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

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

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!

The All Horse Parade!

We had a great time at the All Horse Parade in Delaware this afternoon! 

I think my favorite part was watching Jonathan watch all the horses and people go by. There were some moments when he was obviously so excited, he just didn't have words to describe his feelings and then there were other moments where he was totally in awe and sat or stood motionless as he marveled at what was before him. So amazing to watch things through the lens of a child's eye. 

Zachari and Lincoln had tons of fun together and after the parade, we all enjoyed dinner at the Mosleys'. I'm thankful for this small-town tradition and I hope our family is able to add it to our list of things we do for many years to come.

I only had my phone with me as a camera so there aren't lots of pics to share, but enough to remember the day, for sure.

Hand-holdin'

Lately these two have been spontaneously holding hands while we're in the car, sometimes for miles down the road! This picture was taken earlier today. They're adorable and my heart melts a little bit more each time I catch them in this act. I am so grateful that my babies have each other and are forming such a sweet bond together. Oh Jesus, may they always be so sweet and loving with each other. (I think J is frowny because he didn't like the idea of me taking a photo. He was fine right before and after I took it, but tough luck, dude! The moment was too precious not to capture with my phone!)

Things to remember

Spring/Summer 2014 edition:

3/31 - walking pneumonia again - boooo!

April 10th - first real haircut done by Rachel Bowman. She looks amazers and she loved every second of it! And yes, there are several pictures to document the occasion!

Before: The big poof ball of hair

Saint Rachel, combing out the mannnny knots.
When Z's hair was wet and combed out it went past her underwear line!

She did enjoy the washing part, but her face would lead one to believe otherwise.
I suppose the first time I experienced it I looked something like this too!

My proud, happy, beautiful, looking-too-grown-up little girl.

"sings along" to songs all the time, even if she's never heard the song in her life - pretty good at catching on to lyrics though, just like her mama. ;)

"reternal" = eternal, as learned at Northwest Naz's VBS in June

jumpoline = trampoline

Says Kilamanjaro like a pro! - Late June Linworth Baptist VBS theme

The first day of summer!

Yesterday was a beautiful first day of summer and we were all too excited to celebrate it and bask in the  light of the longest day of the year!

The day started off a little muggy and gray, but that didn't stop us! A new friend, Merilee, so graciously offered to babysit for us in the morning so Blinn and I got to enjoy hot-out-of-the-oven cinnamon rolls at Sassafras Bakery with fresh Cafe Brioso coffee. Fannntastic.

Later, we met back up with the kids and ran some errands which included a stop at Lowe's for some landscaping stuff and supplies for making a picnic table! While J napped, these two took less than an hour to build this!

We ate dinner outside - such a summery meal of BBQ ribs, fresh green beans and corn on the cob... at the new table outdoors, of course!

After dinner we headed to the airport where we got to enjoy the fabulous sunset and see a couple of planes land. There wasn't as much activity there as we had hoped for, but the kids didn't mind. It was a fun way to soak in some of the moments of the longest day of the year. 

I was in love with how the soft sun looked on Zachari's skin so I wanted to snap some more photos of her. She however, wasn't in the mood for any sort of serious poses so this is what we got. I'm alright with it. She still looks beautiful and it would be silly of me to expect that every time I want my kids to stand a certain way in just the right spot they'll do it! These are the real moments of life - the goofy, hands-over-the-mouth memories that make up Zachari Jane.

After the airport, one more stop before heading home! It was the longest day of the year, after all, so we justified letting the kids stay up later and giving them sugar right before bed. What?! Coldstone Creamery has never really been on my radar as a place to go because when I've been there in the past, I found it to be too rich, too large of a portion. I had a coupon that Matt and I used and we learned that they had a dairy-free sorbet for the kids so it was a nice break from the norm. As you can see, Z was thrilled to get to have a special dessert: strawberry mango sorbet! She had to share the cup with J, but he ate more than half of it, I'm pretty sure! These kids sure get their sweet tooth from their papa!

It was a simple day, but one I am glad we shared together. I'm thankful for the change of seasons in this state. Its like a chance to to hit the restart button every few months.

Cheap fun

Thank you, Dollar Tree, for the two squirt bottles that provide endless hours of fun for a measly $2.00.

Thank you, Freecycle for this wonderful water table.

And thank you, Aldi for the green kiddie pool for just $7.99. (pictured above, but hard to see.)

For less than $10.00 I've provided my kiddos with tons of outdoor summer fun which means that I've also provided myself with a slight reprieve from their toy-stealing, fighting, complaints of boredom and the general funk of being cooped up inside. Hallelujah!

Whetstone Park of Roses

Today we visited Whetstone Park of Roses. Beautiful, mildly warm evening, setting sun, gentle breeze. Lovely roses all over the place, lots of space for Z and J to run and explore. A simple evening outing that I'm glad we made happen. Matt and I were so, so tired today and all we wanted to do was sit around the house and feel sorry for ourselves, but out we went! I told him that it would be better to get out of the house for an hour or so and let the kids play, than to have them chattering and climbing all over us within these four walls. It worked! Not sure how sound my parenting method is, but whatev!

The setting sun and the crisp, blue and white clouds with all the rich green of the trees and the grass was all so gorgeous! These  pictures don't even touch how magnificently the sun seemed to gently kiss the tree tops and how vibrantly it lit up the green fields near the parking lot. I was distracted by all the beauty though and marveled over a god who loves us so much He creates breathtaking masterpieces such as these. 

Here's our family photo from this evening...

And here we are last year, June 10th. My, how the little ones have changed!

Fun along the Scioto Mile

Last night after Blinn got home from work the fam headed downtown to enjoy the beautiful spring weather and see bits of the sunset. I was so thankful for the chance to get out of the house and do something a little different after Blinn got home. Many times he's so spent from the day and I am too so we stick around our block and while that's been fine, to explore something else for a change was nice. 

As photos show, it was really hard to get a picture of both kids at the fish fountains because they were so excited and rarely still. They were totally soaked when we walked back to the car, but they didn't mind and the giggles they both let out were totally worth it.