My Sweet Grandma, A Life Well Lived

 

Today my precious grandmother arrived at Heaven's gate.  My heart just aches as I think about how much I'll miss her, but what a joy it is to know that she is reunited with Pawpaw!  

She was truly a woman of God who taught me so much . . . not just through words, but by watching her in action.  She loved on everyone so well.  I think back to some of my earliest memories of spending the weekend at her house when she was caring for her mom across the street.  We spent a lot of time checking in on her and baking for others too.  She kept a spotless house (I think my OCD about this came from her) and was a fantastic southern cook.  There were always treats to be found and funny stories to be told.  I have so many memories that I will forever hold close in my heart.  My hope is that one day I can be as selfless and generous as she was. 

Savannah was trying to keep up with her classes as we traveled to Elon for her service.

Baker Beauty

 

This afternoon Savannah decided she wanted to bake a bundt cake.  So, after a quick Target run for a few needed ingredients, she was set to bake.  I went out to Shipt and came home to a wonderful aroma and a beautiful cake.  I was quite impressed with the final product . . . it really just melted in my mouth.  Nothing Bundt Cakes, you better watch out!  She said that the icing was a hot mess, but I said it really doesn't matter what it looks like when it is so amazingly delicious!

Gotta love the photo bomber in the back. :)

Recess Time

 

As it turns out, all of the kids at PSE have lunch/recess at the same scheduled time.  So after one day of chaos and way too much screen time, I decided to organize a recess activity for the neighborhood kids close by each day.  Tuesday we all played kickball in the backyard and today it was basketball.  Even Savannah comes out for a little game time since her break overlaps the end of Preston's!

However, it was blasted HOT today so I broke out popsicles for everyone!  Not sure how long the kids will continue to come, but I'm just thankful for a chance for them to do something in person each day.  

Online School Here We Come . . .

 

Well, here we go.  2020-2021 will be a year to remember for sure!

Of course we had to take our traditional back to school photos, only this year the signs were appropriately made and displayed on the computers!

All smiles until it was time to log in!  UGH!  Savannah, aka tech support, to the rescue.  This is AFTER the drama of forgotten passwords for the little guy.  But hey, we are just thankful the internet is back up and running today.  It was totally down all afternoon yesterday!

Just breathe, just breathe (loving my new diffuser filled with stress relief oils this morning)

After a bit, they were both settled into "school"

This is going to be an interesting year for sure!  All I know is that God is in control.  We cannot change the virus or whether the kids are in school or not, but we CAN just take one day at a time and make the best of it.  Here's to a wonderful year!

Budgets and Parties

We have talked about this for awhile, but today was the day we finally took action!  After careful analysis of our budget and spending, we determined an appropriate amount of money for Savanah to get for clothes this year.  We are starting with just her budgeting clothing.. . next year we'll add another component.  So today the funds were transferred to her debit card and she's all set to purchase anything she would like in terms of clothes and shoes for the year. 

 

Preston attended his first virtual birthday party today!  Maks' mom dropped off cake to enjoy after the online Minecraft party ended and of course we left a little gift for her to pick up.  Although it was a bit frustrating with getting kicked off the switch a few times, I think it was a very creative way to have a fun party!

42 Feels Fine!

Dave took today off to celebrate my birthday!  We weren't sure exactly what we wanted to do but ended up heading to a park a little north of Charlotte for a fun morning of hiking.

Again, the weather was amazing, perfect for an outdoor adventure.  It wasn't too hot and was overcast so even Savannah didn't complain about the hike. :)

 

After the hike, they willingly let me do a few Shipt orders before coming home to celebrate!  BUT, before we could have dinner Savannah had to attend her high school orientation, virtually of course!

Then it was time for Red Robin dinner, Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, and amazing gifts!

I am not a big gift person, but this year the kids blew it out of the water with their carefully selected gifts.  Savannah purchased me a Shipt tote bag and Preston got a Shipt presser so I don't have to touch call buttons on orders anymore.  It was a fabulous day!!!

Pat and Press

These two have really enjoyed playing together this summer!  Mrs. Finn sent me this picture of them on her driveway today.  They have even created their own lawn care service and posted flyers around the neighborhood. 

Whitewater Center Adventure

Dave took a day off of work today for a fun family adventure.  We were a bit afraid that the weather wouldn't hold out, but it ended up being a perfect day for an outside exploration of the National Whitewater Center!

Our main goal was to do the big zipline and that was super fun, but shorter than we imagined.  

 

We also did some exploring and tried to mountain bike on the trails.  Savannah was just not feeling it, so we turned our bikes in early and enjoyed people watching on the rapids while the boys loved biking!  It was such a fun day and after a few hours, we called it a day and headed home.

Perler Beads

The kids have needed a new project to work on . . something other than screens to keep them busy during this continued stay at home period.  So, I took them to Michaels earlier this week to pick out something crafty to do.  Savannah chose friendship bracelets and Preston chose perler beads.  The bracelet making lasted about an hour before Savannah became completely frustrated.  However, the perler beads have been a HIT!  The two of them have worked so well together for hours on end this week.  They even put in a request for another container of beads!