Remember when I said how much I prefer posting here then took a week off? 😉 It’s not because I don’t love writing on the blog. In fact, I’m still leaning more towards toting around my real camera and getting back to more day to day sharing or some deeper thought posts I have swirling around in my head here on the blog. This last week was simply a busy one! In a really wonderful way.

We Started Co-op

The girls and I had our first day at our new co-op, joining them for the start of Term 2. Back in early spring, I started looking into co-ops in the area, knowing that we wanted a community to plug into. I did this by joining local homeschooling groups on Facebook and following along with conversations and asking questions. I’ve debated whether I made a good choice or if I was rushing things, but our first day went really well! Moms and kids alike have welcomed us with open arms and I love the Charlotte Mason style and the wholesome community feel of the group. Right now I’m a helper in science, art, and the play, but when we start back in January I’ll be leading Form 3 Weather Science. Yes, I’m nervous about that.

Our New Neighborhood

Speaking of being welcomed into a community, our new neighborhood is more than I could have hoped for. I feel like I walked into an instant friend group where the moms have an ongoing text thread about everything from natural health remedies to asking who is up for an afternoon walk. And since the day after we moved in, there are kids at our door ready to play and they all take off outside to ride bikes and wage Nerf gun wars. There are many homeschooling families so we get together for nature lessons and walks weekly. I’m grateful to be here and look forward to get to knowing everyone better.

Last weekend we attended the neighborhood Friendsgiving and everything from the food to the company to the weather was top notch. I made the Brussels and cranberry sauce from this post and highly recommend them both.

House Is Continuing to Come Together

I’m not under any delusion that the house will be “done” soon, as there are so many little projects I want to do to make it feel cozy (wallpaper in the powder room, more personalization, etc) that I look forward to working on. But as far as getting it set up enough to reestablish our routines? I think we are almost there! David finished assembling his new cage/lifting machine thing and it feels wild to have a home gym space after four years of working out in our crawlspace at the old house. Hailey picked all the sheets and wall color and all for her new room and it’s looking so sweet that I snapped a pic. It’s exciting to watch it all start coming together.

Sausage, Kale, and White Bean Soup

I made this sausage, kale, and white bean soup last week and wondered why it had been so long. It’s seriously so good! I used the immersion blender for the blended bean part. Easy. Highly recommend not sleeping on this one. Blurry picture as I’m trying to remember how to use the real camera….

Decorating the Tree

When we designed the house, my first focus was on where we’d put the Christmas tree. You know we love our big tree and the builders laughed often at my continuing follow up that the Christmas tree corner would be done well. And… it was! We put up the tree and decorated it on Friday and it makes me so happy! It warms up the living room and you can see the twinkling lights through the front window of the house. We blasted Christmas tunes, sipped fun drinks, and fancied it up.

First Friends Visit

On Saturday our friends from North Carolina became our first friends to come spend the night with us! They arrived Saturday afternoon and as soon as they got here the kids took off to explore the neighborhood while the adults settled into conversation, snacks, and football. David tried his hand at smoking ribs and as the sun went down we switched to a hearty game of Samba, a multi-deck card game, girls versus boys. Sunday we went for a hike in the morning and explored downtown Greenville for lunch. It was a beautiful day and the town was bustling. It’s crazy to realize we live here now and it makes me excited to continue to explore!

And that’s a wrap! Today is all about checking off a few last errands and maybe *maybe* starting my Christmas shopping. I’m usually well under way by now, but I look at it this way- I’m ready to take advantage of Black Friday deals! We head to Georgia tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to some family time. I’m bringing my fancy camera to snap and share. I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving week! Enjoy the food, the downtime, the company, the deals, and the chaos or coziness that comes with it all.

Lastly, a few links that might prove helpful this week:

• Gift Ideas for 13 Year Old Girls
• Ultimate Tween Gift Guide
• Easy Thanksgiving Recipes
• All my favorites (gifts/stockings) linked here
• Kid-friendly Ornament Craft
• The Best Christmas Movies for Young Kids