2011 Pictures in Review

Dear Friends and Family,
As 2011 draws to a close, we are extremely blessed to reflect on this past year. This year was a year filled with transitions, but through it all we have had tons of fun and laughter in true Britten style.

As always, we feel pictures are a great way to "view" our family's year without a long draw-out Christmas letter. (Even though you know I'd LOVE to write about it!) So without further a do I present to you...2011 Pictures in Review. Click on this link below to get a glimpse of 2011 at the Little Blue Bungalow.

http://bit.ly/tozRYZ

2011 Little Blue Bungalow "notables" include:
-Fiona loosing her two front teeth
-Keegan playing on an older soccer team
-Completing our garage
-Adding another vegetable garden
-Our August Roadtrip to Iowa
-Fiona transferring to a new elementary school, Maltby
-Drew starting a new job with Boeing as a Technical Analyst
-Both kids ditching their training wheels on their bikes
-Started attending Christ Church Monroe

From inside the Little Blue Bungalow,
Katie Jean

Hosting Fellowship

As I loaded the car with boxes of decorations and fine china this afternoon a feeling of familarity swept over me. Even though I had a few jitters about hosting a table for our new church's Christmas party it felt oddly too familiar and fond memories overwhelmed me.









From Christmas parties to mother/daughter teas, I've hosted a few tables over my thirty-six years. In Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin and Washington we've shared fond memories of newly found friends and fellowship abound hosting events through our churches. Many of those individuals we've met around those "hosted" tables have become life-long friends and have shared in the "seasons" of our lives through prayer, laughter, and general life.

I've never forgotten any of those experiences and sometimes long to sit and reflect with some of those old friends around a table for just a few hours. To push the hours of time back and tranport myself to that particular season in my life...a newlywed, married with no kids, newly preganent, married with kids, etc.

Tears are streaming down my face as I think of those sweet times, each in their unique way. Knowingly I can't easily say one "season" is better than the other, but each piece together in my being, who I am today. I am better for having spent fellowhip with those that have surrounded my hosted tables over the years. Even with my jitters, I look forward to the new friends that will surround my table tonight. Tonight is another opportunity to share in fellowship.

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

Wordless Wednesday

Many Thanksgiving Blessings...

From inside the Little Blue Bungalow,
Katie Jean

Christmas Family Traditions

I'm sure many of you have vivid Christmas traditions that you continue with your present day families. Since I was a little girl I remember waking up Christmas morning to a big mug filled with egg nog and pumpkin and zucchini bread on the counter cut into big slices slathered with butter. It was always such a treat since the remaining 364 days of the year we ate cereal (no sugar cereal either folks!).

Though our family's breakfast is more varied now (Sorry Mom, no hard feelings.), we still continue eating pumpkin or zucchini bread Christmas morning as well as a few treats from my husband's past. In addition, my husband reads the Christmas story from the bible just as my father did year after year around our dining room table. I love having these moments of my past become my children's memories.

Over the past five years, we have also created a new family tradition special to just us. Each night before Christmas, I have a large basket over-filling with wrapped Christmas books for each child to pick as a bed-time story. Getting to open a package each night is such a thrill for the kids even though they know that inside contains a book about winter, snow, and/or Christmas. The excitement and anticipation for bedtime increases each night as we get closer to Christmas and Drew and I get to share a special moment with our kids reflecting on Christ's birth.

The cost has been quite minimal for this project and in less then forty-five minutes I can always get the books all wrapped after Thanksgiving. The first year my mom helped me (I was on bed rest with Mr. Keegan) purchase as many books as we could find about Christmas from Goodwill and other second hand stores. We were short a few that first year and borrowed a few great books from our local library. We wrapped them like the others but in a different wrapping paper so we could open them first to return them on time. (My mom would go crazy if she know I ever had a late library book!)

Over the years, I have added to my collection when I found a wonderful Christmas book at a garage sale or local second-hand store usually for less than $.69 a piece. I then store all the Christmas books with my Christmas decorations in anticipation for next years discovery. After several years of Goodwill collecting I'm up to 48 books...enough for both kids to unwrap one each night before Christmas. This year Fiona helped me wrap all the books and she eagerly read each title to me as we wrapped them together. I personally am excited this year as I know she will be able to read them herself this year.

I love sharing this tradition with my family each night as we head to bed. I hope that maybe this is one of the traditions my kids will "adopt" into their own family's traditions.

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Pumpkin Fest,
The Little Blue Bungalow

An Impulse

Too often in life we are confined to our "boxes" and "normal routine" and don't look around for the unexpected. We are told, "keep your head down and keep walking". And for what? The norm.

Isn't it funny how during our school age years we yearned to be "normal", to belong. Now as an adult the taste of "normal" in my mouth is bleak. I long for a break in my routine a blast of the unexpected, an impulse. Unfortunately with two working parents, young kids and the pace of life the impulses are infrequent. Sometimes I yearn for more out of my life.

As I age, my eyes have changed. Though my eyes haven't physically changed, (OK, they have changed some hence the reason I need bi-focals) my perception has changed.

I now notice the oddities. The things that don't "add up" in my daily routines.

On Sunday we enjoyed a slower Sunday afternoon strolling through a local apple orchard picking apples. And in the midst of all these loaded apples trees was a single white chair. Since the orchard we visited wasn't a heavily commercialized orchard it was even odder for us to be among this quiet orchard and then to see this random chair.

Though I walked by it a couple of times on the hunt for the best tasting heritage variety, it kept "haunting" me. What in the world was it doing here? To pick apples? Did someone need to rest while picking apples?

In the last minutes of our pick, I instinctively looked at the kids and said, "PHOTO SHOOT!" And in an impulse, I plopped the kids down and started shooting a series of shoots. No, they weren't professional, but it represented my kiddos in this "season" of their life. Keegan was mad, Fiona consoled him, Keegan was still mad...But in the last shoot (shown on top) I captured a moment in time...my kiddos.... Fiona with her toothless grin, Keegan with tear-streaked innocent cheeks. An impulse. A blast out of my "normal"...a random photo shoot in an abandoned apple orchard on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I need more random impulses in my life to help ease the normal, the routine. Like last night when I picked butternut squash in the pitch dark with my head lamp. (Seriously...don't ask.) I think these random impulses define us, not the norm. Whether planned or on "the fly" we all need something out of the ordinary in our lives, an impulse.

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

Wordless Wednesday

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

Wordless Wednesday

Dreaming of Summer already...

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

Wordless Wednesday

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

I am Passionate About

In the midst of everything we do in life it is easy to loose site of what makes up our core being. Our sparks, our passions...that make us who we are today. Though this list may not bring much meaning to you, it is a visual reminder of who I am and aspire to be. It has been a particularly long week and just writing these words gives me HOPE.

I am passionate about my family and the adventures that come with being a family unit. I am passionate about gardening and making my kids feel important by baking each of their birthday cakes. I am passionate about growing my own food. I am passionate about having urban chickens. I am passionate about making a difference in my job. I am passionate about blessing other families with gifts and hand-me downs. I am passionate about taking time to get to know people from all walks of life and share God's love. I am passionate about maintaining skills to restore, repair and make new life out of our home, furniture and furnishings. I am passionate about writing and desire to write my own book someday. I am passionate about genuinely smiling.

We all have passions. What motivates you? What are your passions? What brings you HOPE?

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

Wordless Wednesday

From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of 2nd Grade...transferring to Maltby Elementary.
From inside the little blue bungalow,
Katie Jean