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Caution: This might be hard to read. I had to tell the story though. Proceed with caution, this is a tear jerker.

“You did a good job Stormy; you did a good job.”

I kept saying this over and over again. Taylor, Rose and Mercy had left the room. It was just the vet, me, and the vet’s technician. I held stormy’s paw, rubbed her head and her soft ears, and just kept saying “you did a good job.” For 13 years she did. She was shaking, and had blankets over her. She was on a stretcher for a dog, and I was on the floor of the vet’s office, right by her side. I don’t know if she was shaking from the pain, or the cold- and I don’t want to know.
She had an IV in her. And a catheter, under the blanket. She was a bit tired from the medicine, but alert. I was crying, and the vet explained what each of the shots in her hand were: one to numb her, one to send her home. Tears dripped down my nose and hit the tile floor. We already made the decision. The papers were signed. The vet tech had to turn her head to keep from crying herself, as I rubbed stormy’s neck, and the shaking calmed down. The vet pulled out her stethoscope, checked for vitals. The shaking stopped. The vet said some kind words, said I could take all the time I needed to say goodbye; Stormy’s eyes stopped moving. I hugged the vet; I hugged the vet’s technician, told them I couldn’t manage to be there as she grew cold, I had to leave.
For the first time in an hour, I went outside; it was a thick, heavy rain, and I sobbed. 

Earlier that Friday morning, when I let stormy out I noticed she was walking a little weird- almost as though she was trying to grip the wood floors with her paws. We got the kids ready, and stormy was just laying on the floor; she was healthy the day before and walked to school with Rosie and I- but Taylor and I both noticed she seemed a little lethargic. I called the vet before 8, and fortunately they could see Stormy at 9:30. It wasn’t an emergency: Stormy at dinner the night before, she wasn’t throwing up, didn’t have diarrhea, but I wanted to see what the Doc thought regardless. 

After Taylor got back from the gym and stormy hadn’t moved, we knew something was bad. 

“Wanna go for a walk?” She stood, and took a few steps, then stopped. I managed to prop the door open, already had the trunk open, carried her to the car, and drove stormy in to the vet.

She wasn’t an angel. But she did have an important job: when Taylor and I were first married, we were trying to figure things out. How to be nice to each other, how to live together, and do the chores. How to do finances. How to cook dinners, and how to clean up after dinners. 
We argued. I wouldn’t say a ton, but there were some challenges, and we had been entertaining the idea of getting a dog. I suppose God saw our situation, and said “They have enough issues to deal with, I’ll give them Stormy.” Stormy’s job was to help us stop being selfish, and be a little kinder to one another. And she did a great job. 

Not only did Taylor and I start getting along better, but Stormy went on to keep doing her job with the countless guests who have visited our house over the past 13 years. Even with the rowdy kids, Stormy knew how to win them over: she would come sit beside me, and allow the children to poke her, rub her, lean on her, and lightly abuse her in all sorts of ways, knowing I would protect her. If that wasn’t an option, Stormy would just politely leave the room and go be an introvert. 

But that was the exception instead of the rule. Stormy always wanted to be with the family, because Stormy was a part of the family. She didn’t want to be the center of attention, but she wanted us to know she was still around. 

She was my buddy. She was a bookend to my day: the first words of my morning were to stormy, along with a pat on the head. Often she would come downstairs right after me in the morning; even on the days when Taylor woke up first. 

At night, she was often the last one I spoke to, followed by another pat on the head and reassuring her how much she was loved. 

Her favorite thing to do was watch me do yard work: raking leaves, cutting off branches, mowing the lawn, playing with the kids, sharpening lawnmower blades, cleaning the grill. If I was outside, she was outside. If I had to go inside to get some scissors, she had to come inside too, even if it was for less than 90 seconds. 

A few times she stayed at Taylor’s parent’s house while we were out of town. Their dog, Jager, was stormy’s best friend. One of those trips, Taylor and I were in Mexico, and got a call from an unknown number; they got Taylor phone number from Stormy’s collar and said they found our dog. We didn’t learn until we got home that Stormy got out of the Register’s yard, and went into the neighbors car while they were unloading the groceries, and at the chicken wings out of the car. Uncooked chicken wings. 

During those visits she went and ate fertilizer, a leather boot, golf gloves, and rat poison. Other times she ate a bag of chocolate, on three separate occasions. 

