Happy Valentine’s Day 2026

My (not so) little loves and forever Valentine (year 22 and counting) had a busy but memorable Valentine’s Day. Zander and I headed out the door at 6:15 am this morning for a soccer tournament. He remarked that he loved watching the sunrise with me so I wanted to make sure I documented it here because it was such a peaceful way to start our day. I truly enjoyed the one on one time we had together in the car this morning traveling back and forth. After Z’s first game, we headed back home to catch Coach Zack and our favorite basketball player on the court. After a decisive victory by the Boilermakers, we grabbed lunch at Chick-fil-A and then headed back for soccer game #2 of the day.  I loved getting to spend the day with my boys. 

In other news, we watched the Seahawks win the 60th Super Bowl (at least watched until halftime). Emmy enjoyed the game by completing our second and final gingerbread project. We celebrated the 100th day of school (by dressing like 100 year olds) and got lots of cuddles while daddy was out of town for work. We loved sending him pictures to show how much we missed him last week! Grannie got to visit for Maddox’s basketball game last weekend!

Snow Much Fun

We woke up on Saturday morning to snow! It kept falling from the sky all day making for a winter wonderland in our neighborhood. It looks like we got about 11 inches in all, making this one of the largest snowfalls in our area since 2018. The boys and I enjoyed using my childhood sled and our neighbor’s driveway to frolic in the winter weather! We had broken our orange plastic sled in the ice the week before but we made quite a few passes down the driveway with this runner sled while large flakes continued to fall from the sky.  We have eaten a lot of delicious food while at home. Zander helped Zack make two of our meals, dinner one night and breakfast another morning. We made snow cream on two different days snd it was perfect snow for this. Hot chocolate has been a daily treat.  I love how beautiful our house looks in the snow and you can see how much snow was coming down while we were outside in some of these pictures. Beau preferred using the tire tracks for his walk the second day since the snow came up to his belly. Our boys shoveled our driveway on Sunday afternoon and I was so proud of Zander for walking down the street to take care of the bottom part of a neighbor’s driveway. It has been so much fun enjoying slow mornings and cuddles on the couch in the evenings. I’m not sure I’ll be ready for a “normal” week after two weeks of ice and snow. I think our whole family has enjoyed being home even if we have had to fit in working from home and some remote learning days. 

Ice Storm 2026

On Saturday evening (before the ice/snow had even arrived), we noticed our heat wasn’t working downstairs. Fortunately, we have a separate upstairs HVAC unit, gas logs and some electric heaters (thanks to Mr. Wyatt and Andrew for dropping off two of theirs) so we were able to keep the downstairs above freezing throughout the storm which came through by Sunday. With single degree temperatures in the mornings, frozen pipes and loss of power were a concern but I’m happy to report that we successfully navigated four days without heat. (I should add Zack was prepared with all the essentials if we lost power as he set up our dining room table with all the necessary items). Our new neighbors came to the rescue and were able to replace a gas regulator that had stopped working and by Wednesday we were back to normal with our heat situation. It was perfect timing because Wednesday started our remote learning days where we juggled getting the boys’ assignments completed while both of us worked from home, spending time on the computer and in multiple virtual meetings. We have officially been out of school all week due to the freezing temperatures and frozen streets making travel pretty treacherous. They are calling for 3-6 inches of snow (rather than ice) to arrive starting tonight so we will see what adventures next week holds. We pray we keep our power and heat through this next winter weather pattern that continues to bring incredibly cold temperatures that we aren’t accustomed to seeing for multiple weeks on end. When we weren’t completing remote learning and working, we enjoyed completing a 750 piece puzzle, cuddles on the couch, lots of hot chocolate and soup (and really ALL the meals at home this week) and some cousin time this afternoon so the moms could fit in a run on the treadmill before the next snow event rolled in! One other big celebration for the week is that Zander got mail which celebrated him being named “Student of the Month” at his middle school for his self-discipline! I’m so proud of how hard both our boys work and I love when they get recognized for all their efforts at school. Way to go, Z, our student of the month!:)

Zander’s First Shave

We are currently waiting for an ice storm that is supposed to come through our area this evening and last a good portion of next week due to sub freezing (single digits in the morning) temperatures! So expect an update with how our week went after the storm passes! We are currently enjoying Beau cuddles (a newer development for our adopted pup who used to prefer resting in his dog bed at a distance away from the family). Zander also had his first shave with daddy’s help this week to get rid of the mustache that had appeared in recent weeks. Zander wanted to leave the mustache a little longer but we are liking his face without the extra facial hair just yet! It has been so cold lately making for less than ideal conditions for morning car rider duty, higher than normal natural gas bills and more evenings spent indoors rather than outdoors (giving extra time for puzzle completions). Zander got to go golfing with Grandpa (nine holes that he walked) before the weather conditions became less than conducive for golfing. We also fit in the boys’ (Eli and Maddox’s) basketball games this morning. I enjoyed getting to cheer on my littlest love and my Madman, both impressive basketball players who scored many points for their teams!

Basketball and Best Friends

I’ve been blessed to spend some time with my best friends over the last few weeks! We joined Aunt Kelly, Uncle Jonathan and Emma for lunch after church a couple weeks ago. I loved getting cuddles from this 2 year old cutie! We got to see them again this Sunday after church for “cook in front of you” Japanese! After lunch, it started snowing! It didn’t last but it made for a fun picture!

