Staying In or Going Out: A Love Story of Both

What a weekend.

We are homebodies through and through. We love nothing more than to stay in on a Friday night (and Saturday, and Sunday, and, and…) and make dinner, watch a family movie with a big bowl of popcorn, and just soak up the feeling of “home”. If I really think hard about it, almost nowhere is more deserving of our time than the couch in our living room. It calls to us every night. It misses us when we’re not there. It needs us as much as we need it. I think that’s called true love.

Which is why this weekend was so out of the ordinary for us. We went out not once, but twice (!). And by “out”, I mean we drove half a mile down the road and spent the evening with my mom at her cottage.

My mom’s oldest friend (they went to kindergarten together) is in town and staying with her for a while. They invited us over on Friday night because Pam wanted to make dinner for all of us. How sweet is that? A night where we don’t have to cook and somebody actually cooks for us? Signed, sealed, delivered.

So we got dressed up and brought a few bottles of wine over to my mom’s house for a fun night of playing card games, telling stories, catching up, and eating a delicious creamy chicken and broccoli cheese bake. I should have snagged the recipe from her but I forgot to ask. 

It was such a lovely, chill night.

It was the kind of night that reminded me why I don’t think we could ever not be near family. People ask us all the time why we live in this little town, the same one we both grew up in, and while there are many reasons, a big one is that both of our moms are here (each half a mile from us, in fact) and the thought of not being able to pop over and see them anytime we’d like is does not sound appealing to us. In the current stage of our lives, it almost feels like we need them nearby, you know?

Speaking of family, Saturday night was spent basically doing the same thing, just with PJ’s side of the family. His cousin Lauren invited us all over for a night of equal amounts of fun for both parents and adults: our kids would spend the evening playing with her two girls (whom our children adore), and we would get to spend it with PJ’s cousins and their husbands, and the rest of their family. 

The great thing about Saturday night is there was such a sense of nostalgia about it, and who am I if not perpetually nostalgic? When PJ and I first got together, his cousin would have many, many get togethers at her house and we would go to every single one of them. There were so many parties where we’d all be in her (rather large) kitchen scattered around the island, holding a glass of whatever, and just being young and carefree.

This was, of course, before any of us had kids or any serious responsibilities. And it was always the same people at these get togethers, which made them all quickly feel like family to me.

This weekend felt like old times, but maybe even 10 times better because our kids would run into the kitchen from time to time out of breath and laughing from playing so hard with each other. PJ and Lauren are cousins and were in the same grade all throughout school; he and his sister, and Lauren and her sister, all grew up together, spending their summer days at their mamaw’s house (which is now Lauren’s house) running around outside, getting dirty, helping her with certain projects, etc. It was a magical childhood and they spent it together, the same way I hope our own kids will spend theirs and, hopefully, have the same sweet memories as PJ does now.

This weekend reminded me of the perks of living in a small town with family close by, and the comfort and security that brings. I know staying home is always a good idea, but spending a few nights with the people we love most might just be even better.

How to Help Ukraine Right Now

Ukraine is officially under attack after Putin declared war this morning (to understand the whole story, click here), with Russia invading and attacking Ukraine after weeks of rising tensions between the neighboring countries.

The attacks have already killed dozens of Ukrainians and left many families and children displaced and fearing for their lives. The future of the Ukrainian people is in jeopardy and so much is up in the air right now. If you’re like me, you’re looking for ways to help those who are in this tragic situation; those whose entire lives have changed over the course of a single day.

USA for UNHCR is accepting emergency donations to help the people of Ukraine right now. If you can, please consider donating by clicking here. Any amount (truly, anything) will help provide emergency assistance to those who need it most, and who never wanted this conflict in the first place.

USA for UNHCR explains that:

“Even before the most recent crisis, years of conflict in Ukraine have forced more than two million children, women and men from their homes and left them struggling to survive. Nearly three million people in Ukraine will require humanitarian assistance this year. Those fleeing for their lives need immediate shelter, protection and safety.”

