Where to Start...

Life. It has a funny way of slipping away from you and before you know it a year has passed since the last time you wrote. In many ways I needed a break. A lot has happened in the last two years and I've needed to process and reflect on what has happened around me. In many ways not knowing where to start and the thought of blogging terrified me. However, enough time has passed and I am in a much healthier place these days. I'm ready to blog again and document our life this way because I do so love being able to re-read where we have been and where we are headed. Please, bear with me as I shake off the dust and clear the cobwebs. I've got to find a rhythm for posting again but I promise to get back on the bandwagon. I'm sure I'll post some on what has transpired over the last year but I don't really want to set expectations on that for myself. We'll just see when and where my heart goes with all of this. Without much further ado here's where we are headed...

Home
We are still living in our same house. It's hard to believe that we've been here now for over 7.5 years! Time moves so quickly. This past summer one of our old trees in the backyard split in half and in order to take it out we had to remove four additional trees. Our once super shady backyard is now very bright! The upside to this is that the mosquito problem that we've had for years is now virtually non-existent. It also means that for the first time since we've been here I'll be able to have a vegetable garden this next spring.

Andy
We are elated to announce that Andy will be starting a new job in different industry next week. He has been working in the tax industry since we met. We've prayed for a long time that something would come along that would allow him to switch gears and move out of it. And in the last two months God brought about an unexpected opportunity. It feels odd to be walking in uncharted territory and yet we are at peace with where we are being led. I'll share more about this and how we got to this point in another post because it is most certainly something I want to document.

Me
So many things to say here. :) The biggest change for me in this last year is going back to work. I absolutely love my job, what we do, and the people I work with. Again, I plan to document how I got to where I am because it is worth documenting in another post.

AG
Five and a half and getting closer to six every. single. day. He started Kindergarten in August and is thriving at school! We decided to put him on campus at Berry Elementary and have felt deeply affirmed that he is in the right place over the course of these last two months. He amazes us daily with all the different things that he is learning. He continues to be all boy and a sports fanatic just like his Daddy. Once again, he's playing soccer this fall and Andy is coaching his team. I'm not sure who enjoys it more but I absolutely love watching the two of them on the field together.

Avi-Kate
Our sweet and sassy mess as I affectionately call her. She's got a lot of spunk and reminds me daily of my sister, Caroline, when we were growing up. In August, she started school at Berry at the Child Development Center and she is blossoming right in front of our eyes. She loves being a 'big girl' who has her own friends and gets to do fun things like paint, play, read, and sing. Her only disappointment with school is that she can't ride the bus every day like her older brother. Ha. We remind her daily that her time is coming.

Samson
Middle age in dog years and likes his routine. He's living the dream lounging around the house and in the backyard. And always enjoys a car trip when it takes him to the farm where he can roam to his heart's content.

Running
Many a post on this subject coming up in the next few weeks. I'm still doing it and learning a lot along the way. Andy and I have some pretty ambitious race goals set for this next year and we are currently training for a half and a marathon back to back. We've got our race schedule for 2015 for the most part set and I'm really excited about what we've got on the books. Two of which are really big runDisney accomplishments.

College Family
Lots of transition here! We had a huge wave of our students graduate this spring so we are in the process of regrouping. Our group had become quite large and it should look much smaller this year due to our senior class this spring. With everything in limbo the last two months with Andy's job we haven't done our usual dinners to kick off the year. However, now that we know what the next few weeks look like as Andy transitions to his new gig we are excited about starting things back up with our students.

There you have it. A surface level post but hopefully it sets things up for me to dive back into this in the coming weeks. Back again soon...

Words for Wednesday...Avi-Kate is 2!

Happy, happy birthday to our sweet, spunky, fiercely independent, determined, fearless, and adventuresome second born. Life with you is certainly a joy and each day brings something new. We are so grateful that you are part of our family. We love you and your beautiful ginger curls more than you know! Happy 2nd birthday, Avi-Kate! We can't believe how quickly you are growing up.

