Luke's House

Our son made the decision to have a place of his own. Although he's not far, it was still emotional watching him officially move out of the home he grew up in.

His close friend from high school was also looking for a place, so it worked out well having a roommate he knew he could get along with. The two were so funny in making sure the couch and gaming system were set up first!  

The new place has 3 bedrooms, so the 3rd room was turned into an office. 

They did a nice job fixing up the kitchen, too. They might need to learn how to cook, but neither seems picky as long as it's edible.

The final result! Not too bad for a pair of bachelors.

Engaged!

Our oldest just got engaged! Alex drove up to Greenville to talk to Eric several weeks ago and asked permission to marry her. He then waited for the right moment to propose to Ashlyn.

She said yes. 💙

He proposed in Columbia, SC on the State House grounds where they took a walk on their first date.  

Their friend is a photographer, so she hid behind a bush to snap these incredible pictures.

This one is my favorite, though.

We drove down to Columbia the next day to congratulate the happy couple and welcome Alex to the family. I hope he knows that I blog, Facebook, and everthing else a proud mom would do. That includes embarassing her kids eventually. 

Here's the newly engaged couple at a Halloween party dressed as Lois Lane and Clark Kent (aka Superman). They looked great! 

When not in costume, this is Ashlyn in her normal attire. Alex is a wonderful guy to be her rock as she's working in a stressful field. We miss them both. We're excited to see what they accomplish together as a team in this thing called life.

You can follow all their latest wedding plans at The Knot. 

Luke's Bday

Our son had drill over the weekend, so we prepared his 23rd birthday celebration for the evening he got home.

Presents and dinner with family was first. 

Then cake with friends.

As one of his gifts, he accompanied me to a TEDx type event called CAN Talks. Each speaker had a disability, but their perspectives of how they viewed themselves was so refreshing and inspiring. Here, Mark Shoop shares how he is impacting his community through law enforcement. When you're called to serve, it's about your abilities and what you CAN do, not what your diagnosis limits you to do.

And since Luke shares his birthday with his namesake's feast day, a photo next to the statue of St. Luke seemed appropriate.

XC 2022

The fall sport of choice this year for our youngest was dual...cross country and swim. That meant TWICE the events to watch. Since I attended her XC parent meeting and Eric went to her swim meeting (both held at the same time, by the way), those were the schedules we each downloaded to our calendars. Hence why there are XC pictures and not swim.

Some courses are solely on the grass and wooded areas, while others intertwine with the road or track. The finish is always exciting as the runners sprint to the end!

It's a great group of kids who cheer each other on no matter what PR they hold.

Eric likes to get in on the action with his own races. It's gets us up early sometimes, but we wouldn't have it any other way. This was a 6K sponsored by GE.

Nice finish and time!

Dress-up Days

This wasn't a "thing" when I was in school, but students today use Homecoming Week, Football Fridays, and Spirit Weeks to dress up in crazy themes. Here are some of the ones I've captured this fall before she headed out the door:

Toga.....

Tie-dye/Hippie....

Swim & surf....

Country...

More to come, I'm sure. She raids all the closets in our house the night before, but she does a nice job being creative with what we have on hand.

Salsa

A friend gave us ghost peppers.

 

With a garden full of fresh tomatoes and jalepenoes, plus having a spare onion in the fridge, it was the perfect opportunity to make salsa.

A little stove top heat brought all the flavors out, then we blended with some garlic, salt, and lime.

But was it good? We needed a taste tester.

Luke approved. 😋

Volunteers

Growing up with a parent in the nonprofit career means never ending volunteer opportunities. I'm grateful that they always say yes. It also gives them countless hours for Beta Club, NHS, youth group, business fraternities, and any other organization.

They have helped to trap chipmunks, paint, repair walls....

haul junk, man the registration desk, and organize the bookshelves. These tasks were only in the past two months, too!

Thank you sweet kiddos! You make a difference with every act of kindness.