Merry Christmas & Happy 2010!

It is about 9:30 on Wednesday night and we are finishing up the last minute details to start the trip to Illinois. Since I'm not sure when I'll be on the computer again I wanted to go ahead and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! It has been fun blogging this year and I look forward to sharing more with you next year.

Addie's First Christmas

We have a full day tomorrow and still have youth service tomorrow night, and we will also be leaving late tomorrow night to make the drive to Illinois, so today we celebrated our Chaney Christmas.

We were ready to go when Addie woke up from her first nap of the day. Her presents were waiting for her under the tree and the video camera was rolling. Of course she loved the paper and the bows, but she did pretty well at unwrapping her gifts. These are just a sampling of the many photos we took today.

We are looking forward to seeing our families and spending Christmas with them. We are hoping that by driving through the night the trip will be easier on Addie and in turn, easier on us. The last time we drove all the way through to Illinois was when she was two months old. In between we have flown and driven but stopped halfway through. Here's to hoping she'll sleep most of the way, especially since her car seat is not her favorite place to be these days.

It is fun celebrating Christmas with a baby. Even though we read the Christmas story from her children's Bible, we look forward to when we can explain to her what it is really all about.

I am thankful for God's provision and for the good day we had as a family, marking Addie's first Christmas together. I am also thankful that we are able to go home and celebrate with our families.

O Christmas Tree

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I would put up some photos of us decorating our tree. Turns out I have maybe six pictures and they're not really of the process...more of the end result.

The tree we have right now is the tree I bought for my first Christmas in my apartment in Belleville. It was just the right size for my small apartment and I got it at a good price. Plus, at the time, I did not have many ornaments so it was small enough to make it still look well decorated with the few I had. Since then I have been intent on stocking up on ornaments, but we have yet to upgrade. I keep telling Sabian we need to get a grown up tree. This one is simply too small for the ornaments we've collected and it just seems like we need something bigger. Whether real or fake, next year (or maybe with a deal on a tree this year) we need a new family tree.

While we were in Pigeon Forge in October we found our yearly family ornament.

Addie looks a bit tired because we toted her out to the beach that afternoon to try to get a Christmas card shot, but she was more interested in the sand and it was a little chilly and very windy while we were there. We did end up using one of the shots from that day as one of the photos on the card, but I think it wore her out a bit.

Addie helped me place our topper.


Here is our little tree with our many ornaments:

It is fun going through our ornaments each year at tree decorating time and remembering where and when we got them.

Addie is intrigued by the tree and has a few strategically placed ornaments she is able to play with, but it is when she goes for the lights, or pulls up on her knees and is able to reach to other off limits ornaments when the fun begins. This has been a good opportunity for teaching her what "No" means.

I am thankful for our tree and the time we had decorating it. Maybe next year we'll have a grown up version!

Fa-la-la-la-Finally

To be quite honest it hasn't felt much like Christmas to me. I'm sure there are several factors involved, but it really didn't start feeling like Christmas until this weekend. I finally broke out the Christmas CDs and we did a little shopping and then I jumped head first into some baking. I think it was the combination of those things that really got it started. I wanted to feel more "Christmas-y" especially for Addie's sake since this is her first Christmas, so I am happy that I finally feel like it is.

I'd decided to make a few sweets for a few people around town, namely, some neighbors and friends. I'd love to be able to give gifts to everyone but, like many families, we've scaled back a little this year and besides, who's going to turn down something sweet? So, I turned out some chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate, mint Oreo truffles, graham cracker yummies and a sweet staple, pretzel sticks dipped in milk chocolate and white chocolate. Due to my initial lack of wax paper the peanut butter cookies dipped in chocolate didn't come out quite like I wanted to, but lesson learned for next year. It was fun making it all and putting it together. We still have a couple of bags to hand out before we leave town.

