Life...in pictures

Life is busy.  So busy in fact that I often dream of sitting to write a blog post but then remember the hundreds of other things that are more important.  Tonight, Chad and Owen went to the Carolina basketball game - Sawyer, Payton and I went to church, had Chick-fil-a and the boys headed to bed.  Silence here for about 10 more minutes.  Ahhhhh..............   

A quick run down of our fall in pictures (if anyone still even checks on us in blog land!).

Dirtbag baseball.  We played A LOT of baseball in 2015 and other than a few scheduling conflicts, I loved every second of being a baseball mom.  I love watching Payton play and I love him making new friends, learn the game and have fun while doing it all.  There are many things to say about travel ball - you will hear pros and cons from me as well - and, it is certainly not for every kid but it is most definitely for Payton and it works for us.  We had a great season filled with many wins, a few tough losses, lots of trophies and a few rings - but most of all, lots of FUN! 

Our second favorite Dirtbag, Keaton.  We are so blessed to have met Keaton while Payton was in school at Fall Creek.  You never know what the future holds but this little guy will hopefully be part of our extended family for a long time! On and off the field they are watch too much alike! 

 The fair!  We hit up the Dixie Classic Fair one Thursday afternoon and the kids had a blast.  Owen and Payton were big enough to ride most of the smaller rides.  We had fun with Meme and Pawpaw and then stayed around to meet up with Chandra, Allen and Carson.  We ended the night sharing a few funnel cakes! 

Sawyer driving his "jeep"

I thought this ride might help Payton with his fear of heights.  Sometimes we make mistakes.  It ended with Owen grinning and Payton in tears.  Lesson learned. 

 We played SOCCER!

Payton and Owen played for the Twins rec teams.  Owen played on the 5 year old team.  We were really happy to find out that some friends from church - Emerson and Noah - were also on the team and Brian, Emerson's dad, was the coach.  Owen had a blast playing soccer and was so happy to finally have his turn on the field.  He scored several goals over the course of the season. 

Payton played on the 8U soccer game.  We missed a few games due to baseball but it still ended up being a fun season - and, despite the fact that we have no time for an additional sport, we found another sport that Payton really enjoyed. 

Payton and Darian, a great soccer player!

My sweet boys!  Last game was on Halloween Saturday. 

Payton, age 7 

 We took a nice almost family vacation and went on our first cruise...."almost" because Sawyer stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa and Meme and Pawpaw.  I had a lot of mommy guilt over leaving him behind but ultimately it was the right decision.  We cruised on Norwegian - left out of Miami and cruised to St. Thomas (where we took a ferry to St. John), Tortola (we took a ferry over to Jost Van Dyke) and Nassau (we checked out the Atlantis).  We didn't know what to expect but we loved it - grown ups and kids! - and I think we will definitely consider another cruise in the future, maybe in  few years so Sawyer can join us for the fun! 

Our stop in Tortola 

We spent the day at the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke.  We had a fun day on the beach and the boys enjoyed dominating the ring toss game - they even won a few dollars from some onlookers! 

 We celebrated Halloween as a race car driver (Sawyer), a Redskin football player (Payton) and Spiderman(Owen).  I LOVED that Halloween was on a Saturday! We headed to East Bend early in the afternoon and then back to our neighborhood for trick-or-treating. 

 We visited with Addie, Quinn and Kate at Betsy and Ronnie's

Our Halloween dinner was spaghetti...Sawyer really enjoyed it! 

Sawyer post-spaghetti

 Finally, we really ended our baseball season.  Our last tournament was November 7 and 8th in Clemmons.  The boys won the Winter World Series.  I love the picture of Payton playing pitcher, where he played most of this season, and Sawyer looking on - just like his big brothers, he can't wait to be on the field.  He runs the bases after every game. I included the Dirtbags team picture below because these boys were such a big part of our fall.  They are a great group of kids and so fun to watch them all play together. 

It's basketball....thanksgiving...and soon to be Christmas.  Our baseball practices have been replaced with Basketball and our season will start soon.  Chad is coaching and Payton and Owen are on the same team. They are excited because they are the Heels!  

We have been busy with our "new" church - I am so happy to finally know that we have found the right church family here in Winston.  It feels so good to say that it is starting to feel like "home" and starting to fill in some of the pieces that we left behind in Mt P.  My heart still hurts, grieves almost, for the life and friends we left behind but after almost 2 full years, the hurt is a little less hurt and a the happy memories.are a little more.  It seems dramatic to call it hurt and grief, but, that's truly what it feels like.  I know we moved back to NC for the right reasons but it doesn't make all of those emotions any easier.  I miss our friends, our church, our neighborhood, the beauty of the lowcountry, my job, my co-workers, my patients.....everything about our life in Mt P dearly - every single day a memory pops into my head - but, I am finding space for new friends, new relationships.   We are going to a small group on Wednesday nights and we made fast friends with the other 6 couples in the group - and I have been going to a Bible study on Thursday mornings.  Our Sunday school class finally feels comfortable as well and our recent sermon series couldn't be more perfect.  

We recently completed three Operation Christmas Child boxes with the kids and each night we talk about what we are thankful for - Sawyer is most thankful for cookies - but, at least we are fostering a thankful heart! 

I work too much and our house is a mess but our kids are happy and our hearts are full!  Life is good - and with all the bad and crazy in the world "good" feels great!