Settling in

 Part of the joy of  unpacking & settling in was discovering the niceties of our new pad. On sunny February days, we took our after church picnic out on the back deck . After lunch, the kiddos were free to roam within the confines of the fence while Landon and I enjoyed adult conversation overlooking the littles. Miller and Eliza Kate are over the moon about the backyard & playscape. I like the freedom of being a first time fence owner:) There is beauty within boundaries if you know what I mean.

This prissy missy is a few months shy of turning three. Her twos are becoming a distant memory as each day passes. She's been 3 in so many ways for a long time. Her size and verbal ability have drop- off caregivers checking her birth date thinking I've put her in the wrong age group:)

Another February highlight included hosting Uncle Clay & Poppy over for a combined birthday dinner. We love hosting family dinners. It's like a special playdate for Miller everytime his crazy uncle comes over. He thinks Clay's there just for him. All the wrestling, chasing & rough housing it right up our 5 year olds' alley. We soak up these special dinners all together.

 

We rounded up part of the table for memory's sake. 9 months from now, I'll be searching for family photos when the annual Shutterfly book rolls around.

Candles were lit- the chorus was sung:) If you're thi;nking that our dining room looks familiar... you are right. The previous owners had a red dining room just like our Islandora home. A color overhaul is in the works soon:)

 

A joint blow out session was shared. Our girly has a few months to practice before her huffing and puffing  cupcake session. Loving all the new memories this house will hold. Savoring each one. Thankful.

basketball, spend the nights & dressing up

Our little "Air Miller" took on his first season of basketball this winter. Landon signed up with Coach Brian again to lead another team of future MVP's:) If anything, our goal was to absolutely wear Miller out with all the running up and down the court. We accomplished that. He did improve his shooting ability, but the coordination of dribbling and passing is a lot to expect out of Kindergarten boys.
  We were blessed with an existing basketball hoop in our flat driveway to practice on. It's an almost exact vintage replica of my childhood hoop on Hampton Farms. Even mommy pulled out her shooting skills from middle school PE & afternoon in my driveway. I even wowed my family:) With Landon's work schedule, I ended up giving Miller a few tips on school afternoons.

Upward sports has really been a great starting point for Miller--teaching the basic sports skills in a team environment. Landon's gotten his feet wet leading the young boys. It does require lots of patience with their attention spans.

Little sis has been busy this winter with all of her fun school activities. The grandma's have kept her busy  while mommy's been teaching all day. This was her pajama day at preschool. Be still my heart-painted toenails, a bow, and matching jammies with her Bitty baby doll. Eliza Kate is all girl and we love her for it.

Miller hosted Grant for a spend the night party over the MLK day weekend. Our old neighbor Grant came over to join us for an extended visit. These boys truly miss just hopping across the street to play, so we make it special when they have the opportunity. We're loving having the basement to get rid of the winter wiggles on cold days. The bounce house zaps little boy rambunctious-ness.

We make sure to stock the fridge with special snacks for G man when he comes to visit. Nothing make a spendy more special for hungry boys than junk food. Here the boys enjoyed hot cocoa after a bike ride.

Life is busy & blessed in our new nest!

we've moved

One of these blog posts I will have to share the journey to our new home--the very long journey that tried my patience at times. God certainly knew what he was up to, the broken contract on our Islandora home, the numerous showings with young children, packing, the unknown of kindergarten placement for Miller, living with my parents, the all consuming weight of house hunting, the waiting, networking with homeowners about to list and the longing of missing our own nest. He saw it all--the big picture. I just might have broken down in tears a time or two. One thing's for sure, it was a lesson in total faith for our whole family. Miller even witnessed God's faithfulness as his one request was a playroom & a playscape. Then, to see it all work out with the tiny details answered in a very personal way was an amazing journey of faithfulness in the eyes of young Miller. He's still saying " Dear God, thanks for our house-we love it" during his prayers at night. I firmly believe that even his new teacher was handpicked just for our guy!

