Five on Friday

1.  I accomplished several pre-birth to dos this week, including some crafting

I made bloomers and 2 hairbows to match the dress I sewed earlier.  One hair clip is a polka dot bow and the other is ribbon shaped into a strawberry.

Matt hung Anna Reaghan's name letters above the crib

 

The flash kind of washed out the E and H in Reaghan, but I promise it's adorable in person! :)

And I made 2 important phone calls.  I confirmed with our pediatrician's office that Anna Reaghan can be added as a new patient.  Thankfully Asa's been so healthy, we haven't been to the office and our ped didn't know I was pregnant!  I wanted to give them a heads up. ;)  I also called the hospital to see if they prefer for patients to pre-register.  Not only was I able to pre-register over the phone (in FL, Matt & I both had to be present in person, answer a zillion questions, have photo ID and all sorts of things--this was obviously more stream-lined than that, so hopefully Matt's up for answering all those questions when I go in in labor and need to focus on slow, controlled breathing ;)), but the hospital also gives a 30% discount for pre-registering!  They ran our insurance through to give an estimate of what our responsibility for labor and delivery will be, and we got GREAT news!  Our doctor's fees meet our deductible!  Woo hoo!  We're free and clear from here on out for the rest of the year. :)  We have a small co-insurance for the hospital, but it's measly compared to Asa's birth (which was still a smaller amount than I thought it might be, and TINY compared to the portion insurance pays.... especially when you have room and board fees for a DAYS long induction).  This was very happy news to me.  We have a higher deductible here, so I don't know how it worked out that we pay less for the birth, but I'll take it!  And we have an HSA to cover the deductible/co-insurance we ARE responsible for.  I am praising God for the provision.  It was kind of scary to go into this with new insurance and hope we had interpreted and understood it all correctly.  YEA!

2.  I also received a call this morning that our new couch is in and ready for delivery!  As you might recall, when we ordered a new comfy reading chair for Asa's room, we browsed for a couch or love seat for the basement as well.  We found one we both liked, but it was on back-order.  It's in even earlier than they thought it would be!  The salesman said he though it would be mid-June before we'd get it.  Woo hoo!  Now we just need to decide if we want to hurry and get carpet ordered this weekend before we have the couch delivered (we have carpet picked out, we just need to purchase it).  Decisions, decisions. :)  I, for one, am very thankful we'll have a nice place to sit in the basement very, very soon.  Getting up and down is an increasingly cumbersome task as the weeks fly by. ;)

3.  Earlier this week I saw a listing on Craigslist for a now-discontinued Fisher-Price washer/dryer/laundry station.  My parents have one that all the grandkids love to play with.  The seller was asking only $5 and she lived less than 10 miles away!  I was so excited to receive an email reply that it was ours for the taking!  Asa is loving opening the washer compartment, putting things in the dryer compartment, and carrying the "in-ron" all around the living room.  I also think it's amusing and cute that whenever he puts something into the washer, he tells me he's "washing diapies."  Yup, we have a cloth diapered kiddo over here, all right. ;)  You see, our actual washing machine has a transparent window on top (it's an HE top loader), and he loooooves to sit on top of the washer while it fills and when it starts agitating.  He knows we wash his diapers about every other (sometimes every 3) days, so that's what gets washed most frequently and what he ASKS if we can wash several times/week. :)  The things he'd never know or say if we didn't use cloth! hehe

4.  Asa got some new shoes in the mail yesterday.  They are a brand that includes an optional squeaker.  I kind of feel like we're probably past the age of that being adorable out and about (the squeaker is supposed to encourage heel-to-toe walking as it's in the heel of the shoe), but he was HILARIOUS running around the house in them.  We had a pair back around Christmas that had squeakers, and he liked them but I'm not sure he tooooootally made the connection that he was in control of the squeak.  Does he EVER "get" it now!  He immediately starting bouncing up and down to make them squeak.  He'd start to walk and then run really fast to make them squeak more quickly.  I was cracking up and Mom could hear him squeaking all over the downstairs when we chatted on the phone.  The ones I ordered are for a few sizes from now, but I am certain he'll be thrilled when they come back out of the closet to wear all the time.  He couldn't stop grinning and giggling, and neither could I. :)

5.  We are sooo excited for a long weekend!  I can't say we have any big plans, but just knowing we have 3 days with Matt sounds WONDERFUL!  Tonight we're actually helping set up a fund-raising garage sale for a family at church.  The husband/father sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident about a year ago (visit supportjeff.com), and the garage sale is to help support the family.  It's part of a larger, huge neighborhood garage sale that I hope we can peruse tomorrow morning (it's over near the townhouse we rented).  Then Saturday afternoon Matt's helping finish and clean up the garage sale.  Sunday we'll have church.  Monday Matt has off.  The only thing I know for sure is that he'll be grilling us burgers :), and Asa and I will both LOVE having him home an extra day. :)

We hope YOU enjoy time with family this weekend and the sweet freedom that has been won for us... not only here in America, but in Christ!

Weekend Rewind

We had a BEAUTIFUL weekend!!  And we spent a LOT of it outside. :)  I'm so thankful we could do that since we're expecting rain every day this week.  Then again, the highs where we lived in FL are 97 all week.  At least we can find pockets without rain (I hope!!!) to check the mail or take a quick walk.  I do find myself being rather sentimental about FL as pregnancy hormones surge, the 1 year mark of living in Ohio is quickly approaching (June 1--HOW is that possible?!?), and making final preparations for Anna Reaghan reminds me of making final preparations for Asa's arrival.... in Florida.

Friday:  I'm pretty sure we had something lame for dinner that Matt was undoubtedly very sweet about. :)  Oh, I know what it was. In Florida, we ended up with a tradition of having pizza on Friday nights.  Publix would periodically have Freschetta pizzas BOGO, so I'd pick 2 up we'd have them on Friday over the course of a few weeks.  The grocery store here had them on sale (which I have not seen happen much), so I picked one up (see, sentimental for Florida, I tell ya).  It was kinda fun to have our old routine, and Matt was excited about it.  The sentimentality of it was sweet.  The taste was NOT like I remembered... not after having made homemade pizza on Friday nights for us for much of the time we have lived in Ohio.  It tasted soooo processed and artificial.  Funny how you are clued into such things after not having them in a long time.  Anyway, it's the thought that counts, right?  Asa was really excited about having "pizzas" for dinner (the most dairy thing we ever let him have--the cheese on it--and we go back to STRICTLY dairy free for days afterward to get his tummy settled back down).  Due to one thing or another, it was late when we finished eating and I knew after just eating and being excited Daddy was home, there was no way Asa would go straight to bed (even though it was already at his latest bedtime).  We went for a walk before the sun went down--Sammy in tow (Asa loves when Sammy tags along).  We played a little bit in the loft ("bunnies" which = Calico Critters--actually Sylvanian Families animals and a few chairs and beds that were mine when I was little.  Asa loves to make them sit and lay down, and I've shown him how to put a "blanket" on the beds and tell the animals they are "cozy."), and then we got him in bed.  He still talked a LONG time and was up until at least 9:30 just entertaining himself in bed (we usually shoot for 7:30, 8:00 at the laaaaatest).  Matt got us ice cream for dessert (our new OH Friday night tradition is ice cream on Fridays) and we watched more of Dr. Quinn.  See how exciting we are?!? :)

