30 Days of Thankful

Another November has come and gone and the we listed out things we're thankful for. I really love this little tradition we started back in 2011. Its so sweet to make time to speak out the ways we've been blessed and notice all the good that surrounds us. Hearing things from Zachari and Jonathan's perspectives is really special too and often humbles me to remember to be grateful for all of the little things I so easily take for granted. Without further ado, our 2016 list (in no specific order):

Zachari
Jonathan 
pool
school
lunch
Liz, Annalise & Kathleen (Bonar)
Jonathan
Mama
fall
cats
Papa
anteaters
music
rocks
Jonah
ImmyLou
Ms. D.
food
hikes
church
love
friends
home
car
God
dogs
the sun
food (again!)
pork chops with bacon
gas for cars
Play-doh
Blinntoberfest
gnocci
and then this...

That's right! It says dirt, poop, water & pee...with diagrams.

Jonathan
Nathan (Cates)
superheroes
my tiny pumpkin (that he chose from his preschool field trip in October)
music
Heather, Josie & Paxy (Mohrman)
Papa
Zachari
Jonah
Zachari (again!)
fire
tortillas
strawberries
cucumbers
chicken
water
Mama

Matt
parents
Zachari
Jonathan
Wife
fall weather
pot roast!
Watershed
feeling healthy
playing games with Zachari
beer
hikes
a good job
woodworking 
stories
friends 
art 
music
bike rides

Kelli
twinkle lights
nights by the fire pit
hooded sweatshirts
warm slippers
Apple Music
Spotify
lunch dates with Matty
Fox in the Snow coffee
Hounddogs Pizza
fresh fruits and veggies
Aunt Flow
101 S. Westmoor Avenue
Raymond Matthew Blinn
creativity
wine!
Mrs. Distefano
Ms. Khristina
our car & ZB's repairs
the Obamas
my phone
the iPad
Bethel Music
Patty Griffin
wine (again!)
coffee
ProDoula
Columbus Birth & Parenting
Bekah
Matt's job
Reid family
Cates family
Bekah's natural cancer treatments... and success!
Westgate and our neighbors
all of the amazing food/drink options in Columbus
79˚ days in November!
Zachari Jane
Jonathan Francis
Hilltop YMCA
Advent dinners with Bekah
Zachari's love for J. She's caring, helpful, patient, encouraging and a great friend.
warm, cozy blankets
Andrew Hendrixson
Peter Stevens
the Psalms
God's grace, love, forgiveness and peace
Myca
Jan
Sara
Brooke
water with lemon

Summer Mondays

This is the eighth Monday of summer vacation and Mondays have turned into my favorite day in the last couple of months. With the exception of the 4th of July and last week, our Mondays have been days where we stay home all day long and don't get out of our jammies sometimes til after dinner. Zachari's in swimming lessons on Monday nights at 6:25 so we get dressed for the day in time to get her there and sometimes her "getting dressed" doesn't go any farther than her bathing suit and a coverup. 

This summer has been a gift. I was not looking forward to it as the school year came to a close and quite honestly, I think the word dread is what I used most often. Zachari wasn't looking forward to the break either, preferring to have year-round school with her beloved Miss Washam and all her friends... and P.E., her favorite class. I was nervous about the lack of schedule and routine, the spats that the kids would have alllll summer long, our first summer without naps or quiet time. Silly as it sounds, I was dreading the freedom that summer brings.

But. 

Its been great. I've loved being able to be more spontaneous with our outings because we're not tethered to a schedule or the need to get home for rest time. Yeah, I'd love it if there was a rest period some days, but we just power through and its been great. 

I'm thankful for these last few weeks and I'm looking forward to filling up the remainder of our free days with equal parts lazy and adventure. 

30 days of thankful

I really love the tradition we've started of intentionally listing out things we're thankful for in the month of November. Its made me more aware of all the little things in our days and I've found myself more easily giving thanks for even the mundane after practicing this so often. 

The Blinns have much to be thankful for and these are just some of the things that came to our mind last month. They're in no particular order, just how I weeded through the stack after all the tags were taken off the branches. 

Something fun about this year: Zachari hand wrote all of her thankful tags and Jonathan drew pictures and/or "wrote" out his things too. Its fun having kids sometimes. 


