time being. (Of course, I plan on subtly encouraging Brandon to transfer to UW, as unlikely as that may be ;-) ). We've discussed this a lot over the past few months and I really believe that this is what's best for our family. If that changes at all in either of our minds, then we'll re-evaluate law school. That makes the decision much easier to cope with, knowing that Brandon wants to do what's best for our entire family and not just himself. We both need each other to be fully on-board with the decision the whole time. It just wouldn't work if we didn't both support it.

There's no denying that the next few years will be pretty hard. I can't imagine there are a lot of law students out there with jobs and a family of four to support. Brandon has a lot on his plate as he'll be juggling 3 huge roles at the same time. I don't envy him at all, but I'll do my best to support him and encourage him. If it ever gets too hard for either of us, then he'll simply quit, regardless of debt. We'll try to avoid that obviously, but it's not worth destroying our family for. As difficult as it may be, I can support this decision because I know we're on the same page and that we love each other and will support each other through this. Please pray for us, though, it certainly won't be easy!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Yesterday was our second anniversary and we celebrated by taking the boys to their first baseball game! The Angels were here playing the Orioles so we made the drive out to Baltimore to see the game. In my opinion, Orioles games are much more fun than Nationals games because there's actually a fan base in Baltimore and the Orioles aren't embarrassingly bad. Plus it's fun just to be at Camden Yards. Anyways, the Angels won (8-5) which I was doubly glad for because Brandon cheered for the Orioles the entire time. I thought he'd be rooting for the Angels but he informed me when he arrived that the Orioles are 'his third favorite team' (behind the Mariners and Red Sox) and that the Angels are 'only his fourth favorite team.' Apparently, he has a strict ranking system for his favorite baseball teams that I never knew about. So we cheered for opposing teams, but I got the last laugh in the end because my team won. It's always more fun to be in the minority fan base when your team actually wins!

Jack and Cullen didn't seem too interested in the game despite Brandon's play-by-play description of the game for them. They were so hot, extremely wiggly and difficult to contain in the seats. Plus they kept grabbing for the armrests (gross!) or putting their toys that had fallen onto the ground into their mouths (doubly gross!). *Sigh* Oh well, I keep reminding myself that the odds are pretty miniscule that they'll catch a disease and die from common germs or dirt. Still, though, I came home and washed all their toys today.

Here's a family photo from their first game. If it looks like we're all sweaty messes it's because we are. It was 90 degrees but felt well over 100 with the high humidity and lack of any breeze at all. Plus, those babies might as well be little balls of fire when you're holding them on your lap for 3 hours.

On the drive home, we each got a Frosty from Wendy's, cranked up the air conditioning, and reminisced about old memories from high school and college. The path God used to bring us together was certainly funny in every sense of the word. We laughed and laughed the whole way home remembering how silly we used to be. I remember meeting Brandon 10 years ago this summer and thinking to myself, "I wonder who that new kid is?" Then I promptly turned back to giggling with my girlfriends about who-knows-what. It never crossed my mind that I had just met my future husband (though I did develop a crush on him a few months later). It's hard to believe that I've known him for 10 years now and we've been married for 2 years and been parents together for almost 8 months. Time seems to go faster and faster these days but at the same time I can still vividly remember moments together from high school as if they just happened yesterday.

And 2 years of marriage may not seem like alot, but when I consider how much Brandon and I have changed in that time, it seems incredible. We started out so shaky- we'd already known each other/been dating off and on for several years and we got thrust into such big life changes so suddenly that we didn't have much of a 'honeymoon period.' I got severely homesick within the first month, Brandon switched jobs, we had bills piling up, plus all of the normal problems that most new marriages encounter once both of you start realizing you haven't married a perfect person after all. It's so easy to hide sin when you can go home to your separate houses at the end of the night. But once you're married, it all comes out pretty quickly. I started to see myself in a whole new light. I had always thought I was a pretty good and godly girl, Ha! Boy was I wrong!

But being married to Brandon has been sooo good for me! It's taught me so much about my sinful heart, my tendency to criticize and harbor bitterness, my tendency to rush to judgment and blame, my stubborness and refusal to admit fault, my quick temper that I wouldn't dare take out on anyone else, my reluctance to truly forgive, my extreme self-centeredness, I could go on and on and on. But God paired me with good, patient, faithful, stubborn, honest Brandon who points out my faults (gently) and encourages me with Scripture and prays for me and refuses to just "drop it" whenever there's an issue. He doesn't let me run away from problems or react hysterically or give the silent treatment or storm out and go to bed angry- all of which I much prefer to actually talking about and resolving the problem. I shudder to think of what life would be like had I married somebody who reacts as badly to problems as I do. We complement each other so well in every way. I'm so grateful God blessed me with Brandon as a husband, I really should tell him so more often. He tells me so every day- which is just more evidence of how wonderful he is. If the past two years have been this hard and turned out so great, I look forward to the next 50 with him by my side, growing together in godliness.

I love you Brandon, Happy Anniversary!

We're Back!

Where have we been? Here:

We went to Stanley, Idaho for 2 weeks to visit the O'Malleys. We couldn't do as much as we normally do since we had two little boys who needed 2 naps and 6 meals a day, but we still had a lot of fun. We played a lot of games while we were at the house. I also jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon (about 7 years too late, but oh well) and read the first 3 books in Stanley and enjoyed them. It was so good to see everybody, and they all loved seeing the boys of course! I know you all come here to see pictures of the boys so I'll just get on with those!

Right before bed on our first night in Stanley

Cullen LOVED the water! This water was actually fairly cold, but he didn't mind a bit. He loved the feeling of the water flowing past his feet. Jack was a different story, he screamed the second his feet touched the water and started up again every time we started to lower him toward it.

Touching their first froggy!

Daddy and Jack

I tried my hand at fly fishing and it was an epic fail! I didn't catch a single thing! It's harder than it looks! I'll try again next year though, I'm determined to catch a fish before Jack and Cullen do!

Gary caught one though and let me reel it in for him, that was the highlight of my fly fishing experience.

Here's Cullen again in the Salmon River, pretty cold but he loved it!

We also went shooting the last day we were there. I didn't get any pictures of Brandon shooting, but he did the best. Way better than me, but I hit a few targets.

Here's Brandon fly-fishing, he caught 2 fish. No fair!

We also rafted the river. I spent most of the trip reclining and reading, this is the life!

I did paddle for a few minutes though when we went over the rapids part.

We went with Scott and his girlfriend Ashlee

And here's a bunch of cute pictures of the boys in their blow-up pool their grandparents bought for them. They loved it!

Well, we got back on Friday and we've been recovering. The boys were completely spoiled while they were there and have been extra fussy and needy ever since we got back. They must have gotten used to the constant attention and holding. *Sigh* It could be a long week alone with them.

And I'm not even going to mention the process of getting to and from the airport. Suffice it to say that it was a very difficult experience and not my finest moment when it comes to complaining. Good thing I love Brandon for more than his ability to pick family-friendly flights and he loves me for more than my complaining spirit. Anyways, we got through it together, learned our lesson and will make better flight choices in the future :-)

Pray for me though as I'm traveling to California in 2 weeks all alone with the boys!