Zeke turns 7

Zeke wanted an Octonaut party this year.  We chose an orange/blue/green theme and ran with it.  We made cupcakes and played games with a couple friends and family.  This was a strange birthday since we moved, but it was really really good too.  I can't believe he is 7.  The whole day I just kept thinking back over the day he was born and all the details of him so tiny.  

A tissue paper banner

cupcakes

Breakfast for the birthday boy

Octonauts banner

He is really 7

Asheville Anniversary trip

We snuck away for a couple days and had the best time in the mountains.  I am not sure what has happened but I think I might be changing from a beach person to a mountain person...

Utah trip

In June, Young Living sent me on a trip to Utah to visit their headquarters and the lavender fields.  It was crazy and cool getting to go on a "business trip".  I missed Spence and the kids, but getting a full night's sleep 4 nights in a row, in a GORGEOUS setting, with much pampering was so so great.  Loved my time away and getting to learn more about the amazing oils that we love as a family.

headquarters

visiting headquarters

the mountains were breathtaking

I got to meet the top of the team I am on, Lindsay :)

These are the baby lavender plants we got to plant

It's gonna grow big and beautiful and be someone's oil one day

Lavender selfie

Leaping in the lavender fields

It smelled like heaven

Seriously, those mountains

It goes from plant to bottled all on the farm.  So incredible to see the process

Everyone on my team that was on the trip

Easter

We spent Easter with our dear friends and had such a great day.  We love living life and doing big and small together.  

Pelican's

We love snoballs, we love the Gastons, but the combo was EPIC.  Yay for fun times with sweet friends before we move.

Diary of a church planter's wife- our first meetings

We had our first official meeting of Mercy Church on Sunday February 8.  We met in our house and had about 30 people who have signed on to move from Raleigh with us to Charlotte.  It was absolutely incredible

I stood in the back and I took this picture.  And just was blown away.  I had two thoughts as I sat watching Spence talk to our team.  One was "oh, no, this is real.  How am I going to tell Spencer that I can't do this and we are so not moving".  The other was "wow, it's happening and this is exactly what God has been preparing us to do."

The following week, Spence and I went to Charlotte to have our first meeting of the Charlotte based portion of Mercy.  I so enjoyed meeting everyone from there and putting names and faces together.  

It was so great how quickly people started making relationships and hanging out.  I loved watching everyone make connections.  It was seriously so good for me to see the groups and everything coming together.  Our second time for both groups was this past week and we attempted to video conference.  The tech part didn't go well, but the unity already was overwhelming.  I had to run upstairs for a second during our time and when I came back down I saw two people who hadn't known each other before praying together.  And ya'll that right there.  That is what gets me so excited and pumped up for all this.  It makes the moving and leaving friends and all the change so much easier.

Merry Christmas