Year 7, August: Friedenswald, Family, Fair!

Happy September! We are happy to be moving on to another month, August was quite a month. Very pleasant, full of all kinds of enjoyable experiences, but a bit exhausting, so we are excited to slow down a bit this month. 

Amelia and I did a little bit more blueberry picking near the beginning of the month, we got peaches, we did corn, we had a ton of tomatoes, there was a lot of food prep! Bread, salsa, diced tomatoes, rotel, peaches, corn, stuff for Friedenswald, the first week was a bit wild and pretty overwhelming, if we are being honest, but Jonathan and Mom took good care of me! Mom helped with corn, Jonathan kept the kids so I could go to the book store, Amelia had more ear problems and I went to the chiropractor all in one day. It was a good day! I came home in a much healthier place mentally and was able to have a better week with the capacity to do what I needed to do the last week of my maternity leave. 

We had a good trip to Friedenswald to see Jonathan's mom's side of the family. They are awesome and the kids had a blast with all the cousins around. The trip was long, but we made it through! Vivian was a little trooper, sweet baby, and the kids were very comfortable in the new car, it worked super well for all of us and we had an impressively good trip for having three kids under the age of 5!

My first day back to work went well. The kids have adjusted well, I am starting to get my feet under me here at home with the new schedule. Vivi has had some rough days, but overall she is doing fantastic. Sleeping like a little sweetheart, eating like a champ, she is incredibly sweet. She loves to snuggle with Mama after her days away, which doesn't bother me at all!

We are getting everything figured out here with our new normal. Last weekend we did some shopping, the kids needed new clothes, specifically William. He has made his 2T clothes last two summers...we are now definitely in 3t and his pants and shirts were just not even close to fitting! Now he has some things that fit, which is quite helpful! It was also our first trip out to eat with all three kids, of course, they did fantastic! We enjoyed it a lot.

On Sunday the Landis family came over and we got to spend time with them, Jonathan made burgers, it was quite a relaxing evening and we had a great time. The kids loved every minute of it, the best part of their days. I spent the day working in the kitchen, Jonathan worked on the windows upstairs, so it was productive as well! 

Sunday we had church, a birthday party and we all went to the fair in the evening, which was fantastic. The kids had a great time, they were not afraid of the animals this time, which was new this year! Usually they are terrified, so it was fun. The whole day was incredibly enjoyable, we loved the whole day with the kids. Unfortunately, we found out our neighbor passed away, which put a damper on everything. We are so sad to have lost him and will miss him terribly, so Jonathan and I had a very hard time with that, but we were still able to enjoy our evening with the kids and we were thankful for that distraction! Amelia has decided she wants a pony, but seems to be open to other options as well. William, on the other hand, likes horses and goats the best, he does not like pigs and that is his official position, he has no intention of changing his answers ever because he is two and that is how he approaches everything in his life. We love him with our whole hearts and laugh at him all the time! 

We are so blessed and are looking forward to this month as we are starting school! It is fun to watch them learn and it is even more fun to learn more about them! I hope everyone enjoys this month of summer turning into fall, we certainly plan to!

Love,

Jonathan, Allison, Amelia, William and Vivian

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