Hellooooo!!!

Well, hey there. It's been a minute, hasn't it? I have missed this little space so much, and it really is such a great way to keep track of family life and capture precious memories. So where do I begin??? No idea, I guess I'll wing it. :)

The biggest bits of news are 1) we moved to Florida back in November; and 2) I just finished my graduate degree in counseling psychology and worked all this past year as a clinical therapist intern. Wow. And then throw in all things Covid-related, and, well... WOW! What. A. Year.

Let's just jump in with Christmas, and maybe I'll backtrack a bit after that. We tried to keep things focused on the real meaning of Christmas, like we always do, but if I'm being totally honest, that was hard to do this year. I think it's safe to say lots of things just feel off, and add a major move to the mix, and things felts really off. But of course there were some absolute moments of joy, too!

Lots to explore in our new town! The downtown area is just beautiful with twinkle lights on every tree along the streets, and the sunset on Christmas Eve was spectacular!

A blurry but goodie :)

Ha ha ha ha

My Mom's special Advent calendar... look closely, ha ha

Levi decorated his little tree all by himself this year!

Santa's cookies on Christmas Eve

Levi wanted to draw special pictures for him. I see a present, some letters, "Hi Ho" and a stocking. Not bad! I asked Santa to bring all my babies together under the same roof for Christmas, and we were THIS close, but we got sick, some of us with Covid and the flu. It was pretty miserable but we're doing better and are very thankful about that. 

He asked for so long for a special dinosaur friend for Popsicle, his blue dinosaur. Meet Popcorn! So sweet. :)

All ready for Christmas dinner. Someone lingered in adorable jammies and wanted to play and color all day long. Sounds good to me!

We now live just a few miles from the ocean in North Florida so we spend lots of time wandering around out here by the waves. Officially our first day after Christmas at the beach! It certainly has had its highs and lows, but I'm trying to stay focused on the positives. I sure do miss our families! Being so far away is hard. Any tips for me to help with the adjustment?

I hope whoever happens to be reading this is doing well and looking forward to a brand new year. I've missed connecting with people through this space! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, even if it looked a little (or a lot!) different this year. Prayers for a happy and healthy 2021!

 

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

Handpicked from my littlest love. #allthehearteyes

We got lots of (much needed) rain over the weekend, but the sun popped out a little bit here and there. Nothing beats playing with Daddy in the backyard.

Poor bug got poison ivy last week and it's fiiiiinally going away. We have no idea how it even happened! You can see some of the spots on his cheek and chest. :(  We also learned that he can drink just fine from a water bottle or a cup- didn't know that before he begged me for mine and I let him have it, ha ha.

She decorated this shirt all by herself for the school assembly. Too bad she doesn't look happy about it, right? ;)

I joined the garden club in our town and helped out with the biggest plant sale fundraiser of the year on Friday and Saturday. I was in HEAVEN surrounded by all those gorgeous colors and blooms. There are so many nice ladies (and some men) there and it always feels good to meet new people doing something you love.

Isabelle noticed two birds flitting around one of our arborvitaes and sure enough...baby birds! I'm always amazed by how quickly baby birds grow. In just a few days they already have little feathers. There are four sparrows. :)

 I wrote on Instagram that all I could think when I carried this to our neighborhood party was Baby's "I carried a watermelon." HaHaHa

 #stripesforever

Someone was living his best life on this hammock at the party :)

It was almost a pool day :) Temps are supposed to soar again so we may have a real pool day soon!

I thought Jonah's last day of work was Saturday night... he got really sick with flu-like symptoms on Thursday and was pretty much out of commission most of the weekend, so it didn't much matter. Then I found out his actual last day is today, soooo we just celebrated a little early. He starts his new job later this week! It was GOOD. Maybe I should blog the recipe?? I've tweaked it a bit over the years and it's always a hit.

Ethan showed him how to squirt himself in the face, and he LOVED it. ha ha ha

 Cutest little helper

Isabelle's whole week is made because I finally let her watch The Greatest Showman, ha ha. I must say, I was VERY conflicted about the movie seeing it the first time, but this second time, I enjoyed it much, much more. Go figure! Hope you had a nice weekend! Anything exciting happen?