Saturday:  Asa didn't really sleep in despite his late night on Friday.  Matt mowed the front yard, Asa had a nap.  Then we gathered our things to attend a cook out/get together.  The ladies from my spring Bible study small group were having a get together, families included. :)  We drove out into the country, which Matt loooooved, and spent the afternoon visiting, watching kids traipse all around the yard, hearing Asa call both dogs at the house "Sammy" and pestering them (they were super patient with him wanting to pet them all.the.time.... I'm sure they weren't sad to see him leave), and watching Asa try out a little bubble mower (we've been thinking of one for his birthday, but he hadn't played with one before)--he LOVED it. :)  We got home, let Asa cool off a little from being out in the sun all afternoon, and then got him in bed.  Matt mowed part of the backyard, and then we just relaxed the rest of the evening.  I actually spend the evening with my foot propped up as I fell down the stairs first thing Saturday morning.  I was carrying Asa, somehow a foot slipped out from underneath me, but my legs went behind me as I fell backwards (?).  I slid down the stairs on my lower legs/ankles with my legs bent at my knees.  Nothing broken or sprained, just a little swelling a a really bad rug burn on one ankle.  That is what's sore as I lost a couple layers of skin.  It was scary  more than anything, but we are alllll fine, praise the Lord!  I'm so thankful I fell back and not forward!

Sunday:  Sunday was my first turn to work in the nursery.  I was placed in the newborn room since I'm not supposed to lift over 20 lbs. (a general pregnancy guideline).  Three of us were volunteering and there were only 2 babies, but I got to hold a sweet 2.5 month old baby boy the last bit of the service and pat him to sleep.  Worship was a blessing, and while it's toooootally not about me, we sang several songs that are very praise-ful/worshipful to me.  Asa barely napped 1.5 hours after church, so it was a bit of a longer afternoon for him. ;)  But we filled it up by playing outside.  Matt emptied the rice from his little table in the basement and took it to the back deck where we filled it with water instead.  Asa probably played for at least an hour straight.  Splashing, filling and pouring (aka "duuuuump") cups and pitchers of water, making the little trains that go with the table connect and drive around, filling them with water, pouring water on his head, and dunking his face in the water (alllll his idea!!!).  It was hilarious.  I'll have to make a post this week with pictures from his water play time.  He MUST have enjoyed himself, b/c he asked to go out and "play water" again this morning.... in the rain. ;)  We took him straight to the bathtub (he was already wet, why not?), played inside, had a yummy dinner of sweet and sour chicken, hung up the Anna letters of Anna Reaghan's name (still need to hang the Reaghan part)--well, Matt did that while I played with/read to Asa and "supervised." ;)  We also had the WONDERFUL revelation that the reason the house would not cool past 77 degrees... even when it was much cooler outside, was because the condenser was on a different circuit breaker than the blower, and the condenser breaker was turned off over the winter while the house was vacant.  Matt flipped the breaker, and we have cool air!!!  I mean, I know we kept the house in FL between 78 and 80, but electricity costs there were INSANE.  And we had ceiling fans in every room to make up for it.  And even when it was 80 inside, it was near 100 outside and you appreciated the difference of being inside.  And we just used to it.  We didn't want electricity bills that were 100s of dollars.  But it seemed silly to live in OH and be stuck in a hot house again. Without ceiling fans.  And everything was becoming increasingly muggy.  I'd to go get Asa some crackers, and unless the pack was twisted up SUPER tight, they'd be kinda mushy.  It was because when we turned the "a/c" on, we were just blowing air around.  Once Matt flipped the breaker, you could tell the humidity in the house went down significantly.  And I slept with covers on for the first time in nights. :)  I told Matt he was a smarty-warty. :)

Today I am 34 weeks pregnant and Asa is 23 months old as of today.  It is amazing to me how quickly time is flying.  I feel like I've been pregnant the whole time we've lived in Ohio, and I wonder what it's like to live in Ohio and NOT be pregnant. :) It's not really true.... I got here in June and we got pregnant in October.  I think I was just in such a fog the first few months trying to adjust (and it rained all the time, hmmm) that last summer just runs together in a blur.  So many changes in one year!  We are thankful for God's provision at every turn, and thankful He is near as we prepare to hold Anna Reaghan in our arms and celebrate two AMAZING years with Asa. :)

Weekend Rewind

Pregnancy brain is taking over more and more of my memory functions, but I'll do my best to recap our weekend for you. :)

(Thursday:  I went to a consignment sale with Asa and found 2 things for him and several more for Anna Reaghan.  I've had my eye out for a few things to fill in the gap if she's in the 3/3-6ish month size range when the season changes to fall and cooler weather.  I scored big at the sale and paid an average of $4/item, and most of the things I found were top reselling brands--yea!)

Friday:  I am really struggling to remember what in the world we did on Friday. :)  I really am not sure, and that feels pitiful!  I think Friday is the day we pretty much stayed at home and did nothing because I overdid it on Thursday between wearing Asa at the sale (forgot the stroller, so I tied him on with my mei tai which is just getting more taxing as Anna Reaghan grows--normally he's still super comfy in it), vacuuming (which also involved holding a terrified 22 month old), and other household tidying.  It was just.too.much and I was really hurting (well, the most sore I've been in this pregnancy) on Friday as a result.

