St. Patrick's Day

I love celebrating holidays around our home.  Doesn't have to be a huge party, but simple touches help turn another ordinary school day into something fun and memorable.
When Cole was little, St. Patrick's Day was mostly green scavenger hunts, fun leprechaun books, and searching for shamrocks in the backyard.  As he's grown, we've come to LOVE this holiday as we learn more and more about Saint Patrick, his faith, and his journey to spread God's love to the Irish people.  We've minimized this holiday to cabbage and beer in America, but it's so much more - and that is what I love about spending the day (and week) teaching about a man that wasn't afraid to follow in obedience...even when it wasn't popular or pretty.

This past Tuesday we still enjoyed a fun breakfast, graphing Lucky Charms, hunting for four-leaf clovers, and colorful science experiments, but my favorite was watching the boys begin to understand and digest the story behind the day and what the common symbols truly mean.  Makes my heart happy!

You would've thought it was Christmas...Mommy bought sugary cereal!!

Ready for our day!

We began our activities outside, but had to move indoors because of the crazy wind.

Such a great book we found at the library.  All about Saint Patrick's life and the symbols /legends that surround the holiday.

Graphing Lucky Charms and answering/recording oodles of math questions/observations.

Little man simply enjoyed graphing and eating :)

Gracious...he looks so big!

 

Seriously...such a GREAT book!

Finished the day with a science experiment...molecules, density, and a rainbow in a jar.

  

March Madness

Michael is actually out today for lunch with buddies taking in a bit of the NCAA basketball tourney.  We have always enjoyed filling out our brackets and were excited for the boys to join this tradition.  Bedtime??  Nah...brackets are MUCH more important.

Cole's bracket...not too shabby!  

We've all picked the Cats to be in the finals and come out on top...if not the Vols, then go Big Blue!

Day with Dad

Michael finished work last Friday morning around 10 and declared it a 'Day with Dad'.  Lucky for me, the boys let me come along and we enjoyed a fun, family day.

First up, we headed towards Green Hills and where Michael surprised me by dropping me at Trader Joe's to wander at my leisure.  Hold the phone, but I had NEVER stepped foot inside the hip, foodie, health food grocery.  I know, I know...where in the world have I been??  Been to Whole Foods numerous times, but we just stay local with Hendersonville Produce and the Kroger Martetplace organic section.  LOVED taking my time in each aisle, admiring new products and reading tons of labels.  I even picked up a few new snacks to try and a Firecracker chocolate bar per Michael's request (what a crazy concoction!).  While I 'shopped' the boys played at Brilliant Sky (one of our favorite toy stores) across the street.  Win-Win for everyone!

Next we stopped for lunch at Tazikis Cafe.  Delicious Mediterranean cuisine that we rarely get to enjoy apart from our local Cafe Rakka.  The pesto chicken wrap is exceptionally yummy!

After lunch, Michael already had a dessert place in mind, but when we passed The Sugar Dive, we couldn't pass up exploring a new shop.  SO glad we stopped in...what a cute soda shop style candy store.  Boys were in sugar heaven!

Cole's favorite corner - Jellybeans!

Party room upstairs.  SO cute!

 Phillips Toy Mart was up next...it's a favorite of ours and a staple in the Belle Meade area.  The boys played and we picked up a few upcoming birthday presents.

Lastly, we travelled back towards home, devoured books and trains at Barnes & Noble, and tried out Pie Five for dinner.  Pizza was delicious and the boys loved creating their own pie and watching it be prepared.

Headed straight towards the truck and vehicle books

We so treasure our family date days together.  Thankful...  

 

You're Never Too Old...

"What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man...".  Now that you have that song playing through your head (you're welcome), let me say that my main man, Michael J, is just that...mighty good.  He is such a hard worker and has provided faithfully for our family these past 14 years.  Thirteen of those years, he has owned his own appraisal business, Johnson Appraisal Service, and we have been amazed at the way the Lord continues to grow and bless what seemed like a dream just a short time ago.
In 2014, Michael began to feel a desire to branch out from appraising and possibly tackle the real estate field in another way...by becoming a licensed realtor.  His main hope was to team up with a fabulous realty firm, continue appraising BUT be able to only accept local orders (middle TN area...no more Clarksville, etc.), and supplement our income from those far away orders by helping the people in our community buy/sell homes.  More family time at home for daddy and a fabulous partnership with an established business is what we prayed.  After some communication with a dear friend that started her own company not too long ago, we knew that this desire could shortly become a reality with some hard work and dedication.  Sooo, off he went to classes and other mentorship meetings and proudly passed the test in the fall of last year.  Say hello to Michael Johnson...Licensed Realtor with Inspired Homes.

Inspired Homes is a wonderful company founded by Sandi Sagaser...a friend and amazing realtor that we chose to help us during our last move.  Not only does she posses extensive knowledge of the current market but she exudes a level of excellence like no other and truly treats every client as if they are family.  These qualities, along with many others, are what makes Inspired Homes such a perfect fit for us.  They carry the high standards that we hold dear such as faith and integrity...we couldn't be more thrilled!  Click here to see the press release printed in our local paper about Michael joining the Inspired Homes team and help us spread the word.  Spring is always the perfect time for buyers and sellers alike so, as always, let us know how we can serve your real estate needs.

* And remember, you're never too old to try something new!  

** Like our FB pages - Inspired Homes and One Way Real Estate.  
*** Contact Michael:  michaeljrealty@gmail.com

ANOTHER snow day!

Here we are on the 3,287th snow day it seems.  I do think winter just might last forever.  After the last round of ice and snow that kept us holed in for a week, we had hoped that spring was on the way.  Seems as if we were wrong and Mr. Groundhog was right in his prediction of winter lasting a bit longer.  The weather changed from a balmy 63 degrees on Wednesday afternoon to below freezing that night.  Those below freezing temps weren't wasted though as Thursday greeted us to another round of snow that didn't disappoint...close to four inches!

My parents had just returned from their 2 month beach stay so heading to their home with my brother and his family was the perfect winter reunion.  Michael had work to finish, so Kyle picked up the boys and I and we made the short, icy trek down the street for an afternoon filled with snowy fun.

They were at the pool in FL just two days prior...welcome home!! :)  We are so glad to have Papa and Gigi back in good ol' TN!

Best uncle ever!

Always. A. Vehicle. In. Hand.

Snow angels!

This snow wasn't ideal for packing and building, but we did manage to have a family snowball fight.  And there are no pics of me b/c I held the camera all day...at least it kept me from being pelted with snow :)  The boys had a ball!

We've all had our fill of sledding and snow...spring, we are ready for you!