Addie played with her dad while I toiled away in the kitchen, and when she needed a glimpse of mom, this is what occupied her:

We had several things going on over the weekend, but we took time out to take in the Wewa Christmas parade. We missed it last year because we were already home by the time the parade took place, but I was glad we were here to see it because I had heard good things about it. Addie really enjoyed all of the floats, the sounds, and especially the lights. Oh, and we discovered that the key to getting all the goods at a parade is taking a baby. We brought home plenty of candy and beads, but gave away the stuffed animals (yes, the Shriners threw stuffed animals!) that were thrown to us.

I must say, Wewa and the surrounding communities put on a good show. We saw horses and fire trucks and a few people we knew. Addie didn't flinch at the loud sirens and did really well through the whole thing. It was as little chilly, but I suspect we were quite a bit warmer than parade goers at Christmas parades back home!


I kept meaning to take a picture of Addie wearing all of her beads but as she is snoozing now I'm going to leave it to your imagination. Unless I remember to do it tomorrow. Although as soon as she sees them around her neck they're sure to go in her mouth.

I am thankful for a fun, good, productive weekend and for feeling more like it is Christmas.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Oprah, Ellen - admit it, we all wish we were on one of their shows when they are giving away a crazy amount of amazing gifts including Kindles, iPods, Blue Ray players and oh so much more. It leaves us all wondering, "How can I get on one of these shows?"

I realize I don't have the fame of either of these women, nor am I able to bestow gifts to all of my friends and their friends of friends, but I thought it might be fun to share a few of my (way more affordable) favorite things. We're less than a week out from Christmas and while many of you probably have your shopping done (not that I think that my favorite things would necessarily gift choices of yours) I still thought it would be fun to do. In no particular order:


1. The Bubble Calendar
Sabian saves me the bubble wrap from shipments because he knows I love to pop the bubbles. I think if we were all polled, many of you would also say this is fun. With this calendar you can pop a bubble a day. I think the hard part would be to not pop ahead.

2. Threadless Tees
My favorite t-shirt site! These guys have been offering crazy cheap Christmas deals on their tees, which are voted on to determine which tees will be sold on the site. They also sell shirts for kids and babies, as well as the hard-to-pass-up Hoodsies for babies. Join their Facebook group for special offers throughout the year and if you sign up for their emails you'll always know when new tees have been added and when sales are happening.


3. Method Products
Cleaning products for Christmas? I get excited around Christmas when I know I can find limited edition products by Method in holiday scents. I usually buy a festive hand soap (this year my choice is Peppermint Vanilla). They usually release new scents in candles, hand soap, diffusers, and other items around the holidays. This isn't a terribly exciting favorite thing, but it's just a little something to make it feel more like Christmas and you can find them at one of my favorite places - Target.

4. Cheesecake Factory cheesecake
Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a good sweet treat and who can pass up a cheesecake from this place? Some friends from home sent us one when we had Addie and I have to say, it ranks up there as one of the most fun gifts to open. I was so surprised to get it and even happier to eat it. My favorite is the brownie sundae, especially the hot fudge they give you to pour over it. No matter what flavor you choose, if you send one of these to someone I'm pretty sure they'll remember it always.



5. Fitz's Rootbeer
The way I see it, you really can't go wrong if you send someone the gift of food. Unless, of course, it is a fruitcake. You can have a case of any of Fitz's flavors sent straight to a friend so that they can enjoy it. I'm just sad they no longer carry Hip Hop Pop.


6. Philosophy Body Wash
This 3 in 1 shampoo, body wash, and bubble bath comes in scents including peppermint hot cocoa, belgian waffle, strawberry shortcake, and many more. I currently have it in cinnamon buns and I must say, it does make me look forward to my showers!


7. Little Pea
The Giving Tree is my all time favorite children's book, but Little Pea is a favorite, too. It follows a little pea who must eat all of his sweets to get to his veggies for dessert. Nevermind that he himself is a pea eating veggies...it is still a sweet gift to give. Books are good to give anyway, especially if you're not looking for more toys to take over your house.

