We have found a house we just might be interested in. We are contemplating a move. There. I said it. We are beginning to think about moving toward Warren County, which is much closer to Brian's work. The trouble is, we don't really have any kind of plan. In my mind I think about the pros and cons of staying and going, but I just get all confused. Here's the deal: we are going to outgrow our house in the next couple of years. The bedrooms are small and sharing rooms is tight. We only have one bathroom. Ugh. This is the hardest one for me. There is almost never a time when I am alone in the bathroom--or anyone is for that matter. What will happen when we have 5 people that need to use it? During times of inclement weather, we are on top of each other. We have more space that we could convert to usable space, but then comes the argument about spending money on a house that is already not going to sell for what we've put into it. We kind of just want to get out from under it. But we love (hate) the location. It is close to many of our friends and family, shopping, the park/zoo, and church. Our cars have been broken into at least 3 times in our driveway and there was a drug bust (that I called the cops on) on the street behind us that backs up to our backyard. So, there you have it. We don't really want to buy something else here in town because 1. we can't afford much more in this area than what we have 2. some of the reasons that we want to move include more space for gardening, animals, and outdoor living. The house we are looking at is 2500 square feet on 2 acres of land. It has 5 bedrooms, it has all the updates that Brian doesn't want to do: roof, siding, furnace. It is within our price range. It is in Brian's school district, so he could take the kids with him to school in the morning and walk them down the hall to their classrooms. It is also an hour from our friends, family, shopping, and church. Now, I haven't actually seen this house in person yet--only internet pictures and what Brian told me about his trip there. It probably won't be as perfect as I imagine. But, the arguments are still the same. If not this house, another? Is this a good time for us to move? I know that lots of people live a ways from their family and friends, but are WE those people? People drop by our house almost daily. Are we willing to give that up for another bathroom, a dog, growing lots of our own produce, and a much shorter daily commute? We will certainly still see our family and often, but it won't be the same kind of drop in after work visits that we love. Brian made the point that if the two older kids are in school next year, I could still conceivably keep my job in Lafayette. He would be in charge of the other two in the morning and I could drive Emily with me to Lafayette. While it would be more driving, it would certainly be less hectic than my current morning routine which includes getting all 3 kids ready by myself and dropping them at 3 locations before I get to work. Also, we have 3 different school calendars. Brian's, mine, and Elijah's. For instance, we will have 3 weeks of Spring Break in March. None of them coincide. Elijah will have to go to the babysitter for his Spring Break. I don't like that. So, that is my rant for the day, I know that God will make it clear to us when and if the time is right. But in the meantime I wonder why can't we have it all??!! : )
Emily and Jonathan were standing up at the chairs looking at each other and holding hands. It was so cute. This picture is a little dark on the left side because I took it through the rungs on the back of the chair. I loved her expression. I had to keep it. 
Emily is doing her usual chest pounding--mine. Whenever I pick her up she gets so excited that her little legs are kicking in the air and she slaps my chest. 
You may be wondering why Jonathan is naked. Well, maybe not if you've been to a first birthday. I'll wait to post Jonathan's cake-y birthday pictures until Megan gets a chance to post. By the end of the evening the babies were so tired they kept crawling over to each other and laying their heads on one another.
Brian decided to make some homemade hard cider this year. Now we have all the supplies and he went to an orchard near Attica for some unpasteurized cider. Now the yeast is added and we just have to let it sit for 2 weeks to ferment.
I think she cut off about 3 inches. It was definitely not the "below the chin" I had in mind. It looks okay to me in the pictures, but in person it is a little more whacked looking. I guess that's what you get for making the decision to get your haircut and getting it cut all within 15 minutes. 
