Fall '16

We are enjoying a pretty peaceful fall in these parts. The highlights these past few weeks have mainly been school, soccer, and sisters, with a first birthday party thrown in the mix.

Asher is an adorable, albeit large, first grader these days. We are now to the point that when Andrew puts away laundry, my jeans are regularly placed in Asher's drawer, and vice versa. I'm guessing he'll be my height by about age 11. He is a fun-loving boy who sometimes talks and plays too much (genetics happen), but is doing very well academically. He has taken to self-encouragement on his school papers, lately - saving his teacher a step. 

The irony of this being a spelling paper was not lost on us. :)

Preston's fall soccer season was filled with highs, lows, and flat on the grounds. 

Sometimes it's a perfect sunny day, and you're kickin' it with your best friend.

Sometimes it's drizzly and cold, your best friend is out of town, and you're just not feelin' it. Your limbs lose all strength and you go overcooked-noodle-limp.

Sometimes you repeatedly storm off-field, cross your arms and act unresponsive to your extremely nice coach. Maintaining pill status takes commitment, and you're no quitter, after all. 

Except when it comes to soccer.

 But sometimes the sun breaks through the clouds as well as your resolve. Strength surges back into your limbs and you triumphantly kick a goal in the final game.

Your paparazzi parents force you to face the blinding sun, but you don't care. You've got your best friends, your very first medal and a Rice Krispy Treat. 

It was a roller coaster, but we'll probably be back to ride next year.

On October 1st, sweet little Rhett became a yearling. We had a "Time Flies"  party theme with little airplanes, and invited family over to celebrate with us. 

I always thought Rhett favored Andrew until I saw this picture. 

Aunts a plenty

After making Rhett's airplane cookies, I used the extra dough and icing to make desserts that looked like other desserts. 

The royal icing technique takes a lot of time, but I love getting better at something new! You don't mind messing up as much when your mistakes are delicious.

Hannah came in from Canada and suddenly there were 4 White sisters all together. Spending time with them is always like heaven to me. 

This is what a "good" family picture has been reduced to these days. 

Hannah didn't quite get to stay a week, but we loved getting to have her. She and I are probably the most alike out of any two in our family, and I will keep crossing my fingers that someday she and Spencer will live close someday!

These sunny fall days continue to come and we'll sure miss them when they're gone. 

Everyday Snapshot

What we're...

Watching: The boys have been on an old school Alvin and the Chipmunks kick. Not a bit educational, but there is something gratifying about seeing them enjoy something we did as kids. Andrew and I recently finished Stranger Things and have been watching BBC's Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell on Netflix. It is set in Britain in the late 1700's and revolves around English magic. Kind of out there and a little dark at times, but well made. We are at that point where we're just about as sad as we are excited to watch the last couple episodes...#impendingshowhole.

Listening to: Guster's album Easy Wonderful. So many great songs we all like. I should mention here that the entire month of August was dedicated to the Hamilton soundtrack. The songs stayed in our heads CONSTANTLY. I started to shy away from it because even the "clean" version took a lot of editing around the kids. Plus curse words set to catchy music just have extra staying power in my little mind. Anyway, it was really fun to get caught up in that historical period. The musical made me so fascinated with the American Revolution and I learned so much! 

Reading: The kids have discovered The Friend magazine (okay, so we finally subscribed). Andrew is on the final Harry Potter book (this is actually his first time through - he is listening to the audio during his commute), and I just started Dan Brown's Inferno (also on MP3 audio - thank you library!) Listening while getting ready, doing kitchen prep, cooking, cleaning, etc. is almost the only way I can read without guilt these days. One of my long-held dreams is sitting up comfortably in bed, enjoying a book with no one else needing me, and no chores being neglected. Someday. 

Eating: Made our favorite fall dish for dinner tonight: Slow Cooker Corn and Potato Chowder. I use Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon, which is much faster, less fat and less mess. This is really yummy served with shredded sharp cheddar and honey cornbread.

Working on: Andrew: Finding balance between work/church/home.

Sarah: Staying positive and others-focused while staying on top of kids/house/church calling, etc. 

Asher: Geography, maintaining good behavior at school and asking "How Can I Help?" at home.

Preston: Reading, counting to 100, soccer skills, resisting the urge to ride baby Rhett like a pony.

Rhett: Cutting new teeth and taking steps.

