October Updates

Fall is officially here! Here's what we've been up to:

Luke has been eating more and more "finger foods." He's loving it!

Chloe has been back into the routine of school, it's been good for everyone. 

Luke is more interested in standing and pulling up than learning to crawl. 

Chloe is still doing gymnastics. I love seeing her skills progress, after much practice she finally can do her forward roll all by herself!

He's sleeping like a champ at night! Most nights 12 hours straight. 

Me and Chloe went up to Harrisonburg to celebrate Zoe's first birthday. 

Luke was dedicated at church. One thing I especially loved about it was we picked out a life verse for him. We chose Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the  Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." 

We went to the pumpkin patch last Sunday. This was by far my favorite one we've been to. It felt like you were on a real farm, and the sugar shack donuts didn't disappoint! 

Well that was a long post! Happy Fall!

VBS!

We spent this past week doing vacation bible school, or "church camp" as Chloe calls it. I volunteered to do arts and crafts, Chloe was in the 3s class and Luke was in the baby class. Fun was had by all! 

I've loved hearing Chloe sing all the songs she has learned throughout the week, but the best part was at dinner tonight. I was asking her about her bible story from today and what she learned, she replied "God knows everything about me!" My heart is so full. 

Home

2 years ago today we finished packing up our home in Richmond. As a brand new family we took the biggest risk of our married lives so far, we moved to a new state where we knew absolutely no one. We learned how to be a family and what it meant to truly rely on each other and God. Chloe has lived here the majority of her life. We helped start a new church (probably the best thing we did here). I became confident in myself not only as a mother but a runner as well (thank you hills). We made friendships and memories and learned we can be happy anywhere.

And that is why it is so bittersweet to begin this process again. The process of going home. 

Clarke accepted a job offer in Richmond and we leave at the end of the month. We are beyond excited to be going home. To be closer to family and childhood friends who we miss so much. Chloe will get to see her grandparents more and that makes my heart happy. Richmond really is home and we are ready to be back, but we are so thankful for our time in Winston-Salem. 

Wrapping Up April

Clarke's parents have been here this weekend and we've enjoyed having them. Friday night they watched Chloe so we could serve at a spring carnival for a local elementary school. Our church has made this an annual event, and the kids absolutely love it. It's a school where 100% are on free breakfast and lunch, so they normally wouldn't get a spring carnival with bouncy houses, snow cones, hotdogs and fun games.

Saturday night we got to go on a date. We tried out Hutch and Harris and we really liked it. This is the best selfie we could get that night, ha!

I didn't get any good pictures of Chloe, I think that's a first, but she loved having her grandparents here. So despite the rainy cold weather we had this weekend, we enjoyed time with family, and hopefully some nicer weather will come with May!

Weekend Mountain Getaway

This past weekend we got to get away to the mountains near Asheville with our community group from church. A kid free weekend, it was great.

We stayed in this cabin tucked away in Black Mountain. I stayed up till 2am both nights! That hasn't happened in a looooooong time.

 Saturday night we went into Asheville and ate at this cute place, Sunny Point Cafe. The food was fabulous, my favorite was the fried green tomatoes with goat cheese.

Afterwards we went to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, oh my gosh was it delicious. We had to wait outside in the cold but it was worth it. Their hot chocolate was like drinking a chocolate bar, yum.

But the best part was spending time with our friends and just getting to know everyone better. Oh yeah, and trying to find Billy Graham's house which was supposedly near ours. We had such a great time in the mountains, thankful my mom could watch Chloe so we could go!

Updates

Thought I would update the blog with what we've been up to these past few weeks in Winston. 

Me and Chloe have been going to the Children's Museum once a week. It's so cold outside and we need to get out of the house, so our passes are definitely being used! 

I've been getting back into the gym. Since doing the mistletoe run in early December I was totally slacking. I've decided I'm not going to try and run outside during the winter months, but just do some classes at the Y, which I'm loving. 

Chloe absolutely loves taking care of her babies. She is all about giving them their bottles and tucking them in, it's adorable. 

