Thankful

We celebrated Thanksgiving in South Carolina with Grandpa this year, and our plan for quarantining for 14 days before seeing grandparents was easy since soccer has ended and we are all safely tucked away at home.  There have been so many times that I've appreciated curbside pick up for groceries, online shopping (God bless Amazon Prime), and technology to connect with family and friends, but never more so than during this pandemic.  There is SO much to be thankful for this year, and we had a gratitude wreath in our kitchen for the month of November.  Each day, we wrote something down that we were thankful for and added that "leaf" to the wreath.  We had a similar craft last November, and one of our favorite parts of getting out our Thanksgiving decorations was to read everyone's submissions from 2019.  On the top of our gratitude list is FAMILY, and we were delighted that we were able to spend Thanksgiving with Grandpa:

Another gift to be thankful for was the amazing beach weather while we were in SC.  High 70's and sunshine meant that we had perfect beach conditions on Thanksgiving day/weekend: 

We took walks on the beach, played Pickle, and the kids dug in the sand.  Leah even went in the water on both of our beach days, and declared: "It's not THAT cold!".  

We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner with Grandpa and a great time with him.  As Leah told her class, "Everything is just more fun at a grandparent's house!" 

One other November highlight is that Daddy ran in a half marathon!   We are SO proud of him, and he achieved his goal of completing the race in under two hours.  Mark set a great example for all of us about setting a goal, working hard, and accomplishing it.  Here are his biggest fans, cheering him on:

Way to go, Big Boss!  

You amaze and inspire us every day, and we are so thankful for you!

Mountain Getaway

We rented a cabin in the NC mountains for a few days in mid-November and this was the most perfect autumn getaway.  The view from our cabin was gorgeous, and as the morning fog cleared, we had  unobstructed and expansive vistas of the Blue Ridge mountains.  We sat out here with snacks and wine as the sun set and marveled at the beauty:

The cabin had balconies from each bedroom and floor to ceiling windows.  The kids loved getting in the outdoor hot tub each night, and it was a relaxing, fun way to spend time after dinner:

L&L logged on to remote learning from the cabin, and Leah chose to complete her schoolwork from the loft/office area.  Look at that little Peanut in that big desk chair! 

Luke did his remote learning from the comfort of his bed.  Don't you love that he claimed the room with the chessboard as his?

The kids played chess and read books, and their favorite features of the cabin were the pool and ping pong tables:

We also went hiking and fishing, but I didn't take many pictures of our outdoor activities:

It was such a wonderful few days in the mountains, and we are so lucky to be able to have this opportunity this fall while the kids learn online.

   

Back at home, we've had some excitement in the great outdoors, too.  Last month, Mark noticed 2 sets of beady little eyes peering at him from our persimmon tree when he took Millie out at night.  It turns out that we have a baby raccoon and an opossum who have decided to call our yard home.  We've named them Percy (the 'possum) and Simon (the raccoon), because Percy + Simon = Per-Si-mmon (Tree).  We never know when they are going to be in the tree, and these nocturnal visitors have gotten quite brave.  One morning, I looked out, and Simon was still up in the tree....waaaaaaayyy up high.  Since it was dawn (and there was a bit more light), I was able to take photos of him with my zoom lens, and I watched him climb down and scamper away into the yard awhile later:

Where's Waldo?: Percy & Simon edition.

Simon's favorite perch, near the tippy top.

All was good until one evening, Leah and I went out to look for our friends in the tree.  She squealed and exclaimed, "Mommy, Simon is on the front porch!" (literally a foot away from the front door where we walk out with Millie numerous times each day).  He was hiding behind a planter, and, in a moment of panic, I asked Mark, "He can't open the front door with his paws, right?"

A little too close for comfort.

It makes me wonder how many other evenings he's been in this same spot...

Needless to say, the planters were removed the next morning, and we hope that the tree is a more appealing place for our little masked buddy to stay.  Percy has proven more challenging to photograph, but here are a few pics of him:

Never a dull moment living here in "cute country", and as of this week, we spied not one, but two opossums enjoying a midnight buffet of persimmons.  They are multiplying!  Although this has been educational for the kids and entertaining for our family, I may just be looking forward to the upcoming season when all of God's woodland creatures take a long winter's nap!   

October, this year...

October, this year, was grandparent visits and beautiful fall colors.  It was fishing, Bible reading, and drive thru flu shots.  It was birthday celebrations (Mommy's), receiving lots of doodle kisses and affection from our sweet fluffy girl, and curling up with good books on the porch.  It was baking all the apple and pumpkin things, serving our community, and hours upon hours of L&L playing outside in our neighborhood (riding bikes, having Nerf Wars, and just being kids).     

October was lots of quiet snuggles at home, and also appreciating the weekly activities on our schedule that provided a sense of normalcy, structure and routine (soccer games, Facetime piano lessons, and outdoor worship services).  It was enjoying the safety that outdoor activities provided in the midst of COVID, and soaking in all of these moments before colder weather comes:

Coach Mark with Leah's soccer team, the Baconators.

Our friend is the best team dad ever! He bought a bacon costume and is now the "mascot"! 

     

When your younger siblings' soccer team has a theme, you "happily" don all the bacon.

I wonder (and know) how much screen time he was bribed with to wear this?!

Snuggles with Bean.

Baking Mommy's birthday cake.

Bean and Poppy with our pajama-clad girl.

Painting fire hydrants as a service project for church. 

Biking on a gorgeous fall day.

Leah's colorful maple foliage.

The fish are still biting in October.

This girl loves fishing with Gawa.

Someone is noticeably taller than Mimi now...

...but still hasn't quite caught up to Gawa!

Annual Ad Fontes Bible Reading (2020 edition, with masks.)

October was rising COVID numbers, continued controversy over mask wearing, monitoring public health metrics, and attempting to understand how opinions about this pandemic have become so divisive.  It was contentious school board meetings, anxiety and tears about the best option for our children's education during this unprecedented time, and peace once we made the decision to lock into remote learning for the duration of the school year.  It was grief when Leah lost her wonderful team of teachers to be placed into the newly formed virtual classroom at her school, and then relief knowing that she's safe at home and has a new, devoted, great teacher.  It was acknowledgement of how blessed we are that our family situation allows for us to make this option work, and a constant, intentional reframing to a lens of gratitude.

Art Class at home:

Using objects in nature to design this wonderful puppy creation.

PE this month:

When you show up to run with your BFF at the park and you are wearing matching shirts!

Our family helper raking leaves.

October was election fatigue, carefully explaining politics and the need to respect differing opinions to our kids, while simultaneously trying to make sense of how issues that seem so fundamentally basic and clear to us are viewed so differently by many people in our "village".  It was remembering our many blessings every single day, praying, and having faith that God has wonderful plans for our nation and His children.  It was learning and relearning that 2020 is the ultimate "gotcha" for a planner, that causes one to pivot constantly, and doesn't allow for any coasting.  It's creatively rethinking annual traditions, reminding ourselves of the opportunities that this year has given to us that we never would have if life had stayed "normal", and navigating the continued roller coaster of COVID-19.   It was exhaustion at the inability to plan for the future, and the many unknowns of the days/weeks/months ahead.  

And still, life goes on, and a new month has begun.  Each day, we will seek and find the moments that bring us joy.  We will focus on all that is uplifting and hopeful and kind.  We will hug and love our babies, and we know that God is in control and is using these experiences for good.  He is using this unprecedented year to show us how and where we need to grow, and we will continue to trust in Him.  We have high hopes for November, and pray for all that the future holds.