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Reflecting back to the craziness of January for our family brings back the familiar feeling of being frazzled. Those were our very first days in our new home.There really was humor in the whole situation of when it all did work out for us to move it was the absolute worst time for me. Another lesson in giving up complete control for my timing. I haven't quite recovered yet. When I committed to the supply teaching position late last summer--I had no inkling that my start date would just so happen to fall on our exact moving day. There was absolutely no way around pushing our move in date up as the buyer had a corporate move. So, we just rolled with it . Of course, we had so much help to rally around us. In a way, all of the dirty work had been completed back in late July. All of our boxes were sealed in storage just waiting to be unpacked. Landon coordinated the movers, the cleaning crew, childcare etc. while I was teaching my heart out. I had no time to get involved in the details. I'm so glad I liked the furniture placement:)

Our Miller had to change schools & his daddy delivered him fresh faced & bright eyed to a new classroom after Christmas break. I texted Landon during my planning to get the scoop. When I found out, a classmate was our neighbor..I was instantly at ease. Miller was welcomed so warmly. His teacher emailed me daily updating me on his transition. I knew he would be resilient and make new friends easily--it was just the mommy guilt killing me that I couldn't walk him to his class on the first day.

 It was an adjustment all around for even Eliza Kate. She thought that our new house was Omi & Papa's house for the first few months as they practically ran the show for us while I was a full time working momma. Grandmama drove our missy to preschool and cared for her on the off days. It was all hands on deck. There were mornings I couldn't find socks for the kids. What box did I pack the lunchboxes in? It was all so overwhelming...those first days in our home.

Meals were delivered for several weeks & little acts of service were so appreciated. We did survive those 8 weeks and slowly got our Fokens groove back. The lunchboxes were located too:)

Miller was a little disappointed in his Thomas the Train room. I did want to snap a quick pic of such artistic talent for memory's sake.The former owners had children our exact ages with opposite genders--the exact flip flop of our family. The mural was in fact too babyish for our grade school aged boy:) We assured him that paint would do the trick.

Leaving you with our own little AFHV outtake that Miller is so proud of. Our kid's had the best time with all the boxes left behind.

Stacking games, hide outs, & bike stunts kept them entertained for awhile while we got everything settled.

Legoland

Excuse our brief intermission from the blogging world. We're back & thanks for being patient with our silence.

Rewinding to Christmas break, we hopped on over to Legoland Discovery Center at Phipps with friends. It's one outing that was on our bucket list for awhile. It turned out to be just the perfect opportunity with the vacation from school. Miller was thrilled to spend the day with his buddy Jack. The girls on the trip loaded up the chariot on the Kingdom Quest ride. Shockingly, my timid stay-so- close- to mommy girl rode along with no wimpers. Maggie's big girl lead had a lot to do with her newfound confidence. We waved our noble knights off on their' boys only' chariot with laser guns in hand to rescue the princess with their pinpoint aim.

The Lego Racing build and test exhibit was endlessly entertaining for these kindergarten boys. Racing cars were sent flying down the ramps. It gave me flashback memories of the Lego store at Downtown Disney, but these test tracks were more of a big deal.

Jack is an engineer in training. There was a little bit of a wait for the Merlin's Apprentice ride.

 

Eliza Kate and I sat this ride out but waved on the boys who were flying high overhead.

I snuck a picture through the gate:) The wait appeared to be forgotten when these boys were bobbing up and down in the air.

Maggie was the trip planner organizing our next attraction.

My pink and purple girl made herself at home building pastel lego cupcakes and singing karoake with a microphone at the Heartlake City stop. There was something for everybody--even girly girls.

 

My favorite part of our morning was the 4D lego show with the added surprise of confetti dropping and wind whipping through our hair.

I'm glad we checked this fun outing of our list. Miller squeezed me extra tight when we got home commenting on his great day. We swear that activities like these are his love language. Whenever Miller says "Mommy, you're the best" & I dig a little deeper for reasons to support his claim. He responds," Because you take me on fun trips". Hey, I'll take it!

A Happy New Years...