Zachari
Mom
Annabelle
Miss Washam
family
God
Mama
Katelyn
plants
Jonathan
food
Pax
vitamins
Peter
our old house
the year 2015
Nancy
Thanksgiving
Sara's turtle


Matt
101 S. Westmoor
friends
my parents
Zachari Jane
our kids' amazing spirits
Westgate
weekend without kids
bandsaw
CBP - Kelli's new job


Jonathan
Sara Kear
Bob the Builder
"Workers, Jonah & Lindsay, Elys & Zachari's friends. The end."
a bug... and more bugs
dinosaurs
Zachari, my friend
Jesus, Papa, Mama, Zachari
Jesus again!
Matthias and Mama getting to have coffee
boots and rain jackets
the ocean
ham & Cheerios & spicy cheese & raisins & hummus & cucumbers
Zachari, Mama, Papa
Jake
my candy
paper punchers
ABCs & Jesus
Mason, Baby Graham, Layne... & their mom & dad


Me
Jan & Carol Bell
Sara Martin
nail polish
48 hours kid free! - & the Moormans & Kuhns for babysitting
Columbus Birth & Parenting
changing seasons
beautiful, fall colors!
my in-laws
our health
Carla, Kim, Rick & Mike
music, coloring books, sewing
our years in Bowling Green
Mom teaching me to cook
the gift of encouragement
Matt's job
date nights courtesey of the Elys
God's G-R-A-C-E
Life Church & the Forsythes
my best friend & husband, Matt
Andrew Hendrixson
Patty.
beautiful, smart, sassy, creative, wonderful Zachari Jane
riesling
coffee
the beach!
MacCaughey framily
pink-purple-blue-orange-white sunsets
Matt's handiness & creativity
sunny, 70˚ days in November!
lazy weekends with family
Trader Joe's & Aldi
sense of smell & taste
coffee dates with Myca
handsome, charming, silly, curious, ornery, wonderful Jonathan Francis
Reid family
Jenni Stockberger & fam
our new house, great neighbors & a beautiful neighborhood

Hair

Well, exactly one month ago I took the plunge. I did it. I cut all my hair off. And I have to say, its been one of the best decisions of my entire life. 

I feel like a new woman and wish I had made the chop long ago. I have more confidence and spend less time getting ready or glancing at the mirror throughout the day. I have au-natural curl and I own it!

30 days of thankful

This is the fourth year in a row that, together as a family, we've taken time out in November to list things that we're thankful for. I'm so glad that we've started this tradition and a couple months ago, I realized that it meant something special to Zachari as well. She started asking if we were going to decorate the mantle with "our thankful things" again. This girl remembers everrrrrything, but this particular memory she had brought me joy. Maybe it'll be something we all cherish for years to come and who knows, maybe my children will pass it down to their children one day?

We often talked about what we were thankful for while we were eating a meal which is why several of Jonathan's have a food "theme".  This list doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg as far as the millions of things this family can give thanks for. It is, however, a good reflection of where our hearts are right now in this season and for that - well - I'm thankful!

Matt:
Kelli's cooking
small group
coffee in the mornings
Zachari Jane
my best friend Kelli
a good job
Saturday morning with the kiddos
Wednesday AM coffee with the guys
spell check
our church

Zachari:
dates with Mama or Papa
going to the pumpkin patch with my family
letters and packages in the mail!
my family and friends
Papa
COSI
Jonah
pumpkins
pesto pasta on Sunday nights!
Jonathan getting to have swim lessons with Mama
shows and movies
play dates with Maggie and Marion
friends at my school
snowy, sunny days
Halloween
my room
food
my dolls
Corry helping me swim
dinners
LOTS of fruits!
my best friends Marion, Annabelle, Matilda and Haley
brats!
peanut butter and jelly
my preschool teachers

Jonathan:
Mama
trucks
pumpkins
Zachari
Papa
grapes
blueberries
books
pasta 
bowls
bubbles
paper
sweet potatoes
markers
pool
sausage 
eyes
breakfast

Kelli:
spiritual direction from Deb and Mandy
Central Vineyard
small group
Zachari Jane
Jonathan Francis
the gift of song
the Reids
sex :)
MVNU friends
swimming lessons and our great instructors
Matty Boy!
Monica teaching me how to sew
Kelsie and Kyle Meyers
Sara Kear
Jake
Myca
morning coffee dates with friends
warm, sunny days in November
Zachari and Jonathan's creativity and love for books
Deb Woods and Mandy Shumaker
my Lactation Counselor certification
early, quiet mornings - seeing the sun rise
S-M-E-L-L!
days when the kids listen and play well on their own
Papa working so hard so that I can stay home with J and Z

On turning 33

Another year older. Another year wiser. 

