Front Porch Playin'

When Jonathan and I were house hunting for our very first house, we each had one "must have". He wanted a basement and I wanted a front porch. When we walked into the house we ended up buying, we were blinded by the high ceilings, gigantic master, and incredibly low price so we bought it. I never regretted buying that house and it was the perfect house for our growing family, but it was always missing the two things that we wanted most. This time when we went house hunting, we knew we definitely wanted a basement and I thought I could live without a front porch. Boy would I have been wrong! Our home has the biggest front porch I've seen and we use it DAILY. Almost every night we take the kids out, listen to music, watch the birds, and wind down for the evening. It fulfills the kids craving to be outside, but it keeps them clean before going to bed. We had Madelynn's birthday party in the front yard just so we could decorate and use the front porch. I may sound crazy, but I LOVE the porch!! 

Today I took the kids out with me so we could take down M's party decorations. I put the baby gate up so the dog and baby can't escape and everyone runs around and has so much fun. I couldn't help but take some photos of my precious littles having a blast on the porch, listening to worship music and enjoying our new front yard. I'm still in disbelief that our yard and home are truly ours. It's such a blessing.

I have this blog so I can remember the kids just the way they are on a particular day. What I want to remember today is how the girls argued with each other the entire time they were sitting side by side at the end of the porch, but 5 minutes later when Annabella sat in the chair, Madelynn wanted to sit in the chair with her. I want to remember how obsessed with tiny things Annabella is-particularly the $1 store jungle animals that we bought her for her birthday. She never lets them out of her sight. Even though Noah had his tractors outside, he mostly played with a princess flashlight and a Frozen cell phone. He snatches up his sisters' princess toys in a second and plays with them as fast as he can before they find out and take them away. I want to remember how Madelynn wants so badly to be like mommy and how she helped me take down her birthday decorations without me asking. She pretended to talk on her phone and like daddy talks to Google, she said, "Ok phone. Call daddy. Do it, ok?" 

These kids are my world and these days are making memories faster than I can keep up with. This is our last summer with Madelynn before she goes to school. Annabella, Noah, and my days are going to be so very different without sweet Madsy at home with us. It's going to be a huge change for Annabella especially, since she's her best friend in the whole world. My hope is that it will bring her and Noah closer together. I'm about to cry just thinking about it.

Thank you God for sweet spring days, healthy children and my new front porch!

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