Two years.

Yesterday marked the 2 year date of when we moved into the Parsonage. In one way I can't believe that we have been here for two years already and in another way it seems like it has been much longer. All in all, it has been an awesome two years. I can't really imagine my life any different. I was looking back through my old blog (live journal) and had fun reading and looking at the pics from when we first moved here. It was a very new chapter of our lives. We were moving into the house, Josh was starting in the roll as an elder of the Church and we were taking on the youth group! Owen was little. He didn't have any teeth and did lots and lots of drooling. Before we moved into the house we did quite a bit of re-painting, Butch had refinished the hardwood floors and everything looked so clean and new (as new as a very old house could possibly look!).

The house itself doesn't look much different then two years ago as far as furniture placement and things. Minus a crib that is now a bed and an extra bed in the extra room..mostly everything has stayed the same. It is clear though, that the house has been "weathered" over the last two years. The pictures from then showed a nice new paint job, pictures hung nice and straight on the walls...and brand new couches. Today, the paint on the walls has become scratched in places (or even drawn on!), the floors are scuffed and not nearly as shiny as they were then. One might think, by looking at the pictures on the wall, that a freight train drives by the house on a daily basis (which doesn't happen, although, you might consider my four kids a freight train!). The furniture...well, it has held up quite well, fortunately!

This house has seen a lot of commotion. Our family alone gives the house a run for its money, but then add in the weekly youth meetings, Sunday School in the living room and basement (most of the time) and all of the other gatherings that happen here on a regular basis. This is what the Parsonage should be like! (don't get me wrong, the parsonage dwellers before us saw just as much action...I'm not at all implying that this all started when WE moved in!!)

We love living here and feel blessed every single day that we GET to live here! We try hard to allow the Parsonage to live up to its potential:)

But ya know that "two year itch" phrase? I am in NO way itchy to leave anything, but it is not typical for us to do anything for more than 2 years without a major change. It doesn't necessarily mean a change of living arrangements, although..looking back, it does seem to be the pattern. Its just that there is usually something big that changes for us every 2 years or so..whether it be a move, a new responsibility, a new baby....something. It just feels weird to not have some major change happening in our lives right about now.

So what is it that I want to change? I have NO idea. We are not planning on baby #5, I know for sure that we don't want to leave Meredith, or the Church or the parsonage even. I can't even think of what I 'want' to change. I tried talking Josh into a dog.....but that is a pretty clear "No", in fact I've even heard the words "I'd rather have another baby than a dog!".

So for now, I pray for contentment. The thing is, overall, I feel very content. There is just something about that two year mark. Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me?? What kind of changes do you make when you get the urge for some sort of change?

In the meantime, while I was reading in my old live journal blog I encouraged myself (can you do that?) to start writing in my blog more often. I had gotten to a point where I felt like if the pictures weren't good enough, or the story wasn't cool enough that I shouldn't bother posting...but looking through the old blog was fun. It was fun to see the silly randomness of my life and remember little tiny things that happened. I am going to try to be more diligent about posting...even if its just for myself to look back on 2 years later and laugh about how drooly Owen was or what Jessalyn looked like on her first day of 3rd grade. That was why I started this blog in the first place!!