Halloween!

Sunday was a simple day full of candy for Addie. We had the church's harvest festival after church and then a night with the Hamons. I think Addie started eating candy before we went out and had another piece before bed. Needless to say, she was literally spinning around in circles before we attempted to put her down for the night. She didn't have the most creative costume this year but she enjoyed wearing it...butterflies are a favorite in her mind. Jack, Soren and Shiloh were "team Curious George" and they were tied for the best costume with Rylan and Elle who were Colonel Sanders and a rooster. Luckily I have very creative friends. :)

Mimi and Papa's visit

We never get to have Mimi and Papa come enough but it's always a treat when they do. Baby Blake had a shower on Saturday so Mimi and I headed to do "girlie" things while Chris and Papa entertained Addie. Every year Papa heads to Gettysburg and Addie got to partake in her first Gettysburg attire (chosen by Papa). He did great! Pink with gems with is always a hit for Addie and she wore her hat during dinner.

Trip to Tennessee

It's hard to know where to even start with explaining this trip! We headed out to TN to celebrate my grandfather's surprise 80th birthday party. It was great being with the whole extended family on my mom's side since many of them have not seen or met Addie - crazy! Addie was a trooper with the chaos of us all...she would walk around with her fingers in her ears or run upstairs to read by herself some because it was "too loud down there!" I couldn't help but laugh.

On our way out, we had a layover in Dallas for 3 hours. Some of our dearest friends recently moved there so we shot in the dark to see if we could have some time with them during the layover. It worked!!! They swung by the airport and the girls got to play together for an hour while we all caught up. My heart was full from just being with the Cranks...how I miss them all. Addie's sole close girl friend was Josie (and Anna too) so it was fun to see them play.

In TN, we stayed with my brother's family in Memphis and had a blast with their family. Addie (and us too) fell more in love with her cousins and they all got along perfectly. Quinn and Addie would play dolls or walk around in dress up shoes one minute and run around the house like crazies with the boys the next. It was too sweet to just live a few days with them all. I found myself wanting to be closer to them more and more. Can we pull some states closer together?? Or can they all just move to CA? :)

The party for Big Buddy was a hit. He was shocked and surprised by the festivities...I think he is still processing it all. The family really pulled together to pull off a great event and it all ran smoothly. Chris experienced his first southern-coke-with-peanuts drink. I personally think my cousins lied to him to see if he would really drink it...he did. :) We got a little time with my beautiful sister, two younger brothers, and my folks. It's never enough but we have to be grateful for what we had. All in all, it was a great trip (minus the HORRIBLE trip home...another story for another time). Miss you all!

2.75 years old

Bed hair after a nap...but pretty stinkin' cute.

Our little (big) joy in life

Addie is truly our joy. She has such a vibrant personality and seems to be growing before our eyes. People constantly stop us to commit on how big she is for her age. Lately she has learned to chew gum so I feel like she is a 15 year old. We decided to take some quick family pictures on Friday since we both realized it has been too long since we pulled out the "legit" camera for some Addie shots. She was a little ham for us both and had a great time being her silly self...and yes, she did get a surprise ice cream ,which she LOVED, for modeling for 15 minutes. :)

A new chapter

Today has been a bitter sweet day for Chris and I. Everything about the day was great...played with a dear friend in Avila, Addie took a long nap, did some shopping for Baby XXXX (still no name yet) and a good dinner with the family. However, both Chris and I feel a bit heavy hearted today. Today officially wraps up our time as the Area Director (me the wife) of San Luis Obispo County. A world wind of emotions come along with this change since it was 11 months in coming: relief, peace, guilt, regrets...the list goes on for both pros and cons. When Chris and I married and moved to Paso Robles, we honestly could have told anyone that we were going to be the staff family in the area until we were 80. No joke, those were our words. It's funny how God has such different plans for us...plans we would not even image or sometimes understand.

With saving you too many details since our close friends and family know the story, Chris is moving jobs to be the associate regional director of our region with his amazing boss, Scott Lisea. Luckily for us, we do not have to move since my job is set here (and we own a house that I can guarantee will not sell anytime soon). The new job is PERFECT for him and matches all his strengths and talents more than we can image. He will basically help teach, train and lead the other area directors in our region. It's just weird to step away from the "front lines" of the ministry. We are both taking a break from leading since I have been a leader for 10 years and Chris 12 years. So, as I write, the first Young Life club for Paso High started tonight and we are not there. It's odd. It's definitely not normal and my heart is honestly a bit saddened by the reality. As I write, Chris will officially be finished as the area director of SLO in less than 4 hours and a new area director is already being considered. As I write, we embark on a new chapter and adventure with this new job tomorrow...and Chris will head out to the Valley to already get a jump start on training leaders in club speaking.

The change is good. The change is hard. I have said many of times to God that "this is not what I wanted" but I honestly couldn't tell you what I am wanting now...I'm 8 months pregnant too so the emotions are high. :) I feel all Chris and I can do and say is "we TRUST you Lord. We trust." The future in additional fundraising is draining for the new role, salaries changed, comfortability left...but trust is what we have left. My prayer is for the best, most fruitful year for all our clubs in the SLO county. May God surpass all our understanding and expectations by bringing more kids than even to his feet. I pray too that our family will still have our eyes set on serving and not become complacent is just worrying about us. May we reach out to those around us and be open to new ministry opportunities we might have been blinded by before. My prayers go on and on so maybe this is a good thing for us to go through since it's bringing me to my knees. Please join with me in seeking the Lord in all of this.

Thanks for listening as we await that God has in store for us in this new chapter of the Blake family.