Saturday:  Asa's new chair was delivered from the furniture store!  Hooray!!  He was slightly confused at first.  At nap time he was running around with his favorite book, The Jesus Storybook Bible, and I asked him to take it to his chair so we could read it.  He ran out of his room and to his "old" chair (the glider) that was sitting in the loft.  We kind of giggled and directed him back to his room and continued to make a show of his big, new, comfy chair.  He is no longer confused.  In fact, from downstairs he spotted Anna Reaghan's quilt folded over the back of his old chair and he called out, "Sister's!"  He gets it.... kind of. :)  He's also taken to calling most girls "Anna" initially, so something in his sweet head is associating "girl" with "Anna" "Sister" "Reaghan" etc.  She'll still rock his world, but at least he's picking up a few things we've said.  After his nap, we went to Babies R Us to look for a stuffed animal to take "progress" pictures of Anna Reaghan with, ala Asa's Snoodle pictures.  They had  nothing.  It was abysmal.  But we did find the outfit I later returned and bought for Anna Reaghan to come home in. :)  Then we stopped at Walmart for a few random things.  No stuffed animals there either.  Lastly we tried Toys R Us, and that was the most pitiful of all.  Half an aisle of the most generic brown bears and blue dogs you can imagine.  Seriously--where do you find good stuffed animals these days???  Matt mowed the yard after our errands, we discovered a bird's nest WITH an egg in it,

and then he grilled burgers for dinner.  Yum!  Happy Sunny Saturday to us!!!  We haven't seen many of those yet. ;)

Sunday:  I had my nursery volunteer orientation while Matt went to our Sunday school class.  It was "breakfast Sunday" where everyone brings something to share for breakfast during the class.  I tried a breadmaker cinnamon roll dough the night before, so we contributed a pan of those.  They are yummy!  Even Asa liked them (and he's not one for particularly sweet things).  After Sunday school was the worship service, and then we actually stayed for a little lunch gathering for new/newer attendees to hear from the pastors and have a chance to ask questions.  Then it was (past) nap time, so I relaxed while Matt ran a few errands.  Then he completed some honey-dos while I went and got the coming home outfit for Anna Reaghan and spotted a few things for Asa's birthday at JoAnn's.  I made lasagna for dinner, and Asa LOVED shaking parmesan cheese on each layer and placing lasagna noodles in the pan.  He is very intrigued by what goes on in the kitchen. :)

That about covers it!  Now we're on to a new week,  more rain, another check-up for me on Friday, and trying to get Asa's naps back in order after some of the weekend's deviance from our regular routine. :)  Happy May to you!

Wordless Wednesday

I need to come back and add a picture, but this Wednesday has left me wordless... or speechless... indeed.

It started "foozling" while Asa and I were eating a late lunch (his naps are a bit out of whack thanks to fighting a cold).  Foozling is when there is the slightest bit of frozen precipitation falling from the sky.  Not enough to say "flurries" but it's doing something out there.

After lunch we headed to the library to pick up a few things I had on hold for Asa (dogs, cars, and airplanes... that about sums it up).  Within minutes of getting back home, it started snowing in earnest.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  About 20 minutes later, we had at least 1/2 inch covering our deck and yard.  Not dusting them, covering them.  About an hour after the real snowing commenced, I snuck out with a ruler and we were up to over 1.5 inches with heavy, giant snowflakes still falling.

I am speechless.

May I remind you it's March 30?  This former Florida resident doesn't even know what to think.

Sigh.

Five on Friday

1.  Today I hung pictures around the house.  It's so nice to see our familiar things on the walls.  Asa's room is now done, the kitchen and living room are done, the upstairs hallways is almost done.  Yea!!

2.  Some neighbors came over this evening to introduce themselves and bring us warm, home baked brownies.  Yum!!

3.  The master bathroom in the house has a GIANT bathtub.  Asa has always been a fan of baths, but has kicked up to a whole new level of fun and anticipation now that he has a giant bathtub to play in.  He now cries, "Bath!  Baaaaath!  Baaaaaaaaaaaath!" when it's time to get out of the tub.  Bittersweet. :)

4.  We got a medium dumping of snow last night.  Probably 4+ inches total by mid-morning this morning.  It's so weird to me at this point in the year that the snow actually melts completely away and you see grass and trees and it feels like spring will come.  Then the next day everything is blanketed in white again and spring feels so very far away after all. ;)  It also makes me laugh that my hometown schools are on spring break this week.  Spring?  Where is Spring? WHEN IS SPRING?!?!

5.  I think there are only THREE boxes left to unpack in the house!  THREE!  Woo hooooo!!! :)

Moving Update

We are moved in!!!!  I really could NOT have done it without my mom's help.  I completely underestimated not only how busy Asa is now compared to 9 months ago when we moved from Florida, and I did not factor being pregnant into the equation at all.  Whereas 9 months ago Asa was not walking and played contentedly on a blanket while I packed box after box after box, now he is walking, running, and into EVERYTHING.  While I packed boxes, he unpacked boxes or made a huge mess somewhere else in the room.  Then every few boxes I'd have to stop and tidy his mess.  And then I'd have to sit down for 5-10 minutes because this baby girl is wearing me out!  I really didn't think being pregnant would affect my moving productivity or what I could physically accomplish at all.  It never entered my mind.  Boy was I wrong!  I think the fact that I'm not really showing (until maybe a week ago) aids in my forgetting that I really do have limitations because I really am pregnant!  Mom came and saved the day, playing with Asa while I packed or packing while I played with Asa, lugging things that not only should I not lift but that I physically cannot lift at this point, staying at the house while movers loaded so I could get Asa set up for a nap at the new house and Matt could unload his car of odds and ends we brought over.  She absolutely made the difference between a super stressful, frazzles, out of my mind crazy and overwhelmed move and the one we actually had that pulled together with more organization and smoothness than I could have pulled off by myself.

I also realized how INCREDIBLY gracious and merciful God was in our move from FL to OH.  AND how much I was supported by prayers of people who knew I was alone with a 10 month old and packing our house by myself.  Logistically, THAT should have felt like an impossible move, but I just kept at it day after day and it got done.  This move should have been the easier one, and it was much more difficult to pull it all together.

We had wonderful movers.  They worked really hard in the rain and went out of the way to do anything we needed.  In fact, one of them was the "extra" hand hired by another company and driver to unload our truck when it arrived in OH last June!!!  How crazy is that?!?  They were careful with everything, incredibly pleasant and respectful, and we would MORE than recommend them to anyone in this area needing movers.

We are now getting settled in.  Just about all the boxes are unpacked (again, thanks to Mom!), "homey" touches are falling into place, and we are thrilled with our new space.