 

New Years Eve with our crew was spent enjoying togetherness. A sparkling cider toast for the kids & roasting marshmallows was a great way to spend the last night of 2012. Smore making was enjoyed by all on such a cold night. It's cozy to gather round' the campfire on such a chilly Knoxville evening. The crackle and pop of the fire pit only added to the warm atmosphere.

 

Cheers to a wonderful new year for our family as 2012 was a transitional chapter. We're ready for a new start. Blessed by God's provision already.


Games were played-old and new. Miller's finding lots of uses for his head lamp.

 

The kids had some down time to play around on the ipad. It has brought great joy over break. Along with that privilege, comes screen time restrictions and sharing techniques. There are some days where I hide it and we don't even turn it on.

High tech games were tempered with the classics. Miller read through the entire Dick and Jane collection of PrePrimer stories on New Year's Eve. Dick and Jane {sigh}-- take me back to the" Leave it to Beaver" 50's era & I would be one happy lady.  The reading teacher in me just soaks up lap time with my Kindergarten reading machine. There is nothing like watching the magic of words strung together into sentences roll of the lips of an emergent reader.

Festive sparklers capped off the night. We all got into our own Fokens' show. Papa purchased a few of the professional fireworks that aren't illegal in Knoxville. Miller's mouth was wide open watching them light up the whole sky. He offered up his own little critique after each pop. It was loud--Omi and Papa have patient neighbors.

Landon was the only one to last until midnight. This was a first for me to not stay wide eyed until the ball drop. Smart decisions come with age;)
And, that's our NYE's recap!!

elephant on skates

Taking a moment to back it on up--here's Miller's first time on ice skates. He looked very disheveled on his first pass around the rink. Once Landon corrected his slipping monkey hat, Miller started to catch on to the gliding moves. While in Knoxville, we took a little outing to the ice-o-rama. He really needed a protective helmet to conquer such a slippery endeavour.

Holding onto the wall & daddy sure helped him steady himself for the job. At times, he looked like an elephant on skates.

Little by little with each pass around the rink, he was stepping out with confidence. Although, he looked like he was ice walking choosing each step carefully along the way.

A concentrated effort with hands bracing for a fall helped him to conquer his fears. I love the look of intensity in this shot. We were all cheering for him to keep going as far as he could glide without falling
down. There were a few slips which resulted in a frost bitten blue- jeaned bottom. He laughed it off and didn't let it hold him back. Each loop de loop pass around the ice took about 5 minutes--no lie!

A chilly New Year's Eve day first shared with daddy. It's conquering new feats like these that bring us such joy raising Miller. I foresee roller skating in our future.

 

The Zamboni waved us off the rink. Of course, we had to stay for the "real" afternoon entertainment!

christmas again

It was Christmas again as we took our crew on the road to celebrate a Knoxville Christmas for a few days. The littles jump at a chance for a road trip to their grandparent's house.We loaded up to celebrate festivus--the lull between Christmas & New Year's. The kids were thrilled to present our year in review Shutterfly book of special events we've shared with Omi and Papa this past year. Miller calls in their yearbook--precious! It really is my favorite gift to give grandparents. Turning the pages and reflecting on our blessings was a great way to wrap up our year.

The kids could hardly stand the wait to open a couple of sussies under the colored light tree in the family room. They were really getting used to unwrapping daily surprises. The bouncy house gift from Omi and Papa already wow'ed these two at home, but it was so sweet to have another gift waiting on them.

Such cuteness all dolled up under their grandparent's tree. The fireplace crackled a warm, glowing fire to add to the ambiance.

Ribbons, and paper, and gift tags oh,my!

A wooden ice cream set to use in her kitchen! She squealed with delight when she recognized the gift. We loved seeing such happiness written all over her face.

Miller was thrilled with the camping headlight to wear on his head. This will make backyard exploration so much fun at night!

A playful ice cream toast with scoops stacked high. I foresee a lot of fun with an ice cream party.

 

Omi always adds kid friendly touches when hosting the littles. Mac and cheese is always better in a snowman bowl. We loved having Christmas again.