Reception

The sweet ladies of Hickory Harvest Church hosted an amazing reception to welcome me to the church. We joked around that it was like I was getting married- it was so beautifully detailed! There were stunning flower centerpieces in greens and browns on each table, and I would have chosen exactly what they did if it had been my own wedding reception! I absolutely loved it. The vase in the picture was in the entry to the clubhouse. The girls who hosted it put together a basket of goodies for me (left side of the pic) including some of what you see above- notecards, giftcards, a door mat, a beautiful candle with the holder, and more. The treasure box on the right was opened and filled with cards welcoming me to the church family from the ladies who attended.

There was a beautiful spread of food as well, also perfectly presented and delicious! To my delight, the dessert table was not lacking in any way, especially in chocolate... I hope to post pictures of the actual reception soon! The "wedding cake" was a three tiered cake iced with green and brown- it may be the most beautiful cake I have seen!

What made the evening perfectly enjoyable was meeting and interacting with all of the sweet southern ladies from the church. I wish I had a day to spend with each of them! These people have taken our family into their fold and have embraced us with so much love and kindness. We have loved our time here so far and look forward to years of ministering with these people!

"The Nut" and Company

"KIDS!! It's time to head upstairs and put on your P.J.s! I'll be up in a minute!" The kids dutifully (sort-of) went upstairs, and soon it was pretty quiet. All except for some faint giggling coming from the back bedroom...
Upon further investigation, this is what I found! Two very happy nudie bootie monkeys jumping in the crib! I passed up the scolding for some pictures instead. How can you resist?? I'll save the PG pictures for our fam. :)

Strange and Obscure Item #6

If you haven't been keeping up, we are in the midst of posting a series of strange and unusual items left by the previous owner. Before anyone told me of this piece, I stumbled upon it in the storage space downstairs and at first glance was taken aback. These little guys are frighteningly life-like. Now honestly, is this a piece of art? I'm not so sure. There is more to come, still.

At Home with Mommy

While the big kids were at school, Macy and I had a little fun of our own! We made cookies and enjoyed a little finger lickin' as well. Macy was double dipping the beater every time I turned around (she didn't know I saw her reflection in the microwave)... but when she's just about as sweet as the cookies it's easy to let that slide!

First Day of School

McKinley May.
Shea love.
The Nut. I'm pretty sure that she loves dressing like the big kids. She gets to go to pre-school for three days a week and is SO happy about that!
Reilly
The kids were so excited for their first day of school! We are so glad that they are able to attend a Christian school here. The staff is great and we are receiving a classical education. Reilly and Shea are already learning Latin! Lots of fun, especially for daddy. I'm loving the uniforms. No more discussions (or debates) about what we wear to school. Reilly had to get a hair cut, and misses his long hair. He wanted me to tell everyone that. Well, I still have LOTS more pics from the summer, so I will keep posting daily so I don't get even more behind!

Thunder and Lightening

Tonight Kinley came to me and asked if it was raining. "What? No Kinley. We were just outside and it was really nice." She proceeded to tell me that she thought she saw lightening (not sure how she could identify it) and heard a "noise" so we peeked out of the blinds. Sure enough, it went from nice and clear to a thunder and lightening rain storm! Our first one since being here. The kids all got out of bed and watched for a while...but school starts tomorrow so they needed to get to bed.

Strange and Obscure Item #5

So he's kind of cute, but not something I would purchase for my lawn. Or my front porch. Beary is now at the dump.