The Letter

No more 'weeeooowoooo's' (police cars/ambulances/fire trucks) going by the house anymore...but plenty of quiet 'choochoo's' (trains) off in the distance for our little buddy to watch from his new house.

The men checking to see if there are hardwood floors underneath the carpet. THERE ARE.

The letter to end all letters. The one that finally sealed the deal. You may remember I've written THREE of these charming notes up to this point, and our offers have all been point-blank rejected.

Then on Saturday the answer to this offer + letter was finally a yes. I cried a little.

Everyone's been asking what was IN the mysterious magical letter. So here it is.



December 9th 2017


To the owners of 57576 E Lincoln Highway,


We would like to respectfully submit our offer with a letter, explaining the big dreams we have for this property.

My husband and I have spent the better part of the past three years on the hunt for an acreage to raise our family. We believe this house could be the perfect fit. After living in the middle of Ames for seven years, just thinking about making this property our 'home' and all the possibilities that might hold is very exciting for us.

We can easily see past some of the necessary cosmetic updates to the original character and charm in this 1930's home. The glass knobs, the beautiful fireplace, and the hardwood floors hiding underneath the carpet are just a few of our favorite features. Not to mention the wraparound deck and screened porch, where I can already imagine spending summer evenings.

As hopeful as we are, we still believe there are many necessary updates and fixes that should be made. It's clear this house needs some TLC and we would love to be the owners to take it on. Our love of old houses is what drew us to this home...the possibility of getting to fix it up into our dream is what has us excited, despite the amount of hard work it will inevitably entail.

We are ready to make new memories with our kiddos out on an acreage where they have room to roam. As much as we want to be dreaming about sitting on the front porch, we also want to be realistic about the time, energy, and immense cost that comes with purchasing a fixer upper like this one...and that is what is reflected in our offer.

Thank you so much for considering our offer.


Josh and Mollie Boersma

Dear Mckenna Joyleen...

Dear Sweet Niece + Cousin Mckenna,

Your parents sent out your first birthday invites more than a month in advance, with specific instructions to write you a letter...which you will open and read on your 18th birthday. The idea is adorable and unique and perfect. Way to go, Mckenna's mom and dad! And here I am...your delinquent Aunt Mollie...writing your letter on December 4th.

Honestly...as fun as the idea is...it was hard for me to come up with something to write to a one-year-old (and future 18-year-old)! I'm sure you know this, but your parents are BUSY. They work full-time and your dad is in school and I am so proud of them for rocking this first year of your life in the midst of all of THAT craziness...but as a result, most of my time spent with you has been right around your bedtime or via Instagram videos.

When we came to visit you in the hospital, I'll be honest, your cousin Maverick wasn't super interested. He ate Veggie Straws the whole time and I got to listen to your sweet parents talk about how exciting it was bringing you into the world. Your daddy is just the cutest sometimes...I probably think that because he reminds me of your Uncle Josh and I think he's pretty cute. Anyway, Uncle Josh came to visit once you were home from the hospital and I will always remember how little you were in his arms when we were used to holding a big one-year-old! And how he has this high-squeaky voice he only uses when he's holding the super tiny babies, 'hello little one!' He always says the same thing and it makes me laugh.

My favorite memory from your first year was the day your mommy and daddy went to watch the Iowa vs. Iowa State game in Ames. I had you to myself for the WHOLE day (7am to 4pm)! And you were the best, easiest, sweetest baby ever.  Maverick was actually more of a handful because he wasn't too keen on the whole 'sharing' his toys AND his mom thing. You slept like a champion. You were content in your high chair for more than 30 minutes, mowing down anything I put in front of you. And I got to dress you in a cheerleader outfit, which was fun, even though it was a University of Iowa one (we cheered for ISU that day, don't tell your parents). It was the first day I ever falsely believed two under two 'might not be that hard.' You (and Mav!) took a 2+ hour afternoon nap AND pooped your brains out...proving you love it at Auntie's house.

Another family memory we all have is the *delight* (sarcasm font) you and your cousin Maverick were for family pictures this year. It was SOLIDARITY TODDLER all the way as you both cried and screamed and threw the longest fits I've ever seen. By the end me and your mom were stressed and sweating and frustrated but all we could do was laugh. We have toddlers but we have each other and we did the best we could. And someday we will look at those pictures and remember we survived those irrational teething toddlers. I love that we are first-time-mom's at the same time and get to do this parenting thing together. It looks different for both of us (I stay home with Mav and help your Uncle Josh!), but I appreciate how hard your mom works and how many things she balances while she does such good job being your mommy!

It's fun watching how much you grow and change every time we see you. Your personality is spunky and sassy and sweet...and watching you with your kitties always makes us laugh. I love that you look like a little Boersma baby, but for some reason you ended up with adorable chunky legs and a cute booty...which is so NOT a Boesma trait (please see: Papa + Uncle's skinny legs). When you cry you look just like Maverick, so I usually accidentally laugh. We have loved cousin sleepovers, visiting the orchard, and trick-or-treating with you! Sharing toys at Christmas this year might be interesting between you and Beau and Mav...but I know it will just keep getting more and more fun to watch the three of you little ones grow up together.

Every night at bedtime I end my prayer with Maverick, "and we pray that someday when Maverick gets bigger, he asks Jesus into his heart, Amen." Uncle Josh and I are praying the same thing for ALL of our nieces and nephews! Raising a baby in this world can be a scary thing, but we don't need to be scared because we can totally trust Jesus with our babies. You already belong to Jesus...each day we get you to ourselves is an undeserved blessing.

Thinking about you on your 18th birthday...As you read this letter, I pray you're a young woman who loves Jesus more than anything. Anything, period. More than friends, popularity, approval, sports, boyfriends, hair/makeup/clothes. The things of this world are so temporary and unsatisfying when you compare them with the hope we have in eternal life with Jesus. The high school/college years seem to be the height of searching for satisfaction in all the wrong places, only to discover it was Jesus all along. My hope is that you avoid all that unnecessary, heartbreakingly painful searching. Jesus alone will only ever be worth your full devotion.

Side note: I'm also praying you have your eyes set on attending a college that has a Salt Company because finding Jesus on your own in college is hard and you're going to need good Bible teachers and good friends. And bonus! It's where I found your Uncle Josh and now we know the rest was history. Don't worry, I'll probably spend the next 17 years of your life talking about it...and your parents and I are on the same page because they have one at Iowa, UNI, AND Iowa State...so take your pick. :)

We love you, baby girl!

Aunt Mollie, Uncle Josh, & Mav

Stuff that doesn't stress me out at Christmas...

1. Cooking

You knew this would be first on the list, didn't you? Listen, if I manage to feed the fam something for breakfast every morning, eat 5/7 lunches at home each week, and I cook something 'real' three-ish nights a week (usually in addition to feeding a few extra people here and there, and also hosting some'thing' each week). I'm winning. Period. Some people love spending their Christmas season in the kitchen cooking wonderful meals filled with love for their family, but I am not one of those people. In my opinion, Christmas is not the time to spend hours in the kitchen when there are Christmas cards to send, lights to hang, and Hallmark movies to watch.

2. Extravagant Advent Calendars

I didn't realize this was such a THING until this year. Apparently we're in a slightly different age bracket than we were the past two years now that we officially have a toddler. There are approximately ONE MILLION wonderful ways to 'do' Advent with your family and just thinking about the options and the activities had me in an internal tailspin so I shut that down QUICK. Let me tell you what we'll be doing...Mommy is doing a She Reads Truth Advent study, Maverick is reading a lot of books about Jesus being born aaaaaand that's it. Occasionally I'll pull out Tripp's Advent devotional at breakfast and I also have a small devotional about the names of Jesus I might read to the boys too. We will serve and give and do a few things here and there this month but nothing that stresses the calendar. Someday we will hit this whole Avent thing harder, but this is not that year.

3. Precious Memory-Making

We do not buy into this idea that our life 100% revolves around our child. We do up Christmas the way we love to, and Mav comes along for the ride...obviously making memories in the process. I do not force special crafts or frosting cookies or hanging ornaments as a family on Josh and Mav. I do those things on my own because I like to, and there are many things we do as a family for some 'extra' fun at Christmas...but for the most part we keep December as CALM as possible. Things that are non-negotiable priorities? Church every week in December and church on Christmas Eve. Everything else is open to being shuffled off the calendar or re-prioritized for another year/time.