She was mischievous, in every way. Just last month, the babysitter was over, and outside jumping on the trampoline with Rosie and Mercy while Taylor and I were on a date. Stormy ate 3/4 of a pizza off the counter, and had some of the worst gas you could imagine that night. I was kinda bummed there wasn’t any leftover pizza for lunch the next day. 

Food not only had to be on the counter, but moved all the way back to the wall to make sure the dog wouldn’t snatch it. I spanked her a few times. Then realized, she really doesn’t care: she would rather eat the food, or get in the garbage and get spanked, than not get in the food. 

She wasn’t the smartest either. She would listen-sometimes. For example, she would stay if she wanted to. Or until something else caught her attention. She didnt do a ton of tricks. She was ok when walking on the leash. But perfect or not, that’s what made her part of the family; I’m glad my family keeps me around, despite not being the smartest:)

Stormy was there when we had our first ultrasound with Rosie. She was there when Mercy came home from the hospital. She let Rosie dress her up in outfits a lot during the covid years. 

When I was down, stormy knew it and she sat close; she never licked, but would sit close; or just lean on my leg. Or, she would lay down and press the top of her head into me. 

She walked Rosie to school every single day; the highlight of my day. 

When Taylor arrived at the Vet, the doctor came in and explained things. Stormy had a tumor on her spleen that ruptured. Chances are, it was a cancer, and the tumor ruptured and healed in smaller ways several times by now; this would explain why stormy was crying for the past month every night around 8pm; I dismissed it though because Stormy was wagging her tail while she did so. 

Finally, this tumor ruptured. There was a chance that emergency surgery could “buy us some more time”, but there was also a chance that the surgery would reveal that the cancer had spread pretty far. Taylor cried. This was the kind of thing that cost the vet her own dog the year before. 

Should we get the girls from school to have a chance to say goodbye? Stormy was stable. Would that be traumatic? Would it be less traumatic than if Rosie came home from school, and never got a chance to say goodbye? Should Mercy have a chance to say goodbye as well, or is she too young?

We had to get both girls. They had to have a chance to say goodbye, and they did. Right there in the vet’s floor, while stormy was on the dog stretcher, under a blanket. We took turns sitting closest to her. When it was time, they left, and the Vet and I were alone with Stormy that last time. 

When we got home, Rosie wasn’t in her room. She wasn’t watching tv. She was in Stormy’s bed, with a blanket on top of her, and a pillow under her head, holding Stormy’s collar, crying. 

The next day, I asked Mercy: “Do you think Stormy is in heaven eating as much trash as she can (since Stormy LOVED getting in the trash can)?”
Mercy replied “What if Jesus says ‘no’”? 

Touché mercy. Touché. There isn’t enough theology in the world to answer that question. 

Now, it is three days later, and I can’t sleep. I keep thinking, “did I do the right thing? Did I miss something? Was there another way to get a year or two from an otherwise healthy dog?” I know the answer is no, but that last scene keeps playing in my mind. 

At the same time, this was the best way it could have possibly played out. It would have been even more challenging to watch her grow much older, and lose the strength to make it up the stairs. Also, we are glad this happened on a weekday, when the vet was opened. And while we were in town- there are a few trips coming up, and it would have been even worse if it happened while we were away. So I am glad she went out with a bang: healthy the day before, and over the rainbow bridge the day after. 

Stormy did a good job. She did a great job. She wasn’t perfect, but she was perfect for us. And now, I am ready to get another dog. Since stormy set the bar pretty high, I’m pretty confident our next dog will just be a jerk. Stay tuned. 

After a few weeks (months?) its hard to know where to start; there has been a lot going on. There has been a lot going on, but the reason I haven’t written anything is because I have been busy planning our next big trip, and it is a masterpiece.

Just last week, Mercy graduated off of her training wheels, and is up on a two wheeler.

It was a lot of fun- she is a quick learner, and it was the same park Rosie learned just a few years ago.

Rosie came to cheer on her sis as well.

We did a fun game night at the neighbors house, and learned a fun game; it wa really nice because Mercy was able to play as well, and she almost won.

Also, Mercy is a little older these days, and having a blast with some of “her friends”- meaning she gets to do something special, and not just hang out with the little brother/sister of Rosies friends. As a younger sibling myself, that feeling is real.

We also finally reached the age where Mercy and Rosie are annoying one another. But, for the most part they are amazing friends in between.

