So Very Thankful!

Life has been both a whirlwind and pretty wonderful lately.  After 34 years in our home, we have sold it, and are happily settled up the street.  We still have a few projects left here, but we settled in quite easily, and are loving living here.  I finally have a kitchen!  It took 19 weeks for all of my cabinets to come in, but we are very pleased.  I plan on doing a post just on house renovations soon. In between moving and finishing up the kitchen, we have had lots of family time, soccer tournaments, hunting and more!  We are praying for calmer days and time to enjoy the holidays now.  During the move, I did manage to decorate for Christmas, although not as much as usual.  The plan now is to enjoy the holidays, and wrap up projects after Christmas (except for a couple of small things that we're going to do before).  This has definitely been a process, but a very rewarding one! We are very thankful for this new chapter in our life!

Cross Country has ended for this one, but she did participate in her school's Turkey Trot.

Pop and I took the big kids ice skating on opening night.  This is so much fun, but I'm truly thankful they came out alive!  Lots and lots of falls, and lots and lots of fun!

We wrapped up soccer season with a tournament in Dothan.  We are already looking forward to next year.

We enjoyed a little  shopping in Dothan in between games.

There's no fun quite like backyard fun!

Lindsey and Josh can't come without helping with projects.  This trip one was cutting down the mammoth holly tree.  Pool work begins this week, and it needed to go!

The kids also helped get the big tree decorated.

More playtime!

Painting with Kathy was so much fun!

What wonderful help I had decorating the tree!  (That massive holly tree you see out the window is now gone!)

We play hard and rest hard!

What a week they had hunting!! Four deer and two pigs!  Maddie has now killed 17 deer (She's 12!), and Reed has killed 3.  They both love hunting. 

John Sawyer also enjoyed his first hunt with Pop.  It involved eating an orange and doritos, a walk to check on the field and lots of memories!  

Good job guys!

They hunt and we cook!  Maddie also loves to help when she's not hunting.

The best turkey fryer ever!

We had the best Thanksgiving.  It was wonderful being together!

Love my people!

After lunch and before the game, we completed our annual candy houses.  The Christmas season doesn't begin until the houses are built.  This is our 31st year, and pardon me while I brag, but we are really good at this now.  I highly recommend this as a family tradition!! So much fun! This year we had Santa's sleigh, the manger scene, a camper, a lighthouse, a barn and an assortment of houses.  

Merry Christmas!

Catching Up Again

Life lately has been a whirlwind. While we have been in the process of remodeling and moving for almost 2 years, the pace really picked up about 6 weeks ago.  We have now moved up the street after 34 years in our house, and will close on our house in just a couple of days.  Before the move, I would have told you I was a fairly good housekeeper.  I have learned that I was a border line hoarder!!  I have long since lost count of my trips to the thrift store and the number of bags of stuff we have thrown away.  We still don't have a kitchen, but we have started on that project.  All but one of my cabinets are in, and Reed is working away.  Hopefully it will be done in about a week.  That will just leave us with one bathroom to complete.  The pool should be installed by Christmas, and we will then turn our attention to the yard (again). In the midst of all the chaos, life has continued on.  Soccer, cross country, pumpkin patches and more keep life interesting and busy! These pictures are from the past several weeks.

We could not have made it without Josh, Lindsey and the kids.  This was the day that we moved most of our things.  We headed up the street with a tractor, two trucks with trailers and the Polaris with a trailer.  It was quite a sight to see.  Maddie's job here was to guard Jesus.  Happy to report that He made it just fine!

These two little guys are settled into their new home in Northport.  There are no words for how much we miss seeing them every day.

Fun at the pumpkin patch!

Jack was pretty excited when we found a turtle in the yard!

Reed's regular season team was undefeated!  Way to go Reed and Coach Josh!

Happy Birthday to me!  It's really true that time flies!

A little backyard fun with these cuties! Jack loves the zip line!