I've just listed some more items over at Rose and Ruffle, and you can find me on Instagram @bethanylivs_life

A Little Life Lately

I haven't uploaded any pictures from today, (oops! it's now super early morning the next day as I finish this...) but when I do, no hats or winter coats were anywhere to be seen, which is not the case from last week and in the photo below. It was GLORIOUS!!! We played outside for a long while, jumping in puddles, scooping snow and just soaking up all the warm, fresh air.

Since I basically live at the grocery store, he seems to have made peace about it. Silly boy!

You know the French Bread that comes in the paper? Turned my back for two seconds and this one already had a mouthful. #carbjunkie

It certainly hasn't been all sunshine and roses here lately. Honestly, it has been SO stressful. College is probably the main source of angst these days, and it seems completely overwhelming. This rising sun really spoke to my heart that morning and reminded me that these things pass, and what's important remains.

Speaking of college, things will be so different in the fall. I'm committing all these moments to memory the best I can.

Poor baby- a cold turned into ear infections and pneumonia, so yet another Sunday we had to miss church. Isabelle seems to be the only one to keep the germs at bay this year. Rough season, ugh.

Finally feeling better - aren't my guys so handsome!?!

I didn't even know this was all blurry until I uploaded it here...oops! Just having a little fun while taking pictures for passports. Big plans in the works, and I cannot wait! I'll share soon!

This just makes me laugh. He has the BIGGEST obsession with chap sticks, ha ha ha

Our weekends and several week nights were filled up with practices and games. Play offs were last weekend- one nail biting win, and then a hard, sad loss for Isabelle's team. Caleb had fun but his team didn't make it very far. (This was the game they lost- Levi and Daddy left at halftime, but first he ran around the court and looked so tiny out there. The cutest thing I ever did see.)

So nice to have Saturday mornings back! Daddy makes waffles and these two play play play. I love it!

Oh! And see that pretty new rug? It's a Better Homes and Gardens one from WalMart, and it has the most gorgeous colors in it. That addition prompted me to make some changes in our office/sewing/music room, and that space is allllmost finished. I'll share soon!

Today is Wednesday, which means it's donuts and coffee (pink milk for the little ones). I can't even remember when this tradition started, but it's been a fun one to look forward to each week. Have a great day! :)

Life Lately

This has been a dreary month. I had been so looking forward to January with all its shiny brand-newness, and it hasn't actually been that great a month. Honestly, it's just been, well...mostly bad. Maybe February will be my month. (?)

But here are some things that made me smile this month:

Taking Levi to the library for the first time

Technically not the first time, but out of his car seat and interacting for the first time. I looove going to the library but just haven't had the desire for the past several months. And this library is adorable! With free adjacent parking! Can't beat that. :) Getting to our old one was much more of a hassle and yet we went all the time. What's wrong with me?

I've been watching two girls after school for just a few minutes each day, but this day they were with me for a lot longer, so they came to the library with us. The younger one kept bringing the animals to Levi and he would just keep looking from his left to his right, back and forth, not smiling or anything. It was funny! He likes to study things and take it all in.

Hey, Mr. Gorilla, how YOU doin'?

Hey little bear, I can poke your eyes out ;)

 Levi's favorite part about being at the library?

Playing with big brother's sweatshirt cord!

 I wish I'd gotten a picture with Isabelle, but she is a tornado in the library. She would take home everything if she could.

And these two in the morning. Can't even take it.

Inauguration Day

The high school boys had midterms that week so our schedule was very different, and Ethan was home with us that Friday by 10:00, so we started watching together. We've been praying (a lot!) for our country and our new president, as well as other leaders.

Levi was super impressed with the pomp and fanfare

He's really starting to want to play with Ryder and the cats. Ryder doesn't mind, but the cats? I wouldn't call them fans just yet.

Going for walks

This hasn't been one of our coldest months ever, but it has just been SO gray.

Dreary and blah

 Look at that face!!!

Nearly everyone complains about getting outside, but once we're out, they usually switch gears and have fun. Usually. :/

What is THIS?

Blue sky? Shadows in the road?

It didn't last long, maybe twenty minutes, and then back to gray.