Mercy loves to watch Rosie dance, and is getting a bit bigger to sit through parts of Rosie’s performances:

We also had a crazy hailstorm- it was the strangest thing. Just a few moments of gigantic hail- only a few of these large hailstones covered our yard. However, it was enough to crack the windshield of our car. Then I learned that insurance covers that kinda thing- except these days, replacing a windshield is not just swapping out the glass- cars are fancy and the windshield has sensors, so it took hours to finish.

What trip?

Finally, the reason I have not done any morning posts on the blog is because I have been busy planning our big 15-year anniversary trip to Italy. It has been a lot of fun to watch youtube videos, learn about the country, read travel blogs, listen to podcasts, and have the freedom to create our own custom trip. It really helped a lot this year with the seemingly endless days of snow and ice when the kids were out of school to have something fun (and warm) to look forward to.

For the trip, we are going to Italy: Rome, Capri, and even further south to Tropea, a small beach town near the “Toe”.

Rome will be busy; Capri will be Fancy; and Tropea, hopefully, will be a calm couple of days on the beach. Then, at the end of the trip, hop a short plane ride back to Rome to catch our flight back home.

The tours are scheduled, dinner reservations are booked, the rental car is waiting- the countdown has begun!

People ask me “What does it feel like to turn 40?”. The answer is that I threw away all of my white socks, and went to Costco and bought 36 new pairs of identical white socks. That was a few weeks ago, and I cannot explain how helpful that decision has been. Also:

Taylor threw me a “surprise” family birthday dinner- I knew that some friends were invited to the party as well, but didn’t quite know who so it was a really, really fun surprise to see friends- new and old- show up.

Looking through things, I didnt get any pictures of some of our “new friends” (meaning, less than 10 years, hahaha), but Clint Swaringen, Mark and Margaret, and several others showed up too. Thank you all for coming- it was great to see you!

These people have been around for every important milestone since I was 16 years old- and that is something absolutely significant in my life (also, we missed you Cores, hope you get over the strep throat quickly, we will make it up some other time!).

My 18th birthday, 21st birthday, 30th birthday, 40th birthday- not to mention weddings, graduations, kids birthdays, Halloweens, Memorial Days, New Years Eve’s, etc. I digress.

Ok ok, the pictures from above aren’t EXACTLY from my 18th birthday, 21st birthday, or 30th birthday- but they are all AROUND those times. It turns out I don’t have many pics from those events because digital pictures weren’t exactly big, nor was there an awesome blog to record such moments in my life.

But the pictures from above are around those times- and the very last image with me and Charlie Hiser and Houston and Taylor Symons WAS from my 30th birthday- that was a wild night just over a month after Rosie was born, and we didn’t take many pictures that evening, and for good reason.

It really was an honor to have so many important people show up- life throws lots of curve balls, but I feel like a rich man to have the company of such good friends for all of the important moments.

Taylor gave a speech. Here is evidence, that I am still “fun” despite feeling like a boring old dad sometimes:

In the old days, Taylor would put her speech on a cake, in the form of a poem. We have come a long ways together since then 🙂

Somehow I got away without being roasted- over the years these people had plenty of ammunition for a moment like this. It was probably because children were around, but the Lynam’s gave a special speech as well:

Thank you Taylor for putting this together- it meant more than I thought it would. You make it look easy to put together such fun events.

Back in high school, it was widely believed that if you ran around the house the night before it was supposed to snow, screaming a special word, that it would summon more snow here in Greensboro. We did it many, many times and it worked about every time.

This is not that. This weekend it snowed. And Rosie had a dance recital.

On Friday evening, we went to see Lila do her dance, and she did great. It was clear to everyone- including the judges- that she was excellent, as she got 2nd place. The special part was how, due to some technical errors, the music stopped just 20 seconds in- and played a terrible, terrible noise due to some interference. What did Lila do? She just kept dancing her solo routine- full of grace, and unphased. It was really, really touching to see her strength in that.

Earlier that day, it snowed- and we did all the snowy things. Rosie and mercy were about to jump out of their skin with excitement- we havent had a good snow in a while.

Mercy was getting a bit restless watching the dancers, so we slipped outside for an excellent trespassing opportunity at the Greensboro Coliseum (300 yards away from the dance routines). At that point the snow was turning to sleet, but Mercy actually smiled for the camera without prompting: a solid win in my book.

Rosie did a trio to a song called “Girls”. It turned out great- she looked so grown up, and the song was beautiful. My allergies started acting up during her routine.

