thanksgiving

We were incredibly lucky to have visitors for Thanksgiving! R's parents, plus his brother and family were all able to come out to celebrate with us. We added eight extra people to our home, and we were all pleasantly surprised to discover that we fit quite comfortably. 

 Nonnie and cousin S came out a few days early to play. We celebrated her birthday, raked the leaves in the back yard, ate yummy food, menu planned the whole Thanksgiving meal, went shopping, had a small emergency with Lady-LE talked about previously, and played lots of games at home. 

I don't know what was wrong with me, because I wasn't camera-obsessed like I usually am. In fact, we don't have a picture of all of us together. There is so much I didn't document through photos, and it was so out of character! But I did catch a few good memories. One afternoon, C and I attempted the rake the back yard. The kids loved it, and we spent hours making lots of piles all over the place. Bagging them overwhelming to say the least! So thankfully Ry came to the rescue and took a break from his studying and work. 

 And of course this little man helped out a lot too. We all made a pretty good team.

 Almost everyone else arrive super late Friday night. So first thing Saturday morning we headed down the street to our neighborhood park. Oh it is so fun to play with cousins!!

It was a lovely morning! 

 And of course reading with Nonnie is a must. It makes me laugh to see how much the kids wiggle around as she reads to them. There is usually one or two of them who are a little too high-energy for the calm activity, but they try so valiantly! :)

Ry's work schedule was a little off, so in order to have him with us we celebrated our Thanksgiving on Sunday afternoon. We went to church in the morning, came home, ate a light lunch, and got to work! I've never even dreamed of hosting a big meal. In fact I am always terrified of these kind of things. If it were my choice I would always chose the support staff compared to the person in charge. Thankfully, my mother-and-sister-in-law are both amazing at leading and supporting, and we all worked together. In fact, I think they might have done more than me!

So while we worked on dinner prep, the boys and kids got to play with a new fun trax system Nonnie and PopPop brought! Hours of delight, I tell you. This thing is a gold mine.

Lady-LE layed on the floor the entire time just watching everyone run around and be loud and crazy. I liked this open-shutter shot, don't you? Kind of makes me think of how fast the time flies when you're all together with people you love - it seems to go by so fast you can't even see it!

So cue the complete lack of photos. This is the kids table, set up in the living room.

And this is the adult table. 

 And there's the turkey. I must say, this was my main responsibility, and everyone loved the way it turned out. Crazy delicious. 

And sadly that is all the actual-Thanksgiving photos I have. Sheesh. Really wish I would have taken more!

 We still had a few days to play afterwards, and while I had all these grand ideas and dreams in my head of showing them around Charlotte, it ended up being the small and simple things I enjoyed most. 

Like watching these men build an awesome rock pit in our backyard. Ry had to get back to work, and G & J were so giving of their time and talents! And they were awesome at letting the kids help too, it was so fun to watch.

The kids especially loved all the shoveling and digging in the rocks just to get them into the pile to begin with!

We took a trip to Plaza Fiesta where Lady-LE finally learned to go down the slide by herself thanks to sweet encouragement from Aunt C! 

 And the kids loved the huge space to play.

We all played at our place a lot, pushed baby S on the swing, and hunted for acorns. 

We got to eat out for a birthday dinner celebrating our Nonnie. We went shopping, ate more yummy food, and G&J even helped us hang Christmas lights and fix our exterior lights. Major blessings!!

 And the kids liked Plaza Fiesta so much that we chose to do it again! ha!

This time Ry got to join us and we all played the biggest game of tag I've ever been in. Us adults were tired and sore afterwards, I'm not kidding. Sore as in the next-morning-sore. It was hard core. :)

Another morning we all met up with Ry in between some work-related obligations for him at a nearby park for a picnic lunch.  We tried to squeeze anytime with him into his schedule, and I'm so grateful we did. 

I love how this picture captured L-man's intensity. In your face, big expressions while talking with his hands, and obviously telling you the coolest-thing-ever and needing confirmation from you. Lovingly Lady-LE adores him and gives him all the validation he needs from a friendship. :)

 Our picnic lunch was darling and simple. Then all the kids continued to play while us adults sat on the blanket and talked for a long time. Having these meaningful conversations where you exchange ideas, values, and thoughts are my favorite. It is what fills my cup the most when I'm all together with my family. A time where we can really connect with one another and listen, offer our own thoughts, and feel edified through our experiences. We talked about all sorts of things, and I crave conversations like that. Oh I love it.

 Sweet Baby S. What a doll!

Cousin S. We played in the leaves again, even though it had been less than a week since we had just raked them all up. 

 All three older kids loved taking turns with the blower. It was very cute, and honestly the best idea ever. I love it when kids think chores are fun. :)

 {Are you kidding me?! We just raked this yard up six days ago!}

The last day everyone was here was Thursday, the technically real Thanksgiving day. I got J & C to run in the our neighborhood turkey trot with me that morning. And PopPop taught the kids how to do the 'wave' as a cheering section since our house was on the race course. We even won a prize for the best cheering section. Don't know what the prize was since we left early ... but oh well. :) 

I had to stop not even halfway through the 5k because of my knee. {insert lots of bitter and angry thoughts that I tried to keep to myself} But that meant I got to get the camera and snap pictures of the race. The kids had all lined up to give J&C high fives on their way to the finish line. J decided to tackle them instead.

