Christmas Tree

Alright, so remember the picture of our HUGE tree?  Not sure the picture does it justice...it really was half the width of our den.  The reason we got such a large tree...

Josh has been carpooling with a co-worker (since it is a long drive...about 1.25 hours) and he is a Louisvillian and gives Josh all sorts of advice on restaurants, local attractions, and the like.  He suggested we go to Huber's Farm in Indiana to get our Christmas tree.  We love a tree adventure (see here) so one beautiful Saturday we loaded up and went across the river to Indiana.

I promise even though the sign says orchard & winery they did have trees (and also ice cream...we sampled some).

Riding in the back of the truck to the tree fields.

 

 In previous tree gettin' adventures we have paid by the height of the tree.  Not so at Huber's.  You pay by the tree type.  We set out looking for the perfect Blue Spruce (since there were no Frasier Firs).

After much looking we abandoned the Blue Spruce in favor of a Norwegian Fir.  At this point my dearly beloved got to thinking...if we were going to pay the same price no matter what size Norwegian Fir we got then it would be a better deal to get the biggest one possible.  

Now, in the tree field all the trees look smaller than when they are in your house.  Josh sawed down our chosen tree - with some supervision from Sam & Troy - and we took it home.  After taking the tree inside and snipping the wrap Josh had a Clark Griswald moment - little full, lots of sap.  

We did enjoy our tree but next year I'm thinking I get to select!

Our Kentucky Home

 As promised pictures of our place in Louisville.  Josh & I went up in September to find a place to live.  We had met with a realtor over the summer and she told us that rental properties were in high demand and to find one you had to pick your area and just spend time driving around looking for signs.  We did as much looking as we could from South Carolina but knew we were going to need to go to Louisville and just hunt all weekend.  The Thursday before we were going Josh me with his friend Jim who is also a Southern grad.  Jim mentioned a classified paper that we should check out (kinda like a Christian Iwanna).  There was only one house listed and on paper it sounded great.  I called and set up an appointment with the owners to check it out on Saturday morning. 

We liked the space, location, and the landlords so after looking at other places we decided to go with this one.  And so far it has been wonderful!  Here is a front view of the garage and front door...there is a circle driveway and more space on the left of the picture.

And the backyard that we are so excited about!  It is huge!  I have hopes for a garden this summer...no more container tomatoes for me!

 We moved the last weekend in October.  Our friends in Seneca were WONDERFUL in helping up pack and get loaded.  My parents and Josh's parents made the long drive with us.  We had quite the caravan - my car (me, Sam, Troy, Shiloh, overnight bags, & hitch-hauler), my parents' car (loaded with their luggage and some furniture), Carol's car (their luggage along with a few boxes), & Josh and his dad in the biggest Penske van with car trailer!  

My Mom and Carol setting up the sink side of our kitchen.  There is a sun/mudroom behind the lovely orange counter, the garage door is down the ramp in the back right, and our kitchen table is out of the picture on the right.

 View of our table with my Dad, Carol, Sam, and Mom unloading boxes.  Garage door is at the bottom left.

My brother and his girlfriend (Jonathan & Chrissy) came up from Nashville to help.  Putting together the basketball goal in the driveway in front of garage.

Our lunch break.  There is a long "cubby" wall of sorts between the dining room and ramp to garage.  We have loaded it with games and arts & crafts supplies.  Sam & Troy's small table and chairs are under the window.

Same room with the small table.  Sam and Troy were champs during the moving in and did lots of coloring and puzzles while we moved things in and around the house.

Shiloh was in doggie jail in our room.  She also did great during the move.  Thankful that our landlords agreed to let us bring her...that was part of my deal with Josh.  We could move but Shiloh was coming with us...no questions.

View of half of our living room/den.  We have filled up the shelves with pictures.  That weird shelf thing in the wall on the right is proving to be a challenge.  Not sure what to put in it...strange size and location.  Our kitchen is on the other side of that wall.  On the left just out of the picture are double doors to the deck and backyard.  The bottom cabinets are filled with our DVDs (alphabetically arranged thanks to Chrissy!) and other electronic things.

And here is the same room with the HUGE Christmas tree that Josh cut for us in Indiana.  It took up half the room!

