Tuttle Gets a Job

Tuttle has been brainstorming ways to bring in some extra cash for a while now. From a lemonade stand to selling homemade comic books at school, he is always discussing his next venue. Recently he has wanted to make flyers and rake yards. I told him if he proved that he could do it first in our yard that we could move forward with the business. He immediately got to work.

Jay helped him create a flyer to pass out on our street and one street over.

He got hired for his first job pretty quickly. I mean who actually wants to rake their own leaves? He could not wait to head to work after school. He worked hard until dark.

Last night Jay received a text offering $50 for the front and back yard. That job is scheduled to start Monday.

Today he headed back to finish the job and recruited a friend from school to help. His business is already expanding! :) When I checked on him later, a car had stopped to get his information for another yard. At this point Tuttle should probably just drop out of school and focus on growing the business....

Thanksgiving 2018

Thanksgiving did not disappoint this year. We have added more special memories for our family. Grandmommy hosted a delicious meal at her home, as usual, and it was a beautiful day to celebrate all we are thankful for. 

I went a little picture crazy with the perfect fall weather, gorgeous setting, and so many of my favorite people in one place. 

I attempted Grandmommy's sweet potato casserole recipe, and it was a total success. I was nervous to pull off a traditional must have on my first attempt. It might be in competition with my family's marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole. :)

Our first Thanksgiving celebration left us too full but ready to continue the holiday with my family on Saturday. (Please note this is the first time Jacob is wearing a "big boy" collared shirt.)

I kept the tradition going with very few pictures at my mom's house, but it was a wonderful afternoon full of football, MANY children, and my favorite Thanksgiving bites. 

Tricia and Chip announced that they would be adding another sweet baby to their already busy family of four, including Stanley and Jordan. Madison's biological brother will be adopted in February, and we cannot wait to meet him!

Maggie sneaked off with Silas and Gwen and told us they were having a private conversation. It was later discovered that they were having a singing competition with Silas as the judge. Gwen performed for us, but Maggie was not ready for a live audience. 

Jay and I are in awe of all we have to be thankful for. We are so blessed to have our families by our sides.

Happy Thanksgiving 2018!

We are diving right into the Christmas season with the arrival of Bockle. Hopefully he will help keep Jacob in line, but I have my doubts.

My Brown Eyed Girl

Feasting and Coughing

The kids finished their week with a Thanksgiving feast. Jacob and I joined them for Tuttle's very early 10:30am lunch. I am so thankful for these little turkeys despite Jacob's behavior during the event....

Jacob's feast was supposed to be on Friday, but he was sent home from preschool with a persistent cough. Since these cold symptoms have been lingering for about a week, Jay and I decided it was best to take him to the pediatrician just to make sure he did not have an ear infection, as well. I was nervous that he had lost his ear tubes that were placed in March. 

The good news was that his ears looked perfect and his lungs sounded clear. The doctor wanted to do a breathing treatment to attempt to relieve his cough, but it was unsuccessful, and he actually ended up coughing so hard he threw up twice in the office. As a precaution we were sent to CHOA to test for whooping cough. 

It was a LONG ordeal that lasted three hours and was literally a cotton swab in his nose. We will not know results until Monday, but I am completely sure he is fine. Jacob and I were both ready to get home since we had not eaten all day or napped. Gram came to the rescue to get Maggie off the bus since Tuttle went home with a friend for a birthday party. 

This weekend Tuttle has participated in a soccer tournament to end the fall season. Jay and I took turns taking Tuttle and Maggie to the games, so Jacob could have a full day to recover at home. His cough has almost disappeared, and after a good nap, he is back to his normal, naughty self. 

There is another early morning game tomorrow, and then Thanksgiving break officially begins with no homework, no sports, and no waking up to an alarm. Everyone is ready. 

The Big Three

Friendsgiving at the New Digs

We hosted Friendsgiving this year to celebrate our friends and our new home. It forced us to finish those last minute projects to showcase all our work. Jay was recovering dining chairs, hanging pictures, and unpacking the last boxes while I was prepping for the big meal. It was a team effort, and we high fived several times that we were ready in time!

Although we missed many of our favorite people, we loved spending the day eating way too much food and cheering on the Dawgs with life long friends. The babies are all growing up and played so well together all afternoon. Tuttle played football with Charlie in the front yard for hours while Maggie became best buddies with Whit. 

Grandmommy and Grandaddy joined us for Friendsgiving this year, as well.

We cannot wait to keep this annual tradition going for another year as our families continue to grow. We are thankful to have all these sweet friends in our lives.

Halloween 2018

The Thorne Family celebrated another sugar filled Halloween in Ashford Park. I think we had the cutest Charlie Brown, mermaid, and pirate in the neighborhood!

We grabbed pizza at our neighbors' home before hitting up a few houses and heading to Redding Road.

We love the crowds on Redding Road since we get the opportunity to bump into all of our favorite friends!

Jacob and Rucker immediately starting comparing their loot. I love this budding friendship!

I cannot stop laughing at the fact that Tuttle wanted to create a bar graph of his candy as soon as we got home. Only my child. :)

Happy Halloween!