8. Etsy
I could go on and on about Etsy, and I keep meaning to post about my obsession with this site. I could probably give a top 10 just of items and sellers I love on this site. It is the first place I look when I need a gift or when I'm looking for something for myself, for Addie and Sabian, or the house. If you don't know about it already and you like handmade items, take a look and get addicted.



9. Snuggle Pod Doll
I just ordered this for Addie for her birthday. Yes, we are still a couple of months away, but it was too cute to pass up.



10. Clinique Superbalm Lip Gloss
This stuff is awesome. It feels great on your lips and comes in a wide range of sheer colors, although I prefer the clear.

It's funny, as I was contemplating this post I thought of so many things to include on the list and then when it came to writing the post I seemed to have forgotten some of them. But, these are still some of my favorite things nonetheless. There are plenty more items I could put on the list, many of which are on my "wish list" for sometime in the future, but for now these are the ones that are a little more "feasible."

Today I am thankful that I feel a little more in the Christmas mood.

Starring Addie as....Baby Jesus

Yes, that's right, Addie made her acting debut over the weekend and she started off with a big role...Baby Jesus.

About an hour before our morning church service started Sabian called to ask me if it would be okay if Addie played the part in a living nativity our pastor was wanting to use for his sermon illustration. "Sure, " I said, fully knowing that Sunday morning service is always the same time when Addie would normally be taking a nap, so how long we last in service is always a gamble.

So, we got to church, hunted for something she could wear, and waited. When Mary and Joseph made their way to the stage, Sabian took Addie up and handed her over. The good thing was that "Mary" was being played by one of our teenagers from our youth group, a girl Addie already knows.

Waiting to go on:

Sabian took some video and I will post the shortest one. It is just over three minutes - really, you don't have to watch the whole thing, but here is a taste of how our little actress did. (Check out the historically accurate pacifier.)




For booking inquiries, contact mom.

I am thankful for a healthy, nine month old (!) Addie who is lots and lots of fun. Oh, and flexible. Not just any girl can play Jesus.

Lots O' Happenings

Phew. I guess I decided to take another blogging vacation - a blogcation?

Just a few days after my last post Addie and I were preparing to leave to go back home so that I could stand up for my friend, Kim, in her wedding. I was really happy to be going home and was looking forward to seeing my friend Kim, who I have missed seeing the last couple of trips.

Cold. It was cold in Illinois and even snowed while we were there. You can't tell in this photo, but it is snowing outside. Addie's first snow!

There really wasn't enough snowfall to speak of, but it was fun to know that we were there to see a few flakes nonetheless. Addie is sporting her PJs because we were at my brother's house hanging out with my niece, Eden. A taste of two babies - lots of fun but lots of work, too! One does not have enough eyes or hands to keep track of both. Hence, Eden dining on a little dirt as an after dinner snack. Oops!

The trip to and from home via airplane requires a layover each way. This time we stopped in Memphis and had fairly short layovers - just long enough for a diaper change and a little wait before we boarded the plane. The weather wasn't supposed to be great on the way back but our flights were on time and our last flight even left us with a free seat for Addie to play in while we traveled the last leg. She did really well both ways and we had great seat mates, people who understood what it was to have a little one. I was so grateful for their patience and kindness and even their help as we got off the plane. I was pretty glad that our last flight home was fairly empty, as Addie had a blowout diaper and I had the pleasure of squeezing ourselves into the bathroom, changing Addie without getting mess everywhere, all while bumping and bouncing to turbulence.

Oh, the turbulence. I'm not so great with motion sickness and both of our flights back to Florida provided many drops, bumps, and bounces, which was tough to handle. I think at first Addie thought the bouncing was a lot of fun, but I sure didn't agree. It was rough. Really rough. But, like I said, Addie did do well flying. No crying, a little fussing, but a whole lot of playing and smiling at our fellow passengers. Her favorite toy? The safety card. Curiously enough her favorite time to fall asleep was during our descent. It never failed, she was always snoozing by the time we landed.

