Oh What a Crazy 2020!

 

1. What did you do in 2020 that you have never done before?

Hmm... umm survive a pandemic and quarantine?! Help homeschool my kids? It was a crazy year! 

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for 2020?
I kept some of them, like reading a good amount of books, and spending a lot of time with family. Some things were nearly impossible, due to the pandemic. Arnold and I didn't go on our monthly date nights, and I didn't get to meet as many new people as I had wanted, through church. 


3. Did anyone close to you give birth in 2020?
My brother and sister-in-law had a baby! My 1sr nephew, Roman Alexander. :)


4. Did anyone close to you die in 2020? 
No one close. An old coworker sadly passed away due to cancer. And my parent's sweet dog Mindy, died. 

5. What states/countries did you visit this year?
The only place we went this year was to Charleston, to visit my new nephew and have a quick vacation. 


6. What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019?
More hope. This year was filled with uncertainties, anxiety, and loneliness. I hope this next year is better. 

7. What date from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day I found my biological family. I had been searching forever, and finally it all came together. It was about 3 am one morning when I first saw my biological mother's face, and it was surreal. 

8. What was your biggest struggle in 2020?
Honestly, due to the pandemic, a lot was a struggle. Dealing with the kids doing remote learning. Wearing a mask everywhere we go. And not seeing our family and friends as much as we usually do. The holidays were different... everything this year was tough. 

9. Did you suffer any illness or injury in 2020?
We are SO thankful to God that none of our family have gotten covid or anything serious this year. We had a few minor illnesses here and there, but nothing major. I accidentally swallowed my crown, which was interesting :D


10. What was the best thing you bought this year?
A new dining room set!! It is gorgeous and sadly it was backordered so we still don't have it, but I can't wait. 

11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I have been really impressed with my biological brother, Jamie. A lot of my family have been skeptical about talking to me, and he has been there every minute. He has talked to me, gotten me answers, supported me, and tried to connect me to other family members. I am so thankful for him. He's made this process a little easier on me. 

12. Whose behavior disappointed you?
I was hurt by a few people this year, but I don't want to get into details. Life will always throw some disappointments your way, and you have to learn to move on. 

13. Where did most of your money go?
Bills like usual. I also spent waaaay too much on amazon this year (blame it on the quarantine!! ;) 

14. What did you get really really excited about this year?
Aside from finding some biological family of course, I also was really, really excited about the birth of my nephew. He had a few medical issues, but he is perfectly healthy now! I also LOVED our trip to Charleston, and I also was thrilled we were able to do our home refinance. 

15. What song will always remind you of 2020?
"Run" by Collective Soul 

16. Compared to this time last year, are you: much happier, much nicer or richer?
I wouldn't say happier.. but definitely more grateful for things I have. Thankfully Arnold's job has thrived during this pandemic, so we are still doing fine there, too. 

17. What do you wish you had done more of? 
I wish I COULD have spent more time with my friends and extended family. 

18. What do you wish you had done less of?
Worried... like usual!!

19. Did you fall in love in 2020?
More in love with Hubby ;) 

20. What was your favorite TV Program in 2020?

Virgin River is very addicting. I also got sucked into The Home Edit :)

21. What was the best book you read this year?

My favorite books this year were probably The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Powerful Purpose of Introverts. 


22. What was your greatest musical discovery this past year?
I became a little obsessed with Dan and Shay :) Annoyed the heck out of Hubby and Brooke ;) 

23. What did you want and get?

The one perk to this year was MORE time with the kids. They were home a lot more, and I got to be more involved with their school work and their personal lives. They are probably sick of me by now ;) 

24. What was the best movie you saw this year?
Umm, we didn't watch a ton of movies this year! Mostly stuff on Netflix or ones we have already seen. We did rent the new Scooby Doo movie one night with the kids. 

25.What did you do on your birthday and how old did you turn?
I turned 35 this year! I had a bday dinner at Dos Amigos with some friends and family. Alex and his wife got to come into town and celebrate this year which made it more special :) Mom made me her homemade lasagna like always! :) 

26. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?

If my biological mother, Donna, would have agreed to talk to me. I am still praying about it, and we will see what God has for the new year! 

27. How would you describe your personal fashion statement this year?
Cute but comfy... jeans and cute tops mostly. Way more days were casual thus year. 

28. What kept you sane this year? 
Jesus, hubby, and friends!!

29. What celebrity did you fancy the most? 
Ken Jeong from Masked Singer was hilarious :) 

30. Who did you miss this past year?
I missed all my babies and my few friends when I left my job to stay with the kids 

31. Who were the best new people you met this year?
Well obviously my top person would be JAMIE!! :) I met so many people in this journey, including Trevor, Cindy, Peggy, Donnie, Connie, Gail, and Dennis. A lot of them are new family! :D

I also made some new church friends! I have enjoyed getting to kmow them. 

32. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year:
Never take things for granted. Before this year I didn't always take the time to remember how blessed we are for our health, our home, jobs, and time with people we love. We used to be able to gather in large groups with whoever we wanted. We used to hug everyone we saw, and exchange small talk at church on Sundays. We let the teachers who are qualified teach our kids. I won't take them for granted again, thats for sure! The point is, be thankful for everything and everyone you have in your life, because it could be taken away tomorrow. 

Christmas 2020!

 

My brother and his family came into town for a few days. Baby Roman is now 4 months old and was so much fun to play with. on Christmas Eve we hung out, watched our church service on the tv, ate a yummy dinner, and opened gifts. 

Mom loved all the snuggles with Roman. Actually, all of us did! Even my Grandpa, who is 88 was loving it. This was Roman's first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house! 

We took our gingerbread house kit over to moms' because Arnold honestly HATES putting them together and we thought Uncle Alex would have more patience with the girls ;) They were having a lot of fun and doing great, but SOMEONE didn't pay attention to the directions ;) And the house fell completely flat! :D Oh well, there's always next year. They did enjoy eating all the candy! Next year we have planned to have a family competition of building them! 

3 Generations! We should have gotten mom in this picture too! 

I got a little too excited and bought Roman tons of gifts. I had so much fun, though. Poor little guy just couldn't hang, and fell asleep in the middle of all the present opening :D

Mom and Dad surprised us big time (i had no idea) and got us the Roomba! They have one and love it. We have already run it twice at our house, and its amazing how much it picks up. Poor Max and Sheldon are terrified of it though. Sheldon barks when it gets close to him, and Max just runs away :D Mom also got me the Pioneer Woman knife set I had been wanting! Dad just rolled his eyes.. he will never understand. 

Mom's big gift this year was a new puppy! Her and Dad's 15-year old dog, Mindy, passed away earlier this year. Mom had been very lonely lately, and always wanted another dog. Dad got in contact with some people in SC who had dachshund puppies and he got her one! Mom named her Willow, and she is adorable. Mom already has her in a collar with a little pink bow, and she been spoiled with lots of toys already (including from me! ;) She is very playful, and likes chewing on everyone's shoe laces, hiding toys under her dog bed, and chasing people around. She has really gotten attached to my dad and Caleb. She likes to lay in their laps and go to sleep. Poor thing won't know what to do now that all the Christmas chaos has calmed down! 

The girls wore their matching Simply Southern shirts. They said "True Love was Born in a stable."

Christmas morning was a little different this year, because we didn't go ANYWHERE this year. We stayed in our PJs, and everything was low-key, which I think Arnold loved. Rachel got an ipad, a knockoff apple pen, and an app to draw with. She also loves playing Roblox these days. Brooke is getting a room redo, and we plan to get her new blinds, curtains, etc. 

Arnold was easy to buy for-- just got all guitar-related stuff! Two LIFE IS GOOD shirts that have guitars on them, guitar socks, guitar pics, a guitar sign, and a little guitar man pen holder for his desk at work. 2 of his gifts didn't make it here in time, but I'll just save them for his birthday, which is on New Years! 

Caleb got a giftcard to buy Xbox games, and a lot of new room stuff. His favorite color is red, and I got him new red bedding, a red lamp, red alarm clock, red hamper, and a red MINI FRIDGE! It will hold 6 cans at a time, and we also got him abig pack of root beer, which is his favorite. I should have thought this through though, we may never get him out of his room now! ;) Oh, and the shirt he is wearing came from his Aunt Christina and Uncle Alex, and it is SO HIM!! :)

For the first year since I married Arnold, we did not go to his parents' house for Christmas. His Mom is very scared of all this covid stuff, and didn't want a gathering. She cooks every year, so she went ahead and cooked, and packed it all up and sent it over to us by Arnold's dad. That was so nice to have a meal ready after opening presents, and it was yummy! Arnold's dad came in and stayed for a little while, while the kids' opened their gifts from them. This year was so much different than normal, and while it made me a little sad, we still had a great time with family and made memories. 

Strange Facts About Me!

 

1. I have big scars on both of my earlobes. I was wearing dangly earrings and accidentally ripped both of them open when I was little.

2. My favorite Golden girl is Sophia. My favorite Friends character is Ross.

3. I basically have the palate of a child. I can be picky. I don't like meat on a bone. I don't like my foods touching.

4. I am extremely double jointed. I can move both feet all the way outwards and inwards. I can pull my fingers and thumb back very far. I accidentally gave myself tennis elbow once because the dr told me I over extend my legs and arms when I don't even notice it. 

5. I was in honors classes in high school. I played clarinet but wasn't very good at it. I was on the newspaper staff for awhile. I skipped the day in biology when they dissected frogs.

6. I was married at 20, had Brooke at 21, Caleb at 22, and Rachel at 23. No none of it was really planned out. Yes, I worked fast :P

7. I was close to heart failure in my mid 20's. My heart was functioning less than 40%. I was under watch by a cardiologist. Thankfully my heart is back to 100% function now!

8. I met one of my very best friends in highschool, when she was 14 and I was 16. Next year we celebrate 20 years of friendship. We've been together longer than Arnold and I ;)

9. I have never seen Star Wars. I don't see the appeal. I have watched lots of Mandalorian with Caleb and Arnold. Only for baby Yoda sightings ;)

10. I have such terribly, horrible handwriting. It's like chicken scratch. That is why I am so thankful I can do a lot of work and writing on computers ;)

11. I had an imaginary friend named Elizabeth when I was a kid. My middle name is Elizabeth. We also gave Brooke the middle name, after me.

12. Our dachshund Sheldon is named after Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory. Our daughter was NOT named after Rachel on Friends. I just liked the name :)

13. I am a huge nerd. Of course everyone knows I read for fun, and record and rate everything I read. I really enjoy writing on this blog. I love learning anything and everything I can. I love playing board games, especially trivial pursuit-type games. I get irritated when people use incorrect grammar.

14. I do NOT see the appeal of the following-- coffee, leggings, designer bags like Coach (too blah and boring for me), wearing dresses, Tik Tok, The Bachelor, beer.

15. There are a few things on a bucket list I'd like to do before I turn 40-- Go on a cruise. Get a massage. Meet my biological family. Shoot a gun. Ride in a limo. Meet the Pioneer Woman (haha).

16. Our Cat named Max used to be named Molly. We seriously thought she was a girl for the first year. It's hard to tell with cats!!!!!! :D

17. Things I am irrationally afraid of-- bugs, snakes, rodents, clowns, small spaces, getting lost, not being able to breathe, driving in the heavy rain. Things I am NOT scared of-- dogs & thunderstorms.

18. I have bitten my nails since I was a little kid. I know it's bad. I know its gross. I have tried to stop. I don't see myself stopping ever. 

19. I cannot and will not parallel park.

20. I always wanted 4-6 kids. I would have had at least one more, but we stopped after Rachel due to serious complications.

21. I cannot stand wearing socks in bed. I have to sleep with the fan on. 

22. I did not have morning sickness with my pregnancies. (dont hate me!!) I never threw up. I did get very nauseous whenever I got near laundry detergent though! 

23. My college roomate, Karen, is cousins with Clay Aiken :D

24. I am pretty near sighted. I had to get glasses when I was 8. I am supposed to wear glasses when driving. 

25. I didn't get my first cavity or speeding ticket until my 30s. 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

 What we've been Watching 

This popped up on Netflix the other night, and I wasn't feeling the best, so Arnold took one for the team and suggested we watch the movie to cheer me up. Oh it was a musical all right! It was so incredibly corny. And yet I still enjoyed it, and still teared up at the end! :)

I heard everyone talking about this movie and that it was good, so we watched one day when the kids were in school. Its really funny, but a little crude sometimes. 

This guy they call Mr Christmas goes to people's homes at decorates like CRAZY for the holidays. It is like Christmas threw up in there. I wish I was one of the people on the show, because he comes out and makes your house look beautiful, AND the show pays for it all. Amazing. He also throws helpful hints in and DIY projects you can try on your own. 

