We spent Christmas Eve in Gallatin with MeMe and PaPa, Aunt Jean, Aunt Julie, Cousins Jordan and Dylan, and Aunt Jeanne. We ate a delicious lunch (MeMe would totally win Master Chef), had fun watching the kids open their presents (I will never forget MeMe and PaPa coming down the hallway with a big wheel and a cool hat for each boy), and enjoyed a White Elephant gift exchange with the adults (the stealing part of the exchange is always so interesting and funny). Eat, drink, and be merry!
It was SUCH a treat to meet my brother, Darren, and my nieces, Kaia and Marina, who are visiting from Norway for the holidays…for lunch today!!! Everybody made it out, which made it even better, except for Tom, Xander, and Roman (daddy stayed home with the napping boys) and my nephew, Rueben (he couldn’t make it over from Norway this year, and we are all so BUMMED…it’s not the same without him). Jonas and I had a wonderful time just hanging out. Here’s a picture of the whole crew. We’re looking forward to more family time…
Uncle Kerry is home to stay after almost 17 (count them) years in Taiwan!!! I mean…huge. We are so excited that he’s here. The boys and I ran by his house this morning (they were still in their pajamas…ha) to deliver a homemade caramel chocolate almond covered apple Christmas treat (thanks to Aunt Tree for the recipe). He showed us the most beautiful and inspiring slide show of his hike to the base camp of Mt. Everest. (It’s good for me to be reminded of how big and wonderful our world is…I can’t wait to see more of it.) Here he is with a captive audience.
We spent a week in Virginia with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, The Seyfrieds, The Longs, and The Paccassis for Thanksgiving. It was cold and rainy most of the time, but we were still able to get outside and play. The kids had a blast working on their forts in the woods, we all enjoyed our annual Turkey Games (including Crazy Hot Potato, Clothespin Drop, Hula Hoop Pass, and more), and we even celebrated Grandma’s 70th birthday a little early. It is so sweet (and challenging at times if we’re honest…this year there was another stomach bug going around as well) to just do life together for a space of time…how rare is that privilege. The holidays and winter months are always hard for me for some reason, but I do so love the perfectly imperfectness of togetherness. We have so much to be thankful for…
(For more pictures, click on the “Thanksgiving 2013” picture page to the right.)
This morning we all (Grandma, Grandpa, Tom and I, and the boys) piled into the van and drove out to Jasper, TN. In celebration of Jackie’s 70th birthday coming up in December, she and Tom decided to go skydiving together!!! It was fairly nerve wracking for all of us to some degree leading up to the jump, but it was WAY cool to see them both come parachuting triumphantly down onto the runway. As they were getting onto the little twin engine plane to make their ascent to 10,000 feet, Jonas asked, “Mommy, do you think Grandma’s scared? Do you think Daddy’s scared?” I said, “Sure, buddy. Do you want to pray for them?” Before he could even answer, Xander said, “Yes!”, and so we did. Add that to Grandpa’s prayer over them before they walked into the Chattanooga Skydiving Company building and their priest’s blessing before they left home and all of the other prayers that I know were being offered up on their behalf, and I would say they were pretty well-covered in prayer. It’s the only way to go. Yay for living life to the fullest Jackie and Tom Seyfried style!!!
We had Jonas’ 5th birthday party at the park this afternoon (it was a little on the chilly side but the kids had a blast which is the most important thing and it was so nice not having to stress about cleaning the house). As always at parties, I get so caught up in the moment that I don’t quite take all the pictures that I wanted to…oh well. It was great visiting with family and friends and watching the kids play. Tom did a GREAT job of making Jonas’ “Lego cake” dream come true, don’t you think?
Jonas had his last soccer game of the season today. Hip hip hooray for his spunky little teammates and for his big-hearted coaches (with the patience of saints). He loved his trophy and was super excited about his doughnut. But the best treat of all is that he got to share the moment with Grandma and Grandpa AND with MeMe, PaPa, and Aunt Jean!
Grandma and Grandpa drove in from Virginia this afternoon for a visit. We are all excited and looking forward to an event-filled weekend…trick or treating, Jonas’ last soccer game of the season, Jonas 5th birthday party, and Daddy and Grandma skydiving. More to come…
We enjoyed watching Jonas’ soccer game today with Aunt Heather and Cousins Val and Annabella!
(When he played his first soccer game, Jonas was so funny and said with great confidence that he already knew how to do it because he watched Val…I love it).
