Lil' House on the Hill

Dear lil' house on the hill,

 We are now officially your renters, although we wont move in for about another week. When we looked at you, we were still thinking that we didn't want a July lease (but that changed after we saw many other places that didn't really fit the bill) so I don't really remember how big your rooms are or what color your walls are. I am fairly certain that the pictures on Craigslist are old and that the living room isn't bright blue but I can't say for sure.

I am pretty excited that the piano will be staying but am even more excited about the little postage-stamp yard with a small gardening plot. I'm already schemeing and dreaming of a compost pile, water barrel and more tomatoes and zucchini than we know what with. Oh and pumpkins! Maybe we'll grow enough food that I'll be able to work less. Or maybe we'll grow so much food that it will seem like I have two jobs! I'm working on convincing Christopher that he doesn't have a black thumb so that he can join me in this endevour/adventure/second job.

We think that your layout will work perfectly for us with our bedroom downstairs and two others upstairs. It will be nice for Christopher to have his office upstairs away from the main living areas. I hope that we will fill the third bedroom with toys and that we will hear little feet pitter patter on your wood floors. I hope that we will fill your rooms with memories and even better friends. I can't wait to sit on your porch and read or wave to the neighbors. I am excited to walk Loki through the parks in the neighborhood and to venture the mile east and enjoy the lake.

I want so much from you ... I want to create a peaceful space where we can love and grow. I want to entertain our friends in our home in a way that hasn't been as convenient living 30 minutes away from them. I hope that our family will visit and feel welcome. But most of all I hope that we will know that the real magic lies with the people in the house and not with the house itself. You will be the framework that holds our love and the place where we make memories but the bigger picture lies in the relationships and in the One who brought us all into being.

So lil' house on the hill (and I really hope that name sticks), we are super excited to see you in a few days!

Whitnall Park, The Oak Savannah and Loki's Long Tongue

We are moving in 10 days (more on that later) to a different part of Milwaukee. I am excited for the community that we will be living in and am really happy to live closer to our friends. 

But I will miss Whitnall Park. Loki and I have spent many hours in that park. It is incredible that the same place can look so different on different days and during different seasons.

 

I have great plans for the many pictures that I have taken these last two years at the park but that project may have to wait for some other creative juices to be used up first.

A couple of weeks ago we followed the foot path by the library and came across an Oak Savannah and Wetlands preserve. On a really hot day last week, I took Loki back there for a short walk.

And a few more funny pictures of Loki - all hot and bothered!

Just a little bit crazy!