We have landed in Arizona, which now means I can share bits and pieces of our journey with you! The New Year is approaching and I appreciate your patience as we get things together in our new home and I then proceed to get the blog back in my routine and running!


Our move began a bit complicated. We had a friend watching Michael one day to load our trailer, only to discover it wasn't enough room at all. The next day we had to switch out the trailer with a truck, and our moving plans altered completely. A very long drive that was supposed to take a certain amount of time with switching drivers switched gears and extended (only by a day!) when we both had to drive the entire journey. But, as you know, we survived.

Our first stop was Fayetteville, NC to see the in-laws. Not only were we celebrating Clark's birthday and an early Christmas, but we had stuff stored there. Another reason the switch to a big UHAUL truck was definitely needed.

It was a lot of fun. We are so excited that we are now only five hours away from Clark's brother and (almost) sister-in-law. We'll be taking another trip in barely any time to get to their wedding in CA!

Here's what you're here for... pictures!








The last picture is my absolute favorite. Trying to get a picture of four men-- that's it. Clark's maternal grandfather, PaPa, is looking at Michael/the cake, Clark is looking at his Mama's camera, Pop (Tim-- Clark's dad) is also watching Michael, and Michael is trying to blow out the candles. Classic.

Almost Clark's entire family is settled in NC. His brother is in CA because he's in the USMC, almost a sort of "family thing". But it's a pretty big deal for us to be moving. The only reason there weren't crazy, tearful good-byes is because we're seeing them again soon. I don't know what it's going to be like then!

This has been a busy week. We've been trying to squeeze in time with as many people as possible. Moving across the country means, of course, that people suddenly want to see you as much as possible. I'm not complaining. I feel so incredibly blessed and loved, and with that comes the sadness of leaving all our friends behind. That's not to say we won't be in touch or stay close, but you know what I mean.



Dear December, You didn't exactly listen to my plea of taking your time. We are leaving in six days. Please stay calm and let us miss all the bad weather when we hit the road through the Midwest. We are prepared, of course, for the worst... but we'd really love for it not to come to that.

Dear House, You are a mess, and for once it's ok. All the boxes are piling up and it's hard to figure out what to pack and what to keep out. Be patient with us as we empty you out. And, if we're being honest, I may miss our home but I don't think I will miss you all that much.

Dear Readers, Please watch the video below. Maybe it seems small, but it made me bawl. This time of year is the time to remember how helping and giving to people, big or small, can mean so much. After all, God gave his only son to us so we may know true grace. We received the best gift of all, so shouldn't that inspire us to give to others in any way we can?



Have a happy weekend! Less than two weeks to Christmas!

Things to come:

White Chocolate Chex Mix

Be Our Guest: Breaking Out of the Bubble, a special post from ShaCarol

It's the last day of September. Can you believe it? It's cooling off here and the leaves are hinting at turning. I'm so excited. Michael and I have already had loads of fun playing in the leaves. See what I mean?


When Clark was home, the last thing we did was go to the Western North Carolina State Fair. I'm not sure if this is the proper title. I read somewhere that it was considered the "Agricultural Fair"... so don't quote me on any of that.

We had so much fun. Michael wasn't a huge fan of the rides (hoping he comes by this way of me and we can sit them out together in the future... that's me being selfish, though). But he definitely enjoyed all the sites, and, of course, the animals, tractors, and helicopter the most.











That sign said, "Keep Behind Fence"... luckily, Michael can't read. And he was, for the most part, behind it.

This is the LAST weekend of September. How crazy is that? I can't believe October is just days away. Today definitely called for a jacket in the morning, and most days have in the past week. I'm so excited for it to cool down to sweater weather. It just gives me an excuse to buy some, since I really only have maybe one good one. No exaggeration there, honest.


Dear Michael, It has been a week of mischief. I wish you'd take a nap every day instead of this two days off, one day on thing we have going right now. I know you're so excited about our days together and all of our adventures... but mama needs some more down time. At least most some days you let me sit on your bed and read while you play with your trains.

