Team Retreat to Lake Michigan (oct 2013)

At the beginning of october we took a team retreat to Lake Michigan.

It was a great time to get away, get fresh vision and get ready to push again for the rest of the fall.

On our way we stopped at a apple orchard and picked some more apples (2/3 of the year ;))

I love seeing these pics and reminding me how little Barron was back then - cutie pie :) 

 As you can see - Lake Michigan is BEAUTIFUL

it really is like being at the beach.

the sand is amazing and their are waves as well!

it was pretty warm for october which was nice b/c the kids put their feet in the water and were able to splash around!

 The kids found these in the house we were staying in and thought they were HILARIOUS :)

 love this sweet pic of barron :)

captures him perfectly!

Fall Fun (2013)

One of my favorite things about moving up here has been seeing the bond of friendship and love grow between my kids.  I am sure it would have happened if we were still in Texas but I think in some ways it has made their friendship and love for one another a lot deeper.  They have had to be each others best friends and constant companions so much this past year it has been so sweet to see them grow together.  Esp since they were all home every afternoon :)  I also have loved having them discover so much more of nature and critters living here.  Our house backs up to a nature preserve, plus the ground is so rich with nutrients it doesn't take long to find something crawling around :)

Lake Tahoe with the Sudan Family

My parents took us on an amazing vacation to Lake Tahoe in the middle of August 2013.

It was so nice b/c we had just moved up to Michigan and so when we said our last goodbyes in Texas it was nice to know that we would see family again very soon.

Whenever we go on family vacations with my family it always is to some place where you can hike and enjoy God's beautiful creation.

Lake Tahoe did not disappoint.

It was an amazing time of refreshment, joy, fun, laughter, beauty and LOTS OF KIDS.

at this time there were 9 kiddos.

so thankful for my parents sacrificing time and money to take us to a place and i am so thankful that we all get along so well and love being together.

what a joy!

enjoy the beautiful pics!

Uncle Geoffrey & Aunt LeeLee's Visit (september 2013)

I decided tonight that I want to keep this blog going and document our life.  I was looking through pictures and realized this past year really had a lot of amazing experiences for us (more than what was seen through insta).

So here goes updating the past year . . .

and maybe I will have a few current post scattered through this as well.

In september Geoffrey and LeeAnn came to visit us!

It was so much fun and I found this past year that I really love hosting people in our new environment!

There is so much to show our friends and family and it is fun to have focused time with them!

We went apple picking with them - which was a first for all of us and it was so.much.fun

(we ended up going a total of 3 times last year - LOTS OF APPLES)

When we have family come in to visit, we try to have one night where we get a babysitter and go out alone without the kids.  It has been really nice to do that because it is always so full (and LOUD) and fun with the kids, but i think it helps us have a little more focused time together. 

I love taking people to downtown Ann Arbor.  It is such a great downtown with so much life to it.

Here we are at Cafe Zola.

It was amazing and so much fun spending time with Geoffrey and LeeAnn.

 Geoffrey's birthday was while they were here, so we went to brunch to celebrate it.

This was at north side grill and it was DELICIOUS!

We loved our time and are so thankful that they took the time and money to come up and visit us!

Saying GoodBye to Concho and my parents

The Saturday before we left we had our final goodbyes to our house

and our neighbors.

It was such a sweet time but so sad too.

So many memories and fun times made on Concho street.

Of course I wanted it to be super meaningful for the kids -

and they just wanted to play with their friends -

so i let go of my expectations of what it would look like saying good bye to our house

and i let the kids have fun saying goodbye to each other!

 this group we will never forget

 after that we met my parents in waxahachie to hand off the kids

and to say goodbye to them

(the kids were being silly - didn't quite grasp everything which is ok!)

sweet times and sad times