Update From North Carolina

Wow! 2015 has already been full of adventures for our family and we are approaching the half way point of the year!

First and foremost, so sorry for the prolonged absence!

Here is a little bit about what we have been up to...

Right before Christmas, Ron accepted a new job in North Carolina. Just days into 2015, Ron left Wisconsin to start work and this left us, girls back home to sell our house. The house sold fairly quickly, within 3 months from listing to closing. This meant we had a whole house to pack up, a new house, school, and church to find. Oh, and then there was the moving us and everything we own 1000 plus miles away.

Ron found a church right away in the area and they have already been a huge blessing to our whole family.

We found a great home and neighborhood on a little over an acre of land in Eastern North Carolina. It has great sunlight and mature trees! We even have raspberry bushes.

There have been many new adjustments for us all, but we were definitely not prepared to start a garden immediately. After all, I still had to find all the gardening tools in our moving mess.

"Up north" we would not plant until after Mother's Day or even Memorial Day. But down here I was told to wait to plant after Good Friday! That is a huge increase in our growing season and means I have to get moving!

Sadly, we were grossly disorganized with moving, starting a new school and just trying to get around town. Planting has been slow going but is happening and we will keep you posted on the progress!

Here are a few pictures from the beautiful blooms in our yard.

Upcoming Post:  Starting a garden plot.

Making Birthdays Special

 Birthdays! No matter what your age, you have to love how special they can make you feel. At our house, we do several birthday traditions every year that create not only good feelings, but memories too. And the good news is we've found it doesn't cost much at all to make someone smile.

Fairies aren't just for teeth.
We have a birthday fairy to come to visit the night prior to the birthday. She leaves a trail of confetti to the birthday presents, decorates the bedroom door of the birthday girl or boy and leaves balloons. 

Wear a happy hat.
Birthday hats are a fun way to add a little silliness to the day. We have been using the same pack of a few years now. I just place them out next to the birthday presents.

Fancy-up a special meal.
Growing up, I remember my Mom always letting us use a special plate at the time of our birthday dinner. The plate is Waechtersbach's You're Special Today plate. And it really did make me feel special. Just last year I was able to find this plate at a rummage sale for a great deal!

Be in the moment.
There is always talk of what time my girls were born and where. A fun way to celebrate their moment of birth is to set a timer set to go off at the time of birth. You could celebrate with hugs and comment on how much bigger they feel.

Have your day, your way.
In our house, another way we celebrate birthdays is to pick what you want for dinner. The meal could be homemade or a modest restaurant. We have done dinner's out to Baked Macaroni and Cheese for dinner. 

My girls celebrating their birthdays together. Only 4 calendar days apart.

Just simple routine things, like opening up presents around the same time of the day, every year, can make your next birthday run a little smoother and create traditions. We always let the kids open up there presents first thing in the morning, while they are still in their pajamas. Usually we get up about 15 minutes earlier but the kids (and adults) love it.

Happy Birthday to you!