Dear Friends, You make time go by so much faster when Clark is away. Thank you for all your love and support. I don't know what we would do if we didn't have y'all to spend time with!

Dear Readers, In case you don't follow me on Instagram and haven't gotten the notice, fall is HARRY POTTER TIME. Yes, I'm one of those people. If you aren't, please forgive me and know that I forgive you in return. This coming week promises some treats (see below) from the book, as do the upcoming weeks as I continue to reread the books (Yep. I'm on #4 and shooting for all seven by Halloween) and watch all the movies.

Things to look forward to:

Treacle Tarts

Meet Me At The Fair

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies
The idea for this post came from Ashley over at The Sweet Season.

We decided Michael turning two was the perfect occasion to finally get his haircut. It took some convincing Clark (see this post and scroll down to number 16 to read about that), but eventually he finally saw the light and agreed we could take Michael to our local barber shop the day before his birthday.








He really did so well once we convinced the barber he didn't need the cover/cape on to protect his clothes and such from falling hair. It was the only thing that really freaked him out. Afterwards we walked downtown to our local gelato shop and got a special treat. I mean... come on... it was his first haircut!

Three days following the haircut (with his birthday and our friends' wedding in-between), we went apple picking. It probably wasn't the best idea on my part to go after we had a few eventful days in a row as it was, but in the end Michael had a blast. He enjoyed the animals more than the apple picking... but we can give him a year or two before he starts enjoying the challenge of getting apples from the top of the trees.












There always seems to be food at the end of our adventures. This orchard had freshly made apple cider donuts (as well as other apple treats) ready for you before or after your picking. You also had the option to just buy apples and not pick them, which we also ended up doing since Michael was super enthusiastic about the actual apple picking part (did you sense my sarcasm there?).

More fall adventures to come! We definitely have a lot I want to check off of our Fall Bucket List this year.

Memorial Day Weekend is a special time for Brevard, NC. It's when the White Squirrel Festival goes down.

For those of you who don't know anything about this, check out this link.

This year (if you don't recall last year, follow the link for pictures) it was especially exciting because my dear friends, Becca and Jonathan, got to come for Saturday. Michael absolutely loved having them around. It had been SO LONG since we saw them. OK... maybe not THAT long comparatively, but it seemed like forever.





We got to enjoy some music, snacks, and fun. What more could you ask for?

By the way, check back in tomorrow for the Vegan Brownies I made for their visit! You don't want to miss it.

OK... this was only two weeks ago. But I've been struggling to post as of late so I thought this would be the way to go for throw-back-thursday, since that's when my slacking started.

Having hubby home is always wonderful, but he made sure my birthday was extra special. After my morning Bible study where some wonderful women gave me well wishes and sang to me, Clark piled us in the car and wouldn't give me a clue as to what we were doing. He actually made it seem like he didn't have a plan. Michael fell asleep so I told him we could just do something quick for fast food if he wanted, not knowing what his plans were. He said we could just drive for a while and let Michael sleep, so he took us up on the parkway.

We talked and just hung out and enjoyed the drive while Michael slept. At one point I suggested we turn around since Michael's nap was only going to last for so long, but Clark said we could loop around (which I knew we couldn't unless we took a really long time).

As Michael woke up, we pulled off to a spot on the parkway to have a fabulous picnic (which Clark had planned, obviously) and when I began to take pictures he whipped out a brand new Nikon 1500 for me to use instead of our point and shoot camera. It was SUCH a surprise. Apparently he had a lot of people pool in to get it, since that definitely wasn't within the budget I gave him for my birthday.

The day continued with more driving on the parkway and picture taking, and once we were home Mama got even more time to be a shutterbug.


The evening ended with my homemade cake falling to pieces (literally) and Clark having to run out and get a grocery-store-cake. But it didn't ruin anything. He even bought champagne to toast me.

Yep. I'm pretty blessed with one AMAZING hubby. And I had one OUTSTANDING birthday. Now, be prepared for some recipes and fabulous pictures to come!