Getting Ready for Fall Break at Disney

In 2019, we went to Disney for our Fall Break and went to the Halloween party. It was the girls' second trip, and they were still so little, only 17 months old. We loved it, but we knew we wanted to go again! Five short months later, it felt like the world shut down suddenly, and even Disney World closed. Everything at Disney isn't fully back to pre-pandemic, but it is much closer. 

The first time we could go back after they reopened was Thanksgiving week 2020. Everything was decorated for Christmas. There were giant, beautiful trees themed for each park. We had to wear masks everywhere unless we were sitting to eat. It was hard with the girls so little, but we made it work! We loved the magic of Christmas at Disney. We knew we had to go to one when Christmas parties came back!

Well, last year, the parties weren't back just yet. They had after-hours events, but they were different. When we went last October, we had the two littlest ones with us that trip and knew the after-hours event just wouldn't be what we wanted it to be, so we decided not to do the extra event. We were ecstatic when they announced that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) were coming back this year! 

Our current plan is Fall Break this year with MNSSHP, and then next year, skip Fall Break and go for Thanksgiving again and attend MVMCP. 

So this year, it's off to Disney for Fall Break! 

My parents and cousin Jessica are joining us for this trip. Jessica went with us this summer for her first trip. Mom went with us in June and October last year. But Dad hasn't been since our very first trip in 2016. The girls are beyond excited that he's coming along! I think he's most excited that I'm finally riding the roller coasters (well, most of them), so he knows we'll make it a point to ride them more than he got on his first trip. I think he only got to ride one or two. 

We're also really excited the girls' are finally tall enough to ride almost everything in the parks! There's only a handful of things they can't ride across all four parks combined. And we're even more excited to attend MNSSHP again this year! We are looking forward to a full week in the parks and sharing all about it, but first we've got to pack...

Ready for Fall & Halloween

So we established that I love the Fall. I love that I can wear long sleeves and sweaters and the cooler weather. I love the smells in the air, the color of the changing leaves, and Halloween.

When I say I love Halloween, I really mean I love cute, spooky Halloween. I don't do the fright and gore. But I love cutesy Halloween. I love the kids getting excited about dressing up and going trick or treating. I love doing the Truck or Treats around town. 

This year, I'm excited to decorate. We've had some small decorations we've always put out, but we've gotten more. Last year, we didn't decorate because it didn't make sense since we were packing to move. We've also talked about trick-or-treating around our neighborhood this year and taking turns passing out our own candy. We've never had trick-or-treaters. Our old apartment complex was mostly college students and young adults without families, and our old house was on a hectic highway. Now that we're in a subdivision, we're excited to see what it's like here. Apparently, one of the houses puts on a tiny little carnival with games and treats. 

The kiddos picked out their costumes this past weekend. Joey wasn't sure that he wanted to dress up this year. He's growing up on us. He did end up getting something to dress up a little, though. The girls are super excited about their picks. But you'll have to wait and find out what they picked in the coming weeks! Any guesses? 

The Last Quarter and Random Thoughts

I don't know what it is about the cool weather, but I absolutely love it. Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons...the smells, the colors, the clothes, the weather...everything! But I don't like freezing cold temps unless there's snow. I LOVE the feel of Fall though. 

Don't get me wrong, I love summer. I love there we're out of school, and we can have many adventures. And this summer, we did just that...We were literally out of town every other week this summer. We went to Disney for a week, spent a week in Athens while Joey had camp, spent a week at the beach and exploring Charleston, and then we spent a long weekend at the beach in Carrabelle. 

But now it's Fall and I'm here for it. I love the last quarter of the year. As the weather changes, we're headed into my favorite time of year...the holidays. I honestly have a love-hate relationship with holidays. I don't necessarily love all of the expectations that come with each holiday, but I love spending time with Manda and the kiddos and enjoying traditions for each holiday.  

Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Winter, Christmas, New Years...What's your favorite? Is it just one? What do you look forward to each year? What are traditions you and your family share? 

Cha...cha...changes & the Thankful Season

 

It's been a hot minute since we've posted anything, but we're here! Let's catch you up on all the happenings and changes. 

We finalized adoption on our beautiful twins June 2020 just as the world began opening up again from Covid shut downs. Their case was a rollercoaster of emotions even until the very end when we waited to see if we'd have a virtual hearing for adoption. We ended up being able to go to the courthouse just us two and the girls. Other family members attended via Zoom, most of them from our attorney's office just down the road. 

It's hard to believe it, but Joey is a sophomore in high school now and about to start driving. 

Manda is still teaching special needs Pre-K with the same program, but she moved to a new school last year. I'm teaching 6th grade math now, and I am loving my middle school kiddos! We are so incredibly thankful for our school families. 

We have two littles, Bubby is 8 months old now and Lil Sis is 2 (almost 3). They've been with us since mid-May 2021. We don't know what their stories will hold in the future, but we will love on them for as long as needed. 

And the newest change is...we bought a house! We've been renting, but it was beyond time to buy a home. We made the decision to start the process around mid-September, and we slept our first night in our new home on Thanksgiving night. We are still in the process of slowly unpacking. 

