//LET ME DREAM FOR YOU//

Dreams.
A word that has meant so very little to me, aside from the occasional story in my head while I sleep. Of course, I also had dreams about marriage and babies and what my life would look like; the usual dreams of a little girl I think. 


Adventure too; that's something that is foreign to me. Loosing a feeling of adventure can happen when you marry at 19, give birth at 21, and again twice more by age 25.             

Not that I no longer dream of nice things.
And making lunch while holding a newborn while corralling a small circus while managing a home certainly can feel like an adventure...
But dreams, of future and more and possibilities and excitement... I've rarely entertained them because, well, it seems that good and fun and exciting happens to those who either get lucky or take the risk.     (Please know that I am not taking my life for granted;  having a husband,  three children, and many more blessings is good, fun, and exciting... I'm referring to those dreams that are unique to us; desires God places in our individual hearts for a purpose).


Never, and I do mean never, would I have imagined that my husband and I would take such a risk as selling our home and business, him quitting two solid jobs that he had been committed to for years, leaving our entire immediate families and all that is familiar, comfortable, and known.... taking such a risk to pick up and move to a new state, home, community...                            

Sure, we had talked about "selling everything and moving" plenty of times,  but that was mostly in the context of "wouldn't that be fun" and in the chance that either of us would ever be brave enough to leave...


To think that we are now living in a completely different life, so to speak, is still shocking to me sometimes,  and yet...it's so so right. Not once since deciding to take this leap of faith,  have I ever felt unsettled about our decision.  To face a change so great and feel so safe in that, has been such a blessing.

I see now that it's not that we were not dreaming before this,  we were just under the impression that our dreams are just too big, unrealistic, or scary.                                  
Living on three acres, enough room for a few pets and a dozen chickens, seeing more creatures from our windows than squirrels and the neighbors cat, gazing across miles of beauty, unblocked by the surrounding dozen houses- simple and boring as it may seem to some, it is "the dream" for us.
It may have seemed unrealistic to us less than a year ago,  but after allowing our hearts to speak up, deciding to make it happen despite what people may think,  and despite the fact that yes, we probably are a little crazy, we are living a life that we love.
I am so grateful to a God that gives us desires, matches us in our dreams,  and blesses us beyond our own imagination.
We truly are so blessed to be where we are,  and look forward to what our future holds.
                                         
So as perfectly cliche as it is, dreams really can come true,  when you are least expecting or even hoping... sometimes when you're barely even dreaming them anymore. Sometimes a little risk and step of faith is all it takes.

Are we foolishly expecting life to be easier now?
Have we "arrived" and are now living the life?
No and no! Life is still life and there are still hungry bellies to feed and hearts to love and laundry and dishes and bills... we still live an average life and perhaps it is even harder now, without the close help and support of family, but we are loving our new normal and the change and risk has been worth following this path we believe God has us on.


//So come on, let Me dream, let Me dream for you
I am strong when you're weak and I'll carry you
So let go of your plan, be caught by My hand
I'll show you what I can do
When I dream for you
I have a dream for you. -Casting Crowns

What is a dream, big or small, that you have been putting off because it feels risky or maybe unrealistic?//

//GRACYN JADE//

She is finally here and we love her to itty bitty pieces already! Gracyn Jade King, born on March 25 2015 at 2:00 pm, weighed 8lb. 2oz. and was 20 inches long. It was easily my best birthing experience and my first all natural one too. She is just so precious and snuggly and I am enjoying the newborn stage all over again and with more intensity than before :-) After having two already, I am so aware of the speed of time, and I am hoping she will stay newbornish a bit longer than usual. 

My mom was here for a week and a half, taking care of Chase and Addisyn while we were at the hospital and taking care of us all when we got home. :-) This is the first time I had someone sleep here after a baby and having her here made a world of difference! I still got up to feed during the night but was able to get a good nights sleep in between feedings and have been recovering so quickly. She also took Chase and Addi home with her for a week so I am able to rest and enjoy Gracyn all by myself :-) .

//Welcome to our family, sweet girlie. We love you to the moon and back, forever and a day!//

//SETTLING IN//

((this picture was taken in PA; there is no green grass to be seen here right now))

Hello again!