 Then they all ran together to cross the finish line. It was a gorgeous day!

 That night was rough for me because everyone was leaving. My kids were being crazy difficult sitting up to the dinner table, and I let my emotions get the best of me. After taking a little breather by myself, I came out and asked C to read stories with the kids one more time while I cleaned up dinner. She loves to read books with them, and I am always so grateful for that one-on-one time she gives them. I was crying while I took these photos because I was so sad it was all ending! After looking forward to something for so long, building up to it, and then it's all over. I had felt completely enriched by their visit. Renewed and strengthened. Empowered even. And I was sad to say goodbye.

We eventually did have to say goodbye. And of course, knowing me, I was too busy crying to be able to say thank you for all that they had done for me and my little family while they were here. So many unspoken acts of service, so many loving gestures and words to my children, so many gifts of time and love. Sometimes I feel weak when I'm alone. And with family I feel stronger. 

I have so much to be thankful for. Our gratitude tree grew and grew. In fact many of the leaves had fallen off before I even took this picture. We are blessed beyond measure. And I am especially thankful for the part that family plays in our lives. There is something so deeply felt and understood about the bonds of family that it's hard to put it in words. And I am lucky enough to have that family strength on both sides of my family tree. 

We're definitely not perfect. And I for one have a long way to go before I'm near who I want to be. But for now, even with our imperfections, I feel Heaven a little closer when I'm surrounded by family. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

glimpse of gratitude

I don't know a thing about medicine. I get this glossed-over look in my eyes when Ry's together with medicine friends and their conversation turns toward work. I laugh out loud when Ry gets crazy annoyed at a tv show portraying doctors and he rattles off how wrong that is and how that would not be the correct treatment. He'll start telling me about a procedure he did at work the other day, and I'll interrupt him and ask, "do you really know how to do that?!" (he'll typically say something along the lines of "yeah, and it's really cool!" while I'm still reeling about how awesome he is). 

Seriously, our worlds are so different. And while he'll get an occasional view of me in my element, I rarely get to see him in his. The emergency department really isn't a child-friendly place that I would like to take my kids to if it's not completely necessary. It seems the only thing that connects us is a play-on with words: patience and patients -- we both max out daily. (haha, I'm so clever)

Back in July at Lake Powell, R was able to give stitches to his brother who sliced his finger pretty bad. I remember feeling so proud that Ry could do that (as if I had anything to do with it!). 

Well, the week of Thanksgiving I got another chance to watch R in action. Nonnie and sweet cousin S came out early for the holiday, and we had a few days of play before more family came. On Nonnie's birthday of all days, the three kids were running around having fun after dinner. In the fun of it, Lady-LE tripped and fell face-first into our brick fireplace. There was a decent sized cut across the bridge of her nose.

I don't remember the craziness of getting the blood cleaned up and her calmed down. But I do remember the three of us (R, me, and Lady-LE) sitting on the bathroom counter staring at the wound in the mirror. R was talking through his thoughts about whether it needed stitches or not. And it did. The cut was rather large in my opinion, and the skin seemed to have this elastic pull keeping it open (see - told you, I know nothing of medicine). I remember looking at my sweet little girl, and being shocked at how much I could see under the skin. I didn't like it one bit. Ry said that if we took her to the children's emergency department, they would definitely stitch it up, which would require sedating, which also meant waiting 6+ hours because we had just eaten our dinner.

Eventually we decided to glue it shut at home. I held her body and arms, Nonnie held her head with gauze covering her eyes (to keep the glue from running down into them), and Ry applied the durabond to close the cut. It took a little while, but we did it.

This was taken the next day as we were raking leaves in the backyard.

I have never been more proud and grateful for Ryan. Even in the heat of the moment, I never felt scared. I completely trusted his judgment and decision, and knew that she would be fine. I know that he does bigger and grander things in the hospital. For goodness sake, he has literally saved lives! And this was just a big little wound on a two-year-old. But this was different, because this was our little girl. This was our family. And he helped make it all better for us.

{We don't have any pictures of the cut itself, or the before/after looks. The purple color comes from the glue itself. Surprisingly she didn't get any bruising around her eyes. Within a few days the glue came off and the cut stayed closed. She still has a little line from the cut on her nose, but it is really small.}

That night after it was all over, we all snuggled on the couch for a while together. I marveled at what a beautiful feeling it is to know that we will always be cared for, provided for, and taken care of by Ryan.
Words cannot do that feeling justice. It was complete peace and gratitude for my little family, especially Ryan. One moment that I will always treasure in my heart.

I love my family.

november memories

 L-man is loving his soccer practices every week. The organization that puts it on {Soccer Shots} is phenomenal in my book. Simple, half hour lessons that focus on super basics of soccer skills and sportsmanship. The coaches are all provided and trained with fun games and strategies that work for the young age groups. No games, no keeping track of wins/losses, just plain old fun for the little ones. I am positive that we will enter the competitive world when the time is right, and I'm crazy excited for that as well. But for now? I absolutely love this program and it's purpose. 

