Thankful: one.

Often, people ask me if I miss my parents, siblings and extended family living so far away from them. I think the assumption is that since I moved across the country, I must have been trying to escape them. But, no. Not at all. I miss my family every day. I absolutely adore them. And, I often find myself wavering between being so content here with my awesome husband and kids, and just wanting to teleport everyone to the same place. But, I'm working on contentment and joy, so I am just going to focus on how thankful I am. Thankful for all of these people, who I only see occasionally, but are so dear to me:

I am so thankful that when we were in Indiana, we got to eat, drink, and be merry at two family parties. I am thankful that I got to chat with my cousins about what's going on in their lives. I am so thankful that Griffin and Diego played happily with their cousins. And, I am incredibly thankful for the time to just be with my parents and siblings--though we really missed Duke! Thanks for all the love and joy, family!

This and That...

1. I am obsessed with this recipe for Chocolate Frosting Shots. Whit recently blogged about Chocolate Covered Katie--her recipes are good, seriously good. She has a ton of vegan and lower sugar dessert options that are incredibly satisfying. Mainly because (obviously) they're chocolate.

2. I'm really enjoying living in a smaller place. I love being able to look from the kitchen into the living room and the boys' room at the same time...now that Diego is on the move, you never know where those boys will be. Jose is really enjoying not cutting the lawn or fixing sprinklers.

3. Pilates Central...I'm missing it. Every Saturday and often on Wednesdays, Pilates was my meditation and release, my refocusing. I'm apprehensive to try a new studio. What if they don't laugh during class? What if they do footwork and the ab set and hundreds completely differently? And, which one do I pick? I should just go...right?

4. Belleview Park is the bees' knees. A train runs the perimeter of the park, complete with conductor, the stream is filled with splashing kids, and a bunch of goats and sheep lie around in the petting farm. The best part is that it is only about 10 minutes from our apartment. Yea, Littleton!

5. My friend, Anna, invited me to Canvas and Cocktails for her birthday. It was a blast. I don't even know how long it has been since I attended an art class--maybe when I made a floor cloth at the Munce Art Center in Zionsville during college--but, I came home with a fun painting and had a lovely time celebrating my sweet friend.

Our First Apartment

We have moved. That seems like an understatement based on what the last two months have been. But, we are apartment dwellers. No longer homeowners. After living at 9210 Jackson for eleven years, Jose finally decided it was time for a change. It is so tricky to know what is the right thing to do sometimes. He wavered between wanting to keep the house until it was paid off and possibly renting it along the way to just wanting to get out.

I was more ready to move than he was, but there was still that twinge of pain and loss as I removed the last of the frames from the boys' bedroom walls. And, there was the overwhelming task of sorting through all of our stuff--trash, giveaway, move, store. We definitely could not have done it without the help of Jose's parents and Jerry and Jake and the Majewskis. There is no way Jose and I could have moved our treadmill or couch or washer without them...and I think we would have been about four times as stressed if we had had to do all the moving with the boys underfoot.

But, we did it! I know people move all the time, but it still feels like such an accomplishment. We are settling in at our little apartment home and feeling pretty good about it. There are going to be some adjustments for sure--I may have to talk quietly during the boys' naps if you call me...we have about a third of our stuff in storage...and Diego might be sleeping in our closet right now--but we'll figure all of that out. I feel like it's our time to simplify, to just enjoy being together, and to pretend that the pool that is about thirty steps away is our private pool. So, hey, why don't you come over for a swim?!

And here's a little tour of our place: