September, October, and November

- December 26, 2017

Ok, here we go! September was a WILD month for us. Little Hallie was only four months old when she got to experience her first hurricane! We traveled up to my sister's house in Chattanooga to stay safe from the winds, rain, and tornadoes. It was heartbreaking to see the many lives and homes affected by this terrible storm!

We also visited Charleston, SC to see family also for Thanksgiving. There's so many details and stories I want to share. I have so much on my heart that I can't wait to write about but with three kids, I'm just barely putting one foot in front of the other! (let's not even talk about laundry) More to come! :)

boarding up the house :)

the best view in the world! the kids loved going swimming every day this summer. Jude and LK can now both swim independently. Blake is the best swim teacher!

our favorite park in Silver Lakes

So, here's how it all went down. We looked at the weather report and they mentioned that the worst of the storm would hit on a Friday through Monday. So, with three kids (one nursing) and a cat we decided to load up that car randomly on a Tuesday night. We packed up that care in a jiffy and headed to Chattanooga. We didn't feel like it was best to take the cat since we had three kids to take care of so we asked our neighbors to come check on Lolly for us. We have the bets neighbors! They came over and snuggled with her and fed her for us. I as very emotional about this decision because I love our cat but we just didn't have room in the car for a litter box or patience for a loud anxious animal. Haha! So, we took a picture with Lolly cat in case our roof flew off and she was caught up in the wind. haha!

I remember watching the news reports and the worst part of the storm was predicted to hit our side of town. We didn't expect to come home to much of anything but the Lord certainly spared our little house. It was just devastating to see the damage to the islands, the keys, Puerto Rico, etc. So many of our friends and loved ones here in South Florida have family in the areas that were affected.

twelve hours in the car together. wow. serious bonding time, right?

We finally made it to Aunt Amy and Uncle Kevin's house, yay! The kids were fascinated with the roads, the hills, rocks, pine cones, trees, birds, etc. They were just amazed at how different everything looked. It was so generous of my sister to allow us to crash at her place indefinitely. We just waited for the storm to approach and it felt like the longest nightmare. Thankfully, our house was fine! In the meantime, we had a wonderful visit with almost all of our family! We haven't really taken a vacation since we've had kids sooo this was perfect!

When you live in Florida and you girls have "fall photos" ahah! We don't really have fall clothes or fall weather here.

I am so glad that I was able to hug this special lady right here! Atlee and I have been friends since high school. She just happened to be right down the road. What a gift you are!!