4. Family

In the past eight years Josh and I have Christmas-sed together, at some point, family during the holiday season has been stressful. Whether it's been siblings or schedules or plans...I think it's something every married couple has to navigate. Here is what I'll say to you...DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR FAMILY. Not his family or her family, literally YOUR IMMEDIATE NUCLEAR family. If that means staying home on Thanksgiving Day to relax and do your own thing? Do it. If it means saying no to eight extended family Christmas gatherings (this is real, I have a friend who attends eight family Christmases) in the name of your sanity? Do it. This is the last year Josh and I will be rotating Christmas Eve/Day between our families because I want to attend OUR church on Christmas Eve, wake up in OUR house on Christmas Day, and have a relaxing, memorable day filled with OUR own laid-back traditions. I'll be honest, it doesn't seem to be a very popular decision within the ranks but everyone will need to adjust.

5. Too Many Traditions

Here are the traditions I value the most to this day from my own childhood: decorating the house for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving; the Christmas Eve service at church; and presents in the morning in our pajamas. And that's it. So easy. If I can preserve those special basic things for my own family (keep in mind the decorating is all me at this point...so it's really only two things), I'll feel successful. Of course there are other things I love and remember growing up...like getting three presents on Christmas morning because Jesus only received three presents...watching certain ridiculous Christmas movies...coloring by the Christmas tree...playing games...putting a giant 1,000 piece puzzle together...those things can come and go, but my top three aren't going anywhere. Simplify. Prioritize. And be confident about your decision to block extra crap off the calendar. Find what's MOST important for you and your family and stick to it.

6. Baking

I like to eat frosted Christmas sugar cookies, so because of that fact alone, I bake a tube of sugar cookies and frost them. I buy a gingerbread house in a box kit because that's kind of a fun thing to whip out and do as a family on a night in December but it usually ends up being a funny disaster. And therein lies the memory. I like helping my mom with some of her dipping and baking and frosting when we're at home around Christmas, but for some reason that's way more fun than doing it on my own. I certainly wouldn't stress out about unnecessary baking unless it ranks in YOUR top priorities.

Here's a bucket list of some of our other favorite Christmas activities (not mentioned above), in no particular priority order. Just stuff I like to make a list of so if I'm having trouble remembering a fun thing to do on an open Saturday morning, I can go to the list. And because I keep our calendar/schedule super simple, there is margin to take off and do some of this stuff (within reason).

• Host Thanksgiving
• Pella Tour of Homes
• Ames Tour of Homes
• Humboldt Hill
• Humboldt Parade of Trees
• Humboldt Christmas Parade
• Jolly Holiday Lights
• Live Nativity
• Train at Reiman Gardens
• SRT Advent Study
• Dead Week Slumber Party
• Drives to Look at Lights
• Downtown Ames Activities (Train December 10th!)
• Decorate Boersma House
• Decorate Keil House
• Decorate G'mas Tree
• Watch a Christmas Movie in the Man Cave
• Make Christmas Trees
• Visit Strautman Tree Farm
• Hotel Christmas with DeGroot & Sargent Families

Ultimately, if December is filled with too much stuff and stress that we lose sight of what we're celebrating...there's a problem. Maybe it's time for you to pull back and simplify...to say 'no we won't be attending' to work/friends/family. I am not a high-capacity person by nature (I can only do about three things at a time WELL), so accepting that during the holiday's can be tricky. It takes practice, but I can tell you it's so worth it.

Just don't ask me about the year we were fixing up a farmhouse in November and December. 

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!

MmB

Christmas Letter 2017

For the first time, our Christmas cards are OUT before Thanksgiving...I swear, Christmas Mollie is the best version of me. I am NOT this on top of things the other 11 months of the year. It's fine.

"I want a Christmas that whispers, Jesus" - Ann Voskamp

It is no secret that we go all out for Christmas in this house, and we aren't afraid to admit it. It's completely over-the-top and ridiculous and awesome. We love every minute of December. However, the crazier we get about the decorating and the parties and the shopping..the more I crave the presence of Jesus in our home during the holiday season. I don't just want our home decor and hospitality and giving to be eternally focused, I want everything we do during the Christmas season to literally radiate the reality of what we're celebrating...the birth of our Savior, Jesus.

With that in mind, I present to you...our 2017 Christmas letter...

Josh spent the year working himself to death, as per usual. That sentence shouldn't surprise anyone who has known him for any amount of time (and the goal of my Christmas letter this year is to be authentic...so there it is. A couple 90-hour work weeks happened but we survived to tell about it!). He's been a hardworking business owner since he was 12, so it would take some pretty significant "re-programming" to be anything else. At this point he's been operating Boersma Lawn Care longer than he hasn't been...and at the age of 29, I find that to be kind of amazing. Josh has a handful of other opportunities on the table but as we sit right now, he will be the owner and operator of BLC as we head into 2018. He's had a lot of hard over the years, but he's also provided for our family above and beyond what we need and blessed so many others in the process. He has a generous heart of gold once you get past the stress and anxiety his daily life brings.

Josh had a lot of fun finishing off our garage attic into a pretty legit Man Cave last winter (minus the night he got a sliver of wood stuck in his eye); getting his high school mini-bike to run again (this is a big hit amongst all our friends/brothers/uncles); and he has plans for fixing up his old go-cart over the winter.

I spent the year on that wonderful stay-at-home-mom-life grind. Some call young motherhood 'the trenches' and it might feel like that for some, but I've worked really hard to make living my days inside these four walls anything but trench-like. I would wholeheartedly admit that the low point of my year was January/February while Maverick was battling incoming molars, followed by his first ear infection...the sleepless nights returned and it wasn't. pretty. The two-year-molars have yet to strike, but that's Future Mollie's problem. Currently, my priorities include: loving Josh, raising Maverick, weekly BLC deposits + invoicing, spending daily time in the Bible, keeping the house clean, and hanging out with my favorite momma friends. To be honest, those six simple things completely define my year as I've focused on fine-tuning that list to be exactly what it should be. My side-gig as Wannabe Joanna Gaines has kind of exploded, with more and more people asking for my help and offering to pay for my services. For now it's all just a hobby...the last thing we need in this house is more than one stressed business-owner. It's just a little 'decorating ministry,' helping people make their homes and events beautiful because it's an unusual gift I love sharing with the world.

Highlights for me this year include refinishing the deck and spending almost every summer day on it; successfully growing adorable succulents; our 2nd annual fall trip to Galena; and www.boersmasglitterandgrass.blogspot.com.

Maverick freaking turned two on September 1st. He keeps growing and changing so fast, just like they all said would happen. We threw a Top Gun-themed birthday party and he got a sandbox + diggers from mom and dad...and because we do week-long birthday celebrations in this house, a trip to the Blank Park Zoo and Hickory Park were also necessary to fully celebrate the day. Listen, his birthday is as much of a milestone for us as it is for Mav, with having kept him healthy and happy for two whole years and all...so we kind of celebrate ourselves too. Raising a toddler has continually reminded me that Mav is a sinner in need of a Savior and the massive responsibility of raising him terrifies me daily. We love him so much it physically hurts, but he's not ours...we just have him on loan from God. Remembering that on the hard toddler days seems to make them easier...but I'll admit, he hasn't given us a ton of 'toddler-hard'...yet.

If Maverick had enough words to sum up his year, I think the "Tops" would include (in no particular order): pool, orchard, Chick-Fil-A, farmer's market, Target, Pumpkin Patch (our Ames toy store), and weekly visits to D6. This month he's amazing us with how much he's talking real words and sentences all. day. long. He has a special little language I think only we fully understand (blankie is pronounced 'vwankie' in this house)...this new stage is so fun.

As far as other 'news'...the same renters still reside at our acreage and two sweet girls rent our basement. We're still attending Cornerstone Ames and involved in connection group, Bible studies, and other ministries as time/priorities allow. Auntie Jamie is still a semi-permanent fixture at our house (she doesn't live here, though some weeks she might as well) and resident babysitter. You might as well also know we have no pregnant news to share and are totally good with that.

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Josh, Mollie, and Maverick

Why I decorate for Christmas SO EARLY

Might have gone a *little* overboard in our bedroom this year? It's fine.

 Someone has asked me this question at least once a day since the start of November.

The short answer? Because I want to.

