A Quiet Moment of Gratitude for the Last Few Days

Last night we were lying on the couch watching a new show and I couldn’t help but feel so full from the last few days.

Physically full, yes, because I think I ate more this past week than I have in my entire life, but also full of love and gratitude. PJ was lying in my lap as I ran my fingers through his hair over and over again, feeling his thick, soft curls glide past my hands and it was so still, so quiet, besides the sound of the TV, and I just felt so content.

This past week with Thanksgiving, a more or less second Thanksgiving the next night, and then Matt and Beau’s wedding on Saturday, we were constantly surrounded by wonderful people and incredible food, two of my favorite things in the world. I can’t remember if I have ever felt the way I have this weekend. Matt and Beau had people from all over come here to our little corner of Tennessee and it was so neat to see so many unique and bold and lovely people in an area that isn’t known for any of those adjectives on a regular basis. What a treat it was to experience it all first hand.

After all the hustle and bustle of the last few days, I was grateful it was just me and my guy ending the weekend on the couch before passing out from exhaustion an hour or so later.

It’s Monday morning now and the house is quiet and slowly waking up. I will be taking the boys to school in a bit and getting back to reality this week, so it feels good to squeeze this time in first thing in the morning before the chaos of the day begins.

I hope you had a good weekend, too, friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving today, friends!!! Thank you so much for being here with us this year. We’re so thankful for you and all the love and support you’ve sent our way. It means more to us than you’ll ever know.

xoxo

A Low Key Night Out

Last night, we dropped the kids off at PJ’s mom’s house and decided to have a little night to ourselves.

We packed the car and headed out to the farm to hang the new TV we bought for the tiny house (the first TV we’ve bought in like seven years!) and install a few other little things to make life in there easier. Now that Dixie lives in the camper, we’ve been staying out there as a family more, which has been a nice return to form after almost a year of not spending the night out there. We especially love this time of year at the farm: cold, crisp, windy. It’s a totally different experience than the warmer months.

After we tidied up a bit while sipping on some wine, we made the half-mile journey to Matt and Beau’s house with a crockpot chicken I had made earlier that day. They supplied the wine and the cozy atmosphere. How lovely is the scene in the picture above? We listened to Taylor Swift’s Evermore and Folklore on vinyl which was a completely different sounding record (in the best way). We’re now sold on buying a record player ASAP.

It was a low-key night out, which, of course, meant we spent it tucked away inside an old, warm house. But still, it was a night away for these two dads who missed their kids desperately. Today when we picked them up, we all went out to lunch and got a new outfit for Anna for Thanksgiving.

Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year?

What the Holidays are All About

The holidays are officially here. When did that happen?

Yesterday we went to PJ’s mamaw’s Thanksgiving lunch and it was so nice to be there with everyone and see the kids run and play in her huge backyard. Her house is on the river, which makes the whole experience and view even more wonderful. It was fun to catch up with people we haven’t seen in a while in what felt like the official start of the holiday season (our favorite time of the year).

It’s suddenly so cold here in Tennessee, which everyone around us seems to be complaining about but we welcome with open arms. To me, it doesn’t start feeling like the holidays until you can see your breath outside. Where is the fun in celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas in hot weather?

Speaking of the holidays, I feel like we have so much to do and never enough time to do it. The days are getting away from us faster than I can say Christmas presents, and that leaves little time for anything extra (like writing, which I have missed doing the last few weeks!). If I was a better planner, I would have taken care a lot of what needs to be done months ago, but alas, here we are. We’re all just doing the best we can, aren’t we?

This week is another crazy busy one, with campaigns to shoot, food to make, cleaning to do, basketball practices to attend, and the normal chaos of every day life. It’s an exciting time though, friends!! I love this time of year more than anything and I am so looking forward to the next few weeks. I am just leaving this here: I will do my best to take in every moment and appreciate all the family time coming, because these days are so precious and you can never get them back.

That’s what the holidays are all about, aren’t they? Precious moments you want to relive over and over again. So, with that being said, I would like to kick off this season by saying happy holidays, friends!! Let’s make the most of them.

It's That Time of the Year Again

And just like that, basketball season begins.

Tonight was Allan’s first basketball practice of the new semester. Well, to be more accurate, it was technically try outs to see what team he will be placed on. The boys are in different leagues this year, which means twice the practices, twice the games, and a million times the scheduling and planning. It should be fun, though!

The best part? I am almost 100% sure PJ volunteered to be one of the boys’ full time coach and the other’s assistant coach for the season. What has he gotten us into?

Then again, when PJ puts his mind to something, it always comes out right. Every. Single. Time.

PS: Today is Election Day!!!! Hope you got out and voted!

A Wall of Windows

Here they are in all their glory.

When we drove out to the farm yesterday, we couldn’t get there fast enough. We knew the crew had been working all day the day before on framing and setting the windows, and that they would be in by now. And they were!

I wish I could show you in person how good they look. Pictures don’t do it justice because it’s hard to see the scale in photos. They make the room feel 20 feet tall and so much wider than it is. It just feels bigger all around and like you’re truly outside; one with the hill and the mountain. I can’t wait to see all the walls covered in the vertical boards and the windows trimmed out. It’s all going to look so good!

The view from where the kitchen sink will be is stunning. PJ purposely aligned the living room windows with the kitchen so that. the view from both rooms would be straight on:

The new windows are a bit taller than the old ones, allowing for about a foot more of the mountain view than before. Here’s the view now:

And here’s what the living room side of the house looks like from the outside:

I can’t imagine ever wanting to leave this place.