We went out to MeMe and PaPa’s this morning for a visit. The boys picked tomatoes with MeMe in the garden, chased the cat, played play-doh with PaPa and Aunt Jean, joshed around with Aunts Julie and Jeanne and Cousins Jordan and Dylan, and ate a lion’s share of the super yummy lunch MeMe made. Here are a few pictures of our Sunday fun…
We were all SO excited to get to go to the Grand Ole Opry tonight. We loved watching Pops and Maw rehearse backstage. We also enjoyed joining them on stage with Jonas, Xander, and Roman. (Maw likes to walk all of the grand babies out onto the Opry stage to introduce them to the folks…I’m sure she introduced all of her babies there too…what a tradition!) It’s always magical to watch Pops and Maw sing, and it was such a delight to my heart to get to share that moment not only with Tom but with Jonas, Xander, and Roman too.
We met Pops and Maw and Aunt Julie at the Cracker Barrel to celebrate Maw’s birthday today.
I was really proud of Jonas this morning when he asked if she had a birthday cake and if she didn’t if we could make her one…just him thinking outside of himself was huge. So, we did…we made her some gluten-free chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing and sparkly sprinkles, and she loved them.
I love this picture of Maw and Aunt Julie, and this is one of my favorite pictures of Pops and Roman. Happy day.
We busted out the croquet set this weekend. I have to admit…I was nervous about what it might look like with both Jonas and Xander wielding croquet mallets. But they actually did really well with it. (Xander didn’t quite get the fact that your turn is just one hit…even if you don’t make it all the way through the wick AND Jonas was trying to weasel in better ball positions with a quick kick or pick up of the ball every now and then BUT hey…they’re 3 and 4 and 1/2). I love to play…it’s amazing how I was instantly taken back to playing croquet as a child with my Grandpa and my Daddy, both the most measured and gentle of teachers. So, I was so happy when PaPa stopped by this morning and hung out for a little while and was able to give Jonas a few croquet pointers.
When we came back from the lake, we brought Lily, Tom’s niece, to spend the week with us as a mother’s helper. It was the perfect timing for our family and, honestly, really: helped to lift me out of a dark place, softened the dynamic between the boys themselves and between the boys and I, allowed me to keep my head above water with the housework and with the toughest transitions of the day (and even get some organizing done), and graced me with the presence of a sweet and strong girl in the house (we painted nails, brushed and braided hair, sewed a reversible tote bag, and shared some wonderful conversations and prayers together). I only hope when my boys are bigger and away from me that they do Tom and I as proud as she did her parents…I was SUPER impressed and inspired.
We had a busy week that included: going on a long road trip from NC to TN (13 hours!!!), taking a walk around the neighborhood, picking up Petra at Aunt Beans house and playing the drums, going to the pediatrician’s office for well visits, enjoying a visit from and sharing dinner with Maw, going blueberry picking, making blueberry crisp and chocolate ice cream, painting rocks, playing on the backyard water slide with neighborhood friends, touring the fire department with Tom, having a blast at gymnastics, and taking a short road trip (just us girls) to East Tennessee to return Lily to her dear mommy.
For the week in pictures, click on the “Lily’s Visit 2013” page to the right.
We were SO excited to go blueberry picking with our moms’ group while Lily was here with us. We picked a pound and a half all together and made blueberry crisp for dessert.
(Let me preface this by saying that in no way did I come home from a ten day trip followed by a thirteen hour car ride with four children to write a post about our family vacation…I’m back posting for chronology’s sake…haha!!!)
We spent ten days in a great lake house (thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Seyfried) on Lake Gaston in North Carolina with Grandpa and Grandma Seyfried, the Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis. Highlights of our time together included: taking boat rides, going tubing, swimming in the lake, relaxing in the hot tub, fishing, playing pool and four square, having fun with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, doing crafts (tie-dying pillowcases, painting sun catchers, building and decorating little wooden boats, making homemade Gak, etc.), going to mass, participating in the family talent show, watching fireworks, celebrating the 4th of July with Father Anthony (the Ugandan priest from the local Catholic church), roasting s’mores around a campfire, reading, and cooking and eating and cleaning A LOT.
For more pictures, click on the “Family Vacation in NC 2013” page to the right.
We celebrated the 4th of July at the lake. My favorite part was getting to play the drums (on inverted trash cans and paint cans no less) at the family talent show with a Ugandan priest who spent the day with us.
After a tough day in mommy land, I really enjoyed meeting my sister, Julie, for some creative fun at Paint + Canvas. She was so sweet to treat me, and we both walked away with more peace in our souls and beautiful paintings for our homes.
The boys and I had a real treat this morning and got to meet Aunt Heather and Cousin Val at the park for some play time and bring them back to our house for lunch. I love it when the boys play together, and it was so good for my soul to spend some quality time catching up with my sweet friend and cousin, Heather. Roman was ALL about Val, and Val is so good with him. Here they are at the park with the scooter…so adorable.