Mercy and I left early for more sledding, and Rosie and our neighbor Hunter. There is a sweet hill a few blocks away that neighborhood kids flock to when it snows. If your sled was headed the wrong direction at the bottom of the hill, there is a chance you might run into the parked El Camino- this is the ultimate sign of sledding in the south.

Now, the snow is almost all gone except for a few places in the shade. The local school system is doing a “remote learning” day, and Mercy’s daycare is closed, so the stay-at-home siblings trend continues.

Happy New Year!

Its gonna be a big year for us, and we started off in a big way so far- for some of us anyways.

New Year’s Eve was about as wild as it could be for the parents of a 10 year old and 4 year old. We were in deep sleep by 9:45.

However, we got to spend a few days at the beach with our small family, and then were joined by some friends for a few days. The weather was solid, and no matter how many times I tell these kids “only get your feet wet”, they always end up soaked. You know what? as long as a change of clothes is available (and it was), who cares?

There is a place that does an annual “dropping of the shark” for new year’s eve. It used to be pretty popular, but slowed down quite a bit during covid. They used to do a “shark drop” at 9pm for kids, and midnight for everyone else. Now, they only do the 9pm for kids, and this was the most crowded it has been in a while- it was great. Rosie loved being able to “stay up late” with some friends:

It was a great couple days to just hang out and relax. Almost all the kids are out of diapers (except for Millie, and we love Millie), and the kids are a lot easier now then they were just 2-3 years ago.

As soon as we got back from the beach, Taylor went to Miami. It was part of her turning 40 with some of her best friends since- forever.

So for three days with the kids, who were sick of each other after a never-ending Christmas break, the best I could come up with was to take them to an ACC basketball game, and watch Wake Forest play against NC State, in Winston Salem. I got some cheap tickets, but the fees are nuts.

The game was great, and the girls fell asleep HARD on the way home- maybe the first time Rosie fell asleep in the car in 5 years.

What else is there to do with two kids that have spent too much time together over a never-ending Christmas break?

Go to church. The service was great, over too early, and way, wayy before going home, at least one of the two girls asked, “What else are we doing today?”.
The answer to that question was, “A whole lot of nothing. It will be a very, very boring day.”

It snowed. We played. We painted pictures and got creative. My mom came over to visit and played a game of memory with Mercy. The day slowly moved by. And then there was a snow day after that so both Mercy and Rosie were out of school for yet another day…

On top of everything else, I have been working through some new year’s resolutions since Rosie pointed out how big my belly was in a picture during our trip to New York. She wasn’t wrong, so I have been working out a bit, and trying to eat no carbs, dairy, or sugar (basically, eat only meats, vegetables, and fruit). Not following a specific diet, but cutting out all carby/starchy foods and alcohol to see what happens:

I started doing intermittent fasting too, which is basically limiting eating to only 8 hours a day. For me that means after dinner, wait 16 hours to eat. So far, I lost 6 pounds in 8 days. I think I would rather be happy and full though…

Meanwhile Taylor was in Miami and it looked like they were having fun:

These four have been friends since the beginning, and they all have a big 4-0 birthday, and combined it all to do a short trip to Miami Beach together.

It looks like they had a blast-paddle boarding, pool, and…not children.

Im kidding of course- I am glad they got a chance to get away. Taylor does an endless amount around the house keeping us going, so it is great she got to get away with some of her besties- they are an awesome group, and it is good for the soul to reconnect.

Even though I pictured Miami Beach to be something wild, it sounded like there is a lot to do around the area.

Anyways, the year is off to a roaring start, and Taylor and I both have big birthdays and an anniversary to look forward to this year. Buckle up!

What the heck just happened?

We saw friends.

The Steinwedell’s hosted our annual “Happy Birthday Jesus Party”. The kids all blew out the candles together, since that can be theologically confusing.

Have you ever done a “dirty Santa” party? This particular night, the “dirty” part was interpreted quite loosely, but the night was a blast.

The other guys opted not to see the nutcracker- that ballet storyline still confuses me, even though I’ve seen it 10 times now. Why do all those little kids come out from under the lady’s giant dress?

We saw each other

I didn’t get a picture of us, but you can just use your imagination that Taylor and I looked great and had fun on a date night before the craziness of Christmas got started.