We are finally here, in New York, and settling in between the boxes and disorganization that is our new home. Brian is chipping away at the projects he can do himself, while he is off of work for the week. I am slowly unpacking, box by box, trying to get a feel for how this house works best. We are enjoying our home; especially our spacious bathroom which is about triple the size of our main bathroom in our old house! (The urinal is gone!) The kiddos are loving the play time in the snow with their daddy; I am afraid they will be disappointed next week when it is just me here with them. Somehow I don't see my 34-week pregnant self getting out there with them like he does. I am trying to take it somewhat easy but there is a lot to be done and I am hoping to have a week or two to relax before baby comes!

Besides playing in the snow, they usually have the living room looking like a wall-to-wall, helter-skelter-mess by 8:00 am. every day. They are enjoying having all their toys again, while I am dreaming of having a finished basement sometime soon where they can make their messes.

We had my parents and brother here over the weekend, helping us move and doing a lot of little projects around the house. My mom and I did a few DIY projects that were super easy and I plan on sharing those with you this week. They were both for the bathroom, which is the first room that is worthy of showing "after photos", as the other rooms will be getting shuffled around when we have the basement completed. I still want to stain the vanity before it is complete, and hopefully that will get done this week yet.

Favorite things this week:

//Finding a place to buy inexpensive farm fresh eggs, and it looks like they stay well stocked too!//
//Watching the horizon change its look all day long. First a beautiful sunrise, then clear skies, then fog/snow so intense that the view just disappears, then back to whatever it feels like doing next//
//Making hot cocoa in my quiet kitchen while watching my husband and kiddos play in drifts up to their chests//
//Peaceful nights in which both children have actually been sleeping soundly, without interruption//



//What are your favorite things this week?//

//FAMILY HISTORY: THE BEGINNING//

Brian and I met in the fall of 2005 when I began to work for his parents at a Farmer's Market near Philly. It was a bit intimidating to have to talk to and work with the boss's son, but he was always friendly and helpful- maybe a little too friendly sometimes and that was even more intimidating :-) I knew we had a connection though, when his mom stated one day that he just does not talk very much to anyone; he was usually very talkative and funny with me. We had fun working together and slowly started to build a friendship beyond work. A year after we met, we started dating.

After one year and eight months of dating, he proposed marriage and we planned a wedding in 4.5 months. We got married September 28, 2008 on a rainy ((beautiful)) day.

There is something so comforting and secure knowing that you are 100% committed to someone, and them to you. Love is a choice, every day, whether it comes easy or not. It is not always easy to choose love, but it is always right and worth it.


//I found the one whom I love with all my heart.
I held on to him and now I won’t let him go. Song of Solomon 3:4//

//A HOUSE NOT YET A HOME//

I have seen this run down house all of two times, and I am sincerely in love with it already.

It needs oh so much updating, but I can see past all that and this is what I see:

//Early morning breakfast with my husband in the kitchen, looking out over the miles to a beautiful sunrise// little feet padding out of their rooms in the morning to the kitchen for their warm milk// a sweet little bundle of baby girl sleeping in her rock and play in the living room// my husband and I working together to finish the basement and get our Family Room completed as a place to send those little rascals to play// room outside for the kiddos and I to roam// a little hill for them to sled down before having a hot chocolate break// so many precious memories of the best, craziest, hardest, longest, and shortest time of our lives//

I don't look through rose colored glasses; I know the reality of what we are taking on right now. And we are ready for the challenge and are excited to see what God has for our family in this new adventure.

//"Home is the nicest word there is." Laura Ingalls Wilder//

//SIMPLE LIVING//

Paper or plastic? Food from a tin can, or a glass Mason jar? White refined sugar, or local raw honey?
You don't have to browse more than a minute or two on the internet to see some sort of topic involving "healthy choices", "good for the environment", or "crunchy". As a young mom, I feel like there are more choices to make than ever before; of course, I have only lived in this generation so I may be wrong.

With my first baby, I tried baby-wearing; she was not a fan of the uncomfortable sling and disappointed as I was, I didn't pursue it further and just gave up that romantic notion I had of grocery shopping with a cuddly little baby sleeping on me. I then found a used, standard carrier at a yard sale for $3 when I was pregnant with my son, and was so excited to think of grocery shopping with TWO kids, this time with one surely sleeping cozily on my chest. He actually did enjoy the carrier for a little while, probably more than I enjoyed the annoying straps and clicks and weight on my shoulders.

