We’ve been busy around here livin’ up the last days of summer. Ahhh, what a wonderful summer it has been. This is the first summer we’ve had in 8 years that all of our children are walking. I can’t begin to tell you the difference it made! We’ve had a newborn or a crawler every summer since 2004. This summer has been pure bliss.
Here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to lately:
Addy did a theater camp a couple weeks ago and LOVED it. She sang a little solo and did a great job. She wasn’t even nervous!
Our friends Curtis and Sara had their first big fundraiser to bring their son Porter home from Eastern Europe. It was a dream come true for us to be able to help and support them in person! They’re rescuing Porter from the place so dear to our hearts. Visit their blog here and follow their journey!
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| Daddy and Mommy are coming for you Porter!! 🙂 |
We also went to church camp at Triangle Lake. That was great fun! I was too busy chasing Seth to take any pictures so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
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| Dad and Maff |
My younger brother came home from New Jersey to visit. YAY!!! He also brought his super-amazing girlfriend Leesa home to meet the fam. Oh the chats, oh the eating, oh the fun! We crammed a lot of family time into those 5 days. Oh the eating!
We hiked Silver Creek Falls with all the cousins.
(To help balance out all the eating…)
Poor Jed had to work, so little bro helped out with the kiddos. I don’t think he’d quite earned Seth’s trust at this point…
Last night Jed and I went out on the town to celebrate our love for the 80’s. Our friends Gavin and Becki had an 80’s dance party fundraiser to help bring their sweet little Pasha home from Eastern Europe. It was AWESOME!!!!! We had a blast and a half. Jed was in rare form. Check us out!
In case you’re wondering, yes, I’m painfully aware of my husband’s attire. If you ask Jed to dress for an occasion there’s nothing that can hold him back. Shocking, blinding, bold, daring….all of those could describe Jed and his shorts.
Just keep that picture in mind if you ever consider inviting us to a themed party. Hehe. (I’m sure you’re already trying to forget…) 🙂 You can follow Gavin and Becki’s journey at their blog here.
What else have we been up to? Well, we’ve been selling things!
The clock is ticking and we need to get ourselves to Ukraine, so we’ve started clearing out the house.
Today was a big milestone in the house purge. Today we sold our dining room set. It was pretty emotional. I even cried.
When we started selling things off I felt it was pretty easy. I’m not really into “stuff” all that much and I thought I didn’t have any attachments to our things. I guess I was wrong. As I wiped down the table and chairs for the last time I bawled my eyes out. I thought of all the memories at that table. All the birthday songs sung around it, the school work done at it, the cookies decorated on it, the family meals, babies eating their first solid foods, holidays, card games, speed scrabble with Phil Collins Pandora in the background…
Life happened at that table. We grew as people, we grew to love people around that table. And now it’s gone.
Today as we ate our Sunday lunch on a blanket spread out on the floor we talked to the kids about changes coming up. We talked about why the table was gone and what would be leaving us next. I looked at their sweet faces and my eyes filled with tears again thinking of all the changes our family will go through this year. Then I remembered that the people who surrounded that table still remain even though the table is gone, and that’s what really matters.
So here’s to all the family and friends who have joined us around the table these past 10 years. Thanks for loving us and sharing your lives with us. And thanks in advance for sticking with us as we cry over dining room tables and couches. This process wouldn’t be nearly as great of an adventure if we didn’t have you to share it with.
That’s our lately. 🙂