Practicing her cupcake eating a few weeks ago in preparation for her upcoming festivities.

A few candid shots of our spunky girl at AG's last soccer game a few weeks ago...

More about her birthday this next week...we are off to the farm tomorrow for the weekend to celebrate. Looking forward to swimming and celebrating a very special two year old on Saturday.

Book List for May and looking forward to Vacation...

It's been awhile since I have done a book list for our book basket and in reorganizing things this afternoon I decided to pull books to post. The end of May brings a trip north to Virginia...one of our favorite places to vacation. I started visiting the 'Historic Triangle' when I was in elementary school and absolutely fell in love with the area. Shortly after we were married we took our first family vacation with Andy's family and we went to Virginia. Since then we've taken several trips back to the historic district but the last time we were there AG was 20 months old. After that trip we found out were pregnant with Avi-Kate. When I look back at the photos from that trip it amazes me what all has happened since we were last there. I can't believe it's been almost three years since we were there last. We are thrilled to be heading back for a week of good food, walking in the past, shopping at our favorite places, and visiting one of our favorite theme parks with lots of family time. Since I taught upper elementary school I have quite a large collection of books relating to Colonization and The American Revolution. 

Colonial Book Basket:

John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith

Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley

Katie's Trunk by Ann Turner

Samuel's Choice by Richard Berleth

The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz

Uncovering History at Colonial Williamsburg Archaeology for Young Explorers

D is for Drum A Colonial Williamsburg ABC by Kay Chorao

Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming

Historic Communities A Colonial Town Williamsburg by Bobbie Kalman

Mary Geddy's Day A Colonial Girl in Williamsburg by Kate Waters

The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble

Let it Begin Here! Lexington and Concord by Dennis Brindell Fradin

George vs. George The American Revolution as Seen From Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

Roanoke The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple

Redcoats and Petticoats by Katherine Kirkpatrick

The Folk Art Counting Book from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center Williamsburg, VA

If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days by Barbra Brenner

If You Lived At The Time Of The American Revolution by Kay Moore

Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? by Jean Fritz

Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz

Everyday Dress of the American Colonial Period Coloring Book by Peter F. Copeland

We The People Series of books:

The Boston Tea Party by Michael Burgan

Great Women of the American Revolution by Michael Burgan

Williamsburg by Judy Alter

African-Americans in the Colonies by Jean Kinney Williams

The Bill of Rights by Michael Burgan

The Declaration of Independence by Michael Burgan

The Battles of Lexington and Concord

Triangle Histories Revolutionary War Series

The Battle of Monmouth by Lewis K. Parker

The Battle of Harlem Heights by Mary Hertz Scarbrough

The Battle of Valcour Bay by Scott Ingram

I recognize that some of these are waaaaaaay over my kids' heads. BUT while the content might be over their heads the real photographs on the pages are great to look at and discuss. The Williamsburg We the People book is filled with photos of the historic district. This will be a list that I come back to as the kids age over the next few years. I am really excited about AG being older this time around. He'll actually be able to grasp some of the concepts that we'll experience and that makes this former history teacher's heart happy. Here's hoping this next month flies by because I can't wait to be back there after browsing through these photos earlier:

 Lunch with Elmo and Friends and lots of quality time at Busch Gardens is on tap next month. They've added several new rides since we were last there. Including a new roller coaster, Verbolten, that replaced one of our favorite coasters at any theme park, The Big Bad Wolf. 

 Our last few trips have come in the lates summer/ fall so I'm excited to see the late spring/early summer gardens. 

 AG has requested a new hat since this one now fits Avi-Kate, a colonial drum, and a wooden pistol like the one he is holding in this photo. We are going to buy Avi-Kate a mob cap but I have a feeling she'll be wearing AG's old tri-cornered hat everywhere she goes. 

 I'm elated about this...when we were there last they had started working on excavating and rebuilding the Public Armoury. Since we've been there they completed the project and we will actually get to walk inside this building that was a big hole in the ground last time we were there. 

