Family weekend in Boone

We had a wonderful, snow filled, fun filled family weekend in Boone. Irelynn cheered for App State and the Steelers at the game and loved yelling first down. We made it half way through the second quarter before we began freezing solid and walked back to the car. We had a great dinner at the Japanese steakhouse and then a great brunch at the village cafe in blowing rock. We also paced in some good shopping in king street. Katie is flourishing in college. She looks so happy and healthy and just good. Makes my heart happy ! Livie had a great time with giga and pop. 

Right now, I'm downstairs and everyone else is asleep upstairs. It's summer, so Katie sleeps in, Travis has been working late some, and my precious baby is sleeping better than ever. (although she was awake at 4am this morning). Time alone can be glorious! I remember a day when alone time was either boring or lonely. Now it is neither. It's time to regroup and be silent. It's something I never thought I would need. Now there are so many things that I could be doing, but writing has given me strength in the past, so I am making a conscious effort to get back into it. The challenges of everyday life sneak up on us so quickly, and we forget to prioritize the things that make life enjoyable. I get so caught up in making sure the house is clean, work is done, etc. . I want to make sure the house is clean, kids have everything they need, dinner is fixed, that sometimes I forget to look after what I need. Right now I need this... just to be.

Christmas 2013

Ok, so a lot has happened since the last post. New year's resolution... write more and do yoga. I think those two things will be good for my sole. Other than that, I plan to spend my years taking care of these....3... (yes, now there are 5 of us)... children. One is not really a child anymore, but I'm still counting her. Katie is at Appalachian State, Irelynn is 3 (almost 4) and Livie is 7 months and growing so so fast. Travis is working like crazy and doing his best to spend any other time with us. We were nervous to take Katie to college but she has thrived during her first semester. Although final exams were a little harder than expected, she made the Dean's List. Her favorite Christmas present was an ENO, which is a hammock. Yes, seriously, if you would have asked me 6 months ago what she would want for Christmas, a hammock would not have been on my list of predictions. Learning new things and exploring life, isn't that what college is all about. Irelynn is as clever and beautiful as ever. She spent the month of December picking apples. This meant pulling ornaments off of the Christmas tree. Her favorite gift was a spring horse from Santa. Although she was terrified of the very idea of someone coming into our house while she is sleeping, presents or not; she did like the end result. She also liked the many toys and beautiful clothes from Giga and Pop and the Barbie Dream House from Grammy and Papa. Live was really into the wrapping paper. She laughs and giggles and loves to be held. She is calm and has beautiful brown eyes that draw you in instantly. She is observant. She is already crawling and even pulled up a couple of times. I was so glad that this week was when she chose to crawl because I got to really see her change over the last few days. Christmas was hectic and wonderful. We got to spend time with both sets of grandparents and even the great grandparents. Excited to see what the new year will hold!