I was having a moment on Saturday and bundled up Levi to take him for a walk, but the wind was really bitter cold and I didn't want his face to get chapped - we do have a plastic rain guard for the jogger but of course I can't find it. I turned around after half a mile and discovered that he'd fallen asleep leaning into the blankets (yes, two, because cold!) and with his lumberjack hat turned sideways. Poor baby. Crazy Mama. It was a hard weekend.

Accomplishments

Caleb has wanted to fly since we both can remember, and he is working hard toward his goal with the Civil Air Patrol. He was promoted again earlier this month, and then became an assistant - he has a ton of extra requirements and responsibility now!

I can't wait until his dreams come true. And then he's flying me to Hawaii. :)

This is the photo I took for Ethan's club soccer badge. I mean, seriously. Look at him! He is as friendly and thoughtful as he is incredibly handsome. :)

How on earth do I have a son who's nearly ready to go off to college?

How???

I'll tell you, it's a hard thing. So many emotions. Wondering if I've done well, if I've done enough, if if if....

Bathtime

We've settled into such a nice nighttime routine, and on most nights now Levi goes right to bed in his crib happy and satisfied, and gets himself to sleep.

Most nights. Sigh

Dad is in charge of the nightly bath, it's their thing

Lately, Levi is obsessed OBSESSED with dropping his favorite little fisherman captain over the edge and climbing up and out of the tub to get it. He has flopped face first into the big bathtub more than once so we're trying to teach him to stay put when in his little one. We haven't had much success with this.

That face, guilty guilty

Either drawing or reading, every single night

She was listening to These Happy Golden Years on audio while sketching on this night

All clean and fresh!

Oh he is trouble. Do you see it in his face? Trouble!

And we couldn't love him more  

I finally painted my nails with my Christmas gel polish- very pretty...

...and the very next day went on a tirade painting all.the.trim

If you think about it, your average house has so much trim around windows, floorboards, and doors. The doors are still killing me!

But everything looks so much nicer and brighter, and it was really the only major thing "wrong" with this house. Needless to say, bye bye pretty nails 

I discovered the joy that is the large barrel curling iron.

AND I discovered that I don't have to blow dry prior to using it, which is great, because my hair is naturally frizzy/curly and tends to dry out quickly. So now I air dry when I've got the time, and voila!

You can hardly see it here, but I was really loving it, especially the back! 

#gamechanger

#nerdalert

Confession: I don't normally wear make up

I am so not a girly girl. Either I'm in a hurry and I forget, or I end up making my eyes look squintier, and my skin is generally pretty healthy. So I go without. I do wear Burt's Bees tinted lip balm a lot, though, but not on this day. 

Confession #2: this was also the day that I was running errands aaaaand realized in the checkout lane that I'd left my wallet at home - I'd been trying to be all adult-like and responsible with budgeting and tracking expenses...HA! I got burnt. I remembered, though, that I'd put some gift cards in my pocketbook, so I could buy the bias tape I needed at JoAnn's. But nothing else. Well, I didn't spend any money, so there's that. Ugh

This boy

I'm loving our newish morning routine, and the fact that Levi has been regularly taking a two hour nap around 9:30. That's how I get the painting done, ha! When he wakes up, he's so happy!

We like to sing songs, cuddle and read books

His hair is finally starting to come in a bit more, and I think it looks reddish again - does anyone else see red?

This has been a big week for sure because someone has learned how to move. I can't leave him for a second anymore, and he is SO curious.

About evvvverrrrrryyyyyything, ha ha

I can hardly believe that he'll be ten months old in five days! 

Some days, I'm at peace and totally ready for it.

Other days, you can find me sobbing in the corner.

I think I'm excited about the changes that are coming, and I think I'm ready to have my bedroom back! But ask me in ten minutes and you may get a totally different answer...

Oh yeah, and I quit the big boy car seat.
But clearly someone is really too big for it.

Maybe we'll try again in another week or two. 

Happy {early} February 1st!

February, I'm ready for you!

***updated***
I just created a Facebook page for 4 Sons Plus 1 - why, I don't know. Too much free time? ha ha
I'm still having an identity crisis I guess because I keep mulling over the idea of Celebrate the Everyday Things (which I LOVE too), but for now, it is what it is :)
Pop on over HERE and say hello!