WayfaringStrangers

It has not rained in weeks and the garden needs water, so I tend to it with the hose. I know full well that in less than 2 weeks it will not be my garden anymore, and I hope the new home owners care for it as I do, but I also know that cannot because they did not toil and watch everything grow as I did. .......... It's our last Saturday here, and it's crunch time. There is still much to be packed. I worked hard this week, bustling around with Sammy on my legs, undoing half of what I had packed until the boxes were sealed. Graham went to VBS, Patrick hung around the house, and I listened to an audiobook to help the time pass. Yesterday, instead of packing, I collapsed into bed for an afternoon nap as soon as Samuel was down for his nap. I'm tired, and eager to be in our new house. ............ We are north bound, moving near more family. We are sad to be leaving my parents, brother, and Grandma. I will miss dinners on the deck and swinging by Grandma's or Mom and...

-2011- I slumped down wearily onto the couch in the quiet of the room. My counselor introduced herself and we began our session in prayer. I wasn't even sure why I was there. I was mostly just tired and felt like I needed to talk to someone, but I didn't know about what. After a session or two, she told me something I'd never heard about myself before. "I think you're feeling angry, Megan." Angry? Me? I had a happy childhood. I'd lived peacefully with friends in college and never had a major fight. I waited patiently in lines and in traffic. My husband and I had a solid relationship. And now we had a cute, happy little baby boy. Was I tired? Yes. Frustrated that I had to babysit full time so that we could make rent? Sure.  Anxious? Sometimes. But I didn't really think of myself as angry. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get too deep into it. I went for the 6 sessions that my church paid for, and I was too shy to ask for more money to contin...

4 years ago, when Behn and I were just a young, married couple with big hopes and dreams, we bought a 4Runner. We hoped it would take us on lots of adventures (it did) and that we could fill it with kids (we did). You can read about that post here  (see item #4). Fast forward 4 years and we have 2 boys and a mortgage. In an attempt to be more fiscally responsible than the U.S. government, we decided it was time to sell our fun, trendy car and go for the used mini-van. We don't need a mini-van yet. The 4Runner easily fit all of us and our junk when we traveled. But it was a good financial decision and also...we know we're not done growing this family yet! No, this is definitely not a pregnancy announcement, or even an adoption announcement. But, someday, we hope there will be more kids. That 4Runner was great though. We always felt safe; it was very reliable. We never had a breakdown or a big issue. That car rushed me to the hospital twice while I was leaking amniotic fluid ...

Well....IT'S OFFICIAL! We bought a house!!! We'll be paying for it for years to come :-) Last year I wrote in my journal that I couldn't imagine us being able to buy a house for years to come. My, how God decided to surprise me. This process didn't come without lots of hiccups though. I know home-buying is always complicated. There's so much paperwork and legal stuff and inspections. But, I think we got an extra dose of complicated a few times. Even our very experienced realtors (who we think did awesome and  they are Christians which is cool) said, 'We've had a lot of firsts with you guys..." The last straw was yesterday when the seller didn't show up to settlement. The attorney and the seller's realtor couldn't get a hold of him at all. They finally heard from him this morning and he signed his share of the papers. If you ask Behn, he'll tell you that he felt a  lot of abnormal anxiety through all of this, especially towards the en...

Last weekend we were in Delaware. We visited Mom and Dad T (Behn's parents) and spent a lot of time sitting, resting, napping, chatting, and just BEING. It was one of those times in life where that's what we so needed- to just be and rest. No big plans, no parties, no big family dinners. It was a little bit of a bummer that we didn't get to see some loved ones, but that's how it needed to go this time, and we were so grateful for the refreshment. It was really nice for the boys to spend time with just their grandparents, too. Thank you, Mom and Dad T, for the sweet weekend. I know we really enjoyed it. Twins It's been a tiring 6 months. New baby, new job, moving, looking for a new place (still nothing yet)...it just catches up sometimes and makes you wonder when it's going to slow down. When will the new normal  feel  like the new normal. We'll get there someday, and then something else will cause a new ripple in the pond and we'll adjust again. T...