They put on a fun fall activity for all the partipants and families at a nearby park. They had lots of stations all over set up with the coaches, bounce houses, music, giveaways, etc. We played there all morning together as a family. And L-man played in a players vs. coaches game which was hilarious to watch. 

My favorites are him calling all adults in orange shirts "other Coach J's", and him giving 'thumbs-up' and congratulatory "good job!" to Coach J after he kicked the ball. Oh he cracks me up!

Lady-LE loves soccer too, and especially loved kicking the ball back and forth with Dad. 

 It was a beautiful day!! 

And speaking of beautiful days, I LOVE the Fall here. Absolutely love it. We play outside all the time still, and get the most gorgeous colors in the setting sun. 

Not quite sure what Lady-LE's doing ... but I still love the picture. ;)

 We build lots of forts, and sometimes invite friends to join us. 

 We play in our pajamas together.

And we spend a crazy boat-load amount of time raking leaves. Holy moly it takes long. But thankfully we enjoy it!  

We started our family's Thankful Tree in the beginning of the month too. It was fun to see it slowly get covered in blessings through out the month!

November seemed to pass so quickly because we were anticipating family in town for Thanksgiving! We played, worked, and laughed with dear family for over a full week and our hearts were full of gratitude. Pictures to come soon!

halloween

 Our church put on a Trunk or Treat a few days before Halloween, and the kids loved the whole deal. 

I found both costumes at a kid's consignment shop nearby, and simply could not resist. How darling to have L-man be Lady-LE's prince?! Oh I loved the idea the moment I saw it. I'm super cheesy like that.

 L-man exact words were, "Lady-LE, I have to dance with you to show how much I love you." 

 L-man was excited to be a prince, but in all honesty I didn't talk it up much to either of them. The two of them received many, many oohs and awws from friends at the party. But it cracked me up when a friend of ours - when the party was almost done - came up and said, "Oh I love your costume Prince Charming!" L-man's response was a furrowed brow and a reply, "I'm not Prince Charming. I'm Prince L-man!"  We all laughed about that, and eventually the name caught on and by Halloween day he was referring to himself as that. I just love remembering his stubborn innocence.

He even won an award! Most Noble. L-man kept that apple for days until it simply got too gross for me to look at and I tossed it without him knowing. 

One other memory though from this night makes my heart so happy. During the actual trunk-or-treat portion Logan was the biggest protector and helper to his sister. Lady-LE's voice is still soft, and she talks so quietly that in the hustle of a group of kids all asking for candy (what's wrong with this tradition anyway?!) she was always never heard. L-man would fight his way to the front and say, in a very good voice, "My princess sister would like some candy too please!" And he would be sure to always take care of her. What a sweet boy! 

Oh, and he said "Trick or trunk!" all night long. I love his little {big} voice. 

 The actual Halloween the kids were ready to go! We met up with a few neighbors and walked the streets with them. Wonderful, wonderful friends! 

 And we even got double blessed to have Ry join us! These kind of things are so much more fun with Dad around! 

Oh man these two are cute.

A three-month late posts-script: we've been listening to Disney music a lot lately. I have a fondness in my heart for Beauty and the Beast, and I have passed that onto Lady-LE. We listen to the Belle song, which is the one she sings while walking through the village and bookshop. When she sits down and sings about the book she's reading, "Here's where she meets Prince Charming, but she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three!" Lady-LE always, without fail, will yell, "Prince Charming! That's L-man!" It makes me smile, and glad that she's counting on him to be her prince. 

october snapshots

Random, happy memories caught on camera from October. 

 Park outing at dusk. 

 R's aunt, uncle, and cousin were in town for business and squeezed in a visit with us into their busy schedules. L-man loved the attention C gave him with passing the soccer ball back and forth. And Lady-LE (always the cautious one with a helmet indoors?) loved some substitute nonnie attention. :)

It was so fun to connect and catch up! So grateful for family!

 First introduction to costume dress-up, and both kids absolutely loved the surprise package from Nonnie and PopPop. Love!! 

 We love it when Daddy gets to come to soccer practice! At least Lady-LE does.

 Goal!

 Such a happy boy, which always equals a happy mamma. 

 Found this Buzz costume at a kids consignment shop. Safe to say it will be well loved. 

 Monster Line-up I had fun creating.

 Watching L-man hop around in this play tunnel brought back memories of my siblings and I hopping around in our mummy sleeping bags on our trampoline growing up. Fun memories!

Lady-LE is a huge fan of convincing anyone to read books to her. Thankfully that's a low-energy play that Dad's up for after a long day at work.

 We learned about the letter 'M' in preschool - and of course had to eat m&m's to our hearts content. 

 Playing outside in short sleeves still and loving it. 

 We come up with lots of fun ways to play hopscotch. 

Lady-LE's preschool friends playing outside together. It was a great month!