We tried out the Christmas version of Sugar Rush. A few teams compete to make Christmas themed cupcakes, cookies, and cakes. I do not enjoy baking myself, but I love to watch other people do it! I especially like watching them put all the details into the cakes! It always makes me want some cake ;) There was some girls on there from NC but they got voted out first round :(

What I've been Reading 

I bought this on a whim.. I'd been seeing it advertised everywhere. Matthew McConaughey wrote a book about his life! It was pretty interesting reading about his childhood, his backstory, how he got into acting, how some of his famous phrases came to be (alright, alright, alright!) He writes poetry and jots down things in notebooks for fun, so he shared some of that in the book. I never knew he was so smart! His writing is beautiful and he made very well in school. 

This was one of the choices in my Book of the Month Club so I picked it, and it was pretty good. A cute little story about a guy and girl in the same town both born on New Years and years later they meet... and im sure you know where that heads. But anyway, it was cute! 

What we've been Listening To

Yes I broke out the Christmas music! I love Penatonix soooo much! I especially love their verion of Go Tell it on the Mountain. Makes me so happy! 

Trans-Siberian Orchestra will always be at the top of my list of favorite Christmas music! I've been to a few of their concerts. They are AMAZING and SO talented! Arnold has actually been practicing one of their songs to play at church this year! 

What we've been Eating

We went to a nearby town last weekend to go to a Christmas parade.. and we stopped in to eat at the Blue Moon. We hadn't been in a long time. I love their homemade chips! 

This Rudolph Trail mix from Target is AMAZING!! It has chocolate covered cereal, muddy buddy type pieces, m&ms, mini reese cups... basically an explosion of chocolate. Its a little pricey but SO worth it if you like that kind of thing! 

What we've been Buying

I have a bit of a problem with buying cat toys! Since I don't get to buy toys for my kids anymore, I feel like I spoil our cat, haha. I like getting him the themed toys they come out with at holidays. I just got him some snowmen the other day. He likes to push and chase them around the room and often loses them under all our couches! 

Yes I had to bling Sheldon out for Christmas! Got this adorable gingerbread man collar on Amazon. It even has a little green bell on it. LOVE SO MUCH. Poor Sheldon. I also got him a Christmas sweater to wear! 

When I saw that they had PIONEER WOMAN Thanksgiving plates, I had to get them! I told mom id bring them to her house when we eat ;) 

Arnold and I recently bought a new dining set! We have been using an old, used, wobbly table for years now! We knew it was about time. We went to Ashley furniture and got a deal for Black Friday. Although.. it was still pretty dang expensive! But Im so excited. Its like our family Christmas gift this year. Unfortunately due to Christmas being close, they are experiencing delays, and our table isnt scheduled to be delivered until around December 22. So I wont get to decorate it before Christmas. But its ok, I look forward to inviting some people over to eat when we have it! 

Yes, Pioneer Woman came out with TRASHCANS! I had been wanting one forever.. and the other day I noticed they went on sale. I messaged Arnold right away and he said GET IT! They had a few color options, but I got her original teal/red combo since that really reminds me of her style. My dad made a TON of fun of me for caring about a trashcan. But it is pretty and makes me happy so why not?! 

What we've been Working On

Arnold has an old chest he used to have for storage in his bedroom as a kid. It was very beaten up, scratched, and looking rough. While on Pinterest one day, I got the bright idea to repaint it, and use it as our TV stand! Arnold let me pick the color, and my favorite color is GREEN, so I went with that! I found the most perfect shade of "Kelley Green" at Lowe's and it definitely is BRIGHT but it makes me so happy! Arnold and I worked together sanding it and painting it, and it was a fun little project. 

Here it is with the TV on it! May seen tacky to some, but I like bright colors. I have a blue living room, and a purple bedroom! The colors make me happy, and that's what matters! :) 

Decorating for Christmas of course! I took a whole day when the kids were in school and did everything! It took a long time but I love the end result! Every night we turn on all our light up stuff and it makes me so happy! We don't have our tree yet, since we're getting a live one, but we will get it Saturday! 

What I've been Wearing 

My very talented friend Rosie makes all kinds of things, and she made me these cute Christmas earrings! I have already worn the trees pair, and I plan to wear the santa pair with my leopard shirt on Thanksgiving! 

Snowman PJ Pants from Old Navy! I love Old Navy PJ pants, they fit perfectly, they come in tons of cute prints, and I always get them when they have a good sale. I think I have 5 Christmas prints... lol. 

My GOOD VIBES shirt I got on Amazon! With GREEN in it of course! 

Its been an unusually warm Fall this year (not that im complaining!) But it just recently started getting chillier, so I've been breaking out and wearing all the sweaters!! 

What we're looking forward to next Month

Alllll the Christmas things!! So ready to have our tree up and looking pretty all month in the living room. Looking forward to celebrating with family and friends. Of course snuggles with baby Roman again! And celebrating one of my BFFs birthdays, she's a Christmas Eve baby! Oh and our new DINING SET finally being delivered and set up! Its going to be an awesome month!! 

Thankful!

These are the top things I am thankful for this year. Even with it being such a hard year on everyone, Arnold and I feel so blessed because we have a solid marriage, new family members, his awesome job, our health, and many other things we try not to take for granted!!

1. My marriage- Arnold and I got married pretty young. We have been married over 14 years now. We got hit with a lot at once, 3 children back to back, a huge health scare, being homeowners, and just learning how to adult. We have our share of arguments, but we've always been able to get through them. A lot of the odds were against us, and we've seen lots of marriages fall apart in front of us-- and we don't take ours for granted at all anymore. I am trying to be the best wife I can be, with God's help.

2. Arnold's company- Sadly I know that COVID has affected a lot of people's jobs. Thankfully Arnold still has his job, and things are going pretty strong. He just celebrated his 20 year (!) anniversary there, and they were so generous to let him choose a gift, and we got an amazing new camera for our family. His company is always good to their employees, he gets plenty of time off with us when needed, and we are so grateful. 

3. Our family's health- Thankfully no one in our family has gotten COVID! I am so thankful we have all stayed healthy. Aside from a few minor things, all of us have been doing great. I have not gotten strep since July (proof it was coming from working with little kids!!) I recently heard of a local little boy who has cancer. He is only 4. That breaks my heart. And makes me remember how fortunate we are to have healthy children. Things can change in an instant. 

4. Our parents- Our parents are getting older, and we are so blessed to still have them around. They have all stayed healthy throughout this pandemic, too! My dad recently had a hard fall and ended up in the ER with stitches, but he is doing much better. They are active in our kids' lives and always check up on them to make sure they are doing ok (Brooke and my mom regularly text!!:)

5. Our new nephew! Ah, little Roman. He is beyond precious (and looks just like my brother!!!:) We were so worried for months, when we found out about his condition in utero. But to see him now, you'd never know he had any issues at all! He is a sweet, cuddly little guy, and I can't wait to see him again soon! 

6. Family Vacation- Back in September we were able to go on a trip together as a family! It was such a great time. We hadn't gone on a trip in so long, and I am thankful for the time we spent together, and the memories that were made. I also decided to wear a bathing suit for the first time in over 10 years, and swim with the kids!!!! :)

7. Finding new family members- All of you know by now about my crazy experience earlier this year, of finally finding my birth family after all these years! I now know so many things I wondered about my entire life. I talk to my brother Jamie on a regular basis on facebook. I have seen pictures of my birth mother and father. I found out I have a ton of siblings out there. It's just surreal to me. I am excited to move forward and see where else this journey takes me. 

8. Getting ahold of our finances- Arnold and I spent a lot of time last year and this year trying to work on our finances, and do better. We didn't always make the smartest decisions in the past (once again, we were young and stupid!!!) And we worked hard on paying down debt, raising our credit scores, and we finally got approved for a home refinance. We are now doing so much better and have so much more freedom. We budget better and continue to work on our debt. My credit score is the highest it has ever been, and it makes me so proud of myself :) God has really blessed our family. 

9. Getting help for Caleb's allergies- We hadn't talked about this much, but for the longest time Caleb had been struggling with feeling bad, puffy eyes that almost swelled shut, and other things. We finally got him to an allergy dr and had him tested, and turns out he was highly allergic to many things. They put him on a daily medication, and he now takes weekly injections to help him feel better. He has really improved since then! I hated to see him suffer before! I feel bad I didn't know he was so allergic to so many things! 

10. Our church family- I've said it before, but we have found a great church home, and we love the people we go to church with. Arnold has such a great time playing with the praise team. Our pastor is awesome, he preaches the truth and always throws a laugh or two in there. I have met lots of sweet ladies, and enjoy talking to them, and even hung out with a few of them recently. I enjoy getting to know people more and more, and look forward to making many new friendships over the years. 