I really don't have the words to express how proud we are of Maddie and her cross country accomplishments this year.  Again, this is a sport I knew nothing about.  It is the most emotional sport I have ever watched.  I can't explain it, but I have felt a tremendous need to be there when she crosses the finish line.  This sport is not for the faint of heart!

We were so proud that she made state as a seventh grader!  She had her personal best time at state.  We can't wait until next year.

Lillian and I enjoyed a little selfie waiting on her to reach the finish line!

A little post run meal in Andalusia!  I told Lindsey that I never, ever thought I would get to visit so many places in Alabama. 

Buddies

Reed's Allstar team won their District tournament and are headed to state!  We can't wait! Look out Dothan, here we come.

It was great to be back in one of my favorite places with some of my favorite people! We came and we conquered!

And I may not have a kitchen, but I have decorated for Christmas!  John Sawyer helped me by rearranging every ornament on the tree!  And if you visit and happen to see a shower ring on the tree-mind yo' business!  He thought it was the perfect addition, and Nana agrees!

Hopefully, I will soon get back to regular blogging!  

Run Maddie Run!

 Maddie loves being a part of her school's cross country team.  She has been sick for a couple of weeks, so I was very worried about how she would do in her last meet.  Her practice time had been limited.  However, she was only a few seconds off her best time.  She's just a tad competitive!  I am so proud of her dedication and determination.  Watching her run and cross the finish line is very emotional.  I told Lindsey that I just couldn't figure out why, but I want to cry every time she finishes a race.  She's just drained, but ready to do it again.  She is running with the varsity girls, and I know that it will pay off for her in years to come. I "borrowed" all of these pictures from someone else.  Lindsey and I facetimed during the race, so I could see her when she finished, but these are better.  To all the runners out there, I salute you.  This sport is not for the faint of heart.

Headed for the finish line!

You go girl!

Time for Soccer

Pop and I got to see Reed play this week for the first time this season.  Let me explain, he's been a little under the weather and had missed his first few games.  The six hour drive is worth every mile to see him play!  I have now been to many, many soccer games, and still don't understand it like I should.  I've learned terms like hand ball, corner kick, and goal kick (although I still don't really know what they mean).  What I do know is that it's lots and lots of fun, and he loves it!  That's all that matters.  His team is undefeated, and he scored a goal during this game.

Rushing for the ball.

So much running...........

 

Working hard!

I love this cutie!

Go team!

Cheese! Pretend like you don't notice that Maddie is as tall as Reed and I...........

I'm so glad these two get to experience this together!  

In between packing and working on the house, I am heading to another soccer game tomorrow and a cross country meet this weekend.  I missed Maddie's meet this past weekend, and barring something major happening, I'll be there for the next one!

Sand Pile Fun!

Caleb and Taylor were busy part of this weekend, so the boys got to hang out with me.  (Pop was also busy working).  I told John Sawyer he could pick anything he wanted to do.  I suggested Chuck E Cheese, the barnyard, or the playground.  He said he wanted to go to the sand pile, so that's what we did! I have long lost count with how many hours we have spent there.  It started when Lindsey was about 2, and has continued until now.  Snacks and a picnic lunch complete the trips, and we can easily make a day out of it! 

I mean-what can be more fun! Sometime along the way, I realized that it was lots easier to strip down when you begin, rather than try and clean up later. John Sawyer was a pro in no time.

A dirty boy is a happy boy!

Jack was a little uncertain for about 2 minutes, then he happily joined in the fun.  No jumping yet for him though!

I'm going to share just a few pictures from the past.  This was Maddie when she was about John Sawyer's age.  She's almost a teenager, and still loves going.

I am pretty sure that this was her first trip.  She's about 18 months old here.

Reed was probably 4 here.

Even Pop gets in on the fun from time to time!

The sandpiles are also a great place to practice gymnastics.

Jump!!

Now, back to this weekend.  After we got home, we had rain and more rain.  After Jack's nap, we looked out and the yard was flooded.  That only provided more fun!  The boys had a ball!

Next up, soccer!!