Maddox got to have his friend, Austin, come spend the night before their first basketball game of the season. The Boilermakers have brought home wins in their first two games of the season with Maddox getting many points on the board including two three pointers which he was pretty excited about! We get to catch the Kennedy kids in action on these basketball Saturdays too!

It snowed briefly last Sunday afternoon too…. And again it didn’t stick. 

AWANA is back…. Board game night was last week!

We spent the whole week without daddy while he was working in Connecticut…. We missed him but got extra snuggles on the cold evenings when we were at home.

As soon as Zack got back in town, I headed back home to see Liz for 24 hours of kid free fun! We enjoyed yummy food, hot drinks, a long walk on the greenway, in depth conversations and a trip down memory lane by visiting my high school. Thanks to Coley, we got to walk inside Freedom checking out mine and my sister’s Patriot of the Year pictures that are still displayed in the entry area and snapping a picture of the gym where Zack and I first met in 1997. It is crazy that it has been 25 years since I’ve walked these halls or stepped out on the football field. Time flies when you’re having fun! It was such a great weekend remembering the past, chatting about the present and planning fun times ahead! A great start to 2026!

Happy New Year 2026!

We have been enjoying this week between Christmas and the New Year! Today we were able to cheer on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons bring home a win against Virginia Tech! Our friends, the Millers, gifted us the tickets for today’s game! It was such a nice way to end our break! We are thankful for their generosity!

Last night, I took Maddox to see “David” the movie while Zander spent the afternoon golfing with Grandpa.

Beau has enjoyed extra time with us at home these last two weeks! He has even started to cuddle some, which I love!

I finished out 2025…. Running the most miles I’ve run in a year within my lifetime so far! It was a year that called for many prayers and my feet hitting the pavement.  This year started with a defamation of character against one of my cherished friends and a media attack on our school. Through a mismanagement of funds by our school district, I took a pay cut and added a couple job titles which also resulted in some dear friends losing their jobs. Zack took a promotion for work (which is a huge praise and also an adjustment to our daily lives). We navigated some health issues this year and said goodbye to three close friends who left this earth too soon. Every area of my life required prayer and I cherished the times I could head out for a run with my Christian music mix blaring while bringing all of this to God or the many miles I ran with my favorite running partner, my sister! Who needs a counselor when your sister has a degree in counseling and is such a great support and prayer partner?! If you are reading this, you were prayed for in 2025! I’m praying for you right now as I write this post. I’m so incredibly thankful for a God who listens to our prayers and walks with us through the highs and the lows.  He truly is another one in the fire (Daniel 3:25). 

We celebrated the arrival of the New Year with our typical NYE crew at our house! I’m so thankful for this tradition with our closest friends! The kids brought in the new year around 9:00 pm watching the ball drop in Australia with sparkling cider in hand! The adults were tucked into our own beds before midnight, opting to see 2026 during the normal morning wake up call when all these cute kids decided to get up the next morning.

This past week, we made a trip back home to see two of my childhood best friends and their five boys! When you are planning for seven boys in total between our three families, you know we opted for activities that provided an opportunity to get some energy out! We met up with Ashley and her three boys at SkyZone for some trampoline fun! Then, we joined Ginny and her two boys at the local climbing gym. We were able to see Grannie and GranDan during our quick trip back home as well! Daddy was waiting for us when we returned…. He had shampooed our carpets and geared up for a ping pong tournament for our family of four! Zander decided to replicate the ping pong tournament bracket for our NYE fun when the friends were over celebrating the new year! Mommy lost all games I played but fun was had by all!

Merry Christmas 2025!

 

On the Friday before Christmas, Maddox and I went to see the Nutcracker with Grammy, Aunt Lindsey and Emmy. His friends, Mollie and Rachelle, were in the program so it was so fun to cheer them on throughout the show. We enjoyed dinner at Bossy Beulah’s beforehand and it definitely put us in the Christmas spirit by watching this timeless classic. On Saturday morning, we headed west to see the Cantrells and the Houstons. We had our annual Dirty Santa game where this year a live lobster made its debut as one of the gifts! After lunch, we went to see GranDan at his new home, singing Christmas carols and giving gifts. Then, we went to sing carols at Uncle Johnny and Aunt Brenda’s and finished out the night seeing the lights at the J. Iverson Riddle Center with all three boys! My favorite light display continues to be Snoopy ice skating in the snow globe!

On Sunday, we went to the country house to see Granny V, Uncle Grant and Sib! We ate delicious food as always and the kids enjoyed being spoiled with more gifts, all things on their wish lists! Uncle Grant always helps us put the new items together, getting the gifts working in no time!

We got back home in time to attend our church’s Candlelight Service. I love this evening each year, filled with Christmas carols, scripture readings, communion and candle lighting. I hope the boys remember all these traditions when they have their own families one day.

We had a couple days at home before Christmas. They were filled with stops at a local coffee shop, Local Roots, making Jesus’ birthday cake, going to the Kaleideum with the cousins, making a gingerbread village and exchanging gifts with Grammy and Grandpa on Christmas Eve.

The boys were very excited Christmas Eve to set out cookies for Santa, write letters to the big man, set out carrots for the reindeer and rush off to bed where they heard the reindeer and Santa’s bells that night. They woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa had delivered what they wished for! They must have been good boys this year!;) Zander got his first laptop (a Chromebook) and Maddox got an electric scooter!

Merry Christmas from the Houstons! 

May we never forget the true reason for this special season. God sent his Son to this earth as a lowly baby, providing the way, the truth and the life! (John 14:6) Thank you Jesus for this incredible gift…the best gift at Christmas!