The long answer...is more complicated than that.

Here I sit at my parents' house while Maverick naps, preparing for the decorating whirlwind that awaits 11 miles north of here at my home church. Whenever he wakes up, we will hit the road for a non-stop, 36-hour decorating bender to prepare for the 2017 Northwest Iowa Women's Conference. Between four and five hundred women will gather on Saturday for a conference (note: this is at a church in the middle of a literal cornfield...the address is Palmer, Iowa...I don't think I need to point out to you how incredible this is), and this being the fourth year I've tackled the challenge (third year with Mav to tote around) you'd think it would start getting easier.

Let me tell you...decorating this much square footage, NEVER gets easier. This church is huge. Two alters, two entrances, five bathrooms, and upwards of 60 tables. We plan all year. I start shopping in June. We have meetings, exchange novel-length emails, and some days it's all I think about...I talk about it to Jamie when she could care less about my cotton vs. greenery debate. I call my mom to ask if I can borrow her cake plates and then yammer on about decor for a half hour. I borrow chandeliers from my sister-in-law and the whole family is involved in getting them to me. I carefully plan the logistics of hauling all my goods from Ames to church, making sure to save enough room for Maverick's pack and play.

It's a challenge and a blessing and I love that I get to spend this much time at one of the places that signifies 'home' for me...around many of the people that feel like 'home' to me too. It's also fun to exercise my decorating muscles somewhere other than our house. Using this 'decorating gift' of mine isn't always something that directly correlates to advancing the Kingdom of God, but I firmly believe that pretty/creative things can draw people to the Creator, the inventor of beautiful things...the One who is more creative than I could ever hope to be. I love getting to play that small part with this conference.

But dang. It's exhausting. And when I go home on Sunday, I just want to plop down on my couch in front of our Christmas tree, eat Chipotle, and watch a Hallmark movie. And Past Mollie has made sure Future Mollie gets to do that.

Don't get all up in arms about our skipping Thanksgiving. We give Thanksgiving it's due respect. We will watch Thanksgiving movies and make a real turkey and my Thanksgiving table will be decked with white pumpkins and greenery and lovely mismatched china...but  four weeks is simply not enough time for me to enjoy the Christmas decor I dream about all year. It's just not.

If it's not enough time for you either, here is my permission to put up your tree tomorrow. 

After decorating for showers and birthday parties and this amazing women's conference...then Christmas-decorating my parent's house, sometimes the tree at the nursing home, helping Jamie decorate her apartment,  helping Josh's mom with her Christmas decor for a day...and then spending a day at the farm helping G'ma Junice untangle her Christmas tree...I honestly just need my house to be DONE in order to have energy for all of that.

I ALSO NEED MY DOUBLE-EAR INFECTION TO GO AWAY PRONTO BUT THAT'S A WHOLE 'NOTHER THING.

Anyway, there's the reason we put Christmas up so early. I'll be honest, it FEELS really early, even for me. But this is what I did last year and I remember Future Mollie being really thankful. And that's a good enough reason for me.

MmB

Fall Reading List + Book Recommendations

In my head it feels like I 'just' posted my little reading blog...when in reality the last time I posted my book reviews was THE END OF JUNE. How does that happen?!

I've had slower reading weeks and busier reading weeks...times when I'm more motivated to keep plowing through and times when I would just rather fold laundry and watch Gilmore Girls. And I'm convinced both are acceptable in moderation. Overall I like to think I'm balancing recreational reading with my actual Bible reading and keeping the rest of my priorities in order. Though, I'll admit when I read Women of the Word a few weeks ago, we lived in a frat house for three days while I read and underlined like a crazy person. I didn't leave the couch. It's fine.

Here's what I accomplished reading during the second half of my summer and so far this fall!


1. Of Mess and Moxie, Jen Hatmaker

I cannot fully explain how much I loved this book. A PERFECT mix of humor and heavy (it's written as a collection of essay's), Jen just speaks my language. I desperately wish we could be real-life-friends (note how I just casually called her Jen)...but since we can't, reading this and listening to her podcast all summer has to be good enough. I read the whole thing in three days, but I've been going through it as a 'book club' via Facetime every Monday night with Jamie and Sarah. Which is just the best.

2. Hosea

After finishing Romans in August I tackled Hosea because I hadn't before. It was excellent. God is so merciful and persistent and patient. It's quickly become one of my favorite books of the Bible.

3. Present Over Perfect, Shauna Niequist

I'll be honest about this one...it wasn't my fave. I mean, there were PARTS that were good and resonated with me (the general idea of slowing down, saying no to stuff, being present in the wonderful life you're living, prioritizing what's MOST important). But it was too much fluff and not enough meat. Not to mention, it's essentially the same book as Nothing to Prove, minus the strong Biblical basis.

4.  The Magic of Motherhood, Ashlee Gadd

SUCH A GOOD READ. One of my favorites from this summer. It's a beautiful coffee-table book, tons of wonderful pictures + stories, similar to Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul but for the mom of 2017. I laughed out loud, I cried while sitting in Maverick's swimming pool, and I finished it in less than a week.

5. Humble Roots, Hannah Anderson

I'll need to read this again. Maybe I was in a reading-rut this summer when I took on this book...maybe I should have done it in a book-club for better comprehension/discussion. It's GOOD and I would 100% recommend, but it was a hard one for me to get through. And I'm not sure why...it's short, but it's INTENSE. Have a notebook ready.

6. Women of the Word, Jen Wilkin

I am forever a Jen Wilkin fan after this book. I will read it again over and over and I will throw it at anyone who hasn't read it yet IT'S THAT GOOD. Main take-away, 'The heart cannot love what the mind does no know.' Buy it from Amazon or borrow my copy...and be prepared to realize fresh tools and motivation for studying your Bible.

7. Grace Not Perfection, Emily Ley

This book is filled with PRACTICAL tools for organizing and scheduling and planning a busy life filled with good things but maybe 'too many' things. Written from the perspective that there's grace to cover every minute of our days spent momming, even when we fail. She tackles everything from laundry to meal planning to Sunday-pick-ups around the house to prepare for the week ahead. I would especially recommend this for the full-time-working mom.

8.  The Mingling of Souls, Matt and Lauren Chandler

I read this book and listened to the matching Village Church sermons that Matt Chandler did over the summer. It was great! Nothing really 'new' or earth-shattering for me, but I would still recommend. Listening to the podcast alongside the reading helped.

9. The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Edith Schaffer

Perhaps I should have had slightly lower-expectations of this book. It's so good! The chapters on interior decorating and painting and writing and gardening and cooking...LOVED. But it's an older book...so it's charming, but also not totally realistic for the toddler-life I live. I could be looking at it all wrong, I don't know. When I got to the chapter that suggested learning how to make your own candles and building your children's toys I was kind of like, 'oooookay this is too precious for me.'

10. Open Your Bible, She Reads Truth

This is so pathetic to admit, but last summer when I was in this Bible study I maybe finished half of the homework. I don't know why. It was a great study led by amazing women. I was just in a really different place a year ago. So after I finished Hosea I circled back around to this workbook to plow through the unfinished places so I could put it back on my shelf 'finished.' I'd recommend this study for sure! But it's probably best done with a group.

11. Take Hold of The Faith you Long For, Sharon Jaynes

This book was written by the gal who is coming to speak at the conference I always decorate for in November (the one at my home-church!). I really wanted to read the book that is the theme for her sessions for the day to get a better grasp on the direction for the decor. If you think decorating is just about pretty stuff, you have no idea how much MORE it is than that. It took a while (it's kind of long), but I finished it and would give it a three-star rating? Maybe it's because Nothing to Prove was so perfect, but it kind of reiterated all of that, just in a much LONGER wordy way.

12. New Morning Mercies, Paul David Tripp

This is the one I hit if I don't have time for in-depth study time during my day. It's EXCELLENT. I'd highly recommend...to the point where I'm pretty sure it's what most of our family members will be getting in their Christmas stockings.