Life feels so full right now in both happy and hard ways. We are trying to keep life centered on the Savior to help us manage whatever crops up. No matter how overwhelmed we feel, we are always stunned by how blessed we've been and how the hand of the Lord is so manifest in our lives. 

And now random, low-quality cell phone pics:

Our family's first foray into soccer has been thoroughly enjoyed by all so far.

 I was trying to take a makeupless "before" pic on the day I began using Rodan and Fields (I just bought the consultant kit and have high hopes) and soon had company.

 If he survives all the sibling love, Rhett will someday be the toughest boy we've got.

 Merry go round break at our last Bats game of the season.

First grade or bust!

 So thankful Preston has wonderful little friends here!

 Rhett's morning nap has been holding us hostage lately. This is the morning we attempted to defy it and get out anyway. :)

A Saturday morning together in our dream neighborhood - Norton Commons

 Trying to capture those little teeth!

Two-thirds of the rare 3-child nap

Rhett. RHEEETT!!! 

He just needs to stop being so cute before my heart explodes and his dad has to settle on some cheap step-mom to help raise him.

Working the Dream

         Life has been shaken up for us a bit lately! Last month Bluegrass Eye Centers (where Andrew has practiced since graduating last year) merged with another ophthalmic practice - Bennett and Bloom. Turns out what sounds like a children's boutique is actually a very large, successful eye care group featuring some of the premier doctors in Louisville. They really are all exceptional. And while Andrew certainly is too, he's very lucky to have joined them, given he's pretty new to the game. He's completing an ocular disease residency there, and we're so proud of him. He'll no longer do vision exams, only medical...which is a little sad, but really what he loves doing most anyway. 

          He'll make more, but work more. In fact, we'll have about 15 fewer hours together as a family most weeks, which feels like a lot. I won't lie, the first week I teared up a couple times. Our kids are little and these years are precious. Also, doing after school madness (that storm of homework, dinner, and children that combine forces to test your weekday sanity) and then bedtime on my own several nights in a row gave me so much respect for single parents. I know I can never complain...we're not dealing with death, divorce or deployment. But it was still hard.

         It's been a few weeks now, and I honestly feel fairly adjusted. I'm getting better at managing things, and love feeling my capacity increase. Instead of waiting for Daddy to get home, we go and do things on our own. Tuesday night I realized I had put kids in and out of car seats alone a total of 12 times that day. Quite an accomplishment for a scatterbrained co-dependent. :) 

         I still get frazzled, but even in the midst of the craziness feel blessed to have a fantastic husband who has an incredible job doing exactly what he loves. We live in a safe neighborhood and all our needs are more than met. There is chocolate waiting to greet me when the kids are finally down. Life is really good.

        And I'm learning that sometimes, even our blessings can be hard. Living the dream takes work.

We'll miss you, Bluegrass Eye!

You too, daddio! ;)

An Explanation

So this blog has been hanging over my head big time. BIG TIME! Since the beginning of the year, I have written and nearly completed a lovely recap post FIVE times, only to have it DELETED each time. I swear I hit "save"...I think I need to update my browser or something. But please, take a moment to understand the gravity here. I have spent a dozen or more hours of highly precious kids-are-down time selecting and importing low-quality pictures, writing thoughtful commentary, editing, etc. only to have them thrown in, nay - FLUSHED DOWN the toilet. This last time when I logged on to complete the post and saw all my work had once again been deleted, I actually cried and considered the possibility that the heavens did not want me to recap the last 6 months of family life. Is my work not good enough for you, universe?!?

But no matter. I know not the reason for this maddening and heartbreaking turn of events, but for now, I must let this explanation suffice. We live in an age of online sharing, but for the past year or so, I’ve grown increasingly disenchanted with social media. While I love keeping up and interacting with friends, my feeds began to overwhelm me. So many voices screaming, “Look at me!” “Buy this!” “My kid is doing something cute!!” All fine in the right amounts, but I have friends that post 5 or 10 times a day, and keeping up with it all began to feel like work. So I stepped back and made peace with the idea of missing things.

And while I am not an especially private person, the idea of artificially inserting my life into another’s consciousness seems distasteful at times. Which is why I value this out-of-fashion family blog. Should anyone want to know what we are about, it is here and open.

There are always a million “unbloggy” things that need doing, but I have not given up on this baby! Unless this post gets deleted. Then I’ll slit my wrists and start a Twitter account.