Back to move weekend - Sam & Troy are still sharing a room.  We were able to get it mostly set up that first day so they got to play and sleep there.

Our landlords came over and met the boys and dog.  Not only are they great landlords but also our neighbors!  We continue to settle in here and are finding our way.  Things are different but we are encouraged by how the Lord has taken care of us thus far.

Been Busy

We have been busy since my last post (almost a year ago!).  Just to catch up and not overwhelm with all the details here are a few happenings...

The boys and I went on a trip to Nashville to visit Uncle Jonathan.  Their favorite thing was watching him play MarioKart.

Sam turned 5!

 

We had a Minute to Win It party for him.  Lots of silly fun with family.

Josh took the boys on a camping trip to Table Rock state park.

Uncle John and Uncle Matt went too.

And Pops, of course!

Trinity Preschool had a Thanksgiving feast for all the kids.  Troy's Indian name was The Wiseman!  

Sam was a pilgrim and enjoyed sharing his feast with Emily.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families (of course we were eating and visiting so much that I didn't get any pictures). 

In December we went up to Cashiers, NC to cut down a Christmas tree.  Beautiful tree farm...

We found the perfect one and Josh cut it down.

We approved.

 

 We had several wonderful Christmases and enjoyed the time with our families.

In January we welcomed our niece, Riley Grace.  Uncle John, Aunt Stacy, and Riley.

Sam and Troy were glad to have a cousin (even though Sam was disappointed that she was a girl).  

Just 3 days after Riley was born Josh celebrated his birthday.  Sam and Troy helped him make his own birthday waffles.

The winter months were mostly uneventful.  We spent some time and effort working on the house.  Then in April Troy turned 4!  He chose to celebrate with birthday cinnamon rolls, complete with candles.

Beautiful Easter Sunday...

with some silliness!

 Aunt Stacy went back to teaching and Riley came and hung out with us during the day.  Sam photo-bombing on her first day with us.

We did some hiking in May to Oconee Station Falls.  

Big day for Josh - the Bronco went to the shop!  Josh has been saving and working on the Bronco since we found out we were pregnant with Sam so to send it off to begin the completion process was HUGE!

 We put our house on the market at the beginning of June.  Then left for Malphrus Beach week.  We had a great time swimming and playing with Mimi, Pappa, and Aunt Z.  When we weren't at the beach or pool we were enjoying Krispy Kreme doughnuts or mini-golf.

In August Sam started kindergarten.   First day smile.

Troy and I walked him to class.  He was such a pro he didn't need our help at all!  Can't believe he is old enough to be in "real" school!

Troy started another year at Trinity Preschool in the 4 year old class.  I got to go with him on their field trip to Chatooga Belle Farm for some apple and berry picking.

So, I mentioned that we put our house on the market and after several showings, a few low-ball offers, and lots of prayer at the end of September we accepted an offer.  

We have closed and moved to Louisville, Kentucky!  Josh will be starting on his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in January.  It is my plan to keep our blog updated more often to let y'all know what is going on with us.  

Louisville is an exciting city and we are learning how to get around.  We had so many answered prayers getting us here.  Stay tuned for more recent pictures of our rental house and the GIGANTIC Christmas tree we cut down over the weekend! 

Life on the Farm is Kinda Laid Back...apologies to John Denver

Back in October we went to one of my favorite places...Denver Downs Farm. No secret that I love a farm & am thrilled to get the chance to go play on one & not have to do any of the real farm work. It was a beautiful fall Saturday.

Josh stayed at home cutting some trees so Aunt Z came with us.

Sam & Troy enjoyed the tractor pulled cow train.

We spent a lot of time at this fun area.

You put rubber duckies in the "lane" & pump the handle for the water to woosh down & carry the duckies to the other side.

We also went through the corn maze...

Not much of a challenge this year (as you can tell). The corn was very short so we could see everything...actually my favorite way to participate in a maze.

There was some rope swinging in the hay barn.

And Sam's attempt to make a corn angel in the corn box.

Troy liked jumping in the corn. We had corn everywhere for days!

Doing my part to make them into cowboys & country boys. Thanks again Denver Downs!