Harlan Place

Vacation in Wisconsin

Filed under: Default — Jess @ 4:24 pm

So… Joshua has this incredible memory. The things he comes up with consistently amazes us. Here’s an example. Several months ago, Joshua asked if I would take him to the treehouse. Our neighborhood in Georgia (where we were living at the time) had a treehouse, so I assumed his Daddy had taken him there, and I agreed. When we arrived, Joshua said “no, that’s not the one I’m talking about — I want to go to the other treehouse”. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I called Lane to ask if he knew. We were both clueless.Joshua patiently painted the scene for me to jog my memory. “I’m talking about the treehouse near the water. Where daddy pushes the board down with his foot, and we walk across. We climb a ladder and can see all the water”. Immediately, the vision of the place he described came into view. Of course I knew the place. It was the treehouse by the lake at the cabin where I spent my childhood summers. We had taken Joshua there when he was 2. We’d taken no pictures of the treehouse, and never even spoke of it since that vacation… as far as I recall. Yet a year later, he brings it up - in vivid detail - as if it were yesterday. It amazed me.

I really hadn’t planned on visiting the cabin this year. Lane’s in between work contracts, we were considering moving back to PA, my belly was growing increasingly large… it just didn’t seem like a good time for a vacation. But after that conversation… how could I not? I never imagined Joshua remembered the place — I certainly didn’t imagine him asking us to go there. But it happened. And the moment it did, the excitement began to swell just as it had when I was a child as I anticipated an upcoming trip to Wipigaki (our cabin in Wisconsin). I recounted Joshua’s description to Lane, and with a bit of hesitation, asked if he thought we should go. His response? “Of course we should go! We have to take the boys. How could we let them miss a summer at the cabin?” What an amazing husband I have.

Without further adieu, here are some pictures from our trip to Wip.

Comments Off

Baby #3!

Filed under: Default — Jess @ 2:46 pm

Wow, I am waaaaayyyyy overdue for an update. How have so many months passed?? Lame, lame, lame. Well, I’m updating now.

Big news (which 99% of you must know by now…) — I am pregnant with our third BOY! I’m now 6+ months along, due at the beginning of November. Equally exciting news is that my brother Zeke and his wife Miranda are ALSO expecting. They have TWIN BOYS coming!! She and I are neck and neck, with her due date at the end of October. Yay for growing families - we’re going to have a basketball team!

Here are a couple of belly shots:

4 Mos Pregnant

5 Mos Pregnant

Comments (0)

I love this family

Filed under: Jessica's Posts — Jess @ 10:43 am

Have you ever seen “The Incredibles”? It’s a really cute movie, and in the end, the little boy leans back, sighs contentedly, and says “I love our family”. Well Lane and I often pause in the moment, when we’re just enjoying each other and our boys immensely, and smile knowingly at one another and say “I love this family”. And we do. What an incredible blessing God has bestowed upon us. A truly happy marriage (how many people can say that??), and two treasures in our boys that bring us new joy every single day. So cool.

Comments Off

Birthday Bash

Filed under: Default — Jess @ 7:31 pm

We’ve had a lot of birthday fun in that last few months. In January, Jon (my uncle - who now lives with us) celebrated his 57th birthday. In February, Jadon celebrated his FIRST birthday (yay, baby!!). And in March, Lane celebrate his 38th birthday (don’t be fooled into thinking I’m that old too… let the record show that I am still in my twenties!).

For Jon’s b-day, we had a lovely dinner at Chili’s one night, presents the next night, and birthday cake and candles the third night - LOTSA birthday fun!

Jadon’s birthday crept up quickly than any of us could have imagined. Our baby boy… a year old already! What an incredible year it has been. He is such a happy toddler - we love him so!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY BOY!

We had a great little celebration with some friends here in Georgia. There were seven little ones, double the parents, triple the pizza, and quadrouple the sweets - just as it should be! Haha

We had a “no presents” rule (but all of the kids got to open two or three little presents I’d picked up and wrapped for extra party fun), and a “cupcake cake” so each child could have their own cake with their own candle to blow out. Birthday fun for everyone!

Jadon loooooves chocolate (don’t we all?!), and after digging in with both hands and face, was kind enough to offer bits of his chocolate to Mama. Sweet boy.

His favorite gift was a green “kickball” that is just the right size for him. His smile of delight in this first picture is from some of his first moments with his ball. Boys and balls - there’s nothing better! We also got Jadon (with Joshua in mind, as well) a “sand and water” table. Wow does that provide endless fun. Perfect for these warm summery days we’ve been having!

Last but not least, Lane’s birthday was a little lower key, but still fun! Another outing to Chili’s, with molten lava cake for dessert instead of official birthday cake (it’s a good trade-off, believe me - if you haven’t tried it, you need to!). He asked for some boring techy stuff for his birthday, which I dutifully bought him, but then I also bought him the complete series of FRIENDS (best show ever!!!!!!!!!!!) as well as the Roswell series (our latest TV interest). What’s better than hours and hours of couch time with his sweet wife?

Although it doesn’t count as a birthday, V-day should probably get an honorable mention here… since it was a celebration that fell in our first-quarter birthday months. Joshua thoroughly enjoyed all of the fun Valentines he received from his school buddies (both the cards, which he asked me to read over and over again, and the treats - which he’s still working his way through!). And Lane and I got a very special treat, as well. My incredibly generous brother, Jordan, drove 3 1/2 hours down from Columbia, SC to babysit for us for the evening. We had our first night out in recent memory, and it was wonderful. We caught a movie - simple, but such a rare treat for us these days. Thanks Jo!!

Comments (0)

Harlan Place

August 19, 2009

Vacation in Wisconsin

Baby #3!

March 18, 2009

I love this family

March 15, 2009

Birthday Bash

Friends

Photos