Time Travel

So, Facebook does this "thing", where it reminds you of posts that you've shared on the same date in past years.  These memories are a way to mentally travel back in time, and they remind me of how quickly life changes.  Today, this memory popped up on my Facebook feed:

This picture was taken 3 years ago today, on Luke's last day of South Carolina kindergarten.  I dropped him off in the morning carpool line, and before he walked into school, he turned and gave me this cute little wink.  It was a very uncertain time for our family.  Mark's position at GE in SC had been eliminated, and we had gone through several months of soul searching before we decide to relocate to North Carolina, where Mark found a job with a new company.  At the time that this photo was taken, Mark had already started work in NC and I was holding down the fort in Greenville with two young children and a dog, counting the days until Christmas break, when we would join him in temporary corporate housing and begin the next chapter of our lives.  There were tough months ahead of us, in a tiny apartment without the comforts of our belongings, not knowing when our house would sell, unsure of where our new home, community, and school would be, and without the wonderful support system that we had built in South Carolina.  

Traveling back in time to that adorable photo of Luke, I wish I had known what that wink indicated.  It's as if he's saying, "We've GOT THIS, Mommy.  The blessings of the next 3 years will blow your mind!"   

That wink now says to me, "You will find a beautiful new home, Leah and I will go to a wonderful school, and we will live in an amazing community full of people who will become dear friends and family to us.  We will join a church where we will be lifted up in the body of Christ, and there will be so much joy in watching us grow..."    

Leah is now the same age as Luke was when he gave this prophetic wink, which makes it easy for me to recall this period of our lives.  Emotions always seem to be heightened around the holidays, too, and it's a time where it's easy to look back with sentimentality and nostalgia.  I recently peeked at some pictures in our family blog books of the kids decorating our Christmas tree in SC, and they seem so little...  

But, if we travel in time to present day, I see that Luke was right:  Blessings abound, and life is full of darling moments. 

There are letters to Santa that make us smile and school work that makes us giggle:

There are holiday parties to plan, and festive snacks to prepare:

There are field trips, fun with friends, and stars that guide our way and remind us of the true reason for this season: 

Side note:  I had an entire blog post planned about this field trip to Old Salem, where I chaperoned Luke's third grade class. It is a lovely, historic village which depicts the first American Moravian settlement here in the mid 1700's, and a neat way for these kiddos to literally time travel for a day.  There are restored buildings, actors in period costumes, a living history museum, and quaint shops and buildings.  The village was decorated beautifully for Christmas, and Moravian stars illuminate the covered bridge and serve as an important symbol of Advent.  And among all this picturesque beauty, these are the photos that I captured of our day:   

 I chased 8-year olds and took pictures the backs of their heads as they ran with unbridled enthusiasm through the village.  They only sat still to eat the treats that they purchased at the Old Salem Bakery, and then wore off the effects of that sugar high with silly antics such as these for the next few hours: 

 Finally I got smart, and realized that I had a group of bookworms.  I took them into the bookstore, and here is how we spent the last beautiful half hour of our day in Old Salem:

Thank you, God, for peaceful moments and inquisitive minds!

There is so much to celebrate this Christmas season.  If you would have told me three years ago that the little boy who winked at me would wear that same Santa hat as he helped his Daddy make a delicious dinner for the ladies in his life, I would have been amazed.  

So, although it's fun to do a little bit of time traveling this time of year, it's clear that there's no place I'd rather be than the present.  Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  

Fall Favorites

Before winter officially begins, I wanted to post the rest of our fall pictures that I haven't had a chance to share yet.  This fall flew by.  It was a whirlwind of soccer games, football weekends, visitors, and activities with friends.  The Rubies (Leah's soccer team) finished their fall season last month with Coach Mark and I adore their team picture above.  Often, our Saturdays this fall involved one or both kid's soccer games, and then going to WFU to watch the Demon Deacons play:

Grandparents are the best fans, and we were lucky to have all four come to watch Luke and Leah play soccer this fall.  Grandpa was stuck with us when he had to evacuate Myrtle Beach during Hurricane Matthew, and I think the kids wanted him to permanently move in after his week at our house! 

Mimi came to visit in October, too, and was a big help taking care of everyone when Mommy got strep throat.  The kids both scored goals at their games during Mimi's visit (and Leah even got a hat trick!), and this was very exciting for everyone! 

Our Williamsburg contingent of soccer fans arrived with fun games and activities in hand, and the kids loved playing with Bean and Poppy at home before and after the soccer games that weekend.  We also had a chance to check out a new park in downtown Greensboro when B&P were here, and they brought some special toys from Daddy's childhood that L&L have since adopted, including Mark's eraser collection and monkeys.

Daddy's stuffed monkeys!