 Afternoon hot chocolate at Charlton's Coffee House is a must do for me. Colonial hot chocolate is very different from today's hot chocolate. 

 Even in the rain Williamsburg is just beautiful to me. 

I'm back!

Well, after a much needed blog sabbatical I'm back. Whew.

If you are still here...thanks for sticking with me. I needed some time to process life and focus on what has been going on around us. Life has been moving at warp speed but I'm ready to jump back on the blogging bandwagon.

Randomness and slightly all over the map thoughts from today:

~Today is my half birthday. Normally, not a big deal but six months from today I turn 30. Somewhat surreal to think about. I've been quite contemplative all day about all that has happened in the last ten years of my life. Ten years ago I didn't know Andy. Since then I've met the love of my life, graduated from Berry, married Andy, bought and remodeled a house, had two children, 'adopted' a house full of college students, and become something I never thought I'd be...a runner who has completed two half marathons. And that's just a few of the high points. What really amazes me is to think where we will be ten years from now...AG will be 14 and Avi-Kate will be almost 12!

~ The kids were in a wedding this weekend and they were absolutely precious. I've known the bride since we were little. We were campers together and she was a few years behind me at Berry. Her wedding was gorgeous. She is so detail oriented and there were details every where you looked. I'll post pictures this week and more details.

~We had a picnic today in the park after church and it was wonderful! Despite the pollen it was a beautiful spring day. We had a great turn out...probably one of the largest church events we've ever hosted. The kids played non-stop and between the wedding festivities and today they are beat. They sacked out pretty quickly this evening.

~Avi-Kate is going to be two in less than two months. Nuts. Seems like she was born just yesterday. Since she had surgery I feel like she has grown a ton. Her vocabulary has finally taken off. It is sweet music to our ears to hear her little voice. A few weeks back she started piecing together simple sentences, that you can actually understand what she is saying, and I about wept tears of joy. It also has made Andy and I realize just how bad her hearing was and how much her tongue being tied hindered her ability to speak. I'm extremely grateful that we were able to address those issues and that she is doing so well.

~AG has become such a big kid. I'm amazed how much he has grown and changed since starting school. I'm even more amazed that he has one more year left of preschool before he is in kindergarten! Everyone always talks about quickly time passes but it really does amaze me how quickly our children change before our eyes. AG is all about his sports teams and becoming a farmer. A few weeks ago his teachers did a week long unit on farms and he was beside himself with joy! He's quite happy that baseball season and the Braves are back.

~My house is a complete wreck at the moment. (From all of the hustle and bustle this weekend!) I am hoping to regroup this week. At least before hosting my ladies bible study on Wednesday night.

~My sweet mother-in-law is here for a few days and I'm hoping we can get out in the yard tomorrow and get some stuff planted that I bought at the Berry plant sale two weeks ago.

~Andy is still looking for a job and we are faithfully walking through this new season in our lives. He has applied for some things and we are hopeful that something might happen soon. In this season of uncertainty I've taken great comfort in knowing that God is sovereign. In all things.

~What an emotional week it has been for our country as a whole. As someone who runs Boston hit me on a deep, personal level. We had friends that were there running but thankfully they are okay. And then there is the plant explosion in Texas. Which hits home as well...my dad's only sibling, my Aunt Joy, lives in Texas. Not too far from West where the explosion happened. I'm grateful that she, my uncle, and my cousin are all ok. My heart hurts on so many, many levels. And again, despite all of this I'm grateful for God's sovereignty. What happened in Texas is tragic. What happened in Boston is heinous. I have lots of thoughts running around in my head and I'm not sure if I'll share those things here...still mulling over that.

~Lastly, I'm in the process of starting a side business selling stuff I've made. This is something I've wanted to do for years and finally have the opportunity to give it a go. I'm really excited about it. Andy is currently building my website but we do have a facebook page. Feel free to take a peek at what we've been up to. I'm also working on getting a 'store' on Etsy up and going. These Southern Roots is what we've named it. I'm not really sure where it will go but I'm excited about the possibilities.

