November 2014

November was beautiful, beginning with the Autumn colors.

Here are the highlights of the month.

Early in November we went to Illinois to visit the Owens. Courtney turned 8 years old on Halloween and we were able to visit for her baptism.


We enjoyed the weekend with the Owens and their extended family. It is such a beautiful experience to see a young child enter the gate, beginning along the path leading back to heaven. Courtney is the sweetest little girl! She has been a great friend to the kids. We are happy we could be invited to this special day for her.

I was asked to temporarily accompany the choir for the Christmas program. It was a high priority for me to find a piano since we didn't bring our last one with us and I needed to practice. I also wanted to jump back into the kids' lessons. After researching what I wanted and checking out different pianos. I decided on one that I found on Craig's list. I had it inspected before we purchased it. It is a quality instrument with a good sound. It was a good deal and we felt like the design would complement our home. We had it tuned about a month after we brought it home.



A few days later we got our first snow.



While our kitchen was being torn out (starting at the beginning of the month) we were grateful to enjoy Thanksgiving with the Sanchez family. Mike and Taralie's family also joined us there. What a bountiful time this was for us, being surrounded by family and delicious food. Thank you to the Sanchez family for hosting again!



We finished off the month by buying a live tree for Christmas. This was a highlight for us in our new home that was otherwise a disaster due to construction. You can also see the new area rug we picked out for our front room.


Well, that about wraps up our month.

Highlights of October 2014

We finally arrived in Columbus on October 6th. Matthew went ahead to prepare the house a bit. We had a day or 2 without our furnishings. It is a bit like camping inside.

I worked on getting the kids' final school enrollment finished. They began school on the next Wednesday. This is about when the movers arrived with all our belongings. It was difficult to find where everything could fit. We ended up selling or giving away a few things (the bunk beds :( , the faithful green couch, a TV, and some other misc. things.) Boxes crowded every room. About this time we determined that since we wanted to update the kitchen, it would be better to take care of it at the beginning, before everything was unpacked and put away. I set to work right away getting bids and researching contractors/companies. We eventually settled on a contractor and construction began in November. That is a story for another post. I will detail it in its entirety later.

One of our favorite things about our new home is the spacious yard. The kids love taking rides with Matthew on the riding mower.



We also have loved the beautiful autumn leaves and all the trees in our yard!


On October 17th we headed up to Michigan to visit the Sanchez family for Joshua's baptism and Heleman's mission farewell talk. It is always such a joy to be with Mar and Kelly's family! They are such good friends and examples to us! Grandpa and Grandma Smith were also visiting. BONUS for us!


As a side note, Sterling had taken to "photo Bombing" during this time. Fortunately, we were still able to get lots of good ones with just the intended subjects. :)

And finally, October concluded with Halloween festivities. We were able to enjoy Dublin's annual Spooktacular. There were fun crafts, activities, dancing, and trick or treating. We also attended the Trunk or Treat at the church, a school autumn festival, and went trick or treating with the Fackrells. Isn't it amazing that Matt got moved here only a year after his childhood buddy was moved here for work also? We haven't lived this close since college days at BYU.



Here Christian was roaring.


Unfortunately, Halloween was such a whirlwind, and Matt had to work late, so I didn't manage to get very many good trick or treating photos. The older kids went with Regan, and I took the little ones. Christian really enjoyed being pulled in their wagon, and wanted to stop at each house to take the walk up to the door for treats. He really seemed to understand the fun of the tradition. Sheri was also a great help to me! We love our time with the Fackrells.

Of course, Halloween isn't complete without carving pumpkins.


It was a very Happy Halloween. I am grateful for fun highlights like this, especially during challenging times. Moving can be overwhelming! I am also grateful for church members who have reached out to us in friendship. It is tremendously helpful to know there is a network of people to help you navigate in a new city.