Moving Between Units...

                                 

Moving day arrived quickly and I am SO very thankful for the help we got from our friends Dave & Allison and my awesome sister and sister in law. Seriously, I have the coolest people in my life. We got to Asheville late at night and decided not to face the music until the next day. But not before going to s cute little diner for breakfast. :o)

I tried to pack the boys, but decided to keep them around with us...

I decided to take a break from the unit studies during unpacking/the holidays, but still wanted to do school. I took this time to focus on things Elijah was less confident in and to stick with the basics. We started learning how to tell him and did a lot of reading together. We also spent a lot of cold days making forts inside. 

 

We also had days where we learned all about Christmas and Hanukkah, which was special and fun. I absolutely love these holidays.

And I did random things around the house, trying to keep things fun for Elijah during the transition. This was my favorite :o)
                                        

On to the Next Chapter... Asheville!

I knew it had been a long time since I updated this thing, but I had no idea that it was 5 months ago. Wow! Well, we thought we would stay in TN after my husband graduated with his Masters, but we ended up moving to Asheville, NC. We had only visited once before accepting the job offer for my husband, but had heard good things. We moved here the first of December and had a crazy couple of months. I really write this stuff out more for my own benefit, so I won't go into detail, but trust me. It was wild. :o)
So far we really like it here. I am starting to make friendships that I think will actually last and, more importantly, Elijah is making friends! By far the hardest part of moving each time has been taking Elijah away from his family and friends. This is a quirky town and I have never felt like the conservative, main stream person like I do here! haha. It is beautiful and I am really looking forward to warm weather and everything blooming.
We had a hard Christmas with a death in the family and then a horrid virus that had all 4 of us and my parents sicker than we have been in years. The New Year lightened up though with a reunion of Mike's parents AND all the sibling's together at our place. It was so much fun and made the move a little easier.

  

Yohan turned one at the beginning of the month and I cannot get over how incredibly awesome this little boy is. He is adventurous and fun, curious and sweet. He melts me more and more each day. He has yet to take real steps, but he loves to climb the furniture, do anything outside, eat cheese and clementines, and, as of the last couple of days, stand up on his own and clap for himself. Sheesh, he is cute!
Elijah is doing awesome with home schooling. His favorite unit so far was the dinosaur unit, but he greets each one with excitement, which makes me SO happy. He is on book 5 of the BOB Books and my heart jumps with joy listening to him read. I cannot believe how grown up and cool this kid is. Legos are his passion and he tells me weekly that he wants to work for Lego one day. Awesome. He sings all the time, especially when he thinks we can't hear him. We also recently started giving him an allowance, complete with Save, Spend, and Give jars. He is, of course, saving up for a Lego set :o)
We are thrilled to have had A LOT of visitors already and we have been able to take trips back to stay with dear friends in Knoxville and friends and family in Nashville. Those helped keep me sane. We have also taken all opportunities when it has been warm enough to go hiking and hammocking. I see lots more of that in our future :o)

I miss my close friends in Knoxville and I desperately long to be near family, especially for my boys, but this is a fun adventure and I am so thankful to be in such a beautiful place and to be meeting the awesome people that are coming into our lives.