Guys my Amazon cart is so insane. 2017 is the year I developed a book problem and I'm not mad about it. Here's what's on my list and what I'm currently working on:

1 & 2 Samuel, She Reads Truth (going through this now with my favorite girls)
Grace Based Parenting, Tim Kimmel
Ephesians
The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well, Deborah Needleman
In His Image, Jen Wilkin
Slow Down, Nicole Nordeman
The Nesting Place, Myquillin Smith
Mom Enough, Desiring God
Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles that can Radically Change your Family, Paul David Tripp
Loving the Little Years, Rachel Jankovic
Treasuring Christ when your Hands are Full, Gloria Furman
The Meaning of Marriage, Tim Keller
This Momentary Marriage, John Piper
Alive in Him, Gloria Furman
Seamless study, Lifeway
Galatians
Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers
Capital Gaines, Chip Carter Gaines (I'll be reading this one out loud to Josh on our Galena trip)
Instructing a Child's Heart, Ted Tripp
Sacred Parenting, Gary Thomas
Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas
What did you Expect?, Paul David Tripp
Missional Motherhood, Gloria Furman
None Like Him, Jen Wilkin
Glory in the Ordinary, Courtney Ressig
Show them Jesus, Jack Klumpenhower
Sisters First, Jenna Bush Hager
Born is the King, SRT 2015 Advent Study (starting this one November 1st!)

Let me know if you ever want to borrow anything from my growing library!

MmB

What our 'small' house taught me...

As Josh and I have house-hunted over the years, it's been soooo tempting to look at new/different houses and think, 'oh if we had THIS house, all our problems would be solved!' when that just isn't true. Certain neighbors might not be a pain in the butt Certain things might be easier...but at the end of the day, these are five statements I keep coming back to. So I'm preaching to myself here! It's sometimes a weekly daily battle to guard my thought-life from becoming discontent with this wonderful blessing of a house we have. To be honest, we'd love a white farmhouse on an acreage with a wrap-around porch and a metal outbuilding. But we don't have that. We have a 1950's ranch on 13th St. right smack in the middle of Ames. And darnit if I won't be as joyful and happy and content HERE RIGHT NOW as I might be in our dream farmhouse someday.

For the record...a three bedroom, two bathroom house is BY NO MEANS 'small'...but as most of you know our 'duplex' + frequent guests + business has us feeling like we're bursting at the seams some days. Calling our house 'small' might be a little dramatic, but you get the idea.


If you have a hard time organizing a small space, you'll have an even harder time organizing a large space.

Smaller spaces are actually an excellent place to practice and master organizational skills. If you have too much space to start out with, you probably won't be motivated to stay organized when you have unlimited space to fill (SCARY). Small houses mean you don't have room for unnecessary 'things' and force you to make optimum use of the limited space you have. I'm constantly re-thinking and reinventing the way I store clothes, decor, outdoor toys, and baby gear until it's the absolute best it can be in our current house-situation.

A few years ago I was a house guest at a literal mansion in Ames. No joke, friends of ours were house-sitting and invited us over to hang out a couple times. One night the bathroom was out of toilet paper, so I looked in a cupboard to find a replacement and I could. not. find toilet paper in any of the TWENTY bathroom cupboards. Aside from that I noticed the cupboards were kind of a disaster. Stuff just thrown together any which-way...which seemed really odd for how put together the house seemed overall. Big spaces are a lot harder to organize! Be thankful for your small space!

If you can't keep a small house clean, you won't be able to keep a BIG house clean.

OH man. There are some days I canNOT imagine having more than two bathrooms clean. Or wash and 'make' the sheets from more than three beds. Or vacuum more than 1,200 square feet daily. It's a darn good thing I've had seven years to practice and master cleaning the space we have, because I'm just barely getting good at it. Keeping a busy house clean is no joke, and doing it with a humble, grateful, hospitable attitude is also something that takes practice.

Find a system that works for you and master it. I don't operate on any kind of 'daily' cleaning schedule or chart, but I do laundry almost every day, vacuum, run the dishwasher, and 'pick-up' every day...I clean the bathrooms, dust, and attempt to switch the sheets once a week. If we're hosting a party or a shower or having overnight guests, I try to do more of a 'deep clean.' Staying on top of all these things consistently means our house is in a constant state of 'ready' to have people drop by (announced or unannounced!). 

If you wait to host/entertain until your house is 'finished/perfect,' you probably never will.

You're looking at someone who had mauve + baby blue carpet in her entire house for nearly five years. If I would have waited until we had tile floors and nice furniture to have people over, we wouldn't have any friends. It was hard because I HATED our floors and most of our furniture was hand-me-downs (or found on curbs)...but we have SO MANY WONDERFUL MEMORIES from those days. We even hosted Thanksgiving on gray-sub-floor in the midst of construction while Josh was finishing our floors and it was lovely. If you can throw a frozen pizza in the oven, you can have people over.

If you aren't content with your current house, you won't automatically be content with your next house.

This one is hard. For a looooong time, Josh and I looked at this house as a rental. He We didn't want to put money into anything cosmetic, permanent, or unnecessary because our plan was to move and use this home as a duplex rental property. And renters don't 'need' nice floors and pretty ceiling fans. Little by little we replaced some of the things that bothered us (and would add value to our home/bring more rental income) as they fit into our schedule/budget, but for the most part I just got good and content with exactly what we have. There is nothing I can do to change the fact that our washer and dryer are in our third bedroom...but I CAN fit a double bed in there to create a guest bedroom. The unused closet in our front hallway? It's now a fantastic little closet-office. The weird, unused, empty attic-space above the garage was turned into a pretty incredible Man Cave last winter! There isn't a detectable OUNCE of character/charm in this 1950's ranch so I pulled up carpet, found hardwood floors, and had Josh screw some corbels to the wall...and last week someone said, 'your house has so much character' and I just about passed out. It's forced character, but apparently it still counts.

Stop complaining and get creative. 

As Jen Hatmaker says, 'it's just paint.' As long as you're not knocking down walls or busting out cupboards, it's pretty easy to reinvent things with minimal cost/consequences. I painted our kitchen ceiling red once and typing that sentence now makes me physically ill, but I tried something and painted over it three years later! No worse for the wear. Use odd spaces for something you'd never thought of before (see: cloffice). Because it's less square footage, small spaces are usually cheaper to decorate...which means it's an excellent space to practice until you find what you love and feel like you've gotten it 'right.' It took me the better part of seven years to feel this way, but maybe don't dwell on that.

I painted our front door three times. It's fine.

It's good to plan and prepare and research...but also...sometimes...just stop talking about it and get to work. For me, this looked like tearing out our living room carpet + pad with my mother-in-law while I was eight months pregnant and Josh had no idea until he walked in the door later that night. Haha oops. I was tired of being mad at our carpet, I KNEW we had beautiful hardwood floors underneath, and Josh was too busy with work (it was July) to take on an 'unnecessary' house-project. So I found some help and did it myself.

There's a fine balance between obsessing about projects and details to the point where you're constantly unhappy and unsatisfied...and choosing to have a good attitude about what you have WHILE finding creative ways to improve the things you're not so in love with.


So. That's what I've learned. And today I can honestly say, I love everything about our small house.

MmB

"Quiet Time"...what even is that.

That is basically how I've felt about quiet time spent in the Bible for the better part of a decade. I'm not proud of it. But it's never been something that really 'stuck' for me...in college there is no semblance of a routine...and the weird 'routine' that exists is SO INSANE. Classes, work, homework, sleep for five hours...repeat at a million miles per hour. I'm really not trying to make excuses, it was just a bad season to try and spend 30 minutes reading when there were friends! and coffee! and also your future is on the line so, you should probably be applying for jobs!

Backing up even farther...high school was just a terrible time to attempt daily or even semi-regular quiet time reading the Bible. Up at 5:30am for dance practice and ending the day at 9pm with an event of some kind...followed by homework and immediately to bed because that 5:30 wake up call is in less than seven hours! I could have dropped out of a few things, but you need to be in All The Things so you can win awards and earn more scholarship money for college. Simplifying never seemed like an option. And I was actually one of the least-busy high schoolers I know.

None of those life stages or circumstances fostered a desire in me to make quiet time and studying the Bible a priority. And then I became a mom and I was like... "craaaaaaaap. I needed to be good at this, like, YESTERDAY."

Were there pockets of time here or there that I could have used my time more wisely?
Probably.
Should I have created some better habits surrounding my activities so that my time spent with God in his Word was a priority?
Yes.
Could I have simplified my schedule and activities and plans to create time for what mattered most?
Definitely.