We Hosted

For a couple years now we have been hosting the York family for brunch on Christmas eve. Most of us are sober-ish during this hour of the day each year

We visited

This year for the first time we did Christmas with Evan and the cousins- and had a pretty good time doing charades and singing some Christmas Carols.

Honestly, I am not even sure when we were at the Register’s house: was it before or after Evan’s house? Either way, the meal wasn’t something to forget: Ted got an amazing cut of meat, some Christmas Carolers came by, and Rosie and Mercy had a blast with their other cousins in town.

We Stayed Home

We did some “Logan Family” time with our own traditions: making peanut butter balls, church on Christmas eve, and our tradition for the girls to have a “sleepover” upstairs with us on Christmas eve. Rumor is that I snore, so they had to see first hand.

Our peanut butter ball tradition- maybe our 13th year? – is pretty darn efficient at this point. We have learned tons of things not to do.

Rosie got a bike, and Santa was pretty excited it was the right size. Rosie and Mercy pretty much get along and had a blast for Christmas eve/morning.

I know I know, one of the pictures above doesnt look like the other, but Taylor got this shot of the mountain of leaves that were collected from our backyard. I finally snapped and hired some teenagers wearing camoflage and a 1991 green Silverado to come get our leaves. It was amazing how good of a job they did, and it made hosting the Register/York family a little less embarrassing.

We surprised Rosie for her big birthday with a trip to the big city.

Where did you stay?

We stayed at the Motto by Hilton on 23rd street. It was between two subway stops- the red line and the orange line, and worked out great. Taylor is really motivated to get a good deal, so she picked the spot, and it worked out great. 

We arrived super early- leaving Greensboro at 6:15, and making it to the Hotel by 9:15 or so- way too early to check in, but we were able to leave our bags there, and check in by 3pm. The room had a queen bed/bunk bed situation which Rosie really liked, and I thought the view was awesome from the 25th floor. 

What did you do?

A few things were planned- this was Rosies big trip, so I wanted to honor her and the things she enjoyed. As a travel tip, I would recommend getting dinner reservations at the bare minimum, if you don’t want to eat street food for dinner. 

We saw all the touristy things around Rockefeller plaza, like:

FAO Schwartz, 

the Christmas Tree, 

the Lego Store, 

After watching all the movies to get the NYC spirit before the trip, Rosie wanted to see Central Park, which was a really fun tangent. 

Rosie is a dancer, so we saw the Rockettes- and it was WAY better than I expected. And Yes, I did cry towards the end during the nativity scene: it just reminded me of how many prayers were answered over the past 10 years for us to get to go on a trip like this. 

Going up to the top of a building had to be a part of the trip- and there are several options, but The Edge at Hudson Yards was where we ended up going- and it did not disappoint. The views were amazing, all the way around, and it had a glass floor for a part of it. Rosie loves a thrill, but the glass floor from 1100 feet up was almost too much for her. We got the all-day ticket to go any time we wanted, and I highly recommend it. 

Strolling on the High Line, walking through Chelsea Market, and seeing a few malls like Hudson Yards, the Oculus, etc. They were great spots to get warm. 

Rosie really likes the Broadway play Hamilton, and Alexander Hamilton is buried at Trinity Church between the NYSE and Freedom Tower, right near the place we went skating- so we stopped by there as well to see some of the names from one of her favorite songs: “The Schuyler Sisters”, all buried in the same place. Surprisingly, Rosie really enjoyed that spot- and her and I are going to see Hamilton at the Tanger Center in Greensboro later this month. 

Finally, we did Ice Skating to finish things up. There are a few places in the city to skate, and I was hoping to avoid the huge crowds if skating in one of the popular places like Rockefeller Plaza, so the Rink at Brookfield Place was where we ended up, and it was great. Rosie was really looking forward to that part, and she did great. 

Where did you eat?

For breakfast, Bagels are the way to go. There are lots of lists of “the best bagels in NYC”, but out of the ones closest to our hotel, we ended up at Brooklyn Bagels and Ess-a-Bagel. The latter one- with Lox, Scallion cream cheese and red onions on an everything bagel made for some downright offensive breath, but a darn good bagel. Rosie struggled with her braces, but didn’t complain.

John’s Pizza on Bleecker Street is the best pie in town, hands down. The wait was about an hour, so Taylor and Rosie did some shopping around the area while I waited. At that point, I didn’t really even WANT a pizza after eating Bagels (like, GIANT bagels) for breakfast 2 days in a row. 

