I fell into the couch this morning after about 45 minutes of rocking and swaying sweet, nap-resistant Taylor to sleep. I laid there for a few minutes and realized it's the first day in MONTHS without a lengthy to-do list to chip away at. I sipped my coffee slowly until it was gone and shamelessly caught up on Grey's Anatomy, uninterrupted. Besides a few loads of laundry that can't be ignored (like potent cloth diapers...), I'm looking forward to a day full of REST. Part of that includes dusting off my blog and taking time to recap the past couple months of our very full fall. Brace yourselves! (Please excuse all the grainy iPhone photos, I usually only have one free hand available these days so my poor camera is off rotting somewhere.)
At the beginning of September, we celebrated our three year anniversary! We had just gotten the keys to our new place and were too eager to unpack to sneak off for a date. We decided on a glass of champagne with our wedding flutes and a picnic dinner amongst boxes and half-assembled IKEA furniture.
It was so exciting to be in our own place again (that doesn't mean I didn't cry when we drove out of my parents driveway...I've always been a little dramatic about change). After close to two years of moving around and the privilege of living with other people, we got the opportunity to rent a house downtown. We're on the same block as some close friends and about a mile away from Matt's work. It's been so fun! We are in the historical district of downtown Vancouver and have really enjoyed being able to walk to church, coffee shops and restaurants. But, alas, unpacking. Unpacking took forever. As in, I broke down the very last empty box from moving less than a week ago. Having a new baby and a very full schedule left very little time and energy for unpacking!
Thanks to my very generous mother-in-law, we got the chance to go visit family in Alabama. We had a ten day trip planned and a long weekend to unpack before we left. Unfortunately, we ended up rushing out there sooner than planned as Matt's aunt Neysa lost her battle with cancer the morning before our plane landed. I'm so thankful we were able to be with our family during such a heart-wrenching time and even more thankful for the time we got with Neysa last summer. She had requested that Matt give her eulogy and he was so honored. He did an amazing job and I know she would've loved it. I was so proud of him and am so thankful to be a part of such a strong, loving family.
Traveling with Taylor was way easier than I thought. He was SUCH a little sweetie and put lots of smiles on faces and lightened some very heavy hearts. I couldn't have asked for a more flexible, sweet, patient little man during our trip! We loved getting to introduce Taylor to so many friends and family out there. As usual, our time out there went really quickly but was really full.
Between all of this excitement, my sweet, baby nephew was born! My mom headed out to Kenya in time to help my sister get all settled in after her son, David Atticus, arrived. They are coming to visit over the holidays and I can hardly WAIT to get my hands on him and be reunited with my sister.
Next up: Brittney & Joshua's wedding! Throwing her bachelorette party was FUN, but sorry, you can't hear about it. (What kind of matron of honor would I be if I went spilling all the details?) It was so fun to be involved in their festivities and stand up next to them! Matt had the privilege of officiating their ceremony, which made the day even more special for us. Watching your husband marry one of your best friends to her love? Tear-jerker.
She was such an easy-going, fun bride, despite the uncooperative weather that day. It rained as she walked down the aisle, but honestly? It was so romantic and beautiful. The sun broke through just in time for their vows and we warmed ourselves up with lots of dancing under clustered paper lanterns in the barn. My dad was a HUGE help that day with Taylor and since he had a part that day as well (he emceed the reception), and my mom was in Kenya visiting my sister, we all played hot potato with poor Taylor. He was SUCH a good sport. I didn't hear a peep out of him all day. At one point, I spotted Matt defrosting a frozen bottle of milk in the hot water of a chaffing dish from dinner. Later, we got desperate and dunked a bottle in a cup of hot coffee. There was a lot improvising but we made it through!
After Britt's wedding weekend was over, I hit the ground running getting ready for Visible Grace's annual auction and dinner banquet. I'm trying out working part time for Visible Grace from home and so far, it's been a great fit. I was thankful to be able to jump in for the last few hectic weeks of planning for the auction; a (large) part of me actually really enjoys event planning! Things did get a little interesting balancing it all with a baby, but again, he was a trooper. The night of the benefit came up quick and Matt and I decided it would be best if he stayed home with Tay and we gave his ticket to Bethany so I could still have a date that night. My responsibilities ended after everything was set up and guests started to arrive, so it ended up being a fun night out for me. Bethany was a top-notch date and Matt got some quality time with Taylor and then some much-needed down time. Everybody wins!
After the auction, we had a few days to get ready for some house guests! There's nothing like expecting company to get your house in order, you know? Maybe that will be my trick from here on out: plan a party or invite people to stay with you shortly after moving. It was quite motivating. So Wednesday night, a mere four days after the auction, I put the finishing touches on the guest room and proclaimed our house FINISHED. It feels so good! One of my favorite parts of our house is the office area. Working for Visible Grace gave me the perfect excuse to have a desk, so Matt set up a little work area for me on the other side of his office downstairs. It's really nice to have all my craft supplies in one space and have an organized area to work, create, write, read, hide, etc. This house felt like home very quickly and I'm really looking forward to getting a chance to enjoy it now that our schedules are slowing down.
I came back to this post a few times today, between reading, making chicken stock, coffee-sipping, wreath-making and baby snuggles. Oh, the baby snuggles. We have a slow, open week ahead of us before Thanksgiving next week and I intend on taking advantage of it.
Whew. That's a fairly rough catch-up of our life the past few months, minus our time with our dear friends over this past weekend! That deserves it's own post, really.
Is it seriously almost Thanksgiving? Sheesh.