But I didn't. And I would bet money on the fact that a lot of you had similar experiences, struggling with balancing life seasons and schedules with the desire to slow down and sit for a few minutes in front of the Bible. Even in the past two years since becoming a mom, I look at that first year and think, "I just never had enough time to do all the things. I WANTED to listen to sermons and read the Bible and be involved in Bible studies but I also really wanted to watch a million hours of Gilmore Girls and cry through the entire series of Parenthood while I was stuck breastfeeding for four+ hours a day."

Ohhhh the time I wasted! But. I'm done dwelling on the past. Because there is grace for all of that and what matters is what I do today. And if I try my best, that is good enough and I will have another chance tomorrow. It's not like my Bible is going anywhere. The study I went through this spring recharged me in ways I haven't felt since my days as a little camper at Hidden Acres and I am suddenly seeing Bible reading and studying in a totally new way. I'm somehow finding tons of TIME I never knew I had and I thought I'd share a few of my recently-discovered, best tricks for fitting quiet time into (most of) my days.

FYI...Maverick naps anywhere from 2-3 hours every day...he wakes around 8, and goes down around 8 give or take a half hour on each side of that schedule. And there are days where he wakes at 6am and nights where he doesn't fall asleep until 9:30pm. But he is IN his room for 12-15 hours each day and I've always tried to make the most of that time.

1. No TV.
There are days where this rule doesn't apply (ie: last week when I woke up with a pounding headache), but for the most part, unless it's PBS, the TV doesn't come on for me until after bedtime when Josh and I are ready to cuddle up to watch one of our shows. Now when I fold laundry, I listen to a Risen Motherhood podcast or a couple chapters of the Bible. Last summer I looooved waking up with coffee and the Today Show, which isn't bad (in moderation)! But I have since found a much better way to use that time.

2. Use TV.
On the flip side of that...I discovered that 30-60 minutes of PBS in the morning after breakfast on days when we don't need to be anywhere (the BEST days), means I can get through my study/chapter for the day and whip around the house finishing chores before we head to the orchard. And I feel great about using Sesame Street in the name of spending a half hour working on my Bible study. There are days it's on less and days it's on more, but I don't feel guilty about it and neither should you.

3. Multi-task.
In the car driving somewhere for more than 15 minutes? I listen to the sermon we missed this weekend, a podcast, or a chapter of the Bible when I used to consider that drive-time a waste and only flipped through radio stations. I had to go return something to the Mediacom office a few months ago (I've come to anticipate a looooong wait there) so I took a book with me to read to avoid Instagam scrolling.

4. Plan.
There is nothing worse than being all excited about finishing a Bible Study and then going, 'umm ok now what?' Before you know it two weeks has slipped by and not a minute of Bible studying has happened. I like to have a loose/flexible plan for what I'll tackle next to keep me motivated. After Romans I went through Hosea. Now I'm combing through a She Reads Truth study from last summer I didn't 100% finish. After that it will be either Ephesians, Galatians, followed by a Titus Precepts study in November. And I have my eyes set on a study called 'Seamless' in there somewhere too. If nothing else, I have my daily good old fallback, New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp.

5. Prioritize.
I cannot focus unless the house is semi-picked up, BLC is caught up, and most of my 'chores' are done. It's just how it is for me. So I try to stay REALLY on top of those things by managing my time well throughout my days...which means it's fairly easy for me to fit Bible studying into my day at some point. Either morning during Seasame or afternoon during nap time. If I miss out in the morning, I still have a second shot during the afternoon. If THAT doesn't happen, I still have a chance after bedtime while Josh is showering/working.


I'll pass along a few other helpful tips people have given me:

Quiet time doesn't have to be first thing in the morning! Just do it when/where it fits. Even if that's after bedtime while husband is showering.

Have study materials pre-printed and ready to go! I print mine in BULK so I'm never out of study sheets or paper or ink when I'm ready to sit down and focus. I also bought the She Reads Truth study Bible this spring and it's been one of the best things for my individual studying habits...there's a reading plan at the beginning of every chapter with little check boxes for marking when complete.

Don't let book-reading replace Bible-studying. This one is hard for me because when I start a new book I just want to BINGE. But as a rule, I force myself to spend time reading the ACTUAL BIBLE each day before I'm allowed to read other books (even good ones that are ABOUT the BIBLE).

Keep the books/Bible/study materials OUT until it's been accomplished for the day. I like to have everything picked up and put away, so this one helps me a LOT. When the Bible is on the table starting me right in the face, I almost always get some good studying in.

Tell other people what you're working on so you can check in with them off and on and talk about what you're studying/learning.

Take advantage of the women's Bible studies happening at church. I'm not doing the semester-long study at Cornerstone this fall because sometimes it's okay to say no to things. But I LOVE that this is always an option if I'm feeling lost about what to study or just need some structure.

Look for creative ways to study in groups. This summer I went through Romans with my sister and a sister-in-law (both work full-time, one is a mom...not the typical demographic of the 'group' I run with) and we had THE BEST time! And I feel like I learned A TON. Grab a partner or a small group and just casually work through a Lifeway/She Reads Truth/Well Watered Women study.

Adding it as a task to cross off my daily To Do list also seems helps me.

So that's what's been working for me for the past few months...what are some of your best tricks/tips for guaranteeing good time spent studying the Bible during busy seasons/schedules?

MmB

A TOP GUN BIRTHDAY PARTY

Exactly a month ago, we threw a Top Gun birthday party for Maverick Wesley James Boersma, and it was so much fun. I never knew decorating for boy birthday parties would be such a thrill, but it always is (at least for the past two years it has been!). Here are some of the ways I keep throwing birthday parties simple, easy, fun, and pictures of all my ideas thrown in.

This is something I saw on Pinterest last year before Mav's first birthday and felt like it was too easy/good to NOT do again...planning on keeping this picture number-thing going until he hits double digits.

While Mav was napping in the afternoon leading up to the party, I quick Googled some quotes from Top Gun and filled my chalkboards with them. Chalkboards are such easy decorating.

Not that anyone could hear it once everyone was inside and we were opening presents, but the soundtrack to the movie was playing in the background at the party...and it included my favorite high school pep band song, Danger Zone. #perfection

1. Minimal Pinteresting

I had in the back of my head that this birthday party would be a Top Gun party for...ohhh...about a year. Because I'm a psycho, but also because mulling it over for that long makes EVERYTHING so much easier for Future Mollie. For example, if I see camo foam airplanes for $2.99 at Hobby Lobby, I just buy them when I'm there in June and save them in the 'birthday pile' for a few months...I don't have to make a big deal out of going birthday party shopping in the weeks leading up to the party if I've slowly brainstormed and gathered stuff as I see it.

But more about Pinterest...I basically use Pinterest like Google these days when I'm working on something specific. No mindless scrolling. No obsessing over weddings that will never be mine. I searched Top Gun birthday parties, pinned a few things, made my own invitations with an image from Google Image Search and got to work.

2. Two Hours MAX

I don't know about you, but kid birthday parties are a WHIRLWIND. So much family. So many different things happening...all while trying to make sure my focus is making sure Maverick is having a good time. I find that two hours is all I can handle of this. I make sure there is an END TIME on the invites so the fam knows I won't be entertaining and feeding everyone all night long. There are times I love doing that, but immediately following Mav's birthday parties...I don't. I just want to spend time enjoying our birthday boy and his new toys and birthday treats.

Also during Maverick's afternoon nap the day of the party, I Google Image Searched 'Top Gun' and came up with gems like this...so I printed them off in black and white and propped them all over.

3. Easy Food

Maverick and I went to Sam's Club the week before his party and picked up all of his favorite things. Here was the 'menu' for the party:

Veggie Straws
Fruit pouches
Cheese-Its
Fruit snacks
Twizzlers
Fruit Roll-Ups
Airplane Cookies
Water
Capri Sun

It literally couldn't have been easier. This is all kid-food, obviously...but Mav has quite a few cousins and had a bunch of buddies coming over later in the week for a little Mom+Mav's friends birthday party so it was all stuff I could just pull back out two days later. And what adult doesn't love Fruit Roll-Ups? It was a good mix of sweet and salty and the three dozen cookies we ordered were a HIT like always...gone in less than two hours. Mav ate three, so he obviously approved of my lack of slaving over his birthday goodies. The party was from 4-6, so I wasn't responsible for feeding anyone their actual 'supper'...it was just birthday party snack food!

