Okay, so I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging these past two weeks. I realized today that I’ve only posted once since my bi-weekly “Not Me Monday” post. The truth is, I’ve been a bit lazy, quite a bit sick and a whole lot of busy.
And, now it’s time to play catch up! I have about 25 photos to share to fill in the gap of the past two weeks. I could do this part Not-Me-Monday-style, but that would just be exhausting. I’ll aim to do that later today. Until then, I hope you’ll enjoy!
So, Ryan and I have picked up a big interest in rock climbing at the local indoor crag. We’re loving it, and, in true Ryan fashion, he’s already on the eBay hunt for us to have all our own gear!
In home decor news, I can finally set my shame aside as we have officially completed (most of) the painting of the living room, stairs and upstairs hallways. It’s a huge relief to have it done. I’m currently considering tackling the dining room with Benjamin Moore’s festive “million dollar red” for the holidays. We’ll, of course, return it to it’s regularly scheduled color once spring comes… stay tuned…
Also in decorating news, we’ve put up the tree and swapped the dining room with the living room. The dining room table is now in front of the fireplace. This switch initially took place to accommodate the Thanksgiving Feast, but we sort of enjoy it now, and we’re considering leaving it this way for a bit.
Who needs leg warmers? Oliver asked Grandma to help him try on all of our stockings while I was working on the meal on Thursday.
When it was time for Scout to make her exit (also the time for our guests to make their entrance), Ryan called her outside to the van (she was supposed to spend the afternoon down the street with Derby, the Creech’s dog in his yard). Anyway, she protested by hiding under and behind the Christmas tree.
This is our Thanksgiving table. Ryan made cards for each person with a small portion of Psalm 147 typed on them (the scripture I shared in my last post). Before the meal, we went around the table taking turns to complete the reading. Following Psalm 147, Ryan read the “Praise and Thanksgiving” prayer out of The Valley of Vision to bless the meal. It was really lovely.
This last verse was in the middle of the table for us all to read in unison.
When Beatrice arrived, the music was playing, and the kids actually grabbed hands and started dancing with one another. They really know how to get all the grown ups’ attention!
My lovely sister and brother-in-law.
The handsome head-of-household. :)
My sweet Mama.
The whole group.
Rebecca was in charge of making the apple-cranberry potpies look beautiful.
After dinner, a walk.
This is what we’ve taught Oliver to do when he has to wait for something. I believe that here he is waiting for Auntie Rebecca to share some pumpkin pie with him.
So, I only took a few pictures of our three days in Ohio.
Here are my boys playing outside while the meal is being prepared.
And this is just as Great-Grandma Tilmant is pulling in the driveway. He was so excited and wanted to run to the car. Ryan told him to wait, and this is what we got. He’s my dream kid.
>oh what great fun! we used to rock climb all the time and are hoping to get back into it. Our local gym isn’t great, but it is something. Yours looks awsome!
climb on!
>Love it! Everything looks beautiful, as always. I love that Oliver folds his hands. How sweet that he complies with that rule. We tried with Micah (forget about it ;) I think I will give it a second shot with Owen. Your table was gorgeous for Thanksgiving and I love your stairs. You are inspiring me to do something with mine. I need to get on the frame hunt. Sorry you have been sick. Micah is finally getting over his pneumonia (it has been a trying month). Maybe Owen and I can come play this week? I know he misses having a friend to play with now that our guests are gone.
>Hurrah for an update! I was missing you, friend. Steve saw Nathan one time this week (something to do with marketing the planetarium) and he said y’all would be together for Thanksgiving weekend. I’m glad you had a good time.
>thanks for sharing! one of my sisters is an avid climber. love the photo wall.
>how fun! Looks like you’ve been a busy bee!