It was the best Pizza I ever had in my life, hands down. I think Taylor would say the same. What makes the pizza so good? We asked the waiter, and he said it was the 100 year old coal-fired oven that cooks at 1000 degrees. 

Taylor really wanted to include Ellens Stardust Diner on our list because she went as a kid and really enjoyed it. There are lots of things I did as a kid and really enjoyed and many of them did not hold up well- the Brave Little Toaster movie was one of them. However, in this case, it did hold up well. It’s a little diner on Broadway where the wait staff are almost all people trying out for Broadway shows- so they sing these amazing Broadway numbers while people are eating, and they are surprisingly good. Once again, it was a 1 hour wait or so, so I did my dad duties while the girls shopped, but it was worth it. I was cold down to my bones at this point. 

It is hard to get dinner reservations at some of the more popular, kid-friendly places, so we had dinner at La Grande Boucherie, a French place with great Christmas decorations. It was alright, and Rosie was falling asleep by the end of the meal. 

We also ate at Rosemary’s for dinner. It was really decked out for Christmas and had great music and decorations. The food was great. Sitting in one of those restaurant booths on the sidewalk, looking in through the windows at the restaurant while wearing our coats during the meal to stay warm, was not great. Once again, no one complained- except me, I complained to the manager that the seating was not cool- it was freezing out there. Because we complained, they gave us some more carbs on the house.

What else?

The subway worked great. I worked hard to read up on some of the routes before going- I was still trying to recover from getting two families lost on a hike in the woods two years ago and didn’t want to embarrass myself. 

Everything around Rockefeller Plaza was super crowded, but the second day seeing other parts of the city wasn’t too bad. 

There is something on Apple Maps called “Guides”, where you can save a bunch of spots on a map and look at all of them at the same time, instead of looking up things 1 by 1. This was super helpful to add a bunch of “ideas” of things to do at various places around the city, then just let Rosie pick what seemed best. 

It was really, really cold. We got a 6:15 am flight from Greensboro to Laguardia, and that may have been a bit too early. Rosie was a little slow all day, and I think we were too. A trip that early meant getting all your stuff out- including long johns and layers and layers of clothes- the night before. I am proud to say that no one complained. 

Hudson Yards is a really cool mall- they put out 2 million lights for Christmas- but the stores aren’t that cool for people that don’t have a million dollars like us. 

Having a few things planned, and a lot of room to be flexible, worked out really well. I took note of that from how Taylor has planned trips in the past. 

On the first day, we took our bagels to Times Square as one of our first stops and learned that Rosie was afraid of the pigeons. “They kept trying to eat my food” she said. She was right, they were trying to eat her food, but for the girl that is not afraid of a single roller coaster, I was kind of surprised to learn of this new phobia of hers.

What about Mercy?
She stayed at her grandma and grandpa’s house (thank you Zippy and Papa!). We missed her, but it would have been terrible to have her in the dirty, dirty subways around the city. Zippy sent us some pictures and it looks like Mercy had a great time. 

To summarize:

Where did we stay?
The Motto by Hilton. 

What did we do?

Hudson Yards

The Edge

FAO Schwartz

The Lego Store

Central Park

The Rockettes

M&M Store

Ice Skating at The Rink at Brookfield Place

Hamilton’s Grave

Where did we eat?

Ess-a-Bagel

Brooklyn Bagel

Johns Pizza on Bleecker Street

Ellens Stardust Diner

La Grande Boucherie

Rosemary’s

This season is always wild- it starts with the excitement of thanksgiving, and then Rosies birthday is right on the heels of the holiday.

This year we did some quick Thai food on Wednesday to get ready for the busy days ahead. As tay would say, “Momma is tired, and dont wanna mess around with cooking.” So, she didnt. I even went the extra mile and took the kiddos to the park to get some wiggles out at the end of the day, and that was fun.

Thanksgiving

What do you do on thanksgiving morning? Do you have any traditions? Around our house, it is all about one thing: The Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. We love to celebrate the commercialism of it.

Actually, we just like recording it, and then watching in various parts and skipping the commercials- and being as absolutely lazy as possible. We deserve it, right? So, I made a (small) breakfast. When the kids said they are still hungry, a gentle reply of “Good, it builds character” was all they got from me.

