Showing off baby Jett

It's been a week since my sister and her husband welcomed their new baby boy, Jett Linus into the world.  I was on the edge of my seat for most of last Saturday waiting for his arrival.  Checking my phone so often that I needed to charge it mid day because I wore the battery down.  Well, he finally arrived last Sunday morning at 4:42.  We couldn't wait to take off and see him.

Landon was so excited to get his hands on baby Jett. 

All the Sabelka cousins.  1 girl and 6 boys. 

Asher waited so patiently for his turn to hold the baby.  He is so in love, as we all are.  Asher is constantly wanting to FaceTime Auntie Jo Jo to see the baby. 

Finally it was my turn.  Oh I forgot how little newborns are.  Jett is so cute and so perfect in every way.  We couldn't love him more. 

Big brother Sullivan wasn't too interested in holding his little brother, so we had to get creative with our picture taking. 

The perfect little family.  We are so excited for the Nelson family.  Life with two boys is fun, challenging and adventurous.  Congratulations!

Knotty Pine Guest House

About a year-and-a-half ago, Jeremy and I started a new business adventure...Knotty Pine Guest House. 

We didn't have too look far (literally) for this new adventure. 

This log cabin is located near our house on our families property.  It's close by, but not close enough to see or hear one house from the other.  It was built by Jeremy's parents (Tim & Debbie) over 30 years ago. This is the house that Jeremy & his brother Oliver grew up in and up until recently, was occupied by family. 

Several years after Jeremy's father passed away, Jeremy's Mother moved to town.  After another family member lived in the cabin for a short time, we found ourselves with an empty cabin in the summer of 2014.

We knew Jeremy's Mom didn't know what to do with the house.  Having a long term renter was not an option for several reasons.  And because of all the memories, we really didn't want the cabin to be sold.  We also wanted to keep the possibility open that one of our boys might want it someday. That's when we got the idea to rent the cabin out on a short term basis. 

In December 2014, we participated in the Christmas tour of homes and had our first official guests shortly after that.   

As we approach our 1-year anniversary, business is going great.  We had no idea we would be as busy as we are.  We've had some of the most wonderful guests who have truly enjoyed, appreciated, and respected our cabin.  We said we would give it a year and as of today, we have reservations booked out as far as December 2016.  I would say it's safe to say we're going to keep going. 

For more information about our cabin, you can find us on VRBO by clicking here.  You can also find us on Facebook by clicking here 

Life's Blessing #270

This guy has been soaking in every ounce of the outdoors he can get.  Many days he would rather sit inside and play Minecraft on the iPad, but, with a little nudging, you can't beat raking up leaves just for the sake of jumping. 

A couple weeks ago, Asher went on his first school field trip to Pinter's Pumpkin Patch.  I had the privilege of going along and it was so much fun to see this guy interact with all his new friends.  He was a lot more social than I thought he would be.  I worried he would want to hang out with his Mom, but he was a good blend of playing with his friends and saying"Hey Mom, watch this."  He has grown so much these past few months. 

So...here's what's new

Hey there, thanks for checking back in!  I'm going to use this post to talk about me a little bit, so bear with me.

Blogging seemed to unintentionally take a back burner this past, ahem, 1 1/2 years.  It's kind of like exercising.  I say to myself, I'm going to start working out...tomorrow.  We know how that works out.  Ok, well for me anyway.  Tomorrow comes along, and I push it off.  Oh what's another day.  I'll start again tomorrow.  Yup, tomorrow's the day.  And then, before you know it, it's been way too long and you just accept it for the way it is.  But alas, here I am.  Blogging...and semi working out.  If you're reading this, sorry Coach.

So what's changed...well, a lot.   In the summer of 2014, I started taking online classes toward receiving my Real Estate license.  Shortly after beginning classes, I also resigned from my job of 13 years as the Executive Director of a non-profit organization.  I absolutely loved my job, but I mentally needed a change.  I also needed the flexibility for these growing boys as well as our new business adventure.  (More on that later).  My last day at my job was January 2015 and I got my real estate license in April 2015.

So here I am and I am so stinkin' happy.  I love getting the boys on the bus.  I love cooking supper.  I love being a wife again.  And I love being a Realtor.  All those things I missed out on for the past years with my family.  With that said, if you're looking to buy or sell in NE Iowa, give me a call at (563) 380-8762 or look me up on facebook at Stacy Merrill - Homestead Iowa Realty. 

So, thanks so much again for checking in.  Follow your dreams people!