butterfly no more

It's been quite some time since I've posted on either blog and I must say I really miss it.  But with surgery and recoery behind me, I'm putting posting toward the top of the list again! :)

May seems like such a crazy busy month every year.  We celebrated O's fourth birthday this past weekend.  (Very bittersweet for me - she's just growing SO fast!) We hadn't been to Como Zoo for quite some time and it is by far our favorite family past time.  We were very heartbroken to learn that the Butterfly house from the last 3 years is permanately closed.  They had butterflies from all around the world.  So it was a very unique experience to say the least. 

(this one was on the walking path so his wings got a little rough)

You could "purchase" a butterfly and release it into the greenhouse.  It was amazing! My oldest daughter was the only one who was old enough to do it.  And she thought it was amazing! As did I of course!

The wonderful girls at the information desk told us that the exhibit closed because their federal permit (to have the exoctic ones) expired and there was not also not funding available to continue the project. :( But, she told us that the other zoo in the area has a butterfly house this year.  So perhaps there is another zoo trip in our future!!

this is our home

I remember when I first came to Elgin.  If I were a little early for work I'd drive around and look at the town.  It was small, but simple and inviting.  Reminded me of my days as a kid.  I saw a for sale sign in the yard of this gorgeous house.  It was old, but had a big porch, with a swing.  And I could tell by the brick chimney it had a fireplace inside.  Clearly it had been taken well care of.  “That would be perfect, some day” I thought.  It went off the market several months later.

Fast forward to summer 2004.  Jeremiah and I were engaged.  And expecting.  (not perfect order, but obviously I have no regrets!) That same perfect house came back on the market!   We hadn’t talked about where we would live.  In fact , we already had a nice, large 2 bedroom apartment that would work fine to start a family in.  One  day with nothing to do, we drove by and noticed that there was an open house.  We couldn’t help ourselves.  Two rooms in and I knew this really was the perfect house! In fact, we never looked at another house!

In September 2004, we received the keys to that perfect house! We didn’t have much to move in, but it was so exciting.  We spent the entire first night asking each other if this was really ours! The next several months would be spent preparing the nursery, and then later getting everything made for the wedding. 

Now we are quickly approaching our 8^th anniversary here.  We didn’t know it at the time necessarily, but we weren’t buying our first home, we were buying our forever home.  I still marvel at the before and after pictures of the dinning room Miah and I gutted and finished ourselves in a week! Over there is where Emma took her first steps.  That’s the tree I take so many pictures of because it’s just beautiful.  Miah made the inside/outside dog house for Molly and added a kennel because we literally can not get her in the house.  And that’s where my hospital bed was after the amputation.  We still use the ramp the amazing EFD built me, even though I’m not chair bound all day.  Miah replaced that porch floor when the corners finally rotted out.  My lily garden is amazing! Down there is where the house fire started, a horrible seeming fate that turned into one of our best blessings! Olivia learned to ride her first bike down this sidewalk.  And that’s where the neighbors live that have become closer to us than some family! J The girls even call them grandma and grandpa! I remember how my heart sank when I saw the ambulance pull up that day.  That’s the same bedroom I would seak refuge and comfort in on the rare occasion I was allowed home between chemo doses or hospitalizations.  This window is where grandma and I stood and one of the best conversations we’d ever had, right before we found out she had cancer and she quickly went to heaven.  Some people would say 'those are just memories.  Memories can be taken anywhere.' But it's so much more than just memories. This isn't just a house, this is our home.  And yes, home is where your heart is.  Our heart is here.  And always will be.