Deck the Apartment

We knew our apartment Christmas would look different. We only brought a small tree and a small amount of ornaments. I forgot to set aside the box I had packed with our stockings, nativity and favorite decor and it got sent to storage in Atlanta. Even so, our apartment feels cozy, the kids love the way they decorated our little tree and we can still celebrate the birth of a Savior without our favorite nativity. At Thanksgiving dinner the other day, Cruz was asked a lesson that he learned this year and he said, "I learned that we really need a lot less stuff and a lot less space than we think we do." He's absolutely right. We are going to have the BEST season preparing our hearts for Jesus and we can't wait! 

 

Cora's ornament of the year came with two halves- one for her and one to send to Claire.

Cruz got a trumpet to commemorate his first year of band! 

And our sweet Row Bear got a football to mark his Defensive MVP award in Flag Football. 

We had pizza (and chicken fingers for Cruz) from our favorite pizza restaurant Oak and Stone while we watched Home Alone! 

Our tree skirt also was accidentally sent to storage so we used the headscarf that Roger got in the souk in Dubai. It's actually super special and we may always use it. 

Thanksgiving

We celebrated our first Florida Thanksgiving with our little fam and Mr. Dallen, a family friend (who started out as a coworker back in Arizona!). We had a delicious feast at Der Dutchman in Sarasota, we played games, talked about what we are most thankful for and reflected on the ways God has provided for our family this year. We followed lunch with a drive out to our new home site. The five of us haven't visited together since April. Though the progress feels slow, at least there is something to see! :) We are truly grateful for God's provision this past year. There have been so many changes, but through it all, He has been faithful to take care of us, provide for us and bless us abundantly.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

November!

Cruz Basketball:  

A new school has been a blessing for Cruz in that he's felt free to try new things that he would have resigned himself to not being able to make back at GCA. SCS has three Middle School basketball teams. There is an A team made up of mostly 7th and 8th graders, a B team made up of 6th and 7th graders and then a C team made of 6th graders. Cruz was expecting to be on the C team but was SO SO excited to make the B team. He's been practicing hard non stop. 

 

Inspire Gala: 

Roger and I had fun getting dressed up for Sarasota Christian's annual fundraising gala! 

House Build:

The process of building our house has been super super slow. They finally got all of our permits together at the beginning of September and broke ground mid October. About a month later, this is where we are. We have a driveway, the building pad is cleared, the fencing is up and ready to go and some drainage pipes have been laid. We're hoping for things to move a bit quicker from here (ha). We've seen progress on other homes in the neighborhood which is encouraging! 

Driveway view 

Building Pad view.

Pumpkin Party: 

I got to attend the third grade Pumpkin Party last week and had so much fun with my little western girl! 

 

Cora got to read me her pumpkin narrative, we had lunch together and I got to help at one of the pumpkin experiment stations. Each child had a pumpkin, they made some estimations about their pumpkin and then they got to test their predictions. I got to help at the sink/float station. Cora was surprised to find that her pumpkin floated! 

Dance: Tremaine Regionals

 

The week before we headed to the competition was Spirit Week at the studio. I only got one picture but this old tap costume was a winner for decade day! 

 

Tremaine consisted of a competition and convention portion. It was held in Orlando. Cora had never done a dance convention like this before but had so much fun at all of the sessions. I think she took a total of about ten hours worth of classes between Saturday and Sunday. 

 

Cora has been working SO hard at her flexibility this year. She's constantly stretching and her work is paying off! 

 

This is a newer stretch she's worked hard to be able to do! 

 

The boys and Roger got to come to the competition portion and see Cora compete! The rest of the time, they were busy hanging out and doing fun activities with Rog. 

 

Ready for tap! 

 

Putting a full face of makeup including eyelashes and eyeliner on someone else is hard. Its even harder when that person is nine and squirmy! I always feels so proud of myself when we're done! :) 

 

With the age ranges on Cora's team, its taking her a little while to find her friends. This weekend, she spent a lot of time with Grace and had the best time! 

Her tap costume is my favorite! Thankful to find another studio that has age appropriate costuming! 

Cora's team took first in both of their dances.

Roger and the boys went to their favorite restaurants, golfed at Top Golf and visited Gatorland. I think they had blast. They also got to watch Cora compete and were a big help in running out to grab food for Cora and I in-between sessions! 

Sea World: 

We celebrated the end of the convention with a day at Sea World. The morning was rainy and chilly (low 70's, haha). The rain kept the crowds away and though we got wet, the kids got on the coasters several times each with no wait! The afternoon was sunny and a bit more crowded so we went to a couple of shows to finish up the day!