I recognized through the process of this move how much owning a house when we lived in Florida gave me a false sense of security.  I felt like, "We own this place so we'll live here as long as we want to."  There was not a cognizant realization of how that could all change at any time... God can open and close doors of opportunity unexpectedly.  Renting, especially after being homeowners, has been a huge mental and emotional paradigm shift for me.  It's difficult at times that we can't make things exactly how we want them, that we are limited in our options for updates or some decorating.  Most particularly with moving back into a house but still renting, it's difficult that someone else tangibly controls whether or not we continue to live here.  The owner is open to renewing our lease at the end of our one year term, but he could change his mind between now and then and decide he wants to try and sell again.  I am confronted in a very in-my-face way with the fact that I do NOT control where I live.  NO house on this Earth is my home.  I need to live with my eyes and heart settled somewhere else.  At the same time, God has given me peace to enjoy where we are living now.  I am praying it works out for us and for our landlord for us to stay here as long as Matt is working here, but even if not I know God will provide.  And in the meantime I am determined to make this home for our family and friends.  I am not under a shadow of  feeling or fearing how temporary it could be.  I realize that, but I now also realize NO place we live is a guaranteed long term abode.  And that's okay.  I'm with my family and we're walking with God... owning a house, renting a house, or renting a 1970s townhouse. ;)  That's what really matters.

Frosty the Snowman

 As I mentioned earlier, Matt made Asa his first snowman on Friday night.  It was not a little snowman--it was over twice as tall as Asa!  Earlier snows this winter were more dry and not great for making snowballs or snowmen.  The snow last week was quite different.

Matt said he almost threw his back out trying to hoist the 2nd snowball onto the bottom one. :)  Heavy, wet, snowman-perfect snow!

Trying to give you an idea for size comparison.

Frosty and Asa, pre-accessories

 Frosty with eyes, a "carrot" nose, buttons, scarf, and arms!  Brad & Joy gave Asa a snowman kit for Christmas along with a fun snowman book.  The eyes, nose, and buttons were all from the kids.  They are on dowels and made of wood so we can reuse them.  The kit included small black beads for a mouth as well, but the snowman was sooooo frozen I couldn't get them to stay on his face!  Asa loves scarves, so we added one of my scarves, and I found some sticks to be Frosty's arms.

 Hello up there, Frosty!  Asa was rather intrigued! :)

 Asa adjusting a button. :)  Note Frosty has a hat in this picture, too.  The kit included this hat, it was just too windy to stay on in all the pictures. :)

 I like my snowman!  Thank you, Dada!

Trying on Frosty's hat

We have enjoyed looking out the back doors when we're eating and smiling at our Frosty.  What a fun surprise it was for Matt to think of and make for us!

Weekend Rewind

Thanks to Matt's building being without power on Friday and his business travel being canceled, we had another long, 3 day weekend together as a family!  WOO HOOO!!!

Friday:  We spent the morning playing with a very delighted Asa who was oh-so-happy to have Daddy around. :)  Around lunchtime, Matt and his boss took off to make their flight which was back on schedule.  Asa and I accessorized his snowman (post coming this week all about Asa's first snowman)--it was really fun to see his responses!  A little while later Matt called to tell me the flight was still on but his company canceled the trip; other participants were not able to make it due to the weather.  He turned around, grabbed a bite for lunch, and was home just a little while later!  Hooray!  We had a low key evening of hanging out, playing with Asa, and enjoying extra time together.

Saturday:  Asa slept in a smidge, he and I played, and then we woke Matt up after Asa had breakfast.  After Asa's nap and some lunch all around, we went on a few errands.  In particular, we needed an additional gate for the stairs in the basement at the new house.  Then we walked/chased Asa through a furniture store browsing for a comfy upholstered chair for his new room (he'll keep his chair until we find another one/Anna Reaghan arrives and it moves to her room).  He looooooves to run down the long, straight aisles of the furniture showroom. :)  We had another relaxed evening, Asa had a bath--he loooves splashing with his feet, and I fell asleep on the couch--a regular occurrence these days. ;)

Sunday:  I took Asa to church/Sunday school and Matt met a coworker at the new house to use his snowblower on the driveway that was buried under 6-8 inches of snow.  Our Sunday school class spends the 4th Sunday of each month prepping materials for the 2 & 3 year olds' classes, so we cut out a whoooole bunch of "palm branches" from construction paper for Palm Sunday.  The BIG EXCITING event was meeting our landlord in the afternoon to conduct a final walk through of the house and get KEYS!!!  We are officially renting the house!  Asa loooooved running all around and exploring all the nooks and crannies, which was especially easy to do in a completely empty house. :)  I measured a couple areas for furniture placement, sketched the bedrooms so I can figure out where things will go in them, and then we came home for lunch and to put Asa right in bed.  He took only one short nap (for the past several days, actually), and is TIRED!  I'm actually not SURE if we're seeing, "I'm almost 2" or "I'm working on eye teeth" or "I'm playing through my 2nd nap" or "You let me try some food with dairy this weekend"... or some combination of the above.  But he's been a little bit of a bear the past few days.  I'm hoping he'll catch up on sleep and that will help alleviate whatever is the root to at least some degree. :)

That sums up our weekend!  Later this week you'll get a full recap of Asa's first snowman.  You don't want to miss it!

Five on Friday

1.  Snow.  More snow.  After the big dump of snow we got on Monday, we had a couple cold days and then more snow today.  I think they said it would be 2-3" when it really got going today, but they were initially calling for 5 more inches!  I am thankful that didn't pan out!

2.  I'm also thankful Matt is home this weekend!  He had business travel scheduled, but it was canceled to due the weather.  I'm glad that didn't pan out either. ;)  We like having Daddy home!  AND his company's building is without power, so he's been home with us an extra day!  TWO three day weekends in a row with him... I could really get used to this. ;)  So could Asa--he was sooooo excited when DADA was the one to retrieve him from bed this morning.  We love Dada. :)

3.  Last night as a surprise, Matt stayed outside after walking Sammy and he built us a huge snowman!  He didn't tell me--I only found out when I went looking for him out the back door afraid he'd been snatched or something.  He wanted to surprise us with something extra fun and special to do while he was (supposed to be) away.  My brother and sister-in-law gave Asa a set of snowman accessories for Christmas--reusable eyes, wooden "carrot" nose, mouth, buttons, and a hat.  It was so fun to take Asa out this afternoon to get our snowman outfitted.  We even added a scarf at Asa's insistence--he thinks scarves are fun and likes to walk around the house wearing a little toddler scarf Poppy & Nana gave him for Christmas; it was only fitting then that our snowman have one too.  I took a bunch of pictures, but I need to retrieve my card reader to upload them.  They'll get a post all of their own very very soon.  It's really cute, and I think Asa really liked it. :)

4.  We are hoping to get keys to the house on Sunday!!!!!  We are just waiting to finalize plans with the owner.  So exciting!  I cannot believe we're moving our whole house twice in 9 months, but that's okay!  Packing boxes feels very much like deja vu, but I am looking forward to getting unpacked and settled.  I know it will be a lot of work again, but there are not all the emotions involved this time that there were in leaving Florida.  I did NOT want to unpack here because that was admitting we were really staying.  This time, I am happy to unpack and stay in that house as opposed to staying in this townhouse. :)