Aunt Melanie came this past weekend to visit. We loved having her. We all watched Frozen, Chloe's first time and she actually watched all of it. 

This past weekend our church celebrated it's first birthday. They talked a lot about the church being a home and I could totally relate to wanting that. Moving to a new state can be tough and our church has made Winston-Salem feel like home. I love that we're apart of what God is doing in this city through our church. I know when God called us here helping to start this church was part of God's purpose in it all. 

And I'll end with a picture of Chloe wearing this hat. She will randomly want to wear it around the house. Love her. :)

She Reads Truth

I wanted to share something that has been a blessing in my life for the past few months. 

She Reads Truth

The women in my community group at church started an online bible study. We read the daily devotional from She Reads Truth and post to a private fb group. It's been so refreshing to spend time each day doing this. I'll admit I definitely struggle with spending time in God's word. But this study makes it so easy, and it doesn't take long to do. I've really been encouraged by it and think you will be too!

Right now the study is on Ruth, a story I remember studying many years ago. I've loved getting a fresh perspective about how our God is a redeemer. Ruth goes through a very dark time and the story shows how God ultimately redeems her. 

Isaiah 45:3

I hope this encourages you today. 

A Home Away From Home

This coming Tuesday, June 10 marks the one year anniversary of us moving to Winston-Salem. It was a year ago that we finished packing up our home and started a new beginning here. It has gone by so fast, and so much has changed since then so I thought a blog post was in order, I'm posting now since we will be out of town next week. 

We have grown so much as a family while living here. We have had to rely on each other like never before, and it's been really good for us. Our marriage has been stretched like never before and I can happily say it's made us stronger and closer. Leaving Richmond was hard. There are times I still miss it so much. It still feels like home when I go back to visit, but more and more so Winston is feeling like home too.

I love our church here. It took us a lot longer to find a church home than I expected. It's been really good for us to get involved, hear new perspectives on things and continue to grow in our faith. I love the people we have met here, and hearing their stories and what God has done in their lives, it's amazing. About 2 months ago we finally joined a community group and this has given us the opportunity to really connect with other couples who have children as well. I can't say enough how Twin City Community Church has been such a blessing.

I absolutely love the running community here. After I had Chloe I knew I wanted to get back into running, so I made the goal to run the Richmond Half Marathon. When we moved I wondered if that goal was still possible as I knew I couldn't train alone. I found a running group at Fleet Feet, and I found friends in my pace group. I love the friendships I've made here. Even after training ended we stayed in touch, continued to run together and have plans to train for another half together this fall. I have pushed myself in training more than I thought possible. The terrain in Winston is very hilly, and I was so scared to run them. Although there are still hills I need to conquer (like Brookstown) I am ready for the challenge. I will also say the YMCA here has been so great for us as well. It gives me such peace of mind to know I can drop Chloe off at a place where she is loved, and well taken care of. She happily (most of the time) goes into child watch with a smile. 

There are other things I love about Winston too. My friend Kelly who I met through a mom's group and her daughter Olivia. We love playdates with them. I love the real sweet tea, our house, the pimento cheese, the greenways, the parks, the southern charm, new favorite restaurants and new places to explore. 

This move has been good for us. A year ago we felt God was calling us here. Telling us this is what he had for our family's future. It's great to see those things come full circle. 

There are times when I wonder how long we will be here. Sometimes we think about moving back to Richmond. Sometimes we think about staying here forever. One of the biggest things I have learned from this move is although I feel this need to plan out my life, there are some things that we must leave to God. God will show us in his time what we should do next. It's something I struggle with continually. 

So Winston-Salem is my home away from home. Maybe Richmond will always feel like home to me. For now, Winston is. I'm incredibly grateful that I have so much to be thankful for in this city though. So here's to one year in Twin City, and here's to another great one!

Last Weekend

Happy April!! I'm super excited about all the fun things going on this month, and lots of visitors coming too! This past weekend was our last weekend without something planned until after the first weekend in May, so we didn't do much. 

