I am aware that it has been quite a bit of time since I have given you an update. We have been in survival mode for the last few months. Our next baby is on the way and after 6 weeks I was feeling absolutely horrible, so there was no writing time, then about the time I felt better we had all the holidays so now I am back I think for right now. I will give you a brief recap of the last few weeks...there will not be a lot of details but it should be good!
October:
- We got our drywall all done! We found great people to help out and they got it done way quicker than we could have. It was such a blessing.
- Some of the Bakers were in town so we got to go spend some time with them. It was a great time and we were very thankful to spend time with them.
- We threw a weekend trip in there and went up to Michigan for the weekend to visit Jonathan's best friend and his family. It was so much fun, such a special time seeing their daughter and our kids together. Everyone had a lot of fun, we got to do some fun fall stuff, it was a great day.
- I was sick as a dog the Sunday we came back, so that ended up being a whole home day for us. It was a struggle, but we made it through.
November:
- We both went and voted early, the kids went twice...good thing they don't vote! Election day was crazy for us and we weren't even close to able to go - so thankful we have a fantastic state to go get things taken care of well and a county that does it so efficiently!
- Our small group finished up in early November, we had a little chili cookoff with friends and thankfully I was feeling really good and we got to go!
- One evening was spent picking out our flooring for the upstairs - we were so glad to finally be there!
- We had Williams SECOND birthday! Love our little man so much. He is so sweet, so much fun and a blessing to our whole family. It was a blast for everyone!
- Family pictures finally got taken - thank you Jonathan for setting that up and thank goodness for great and talented friends!
- We finally started telling people about the baby, that was fun...Amelia was the most fun to tell! She is very excited and cannot wait to meet the baby!
- Thanksgiving was marvelous, I felt good and was able to enjoy the whole day which was about a 50/50 chance at that point, so it was good to enjoy a day with family and feel good while being there. The kids loved a day with cousins!
December:
- Jonathan got a truck! His car won't fit 3 kids in it and we have been looking for one for awhile, so that was a very exciting move, we are thankful to have found what we did!
- Shem, Karah and Hazel visited in early December, so we started our Christmas celebrations early! Obviously, we had a massive focus on Christmas since a 2 and almost 4 year old really love getting presents. It was a fantastic time with family and we loved getting the holiday kicked off early.
- Jonathan and the kids got to go celebrate Grandpa Ross' birthday with some family who were local, so that was a lot of fun, the kids talked about it for a few days afterward!
- We had a birthday party for Jesus with friends - that was just a ton of fun! A 5-year old, an almost 4-year old and two 2-year olds make a lot of fun with cupcake decorating! It was so enjoyable, the kids had a blast with it!
- Christmas was so fun, we got together the the Landis side on Christmas Eve and had a super relaxing Christmas day. We opened presents here, had our little Christmas morning, quick visit from Nana and Papa around lunch time and then went up to my grandparent's house in the evening. It was good to get to see people and have some time with family on the holiday. We had a lot of fun.
- The kids were so excited in the morning, they have been playing with toys ever since! No need for toy rotation. They are very spoiled, very sweet little kids and we are so thankful to have them in our lives.
- Over the weekend after Christmas we went to Louisville, KY. It turned into a framily vacation when the wedding we were supposed to go to got canceled a few days before. We had a blast anyway! They have Christmas lights in a cavern - so we went to see those at 9 am, which was incredible. An experience we would never want to forget! Can't see that everywhere, that's for sure! Afterward we went to the zoo. The weather was perfect, like, 60 degrees? So the animals were all out and having a great time, we were all comfortable, it was a fantastic time, highly recommend going to the zoo in the non-summer!
- Jonathan was off the Friday before Christmas through the Monday after the New Year, so we have a had a lot of family time. He has a little shadow, his name is William and he wants to be with his daddy every single minute he is awake and sometimes cries for him when we put him in his bed to sleep...so adjusting to Dad going back to work may be a bit of a challenge, but I believe he can get through it!
We are so excited for the new year and can't wait to see what 2025 has in store. 2024 has been full of hard times and special times and we are thankful for the time we have had as a family. Thank you for loving us and for taking the time to read our little update. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is ready for the new year! Enjoy the beautiful snow while we have it!
Love,
Jonathan, Allison, Amelia and William