This crisis is happening in real time, with lives hanging in the balance as the brink of World War III looms over the two countries and, quite frankly, over the rest of us as well (even if Biden has said US troops will not invade Russia). Your support to help those who need it most goes a long way, no matter how you show it.

Thank you for reading, and please stay safe.

(photo via Shutterstock)

Our Pond is Completely Filled!! (For Now)

More pond progress!!

We’ve been waiting for our pond to fill up ever since they finished it late last year. For the last few months, it’s just been a big muddy hole in front of our metal storage building, gathering rocks and accumulating dirt, mud and only a little bit of water. 

But now, after the torrential downpour we’ve had over the last few days, it’s filled to the very top!! It’s so crazy to see it finally full after all the waiting and anticipation. I know it’s especially sweet for PJ, who designed the pond and its placement, working with multiple pond builders over the course of a year. And finally, here we are!

However, there’s a catch: It won’t be filled like this forever. PJ informed me that it’ll most likely take a couple of these heavy rains for the water to actually stay in the pond and for the dirt and mud to settle around it. So the water currently in it is temporary and will most likely be gone in a few days (weeks?), but it’s oh so beautiful to look at.

A big reason the pond is as full as it is, is because of the water diversion pipe PJ installed that makes the natural mountain runoff water go into the pond. With all the rain we’ve been having, the mountain water has overflowed the trench PJ dug and it’s all pouring into the pond. The sound of the water splashing and spilling over is so relaxing.

Speaking of the water in it, I know. It’s brown and dirty looking and, well, sort of gross. That also won’t last forever. When I asked PJ how we’ll get the water to be pretty and clear, he gave me the analogy of when you put dirt and water in a glass jar and shake it around. At first, the water is murky, but when the shaking is finished and everything calms down, the dirt settles to the bottom and the top becomes clean and clear. Same thing with the pond! Makes sense, right?

Neither of us can believe we’ll have an actual place on the farm to swim in this summer! That’s right; we absolutely plan on jumping in the pond to cool off during the 100 degree days we regularly get here in Tennessee during the middle of summer. 

And it’s going to feel sooooo good.

Anna Behind the Camera

We don’t ever let the kids have our phones, and they’ve learned not to even ask. But every once in a while, Anna will grab my phone and just start taking pictures or recording video (as evident in our last vlog), and yesterday she produced these gems of me playing and dancing with the kids.

Please notice the progression of me just thinking she’s holding my phone to then realizing she’s actually wildly snapping away. The storyline! The angles! She’s a natural.

Happy Tuesday!

The Problem with Independence...

…is that sometimes, you end up with pizza that’s been burnt to a crisp because it was left in the microwave for too long. Still, now Anna has learned that pizza only requires about 30 seconds of reheating, not 3 minutes. So maybe “problem” isn’t the right word. Side effect? Result of?

Reminding myself on this beautiful Monday: Every situation is an opportunity!!

The Trailer Inside Holiday House is Officially Gone

We’ve been waiting for this day for what feels like forever.

The small cottage on our farm that we call Holiday House was originally a single wide trailer put there in the 50’s or 60’s. Then, some time later, they built an entire house around it and added on, effectively enclosing the trailer inside the frame of an actual house. When we bought it, we always knew we wanted to demolish the trailer side to raise the ceilings and windows and now, finally, that day has come!

PJ hired a crew to demo the trailer side and cut it out of the house and they’re finishing up today! I say cut it out because they literally had to cut the metal 1950’s trailer out to get rid of it. It’s actually quite fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s not cleaned just yet and there’s insulation everywhere, but now that the walls are down and it’s one big open space (on what was once the old trailer side), it’ll be easier for us to draw up floor plans and envision what we want for the space.

