The Journey Begins

We've been praying and dreaming about it for a long time.  Basically since we've been dating we've talked about our dream to raise our family on a farm.  I will admit I was a hard sell at first but after we had a little boy I couldn't deny the voices inside my head telling me that this boy was made for living in the country.  He loves to climb, discover, get dirty, be around animals, and just run.  After we had boy number two it was a done deal. We began talking about our options and praying for guidance and that something would come up that we could see ourselves growing our family in. I have always struggled with contentment but after many properties/land came up and didn't work out I finally got to a place where I said, "okay God I give up. Teach me to feel content and help me to trust in you." It wasn't much later when we were approached by some good family friends telling us that they were thinking about selling their beautiful, old farmhouse.  

This home screams Cedar Falls history and I can't wait to learn more about the Hearst family and the Maplehearst farm as we get acquainted with the property. The McClanahan family, who asked us if we'd be interested in the house, grew up down the road from Morgan's parents. They have 5 kids that they raised in this house and they have been close friends with the Troendle family for a long time.  We are so excited to begin this journey and feel so thankful to the McClanahan family for giving our growing family this opportunity. We hope to bring up our kids loving life and God as much as yours do! Anyone who knows any of you knows that this is true!

One huge bonus with moving to this house is how close we will be to Morgan's parents. We love spending time with family and it will be so nice to be so close! Also, since Morgan grew up in the area, he knows most of the people living around the house.  Which will come in handy when we need someone to push our snow or something comes up that we need help with...that never happens on a farm right?? Having great neighbors is a huge blessing when living in the country and we are very lucky to know some of those folks already!

We are going to do some renovations on the house. We will begin by renovating the kitchen and upstairs bathroom prior to moving in.  I have been busy pinning, reading renovation blogs, looking at builders websites etc. Pinterest seems to be the first step when starting any home project, right? Next we started meeting with potential builders and designers. We were feeling pretty discouraged at first because everyone we initially met with we felt didn't get our ideas. We then met with a couple from our church who renovated their farmhouse near Hudson. Their house was gorgeous so we wrote down the contacts of the people on their building team and set up meetings right away. We are excited about these professionals and feel confident they will work hard to restore this beautiful home.  My goal has alway been to keep the integrity of the house and so it was important to me to find people who are passionate about that as well.

We have big dreams for this house! Mainly that God will use it to grow his kingdom in different ways! We are so excited to see what He has in-store for our family. One thing I've learned about God during this process is you never know what tomorrow will bring. We are looking forward to discovering His plan for us!

I plan on using this blog to share with our friends and family the ups and downs of restoring an older home. I also think it'll be fun to look back on all the work we do! So please, join us on this journey to discovering Maplehearst!!

 

There will be a lot of school pictures taken on those steps!!

Welcome to the farm!! Ain't she a beauty!!

First few weeks...

The first few weeks home were full of highs and lows. Every new mom goes through them but I didn't realize the roller coaster my emotions would be going on. Thank goodness for my so very patient husband and my extremely helpful mom! I can't imagine having to do that all alone!

Having had a C-section made it very difficult for me to do all the new baby stuff. I pretty much laid on the couch and fed him and fed myself. When my mom told me she was going to plan on leaving at the one week mark I still hadn't changed a diaper! I was a little freaked out to say the least. Luckily I began to feel better soon after and we survived!

Brodyn was such a good baby right off the bat! He was pretty much on his 3 hour schedule right away. He soon figured out that during the night he could stretch it out a little longer. I think he was waking up once between 2AM-5AM by week four! As long as he has a full stomach he's pretty much a happy little guy.

In the hospital he lost about a pound but by his 2 week appointment he had gained all of it back plus some. He weighed 10pds 5oz and was 24 inches long. The nurse was very impressed with how much he had grown!

Here are a few pictures from his first few weeks!

Mom and Baby Brodyn as the hospital

Kaytlyn and Joan came to visit!

He loves his swing!

First bath at the hospital!

Sleepy baby in his skeleton outfit at the hospital

Introducing...Brodyn Jasper

On October 21st our lives changed forever. We went from a happy family of two (plus a dog) to being the proud parents of a beautiful, healthy, 9.9 lb baby boy!

The day was full of surprises, one being going into labor a day before I was to be induced. This little guy was just a bit too comfy in there and I was certain that he was going to stay put until we went in on Monday, October 22nd.

Luckily late Saturday night I started to feel some strong contractions while we were eating dinner at Old Chicago. They were still hours apart so I didn't think too much of them. I woke up a couple times to more contractions but they were still too far apart so I tried to get some rest. Around 2AM on Sunday, October 21st I woke Morgan up and we decided to start keeping track of the contractions. By 4AM that night we called the labor and delivery nurse and she told us to come on in to get checked out.

The drive to the hospital was both exciting and nerve wracking. I remembered thinking three things.
1. this was our last car ride as a family of two and how strange that was
2. When should we call our parents (I was just a little excited)
3. During a contraction I told Morgan to avoid bumps at all costs!!! Ouch!

