A Wedding

We traveled to Atlanta last weekend for a very special and much-looked-forward-to wedding. It was a fast and furious weekend, but we had a wonderful time! I was so thankful to have my parents there, too, to help us with our boys since Ryan and I were both in the wedding party.  They served us so selflessly the whole weekend!

This goofball helped me pack up and thought he would just ride in the suitcase!

Sweet Theo all dressed up!

Elise walking up to meet Isaac:

My handsome hubby and me at pictures:

The Funk family:

Rehearsal Dinner!

The reception was at an old train depot and was so pretty!

Love these boys!

And these boys: 

What a blessed wedding weekend! Congratulations, Isaac and Elise. Words hardly begin to describe our love and excitement for you both! May your marriage be a stunning display of the Gospel, for the glory of Christ.

Christmastime is Here!

I can't believe we are a week away from Christmas! We are savoring each moment, and I am so filled with peace this season. I feel like this year, more than any of the past years since becoming a mother, had been the most intentional and joyous. 

Our family is settled and thriving here in Springfield, despite the challenges that residency holds at times. God has opened up opportunity for good conversations with our boys recently, and I pray that we are shepherding their hearts with much wisdom and grace. We have had music on nearly round the clock, and have had such fun baking, watching old Christmas classics, and delivering goodies!

We are so thankful for Jesus this Christmas season and hope that you, too, are filled with the joy and peace that only He can give.

Of course, some pictures:

The Funk family Christmas was held early this year since Isaac and Elise are getting married (this weekend!!!):

Excited boys:

Theo opening his 1st Christmas gift!

Abe started basketball and really loves it:

This one is getting into EVERYTHING!!

Case in point:

My card stamper:

We tried cinnamon caramels this year--yummy!

And peppermint macarons--these were my favorite!

Oh, how I love these boys!!

Fall

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  We have had a full and wonderful fall here in our new town and home.  The weather has been just incredible, so we've been able to savor a lot of time outdoors as we head toward winter.

Some photos:

This tree--I have LOVED looking at it each morning outside our front window!  It is like one giant flame and so gorgeous.

Abe took this picture of Sweet Theo while we worked in the yard on a beautiful fall afternoon:

Raking--my goodness, do we have a lot of raking to do here!  I happen to enjoy it, though, and the boys enjoyed jumping in the leaves!

Charlie came out dressed like this the other morning.  He is so funny! Notice his bow tie, too!

Oh, and in case you wondered, we never got around to that hot cocoa stand.  The weather didn't cooperate to begin with, and then Abe began to wonder if maybe not many people would come.  While I didn't want to discourage him from carrying out his idea, I agreed and thought maybe it would be better to do it at our neighborhood garage sale, when more people would be out and apt to buy his cocoa.  And besides that, the boys kept wanting to drink it, and our mix was beginning to run low!  

Lastly, the table ready for our first Thanksgiving here.  The boys have been asking if they can help me get ready (even offering to help pick up/clean--NOT normal!).  They've also been dying to put up Christmas decor....I think they are just so excited for the holidays in our new home!

Have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.  Psalm 136:1

Long Overdue

I was reminded this past weekend that my blog still exists.... Sorry if you check often only to find the same old post from back in August!  Truthfully, I feel like our days our so full, and sitting down to compose a blog post just sounds like one more thing to add to my to do list. And, between birthdays, wedding announcements, bridal showers, and actual weddings, it seems that we've been traveling to Peoria nearly every weekend!  It has been a blessing to be close enough that we can partake in festivities we would have missed out on in Wisconsin, but we're learning that with Ryan's schedule and growing children, we do need to be careful to protect our family time.  

I'm trying to do better about taking pictures, but here are a handful from the past month or so:

Sweet Theo is changing so quickly.  He's already pulling up and walking around furniture and getting into things, which has required another element of supervision to be added to our life!  He is such a happy baby and so quick to smile.  We love him so much!

Loving being outdoors and the cooler fall weather!  

He is eating solids now and doing pretty well...we kind of bypassed the purees all together and are mostly doing soft finger foods.

Making new discoveries and things to play with!

A few weeks ago we did another cousin swap.  Erin and I met in Delevan to switch the kiddos.  This time, Oli came to our house and Charlie went to stay with Gia.  The boys had a lot of fun together!

 Reading our "Fireside Readings" book by the fire!

Abe was in the Glenwood Homecoming Parade with his cub scout troop!  Aunt Linda, Grandma D., and Andi came down to watch with us which meant so much to Abe!  It was really fun to be part of a community event like that and also very strange that I had a child in the parade--it really doesn't seem like that long ago and I was the one marching in it with the band!

There's Abe!  So cute in his uniform.  I learned that I am not very good at sewing....the night before I spent several hours sewing on his patches.

Charlie focused on gathering his loot:

He made quite the haul!

  And that's all for now.  Abe wants to have a hot cocoa stand (he made the sign already and is pretty set on it), and we're going to do it this coming Saturday.  I'll try to get some photos of that--we'll see how it goes!

Summer

We had such a wonderful first summer in our new home!  I continue to feel overwhelmed and undeserving of the gift God gave us in this house and neighborhood.

Pictures:

These two were little peas in a pod this summer.  They adored this sandbox, and I LOVED seeing them out there together:

Charlie trying to get Abe after he swiped his tricycle:

He got him!  And Abe isn't too happy about it!

On the ferris wheel at Scheels:

Abe's Birthday--6 Years Old--Happy Birthday, Abram!  We love you so much!

Playing with a new birthday gift--Slip 'n Slide Fun!

Movie Night:

Working on another birthday project, building and painting a bird house:

Finished product-it looks so cute!

Checking out the stars with Daddy:

Painting on his new easel!

Hair Cut Time!  It was long overdue:

Charlie jumped into the frame right as I took the picture!

Theo and I snuggled while the boys got their hair cuts:

Charlie's turn!

After a while, Ryan told Charlie to "go show Mommy and see what she thinks."  THIS!  SO, SO FUNNY!

Ah, much better!

This little guy is so close to crawling!  He is just sweeter every single day:

Fun at the State Fair!  This was a whole new experience for our boys, and they seemed to really enjoy it.  They got off of every ride with huge smiles and lots of excitement!  Charlie and Gia on the Wiggle Worm:

Abe and Daddy on the bumper cars:

After the fair, Abe went home with Oli, and Gia stayed here with Charlie!  They played so well together and we loved having her here!

At the park/splash pad:

Theo sitting like a big boy!

One day I saw Abe slip out the front door, and I found him on the front porch reading his Bible story book.  Melt my heart!  I had to take a picture of it through the screen!

The boys learned how to climb trees and wanted to every chance they could get!

What a full, beautiful summer we had.  Now we're adjusting to our new normal now that Abe is back in school, and we're ready for fall!