Waiting for the plane:


One tired girl on the way to see Daddy (notice her "toy" in the seat with her):


The trip itself was a whirlwind. Never enough time at home. We spent time with my family, hit up my nephew's hockey game, and did a little shopping.

Addie was able to hang out with my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and Eden while I was at the wedding. We had a great time marrying off Kim and Vince and enjoying a good time at the Tap Room, celebrating their day. It felt a little weird, being out without Addie, but I think part of that had to do with leaving Sabian back in Florida, too.

The beautiful bride!

All in all it was fun to take a quick trip home before we'll head back for Christmas. I like when our trips are close together because then the goodbyes aren't so bad.

Hopefully in the next post I can share photos of Addie's first tree decorating experience. For now, we're battling what I think is a stomach bug, so rest is the first thing on my mind. We were sick right before we left and now when we get back. Hmm, is it something about Wewa? Ha.

I am thankful for safe flights to and from St. Louis and that Addie did so well on the trip. Oh, and for the clean house sans dirty dishes and dirty laundry when I got back. Even vacuum marks in the carpet!

Giving Thanks

This year we have much to be thankful for. When we were preparing our little meal last year we thought about what it would be like to celebrate with Addie. This year we were able to be thankful for her as well as God's provision throughout this year.

We've been enjoying a laid back few days, eating, eating some more, sleeping (some), and just taking it easy. It has been nice. Wednesday morning I took a little time for myself, having been confined to the house for three days. When I got back we started cooking.

A turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, a few rolls, and an apple crumb pie later and we were ready to dig in. After we ate we introduced Addie to the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special, although she was more interested in the DVD case than the show itself.On Thanksgiving Day we slept in - until 10! That would be impressive if Addie had slept all night, but she was up at 1 a.m. BUT, she did sleep straight until 10 after that. She's still a little under the weather, but much better than she was. We're working our way back to our "schedule" and to her feeling 100% better.

We walked to our next Thanksgiving dinner, which was probably a good thing since the spread there was pretty big. We enjoyed good food and great company and then walked home in the warm afternoon sunshine. We were able to iChat with my family later on and then watched a movie while Addie snoozed.

Now that we've given Thanksgiving the attention it deserves, it is on to Christmas. We put up our tree today (pictures to come later) and while Addie was awake to see us put it all together, shortly afterwards she took a dip in the bathtub and is now sleeping, so it will be interesting to see how she reacts, i.e., what she puts in her mouth, to the tree tomorrow.

I am thankful for my family, near and far. As much as I would have liked to have been with them this Thankgiving, I am thankful for the day we had and the generosity of others.

The Infirmary

Snot, sniffles, coughs, fatigue - this has been our life for the past few days. I haven't stepped foot outside in three days. Check that - I did step a foot outside of the front door this morning, but that's been it. Cabin fever is settling in. Can you detect the insanity in this post?

It started with Addie's sniffles and a trip to the doctor on Friday. I've told myself I don't want to be one of those moms that jumps at the tiniest of things, but we were heading out of town that afternoon to take some students to youth convention in Pensacola and I wanted to make sure it was okay to take her. The doctor, who got us in an hour after I called, prescribed three days of antibiotics and gave us the green light to go ahead. There was an inkling in my mom brain to stay behind, but for a few reasons, plus the doctor's go ahead, I felt okay to move ahead.

By Saturday I was feeling a little light headed and had a bit of a cough. I knew I was sharing Addie's junk. Despite her sniffles, she did really well on the trip and kept her spirits high for the most part.

To be on the safe side Addie and I stayed home from church Sunday morning and planned to join in the Thanksgiving festivities that night at church. By Sunday afternoon I realized that wasn't going to happen. While Addie seemed to be feeling better, I was feeling worse. As of Monday morning, the two of us were in the same boat again. I told Sabian last night I was going to cut my nose off, I was so sick of the sneezing and the dripping and the blowing.

