Confession Time

I found this post that I had started writing back in November:

I am a HOARDER.  It's true.  I have such a hard time letting go of things.  I think I'll surely need them again one day, or I hate to get rid of it and then wish I hadn't... especially if I can't afford to buy a new one later.  So I have a TON of stuff... and everywhere I turn, there is chaos!  I think I'm about to hit a breaking point.  So I'm getting ready to start purging.  Clothes, toys, decor, papers, random random random stuff.  I'm not sure where to begin... maybe with the clothes that are 2-3 sizes too small.  As much as I'd like to think one day they'll fit again... let's be honest...

Well, it's 6 months later, but I finally did hit that breaking point, and now I'm loving the freedom to let go of so much stuff.  Over the weekend, I've passed along some outgrown toys, donated 3 huge bags of clothes, a few boxes of miscellaneous junk,  sold two things on craigslist, and we took our 150+ DVDs out of the boxes, put them in a CD binder, and threw the massive pile of boxes in the recycle bin!  It's addicting... I'm anxious to do more! And there's more to it than just going on a cleaning-binge... but that post is still to come. 

Any other hoarders out there? ;)

Moving on...

I've been really slack about this blog lately.  It seems I post so often on Facebook and sometimes I just run out of things to write about here.  It's not that we've had a lack of things going on, just the opposite, but I guess we all just get in a writing rut.   Our biggest news is that we're finally ending our "4 months max" (which turned into 11 months) of living with my parents.  We're extremely grateful that they've put up with us (and our stuff, and our dog!) this long.  I know if it weren't for the fact that they love seeing their favorite grandson all the time, they'd have kicked us out a long time ago!  (Don't even try to deny it Mom, you know it's true! haha!)  It's been a stretching, humbling experience, and though I know we'll all be glad to be back to normal, it really has been a good year and I know we'll all look back and be glad we had this opportunity. 

We're moving just a few blocks from the oceanfront which will make for a fun summer.  Too bad Josiah and I are such fair-skinned whities... we'll just have to invest in lots of sunscreen! :)  God has provided a place for us that we are really grateful for.  It's a tiny little condo, and there will be some challenges with being there, but it's what He has for us in this next season and we're excited.  So we are in the process of doing some major down-sizing and really, I could write a whole post about how freeing that is. Actually... I think I will.

Josiah's 2nd birthday is only about 7 weeks away, and while I have some ideas as far as his party is concerned, I really need to get on the ball and just get it going.  I asked him tonight how old he was, and he held up two fingers and said "2" and even though it was really cute, I couldn't help myself from correcting him and telling him he is ALMOST 2, but not until his birthday.  I'm just not ready to rush away then next two months of having a 1 year old.  He's growing up so fast!

21 Months Now I know my ABCs

This video is about 7 minutes long... so for most, I'm sure it's way too long, but I couldn't help but keep videoing as Josiah put together this whole alphabet puzzle, and I realized he knows so many of the letters already... I know he can recognize A,B,D,F,H,I,J,L,M,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z, although he doesn't do them all here. He loves this puzzle and the LeapFrog alphabet magnets we have on the fridge. He will stand there and listen to it read each letter and teach the phonics until he's got it down. :)