Right now, we know we have to fit part of the kitchen, a bathroom/laundry room, the boys’ room, and our primary bathroom in the space of the demoed side. Holiday House isn’t big by any means, so we’re going to have to get creative in how we lay it out. Luckily, PJ loves to come up with floor plans and stretch his creativity to the max in the process.

This is going to be so fun!! It’s just the start, but things are happening fast and PJ is making it all come together at what feels like lightning speed, after almost a year of no progress on Holiday House. We’re hoping to be finished, or close to it, by the beginning of summer.

Here we go!!

A Magical Night on the Back Porch

We love our house in town. We’ve called it home for the last five years and it’s the house I grew up in, the house we brought our children home to, and where we became a family. So it’s special and sentimental all at the same time. One thing about it though:

It’s short on outdoor space. It’s right in the middle of town and in between a bunch of old houses, which has a certain charm to it, but because of that, we don’t have much of a yard or a place for the kids to run around (another reason we’ve been spending so much more time at the farm recently). But, we’ve learned to make do with what we have and try to use every inch of our space there.

PJ got the boys a basketball goal for Christmas and now that we’ve had a little bit of warmer weather the last few days, he finally put it together on the back porch and they’ve been playing on it nonstop. I find it so cute that they love it so much, especially Allan, who comes straight home from school and runs to the back porch to shoot a few hoops.

Last night, as I was making dinner and PJ was down in the yard with Anna tending to our sheep (watch next week’s vlog to see why we brought one of our sheep home!), the boys were playing basketball on the back porch and having a blast. We had the back doors open and there was a nice breeze passing through the house. Bossa Nova music was playing as we were both sipping wine.

It was one of those perfect moments in time that happens every now and then where I wish I could freeze time and play it over and over. Thank goodness for technology, right?

Then, when dinner was ready, Allan asked if we could eat outside since it felt so good. I told him he could if he wanted, and he immediately ran to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of lemon cleaning spray, a rag, and ran back outside to wipe down the table. He then picked up a plant from the living room and asked if he could bring it outside. I had the biggest smile on my face as I told him “sure” because that’s absolutely something PJ or I would do to dress up the outdoor table and make the entire experience a little more special.

Allan put the plant in the middle of the table and brought his food out as the sun was starting to get lower and lower. What he said next surprised me and made me laugh:

“Okay you can eat inside with your husband, and I will eat outside with Riah and Anna. Sound good?”

From the mouths of babes I tell you!!! What a cutie little stinker. So the three of them ate at the table that Allan set on the back porch while we stood beside them and just watched. They were laughing and talking and just having a good time. Now that everyone can talk, it’s fun to listen in on their very real conversations.

I love that they’re getting older and more independent and coming up with their own ideas on things to do and make. It’s both a challenging (so many mistakes, so many messes, so many frustrating situations) and beautiful (so fun to see them stretch their creativity, so rewarding to watch them think for themselves, so wonderful to witness them problem-solve) time in their lives and I know I speak for both of us when I say we’re both so grateful to call them ours.

We Haven't Done This in More Than Two Years

And no, it’s not mop our floors (you’ll sadly understand that completely if you saw our Instagram story last week).

Last night for Valentine’s Day, PJ and I went to the movies. Alone. Just the two of us. And you know what? It was so nice. And it was nice not just because we basically had the entire theater all to ourselves (we were one of only three couples seeing Death on the Nile, which was, side note, so good!) but because we had a night out together, without the kids, which is not a normal occurrence.

After the movie, we came home to find our children in bed and my mom packing things up to head out. I saw on one of our nanny cams that she was in bed with Riah reading him a book before lights out and I felt my heart swelling. How lucky are we to have her? I remember her always reading to us as kids before bed and in my humble opinion, she has the best reading voice. So grateful our kids get to hear it for themselves.

Meanwhile, before the movie began, the trailers were playing and we saw a preview for Uncharted, the new Tom Holland movie and it looks so good. Maybe we’ll get lucky and have my mom watch the kids again and do the exact same thing next week.

Just maybe.