let us sleep outside tonight....

matt is back from new zealand. i look forward to going with him the next time. look how beautiful it is. *sigh*

i love that he knows the things that i really love. for example, last year for valentine's day he got me the cutest pair of flip flops. lqtm...i couldn't have been happier. i am NOT a chocolate box & red roses kind of girl. i love that he knows that and runs with it! sooo...i was thrilled for him to bring me one thoughtful thing home and this for the girls:

they went into a children's boutique and matt went on a shopping spree for his girls! yes, he even got the right sizes! i loved his choices from pumpkin patch....and the girls were thrilled!

despite the few (expected) stressful times...we had a nice all-girl 10 days together! =) we made several trips to the library where they love pulling out their own library card out of their purse. we spent a lot of time at the pool & in the yard enjoying the last bits of summer. one day we went to the aquarium in chicago with friends. 2 moms and 5 kids under 4. =) we had a great time. here are my girls not even noticing a shark. then all of us as we were leaving.

we celebrated my nephew, aidan's, 2nd birthday at a place with gigantic moonwalks. you know, those huge jumping castles? they had room filled with different ones of those. it was so much fun for the kids...and the adults! they even had a GIGANTIC inflatable one that was like an american gladiator obstacle course. i beat my sis and got clobbered by my little bro! ;) aidan was in diego & jumping heaven! happy birthday, aidan!

here's my dad w/ ellie & the "american gladiator" champ, my brother, nate! =)

one day,we went to the apple orchard & got fresh apples and apple cinnamon doughnuts! they also have a little farm there that the girls adore. we held bunnies, drove toy tractors around, fed the calves & saw 2 chicks hatch! we went with some of our friends....the little boy talks about how he's going to marry chloe someday. =)

we may have been told that right now was not the time for a baby....but as shocking as it was to matt & myself....it was the perfect time to get a puppy! meet lucy! she's 6 months old and has done so well here. the girls are in love. although matt & i both like dogs, we never thought we'd have one. she's definitely captured our hearts though and is a perfect addition to our family!

we had matt's family in for a reunion this weekend....from iowa, indiana & texas! it was so much fun to just relax and catch up. we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows in our fire pit, drank & played cornhole like we were in college again, and battled it out in trivial pursuit until dawn. =)

OKAY......who's still with me?! my last thing for now......we got our first home sale!!!!!! yippeeee! this is so huge to get that 1st sale. it is such an encouragement & blessing. the market is terrible right now....but i have no doubts in matt or our company and i am so very thankful for this!

so, these are a few of the things i've been up to in my absence. contrary to the misleading i apparently did in my last post...i didn't "go" anywhere except here. =)

and here is a beautiful, blessed place.