This holiday season we are blessed to have almost all of our family coming to town. My brother, sister-in-law, and sweet nephew arrived this week from Cairo (yes, THAT Cairo), and my brother and sister who both live in Seattle got in yesterday. Todd's brother, our sister-in-law, and niece and nephew will be in from Denver next week and we cannot wait. The only ones missing will be my brother-in-law and sister-in-law-to-be and we will miss them dearly but can't blame them for wanting to enjoy a sunny vacation this year.
Needless to say, all of the family in town means that we get to spend a ton of time with them and these two weeks are going to be family packed and the best kind of busy.
12.20.2016
focus 2016: update
At the beginning of the year, I wrote about my focuses for the year:
Family,
Faith,
Wellness, and
Enough.
As the year draws to a close, I wanted to revisit those ideas and give a little update on how it's gone.
Honestly, I wasn't as intentional about any of this as I hope to be. Still, since these areas are ones I'd been wanting to devote more attention too, they fairly easily remained my focus throughout the year. You can read all of my intentions in the links above.
I'm going to share below what came easiest to me in each category.
Family,
Faith,
Wellness, and
Enough.
As the year draws to a close, I wanted to revisit those ideas and give a little update on how it's gone.
Honestly, I wasn't as intentional about any of this as I hope to be. Still, since these areas are ones I'd been wanting to devote more attention too, they fairly easily remained my focus throughout the year. You can read all of my intentions in the links above.
I'm going to share below what came easiest to me in each category.
11.16.2016
two favorites
We are enjoying the most wonderful convergence of seasons right now. It's a fall that keeps delivering days that can only be described as splendid, perfectly fall-like without being too cold and bursting with sunshine. Being that it's November, I can already feel the excitement and warmth of the holiday season approaching.
With the holiday season beginning in just over a week, I thought it would be fun to share a pair of favorites. The first can even help you through Thanksgiving if football isn't your thing.
The Crown
This new Netflix series chronicles the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II and I. Am. Hooked. I L-O-V-E all things royals and just about anything British so this series is right up my alley plus it's so well done. The costumes and sets and scenery are stunning, as you can imagine. There's everything from tragedy and scandal to complete pomp and it's just a wonderful show. If you liked Downton Abbey, you will love this.
Queen Elizabeth was only 25 when she ascended to the throne and watching her grow into her role as queen is just fascinating to watch. She comes across as surprisingly relatable. I felt like I was getting to know her. I also love a series that makes me feel like I'm learning something and, while surely dramatically interpreted, the events depicted in the series are all based on history.
We flew through this ten episode series and the second season cannot get here soon enough.
Kids Read Truth Advent Table Cards
If you're not familiar with She Reads Truth and are interested in exploring the Bible more deeply you should definitely check it out. They offer Bible studies for women through their website, their app, and beautifully designed publications as well - there's also He Reads Truth for men.
Anyway, back to the cards. The set includes a card for each day of Advent with a verse and questions to discuss with your kids at the dinner table (or wherever works for you). There are three questions on each card, each geared to different age levels.
Our set just arrived today and even though Advent isn't here yet we decided to try out the first card. The simplest of the questions was just right for Elia and she took to the cards right away. I explained that Advent is the season when we anticipate ("What does anticipate mean, Mommy?") and prepare for Jesus' birthday and she lit right up since, you know, she loves birthdays and she loves Jesus. I am so excited to try these table cards out this Advent season as a family.
Those are my two favorites for today. I hope you enjoy and find it useful, even if it is just for finding a new series to binge watch.
With the holiday season beginning in just over a week, I thought it would be fun to share a pair of favorites. The first can even help you through Thanksgiving if football isn't your thing.
The Crown
This new Netflix series chronicles the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II and I. Am. Hooked. I L-O-V-E all things royals and just about anything British so this series is right up my alley plus it's so well done. The costumes and sets and scenery are stunning, as you can imagine. There's everything from tragedy and scandal to complete pomp and it's just a wonderful show. If you liked Downton Abbey, you will love this.
Queen Elizabeth was only 25 when she ascended to the throne and watching her grow into her role as queen is just fascinating to watch. She comes across as surprisingly relatable. I felt like I was getting to know her. I also love a series that makes me feel like I'm learning something and, while surely dramatically interpreted, the events depicted in the series are all based on history.
We flew through this ten episode series and the second season cannot get here soon enough.
Kids Read Truth Advent Table Cards
If you're not familiar with She Reads Truth and are interested in exploring the Bible more deeply you should definitely check it out. They offer Bible studies for women through their website, their app, and beautifully designed publications as well - there's also He Reads Truth for men.
Anyway, back to the cards. The set includes a card for each day of Advent with a verse and questions to discuss with your kids at the dinner table (or wherever works for you). There are three questions on each card, each geared to different age levels.
Our set just arrived today and even though Advent isn't here yet we decided to try out the first card. The simplest of the questions was just right for Elia and she took to the cards right away. I explained that Advent is the season when we anticipate ("What does anticipate mean, Mommy?") and prepare for Jesus' birthday and she lit right up since, you know, she loves birthdays and she loves Jesus. I am so excited to try these table cards out this Advent season as a family.
Those are my two favorites for today. I hope you enjoy and find it useful, even if it is just for finding a new series to binge watch.
10.23.2016
halloween at hess
Today was the most beautiful Michigan fall day. The weather was gorgeous and the sun was shining and it was just perfect.
After church we took Wells for his first haircut. We had very mixed emotions about this as we had grown to love his sweet, curly little mullet. We knew that cut would mean a farewell to his baby curls and we weren't entirely ready but, alas, it was time. Please enjoy the photos below, documenting Wells' before and during experience. They show the mullet in full force and his very not mixed emotions during the haircut.
10.16.2016
31
In celebration of having just completed 31 laps around the sun, I thought I'd share with you 31 things.
1. Today is my birthday.
2. I am 31.
3. The kids slept in today until 8:00! This is nothing short of a birthday miracle.
4. We've spent this weekend celebrating with great food and great company.
5. Todd's brother, Scott, and his new fiancee, Jessica were in town visiting.
6. In the name of celebration - their engagement (yay!) and my birthday - we ate our weight in delicious meals from The Sovengard, Grove, and That Early Bird.
7. The Sovengard is particularly dreamy.
8. Delicious too. Butternut squash fries with apple butter and Westside Punch were my favorites.
