dreaming

Yesterday, the sun hid in between the greenery of the trees creating the perfect idyllic spring day; my girls and I made the trek the the Children's Museum while Jimmy bowled.  Later, we would find ourselves (I think my GPS forced us on this route) at Gigi's Cupcakes for treats in the yummiest and most beautiful packages.  And despite the GPS incessant desires to send me into a panicked fury in cities I am least familiar with, we did manage to find "the yarn shop" where Ruby ratted me out to Jimmy.  As I pushed my girls through that store, I hurriedly grabbed yarn in various shades that I had yet to collect (how am I still missing any colors?), and thought to myself how much fun it was to shop with my two girls.  Sisters.  The two of them tugging at one another and giggling, Ruby intermittently helping me discover a world of yarn.

How is this really my life?  We spent the morning painting, fighting pretend fires, and running through woodland forests - later found ourselves making hard decisions like red velvet? or chocolate raspberry frappe? - and then we would meet up with Jimmy, go shopping, and grab dinner.

Jimmy, being so tightly wrapped around his girls' respective fingers, fell for the whole American Girl thing.  We actually went in the store while in Chicago at his sister's insistence that we needed to experience it.  We were flabbergasted at the details of it all, all the way down to the doll hair salon, and the special holders in the bathrooms.  As a little one, I read all of those books - about Addie and Kirsten, and Felicity, and Molly.  Being in that store woke something up inside of me, and I was suddenly thankful all over again for the sweet girls I had at home who would very likely be reading similar books and looking at the American Girl catalogues.

I didn't realize we would stumble across the store again, with Ruby and Eisley in tow.  I also didn't really think Ruby would be at an age to be so extremely impressed just as we were.  But the part that really got me?  Eisley went bananas over the Bitty Babies - I pried chubby fingers off of dolls and insisted she stopped loving on them long enough to get her out of there.  Ruby didn't stop talking about the dolls and their dogs for a solid twenty four hours after first glance.

Eisley ran straight for the familiar area of babies (the pig-tailed ones), and Jimmy saw her pull the baby from the display and sit there rocking it.

All of this to say: Jimmy fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and we brought two extra girls home with us. And knowing that neither one of them has put them down since the car ride home (with the exception of Eisley in bed), makes it seem a little more special.  I know Ruby will never forget taking Jimmy in that store and showing him around, then being able to pick out her own very special doll.

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Jimmy has been in contact with a realtor and has sent me various links to potential places where future memories may lie with abundant love and smiles that come with the dreams we have to raise our family in another place.

I spent the morning quietly imagining cookies being made in these kitchens, photographs being taken in the living room (with actual streams of light freely flowing in), lovingly penning our return address on various pieces of outgoing mail.  It's all too surreal - our dreams are within reach, so much so that meetings in the near future are being talked about --with realtors, mortgage advisors, and most exciting of all, home tours.

I have ever growing motivation to continue to rid our house of the stuff sitting in boxes; stuff we had in college, moved here, and haven't touched since.

The future looks ever exciting, slightly scary, but mostly phenomenal with my precious little family.