family reunion

yesterday we went to taylorsville, nc, just west of statesville, to attend the reunion for my grandmother's side of the family. she was one of 13 children. the party was held at a (very fancy!) barn just next to the "Old Homeplace" as they call it. we were able to walk and see where the house was, the creek where they bathed, and we even drank from the spring where they got all their water. it was wild to imagine life in such a rustic way. my 'nanny' is a very strong woman and has lived quite a life! i remember as a kid all of the vegetables they grew in their garden. seeing where she came from helped to understand more about what i remember about them in my own childhood.

the kids enjoyed the horses and doggies and playing with extended cousins. it was a great day! the first reunion i've ever been to on her side.

saturday morning with daddy

the boys were thrilled to have daddy take them to cici's pizza on saturday. it was a rainy day, so soccer games were cancelled and i went to an event at church. they hit the very crowded children's museum and ran into good friends tony and sam. noah loves that mac n cheese pizza! fun times.

joshy is getting so big!

we can't get over how big joshy is getting. he and noah both are loving their wrestling time with daddy each night! it is raining here non-stop. love the fall, but am ready for crisp, dry air.

my 33rd birthday!

i hate birthdays, but love getting older. isn't that odd? it's awkward to receive so much love (why it's a hard day) and yet life gets seemingly better each year (why i like getting older). i know myself better, feel MUCH more comfortable in my own skin with each year, and i have so many more rich experiences and memories to revel in. it was a normal morning (i like my routine, so that was good), had a good run to prove i'll try to stay fit in the next year, had a picnic with my sweet three year old, and then a spa afternoon (hallelu!) and dinner with the family at brixx. dear friends had sweet treats with us and then it was an i'm-exhausted-let's-crash evening. joshy had a hard time going to sleep (thanks to the chocolate) so we had a treat at 9:15 of him sneaking out and asking for play time. it was divine to giggle with his precious spirit.

the highlight of my day was noah waking me to "good morning mom. happy birthday." and then praying for me at breakfast and dinner that my day would be good. even this morning he woke me to "good morning mom. did you have a good birthday yesterday?" so dear. and i must mention jeff works at an ungodly early hour so his remembering is what touched my heart so much.

now i'm enjoying my new computer (hallelu again!) thanks to my mom & jeff's assistance setting up. wow, this mac thing was for sure made for people like me. i LOVE LOVE it. so big, so bright, so fast, so easy. ahhhhhhhhh.

it's gonna be a good year.

and a major shout out to sweet becky & those other darlings for blessing our family with new music. check out laura story. good, very good for the soul. and for that sweet blog post. and then there is facebook, which i love & hate at the same time. but man, on one's birthday, you can feel SO special with an inbox full of sweet messages.

off to cook finally for my family after nights out in celebration. it's taco night! WAHOO!

soccer!

soccer season has begun! joshy is a shark and noah is a blazer! it's been a little tough on joshy (maybe should have waited) but hopefully he'll learn some things and enjoy it more as the season progresses. i'll try to take some pictures saturday of the games. jeff is coaching and is THRIVING in that role.

mini-vacation

the hwang family took a short trip to boone to be spontaneous & have some R&R together. we decided on mini-golf (a HUGE hit!) where both boys got for-real holes in one! then barbecue for lunch (yum!) and then tweetsie. they have a two-day deal, so we went a little bit yesterday and some today. so fun! it was cool and not crowded at all. they loved the train ride and noah loved all the crazy wild rides with daddy. we found a great hotel and also celebrated joshy's real birthday today. here are some picts!

ladybug party

we had a party for joshua's third birthday on saturday at our playground. it was great to have coffee with friends & family and just have fun. he LOVED his new drumsticks, bakugan, & playing with his favorite buddies. and the ladybug cake was definitely a hit!