And we just keep growing!

Although I am a Raleigh native, my heart has always been in Grand Rapids, Michigan where my extended family lives. Growing up, we visited every summer. I got to see all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Swimming at Grand Haven beach was the best-lots of waves and no salt in your eyes! After I became a teenager, for some reason, we stopped going. I guess my family had life get in the way-college, marriages, babies. I felt like a part of me was missing. My favorite uncle to see was Jack Norman (Lentz). He was a previous firehouse chief and a fantastic cook! The women loved him at restaurants and boy, could he flirt, although he only had eyes for Aunt Mert. He passed away a few years ago and I was unable to attend his funeral. I should have just slapped that plane ticket on a credit card and called it a day, a moment I will never get back. More relatives have passed and others are growing older. Recently, our family acquired a third (yes third!) dog. He was being given away for free and I couldn't bear to think of what could happen to him. A quick picture to my husband and our family was the proud new owners of a 7 week old, blonde, lab/husky mix, named appropriately "Jack Norman." He is growing like a weed, loves to "talk" and make lots of mischief. Reminds me of someone I will always love and remember. He is my daily cardinal that I get to see every day and be whisked right back into that recliner sitting on Uncle Jack's lap. I think he would have liked him.

Savoring the Moments

I thought of my blog for some reason today and looked it up on Facebook. It has been 5 years since I have posted! How can I fit the past 5 years into one post? Just like all families, we've had our laughter and our tears, our stressful times, and our slow and steady days. James and I only have 2 kids "officially" left at home and I definitely am feeling the empty nest syndrome! We still talk about moving to our mountains when our last one goes to college; however, it pains me when I look at houses and try to imagine moving without kids. As I write this, I'm looking out of the window and Ethan and Mary are playing soccer together on this crisp, fall day. Ethan would play soccer 24/7 if he could and plays varsity for NCA. After being a competitive cheerleader for 5 years, Mary decided to take a break (and momma did, too), but realized that being inactive is not in her genes. She was on the swim team this past summer and plans to play soccer in the spring. You can still find her stunting in her room on any given day though! Bryce graduated and is attending Montreat College near Black Mountain. It truly is a beautiful college; it's 102 years old,made of stone, and has a shining lake in the middle.
We are still living in our cabin in Wake Forest, NC. I still love living out here on our couple of acres while being close to Raleigh and all its amenities. James is excelling in his job at Merz North America and is lucky to sometimes be able to work at home. I am still a nursing case manager for medically fragile children and work remotely.
We are finally in the midst of planning some renovations on our cabin! It's been a long time coming. We haven't focused too much on it over the years; we have enjoyed camping, four-wheeling, and just hanging out whenever possible.
It's finally showing fall temperatures outside after a very long summer, complete with hurricanes Florence and Matthew. Halloween is in less than 2 weeks and I have already begun shopping for Christmas! Time truly does fly when you are getting older. Next time I blink I hope to have a house full of grandchildren! Woah...not that fast! Here's to falling leaves, football, the state fair, and God's mercy on our thoughts and actions as our days go by. Praise him from whom all blessings flow!

Slowing down to enjoy the finer things in life

We have been living in our sweet log cabin for over 6 months now; the time has flown by! Although it has been an adjustment living in yet another location, this move was definitely one to appreciate. Having more land means the kids scooter, climb trees, enjoy smores, and we are learning to slow down. When it recently snowed a couple of weeks ago, the entire family walked through our backyard onto the adjoining Brevofield  Golf Course. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and completely quiet. Until we let the dogs loose that is! It was our puppy Lucy's first snow and she loved it! Each kid made their own snowman (actually, Mary made a snow kitty), right in the middle of the fairway! Can someone say "Fore?"

Say It Isn't So!

I can't believe that another year has come and gone. This past year has truly been a whirlwind and one of many changes. Some easy, some hard. Probably the biggest change is that we moved (I know, this happens about once every 2-3 years with us) After being in Knightdale for 5 years, we decided to traverse towards Wake Forest. We wanted more land for the kids to run around, no HOA's to tell us when to take our Christmas lights down, and less house to clean. Since we are all-time mountain lovers but James's job was just too good to give up in these times, we brought the mountains to us! We bought a log cabin on 2 acres of wooded land. I will admit that the excitement waned quickly after we moved in for me. Log cabins are dark inside (our old house was nothing but windows-but that let too much heat in), our master bath and closet are about 1/8 of what we had before, there is no attic, no garage, no walking down sidewalks to wave hello to friends....and no worrying about our kids getting hit in the street, or not being able to play outside because it's too hot (lots of shade here), and we still have lots of friends nearby! Plus, there is the daily beauty of crossing over Falls Lake 4 times on the way to school-always breathtaking!
We acquired Inez, an outdoor tabby cat, from the previous owner. She is a great mouser! We also rescued Lucy, a lab/beagle mix. They were added to our mix of Lizzy and Lennie. Lizzy is still getting used to Lucy, who is a short dog, but thinks she is huge!
Christmas in a log cabin is beautiful, and we can't wait for our first snow. It will be fun to pull sleds behind a golf cart!!
Bryce settled into 7th grade well. She played soccer this past spring, volleyball this fall, and is presently cheering again, coached by yours truly! The team is young but enthusiastic! Ethan has had a lot of homework in 3rd grade, but had a boy is very own age just move next door. He can't be happier than when he is playing in the woods. Mary is in second grade and has her same teacher as last year. She still is our sunshine and has such a sweet spirit. She has discovered gymnastics and drives us crazy practicing cartwheels all over the house! James will be wrapping up his master's degree in 2 months-I know that he will be so glad. It has been a long road for him, but we are so proud. I was able to land my dream job and work from home, still being a nurse! It keeps my children at Neuse Christian Academy, where they love school and I know they are loved back! And they can praise God whenever they want ! I truly thank God for all of our changes as I know "he has great plans for us"!

Disney for Christmas!

We have always had a big Christmas. Lots and lots of presents, considering all of our immediate family lives close by. In fact, we used to do what a lot of people do-clean out the toy bins before Christmas to get ready for more! So, this is NOT what Christmas is about! This year, we wanted to focus on HIS birth and quality time with each other. We attended a wonderful Christmas eve service and sung our favorite Christmas hymms, listened to the Christmas story, and held candles to remind us of the single star that shown over Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The next day, the kids opened presents from Santa, and then a letter from James and I. We had told them that we were going on a trip that week, but they didn't know where. They opened up the card and were so excited to see a picture of Mickey Mouse! It was very crowded, but the weather was beautiful. We went to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom (my favorite), and the new Legoland! Definitely a Christmas to remember..for all of the right reasons!









Another apple falls from the tree..

The cheerleading tradition continues! Bryce is cheering for the middle school basketball teams at Neuse Christian Academy and is doing great! She is a "flyer", which means she is the stunt cheerleader. She is so tiny that it makes it easy for these girls to toss her up towards the sky! I wear my nurse/mom hat and watch every move she AND her spotters make. That's precious cargo after all...



Hikin' Hopps!

James and I love to be outdoors. We want our children to know that there is more to life than video games and tv. When our family is in the mountains, our children seem to come alive! They explore, climb, and basically do anything that uses their imagination. We have gone on short hikes as a whole family, but hope that our children will one day be able to join us on our quest to hike the entire Appalachian Trail! This time, James and Bryce hiked South Mountain with our dear friends-Ken Kramer and three of his children: Nicholas, Abby, and Jessie. They all had a blast (even though is got very cold at night). Now that we've got some good hiking under our belts, hopefully next year we can take the younger children...as long as they can carry their own pack!