Around 6:30AM I received my epidural and called my parents who were planning on making the two hour drive to be here when the baby arrived. After those things were done I settled back and tried to relax because I knew I would need it come push time!

By 12:30PM I was fully dialated and ready to push! Morgan was a great support and really encouraged me throughout this whole process. The baby had made his way down pretty much right away but was stuck behind my pubic bone which proved to be a problem. Four hours later my doctor decided it was time to discuss having a C-section. I was so exhausted and beginning to feel very nauseaus so we decided that we would go ahead and have the C-section. After that I don't remember too much...between the meds I was given to calm me down and being so tired the rest of the process was pretty much a blur.

At 4:45PM we welcomed our chubby, beautiful little boy into the world. I remember looking over at him getting cleaned off and being amazed at all his little roles. He never really cried at all, which pretty much is his personality today as well.

After I was all cleaned up I was wheeled back to my room and got to spend a little bit of time with Morgan and our new baby, Brodyn Jasper.

Many people ask us where we got the name from. Brodyn was a name that I had heard from a baby who attended our church and Jasper was Morgan's Great Grandpa Orin's middle name. Growing up Morgan always was close with his Great Grandpa and they shared several similar interests. Orin passed away this past April and we wanted to honor him by naming our precious little guy after him.

The rest of the evening was spent introducing him to our families. Everyone was able to make it up and meet him that first night which was very special. He will be very spoiled by everyone!! Especially by both the Grandma's!

What an amazing, scary, thrilling, exhausing, roller coaster day it was. One that has changed me and my life forever!

Brodyn Jasper, you have taught me so much about love that I never understood before. Thank you for making me a mom and being such a amazing little guy. We can't wait to watch you grow and we pray you become a strong Christian man who loves life and is not afraid to stand up for whats right and be a leader.

Way Past Due...

It's probably about time that I catch up on my posts...I wish I could say that I've been really busy and have had no time, but that would be a lie. While we have been busy these past few weeks most of my laziness is just not wanting to download pics. So here we go!! On August 15th, Morgan and I celebrated our two year anniversary!! Since we were crazy busy that whole week we decided to postpone the celebration till a week later. We went to a awesome restaurant in Independence called the Okoboji Grill. The food was pretty good but we mostly went there because we heard the patio was awesome!! It is on a golf course that runs along a river (not sure which one...the cedar?) It was such a perfect night...we just sat out there and talked it was perfect!! Here is a picture of us with Berkley before we left!!

One of our favorite things to do is go to the UNI vs. IA State game!! Morgan went to Iowa State and I went to UNI so it's a really fun game for us to go too!! This year we asked our friends Bobbi and Nate to come along with us. Although it was a rainy day and a boring football game till the last 5 min. We had a lot of fun!! Here is a picture of Bobbi and I cheering on the Panthers!!!

Berkley and I started doing Pet Pals which is a group that visits nursing homes, hospice's, hospitals etc...We will be visiting the Western Home. He had his first visit last Saturday and he was a hit!! Those people LOVED him and Berkley loved all the attention he got!! We are excited to go back :) Here is a picture of us before we left!!

On the Farm!

Last weekend we spent the weekend up at Morgan's family farm in Allamakee county. The boys worked hard on putting tile down around the trailor and the girls worked hard shopping, napping, reading etc...although we did end up helping the last day!

Our 2nd Anniversary was Monday and for a gift to Morgan I took a couple pictures of Berkley up on the farm. I then went out and got a John Deere picture frame to put the picture in. It turned out really great...but hey I have a cute subject :) Here are a couple of the pictures I took!

The farm is really beautiful...it's set down in a valley with hills all around! It's really a great place to go to get away from crazy life. The best part is there is no cell phone reception I love that every now and then!

First Boat Ride!!

Last weekend we went out on our friends Nate and Bobbi's boat. It was a busy day at George Wyth Lake so we didn't get to do much driving around but it was still fun to layout, stick our feet in the water and just talk! Ok the boys probably would've rather been sking or wakeboarding :) Here a a couple pictures of Berkley on his frist boatride!!

My sister Kara was even able to join us for the day!

Somebody looks awfully comfy :)

Welcome Berkley Troendle!

This week we introduced a new member to our family...his name is Berkley!! He is a male cockapoo (cocker spaniel/poodle) and currently is weighing in at 3pds 2oz (he's SO tiny). He is so great!! At first we were kind of worried...he was VERY scared and didn't really want to do much. Since Monday he has begun to emerge out of his shell and we have seen some of his personality! Last night he managed to wedge his head between the back of our kitchen chairs. I didn't think to take a picture I was more concerned about getting him unstuck! He has also been doing so great on potty training. I can only blame myself for the few puddles we have had. One thing I was nervous about was his sleeping at night. The first few nights I barely got any sleep. My mom said just add 6 months and this is how it will feel to have a baby. Oh geez! Last night was a success though...he made it through the whole night with no bathroom break and no crying! He's a champ :)