And here's the other grandchild, who pretends to be too old to walk up and down stairs anymore, but somehow snuck her way onto our couch and got caught in the act.  Good thing she's cute!

Other fall weekends were spent at birthday parties and playing with friends.  One of the kids' favorite days was when we met Luke's best friend, Aiden, and his family at the arcade/bowling alley.  We played Laser Tag (kids vs. parents of course!), arcade games, and the kiddos bowled while the adults socialized.  I'm not sure who had the most fun, the grown ups or the children!   

We also embraced our quiet times at home.  We hiked, we fished at our lake, and the kids played outside a lot.  We had beautiful, warm weather this fall, and filled our days with simple pleasures:

Sometimes, all it takes is a box and some markers to create a perfect afternoon!

We loved our fall, which was full of so many of our favorite things.  

And now, ready or not, here comes winter!

Tis' the Season!

Oh, my goodness-  It's December!  Every year, I think that I am ready for the holiday season, and each time, it ends up being pieced together in the weeks leading up to Christmas... and it always works out.  For example, this year, one out of two of our children has their 2016 ornament:

I picked out L&L's ornaments in October (plenty of time, right?)... and put it on my to-do list to order.  And by the time I ordered a few weeks ago, Luke's personalized ornament design was sold out and the lady who is making it told me that she had 109 orders ahead of me... so it may not arrive by Christmas.  Lesson learned.  So, here is what Luke's Pokemon ornament will look like when it arrives. Luckily, that dear boy didn't mind that it wasn't here when we decorated the tree last weekend:

Another example are the kids' Santa presents.  Luke was debating between asking Santa for a video game system (not happening!) or a NERF blaster.  I lamented to Mark, "So, the choices are screen time or a gun?!" and Mark calmly explained to me that a NERF shooter is perfectly acceptable for an 8 year-old boy to want/have and was not going to turn our child into a gun-enthusiast.

Meanwhile, Leah couldn't come up with a single thing that she wanted Santa to bring her for Christmas (This child is hard to shop for, and her early January birthday complicates things, too!).  She had been talking about getting a blue betta fish for her birthday next month, and one day, exclaimed, "Mommy, I KNOW what I want from Santa!... All of the accessories that I need for my fish, and a coupon to get the fish at the pet store!"   Thank you, sweet girl!!  Luckily, the elves at the North Pole seem to be handling all of the million and one details/requirements that are needed to add a pet fish to the family... (like a water heater, filtration system, the exact right-sized tank, water conditioner, food (pellets, not flakes apparently!), gravel, decorative plants, a background for the tank, LED lighting, a book on fish care, and a fish hammock.  Yes, a hammock.  For a fish.  Because apparently these things could be overwhelming for a Mommy.  Thankfully those elves don't get totally snookered at the pet store like a Mom and talked into buying ridiculous items for a $10 fish.  (Note:  As a child, I had goldfish that lived for 8 years in a glass bowl with none of the above necessities)...  And the elves should be able to make a blue betta stuffed animal to put under the tree at Mimi's house as a placeholder (so we don't have to transport a live fish from PA to NC)... which is a good thing... because the only other option in the entire world is a $40 stuffed betta on etsy.com if Mommy were buying this present, which is ridiculous.  So thank goodness for the magic of Christmas and those busy little elves, who always manage to figure everything out, even if there are funny stories that need to be documented in family blog books.

We're getting into the holiday spirit and decorated our Christmas tree last weekend.  It's one of our most adorable days all year, and I love it all: sipping eggnog, listening to Christmas carols, the ornaments clumped onto the bottom four feet of the tree, Winnie's costume, and of course our beloved Santa hat which makes its appearance on this day each December:



Tis' the season for fun Christmas activities, and we visited Santa this weekend, too.  Each child told Santa Claus what they wanted for Christmas, and I couldn't have been more delighted when Santa himself made Luke promise that his NERF blaster would never, ever be used to shoot at a person.  Just check out these expressions!  

Leah explained her whole fish idea to Santa, and when he replied, "That's a short list.  That's it?", Mommy quickly interjected, "Yes, Santa, that'll do- Thanks!"

 It's the first year that I've looked at a picture of my kids with Santa and realized how big Luke is.  I mean, his feet touched the ground and he didn't really fit on Santa's lap.  Nonetheless, this belief in the magic of Christmas is a gift, and I am going to cling to it for as many years as possible...

We're going to see Christmas lights this week, are enjoying our daily family Advent devotions and calendars, and are watching many classic animated holiday movies.  In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season, I'm intentionally pausing and savor the joy of Christmas, in the sweet faces of my dear Santas, which overwhelm me with love and provide sweet moments of grace each day.  Tis' the season!