Our days right now are: Walks to the neighborhood park to play... ...and feed ducks the boys bonding with Nana and Pop Pop Graham wrestling and rough housing with the big guys, my brothers Aaron and Stephen running to Wal-Mart with Behn after the boys are in bed (my mom and dad are home of course), just to spend some time couple together lots of soup and casseroles, for chillier days praying for naptime smiles a big boy bed, where Graham sleeps for the most part. The extra liberty to get up has been a bit of a temptation for this almost 2-year old family meals together borrowing a car to go to the library (sold our volvo before we left Lexington, so I'm without wheels for now) playdates with GG and GP (my grandparents) worshiping at our new church patrolling the house while Graham explores and gets into everyone's stuff Good days...sometimes long...sometimes hard...but often sweet!

Motherhood has been time-consuming lately, with the transitions and a very busy toddler and still-new baby. Most days I'm also quite tired, due to an infant up 2 times a night, with a side of Graham also waking up many nights. Behn started his new job last Monday and I'm happy to report he seems to be enjoying it. The first few days were very overwhelming for him, but he was really upbeat when he came home from work yesterday. We're getting settled into our new community. I've joined the church choir, we had new friends over for lunch on Sunday, and in 2 weeks we will join Grace and Peace Presbyterian and have Patrick baptized. I do very much miss my Lexington friends, but I am grateful that at least we are not lonely here because we do have family to fellowship with. Last Saturday my mom and I checked out an adoption fair at another local church. I picked up a stack of resources and papers from some local agencies. We are excited about the prospect of beginning our a...

Poor October got totally overlooked by the blog. However, it was a very busy month! Here's a review: -Hannah's wedding. It's always wonderful when a sibling gets married. Unfortunately due to having a toddler, a 1-month old and also being a bridesmaid, I didn't take any pictures! It was a special weekend though, seeing friends and family and standing up in front and watching my sister marry her love. She was beautiful! -Jess, Lily and Mom T visit. They came for a few days after the wedding. Graham loved having his cousin to play with. I enjoyed the company as well! And while they were there, Behn got the good news about his job offer. -Scott, Jessica, and Emma visit. It was really fun having our friends visit us one last time before we moved from Virginia. It was perfect fall weather and I know Behn and Scott especially had a good time catching up since they are long-time buds. And Emma is so cute! (sorry I don't have a picture of you, Jess!) ...

Well, we made it! We are now in Maryland, and here to stay for a while. I'm currently chilling in our new room at my parents' house while Behn is attempting to put Graham down for a nap in his room. Moving was quite  the fiasco. Seriously...packing our entire house up mostly by myself (I did have some help from friends at times) with 2 small boys was hard! Then Behn brought myself, Graham, and Patrick to MD and dropped us off and the next day, Monday, he and my dad and brother all headed back to VA in the middle of a hurricane!   I don't know how they did it. Then they got there and realized the truck was a bit too small. That stunk, especially since Behn and I majorly purged and got rid of stuff. Why do we have so much stuff???? The guys finally headed back, still during the hurricane, and of course the truck blew a tire...and then the 4Runner's battery died...BUT they did make it back eventually! They got in late that night and we were so grateful they were safe and s...

...that Behn got a new job  and we are moving!! This job came after a lot of waiting (not often patiently on my part), praying, pleading, wondering, job-applying, and trusting God. And He opened this door in His perfect timing (seriously, in the nick of time; we are supposed to be out of our house by Nov 1st). The job is with Recorded Books, a private book recording and ebook company, so actually he'll be in an office setting, not in a library anymore. He is excited! I am so proud of him. So, where? We'll be in southern Maryland. We'll live with my parents for a few months until we find a good place to move our little family. I am thrilled to be close to family again. I like adventure and change. But it is very bittersweet to leave this beautiful place that's been our home for 3 years. We have an amazing and treasured church family here. We love the mountains and this quaint, small, historic town. I have awesome friends who make my days brighter. So there is a l...

So, we've had some big changes occur 'round these parts. After living with us for a year and a half, Hannah moved back to my parents' house in Maryland. It's so weird to go from having her here to not having her here...but all 3 of us knew it was for the best :) We talked about it in November and all just felt it was time- time for Behn, Graham and myself to be our own family. Time for Hannah to continue her relationship with Ben, her boyfriend, and to be nearer to him, and to be able to focus on finishing school. As a sister, I especially will miss her. I always looked forward to her coming through the door at 2 p.m. MWF to keep me company, make me laugh, and help wrangle babies. We had some fun times- dinner out at Macados, playing in the river, watching chick flicks. I love the relationship she's had with Graham, and he with her. They love each other! When we all decided that this was best, we were bummed because we can't afford the rent on this house wit...