A Very Special Date Night

For Tate’s birthday at the beginning of August, Blake and I gifted him a date night with us and also Eliza!

We originally thought we would surprise Tate and Eliza by taking them to dinner and then mini golfing, but the weather did not cooperate for the evening that we were planning to go out.

Instead we ate dinner at Chipotle and headed to a place called All Glazed Up to paint some pottery!

It ended up being a MUCH better choice than mini golfing and we had the BEST time together!

When we first arrived, we had to choose the pottery we wanted to paint.

It did not take long for us to choose, but then we had to choose paint colors!

Once we finally got all of that done, we sat for about two hours painting our pieces and chatting away with the two cutest kids on the planet.

The funniest part of the evening was how much Blake got into this project!

He was enjoying it so much and said that he found his new stress reliever activity ha, ha!

He did the best job on his coffee mug and it turned out amazing!

The hard thing about the paint was that the color you saw as you painted your project was not the color that it would end up being.

Once the pieces are fired in the kiln, the colors darken and become very shiny!

After we finished our pottery, we headed to get some ice cream – even though it was very late!

It was cold outside and that ice cream made us turn the heat on in the van!

Blake was able to pick up our finished projects this last week and that was the best part!!

Tate and Eliza have talked about that date night so much since then!

We know Tate’s love language is quality time which made this birthday gift perfect for him!

Thanks for the very special date night Tator B and Zi!!!

WE LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!

Tate is ELEVEN!!

Can you all believe it??

Our Tate is ELEVEN years old!!

His birthday was August 3rd, and we had our usual birthday traditions for him.

A meal of his choice, dessert of his choice, and some gifts!

We have our birthday parties usually on Sundays so that everyone is free to join us!

This first picture says it ALL!

Tate is pure JOY and LOVES people SO well – especially his nephews and nieces!

Tate and River have a very fun friendship that I hope lasts forever.

Tate chose Japchae for his meal and that is what he got….and all he got!

His mama is slacking!!

They all loved it though and it filled all the bellies.

We enjoyed watching Tate open his gifts.

Everyone was spot on with the things Tate loves and gave him the gift of promised TIME.

Tate has already had his special promised date night with Blake and I, and his promised sleepover/weekend spent with Kay and her crew.

HE LOVED THESE GIFTS!

Of course there were things to open too.

For dessert Tate chose a crepe bar – crepes filled and topped with lots of yummy things!

It was a another great party!

Memories made and memories kept!!

Even though I have about half of the photos I wish I had, ha, ha!

Tate Owen, HOW do words express what you mean to us?

You have seriously made our lives so rich and full.

We are SO thankful that the Lord saw fit to bring you half way around the world to be our forever more!!

It was fun to celebrate you, Tator B!!

Happy, happy eleventh birthday!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!

Team Eliza at Shriners

The first Thursday of August Blake, Eliza and I headed out early in the morning to head to Shriners in Minneapolis.

We had a little over a three hour drive one-way that day.

It was the most gorgeous day for a drive!

I love driving along the river and lakes when we head into Minnesota.

Eliza was being seen that day for a two year check-up to make sure she has had no regression in her hip dysplasia.

We were not expecting any surprises, but we went with prayerful hearts and open minds!

First she had some imaging done – two views, both laying down.

Then we saw the orthopedic PA and heard the WONDERFUL news that Eliza’s hips are not only are stable, but look great!

After our appointment was over we did our typical medical day things!

Chipotle, Starbucks, and some shopping.

It was very sweet to have some one-on-one time with our precious girl!!

Of course as soon as we were home Tate and Eliza were stuck to each other’s sides.

They are just better together!!

And they do not like having long days apart!

It is just the sweetest thing that God has done for them – giving them each other!

There’s another long medical day in the books!

Medical days are getting fewer and farther in between and we are SO thankful for that!!

Thank you, Lord, for ALL You have allowed and done for our Eliza Claire!!

It is not lost on us how much the Lord has healed our sweet baby!!

Grateful for it ALL!!

May the glory be Yours, Jesus!!

Grant’s Place

The first Saturday of August WAS THE DAY!!

The day we finally moved Grant to his new house!

No, it is not “finished” – but there was enough of the big work done that Grant could move in and have a place to lay his head.

We have had such willing helpers these last few months – including these two cuties!!

After the guys had finished skim coating and sanding the walls and ceilings, they sprayed texture, primer and then paint on them.

The skim coating and sanding took a long, long time because they were working on it usually from 9 p.m. to midnight on the nights they were available!

The spraying process, however, went quickly and the results were dramatic!

Don’t they look like a professional crew?!

I really like the paint colors Grant chose!

Lots of grey walls, and then white walls in the hallways and kitchen.

They also sprayed the fireplace black.

It is awesome!

A few weeks back on a Sunday afternoon we all went down as a family to do some work together to try to get it across the finish line.

There was a lot of cleaning that needed done, the trim needed painted, all the new light and fan fixtures needed installed – just to name a few of the things on the huge list!

It was a FUN day!

We love to work together!

Grant and Addie were on the trim painting team!

Eliza, Tate and I were on the cleaning team!

Tate took this photo!

Chad was on the odd jobs and measuring windows and things team!

He also gave this parrot we found in the bathroom a funeral in a trash can, ha, ha!

Blake and Lane were on the light and fan fixtures team!

Please notice in the second photo the ones taking a break and having some cake!

Grant’s house is looking so good!

The paint looks much darker in these photos than it does in real life – especially on a more sunny day.

There were some kiddos who brought some books for break time.

The day we moved Grant in I took ONE photo.

I know!

Disappointing, right?

We were a skeleton crew that day and a smidge BUSY.

But I will have opportunity for more photos I am sure!

Now I will answer the question of the hour – YES, I CRIED.

Grant hugged me and told me, “It’s ok, Mom! I’m not going far!” which made me cry harder, ha, ha!

It’s ALL good though, because Grant’s house is wonderful, it is not far, and he is LOVING being a homeowner which makes his Mama very, very happy!

A new season!!

Even though I miss him, he comes over often – right at dinner time!!

Smart boy.

We are so happy for our Grant Evan!!!

CONGRATULATOINS ON YOUR NEW HOME, G MAN!!!