They also created masterpieces on the scale of Van Gogh and solved complicated puzzles:

Just because we are lazy, doesnt mean things werent busy. Games played, gymnastics, and whatever the girls did that almost seemed like hitting each other, but no one really cried so it was fine:

I dont know what this dance move is (maybe a back bend?) but it gives me the heebie jeebies every time I see it: this move is what the bad guys do in scary movies, almost inhuman like flexibility:

Ok ok, by this time (11:30), we have been as lazy as possible. The house is kindof a mess. Stacey Tester (Taylors longtime friend, and my 11th grade date to homecoming dance) stayed the night with us the night before, and was somewhat scarce that morning- I didnt get any great pics of her I now realize.

But, it was time to start getting ready to go to thanksgiving at Taylor’s parent’s house, 15 minutes away, and the farthest drive we make in a given week.

The day was great- Deborah (or “Zippy” or “Taylors mom”) does a great job decorating.

The kids- cousins from Charlotte- had a great time. Bourbon was great as always- don’t mind if I do 🙂

There weren’t a ton of pics, so you just have to take my word for it: it was fun. The food was great. Our bellies were full. Then everyone crashed when we got home, and Rosie and I enjoyed watching Home Alone 2, Lost in New York. Rosie thought that movie was selected at random, but I assure it was not:

The Rest of the Weekend

What else happened that weekend?

Our friend Abbey Remein stayed the night Friday night- she is an awesome longtime friend of ours from Virginia. We woke up, and repeated much of the same as the day before, without the Parade to watch. Just as lazy as possible, and I used the opportunity to move some of the furniture in the garage to accomodate more people for Rosie’s birthday party in 10 days. Mercy was still in the Mercy-verse. If you are wondering what that means, this explains it:

Taylor did some Christmas shopping (black Friday, duh!), and I ran to a few stores to investigate my two big items for Rosie this year (I can’t tell, its a secret), and our friend Abbey showed up that evening. At this point, we were sick of Thai leftovers, so we had to break for some Greek food at our favorite spot, Mythos. Once again, time for more pajamas, doing as little as possible, which means: puzzle time!

Let’s talk about trees. No, not those kinds of trees- that is still illegal in North Carolina. I am talking about Christmas trees- this is a family blog after all.
We usually get our tree from the farmers market, but for the past few years, we have been getting our trees from Freedom House Farms- the place that my friend Houston runs to help families get back on their feet.

This is the second year they have been selling trees, and they got it all decorated to look great for the season:

The tree looked great on the lot, and after a bit of work, a few pictures, and some help from the Freedom House Crew, we got on our way. Again, momma doesnt wanna cook yet, so we stopped to get some lunch on the way back.

Did I say home? Just kidding. There was more to do: trader joes for a wreath for our Advent Candles, and some eggnog- because this was a time to be merry, and as luck we have it, we ran into someone special while we were there:

Rosie had an idea for our house which followed our rhythm: adding one or two decorations every year. Previously we have added 1-2 strands of lights (only white lights at our house), but now we are expanding to do a bit more, and Rosie wanted to make our light posts into candy-cane stripes. So, we brainstormed how to do that, and I am proud of her. We worked together, and it turned out….alright. Not amazing, but it was good!

We have a special way we do the tree, and if anyone doesnt do it in the same manner, they are doing it wrong:

• Bring the tree in, and put it on the stand (dont put the stand on before going into the house)
• Make it straight.
• Cut the netting off
• Add the lights.
• Add the garlen (Is that how its spelled? The red beads to decorate?)

After that is done, we add the decorations. Each year I take a video, and here is about 17 minutes compressed down to 45 seconds:

Taylor always says she isnt creative- but I think her decorating really shines as something “creative”.

Ok, Thanksgiving is over. Remember how I said there is one more thing? Thats right- Rosies birthday always jumps up on us, and this year we surprised her in a pretty fun way for her 10th birthday.

We made (Ok, TAYLOR made, she gets all the credit on this) a scavenger hunt for Rosie to learn that she is going on a quick trip to New York City to celebrate her special milestone. Most of the scavenger hunt would be pretty boring to watch (it is fun for me!), but here is Rosie reading the last clue in the scavenger hunt and putting it all together:

AS IF THAT WASNT ENOUGH, Rosie is the only girl I know lucky enough to have an unexpected snow day on her birthday, school closed! So, we had an impromptu trip to get a very, very uncaffeineted drink at a coffee shop, where I used the opportunity to tell her her birth story. Not the crazy details, just how we had a hard time getting pregnant with her, so we prayed a lot. It was a special time- I had a vision and knew we would get pregnant 10 months before, and it happened. God is good.