I'll be back soon with pictures and posts of what we've been up to.  Here's hoping this week is better than last.

Tomorrow...

...should be interesting. I'm hoping for the best but realize anything is possible. Tomorrow I have to take Avi-Kate back to the ENT for her follow-up after surgery and they are planning to do another hearing test to see where she stands. I know that her hearing is improved just in the way she is acting since having surgery and her speech is also making some progress...but I'm not sure if it has improved enough. So, we'll see what they say and go from there. At this point that's all we can do and I'm content with that. Grateful that God is sovereign in all things...day in and day out.

I'll post an update tomorrow, hopefully, once we know more. In other news, AG is doing great. He asked for his first dose of pain meds last night at dinner and we suspect that his scabs are starting to slough off which is exactly what we want. I think he's going to tag along with me to the ENT so that they can at least look in his throat and tell me how it looks so far. He'll have his follow-up appointment in about six weeks.

It's been a productive week...I haven't gotten everything I wanted to get done but it's been productive in other ways. I've started spring cleaning and have lots of projects going on at once. The house is kind of chaotic but I like the progress that is being made. It's always an on going process, isn't it?

I'm off to put my leg up and ice it down. I've got the itch to go for a run but it's going to be awhile before that happens again. I'm hoping that it heals quickly and I can get back to running in May till then I've got to figure out what I want to do for the interim. Hope everyone is having a good week...I'll be back soon.

Wordless Wednesday...Sacked Out Edition.

Update on life...

Whew. What a week and a weekend. We've been going non-stop and I'm thankful that the next few days look to be much more low key. I appreciate being busy and having lots to do but I also relish a few days at home with nothing to do but get caught up on domestic type items.

As is generally the case when things get wild my housekeeping tends to slip...so there will be some serious time this week spend reorganizing/cleaning this week in preparation for Christmas. Speaking of, I can't believe that Christmas Eve is two weeks from today?! This month is flying by. I am, for the first time, WAY ahead on my shopping. Actually, we have one gift left to buy and that's it. An odd feeling but I'm grateful to be this ahead of the game because I know that the last few days leading in to Christmas will be crazy with us hosting the Edwards family. I'm wrapping as things arrive and Santa magically keeps stashing his gifts in the attic. :) AG keeps asking if we can open the presents under the tree. Each day he inspects the tree and he can tell you if new presents have appeared.

Avi-Kate turned 18 months last week...I can't believe that she's a year and a half old. She's getting to be more and more like a big girl with each day that passes. Speaking of she was 26lbs 1.6oz, 31.5" tall, and her head circumference continues to be in the 100+ percentile. (Like she's not even on the chart...it's an Edwards trait. Ha. I just chuckle.) She has 8 teeth in the front and her first set of molars have appeared in the last three weeks or so bringing her grand total of teeth to 12. Our pediatrician continues to be pleased at how well she is growing and developing. Her personality is really starting to blossom and develop. She's into everything and has an opinion about most things. She's quite the sassy little thing but at the same time she's so sweet. We are really enjoying this season of life that both of the kids are at. We are soaking in every single minute. Looking ahead we'll work to drop her use of her paci once all her teeth are in. Which is what we did with AG at that age...makes teething much more sane for all involved this way. I'm hoping we can drop it this summer some time...we'll see. She's getting to be so big. :)

AG is doing great in school. He loves going to school and we are so pleased with how he's doing. On Saturday he was insistent that he needed to go to school so that he could play with his buddies. We'll see how Christmas break goes. I'm sure at the end of the break he'll be itching to go back. Next week his class is having pj/Polar Express day and then the next day they'll have their Christmas party. They've got a tree set up in the classroom and it is full of ornaments that the kids have made. I can't wait to see what all he brings home. Some of my favorite ornaments from my childhood are the ones that I made when I was AG's age.