Isn't that what they say? Whoever the proverbial they is anyway. Hmph.


When I turned 30 it wasn't a big deal to me like it has been for some of my friends. I wasn't sad to say goodbye to my 20s, I wasn't depressed to be entering my 30s, it was just another day, really. I was thankful for a new decade and as I've continued to settle into this new age, I like it more and more. I like who I am better now than when I was in my 20s, I like who I think I am gonna become. 

But this year, August 12th came with some melancholy attached. I realized that by turning 33 I was older than my own mother when she gave birth to me. I was two years older than Palmer when he died and a whopping eight years older than Jenn at the time of her death. I realized that it was at the age of 33 (or so we think) that Jesus Christ have His life for mine. I'm not this much closer to my mid-30s. It all just felt heavy to me and so I started the day in a very pensive, quiet mood. 

It was a good day though, for sure. Matty was off (all week, actually!) and together as a family we enjoyed a lovely summer day. Kim babysat for us so we could have an afternoon date, something The Boy had planned. We tried Basil, a super-delicious restaurant in Short North that I fell in love with. The decor/architecture was as wonderful as the cuisine and the company wasn't too shabby either!

The weather was perfect and so we enjoyed walking around to shops before and after lunch for a bit. We stumbled upon this fabulousness outside of a salon and spa, randomly. Being part of Hannah Estabrook's Self Esteem Summer Camp the last several weeks, this sign felt especially poignant to me... and on my birthday no less!

The Boy had quite the surprise up his sleeve for me... A helicopter ride! And what might've been the bigger surprise, is though I am so afraid of heights and never really had a desire to go up in a helicopter and the freaking floor was glass and I could see straight down all the hundreds of miles, I did really well up there! I sat in the front next to the pilot and took in the lovely sights of Fairfield County. I mean, the day couldn't have been more picture perfect for such an excursion. Thank you, Lord!

I think we look pretty cute as "co-pilots"!

Back at home that night, the fam made me a tasty, summertime meal of barbecue ribs and roasted potatoes, onions and mushrooms all made on the grill. The beautiful salad came from our yard with some store bought extras and it was all so deliciously satisfying!

The day ended at the Upper Arlington Graeter's where everyone had a sweet treat but me. I didn't really care for one, but thought it would be fun to go there anyway! I love my sweet lil fam and I love that I am now 33. Here's to a new year!

Family photos

I just got these from Val today - yay! I have a feeling these might be sent out in Chrisamus cards this year! The photos were taken on August 11th and it was so muggy. These were taken just before a downpour too!

Zachari Jane: The model!

On the 19th my beautiful, spunky little girl got to be a model for an afternoon. She was asked to wear some of the new HOMAGE line that they're revealing for kiddos and it was such fun to watch her "work"! I warned the photog that she might throw a fit or have some 'tude or generally just misbehave (because that's the season we're in with this one right now), but man, was I wrong! She didn't give Jeff any problems and she did amazingly well for it being her first modeling gig! 

The pics below are my faves. Man oh man, that husband and I make some gorgeous babies if I can say so m'self!

Pointless post

Yesterday someone in the house across the alley from us got a shed delivered...

It was some stand-up-on-the-gate-and-watch-for-half-an-hour kind of excitement over here, folks!

Another year of preschool!

Today was Miss Zachari Jane's first day of the second year of preschool at Overbrook.

She's in room 107 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings this year and her teachers are Mrs. Jennifer North and Mrs. Bridget Taylor.

As we walked through the school and got settled in the classroom, Z was the talk of the town in her coordinated dress and shoes. Carla and Kim did it again, they're making our daughter so well-dressed!

She was SUPER excited to be there!

Come ON! This is the look of pure joy!

Getting the lay of the land - brother included, of course!

The after shot... I think the first day was a success!