4. Outsourcing 

I realize this isn't every one's mantra, but there are certain things that are better left to other people, depending on your capacity and skill set. For me this looks like ordering cookies and a smash cake from a Fort Dodge bakery for less than it would cost me in materials/time/effort to make them. It also looks like putting certain family members in charge of making sure grandmas have coffee and are mingling (ie: Jamie's job was to make sure G'ma Phyllis in the wheel chair had enough coffee and attention while everyone was outside admiring the sandbox when she wasn't able to). It means asking your dad to take out the trash whenever it's needed because dad's are just so good at taking out the trash. It's not lame to ask for help. It's lame to stress yourself out over doing too much stuff when you could have just asked for help.

This is me being so easy going that Josh is putting together a mini-bike and then riding it around the neighborhood a half-hour before grandparents start arriving (they will always come early, be prepared). He still needed to shower but he has so much stupid fun with that thing I don't even care.

5. Decorating Shouldn't be Stressful

I know I KNOW, I am a little over the top in this department, but it's the part I love doing. I served Veggie Straws at the party for heaven's sake...it's not like I go crazy over everything. ;) I skip the balloons and streamers and decorate our buffet and one table. I didn't even do any crafting! For this party I purchased the following decor:

Camo airplanes to send home as party favors from Hobby Lobby
'MAV' balloons from Hobby Lobby
Mini airplanes from the Dollar Tree
Large vintage airplane from Hobby Lobby

Everything else was borrowed from around the house, Josh's Man Cave, or pulled up from the basement after not being used/worn in 20+ years (Uncle Dan's Marine Camo clothes). I printed some card stock, colored, Instagrams with our computer to make the '2' on the chalkboard, set out all of Mav's Shutterfly books from the past two years, and that was IT! Seriously, it came together in less than an hour and I was a little bummed.

If I'm buying something for a party, I like to make sure it will have more than one use/purpose. This year I bought two glass serving bowls and one trifle dish...which I had ZERO of in my cupboards. It's always a problem when it comes time to serve at meals/events and I was tired of it. So I picked those up at Wal-Mart the week before the party for less than $10/each. I didn't include that in my shopping list because they're things we will use forever.

As a last-minute thing I hung my Vintage American flag outside on the garage and parked Josh's mini-bike in front of it for sort of a 'photo booth'...I'm not sure if anyone took pictures there but me and Josh, but it was cool to see when people walked up our driveway to the house. We didn't get to the smash cake DURING the party, but we did try it on Monday after nap and it went terribly which was so hilarious. And more low-key without everyone there WATCHING. But I got a bunch of great pictures of Mav crying at his cake in front of the flag and the mini-bike. ;)

The 'finale' gift was the sandbox we got for Maverick filled with some sand toys from us and Jamie. After the snacks and the gift-opening we all hauled outside to play in the hot tub, hang out on the deck, and play in the sand box. Josh spent the party giving rides on his new mini-bike. We packed a lot of activity into a small house and a small amount of time, but I loved it that way! Two hours went by SO FAST and I know our sweet-two-year old had a blast with all his cousins and grandparents at his house to play all at once.

The look on his face while they're singing to him. I die.

My plan was to casually mention to the family members who had stayed that we would be doing supper at Hickory Park with whoever wanted to join. This was a way for me to not literally kick people out of my house, but to 'end' the party with something that didn't involve me cooking a meal for 25 people. I like to creatively think through logistics like this well in advance.

I've tentatively planned that we will always do Mav's party the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, followed by a fun day-trip activity on Monday when everyone has work off. The past two years we've done the zoo and that's been really fun, but I have my sights set on the Science Center and Adventureland in the next couple of years when afternoon nap isn't such a MUST.

In case you missed what we did for Mav's birthday party last year, here's the rundown:

Invites
Decorating
Food
Games + Activities

MmB

Maverick: Two Year Update

{Photography by Trisha Jean Photography}

Note: I wrote this the week before Mav's birthday...it's now two weeks after. Just whatever about it. I cannot comprehend how it's already mid-September.

How did this even happen. Two years ago at this time I was walking as many miles a day as my body would let me, trying to will Maverick to come out. As we all know now, that didn't happen and I like to joke that I would STILL be pregnant to this day if we hadn't scheduled to be induced...something I look back on with such fond memories. Josh and I talk about our time in the hospital (pre-and-post Mav) like it was an actual vacation. I think part of that was because we severely limited visitors (an unpopular choice at the time), and part was because Josh hadn't stopped working all summer...so three (mostly) uninterrupted days in this hospital was the closest thing we had had to a vacation in about a year. Add our sweet, sleepy, newborn and it was relaxed, wonderful bliss.

Anyway, it's birthday week! I'm busy cleaning the house and finishing a few projects before we host Mav's birthday party, a few other events this fall, and then usher in the holiday season we love so much. Maverick's birthday marks the official end of summer in this house (our apple orchard opens a week after his party!) so I'll be pulling out the white pumpkins and buying white mums this month and I don't feel ready for all of that. Maybe it's this big-second birthday and the growing toddler that has me wishing for time and seasons to ALL slow down, I don't know.

Enough about us. This little boy is two and we've had a pretty amazing week, which prompted posting his two-year-update a few days early (all the laughing-crying face emoji's here since this update is now anything but EARLY).

We spent the summer becoming a family with a toddler. Specifically, we spent the second half of the summer teething. Those two things combined mean we've had our fair share of interesting moments. Mav has been working on his canine teeth since we came home from Omaha last month (I remember his last 'good day' being July 19th) and it's been a bit of a dramatic roller coaster in our house ever since. Most of the time it's easy for me to stay calm and just laugh at his antics, but there are days when it does get to me. Overall, when Maverick tosses his head back (to flash all those naughty teeth we've worked so hard for) to fake cry I just step right off of his roller coaster and let him have his crazy while I remain unphased. Jen Hatmaker taught me that you do not have to get on the roller coaster to join in the crazy that's happening around you...this applies to friend groups, hard family members, co-workers, and kiddos from toddlers all the way to teenagers. This is the new way I handle life...just step off the roller coaster.

Mav is in size four diapers (holding out as long as I can because they give you fewer diapers in the size 5 box!), 18-24 month/2T clothing, and size 5 1/2 or 6 shoes. At his last doctor appointment he only weighed 26 pounds, but I'm betting he's closer to 30...since that doctor visit was due to no appetite + pukes.

Maverick loves trucks, trains, semis, cars, motorcycles, tractors, mowers, diggers, bulldozers...I think you get the idea. We stop to inspect and look at all of these things when we're on walks or drives and it's getting really fun to explain things to him and try to teach him to say words. He's a pretty animated, expressive kiddo so these things are verrrry exciting. He loves animals, specifically kitties and puppies and he knows all the sounds different animals and machines make. My favorites are his 'meow' for kitties, his 'neigh' for horses, his 'toootoooo!' for trains, and his 'weeeooooweeeooo' for police cars. *This past week he started doing this ridiculous noise for raccoons that NO ONE taught him, he just made up and it is WEIRDLY similar to the 'sound' raccoons make. I can't.*

It's amazing how much he's recognizing, understanding, and learning. He surprises me every day with something new...or more than one 'something' new. Today he 'asked' for the puppy sticker at Target by gesturing to the cashier and saying 'woofwoof?' I've started explaining everything we do and talking to him like a real human instead of how I talked to him as a baby. Mav gets ticked when I run downstairs to grab something, leaving him upstairs so now I just say, "hey Mav, mommy needs to go get something, I'll go byebye for a minute, but I'm coming right back." and he's totally cool with it. I've noticed a lot less drama in our house when I just take a little time to explain to him what I'm doing or what's happening or that 'we can't go outside right now but we will in a little bit.'

These are all the words and phrases Mav is saying right now:
WoofWoof = Puppy (not just the sound, that's what animals are CALLED right now)
Bannn = Barn
CAAr = Car
Wolf = Oooowwwwooooo
Bunny = *sniffsniff*
Meow = Kittie
Neigh = Horse
Mooooo = Cow
YeaDid = Yea I did
DaaaYaaa = There it is
Gone
GO
Yay
Oh man, Awman
Amen
Ohno
Yessss, no
Hi, byebye, up, down, on, off
8, 9, 10 = the rest of the numbers are gibberish but he'll repeat 8, 9, and 10 clear as day
Twooo - He knows how old he is, but we're working on fingers
Bubble
Ball
More
All done, Doneeeee, All done
Mom, Mommy
Dad, Daddy
Nana, Papa
Bapa = Grandpa
*Grandma is crying he doesn't say her name yet*
Dat = That
Dis = This
Why
Gak = Snack

And my favorite...the word I've been working on for the past TWO YEARS of Maverick's life...
Peeeeese = Please.

