Thanksgiving

2010

2011

2012

Every year for Thanksgiving we head to Kure Beach to be with David's side of family, his parents from Seattle and his sister and her family from Dallas. We've gone to the same beach house since 2010. It's a really fun place for the cousins. I am SO thankful for the time we had together. I wish we were not so far away from each other. It makes the Thanksgiving week more special to be together. Each Thanksgiving I take a picture of the cousins "jump" at the beach so we could remember what they look like each year.

They're growing up way too fast.

Good Boy

Forrest is such a GOOD boy.

Each day after school when my Forrest hops into our car I always ask him to tell me how his day at school was. The majority of days he flashes me the world's biggest smile and says, "it was awesome!" It's pretty cute. If he's had a hard day he'll show a half smile or some tears and then we can talk about it.  My heart is happy that most days his smile is big and bright.

I went to Forrest's Kindergarten parent-teacher conference this past Wednesday afternoon. The teacher went through all of his academic progress which is right on track. He's a smart boy and works hard so I was happy to see his class work reflected that. His teacher then looked at me in the eyes and told me what a good, GOOD, sweet boy Forrest is. I'm sure she tells most of the parents this but it took me quite by surprise. I know he's kind and sweet but you never know what happens when they leave you. My emotions really caught me by surprise. The more she talked about my Forrest's sweet personality the more my eyes started to well up with tears. I kept thinking, "oh no, don't do this, Joy... this is embarrassing!" But it was to no avail. The tears came. She went on and on about how Forrest treats the other children in the class and how kind and caring and helpful he is. To me this is SO much more of importance than any of the other things on that report card.

As a mom I work so much with my kids and sometimes I just feel like it's going in one eye and out the other with them. And some days I feel like I'm a completely lousy mom. There are so many ups and downs on this "mom roller coaster". I think that was what made me cry - all of the TIME and TALKS I have with them are paying off even just a little bit. You do your best with them and then you push them out into the world and hope for the best. It's scary and rewarding and some days heartbreaking all at the same time. Each morning as Forrest opens the car door at the carpool lane to go to his classroom, I always stop him and give him a big hug and say, "work hard AND..."

He then has to finish the quote.

He smiles and says, "... BE NICE".

This morning I took these pictures of my Forrest when he was home sick from school. His first one. He woke up this morning running a fever and was so, so sad to miss the fall festival at school today. I think he's all better with some lego love. I love my sweet Forrest. I'm glad he's mine.

The Kitchen Reno

 

Here I am. In my own kitchen. Don't mind me taking this picture, I'm taking a break from using the garage sink washing dishes because we haven't had a kitchen for a month. We are only doing construction on the weekends because... well, let's say it's the only time we can be home.
Our house projects are in full swing. These things take time and prep! I've been running around like a crazy person comparing flooring, subway tile, and pieces of quartz. If you don't want to read about our house projects and decor, I suggest you stop reading this blog.
When David and I first married 11 years ago, we set a goal to have a little piece of North Carolina to call home. We saved. And we saved. And we saved some more. After looking, waiting and saying many prayers... we did it! And after 8 years of home ownership, we still feel so blessed. When we first saw this home, we fell in love with the location. The lot our house sits on is just under an acre and backs up to the woods. We love that our children have a safe place to play and run and explore. It reminds us of our own childhood homes we grew up in. What we did not love was the interior of the house. We knew down the road we would be able to make these changes. We took our time putting our two heads together, figuring out what was working for us and what was not working for us.
We're starting at the heart of the home. The kitchen. Our small kitchen lacks some serious storage. We ordered cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling and lots of drawers. Things are coming along swimmingly. We just need to install the flooring, assemble and install the cabinets, paint, new lighting and order a couple of stools. Then... bam! We'll have a brand spankin' new kitchen. I can't wait to show all the "befores"... and obviously, I have a lot planned for the "afters".

Summer the Flamenco Dancer

 

 The red satin rose. It "made" her outfit and she LOVED wearing it. So cute!

Captain America Forrest

The mask. I mean, c'mon, it doesn't get any cuter.

Happy Halloween 2012

You can see this picture was taken without my flash which I (darn) forgot to turn on while hurrying after the 1st trip around the neighborhood trick-or-treating... at least I got something to remember this.
Happy Halloween!

Halloween

On October 1st, Summer and Forrest started begging that we get our halloween decorations out. It's such a big deal to them that it makes it worth it for me. The kids think it's so fun to get all the decorations out and put them in the "correct spots". Forrest is loving the Halloween tree. The ornaments are taken off and on 100 x's a day. It's on our coffee table and that doesn't stop him. I found the pumpkin lanterns at the target dollar section and had David help me hang them up. At night when we turn the dining room lights on they light up. It's pretty cute to see how something so simple can be soo fun for the kids.

The trick or treat sign is new. I got them at etsy of all places. The sign didn't have holes for hanging on the front door wreath but I knew if I had David drill holes in them and use jute rope I could make it work.

As for Halloween... we are super excited. Our theme is "red" this year and I can't wait to dress my kids up...

My very own Jack-o-Lantern

A few nights ago I woke Summer up in the middle of the night and we had our "cheerios date" once again. She was soo excited as I carried her down the stairs in the dark. We talked about how second grade was going. She loves her teacher and she loves school. I am so, so happy. I told her how much I loved her and gave her a big kiss and hug. She told me that she loved me so much that "cats and fireworks were exploding out of her heart." It was a serious moment but I just bursted out laughing. Cats and fireworks? She then started laughing too. It was really funny. I then told her that we didn't need to get any pumpkins this year to carve jack-o-lanterns. She kind of looked sad and asked me why.  I then told her to go look in the mirror and give herself a big smile. She got it and we both laughed some more and then I carried her back upstairs and tucked her into her bed. I love this girl more than anything. Even more than cats and fireworks.

Aunt Jan

On our way to Asheville from Atlanta we visited Aunt Jan and her farm. It is always special to get together. It was a first for Summer and Forrest to visit their Aunt's house. Summer could not believe her eyes when we first drove onto her driveway. Right in front of her were horses on her farm. A true treat for Summer! It is so cute to see how proud Summer is riding Phoenix. She was very proud to be able to ride on her own. She pats Phoenix, looks at him, and says, "good horsey". Forrest was just happy to sit on the fence. He loves playing with Roxy, their little dog. We had a fabulous time and feel so fortunate to have this time with Jan and her family. It won't be the first or last. A big thank you to Jan for loving Summer and being so sweet with her.

Atlanta

We just returned from 4 fabulous days in Atlanta. David had a business meeting Monday in Asheville and Tuesday in Morganton after our trip to Atlanta. What a good husband and daddy. We were lucky enough to be able to go to while I was off from classes for fall break that same week. We had so much fun. Four full days of exploring Atlanta. Forrest LOVED Legoland. He didn't want to leave the park. Summer wanted to buy the whole American Girl store. We decided to leave our car at the hotel the next day and take the Marta train to the aquarium. The best decision. Ever. David and I got to have some time together while the kids were entertained by the city. Summer and Forrest both loved the aquarium. I don't know which Summer and Forrest loved more... riding the train or watching the fish tank. It was a perfect fall break vacation.