Today, I am happy to report I am feeling much better, but I can hardly jump up and down since Addie is still not feeling well. From time to time she lets her happy self shine through, but I can tell she just feels bad. I hate that, and I am frustrated. I'm not frustrated with her, just frustrated that I can't make it better, especially when I know she is crying just because she hurts. Being sick and caring for a sick baby is way different than those "I remember when" days when it was just me and if I was sick, I slept. Now, it doesn't matter if mom is sick - someone else still needs to be taken care of. But, Addie has been a good sport, hanging with me in front of the TV or on the couch or in bed.

So much for getting ahead on our Thanksgiving planning. We are having our own little dinner like we did last year, but we will prepare it tomorrow. Thursday we will head to the home of our good friend/neighbor/church member/surrogate mom and grandma, Connie, and enjoy Thanksgiving with her family. Then, hopefully, we'll be able to take advantage of a laid back, plans free weekend that will hopefully include a healthy Addie.

I am thankful for Sabian, who has been taking care of us as much as he can, and Lee Ann, who thoughtfully brought us dinner for tonight! One less thing I need to think about, which is great!

Fight for Preemies

Today we are fighting for preemies.

If you don't know much about premature births, find out more. I once participated in a March of Dimes walk but was really unaware of all that surrounds preemies until I read of my friend Jamie's experience with her daughter Adali. Simply reading of her experiences in no way gives me any real knowledge of what it is like to fight through their journey, but to see how Adali is growing and learning and thriving is really nothing short of a miracle. God is so good.

I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting this precious little girl, but I hope to one day (and I hope Jamie is okay with me mentioning them in this post). I was trying to decide what to write about today and visited her blog only to learn that November 17 is set aside to fight for these little babies. So, why not join it?

I'm still learning, and in the process I am very thankful for a healthy Addie - her safe arrival and healthy existence is not lost on me. Her safety and health are two great reminders of how I (we) need to look at others who need prayers, help, and if possible, a hug and a few words of encouragement. We may not fully understand the experience, but we can certainly be available to help.

My Girl

It is still hard to believe that Addie has been here for less time than it took to keep her safe in my belly. But, just one more month to go and she'll beat that. She was eight months old on Thursday, something that still blows my mind. Everyone said and says, "The time goes by so fast," and it is so true. I don't know where the time goes, and I know, of course, that she is growing because I see it happening right before my eyes, but it is still hard to believe.

It is wild to see her sit at the table and feed herself a cracker. Just the other day I saw her sitting up, but realized when I'd looked at her just seconds before, she was lying down. It was then that I realized she was able to get into the sitting position from her back all on her own. She catches a glimpse of her hand and turns it around and around, moving her fingers, analyzing them and their movement. She babbles and babbles and babbles...loudly. She turns when we call her name, whether we call Addie or Adelaide. She stands up in our laps, and she is getting oh so close to crawling. Even without the crawling she makes her way around. She emphatically shakes her head no, even if she wants whatever it is you have.

Sometimes she still gets up at night. Sometimes she lays her head on our chests. Sometimes she doesn't want to take a nap, or at least doesn't want to be put down awake. Sometimes she needs to be rocked. Sometimes she likes to bite when she is eating (ouch). Sometimes she bites down on the spoon and won't let go or sticks out her tongue and blows, spraying baby food all over. Sometimes she looks deep into my eyes, locking her gaze on mine, before she is soon distracted by a shadow, a bird, or the beep of the oven timer.

It is always fun to watch her, even though some days it is tiring. When she wakes during the night it can be frustrating, not knowing why she does it when I know she can sleep the night through. There are times when we have to talk over her in the car, when she's feeling particularly chatty. There are days when after she is in bed, my back aches and there is still laundry to be folded and dishes to be done.