There are more and more every day, and he's starting to put two, three, and four word sentences together which is REALLY fun and shocking every time I hear a new one. I can already tell I'm built for this toddler-phase more than I was the newborn/infant/baby stage. This is just way more fun, there's no other way to put it. 100% of family members getting tons of sleep consistently *might* have something to do with it.

Mav loves bathtime, Curious George, Dr. Seuss books, the monster book from his grandma and grandpa, books with flaps, anything Sesame Street, watching daddy work in the driveway or ride the mini-bike and cuddles with mom before naptime and night. He gives kisses, pats, hugs, fives, and pounds on demand. LOVES playing with older kids, but is fairly tense around anyone littler than he is...sharing is not something we grasp yet, and my friend Carley said it will feel like beating your head against a wall until he's three so I have low expectations there. Ha. He hates flip flops and wearing his backpack.These two things are unchanging, illicit insane tantrums, and are non-negotiables for Mav, and I comply because #toddler...then there are certain things he's previously loved but for some reason in a particular moment decides he hates...in which I mean exactly what I'm saying. Yesterday he loved Veggie Straws, today they made him cry. This is me stepping off the roller coaster, that's your snack get over it.

Maverick loves playing hide and seek, especially with Aunt Jamie. Aunt Jamie likes playing hide and seek with Mav because he's the only person she's ever been able to successfully hide from and scare.

We have zero expectations for potty training and moving Mav to a twin bed. We have no reason to push and I don't think he's ready for either (no matter how much I want him in an adorable buffalo-plaid twin bed this Christmas) so we're keeping both of those things low on the priority list this year.  have a close friend a little over a year ahead of me on these transitions and they've gone AMAZINGLY well so I'm planning to just copy her. Potty training and a big bed are future Mollie's problem.

Recently I've started working on some Bible truths with Mav and it goes like this,
'Who made Maverick?' .............
'Say God.' - Me
'GUY!' -Mav
'Who loves Maverick?' ............
'Say God.' - 'GUY!' Mav  Ok close enough...but it gets me excited to keep reading him our Bible stories, working on catechism questions, and pretty soon Bible verses! GAH! So fun!

There's so much more I could say about our buddy, but this is already too long and the only people reading are the grandmas and aunties. He's just the best. Except for when he's the worst and in rare-toddler form...but mostly he's the best. ;) I cannot get enough of his cuddles and his jabbering and the way he is obsessed with his daddy. The other night we were all home (but it was just the three of us for a change!) and had supper finished kind of early...and we just spent an hour playing on our bed and the guest bed...wrestling, cuddling, fake sleeping, and laughing our heads off at how fun and funny Mav is. I can't believe how much I love this little family of ours.

I'm hoping to post Mav's birthday party pictures and decor one of these days along with a fall-house-tour and a tutorial on how painting our kitchen island went! Hopefully September will slow down a little these last few weeks and I can spend some more time in this little blog space I love so much.

If you want to read what I wrote to Mav on his first birthday, you can find that here.

 MmB

All The Toddler Things We Love

I did a post similar to this a couple years ago...things I loved as new mom for myself, and things I loved for baby Mav. I've had a few people ask what our favorite things are or what I would recommend registering for and I love that I can just point them to those two posts! But as the toys and gear have changed in this house...I thought I'd share my top ten things we can't live without right now

Babywise
I knowwww I've attempted to sell Babywise to you before, but I'm here to try it again. Maverick was not a 'by the book' Babywise child and there were many times it was so frustrating that he wouldn't just SLEEP like the book said he would by 12 weeks because I did everything right! BUT...I'm here to tell you, Mav now sleeps 11-12.5 hours every night and takes a 2-3.5 hour nap each day. I can look back on those days and thank Past Mollie for helping Future Mollie tremendously by doing the hard work so we can have happy, easy bedtimes, a schedule that runs like a well-oiled machine, and a happy, well-rested, healthy toddler. I LOVE the predictability the Babywise routine and schedule provides for our family and I will never try anything else. This was something we implemented right away and consistently for the past two years, and are now enjoying the benefits.

Crayola Triangular Crayons
Maverick has started to show some interest in drawing and coloring, especially when I'm at the table working on my Bible study or my list for the day. He sits in his high chair (yep, still in that...it's the one place I can put him where he can't escape until I'm ready to move on to the next thing) with a piece of paper taped down and plays for 20 minutes or more. He's had a lot of luck figuring these crayons out so we'll keep buying them.

Chick-Fil-A
I don't even know how to be a mom without Chick-Fil-A. I am so thankful I only spent the first month of Maverick's life without it (though, at the time, I didn't realize what a life-changing thing CFA would be) and now we have a love story that I don't see ending anytime soon. It's where we meet friends for lunch dates; where we run if we need to do breakfast on the run; and where we go for supper if Mom and Mav have had a crabby day of teething and mom just can't even with supper.

Munchkin Miracle 360 Cups
Maverick went from a bottle to drinking his water and milk from these cups and we love them. I think he might be ready for more of a water-bottle now that he's getting older...but for the past year and a half these have been our fave! Apparently they're better for toddler-mouths/teeth and I like how easy they are to clean (no gross straws!). I like this one for the pool or road trips so Mav's ice water stays colder, longer.

Chester the Raccoon
I did not think I would be the kind of parent to like stuffed animals (I spent the better part of my childhood with far too many dusty stuffed animals stored in a 'pet net' hanging from the ceiling of our bedroom...all gifted by well-meaning, loving relatives...but WHAT DO YOU EVEN DO WITH STUFFED ANIMALS. Jamie and I NEVER needed that many and we never really played with them or even slept with them. Maybe we each had a special ONE. For Maverick, that's his Chester. He calls him 'CHACHAAAA' and loves on him all day, every day. This summer Maverick has been putting Chester to bed, giving him drinks, sharing his after-nap-snack, taking him for rides on the combine, reading him books, and taking him in the car whenever we go on trips. I've limited the stuffed animal intake, and because of that, Mav has fallen more in love with what he has. I am really glad we keep a few around for him to cuddle.

Crib + Sleep Sacks + Sound Machine
More tricks from my favorite Babywise-mom-friends...Maverick is a two-year-old and is still in his crib, in a sleep sack, and listening to a sound machine at every nap and for every night. That might sound weird to some mom's but he's never once climbed out of his crib or pack and play, and finally sleeps through sirens, company, and other traffic noises at our house. There's no real reason to switch him to a twin bed or put an end to any of these parts in his bedtime routine...and he's sleeping like a champ, so why would I mess with a good thing? At this point, I'm thinking he will probably be in a crib until he's three if I can help it and I have plans to order bigger sleep sacks as well.

The Biggest Story ABC
Risen Motherhood mentioned this book in their Instagram stories the other day and I flipped right over to my Amazon app to order it without another word. It came a couple days ago and we've been reading it every night. I LOVE that it's something we can read until Mav is ready for The Jesus Storybook Bible (which we've tried but Mav lasted about 30 seconds) and it presents the Bible as one big story, instead of learning individual stories like kiddos typically do from books and movies and Sunday School.

Bath Toy Holder
You know how I feel about organization...when Mav switched to taking his bath in the real tub, the toy situation was gross and out of control. I pitched the ones that were more than a year old, pulled out the fresh ones we had been gifted, and bought this mesh, suction, bath toy holder for my shower. It holds all of Mav's bath toys, let's them dry out as much as possible, and keeps everything off the floor of the tub. Ours is the Munchkin brand from Target, but the one I linked above is almost the exact same thing!

Water Table
Maverick has three toys outside on our deck...a slide, a pool, and this water table (along with a few balls, pails, shovels, etc.) But he spends the majority of his time pouring, stirring, and emptying his water table. I'm so glad this was one of the things we 'assigned' to his grandparents to buy last year instead of having everyone go crazy getting him clothes and toys and lots of things he doesn't really need. This is something he's spent hours using. I would recommend finding a model with a lid (ours takes daily emptying/cleaning, which doesn't bother me because I love an excuse to be on the deck) but there are millions to choose from on Amazon.