5.  I love that Asa loves his bed.  He's playing around with naps some.  I suspect we're on the cusp of transitioning to one nap, but I'm not "helping" that along until after the move. ;)  Anyway, on days he plays in his crib through his afternoon nap he is extra tired in the evening.  It is not uncommon on those nights for me to be rocking and singing to him (usually 2-3 songs before I put him in bed) only to have him turn around, point at his crib, and happily/excitedly say, "Bed!!"  I'll ask, "Do you want to go to bed?" and he responds, "Yeah!!!  Bed!!!"  I love that bed is a happy place for him.  I love that he knows when he's tired and looks forward to resting.  It is a sweet, sweet gift to us all. :)

Long Weekend Rewind

We were so excited to remember Matt had Monday off!  As a teacher, I usually had President's Day off when I was working, but Matt has never had it off before.  Even though I know he's really busy at work with some deadlines and projects coming together, I think the extra family day came at a great time.  It was refreshing for me to have an extra day with him (and I KNOW Asa loved it!) before a hard core week of making deadlines this week.  It filled me up in preparation for the long hours that are likely ahead of us the next few days. :)

The weekend was not without its surprises, but we'll get to those in just a minute. ;)

Last week had some glorious days.  The highs sometimes made it out of the 30s!!!!  WOO HOOOO!  I never thought I'd be so happy to see temperatures in the 40s!  :)  Days on end of snow as far as you can see sure can change a (former Floridian's) person's perspective. ;)  In anticipation of the beautiful weather continuing through the weekend, I asked Matt about going to a park with Asa on Saturday and to some outlets on Monday.  The plan was set, and we didn't really anticipate any weather complications (yes, that's foreshadowing). :)

On Saturday afternoon, we went to a great park nearby.  It will be only 3 miles from the new house!  It has a sweet little kid playground, a GIANT amazing big kid playground, and lots of fields and trails for walking, running, and playing.  We just didn't expect the temperatures to drop and the wind to HOWL in.  Oh my!  It.was.so.cold.  Asa really enjoyed sliding on the little kid playground, but Matt and I were just about frozen stiff.  We knew he wanted to run around, so before calling it quits we walked over to see some geese and give him an opportunity to run around.  Thankfully, we went down a small hill that seemed to block much of the wind after we were on the other side!  Asa was intrigued by the geese and made lots of bird sounds at them, mostly "quacking,"... so I guess we need to work on duck vs. goose. ;)

 

  

We made our way back to the car where Asa was very, very sad to be leaving the park.  He was tired, he loves being outside, Daddy was with us.  Who would want to leave?!?  But we did, and I worked, somewhat successfully, to keep him awake on the short drive home.  I took him straight upstairs to bed when we arrived at home, and he took a short nap.  Asa had an early bedtime as result, but at least he napped enough to make it til then. ;)

On Sunday we attended Sunday school and church.  Asa's separation anxiety, particularly from me, is peaking significantly right now.  He cries if I am out of sight for even a moment, so I was concerned how dropping it off at the nursery would go.  He started to get upset, but the teachers know him well enough that they took him into the room and got him engaged with something he likes before he actually lost it.  Praise the Lord!

Monday was our other big adventure outing day.  I found out there was a Gymboree outlet not too far away, and they were having a baby sale + President's Day sale over the weekend.  We had not bought anything for Anna Reaghan, and I thought it would be fun to let Asa walk around the outlet mall and maybe find an outfit or two that we really liked.  When I checked the forecast, it started calling for several inches of snow.  I was so disappointed, but Matt said we'd go anyway and the forecast had been wrong even a day or two earlier.  Off we went.  We went to Gymboree first, and Matt almost immediately spotted an outfit he loved.  I suggested some matching hairbows, and it was a done deal. :) 

I continued to browse and found an outfit of my own choosing that I loved.  Several years ago, Gymboree had a girls' line of clothes with a goldfish theme that I thought was adorable.  I was excited to check out the outlet, because I *thought* they brought back a version of the goldfish line to sell at the outlets RIGHT NOW.  And they DID!  How sweet is that?!?

We ventured into a few other stores.  Asa loved the Carter's outlet.  He scurried this way and that, looking at this rack of clothes and that rack of clothes.  Squeezing into tiny spaces between racks like he was hiding.  It was really cute. :)  He also really liked some puzzles they had in the store... that he already has at home. ;)  We looked in more stores, ate some lunch, tried a couple more places, and then picked up a soft pretzel before heading out.  Asa tried my cinnamon and sugar pretzel, and he liked it!  I have no idea how the likely dairy ingredients will affect him today, but it was worth the special treat on our special extra day with Daddy. :)  Of course it DID start snowing while we were at the outlets.... and not just a dusting.  It was SNOWING.  It became harder and harder to see the cars on the highway running right past the outlet!

This is really just the beginning.  We have close to 6 inches now.

Matt wonderfully navigated the snowy highway--nothing was plowed yet.  Praise the Lord we got home safely AND when we did as the snow continued to pour down!  We got the most snow at once in the whole time we've lived here so far!  Matt figured the roads would be plowed by dinner time and went out to pick up a bite to eat for us to cap off the weekend, but nothing was plowed yet after all!  He ran into roads blocked by spun out cars almost every way he turned.  Thankfully when he gave up and headed home, he got behind a salt truck and made it back just fine. :)

We packed a lot into our weekend, but we had time to rest too.  I love weekends and family time! :)  And next weekend is the beginning of the big move, so it was an extra blessing to have a fun-filled weekend right now. :)

When did this happen?

Asa brought a craft home from Bible study nursery on Wednesday.  Not just a few scribbles on a coloring sheet (although I do love to see those, too)... a REAL CRAFT!  He and one other child were the only ones registered for the nursery under the age of two (but they're both 1.5 or older).  The nursery is required to have at least 2 workers in a classroom, and 2 workers for 2 kids isn't the MOST cost effective way to run things. ;)  So the nursery elected to try moving Asa and the other child to the 2s & 3s class for Wednesday morning Bible study instead.  There are still fewer than 10 children in the class, so it's not like he'll be run down by big kids. :)  And they added an "under 2" nursery worker to the classroom to keep a watchful eye on the 2 extra little ones.  I'm so thankful they were determined to make a way to still offer us childcare instead of just closing the under 2 class on Wednesday morning--I wouldn't be able to go to Bible study if they did that!  And now Asa does "big kid" activities on Wednesday morning.... like making a craft!