Just for fun-- a few other things I'm thankful for! ;)

~Good friendships

~Amazon! :D

~The freedom to vote

~Dan & Shay's new song ;)

~Good books to read

~This blog

~The kids' teachers

~Flannel sheets

~Learning to cook better

~Chocolate (always!!)

Christmas Bucket List!

 

1. Decorate! I am holding off as long as I can, but its really hard! Especially this year when we could all use a little happiness to cheer us up! This year I have some new things to put up, and I got the idea off Pinterest to do a Hot cocoa bar! Rachel will really love that.

2. Watch Christmas movies. Of course you have to watch Christmas movies! We already watched our first one of the season last week. It was cheesy, but good. Of course we'll watch all the classics like Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Elf. And Im looking forward to several new ones this year on Netflix and Hulu. 

3. Get family pictures taken~ Its been forever, and we are finally getting some new family pictures taken! A friend at our church has started back up her photography business. She is doing Christmas sessions at a local tree farm. I have been planning and coordinating our outfits. I'm so excited! 

4. Pick out a Christmas tree~ We love to get a real tree! We sometimes go to a tree farm, and since we will be getting our family pics done at a farm, we will just pick out our tree right after! That really worked out great! 

5. Christmas craft day~ I bought some different kinds of plain, clear and wooden ornaments. I am planning for me and the girls to paint and make homemade ornaments one day.. and maybe some more crafty things if we can come up with any cute ideas. 

6. Bake Christmas cookies~ This goes without saying! Not sure what kind this year. Everyone knows I'm not a great cook/baker, so I may just go the easy route ;) 

7. Send out Christmas cards~ I do this every year! We do photo cards and send them to lots of family and friends. I am really excited this year that we will have such great family pics on them! I really wish more people still sent cards out.. I love finding them in the mailbox and then displaying them!

8. Angel Tree~ We plan to try to adopt an angel tree child this year and buy gifts! I want to remind the kids that they are very fortunate, and it is good to give to others. 

9. Random Acts of Christmas Kindness~ I love doing these during the Christmas season! Usually every year we do a few things to try and bless people. We usually go for a dinner out sometime during the Christmas season and leave an EXTRA large tip for our waiter. I also like to pay for someone behind me in the drive thru line. And buy a box of food for donation at our local grocery store. And you can do things as simple as let someone go in front of you in line, or just give someone a big smile! It is always nice to give to others, and you might just be making someone's day! 

10. Drive-Thru Christmas Parade~ Things are a little different this year so sadly we wont be going to our town parade and see Brooke play in the band. But they have a few drive-thru parades we might try to go to. 

11. Christmas Service at church~ So looking forward to this! They have the best music that night! And I may be extra excited because Arnold is playing in the service this year! They will be doing a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song, and also a Lincoln Brewster song. 

12. Get-Together/Parties w/ Family & Friends~ I have a couple of good friends I get together with and have dinner or lunch with, and we exchange gifts and hang out. We go to my inlaws house on Christmas Eve for lunch. We usually spend Christmas with my family. And baby Roman will be joining us this year-- his first Christmas!! ;D 

13. Go see the Christmas Lights~ We do the same thing every year since the kids were little. We go to Morganton and drive thru to see the lights, all while eating Papa Johns pizza in the car and listening to Christmas music ;) 

14. Make Gingerbread house/Similar~ Arnold has always HATED building gingerbread houses, and we never seem to do very good, they always fall down on us. But maybe we can try again this year?! They have a lot of really cute sets out too, that might not be as hard? I even saw a treehouse! ;)

15. Read Christmas story in the Bible~ I grew up with my dad reading us the Christmas story out of the Bible every year before we opened gifts. Good to remember the real reason for the season! 

Life Lately: October!

 Mom and Dad have a time share in Lake Lure, and they were there for a week recently. They invited my brother, sister in law and my nephew to spend the weekend with them. Since we are so close anyway, they asked us to come up for the day and spend time with everyone. We had so much fun. Of course the first thing I did was snuggle baby Roman!  

This picture of my dad holding Roman is hilarious! The face he is making!! haha. I wonder what he was thinking???

We went out to lunch at a nearby restaurant we always visit, and it had turned into a Mexican restaurant! That's ok with us though. We had some yummy food.. and some of us had margaritas! ;)

That afternoon we went on a walk down to the pond... and took some pictures. Lake Lure is so beautiful!! It always amazes me, every single time. 