SkipHop Backpack + Insulated Lunch Box
These are just cute as crap. They tons of animals and colors to pick from, so naturally we picked the raccoon. I switched from a diaper bag to this backpack in January (with intentions of it being Mav's 2nd birthday gift...oops) and I like that it holds a few diapers, wipes, and plenty of snacks...and can also hold the iPad, sleepsack, an outfit change, and small blanket if we're taking a day-trip somewhere or doing a quick overnight. I wanted to be able to leave a small bag with Mav in his church classroom, without having to leave the whole diaper bag/purse...meaning I didn't have my pen, notes, wallet for coffee while I was in church and needed them. This has been a great solution and the next thing we're working on is getting Mav to wear it to haul his own crap around.

Things that make the list for big purchases I'm thankful we made and are still using two years later:
IKEA Dresser
Rocker
Baby Bjron Travel Crib
Graco Click-Connect Travel System (still love this stroller! it's the ONLY ONE we have!)
Graco Convertible High Chair

My favorite brands are Nike (usually on deals found at TJ Maxx), GAP (Factory), and Cat and Jack at Target.

That's the rundown! I think everything is linked to either Amazon or Target...let me know if you have questions on what we like. :)

MmB

Hi Sister-Best-Friend

Can I just tell you that whenever Jamie and I find out one of our friends or someone in our family is about to have a second baby girl...WE FREAK OUT. Mainly because we know what a gift sisters are, especially sisters who are able to pull off a bond like we've mastered after almost 25 years. We want this for ALL SISTERS everywhere. And if you don't have a sister, we want to let you in on our crazy and be the sisters you never had (see: Sarah Doese).

But that excitement we share over the news of brand-new-sisters is quickly replaced with something else...something a little darker...maybe even kind of evil...because we KNOW first-hand, in every way, what having a sister for life will mean for those sweet baby girls and for their parents.

"I can't wait for that little girl to get a sister because she's finally going to have to learn to share and with a little sister taking all her toys, maybe she won't turn out to be a spoiled brat!" -Jamie and I have both said this sentence on numerous occasions over the past ten years...I hate to admit it, but we've used it in nastier ways too, "Umm that girl needed a sister growing up to learn a little selflessness."

I'm telling you, nothing nips a spoiled brat right in the butt more than a little sister growing up right behind you wearing your favorite twirly-skirt-hand-me-downs and playing with all your Barbie's and riding the bike you JUST BARELY outgrew but still loved. From September 24th, 1992 and every day after...everything I thought was mine, was now also Jamie's. 

Siblings get this, but siblings of the same gender get this even MORE. You made your peace that you might always have to share a room. You share clothes, sometimes the same interests, all the same toys, favorite movies and my favorite...the backseat. Which was my parents' primary mission field during the years we drove our navy Chevy Celebrity (can we take a moment to laugh a the irony that this car was branded as a Celebrity? In it's final days it was a D-List Celebrity at best).

After Josh and Maverick (who in my mind, are amazing gifts of a different kind), Jamie is a close third, but at times sort of 'ties' with those first two as one of the greatest treasures of my life. She's been with me longer. We literally grew up and became the people we are now, together...there's something there that can't ever be replicated, replaced, or found in anyone else but HER. She's it. 

From fights in the backseat of the car during family vacations...to fits thrown about having to wear matching outfits (her: THRILLED me: HATE)...to being my best kindergarten show-and-tell EVER...we have more stories and pictures and memories together than we have with anyone else on this earth. Jamie is the only person I've ever borrowed a pair of *clean* underwear from or allowed to borrow a pair of mine (me: home from college, forgot undies! her: sleeping at your house tonight, didn't pack a bag!). If you have a sister, you're thinking, 'oh yea I totally get that.' If you don't, now you're completely grossed out, but you'll get over it.

Jamie is the only person who fully understands what it was like to wake up every day to a list of chores from mom on the kitchen table in the summer...only to promptly ignore those chores all morning to watch TV, then race around like lunatics (even helping each other!) to accomplish that list of chores in the 15 minutes before mom came home for her lunch break. With our lists complete, we turned the TV to good old Lavar Burton on 'Reading Rainbow' for good measure, and pretended like we weren't watching The Wild Thornberries on Nickelodeon all morning. 

One winter break our neighbor Norma gave us Princess Diaries on VHS. We watched it every. single. day for 14 days straight and made 'rules' about if we were allowed to sing along to the background songs or if we would watch it in complete silence...NO QUOTING THIS TIME! Sometimes we throw all the rules out and put in High School Musical 2 and sing and quote and laugh the whole time and then stay up until 11:30 watching every bonus feature on the DVD (I don't know how to put this, but yes, we did this last week).

I'm told in the years before Jamie was born I prayed for a little sister so we could sleep in bunk beds. God has a pretty legit sense of humor because we shared a room and slept in twin bunk beds together until I was FOURTEEN. At the time it was obviously cruel and unusual punishment for a high school freshmen but now I BEG her to come over and sleep in my bed with me when Josh is gone pushing snow overnight...and when she spends the night on a Friday and comes into my bed for some cuddles on Saturday morning everything feels so familiar and precious and RIGHT. We are twenty-nine and twenty-five years old and we literally cannot function if it's been more than 48 hours since we've last seen each other and quite honestly, I prefer she always be sleeping under the same roof.

Getting married was kind of weird and at times threatened to change our beautiful, already established dynamic, but we barely missed a beat. Even now, when Josh and I take small trips or vacations, I feel like part of me is missing. I think about how great it would be for Jamie to see or do this with us (the inverse happens when I'm somewhere without Josh...part of me is missing then too!). She's hardly a third wheel, if anything she's sort of just part of us. Basically a permanent fixture in our home, life, and conversations. I regularly ask Josh to keep Mav for an evening so Jamie and I can have a sister-date. And Josh and I talk about Jamie as much (if not more) as we talk about Mav or the business during our dates...she's been sort of a pretend firstborn child for us.

I was adamant about not having anyone in our delivery room for any of our children EVER...but while we were hanging out in labor with Maverick, Jamie stopped by the hospital a couple times to bring us stuff we forgot and then casually hung around...kind of waiting to see how the whole thing would go down (you all now know, she would have been hanging around for a WHILE...he was born a full 24 hours later) but for a split second I was like...I need her. Yes, Josh was there and he was great, but he doesn't know me like Jamie knows me. She knows what I'm saying and what I need without me even needing to say a word which seems like something that maybe would have come in handy during labor (hindsight is 20/20). Sometimes all it takes is one word and she just takes off in the direction of whatever I'm asking.

I think I just diagnosed a few small problems Josh and I have in our marriage...shocker, our communication isn't perfect, but I'm about to blame Jamie for that because we don't even need to speak to understand each other. And sometimes that's what I expect in my marriage, but for some reason I've spent the past seven years frustrated that it doesn't. Allllllright.

She complains about me 'planning' her, but I feel like NOW is the perfect time to point out while Jamie was in high school planning to attend private college in the WRONG part of the state...I never gave up telling her that she should come to Iowa State (even up until the day I helped move her in at Northwestern...their restaurants are CLOSED on Sunday's...I don't even know how this is allowed in a college town)...be part of Salt Company...maybe even live in my basement with friends for a year or two...and then live and work in Ames so she could be close to me forever and ever and eventually be the best Auntie to my babies because yes that is something I was planning for five whole years ago...

And can I just say...I LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER.

She took sort of an interesting way to accomplish this glorious plan...but eventually she checked all those things off my big-sister-knows-best-list. We've fallen into a comfortable, confident groove in our roles as big and little sister...there's no longer any competition...no hurt feelings over silly comments ("ummm that shirt doesn't look right on you, but I want to try it on because it might look better on me." - Jamie "OK FINE YOU'RE RIGHT." -Me)...we're nothing but proud to be recognized as 'Mollie's sister' or 'Jamie's sister'...and we harbor nothing but defensive, overbearing, obsessive, relentless (kind of scary) SISTER LOVE when someone has wronged the other. Even if it's just a small comment by an ex-boyfriend about how, 'aren't you over at your sister's house a lot?' BYEBOYBYEEEEEE.

So that's it. She's the best little sister in the entire world and I made 3/4 members of our family bawl like babies with this post so I'm considering it a success. I JUST LOVE YOU JAMIE LOU!

MmB