November

So I haven't posted since May, and I have only posted twice this whole year. Wow! I have to admit- all of my attempts at being thankful this month have been overcome by crying kids, failed projects, sickness, and work. I have yet to learn to have a constant thankful heart in all circumstances despite the fact that I have had multiple Bible Studies on the subject. I suspect it is because I have a false view of life and God, and I think everything should go my way at all times... sounds like a good News Years resolution to me. Our Thankful Tree we created had four leaves on it all created by Hannah. She was very dear and was thankful for God, her Bible, Charis and food. She could teach me a few things! Hopefully the project will be more successful next year. On a brighter note, we cleared the entire backyard and bought a playset off craigslist. This will hopefully lead to many happy times this coming year. I would like to end the month by truly being thankful for a few things.

1) Our church- I have said this multiple times, but I am so thankful for our church. I can't imagine what condition my soul would be in if we did not go to church every week. I don't go out of obligation, but I go because I LOVE church. I always have. I need to be reminded of how amazing God is and of His eternal truth on a regular basis. I love my church family and they are all so dear to me. I can't wait to go to the "Behold the Lamb" concert that will be held there later in the week.

2) My family- I am so thankful for Brian, Hannah, Charis, my mom, dad and brother, all of Brian's family, etc. I am thankful my parents moved here this year and we will have lots of special moments together in the future. Brian is so gifted and so many ways and such a wonderful father. My girls are so special to me. I can't imagine better in-laws! Cheers to a great family!

3) Durham- sounds weird, but I love Durham. I love living here. I love our neighborhood and home. I love the fall and spring. I love my gym, Hannah's pre-school, the people here, the restaurants, etc.

4) Brian's job- Brian has traveled a lot this year which has certainly been hard. But, I am thankful he does have a great job that he likes and he is able to provide for our family through it. He gets to be creative and meet people from all over the world. This year we both traveled to London twice and he went to Germany and Poland and many other places in the US. I am very proud that he has done an excellent job at work this year.

Let the Christmas season begin!

It's been a while

I hope all of my posts are not going to be titled "It's been a while"! I am not going to try and catch up this time.

April was crazy, but thankfully May looks like it will be a relaxing month and a time to catch up. Honestly, it is so hard to get things done with two small children. I had dreams of starting our garden this year, but we would have to clear out our yard, and we just didn't have time to work on it. I really hope we get it going next year. In January, we watched a documentary called Food, Inc, and since then we have been trying to make better decisions about what we eat. I am happy to say, we are doing really well on this goal. We joined a CSA where we get a box of produce from a local organic farm once a week- last week we ate all sorts of new things. We have also been buying milk from our local dairy. I have been making all of our bread and other baked goods from scratch as well. I think this is about the only thing I am succeeding in at the moment. This week we are also taking a break from web surfing and TV. I am totally addicted to both. In my spare time all I want to do is be entertained or do some sort of mindless activity. The first night was pathetic. I didn't even know what to do with my time. Then, I made a list of goals for the week, and I am actually accomplishing a lot of them. Last night I read a book and then just hung out with Brian for a while.


And the greatest thing going on at the moment is that my parents are moving to Raleigh. We are so excited to be closer to them. We already have them scheduled to babysit, so we can go see Wicked this week. We have not been out since February!

Here are a few pictures of the girls. Hannah is finishing up her second year of pre-school. She loves her class and all of her friends there. She loves singing and being silly with her daddy. Charis is just so much fun. The only word she says is "Hi", but she babbles and pretends to talk all the time. She also likes to just spin in circles and fall down. It is hillarious.

That's it for now.

It's been a while

Wow, I just looked at our blog and it has been a long time since I posted something. What has happened since November 10th... Hmmm.

Thanksgiving in Durham with Gramzy, Popsy, and Carla... maybe Franklin can come next time! Thanks to Boston Market, we did not cook. We got up early and went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. It was totally worth it and Gramzy saved our place in line more than once.

December was CRAZY

Hannah had her Christmas program where she lipsynched for at least part of it. This was better than last year where she just stood there the whole time. Here she is not singing.


We had our Christmas really early so the kids could play with their presents before we went to Florida. Hannah was so upset because apparently they told her what Christmas day was suppose to be like at pre-school and we were doing it different. She cried "I can't wear my Christmas pajamas because it is not Christmas yet!" She got over it though. She loves her new bike and has gotten really good. Poor Charis only got a hat for Christmas.


We pretty much finished the playroom. We have yet to get our final inspections. Also, Brian bought the best fire alarms, but they are really sensitive and we have about two false alarms a day. We still haven't figured out the problem. Thankfully Charis and Hannah just sleep through them. We also took a trip to the emergency room because Brian cut his finger on the saw. It is all better now.

We went to Amelia Island, Tallahassee, and Deerfield Beach/Ft. Lauderdale.

We attended Jon Whitney's wedding where we got to catch up with a lot of old friends. We had a blast staying with Don and Danielle, and I was really encouraged to start eating healthy. I have been doing pretty good so far this year. We were having so much fun that I didn't have time to take any pictures.

January flew by-- I don't even remember what we did this month. Brian went to Chicago and New York. Charis started walking. I did another once a month freezer cooking day. We booked tickets to go to London in Feb. Brian turned 31. It snowed and we were stuck inside for days! Both Hannah and I went sledding for the first time. I entered Hannah in the lottery for the public Montessori school. And I just finished a really good book by one of my favorite preachers, Tim Keller. It is called Counterfeit Gods. We are looking forward to spending some time in London together. Nana and Papa are coming to spend a week with the kids and we are so thankful. I will get to visit a good friend who is currently living in Cambridge.

Hopefully, I will be better about posting!