I did run!! It was such a good run too. I'm running the Raleigh Rock n Roll Half Marathon on April 13th and I totally haven't been training well. Between the awful weather, Chloe being sick, and being gone a week for Florida and a week in Virginia I just haven't been motivated. I knew I needed one long run before and it was suppose to be this past Saturday. They were calling for rain. I went anyways and the rain held off, it drizzled some but it was warmer and actually really nice. My training team ran from Salem Lake and it turned out to be great. 

So my 12 miler is done and I'm excited about the race now. If I hadn't already paid for it I probably would have quit but I'm glad I stuck with it. 

Sunday we went to church and volunteered in the nursery. The Winston Salem dash came to church before service. Chloe was very curious. 

Of course Chloe was really into the car again. Thankful for a fun weekend with the family.

Wekend Update

I've had such a busy and fun weekend, and it's been way too long since I've updated the blog so here we go…

I started out Saturday morning meeting some friends to run. It was way too cold, but I was so glad I went. I ran for Meg. A richmonder who was killed by a drunk driver last Saturday morning while out running. She was a mother, and it breaks my heart to think about what her family is going through right now. To think one day you are going for a training run, just like normal then your gone. This is what it said on the Facebook page and I loved it…. 

This Saturday, January 18, 2014, no matter what your distance, no matter where you live, run for Meg. Take in the fresh air, be aware of your surroundings, keep your headphones on low, feel the heaviness in your lungs, the soreness in your legs, and be grateful for it--for all of it. The sweat, the pain, the wind, the cold…everything. Be grateful for that moment.

I am grateful to be able to run. Grateful for a family to come home to. Just grateful. 

I got a haircut Saturday. It had been way too long since I last got it cut.She took about 5 inches off and it feels so good! Then one of my closest friends, Rebecca and her husband, Cori came for a visit. It was so great seeing them and catching up. I wish I had snapped some photos but totally forgot.

Sunday morning was huge for our church. We officially launched. Up until now it had been all planning and preparing for today. Me and Clarke served in the nursery, and it was busy, busy, busy. We were so thankful such a great turnout on the first day though. 289 is attendance and 8 gave their lives to Christ!

It was such a great weekend, went by too fast!

5 things

Well it's my first post of 2014!

 Not much has been going on around here but I thought I would update anyway. 

1. We've been settling into our new house. We've been here almost a month and I'm almost done unpacking. I've been opening up boxes that we packed up in June, so it's kinda like Christmas again. I totally forgot about lots of pictures that we owned so I am figuring out what to do with all of them. It's been so much fun to have a house to design again!

Chloe's favorite part of the new house is the washing machine. The door is right at her level and she LOVES to watch it. 

2. Driveway update: I'm not sure if you remember back in my Christmas post I mentioned a clogged toilet? Well it turns out that problem came from when the cable company accidentally cut our sewer pipe underneath our driveway. The plumbing company had to destroy our driveway to get to the pipe to fix it.

Luckily the builder took care of everything, especially the bill. But they had to resod our front lawn and power wash everything as well, but they were so nice about it.  Even though it was frustrating, I'm so thankful it's fixed now. 

3. Chloe got sick this past Sunday. She had a fever until today and a cough and runny nose. She is normally not the best sleeper but she really hasn't been sleeping well recently. I feel so bad for her.

We've been snuggling on the couch a lot. It's been sooo cold here. Today the high is 17! We are both getting cabin fever, but there's no way we are going out!

4. So I signed up for winter half training! I'm beyond excited. It's actually kinda funny because when I started training for the half I wasn't sure how I would like it. I was used to training for a marathon and after loving that so much I didn't know how the half would be, but I loved it. I still felt challenged and I loved the shorter training season. The running community here in Winston has been such a blessing in my life. I've made such good friends. The fall training program was such a step out of my comfort zone, but I grew not only as a runner but as a person as well. The race is in Raleigh and I'm excited for a race in my new home state.

5. The church that we've gotten involved in officially launches January 19th. We are apart of the launch team and up until now we've been preparing to officially launch. I'm excited about what it will become.

That's about all I have for now. Hope you are staying warm!