In which we come FULL CIRCLE...............

10 weeks in STL

and we have found ourselves back in Southwest MO

In many ways I felt like we could have been so very happy there

so much to offer in experiences and education to our kids

but there were other plans for us.

In a very unexpected turn of events, we have landed right back where we started

and it is good.

It would take days to explain how our journey has brought us to this point, 

but we are here now

and that is what matters

maybe I will write more about it someday

but for now, it is time for advent, and I am determined to give my kids a Christmas

they will remember....

So today I will look back for a moment, 

for today I will look back

for the sake of recording it on the blog

but tomorrow

I start again.................

I look around at so much that is familiar

and I feel a contentment and peace that has not been there for quite some time

there are still many unknowns

and some fear at what is to come

but for now we are here

in the same home we brought both our babies home to

and planted trees in the yard

to commemorate their births

The cozy home where we built a fire and watched our toddling boy experience his first snowfall

Where I walked in a perfectly pink room to find my baby girl standing at her crib

for the first time

marking it with her own set of teeth marks, 

not to be upstaged by her big brother

Where he got his first big boy bed

and refused to get out of it

(we were so lucky)

The place where

if you look hard enough at the wood floors

you may just see an indention from our four bodies 

romping and reading there

Where he took his first steps...........

Where we had our first Christmases

as a family of three

......and four

Where we topped our tree

what feels like so many yesterdays ago

and where we topped it again

YESTERDAY