Country Living

The boys have been playing really well together lately. Not all the time, but often. I guess because there are not any “good” video games at Nana’s they just kinda gave up on them and it’s refreshing. Plus she doesn’t have cable or DVR so they don’t even typically walk in and turn on the TV after school. Usually when they get home they get a snack and then start planning what they are going to play. When it was cold and rainy I played Sorry and Monopoly Jr with them and taught them how to play. Since then they have actually pulled them out and played them together on their own lots of times. Shocking! They spend a lot of time playing outside together which I know I have mentioned before. They play guns of course but now a new favorite is to get out Nana’s old tools like hammers and stuff and go to “work out back” (so funny when Nolan says it – sounds so Texan!). They are slowly taking apart the swing set that Scott and Conner moved over but never built. Banging on it and unscrewing things on it - so funny – like they are hard at work. They feed the goats through the fence like it’s a chore or like the goats depend on their handfuls of grass. Hudson picks me flowers every few days and we keep a little vase full in the kitchen at all times. (Right now they have Bluebonnets and are so pretty!) They get out the blowers and broom and keep the patio and driveway clean by blowing off the leaves and those little curly things that are falling off the trees right now. Nana let them actually use the blower and they think that’s awesome like it’s a real power tool. They have even rode the lawn mower with Nana a few times. Sidewalks have been covered in chalk with everything from band names to hop scotch. The trampoline doubles as a wrestling mat or a cage for UFC fights of course. They have a power wheels four-wheeler that they use to go out to the “way back”. When summer gets here and we add water to all this outside fun they are going to LOVE it! All of this country living has made me realize how much I would like to live somewhere like mom's. I never thought I would feel that way but it's really nice to not be in a neighborhood. I have casually been looking at houses for the past few months and have found nothing that I was even remotely excited about. They are all just so plain and all kinda the same. I told Jessica and all of my family to start looking and watching for a little farm house. Something like my mom's or Starla's but on less land and closer in. I really want to be close to school and church but I like the idea of finding a cute small old house. Something with character and good bones. I have spent a lot of time in prayer over all of it and feel really relaxed about it. I had settled into the idea of being with mom through the summer because I knew it was going to take a while for the right place to come along and I gave all of the worry in my heart to God. I really am not ready to buy a place and want to just rent something - the idea of calling a landlord if something goes wrong sounds amazing. I was just starting to focus on vacation plans (thinking I still had lots of time to save money through the summer) and that's when Jessica found it - the PERFECT little farm house! It's for rent but the owners really would like to sell it eventually. So I could lease it for a year and if it works out I could always make an offer next year. It's tiny but so nice! They completely remodeled the kitchen and bathroom and restored the original wood floors - it's the perfect mix of old an new for a little house built in 1950! It sits on .60 of an acre but has a "normal" fenced in backyard with a wild area in the back behind the fence. I knew it was the one as soon as I saw the pictures and we made an appointment to go see it that night! It is exactly what I want and I submitted an application Friday morning. Now I am just waiting on pins and needles to see if I get it!

Here are a few shots of the boys playing outside an Nana's...