Thanksgiving 2018

This was our fist major holiday away from any family (not even our Nashville family members were around!), and it was definitely sad to not see them. I remember last year trying to soak it up, spending Thanksgiving Day with my family, and then having a second Thanksgiving with Luke's family.  This year it was just the five of us, and ended up being a pretty sweet time.

We decided to not do a turkey since it would be way too much meat for all of us, and did a little ham instead. And it seemed like the better option since Noelle and Jonah both requested ham! I made a tomato/cucumber/feta cheese side and a "healthier" sweet potato casserole, while Luke handled the ham, mac'n'cheese, and rolls. The kids ate ham and rolls, but Luke and I enjoyed all of it!

Noelle and Jonah helped set the table, and Noelle insisted on using a tablecloth and she wrote everyone a name card.

While Luke was making some of the food, the kids and I used the self-timer to snap some pictures!

Love these three little turkeys! It was a mostly quiet day for us, but while Clara was napping, we played Candy Land with the big kids, and after dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood. We finished up the night with eating ice cream and watching Elf!

We did also get the have a Thanksgiving fest celebration with our community group the week before Thanksgiving, as well as a Thanksgiving feast on Noelle's last day of school the Friday before Thanksgiving. Basically, we've been eating all the yummy food, and it's just going to keep coming with all the other holiday celebrations!

chowing down at Noelle's school

Farm Fun and Noelle's Walk-a-Thon

It may have been almost 90* yesterday, and I got a sunburn, but we headed to the farm for some fall fun! We're so thankful to my sister for the season pass she got us! It's been well used, and it came with a few tickets for friends to get in free so we were able to bring friends with us yesterday!

Growing, growing! And Noelle and Jonah were excited about the mini-pumpkins they convinced me to buy them on our way out. :)

Free pony rides for season pass holders, and Noelle has taken advantage of multiple rides whenever we go!

On Friday, another almost 90* day, Noelle had her school's walk-a-thon. We headed to a nearby park, and the kids walked laps for about 45 minutes. They warmed up with a few stretches, and then a dj blasted music for the entirety of the walk. I left to take Clara home for a nap after a lunch of hot dogs and chips, and later found out that Noelle's poor teacher had to get medical care for heat stroke!

On Thursday, while the big kids were at school, I took Clara up to the mall to play in the play area. Crazy girl has no fear and wanted to climb everything! I also became even more southern, and bought Clara her first monogrammed item- a bag to keep her diapers and wipes in for when I drop her off at nursery at church and MOPS. After the mall, we met a friend and her baby girl for lunch at the new chicken salad place (so yum!) We picked up Jonah after school, then headed to Chick Fil A to play with friends until it was time to pick up Noelle. And then back to Chick Fil A to play until it was time to get home to make dinner. I can see Chick Fil A getting a lot of my money over the course of the school year. ;)

These kids. Luke does their bedtime routine, but they always come in to say goodnight to me before they go to bed. And then try to delay their own bedtime by telling me "just one more thing!"

I love holidays and the change of seasons. When I realized it was the beginning of October last week, I remembered that Noelle had had a few Halloween shirts when she was Clara's age. I dug through the storage space to get to the correct bin, and pulled out our Halloween gear for Clara.

(Clara on the left and Noelle on the right at about 15 months)

Last Monday, I headed to a different farm with Jonah and Clara to meet up with some MOPS mamas. Jonah loved all the little activities, and Clara tried to do everything she could get to. We did a wagon ride, during which Clara and Jonah were kept happy with goldfish.

Fun on the farm!

Last week, Luke and I were able to be a part of the first batch of members for the church plant we've been attending since March. Luke and I have been so thankful for this church home, and were excited about joining. Then after hearing the sermon on why membership in a local body is so important, I was even more excited! God is doing big things, and I'm thankful for this community of believers to walk alongside of!

And after church, I was craving a burger, so we headed to Steak and Shake and convinced some friends to come along. :)

Life Lately

School started, and life got busy!

Some highlights from the last few weeks:

The day to day stuff of raising kids has its good and hard moments, but it does seem to be a lot more good currently. I'm so thankful for the little moments of playing on our bed, watching the three of them interact with each other as they play pretend or cheer Clara on as she walks and learns new things. I'm realizing that I need to be better about praying for their relationships with one another now, and into the future. I want them to always love and encourage each other, and to cheer for one another in whatever they pursue in life. Having siblings be your friends is the best!

We've had some trips to the zoo, although we're in a tough stage of Jonah not wanting to walk very much, and Clara not wanting to ride in the stroller. But we'll keep at it, and hopefully cooler weather will arrive soon and we can go more often!

