November's Nuances

 Hello to all :)

November's Nuances found our schedule a bit nutty, but the small nuance shift in the weather to a tad cooler was enjoyed immensely!  Here is the picture trail of November's Nuances...

...KeKe has her cast off, finally, and since she has begged to go to the coast, we were doing some looking and found an Airbnb, super-duper cheap, so we decided to do a last-minute weekend trip.  We took our own food and just enjoyed downtime on the beach.  It was a super restful trip! I think we all needed it without realizing ahead of time that an unplugged weekend was actually just what everyone needed...very few people to share the beach with and the weather was perfect...we enjoyed lots of beach time, deck time reading books, making delicious coffee drinks and walks along the beach...the only downside, was the man-of-war jellyfish riddled the beach on Saturday, so watch our step we did ;)... 

...the baby ducks are growing!!!...

...hmmm, some of the pictures found on the camera rolls, LOL :)...

...Daddy/Daughter date that made this girl's day!...

...the marathon/half-marathon weekend, also saw us celebrate Janessa's birthday.  She wanted to go to the American Girl Doll Store, but we ended up not staying there long like we thought we might. She ended up wanting to go to Scheel's and we had lots of fun at this store.  She walked out with some pretty nice birthday gifts, a couple were off the clearance racks and she got great deals!...Their indoor Ferris Wheel was another fun aspect of Scheel's!... 

...KeKe said, "Mom, I'm posing like the statue"...uh, maybe with a big imagination, lol :)... 

...Kirk, a good friend, two cousins, and some other Brownwood people ran the Ft Worth half-marathon and marathon...it was a fun experience and challenge.  Kirk would love to do more in the future.  It was fun meeting up with friends and family and seeing all the hard work/training pay off, by crossing the finish line...

...getting ready to start...

...Janessa helping cheer on across the finish line...

...no medals, just belt buckles :)...

...killing time around the finish line :)...

...oh, KeKe...and thanks friend for helping entertain her :)...

...getting ready to line up to start...

...and then the waiting begins...we decided to walk to a coffee shop before heading to the finish line area...

...here they come...

...LOL, the ONE morning we NEED her to be up early IS the ONE morning she decides she WILL sleep in versus being up at the crack of dawn...

...some of the MANY Whistling Ducks that have been frequenting our pond...

...the Aldi find that I think Buddy is liking :)...

...the Bee Room at Rest Wellness that is very unique...

...someone likes her new sweatshirt :)...

...our Thanksgiving pumpkins...LOVE this technique and we look forward to doing more next year...

...Advancement Day for Jadon in his Phase 1/Basic training.  This is the Advancement Day Ceremony from Phase 1/Basic training to Phase 2.  So, proud of him and love him tons!  It was so good to see him after some really intense weeks of training.  Seeing his face and all the other guys' faces and hearing them say, "It was some of the toughest weeks, but we made it!".  The friendships born during these weeks of training is neat to see.  He has to be checked back in by, January 4th, to start Phase 2 training.  Phase 2 will roll right into Phase 3 mid-March.  He doesn't have a break until May 31st though, so it'll be a haul of training for the spring semester.  While on holiday break here, he has been working through online classes for his dive rescue training. This spring we can get him a Sunday pass to see him, if we want to make a trip to East Texas; which, we have one weekend already planned for this :)...below are pictures from various parts of the day's events... 

...Senior pics for Kirk and we snuck a family session in, since Jadon had just gotten home for break.  I am in big denial that Kirk can be a senior though...but, I do LOVE the great pictures that Stuard Images took for us...

...Thank-you Intermission Books for letting us pop into your bookstore to snap some photos!...

...Jadon hit hunting as soon as he got home...his first two deer :) ...

...Last Texas and Area Logos Fellowship of the 2024 Fall Semester...we absolutely LOVE these fellowships and enjoy opening and sharing our home...due to it being right before Thanksgiving, we had about 30 people back out, last minute, but still a good turnout overall and the kids have so much fun...pictures from different times and couldn't get everyone in one picture, not even all the kids made it in the one picture :)...

...Cross Classical Academy's Science Fair and Poetry Chapel...

...love these two ladies that step in for Janessa at these events...we are so thankful for each of you and appreciate you gals...

...Janessa was also thrilled that Jadon was able to make it to this event for her...

...her project was on solar energy and we are so thankful for Daddy's help in it...

...and celebrating our man's birthday!!  We love him so much and are thankful he is husband and father to our crew...he loves God, his family and has purpose to make a difference for better in all he does in life...Happy Birthday and we LOVE you big!...

...thank you sweet friends for remembering some of Jason's birthday favorites :)...since his wife failed to get him some, LOL :)

...Thanksgiving morning found the guys running the Turkey Trot...the girls and I were gonna do it, but whimped out due to the cold and wind...fun times and great memories though...

...some healthy(and yes they are a super healthy version) treats for Thanksgiving week...

...we absolutely enjoyed sharing our Thanksgiving meal with friends who also didn't have family plans...the day was such a blessing and we are thankful for each and every one who shared our table...

I know since I am so late in getting this blog post together that December is almost done, but praying you had a December that was meaningful and filled with wonderful memories made...

"Give me a quiet life.  One where I can hear the trees rustling in the wind, raindrops on the windows, pages of a book being turned, coffee being brewed, and the heartbeats of the ones I love." 

~imperfectly simple~

"One reason that cats are happier than people is that they have no newspapers."

~gwendolyn brooks~

"Purpose is found in those quiet moments when no one but God sees the work of your hands."

~darlene schacht~

"Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because, unless a man has that virtue, he has no security for preserving any other."

~samuel johnson~