Rewind

How’s that for consistency?

The last few months have been full of the usual and some extras, so I’ll just take a few minutes to catch you up.

August was crazy busy with mostly work and a little fun. We went “live” with our new computer charting at work, so I stayed busy with a couple trainings, plus some mental annoyance/exhaustion during the process, plus working a couple of overtime shifts since there was so much available. It’s crazy that this was only a few months ago because it feels like we’ve been charting this way forever already. It can be frustrating at times to always feel connected to a computer, but really it is less work for me as a nurse overall.

At the end of August I took an impromptu solo trip to Virginia to see my sister Marissa and her family. I just needed some mountains and some sister-time. :) We had fun driving around the mountains and playing with the kids.

Then, my good friend and former roomie Tina got married!! Gorgeous wedding!!

Labor Day weekend was the amazing 2nd Annual Reunion of my college best friends! Jessica flew in all the way from Switzerland. Carli, Rachel, and Jenny drove from all around Florida, and we reunited at my house. We really didn’t do a whole lot – mostly just laid around and talked and cooked and ate. Jess and Jenny are both pregnant, so we felt baby kicking and discussed baby names. We dreamed about Rachel’s upcoming wedding. We learned about this fun new life Carli is living in Jacksonville. We went to the beach and drank Slurpees and took Jess to get all the foods she’s been craving but can’t get in Switzerland. We shopped a little. We took a step back from our everyday lives to reconnect and relax, and it was wonderful.

The end of September brought another little reunion, this time with my nursing school friends. Two of them, Rebekah and Casey, just got married last month, so several of us were together for Rebekah’s bridal shower. The shower and the wedding were such a sweet times with sweet friends.

October was full of changes and fun times. My sister Keri and her family moved back to Florida and have been staying with us since. Her husband, Marc, accepted a job as the Family Ministries Pastor at a church in St. Pete, so they are staying with us while they search for houses and get adjusted. Little Leah has been a blast to have around. She keeps us all entertained for sure.

Krystil and Kaley come over for dinner pretty regularly, and Leah just LOVES “baby Kaley.” Kaley turned one year old in November. Time flies!! I am so thankful that I get to live close to my best friend Krystil and see Kaley grow up.

We celebrated a ton of family birthdays in October/early November.

And for Halloween we volunteered at the Fall Festival at Marc’s church. I helped at the medical tent for a while, and we used Matt’s truck as one of the “Trunk or Treat” vehicles where we handed out candy. Matt went all out by dressing up as a pirate with a peg leg and even turning the truck into a pirate ship.

Keri and Marc did a jungle theme, and Leah was the cutest little elephant.

Thanksgiving was an adventure this year! Keri, Leah, and I drove up to Marissa’s house in Virginia, with a one-night stop in Georgia to visit our Aunt Genny. The drive was long but scenic and enjoyable. Matt and Marc flew up to meet us a few days later, and then we were ALL there – mom and all the sisters and families. We had a lot of people in one house, and it was a little bit crazy. The kids loved the time to play together, and I loved being with all my sisters and kiddos. Unfortunately, there was some sickness going around. :( Shelly and two of her kids had strep, and Elijah was throwing up for 24 hours at one point. I got a bad cold and lost my voice at the end, and actually just got on antibiotics for a sinus infection. But everyone is better now. 🙂

Leah just loooved the road trip. Not.

I went to a place called Stone Mountain with Ben, the Smith kids, and some friends. We climbed up a zillion stairs and got to play on a crazy steep rock face/mountaintop. It was gorgeous!

The kids were adorable in their cold weather gear.

Nate said, “Uncle Matt’s gonna build me a BIG fire!” And so Matt did. 🙂

My mom babysat one day so the eight of us (plus baby Grace) could go on a grown-up hike. We went to a place called Grayson Highlands, and it was beautiful.