They must have been talking about Noah's ark, because he made a giraffe and it has a verse about Noah on the back of it.  I'm sure he had plenty of help ;), but it is PRECIOUS and it will be a prominent piece of decor on our new fridge when we move!

 The giraffe can stand on its own on the clothespins, but my little helper was preventing that from happening when I snapped the pictures. ;)

Asa had only been in a church nursery once before we moved--my last Sunday in Florida I put him in the nursery just during the sermon so his very first time could be when we had trusted friends he knows (yea, Nate & Melissa!) in the classroom.  The nursery at the church here in Ohio has been incredibly warm and welcoming to all three of us.  It's a huge blessing and answer to prayer!

A Wish List of Sorts

When we moved to Ohio, we knew we were looking for more temporary than long-term housing.  Matt needed to find a place for us to live in a price range that would not quickly deplete our savings if the house in FL stayed on the market for awhile.  It was not the time to be particularly picky.  It meets our basic needs?  Great, lease it!  And that's what he did with God's provision.  We are currently in a 2 bedroom townhouse.  It meets ALL our needs.  We and Asa each even have oversized bedrooms--ours is big enough that 1/3 of it is crafting/sewing space for me!  There is a full basement, 1/2 is finished as our guest bedroom and 1/2 is the laundry room with TONS of extra space storing the boxes of things we didn't have room for now that we lost a bit of living space, a garage, an attic, etc.  We are SO thankful for the way God provided for our needs. 

We also developed a kind of "renter's wishlist" the longer we lived here.  As in, "When our lease is up and we're looking to rent elsewhere, what kinds of things do we miss from the FL house?  What features would we like to have/have again?"  I felt very convicted that instead of worrying about where we'd end up, we needed to make a "wishlist" and prayerfully submit it to God.  One weekend we sat down and wrote down our wishlist.

Beginning March 1, we are renting a different home!  It's actually the first rental we looked at, but it meets our needs and soooo many of our wishlist items.  We couldn't pass up trying to rent it, and God opened the door for us. We are excited to have a dedicated guest room and rooms for both Asa and Anna Reaghan.  We'll have a yard for Sammy (and Asa) to play in!  We'll have a garage again, which will certainly be nice next winter and on grocery shopping days.  Laundry is on the main floor of the house--no more lugging clothes from the top floor down 2 flights of stairs to the basement and back 2 up flights of stairs.  Woo hoo!

I thought I'd share our wishlist and how God met these desires.  When we made the list, we trusted and prayed that God would either blow us away by providing a home with these features OR showing us He knows even better than we do.  We were amazed when we went down our list and compared it to this home:

• single family house, Matt preferred a house built in 2000 or newer
• it was built in 2003!
• 3-4 bedrooms
• 4 bedrooms!
• basement (partially or all finished)
• the basement is the full size of the house and 1/2 finished!
• 2 car garage with room for tool chest and double wide driveway
• it's actually a 3 car garage--plenty of room for that tool chest ;)
• 2 full baths minimum
• 2.5 baths
• prefer not laundry in the basement unless home is 1 story
• 2 story home with laundry on main floor
• non-smoked in
• check!
• separate living room and family room
• this home has only a living room, but the 1/2 finished basement and loft upstairs will be great additional play spaces for our family and friends
• separate dining room
• check!  With a beautiful bay window!
• eat in kitchen we can really eat in/space for Sammy
• there is just enough room for a table in the kitchen, and the laundry/mud room has room for Sammy's crate
• decent appliances, kitchen storage space
• the appliances are new from when the house was built.  The kitchen space isn't huge, but it will do.
• fenced backyard--no neighboring dogs
• not fenced, but plenty big for Sammy to be out on a stake.  In fact, the landlord had the same set up for his dog
• kid friendly neighborhood
• we are close to the Y, a park, and we have seen signs of kids in other yards :)
• pets allowed
• check!
• we set a price limit
• it's a couple hundred below our budget AND they landlord knocks $50 off each month when you pay on time :)
• back patio or porch
• nice back patio with room for our table + chairs and the grill
• decent utilities
• landlord's bills seem in line with friends'
• prefer location close to what we know
• we're in about the same area, just the other side of the interstate.  I can shop the same places, use the same doctors easily, get to church easily, etc.
• doable commute for Matt
• it's 2 minutes longer than where we live now
• good landlords
• he seems very reasonable
• our furniture would fit
• looks good :)
• we had a sq. footage minimum hope
• it's just over what we were looking for
• pantry
• no pantry, but we'll put shelves in the mud room across from the kitchen to store canned and dry goods
• good closet space
• every bedroom has a large walk in closet!!!  Unfinished basement + extra garage + storage shed in backyard!
• decent yard with some trees
• check!
• good neighbors, neighborhood (quiet, safe)
• seems very quiet and safe
• craft space
• we plan to put my sewing machine in the guest room.  But if we had long term guests, I could always put it in the finished basement
• allowed to paint
• we'd like to have an accent wall in each of the kids' rooms.  We're going to ask about it after we've moved in and shown ourselves to be good tenants. :)
• our washer/dryer work with the space/hook ups
• check!
• SUPER DUPER WISHLIST ITEMS (super spoiled things we miss about FL)
• primo fridge (freezer bottom)
• nope, but it IS a side by side with ice/water through the door.  A HUGE improvement from the 30+ year old fridge that freezes things we currently have
• glass top stove
• nope, but it IS a gas stove!  Yea for cooking even if the electricity goes out!
• deep & double sink
• I think it's normal depth, not extra deep like in FL.  But it IS a double sink.
• kitchen sink sprayer
• I have missed this so much for spraying off dishes and for washing my hair for a quick rinse.  This kitchen sink has a sprayer!

How amazing is that?!!?

Five on Friday

1.   Overall, I have felt less nauseous this week (as in, more often than not I've felt okay!!!!)!  Woo hoo!!  I still have mornings or moments, but my hope is growing! :)

2.  We got to have lunch with Matt today.  That was a very special treat. :)  AND he got home early because his company is moving office locations and all the engineers had packed up their stuff!  Woo hoo!!!  Asa was very excited to get up from his afternoon nap and discover Daddy was already home. :)

3.  Today was the first day since Monday that Asa and I stepped foot outside of the house!  We were going stir crazy!  We had an ice storm, and then there was a mix up with my registration (I KNEW we paid it back on my birthday, and Matt said he put the sticker on and I was all set.  I noticed the new sticker was NOT on my car, and we couldn't find it or my registration papers, even though we had the canceled check copy.  I didn't want to drive until it was sorted out though.  This morning Matt found my papers WITH the sticker attached to them mixed in with a bunch of cds in his car!!  Praise the Lord!).  It was sooooo nice to get out.  Just in time for the next snow storm to hit this weekend. ;)

4.  I am feeling the baby kick a LOT.  He/she is becoming quite active. :)

5.  Less than a week until our ultrasound!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

Children's Museum

Last week I met with a friend-of-a-friend (thank you for "introducing us," Ruthie!) at a children's museum.  We both bought discounted tickets from Groupon and thought it would be fun to meet there.  My impressions from the museum's website were that it was very child-friendly even down to kids Asa's age and that we would have a lot of fun. :)  I was right and can't wait to go back with Matt, too!