Luke had his birthday (finally the same age as me again!) and it was a quiet family day. Luke got up early to ride with our neighbor, and then we had Chick Fil A for lunch and made homemade potstickers for dinner. We played with the self timer on my phone and got some silly family pictures.

Every Monday we hang out with moms from our church, and got a tour of one of the local fire stations.

Jonah and I get some quiet lunch time together while Noelle is at school and Clara is napping. And then he runs off to play video games to I can have a few minutes of peace. Luigi is his favorite, and has decided that's who he will be for Halloween. :)

Clara is growing and developing quite the personality. She is stubborn, silly, wants her way, only has four teeth, says hi, mama, dada, and (I think) book. She walks like a pro, and is still holding strong as a daddy's girl. Loves Luke SO much!

We've been to Lucky Ladd Farm a few times, and pony rides are a favorite! Clara even rode once while I held on to her. Now that it's fall, we'll have to go a bunch of times to enjoy all the fall festivities!

Jonah started his pre-K program! He loves it, and continues to say that nap time is his favorite. He hasn't napped since he was 2.5, and doesn't actually fall asleep at school, but he enjoys it. He has his best buddy from church in his class, and a new friend who also loves Super Mario Brothers (or so we hear, anyhow.)

Clara is the goofiest goober! She takes one nap a day, and I try to time it just right so she at least has the opportunity to nap for two hours. It's been a balance since I need to leave the house around 1:30 on the days Jonah has school, but at 2:30 on the days when only Noelle has school. I think we're getting into a routine, though there was one day last week when Clara just straight up didn't nap and went to bed at 6:20 instead. :)

On Tuesdays and Thursdays when it's just me and Clara, we're finding things to do, or just coming home and cleaning up. We try to get to the library once a week, and while she doesn't always last through story time, she loves the train table and seeing all the other kids playing.

Noelle and Clara have a few matching outfits and I try to get pictures when I can! I know they'll only let me do it for so long!

Noelle is loving first grade. She's doing well and says her favorite is math, and she's also learning a chant about all the presidents, which Luke and I find ourselves repeating over and over. George Washington was number one. He carried a knife and a heavy gun. He served from 1789 to 1797. He wore false teeth and stopped the whiskey rebellion.

Baby girl wants to be just like her big brother and sister and carry around a backpack!

And another favorite is putting something on her head, often Jonah's (hopefully clean) underwear.

This crazy crew has me feeling oh so tired, but I love them SO much!

I mean, how can that smile and tiny pony tail not make you happy?!?

And I couldn't do it without Luke. Being away from family has made us really learn to lean into each other even more, and we're both seeing God at work in our lives and growing us in Himself in such big ways. I'm so thankful for an unchanging, loving God who wants nothing but His best for me. I'm in a season of being challenged, and He's giving me a hunger for Himself that I hope and pray does not fade away!

First Grade and Walking

We had our first day of FIRST grade last Thursday! It's so weird that school is starting at the beginning of August, and I keep thinking it's already September! 

Thankfully, Noelle was super excited about getting back to school, and for the last two weeks of summer was asking me daily how many days were left until the first day. She woke up excited on Thursday morning, and put on her uniform (which she had picked out at least a week before school started!)

And Jonah was awake also and jumped right in to her first day pictures. :)

She loves her teacher, and I've heard nothing but good about the teacher. Parents who have had other kids go through her class talk about how genuine her love is for the kids. Her class is 15 students this year, which is the biggest size class in the school, but Noelle will still get a lot of attention, I'm sure!

Luke stayed home with the little two since Clara was still asleep at 7:30 (which was a complete miracle, by the way) and I took Noelle in for her first day. We walked to her classroom, hung up her backpack and lunch box, and found her desk. She squealed over all the books in her desk, and was already laughing at the class clown who was sitting next to her.

We are so proud of this girl, and are excited to see all the things she learns this year. Her first day was a half day, and when I brought her home, she sat down with one of the Magic Tree House books and started sounding out words on the first page.

Girlfriend is loving seeing her old friends, and meeting a few new ones!

After school, I showed the kids how to use the self timer on the camera on my phone.

And we snapped a few "fun" ones!

And a side note to all of this- Clara WALKED last night!! In the last two weeks, she's taken like 3 steps if Luke and I are sitting a few feet away from each other, and she's been holding on to one of our fingers and walking for awhile. But it was like all of a sudden she got her confidence, and took well over a dozen steps. And then of course today she was right back to holding on to my finger to walk around. But we're getting there! And growing up so fast!

Last Weekend of Summer Break

This past weekend was the perfect last weekend of summer! It was a mix of busy with some relaxation, seeing old friends and making new ones, and finding a new fun place near home!