I am always willing to rock her, even if some say it means I'm spoiling her, because I know this time is short. I kiss her cheeks until they are pink, because I know one day she won't let me. We throw her into the air or flip her upside down, because those are two things that generate the biggest laughs.

I will always be grateful for these times and I will always, always be thankful for my girl.

Mountainfilm Fun

Last weekend we had a dose of home via a visit from my sister and brother-in-law. They were actually staying about an hour from us in WaterColor, which is a beach community that is primarily populated by tourists but there are some full-time residents in the area, too. The community itself is pretty cool and we had the good fortune of being able to stay with them overnight on Friday and spend most of the day Saturday there.

The big event for the weekend was Mountainfilm, a film festival that finds its home in Telluride, CO but travels to the gulf coast once a year as well. My sister usually makes it down here for the festival and this year we were joining them. It runs for two nights but we just attended Friday night. Films are shown outdoor on a huge, inflatable screen against a backdrop of awesomely lit trees (see photo above. I think that photo is circa 2002-03). They even offer fire pits and you can make s'mores for free! The program runs for about three hours each night and features short films or excerpts of films exploring a variety of topics.

It was a chilly night! We came prepared with sweatshirts, jackets, and blankets and created a cozy cocoon for Addie, who fell asleep during the second half of the evening. We enjoyed spending time with some of my sister's friends and met some new people as well.

Here is Addie, ready to greet the chilly night:


Saturday was a lazy, beautiful day. We started at the Farmer's Market in WaterColor and then ended up with lunch before we headed back to Wewa and a busy Sunday. It was good to hang out with Les and Dan and to see what Mountainfilm is all about.

If you're interested, this was one of our favorites from the night. It is just under five minutes and worth the viewing, I think.

I am thankful that we had some time with my sister and Dan and that Addie did well during the festival. We'd love to make it to Telluride one year...we'll see!

Happy Halloween in November

So, I'm late on posting about Halloween. I quickly took pictures of Addie as we rushed out the door to our church's Fall Festival on the 31st, but thought we'd end up staging Halloween later and take some other photos with Addie's first pumpkin. It didn't happen. We did have the pumpkin but never got the chance to carve it and we just never dressed her up again to take new photos. I really wanted her to have a cute first pumpkin - maybe next year.

Originally Addie was going to be a cute monkey, with mom and dad as bananas. When I learned it was going to be 80 degrees on Halloween I quickly nixed that idea. How could I put my sweet girl in a heavy, stuffy costume in that heat? Instead, I found a cute idea in an magazine that seemed easy enough so I forged ahead with my noncrafty self and set about to get it together. Easier said than done. Oh, and that 80 degrees? Seems a cold front came through and it ended up being very chilly that night. It was wonderful, but not what I'd anticipated.

It may not seem like it by the pictures, but pulling her costume together was a lot easier said than done. Note to others - if you are looking for long johns or sleep sets in any solid color for babies, you're out of luck. Well, unless you do some preplanning or you're more resourceful than I am. Same goes for solid color party hats. Yes, that's right. You'd think those would be easy to find, but think again. If you're looking for Dora the Explorer, Transformers, or any other character, you're in.

After running around to more stores than I wanted, and after rinsing, re-rinsing, bleaching, and rinsing (again) my washer to make sure all of the red dye was gone, this is what we had:






The cutest red crayon I've ever seen. I'm a little proud of how she turned out. We ended up having to cover her up when it got chilly, but I think Addie's first stab at dressing up was a success. I'm just looking forward to when she gets older and I can raid her Halloween candy stash.

Nice to Meet You, Ida

I celebrate a year blogging anniversary and then apparently decided to take a break. A few things to catch up on. First, Ida.

As of yesterday afternoon all of the schools in our county and some in neighboring counties had already decided to call off classes for today. This is something I'm still getting used to - snow day, anyone? I hadn't been watching the news so I didn't really know what was coming our way, so when I heard this I was a little surprised. It was dreary all day yesterday and started raining during the early evening, but I hadn't thought much of it.