Andy is busy, busy with work. He's in crunch mode now that tax season is upon him and working all sorts of hours to get his clients set up for the season. He's been working from home half the week and going in to the office for the other half. It's nice having home. Like this afternoon, it was pouring down rain and I didn't have to hassle with getting Avi-Kate out in it to run get AG from school. Andy put her down for her nap after lunch and then went back to work. Although I will say that sometimes it's harder for me to do housework in our bedroom which doubles as his office when he works remote. I try and steer clear of our room when he's working. Then on the days that he works at the office I do a mad dash to get everything I need to do done. One day I'll have a spotless house all the time, right?! :)

As for me...I've been busy prepping stuff for Christmas here, hosting/overseeing the church Christmas party in our building on Broad Street, chauffeuring children around town, buying and wrapping presents, and trying to regain control of the house after the chaos of last week. I should have gone on a long run yesterday afternoon and instead I found myself reorganizing and cleaning my out of control house. Day by day, right? At the moment I keep eyeing the mountain of laundry I need to tackle on the sofa. It never ends does it? That's okay. I'm grateful for a mountain of clean laundry to fold and the ability to be able to do it even if it is my least favorite chore. It's all about perspective.

Sorry for the rambly type post...my brain is kind of on overload at the moment. I'm sure there is more I should have said in this post and I'm sure it could have been more cohesive but that's ok. Picture post next...I'll be back again soon. Till then hope everyone is having a nice start to their week.

Wordless Wednesday...AKs loves JoJo edition.

My how they've grown...

Today is the today! We're off to the happiest place on earth for a few days of much needed family time. In the spring I took pictures of each child in a spot in the Magic Kingdom so that we could take their picture there each trip to watch them grow. Looking back at these photos today it amazes me how much they've changed since March. Avi-Kate being the biggest change since she is now walking, talking, and in to everything. (And has since developed a very girly-girl side that loves anything that she can dress up with...I think this last trip was the start of that because she became obsessed with shoes that week.)  AG is taller, slimmer, and has started school. Time sure does fly. I'm planning to take a new set pictures this weekend and will post when we get back. I'm off to finish last minute packing and getting the house in order. Have a great weekend...

If you find...

...one lone right pink Croc, size 4-5, brand new feel free to hold on to it for me. We ordered Avi-Kate her first pair of Crocs a few weeks ago so that she could break them in before Disney. Well, our plan was going along swimmingly until she decided to hide the right one. Yep, we have turned the house upside down and Andy searched the trash last week and so far we have yet to find it. I'm still hoping it turns up before we leave next week.

Such is life with a sweet toddler who is learning all about the world around her. :)

School Days are here...

Well, hot dog! Blogger decided this morning to cooperate and allow me to access pictures from the last few weeks. (Get ready for a slew of updates!) Anyways, here are AG's first day of school pictures. He's now in his fourth week of school and learning lots. He has had some moments for growth and learning how to adapt to new situations. However, overall I think this has been a great transition for him. He's done very well and although he has some mornings when he declares he doesn't need to go to school that day when we pick him up he's very happy. Two of our college girls are living in the building literally next door to his classroom and he loves being able to go visit them before/after school. I am grateful that we have the opportunity to send AG to Berry. To a place where Andy and I learned many valuable lessons in and out of the classroom. Our hope and prayer is that AG will be shaped by these same lessons. That he would gain not only 'head knowledge' but knowledge for his heart and hands as well over these next few years. So, here's to the first of many 'First Day of School' pictures at Berry College. AG, we can't believe what a wonderful young man you are growing up to be. We are so proud of you and love watching you conquer new situations. We can't wait to see what all you learn this year.

After dropping AG off Avi-Kate and I headed up to mountain campus to Berry Elementary and Middle School to see GrandMary. We spent the morning working in her classroom...Avi-Kate exploring her future kindergarten classroom and me doing my yearly activities to help Mary get ready for the upcoming school year. I've got one more year of doing it before I'll have a kid in Mary's classroom and that is crazy to me. At the same time I'm elated and can't wait for AG to start kindergarten. She's the best of the best and there really is no one quite like her. I'm just grateful that I was placed in her classroom ten years to be a student worker. GrandMary, we love you and can't wait to be in kindergarten! :)