On Friday evening, we joined some friends from church at a local vineyard for a picnic and music. The vineyard itself was out in the country, lots of open space with just enough trees for shade, and the weather was warm with lower humidity. We grabbed a pizza from Little Cesar's for the kids, and packed some food for ourselves. The kids had a blast running around, and us adults shared a giant slice of strawberry shortcake from one of the food trucks. As we left, we saw the beginnings of a beautiful sunset! Definitely a place we want to come back to!

Saturday morning, I took the three kids to Leiper's Fork to visit with some MD friends who were down in TN for a family member's graduation. Noelle and Jonah jumped right in to playing with their three little girls, and my friend and I had a little bit of time to catch up on life. It was SO good to see them, and makes me long for our first trip back to MD (most likely not until Christmas!) I miss those friends and seeing their little ones grow up!

The rest of Saturday afternoon was pretty quiet, and Luke and I were able to prep for that evening. We invited over a bunch of neighbors for a little ice cream party! We really want to be proactive about getting to know people, and building community. It stretches us way out of our comfort zones, but we firmly believe that God has us here for a reason, and who lives around us is part of that! In total we had 12 adults and 17 kids. There were three babies 13 months and younger, and the other 14 kids ranged in age from 3 years to 12 (maybe 13 years) old, and at one point, ALL of them were just running around playing with each other. It was so sweet (and loud), especially seeing the two oldest boys running around with the little kids and letting the smaller ones tackle them. Now we just need to continue to push ourselves to continue those friendships!

Sunday was a special day for our church. It is a church plant, and they were celebrating two years! They had four baptisms, and a lunch afterwards for some great fellowship and celebration time. We chatted with friends, and made new friends with people who were visiting. Even though we've only been there for a short while, we feel right at home with our church family. We're so thankful for our pastor, Luke and I are each being mentored in small groups, and there is a strong (though small) group of moms that have regularly scheduled get-togethers. Bible study will be starting up again next Friday, and I can't wait!

Noelle started school today, and Jonah will start at the beginning of September. Back to early mornings, packed lunches, and waiting in car-line! (Also, it feels SO weird that it's the beginning of August! My entire life school has started the last week of August, or later, and so it feels like September is so much closer than it is!)

All the Food!

One of the reasons we moved down to the Nashville area was for the food (kidding! kind of) :) and when Luke's sister's came to visit two weeks, we hit up some of our favorites!

After the zoo on Saturday, we went to Oscar's Tacos. You usually can't go wrong with mexican, and their tacos and chips and guacamole are delicious! (I've been twice more since then...)

We all went to church on Sunday morning, and then met my brother-in-law and sister-in-law in Franklin afterwards to meet for lunch. Luke figured Bishop's would be a good choice because it has Nashiville's Hattie B's hot chicken. Bishop's is a meat and three place, where you choose your meat and your three sides. I got the turkey, but tried some of the hot chicken, and it is HOT!

Afterwards we wandered around downtown historical Franklin. It was a surprisingly not hot day, and I always enjoy hanging out down there!

Aunt Hannah got roped into giving piggy back rides

On Monday we made reservations to eat at Loveless Cafe. It was an early lunch, and with the reservations, we didn't have to wait at all! The biscuits were of course perfect soft, melt-in-your-mouth buttery taste, and if I remember correctly, a lot of people got either country fried steak or chicken fried chicken (southern staples!)

We spent a lot of time just hanging out at our house so that the kids could have some downtime, and had to of course get Bluebell ice cream. We got the groom's cake flavor, which was FULL of chocolatey goodness!

And we of course had to take them to The Factory in Franklin for Five Daughter's Bakery. Donuts that cost $5.50 each just have to be the best, right?

And funny story- while we were at Five Daughters, I saw a woman waiting in line who looked familiar. When I looked around, I saw her husband walking towards us and realized it was indeed Jenna of Chris and Jenna the singing duo, now Wild Harbors. Chris was our favorite librarian in MD, and Jenna was best friends with a girl I worked with after college. And together, Chris and Jenna, besides singing of course, are also known in our house as Elephant and Piggie (as in the characters by Mo Willems.) I chatted with them for a little, and then we headed home!

We had some sparklers floating around that needed to get used so Noelle and Jonah flew through those one night. Other adventures with the aunts included a coffee shop trip with Aunt Debbie, and then to lunch at Chick Fil A. We also made a trip to McKays for books, played baseball with Aunt Lyd's boyfriend, sat around the table coloring pictures, and some grown-up games after the baby went to bed. It was a lot of fun having more family visitors!