Even though the kids are getting older, I wanted us all to go to a pumpkin patch as a family. We went to one we had never been to this year. It took a little while to get there, but it was nice. Most of the of activities were for kids, but we still got to have lunch, do the corn maze, go on a hay ride, and of course pick out pumpkins. The pumpkins were so expensive!!! Which I figured they would be.. but it sucked because when we got home we realized we accidentally got one with a crack in the bottom, and it rotted really quickly. Should have just got some pumpkins at Publix ;) 

Caleb was sweet and helped us carry the pumpkins because his sisters were being whiny and dramatic! We actually had a long walk back to the car and I was struggling with mine! 

Arnold loves old trucks and had to have his picture with this one. 

We painted our pumpkins this year instead of carving them. This little one I got at the grocery store. I wanted to make it look like a donut like I saw on pinterest. The "sprinkles" ended up looking more like little polka dots though! oh well. 

Oh my sweet Rachel. She is usually doing something that is testing my patience. Lately she got all kinds of gunk in her hair.. we think it was paint that dried in there. She showers and brushes her own hair so we never really saw how bad it was getting.. but she had a HUGE knot in the back of her hair! Arnold and I both tried to get it out, and she would just cry and cry. We finally just booked her an appt at the salon so they could help us. Thankfully they didn't have to cut it out, but it took two ladies and over an hour to get it out! I think they were mad at us.. oops! But I am so thankful for them! They also cut a little bit off Rachel's hair, and she looks so cute and grown up now! And YES we made sure to tip them well! We really were so grateful they could help us! 

Brooke went with me to vote this year! She is really interested in politics lately, and so we talk about the news and certain issues going on around us. I never would have expected she would be into stuff like that, but its funny, because she reminds me so much of my dad! 

Our local bakery started making Biden and Trump cookies for sale lately. For 2 Tuesdays in a row Arnold picked us up some on the way home from work. They are delicious! 

On the 18th we celebrated my Mom's birthday!!! We met her and Dad at Wild Wok for lunch, and then went back to their house for some red velvet cake dad had gotten, and she opened her gifts. Then we just hung out for awhile. 

Arnold got a plate of sushi for lunch! YUCK! I do not like sushi at all. I did try it with some friends a few years back. Just not my thing. I got sweet and sour chicken, and rice. 

Beautiful flowers that Dad got Mom 

Brooke got her freshman school pictures back! I still cant get over that she is in highschool already! Every time I go pick her up at that huge school I get a little emotional. I really wish we would have curled or straightened her hair that morning, but oh well. It still looks good. Caleb and Rachel aren't even getting their pictures taken until Nov. 19 this year. 

We finally made it back to church this month, after several months of not being there!! It was so wonderful. Thanks to Corona, our church was shut down for quite awhile. Then it went to being open back up at limited capacity and masks were required. We still stayed at home for awhile, and I tried to watch the services online. Arnold continues to play music for the praise team, so he actually was at church all this time. He is practicing extra hard right now to play at the Christmas service in December!

We haven't been doing a lot of date nights this year due to Corona, but there was one night when the kids went with my mom and dad out of town, so Arnold and I took advantage of it! We ordered in Carrabba's Italian food, and ate on the couch and watched tv. It was quiet and it was wonderful ;)

Even though Rachel is getting a little older, I took advantage of this month to add some Halloween fun to her lunches! I have cookie cutters for different holidays, and I cut her sandwiches into shapes. I also added fun holiday napkins. 

On Halloween night we stayed at home as a family and had a little part of our own. Papa Johns makes pizza in the shape of Jack on Lanterns on Halloween, so we picked up a couple of those. I also filled up some treat bags with lots of different candies for the kids. Did you guys know they sell rock candy at Walmart now?! I found some that day.. the kids love it. 

We then watched Madea's BOO movie. Arnold and I have seen both the movies. They are silly, but we LOVE Madea! I know the language in these movies is pretty bad, but our whole family loves Madea.. even my mom :D

I ordered this cute cake from the walmart bakery! Their cakes are pretty good! I bought the cute topper on Amazon and added it that night. I also put out a halloween tablecloth on the counter. Yes I love holidays... can't you tell?! :D 

Arnold and his group at work decided to dress up as characters from the Wizard of Oz this year. They said Arnold should be the scarecrow. He didn't want to wear face paint, so he bought a mask offline. They mask was NOT cute... it was actually pretty creepy! He put it on in front of the dog and SCARED him!!! HE wore a plaid flannel shirt... no problem for him because his closet is FILLED with them!