We went ahead and ventured out to get some groceries and by the time we returned home it was raining steadily. We got the groceries put away, put Addie down for the night, and settled in to catch up on some TV. Around 11 Sabian and I started a rousing game of Tetris and weren't playing too long before the power went out. We brought out the candles and the flashlights, stayed up just a little bit longer, and went to bed as the rain and wind pounded us. The wind was seriously howling.

All in all this is the first we've really seen of any tropical weather since we moved here, and even at that it wasn't bad. I mean, Lake Chaney didn't even appear! In the last year there were two other hurricanes/tropical storms that were "supposed" to make their marks but ended up making more of an appearance in the Midwest than here. Our only casualty was this:
We don't have a garage so we've been using a tent as a carport for our car. It is a large tent you might set up a picnic table under, or some such thing. My dad had it and gave it to us when we moved down here, but for some reason we didn't get around to putting it up until a year later. It was great for keeping the car protected from the sun during the summer and nice when it was raining and I was getting Addie in and out of the car. Even with all of the warning and time we had to prepare we didn't even think about taking it down and as a result, we've lost it. I really can't pinpoint why we didn't think about it. In the end it just stinks that we have to trash it, but that's our lesson learned. I even remember saying, when we put it up, something about making sure we took it down when we knew storms were on the horizon. Oops.

In the midst of it all Addie snoozed through the howling and raining. We didn't hear a peep from her until about 9 this morning.

Today I am thankful for God's protection during the storm and while we headed out to get our groceries last night. Oh, and that the power wasn't out for too long so that we didn't lose said groceries!

P.S. - More posts to catch up on - I'll try today and the rest of the week.

Happy Anniversary to Me!

One year ago today I started this blog. I was pregnant and not quite six months into our adventure of living in Wewa. I was still feeling the heavy weight of starting over somewhere new and I was figuring out what my place was, all the while in the midst of a very happy time - Addie was on the way.

It is a year later and we have our silly, happy, funny girl here. I'm still figuring out my place and at times that weight of being somewhere new is still heavy, even over a year later. But, some days it's not as heavy and I have new friends to share new things with, and family and old friends to share new and old things with, and I can look back over this year since I have started blogging about Wewa and our family and see God's protection and provision in our lives.

It all started with a dog and a bunny and has moved on to other subjects, some of which I hope you find interesting. Even if it's not interesting or the day-to-day of our lives is a little bland, I still appreciate that you visit and read and accommodate me as I do this. ;)

I am thankful for each of you who visit this blog. I know many of you keep us in your prayers and many of you keep in touch on a regular basis - we are so thankful and blessed!

Hello, Beach

After our adventures to other places while on vacation we decided it was time to revisit a favorite destination closer to home. We were out running errands on Thursday and took the long way home so that we could stop by the beach. It was a beautiful day.

On the way to the beach I turned around in my seat to catch Addie doing this:

I get the feeling she thinks she is ready for a forward-facing seat. I think I'd get bored looking at the back of a seat, too.

I complain about the heat that we're experiencing here because I long for the change of the seasons - it is one of the things I miss most about living in the Midwest. While on vacation it was so nice to see the colorful leaves and to feel the cool breezes and to wear hoodies! But, being on the beach for that little bit the other day, it sure was nice outside, feeling the warm sun on our cheeks and being able to enjoy it given that it is almost November. I think one of the reasons I have been complaining about the heat lately is because it is a little too warm for this time of year - even the weather people are saying so. See, I am justified...

We took a little walk and met up with a fisherman, who pulled this out of the water:

I've never seen a stingray this big on the beach. But, despite this occurrence, Addie was more interested in watching the birds. Gee, I wonder who she gets that from.

Check out all of her hair, blowing in the wind!

So here we are, getting resettled in Wewa and preparing for a busy couple of months. I am thankful we have moments when we can just enjoy the sand between our toes and feeling the waves crash against our legs. Right now it really is one of those little things that we can appreciate.