Moving and everything right around the holidays plus having to be back at work has been quite a whirlwind. It's creating some shifts in our schedules, routines, and rhythms, and it's a bit of adjustment for sure. But we are so excited to be in our new home, and we're even more excited to decorate our new home for Christmas! 

We're in the midst of creating new routines and rhythms plus coming up with a set cleaning schedule to keep a handle on everything since we almost doubled our living space. 

Do you have a cleaning schedule you love? What routines and rhythms do you have in your home? 

Feeling Stressed, Blessed, and a Heartbroken Mess

We have always said that everything happens for a reason. We don't always know or understand the reason or the timing, but there's always a reason.

What's the reason for the current state of our country and the world? No one knows. What I do know is that my family is beyond blessed. We are stressed; don't get me wrong, we are stressed right along with everyone else. Let me explain...

Stressed
We are stressed about potential risk of illness for our family. We're worried about the health of our loved ones. We're worried about how all of this will impact the economy in the long run. We're worried about small businesses we love, especially the dance studio our kiddos go to.

Blessed
We are blessed to be able to be home with each other and our kiddos. We are trying to be intentional with spending time together. Of course, there's constant Disney movie marathons going in our house followed by the pretty regular dance party. We're spending time together reading, coloring, and playing. We're also taking time to to plan intentional learning opportunities for the girls. We've spent time outside with riding toys, balls, and bubbles. We are blessed have jobs that are allowing us to work from home and continue to be paid. This in itself is a blessing for us. But the biggest absolute blessing for our family happened just before all of this really started when I accepted a new job just days before our world shut down.

Heartbroken Mess
We are heartbroken for our students who don't get to finish out their Pre-K year with their teachers and friends. Honestly, we're heartbroken for ourselves, because March to May is such an incredible time to be in the classroom. We're sad for how Joey's 8th grade year has been cut short. While thankfully he isn't a senior in high school this year, this is still a big transition. I remember my 8th grade year very well and cherish so many memories from the spring semester of that year. He's missing out on his 8th grade dance and end of year celebrations. We're sad that Easter will look so different this year. Though we may just have a family egg hunt a couple of weeks late. We're also sad that we can't be with our family. We can't snuggle our new little nephew and hug the necks of those we love. Video chats help a little though.

Our Adventures & Ready for Summer

Some people think we are crazy. Maybe we are a little. 😝😜

Our life is full of craziness. Our life is always busy. Our life is full of some unknown.

But honestly I couldn’t imagine our life any other way, because our life is full of love.

While everyday we live with the question of what the future holds for Sister and Sissy, we also cherish those days knowing at least for now they are in our arms. They are safe, happy, and blossoming. They’ve been with us for almost a year now. They turned a year old just yesterday. They’ve grown so much. They are walking, eating table food, and transitioning to whole milk.

Our Lil Man is not so little anymore. I can’t believe he’s 13. And he’s almost as tall as us (like .5-1 inch shorter but I’m claiming it as long as I can). He’s about to finish his 7th grade year. He has changed so much in the last year. 

Manda is about to complete her first official year of teaching (4th year in the classroom). She has had a busy year with some challenges thrown her way, but she has been a champ and done an amazing job. I’m so proud of her and her dedication to her students. 

This year, I have focused more on our business, but I’ve subbed some too. I’m really excited about the adventures we are embarking on together. We love our personalized apparel and gift business, ASJ Creations[link]. We love getting to create fun, custom gifts for our customers and shirts they love. In March, we embarked on another adventure! We became travel agents, and started ASJ Travels[link]. We have always enjoyed planning big vacations for our family every summer, and we love sharing our love for all things Disney with everyone we know. Now we get to help others plan the trip of their dreams to Disney destinations and beyond! We love getting to help families plan trips to anywhere they desire!

We are so ready for summer!! This is the first year that we'll all be home together all summer. We'll still be working our businesses, but we neither of us will be working outside of the house this year! We have a few trips planned for this summer including Disney and short family beach trips!

Fostering Love: The Anticipated Yet Unexpected Call

Feb 2019 - Sister, Bubba, & Sissy

May 2018 - picking up Sissy from the hospital

Time to play a little catch up! We've had a busy 9 months!

After Sweet Baby C left us, it was 18 days before we received the call for our next placement. The wait for the call was hard since we had only waited 3 days after our approval call, but we also knew that we had a packed schedule and it all would work out when it was meant to.

Well...on the afternoon of last day of school, we received the call for our next placement. 4 day old twin baby girls. Had we received the call any day before then, we wouldn't have been able to say yes because daycare isn't an option that young. The timing was perfect, and we said yes to the exciting, scary adventure we were about to face.

Baby KA (Sister) and Baby LM (Sissy) have been in our care for right at 9.5 months now. Sister was picked up from the hospital and brought to us on the day we received the call. Sissy had to stay in the hospital just a little longer. We went and picked Sissy up two days later at the hospital. Sister and Sissy met for the first time (outside of the womb) at 6 days old.

These sweet girls have changed our lives and the lives of everyone in our family. We are so blessed to be able to shower them with love.