So, stay tuned- I cant wait to share more about our trip to NYC!

Happy Birthday Houston!

There isn’t an easy way to honor Houston. Who is Houston you might ask, if you are a cousin of mine living in Florida and have no grounds for reference? Well, Houston:

• and I went to Irving Park Elementary Together
• Did a small group Bible study together from 6th-12th grade
• was my roommate in college, all 4 years if you count next-door apartments for 1 year
• Was the best man at my wedding
• Is the most loyal person anyone could imagine
• Lives his faith
• Does something important with a non profit here in town that is a Christian based halfway house for mothers and their children; I think he is the CEO?

Here is a fun collection of images from Houston over the years:

Houston turned 40 and managed to rent a beach house for some of us guys to go to for a long weekend. The first night Charles, Houston and I went camping and the weather could not have been more perfect:

We just talked, uninterrupted from our kiddos, and enjoyed the evening. Then, in typical Houston fashion, he made the fire way too big for what was appropriate, and we had a great night overall.

But that wasn’t enough: next, we got a few days in Topsail Island to play beach games, drink really good Bourbon, eat great seafood, play games on the beach and just enjoy the days; not gonna lie, when getting this group together, we are quick to revert to our college mindset, but our 40 year old bodies just arent as resilient as they once were:

We managed to get one great pic of the group. Houston, Im glad you are in my life. You are a great man, and I am proud of the man you have become, and the way you depend on the Lord in mighty ways, and I believe He has honored that in your life. Thank you for being the friend that you have been, often when I haven’t been great in return. May the next 10 years be even better!

Also Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. There isn’t too much to say about it, most of the fun is tied up in the pictures, so here you go:

Mercy has a friend

The second (or middle, or younger child as it applies to some families) doesn’t get the same experience that the first born child does. What I mean is, we set the bar pretty high for Rosie in terms of keeping her busy, scheduling play dates, getting her involved in activities, etcetera.

For Mercy, I think it’s safe to say that we haven’t gotten her as involved with social events like play dates, birthday parties, etc. with other little kids her age. However, she has this awesome friend at school: Marin.

When I pick up Mercy from school, her class is on the playground and she is ALWAYS playing with Marin. They are really, really cute together, and Mercy won’t get in the car without finding her friend and giving her a hug good bye. And this happens every day.

So we had her friend over for the day, and it was sweet. They played, and the sometimes WILD little kid inside of Mercy remained pretty calm: there were no fits, she listened well for those few hours, and she was just beaming with so much joy from having her friend over.

Tragedy Struck

After getting home from Houston’s birthday a few weeks ago, Taylor and I took the family to the church Fall Harvest Festival. We go to Church of the Redeemer, an Anglican church, and what is special about it (among other things) is that they have a farm, and every year they do a Harvest Festival where they prepare some of the vegetables grown on the property, along with a potluck, and we just have a good old fashioned church meal.

It has grown every year- there might have been 200+ people this year, with bouncy houses, face painting, music, and tons of fun.

This year, there was an accident on one of the small rides, and a seven year old kid got pretty hurt. Taylor and I were about 40 feet away when it happened, and it was aweful. I don’t want to go into details here, but it was something significant for both Taylor and I to witness.
The little kid, who is 7 years old, is ok- there has been a lot of prayer to cover him and his family, and I truly believe these prayers helped save this situation from going in a different direction.

I have never seen such an accident for a little kid firsthand before; I share this because it is significant, and the image in my head is something I can’t easily shake. It has been 2 weeks now and time will heal, but it makes me want to hold on to my fun little kiddos a little tighter and spend time this month being thankful for the good fortune and health our family enjoys.

But time to celebrate!

In the morning we mourn (as we did in Church, praying for that little boy), but in the evening we celebrate the wedding of Kate May and Thomas Law!

Taylor was Kate’s mentor while she went through the Greensboro Fellow’s program, and Kate’s family is a gigantic one here in town: Her dad is one of 9 siblings, most who still live in town, and their family has always been around in one way or another.

The wedding was great: we danced our butts off, and still kept up with the younger people. Taylor and I were both feeling a bit old: her knee hurt, and we didnt know many of the songs being played, but Tay is an awesome date and we both enjoyed going to a wedding (a GIGANTIC wedding) full of people we care about around town.