Cabin Day!

Today we spent the afternoon out at the cabin with our friends, the Lindners.  Nolan was absolutely elated to get to spend time at his favorite place with some of his favorite friends!  (We were excited, too!) We went sledding and played in the snow for a while (throwing snowballs was the big hit...). It was unseasonably warm - 41 degrees - so it was really sloppy and wet but fun to get some fresh air.


These two buddies are too cute!  I'm so glad Nolan has a good pal in Isaac, and I love how the older kids play with them and look out for them.

After everyone was good and wet, it was time to head inside to warm up and have some snacks.  The kids watched a movie and played ping pong while the adults visited and it was such a nice, relaxing time.  Katie showed me the latest pictures she just finished editing of Olivia and they are gorgeous (see the next post...!)  and we finished up the evening with a yummy dinner.  

Eric and I have lived a lot of places in the past several years - and have been blessed with many wonderful friends along the way.  But, with every move, we struggle with leaving our old friends and with making new ones.  It can be so hard to meet people and build new friendships. We've been so unbelievably thankful and excited to have become friends with Katie and Andy and their family.  We look forward to many more fun times together and are so glad we got to have a special day with them at the cabin.

Scarf-ghan

When my parents came to visit last weekend, my Mom brought this scarf that my Uncle Todd made for me before I was born. This is one of my very favorite family treasures because of the story that goes with it. Uncle Todd was 12 at the time and had recently learned to crochet under the direction of my Great Grandma Lucy. He intended to make an afghan for the new baby boy in the family (my mom thought I was going to be a boy...much the same as I was certain Nolan was going to be a girl.) Anyway, the day came for me to be born and Grandma Edie told Todd it was time to go to the hospital to meet me, but the afghan wasn't finished. So he quickly tied on the tassels and the afghan became a scarf. I love that the stitches are uneven and the tassels are tattered and that it has a curve to it because of uneven tension, because I know it was made with love.  It's a good reminder of the purpose of giving - that the actual material gift is so much less important than the thought and love that goes into it.  

Nolan J. Ory, Author

Nolan's story as told to Mommy:

(Age 3)

Once upon a time there was a little duck having some tea.  And then he cried and got frozen in gold.  And he met some polar bears and ran away and screamed. And then he was happy again to see the polar bears so they could play catch.  THE END

Fussy Eater!

I gave Livi her first solids about six weeks ago and she still absolutely HATES everything I give her!  I have tried avocado, cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, and prunes and so far she is just not interested.  She makes such a horrified face - usually closes one eye, scrunches her nose, and sometimes even gags.  It's so surprising to me as she has looked interested in what I've been eating for months.  Here she is after an attempt of eating prunes...I'm nearly certain that NONE of it actually made it into her belly...!

Parade

Nolan has still been the king of early risers.  It is not uncommon for him to be up before 5.  And we have tried EVERYTHING to get him to sleep better.  His busy-boy brain just will not turn off long enough to get a good night's sleep.  This morning he woke Eric up at 4:45 to show him his "parade"...

Bring on the coffee...it's gonna be a long day.

My sweet babies

Don't I just have the sweetest babies?

Grandma and Grandpa come to visit!

On Valentine's weekend my parents came up to visit.  They got here late morning on Saturday - Nolan was on the lookout for hours from the front window.  We had a quick lunch together and Eric and I headed off to the Honda Dealer to get our new van - ("Happy Van-entines Day!), a 2016 Honda Odyssey SE complete with DVD player, automatic doors, and even a vacuum cleaner.  I still don't like change, so I was a ball of nervous energy until it was time to go, but I think we're going to love our new van.  After signing all the paperwork, we came home and the girls headed off to do some shopping.  We went to the brand new Hobby Lobby and wow, was I in heaven!  Aisle upon aisle of every possible craft project and cool home furnishings and lots of neat fabric...I think a nursery re-do is in order...more on that later!

The plan was to have a special meal that night to celebrate my dad's big promotion at work to Vice President of the company.  Eric cooked us bacon-wrapped filet, scallops and shrimp in a white wine butter sauce, crab cakes, macaroni and cheese, and roasted asparagus.  We also had cheesecake for dessert.  We are all so proud of Dad and his hard work and accomplishments.  The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed - church in the morning with my first rehearsal as the new choir director at Trinity, Culver's lunch with both sets of grandparents after church, and some play with the kiddos once we got home.  

Could this little peanut get any cuter - seriously?!?

Nolan and Grandma danced around the kitchen with Grandma sporting her cool helmet...

And Grandma and Grandpa brought some nice Valentine's presents - some books and treats, Ernie the Elephant for Nolan, and this adorable teddy bear for Livi.

We're grateful for a fun and relaxing weekend and look forward to more time together soon!