The Smiths in South Bend: Why I haven't blogged lately

I've mentioned in my last couple of posts that we've been pretty busy lately. Here's why:

Exhibit A: New car
Due to car issues, we decided to buy a new car. Which is wonderful and stressful all at the same time. I do love it, though, and am so thankful. It's a Subaru Outback, and the all wheel drive sure is great in our Michiana winter! The toasty heated seats are a nice bonus, too.

Exhibit B: New house
We've been living in an apartment since moving to South Bend. It was okay, but we were ready for some more space and independence. We wanted a yard and room for Maryn to play. We really considered buying a house. The market here is great for buyers, but not so great for sellers. And we knew if we purchased a home we would be selling it in 3 to 4 years, which means we could be stuck if the housing market doesn't drastically improve. But we have some friends from church who have had their house on the market for a while, wanting to move to Colorado for her to go to dental school. And by the providence of God, we were able to make an arrangement that was great for both of us - we would rent their house for the remainder of our time here in South Bend! We are so thankful for the change, and we have already enjoyed the house immensely. But moving with a toddler is just exhausting! Here is a picture of our new home, in the glory of spring (can't wait until it actually looks like this - right now everything outside is dead and grey and slushy):

And everything on the inside is slowing looking less like this chaos - it's a long process:

Exhibit C: Notre Dame

Billy just started his last semester of course work, which is very exciting. But it doesn't make it any less crazy and time consuming yet! Of course, he is doing incredibly well, but we are both very much looking forward to his courses being done! Then on to exams and dissertation!

Exhibit D: Winter

So I guess winter doesn't really make me more busy, but it does decrease my motivation for doing lots of things, including blogging. I just get the winter blues here, I think. It's always overcast, and you just never know when a bunch of lake effect snow will be dumped upon you, ruining all your plans. Granted, it has been a much milder winter than our first winter last year. But I still don't like it. Side note: Maryn loves to talk about snow, but she HATES to touch it.

Exhibit E: Toddler mood swings

Maryn has been wonderful, adorable, lovable, and entertaining as usual, but she has also shown that she does have a dark side, haha. She can be downright exhausting sometimes. We have entered the world of fits, complete emotional breakdowns, defiance, moodiness, and the word "NO!" Oh dear. Sometimes I feel like my time with her at home is completely consumed by her demands. How do people do it with more than one kid?! Thankfully, her amazing-ness outweighs any of her difficult moments. And we love her more and more every day.