Little did I know, that I was doing it ALL WRONG. I was part of several Facebook groups, and came upon an article that more or less said, "Be kind to the mom who is baby wearing in the wrong way! Smile! Give her a break; at least she is trying!" I am sure the author did not mean to discourage anyone reading, but here was my first realization that I was doing it all wrong. I had the wrong kind of carrier, I didn't have him in the right position, I was surely causing future injury to my sweet little baby by doing it all wrong.

Well, we are expecting our third baby in March, and you'd better believe that I have my fancy pants Ergo carrier all ready to use and maybe I am even excited about grocery shopping with THREE little crazies. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

I choose to live simply rather than go green or natural or crunchy. To me, Simple Living is not about doing everything in the most natural, healthy, organic way possible, all the time. Although baby-wearing is supposed to be natural and simple, sometimes simple means we break out the stroller to go to the mall; sometimes I am even tempted to push around a baby-less stroller just to carry all my belongings.

Most of the time, simple means that I cook from scratch with the food we have in the freezer and whatever groceries I bought that week, because cooking from scratch is usually cheaper, and healthier. But sometimes we let it mean that we grab a pizza and bread sticks for dinner on a Sunday evening so we don't have to spend more time than necessary in the kitchen.

I have boxes and boxes of canned tomato products in my mom's basement right now, but we are still squeezing our ketchup out of a plastic bottle because it is just easier. And I am sure that SOMEDAY I will bake the perfect loaf of bread, and my husband will declare it the best he's ever eaten, but until then, we do what we can with the $1 loaves of bread I stock up on from the discount grocery store.

When "doing it all" gets complicated and stressful, not to mention expensive, it just isn't worth it to me for my sanity, and the sanity of those who live with me.

I do what I can with what I have, and do not think less of anyone who does things differently, and I try not to think less of myself when others do more than I do.

Simple Living is a journey I am on; sometimes dragging my family along with me, sometimes on my own in ways that make sense for us now. Living Simply might mean something completely different for you, but I believe that it should be the goal for anyone who values their time and time with their family. Cutting out unnecessary commitments is incredibly freeing.

Living Simply also goes hand in hand with Taking Delight. Although it took years for me to learn this, sometimes I say no to something just for the simple reason that I know I am better off missing out than to stress myself out giving away my time and energy. I think it is hard to understand that sometimes in the culture we live in; it is hard to say no to social activities, it feels uncomfortable to say no when someone asks for help, and it is certainly not easy saying no to a great opportunity. But I know myself well enough to know when to say no, to let myself take delight in the things to which I say yes.

Life is about to get busier than ever for us. With moving, renovating, adding another little human to our family, I expect there to be more shortcuts taken than usual. We will do what we can to make it through the next year, surviving and delighting, by hopefully keeping things simple.

Whatever helps you to enjoy your day to day more fully, I hope you too can make choices to //LIVE SIMPLY//.

//WELCOME//

Hello. A quick introduction of myself and family here.
My name is Kayla; Brian and I have been married 6 years and have two kiddos here, Addisyn and Chase, one sweet baby in heaven, and one kicking little girl due in a few months.
We are currently living with my parents, which is ironic given the name of the blog, but it is only temporary due to crazy and exciting changes in our life right now.

//sweetfacephotography//

We were both born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; we have lived in the same two-story house for just over 6 years. We just sold our dear old home and business in a Farmer's Market with plans to move to the Finger Lakes area in New York state this February. So for a few weeks we are invading my parent's house with our pillows and fuzzy blankets, clothes, a few dearly loved stuffed animals, and random miscellaneous that cannot be stored outside. Setting in the lawn we have two trailers, a storage pod, and a bunny hutch housing Susie McFurlies, whose name has recently been changed to Buttercup, I guess.
The house we are buying in New York needs a few walls knocked out, a urinal removed and replaced with a brand new bathroom, new flooring, paint, time, hard work, and lots and lots of love. I enjoy do-it-yourself projects, especially house renovations, so while it will be a lot of work and decision making, I am looking forward to it and also want to blog about it as we go. That, and staying connected with our friends and family in Lancaster, gave me enough reason to start a blog. I hope to be a faithful blogger, but time will tell.

//Welcome, and feel free to introduce yourself by commenting!//