The first room we went into was themed upon Margaret Wise Brown's (of Goodnight Moon fame) book The Big Red barn.  It was great for even young toddlers like Ba-Basa.  There were fake corn stalks with felt pockets holding plastic ears of corn the kids could harvest and then take to giant silo!  I believe there was a hen house on that wall as well (every time I looked around, I noticed something new... even as we were leaving each section)!  They had a giant wagon filled with baskets and pails for collecting produce around the room.  There is a huge loft-style barn with steps to a second story with plexi-glass windows and various activities in the open first floor, a replica of a pick-up truck complete with turn-able steering wheel and a truck bed full of stuffed animals representing just about every farm animal you can think of--giant stuffed animals and big puppets!  Another wall had trees painted on it with big sections of velcro, and there were plastic yellow and red apples with corresponding velcro on them so you could "pick" apples from the tree.  Not to mention little tykes tractors, wagons, a bookshelf of farm-related books.... it was amazing!

Next we went to a water room.  There were activities about the water cycle around the perimeter of the room, but we headed straight for a huge, 3 level water table complete with spouts and all sorts of water toys.  They had smocks to help keep your child from totally drenching him or herself as well. :)  You KNOW Asa loved the water. ;)

The museum has a third section set up with familiar things around town... a city bus replica with real bus seats kids can sit on and a driver's seat with steering wheel, of course.  A train table (that was always busy!), a model car that even had an infant car seat bolted to it so kids could pretend to drive their family around town.  It had a house with 2 great play kitchens, a fridge, a broom and mop, dog, dog bed, and dog food bowls :), table and chairs, etc., and tons of pretend food and dishes.  THAT house was hopping too!  The section I didn't take Asa to that I think he will love, love, love when we go back with Daddy is set up like a little store--grocery cars and aisles of boxes and cans for kids to go shopping with!!

After we saw the first 3 areas, we took a break for our kids to eat.  Then my friend and her kids needed to head out to make it home for nap time.  We live farther away and I didn't think there was anyway I could prevent Asa from falling asleep on the way home no matter when I left (it was just over an hour away), so we went to the last area we hadn't explored yet.  My impression is that the theme of this area can change, and it is currently set up with an Egyptian theme.  They have made a GIANT sand pit.... probably at least 2 of our huge living room in Florida put together.  It's filled with very DRY sand, so it all shakes right off. ;)  They have tons of shovels and pails, a couple little tykes crocodile see-saws, a pyramid and tunnel kids can crawl through, and a giant sand sculpture of a sphinx!  Outside the sand pit were some benches and tables, a huge felt board with each letter of hieroglyphics laminated and stickable onto the felt board so children could spell things out (and then paper and pencils to record what they wrote), Egyptian themed rubbings (they had a couple metal plates you could place paper over and then make a crayon rubbing of)--Asa made one of pyramids.  I saw one little boy had made a "treasure" map and was burying various things in the sand and then pretending he was a treasure hunting, scoping out the sand pit and the map he made (with lot of "x marks the spots"), digging up the treasures he'd buried, and returning them victoriously to his mother and grandmother.  It was so neat to see kids of ALL ages engaging in such fun and imaginative ways.  The museum was really a place you could go over the course of several years as your child(ren) grow, and I think they would interact with each section in different ways as they get older.  Very cool.

Unfortunately, I accidentally left my camera in the car!  But I will be sure to take lots of pictures when we get a chance to go back with Matt. :)

Five on Friday

It's my first 5 on Friday of 2011 and in almost a month!!

1.  We had a wonderful time visiting both our families, first in SC and then in TN, to celebrate Christmas.  Lots of time with family and friends and playtime with cousins and grandparents galore! :)  Asa slept great (always a concern on the road) and really rolled with all the changes of routine and such. :)  We are so thankful we got to see everyone and make more special memories. :)

2.  We came back to GRASS in Ohio!  Woo hooo!!!!  It's gone again, but we got to enjoy seeing it for 3 whole days!  Yippee!

3.  I am behind on unpacking and putting things away because nausea really kicked back in with gusto when we returned home.  I'm starting to get the house back in order from unloading the car though.  We WILL get there!

4.  We have my next appt. next Thursday.  I imagine we'll schedule the big anatomy ultrasound at that appointment!  We hope to know if we're having another boy or a girl next month, as long as the baby cooperates. :)  I really do not have my heart set either way, but I AM praying it's beyond clear either way.  That there is no room for doubt based upon whatever we see on the monitor. :)  Boy name is set, bedding is not.  Girl name is not set, bedding is. ;)  We need to get cracking on the name in the next month or so, so we can introduce you when we find out!

5.  We are celebrating our little family Christmas tomorrow morning.  With Matt's travel right before Christmas, we didn't get to before we left town.  It's kind of strange to me to be celebrating this long after Christmas, but that's okay!  We're excited to get up tomorrow morning and have some special family time and our little family Christmas traditions.  Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon!

The Boss Who Saved Christmas

Along with the general "blah" feeling of not being able to have the same home-related traditions with Christmas this year, we were having a lot of difficulty finding a tree.  And I'm not talking about being really picky here.  After seeing what was out there, we had to drop our "bar" of expectations down to "not spray painted!"

I had seen spray painted trees when my family lived in Colorado, so I noticed it right away.  There was one side-of-the-road stand of trees just down the street from our neighborhood that spray painted on dry years.  I just didn't think we'd move to the "heartland" in Ohio and find spray painted trees!  I was sorely disappointed and discouraged.  Home Depot and Lowe's had been our go-to hot spots for Christmas trees in Florida, this year is MY turn to pick the tree, and I couldn't stand anything I saw.

After Home Depot and Lowe's let us down, we tried a nursery down the road from us.  They were charging $70-80 per tree.  I suspected they would be more since they were a small nursery, but Matt really wanted to check them out.  Even their VERY Charlie Brown-esque trees were in the $50 range.  Not acceptable.

