Playing Catch-Up

I haven't posted a a Friday Five in awhile.  We've been so busy!

1. It all started when we hit full steam ahead in preparations for our PIE NIGHT.  You read that right, PIE night! :)  We wanted to think of a way to have a little housewarming type of gathering but with the focus of welcoming to our home and THANKING the people who helped us move.  We settled on a pie night--as a drop in event it was low-key and flexible for the families invited--and we were able to invite everyone who pitched in on moving day,  my Bible study who prayed us through our move, and even our realtor!  When we first dreamed up the idea, I told Matt that I needed to make some kind of concession for myself being in the third trimester, something to make it do-able.  I decided that I might live in the South now, but I would allow myself to use all store-bought crusts to save on some of the labor in making the pies.  I made 8 different kinds of pie and doubled two of them for a total of 10 pies!  We had pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, banana cream pie (from scratch!), chocolate chip pie, raspberry lemonade pie, caramel pie, and blueberry pie.  We also had cool whip, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream to top the selections, and coffee, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider to drink.  Whew!  It was so fun to invite our friends into our settled home--the home they helped us settle into--and pie night was the perfect Fall-ish way to treat everyone--take one slice or 5, a sliver or a plateful.  We are considering making it an annual tradition!  Buuuut, next year we might make it a pie potluck. ;)  This year it was very important to me to make all the pies myself as we were thanking our guests.  If have a pie night open house next year, that particular point might be negotiable. ;)

the pecan pie!

2.  In preparation for pie night, we made a very determined effort to finish unpacking ALL THE BOXES.  Around my birthday we bought a china cabinet, and that paved the way for unpacking the dining room completely.  We unpacked everything in our bedroom except 2 boxes of books awaiting a bookshelf (hopefully coming to us from Asa's room when Matt finishes Asa's firehouse bookshelf), and the only room left with boxes is the guest room.  We just tidied the room up and stacked the boxes neatly on the far side (and maybe crammed some in the closet.... thankfully no one peeked in there ;) ).  It didn't make sense to bend over backwards to unpack the guest room when we are switching to operation: Lila's Room right after Thanksgiving. ;)

The new china cabinet!  A $150 steal!!

3.  My monthly Bible studies met the middle of November and will meet one more time in December before breaking over the holidays.  I am honestly still undecided on whether I will go in January--Lila might have something to say about that--and who knows how long I'll be "hibernating" at home once Lila arrives.  In the past, I've taken about 6-8 weeks to just stay home and get in a routine before returning to "socialization."  It would be great to make it back to both groups at some point in the spring, but I also signed up in the Fall telling myself it is okay if I don't figure out those logistics this spring.  We can always start fresh next Fall. :)  Anyway, Anna Reaghan goes to the nursery at church while I'm at the meetings, and she eats lunch in the nursery. One of the mornings, I went to pack her lunch and found she had already packed herself a "lunch" in her bumble bee lunchbox!

peanut butter, a cracker, watermelon, and even a "cup" and knife!   She cracks me up!

4.  We have made some Thanksgiving preparations.  Asa's class has focused on Thanksgiving themes all month long, culminating with a "Thanksgiving feast" today during lunch at school.  They made pilgrim hats, Native American headdresses, noodle necklaces, turkeys, placemats, and all KINDS of projects!  Here is one activity Asa completed describing his favorite Thanksgiving food.  It is apparent he did not feel much like coloring that day ;), but his comments about chocolate chip pie--the ingredients especially--are pretty cute. :)

We also ordered an air mattress for Asa to use at Poppy &  Nana's.  He's been sleeping in a pack and play there, but his 4 year old frame doesn't have much room to stretch out in it anymore.  During our most recent trip, he said for the first time that he didn't want to sleep in the pack and play.  He's a kid who loves things to stay the same, so for him to ASK for a different bed was a flashing neon sign we needed a new plan. ;)  He prefers to sleep in our room at Nana & Poppy's (which is fine until Lila comes), so I found this air mattress with 2 great and unique features!  It has a separate boundary area that inflates into "bumpers" to help prevent the child from rolling off the mattress!  And the separate bumper area creates a crevice that standard twin sheets can tuck into, so you really can make the mattress up with sheets and blankets just like home. :)

Asa is THRILLED, I mean THRILLED, with this new plan.  Here he is trying out the new mattress and finding it to be quite satisfactory. :)

5.  Lastly, here's a little update on Lila.  I am 32 weeks now, but this picture was taken last week.  I have appointments every other week for the next month or so (started at 28 weeks).  Around Christmas we'll switch up to every week.  How is it time for this already?!?!  I am measuring right on the dot for Lila's size as far as fundal height, and she should be closing in on 4 lbs any time now.  I feel like I was still plowing through the third trimester at second trimester speed and endurance until the past week.  Now I'm finding myself slower, more easily worn out, and a bit more prone to tears. :)  lol  It's good to be able to laugh at yourself. :)  I am just thankful I made it a full month into the third trimester before hitting these little bumps--it allowed us to get the VAST majority of the house not only unpacked but also decorated--including wall art and various projects I wanted to complete or use for decoration, allowed us to host pie night, AND it allowed me to finish our Christmas cards (coming soon to a mailbox near you!) and Christmas shopping (all I have left is my so-easy-to-shop-for husband!) before November ends!  Those all seemed like lofty hopes as summer waned, but we accomplished them!  I Am Thankful!

BONUS:  Here is a video of AR singing her new favorite song, "My God is SO BIG!" :)  She also loves the Gettys' "The Power of the Cross" thanks to her times coming to sing "loud songs!" in the sanctuary with us at the end of church. :)