six things

1. in season. we entered the travel season for tim. we actually survived his first trip of the season. he was gone friday morning through around 3 am this morning.

2. christmas. the girls have been asking to decorate for christmas, so after a fun trip to hobby lobby we were definitely in the mood. so we went for it. this is the earliest we have ever started decorating. we started with their little trees in their bedrooms. we got the little tree up on the kitchen counter. and that is where we stopped. beginning to look a lot like christmas.

3. ellie basketball. ellie is in the middle of her basketball season. she is playing on the c team and having a blast. they have won all their games so far and her coach is planning for an undefeated season. she is having so much fun. when the season was going to start she was not feeling so well and was really tired. she tried to say she didn't want to play basketball. we told her to give it a shot. later she told me she was happy we told her to give it a try because she is loving it. it makes my heart happy to watch her work hard and have fun doing something that might not have been her favorite, but that she is putting her heart into and enjoying.

4. kitchen counters. our kitchen counters have been in the forefront of our thoughts late summer and most of the fall. it has been a few weeks since the second part of our kitchen counters went in. i love the way our kitchen has been transformed. the new bar counter just makes my heart happy. the way our counter was before just did not work for our family. it was not functioning at all. now the kids can sit at the counter to eat breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. it makes those evenings where we are hustling so much easier. i am so darn thankful tim and my dad were willing and able to make my crazy idea come true.

5. stools. i had been struggling to decide what stools to get....backed versus not backed. and was nervous to spend too much on them, but didn't want to buy something that was junky. anyway one day i saw some stools in my friend's garage. i asked her what her plan for those was and she was planning to take them to goodwill that night! i told her i would buy them from her and she gave them to me for free. love a free find! as we have used them we couldn't be more happy with them. we love the size and shape which are perfect for the size of our space. we are even liking the dark wood color.

6. stranger things. tim and i have been watching stranger things. i read a lot of places that is was so scary and freaky. i am a complete chicken when it comes to scary stuff, but i have really enjoyed watching. i do not find it to be scary. a bit freaky yes. i like to figure things out and i just can't get it figured out. if you haven't watched. go for it.

have a great week.