We drove by Walmart one night, because Matt's parents bought their tree down in SC at Walmart this year.  It was pitch black, but even in the darkness we could tell the 10 trees they had to choose from were not going to cut it.  We began serious negotiations about possibly having to resort to the 2 foot artificial tree from my classroom.

Enter:  The Boss Who Saved Christmas.

Matt's boss had seen in my facebook statuses how disappointed I was with trees and told Matt he wanted to make sure I had a happy Christmas. :)  He called Matt with information about a tree farm he knew of and suggested we try it.  We hit the road after lunch today saying we WERE going to buy a tree, whatever the best tree we could find was.  And if the best tree we could find was a Charlie Brown tree, then we'd just make it as beautiful as possible with ribbons and lights and ornaments.  This farm had some precut trees in a barn and then various firs and spruces all over the property.  We checked the barn first and found 2 contenders and then set out for the fields.

Asa was a huge fan of the sled they gave us for toting a tree back to the check out.  He road all over the hills (with some snow still on the ground!) in his typical I-have-the-straightest-most-serious-face-possible-but-inside-I-am-fascinated-and-loving-this fashion.  We found a grove of firs we liked, but as much as we wanted to "cut down your own tree" experience, we compared each of them to the one in the barn and the barn-tree always won.  A sweet family stopped us on their way to take in their haul and the dad, surrounded by his earnestly excited teen-aged and pre-teen kids, told us he had been coming to that farm since he was Asa's age. :)  You could tell they were all REALLY excited that THIS was the day they were going to cut down their tree at the same farm they'd come to for years.  Very cool.

We trudged back to the barn and our tree was still there. :)  The farm has a set and very reasonable price for any tree, all types all sizes, pre-cut or cut-your-own, all one price!  They shook the tree off on a special machine to get off loose needles (and various natural elements like bugs or nests if you cut your own), wrapped it for us, and tied it to our roof.  Matt was cutely excited to have a tree tied to his roof.  Until our move to Ohio, we both had sedans.  We always stuffed our tree into the trunk/folded down back seat.  But not this year!  This year he got to be the cool dad driving his tree home from the tree farm on his car roof. :)

They also had branches for free you could take, but our fireplace is downstairs and we don't spend much time down there.  It will be great for next year though. :)  Yes, I'm already looking forward to going again next year.  A HUGE shout out and thank you to Bret for giving us the tip and giving our Christmas that extra merry kick we were missing. :)

Five on Friday

1.  It snowed... again!  We have not seen the ground in over a week!  Thankfully, roads are clear most of the time, but it has snowed 7 out of the past 8 days!  I need to take Asa back out in it today or this weekend since we have a fun, fresh layer of snow (I think we picked up an inch or two this morning).  I will post videos of him shuffling through the white stuff very soon.  It's adorable. :)

2.  I finished our Christmas letter!  I just need to print it, stuff it in envelopes, stamp them, and they're off!  I'd love to get stamps and have them out tomorrow.  I meant to get them out the very beginning of this month since our address has changed.  Ooops.  Tomorrow wouldn't be too terribly late though, right?!

3.  Asa is much more open than usual to trying new foods lately!  We are still a definite "no go" as far as dairy is concerned (poor little tummy), but almost every dinner we had this week Asa ate for dinner also (or left overs from the night before if ours had dairy).  He's tried shredded barbecued chicken, shredded Russian chicken, white chicken chili, baked beans, and even a soft taco (minus cheese, of course).  It's so fun to see him willing to try something new. :)

4.  I am almost done with one Christmas sewing project.  I only have some decorative stitching remaining to complete it.  Then I need to start on my 2nd Christmas sewing project.  I've heard from pattern reviews that it comes together rather quickly, and I'm reallllly excited about the fabrics I'm using, so I hope that's true!  I have 2 other projects in the works as well, but I think they'll have to wait until after Christmas since they're not actually Christmas presents and my first 2 projects are. :)

5.  I put up a lit garland on our banister and a little lit tree and they are a HUGE hit with Asa!  Every morning he stands at the bottom of the stairs and points at the garland and tree until I ask, "Do you want your lights one?"  I hear an enthusiastic, "YEAH!" in response and see the twinkle in his eyes when I plug them in. :)  We're going to try again this weekend to find a real tree, but we might have to resort to my little artificial "classroom" tree if we don't find anything.  As I mentioned, I think we're both working through how different Christmas feels this year.  It's a good reminder that Christmas isn't about family or friends or even loved traditions.  Those things should not make Christmas for us. Jesus does.  Period, end of story.  So as weird as it would feel to use our little fake tree (I used it in my classroom when I was teaching), it doesn't affect one single iota of what Christmas is about.

I will close with this sweeter than sweet video. :)

Wordless Wednesday

 

Amish Country

We are trying to be much more intentional about family time on the weekends, and specifically going to DO something and MAKE memories on weekends (not just run errands, etc.).  We realized during our moving process that we didn't nearly take enough advantage of what our area of Florida had to offer.  The beach was 90 minutes away!  We should have gone SO much much.  We didn't go see the springs.  We didn't go down to see the manatees, never went to the Keys or the Everglades...  We are really trying not to make the same mistake in Ohio.

So on Saturday we loaded up for a little jaunt (about 45 minutes away) to Amish Country.  Trees are about at their peak color right now, so we were hoping for beautiful scenery, rolling countryside, and fun time together.  We could have found all those things at home or steps from our door (seriously, the corn fields are everywhere), but how fun to get to see something new and  make a memory.

There are some very touristy parts of Amish country.  It kind of felt Gatlinburg-esque in places.  There were some cute looking shops, but we were in search of a more rustic experience.  We drove through the more commercialized area and turned on a road that we hoped would take us "off the beaten path."  It did!  We saw many, many farms, lines of clothes hung out to dry, lots of livestock, harvested fields, fields being harvested while we drove by, and fields still awaiting harvesting, lots of horses and buggies, several bicycle riders, beauuuutiful farmland and foliage.  I'd hoped we could get out and walk around some, but we wanted to be respectful and not gawk and things were spaced a fair distance apart.  So we drove, and we took discrete pictures, and we talked, and we made our memory. :)

Here's to more weekend memories to come!

 leaves on the way up (much more vibrant in person!)

Corn! (what did I tell you?! :))

goats on the roof.... don't know any more than that!

 Need some hay?

Harvesting corn

Playground Time

After Asa's wonderful "fix it" job on my computer, I didn't get to share about our time at the playground!  So go back a couple weeks with me and enjoy this video of him going down the slide. :)

And here are some pictures of him on the slide. :)