Thanksgiving 2018

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year! 

My baby sister made us this beautiful chalkboard art. I love her turkey!

My mom made a turkey hat for my nephew's first Thanksgiving! It was a little big on him. 😂

Katelyn being a cool aunt. Collin Levi is definitely spoiled.

Time for food! My family made a lovely meal for us. We had Turkey, biscuits, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, corn, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, coleslaw and Stephanie made potato salad. oh and of course gravy. Can't have Thanksgiving dinner without the gravy! 

Matt getting some turkey. My dad cooked a great bird, it was very good! 

Katelyn helping get Collin Levi's plate ready.

Loved seeing everyone gathering around the table. We were just missing my brother Brandon and his girlfriend. They are living in Washington State now and we miss them.

My Dad's post-lunch nap 😂 - to be fair he looks pretty comfy!

Mom and Jeremiah enjoying Baby Henry snuggles. He is a very chill baby and loves cuddles.

Dessert time! We had pies and Ice cream

I made Peanut butter pie as usual. It's heavenly! I've got my own recipe down by now and I enjoy making it.

Caleb enjoying ice cream and pie 

 My grandparents stopped by briefly and I got a photo of Baby Henry with his Great-Grandpa!

Uncle Matthew enjoying the baby. When you are a new baby in a big family someone is always ready to hold you!

Justin playing games with the kids while Caleb enjoys cheese and crackers

It was a lovely day with my family! 

Love, Rebecca

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Another Nephew to Love!

 Saturday morning at 4:05am my second nephew joined the world! My brother and his wife have named him Henry. 

Henry was one day early and his birth was way less dramatic compared to Collin Levi's.

Big brothers amirite?

Collin Levi meeting his new baby brother. Collin will be turning three next month. 

My parents and my grandmothers. My grandpa wasn't well enough to go visit while Sarah was in the hospital.

 Collin and Sarah with Baby Henry.

 Collin Levi thought the baby was cool and all but the donut needed attention first.

Family photo!! Collin Levi is slightly confused that "Henry" is the baby. He think's Sarah's tummy is "Henry". The baby is "baby" 😂

 I'm not sure what that face is from Collin Levi...

Of course I had to get in on the baby goodness and get some cuddles in. It was so surreal. I remember 8 months ago when we were visiting Collin and Sarah for dinner that Sarah said she was feeling off. I thought to myself "ooooh she is pregnant!" 😂 Turns out my suspicion was true!

I'm so excited to watch this little boy grow up 💓

Love, Rebecca

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Birds of Autumn

Since I was a little girl I have always enjoyed watching birds going about their day. Black-capped Chickadees were frequent visitors to our backyard. I loved their tiny round appearance

 I also learned to identify them by their chirps as a child and would get so excited to hear them!

  My in-laws have several bird feeders in their backyard and I have been enjoying bird watching again. Our apartment has no trees on the property so I don't get to see birds by our place much.

 I will sit on their deck with my camera and just patiently wait for the birds to stop by. 

 The House Finches are the bravest and are not bothered by my presence at all, so all my best photos are of them. 

Sometimes I have Nessa with me and they don't even care. She is a great bird-watching companion. 

 I actually thought these were originally Purple Finches at first but after reading up more on them I definitely think these are House Finches that I saw

 White-breasted Nuthatch at the feeder. I used to call these "Nut-thatches" for the longest time. 

 They don't stop by the feeder for long. Just grab a seed and go.

 I have spotted them in the trees after hearing them tapping for bugs.

 One of the cutest birds I have seen are also the skittish. 

The Tufted Titmouse birds are regular visitors but the slightest movements startle them.

 I have to be super patient trying to photograph them.

This photo didn't turn out great but I thought it looked too cute

I'm proud of this photo. My patience finally paid off and I got a really nice photo

 This photo however is more accurate to what I got from these little guys. I would slowly lift my camera, peer through the lens and snap a photo only to discover I was too late. 

I have seen a few other birds but haven't gotten good photos of them yet. This is a screenshot from a video I took. That was the only time I've seen a Downy Woodpecker at the feeder. I have also seen a yellow-bellied Woodpecker one time but I didn't even have my camera that day.

I am enjoying spending time outside watching for birds and hanging out with Nessa is pretty awesome too. She is one cool puppy!

Do you enjoy bird watching? What bird are you excited to see?

Love, Rebecca

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Finding Hope

One of the benefits of blogging for me is the ability to look at my older posts I've written throughout the years. It's like a little snapshot of who I was at the time, what issues I was struggling with, and what things made me smile. It also helps me see how far I've come and

what things I still need to change. 

I was browsing through the archives on this blog for memory's sake. I saw my posts about my nephew's birth, family events, and fun trips. Seeing photos of my siblings so young are bittersweet- but it's exciting to see how much they have grown!

Some posts though tugged at my heart strings. Especially the ones back in 2014. I was in the darkest, blackest, most suffocating hole of depression at that time. I was trying to adapt to my new situation with a horrible back injury and it wasn't going well. Everything felt hopeless. I remember it far too well. 

Four years have passed and some things have changed. The most obvious change is the severity of the pain. I still struggle with pain but its not destroying-my-life levels of pain like it used to be. I've learned my physical limits, I've learned how to be more careful and I've learned to accept the injury. I'm also getting help for my depression now. 

I feel really bad for past me. That was such a dark time in my life and looking back on it, I feel sad. Just genuinely sad. 

I don't know what else to say. “Life gets better,” I guess? It's not how I would prefer things to be, but it did get better. It's hard when you are in the thick of it to see that there is a way out, that there is hope. Sometimes it just takes a while to find it. Don't give up 💗

Love, Rebecca

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Meet Nessa

After the passing of Mason back in March my in-law's were heartbroken. They decided to wait on getting another dog until the perfect one came along.

 When they heard about the chocolate Labrador puppy that was born missing her left paw my in-laws felt that this pup was meant to be in our family.

This adorable little girl joined the family in May. She was tiny, spunky and was busy exploring her new world.

My in-laws gave her the name "Nessa" although I like to call her Nessa-bit.

 I don't know why it just sounds right for some reason to me!

Her paw deformity does slow her down a bit. She can run and play but limps a bit.

I enjoyed experiencing playing with a young puppy again. 

I did not enjoy puppy teeth again though. So sharp!

Nessa enjoying being a big baby and being held 😂

Nessa has really pretty golden eyes with a bit of green on the edges. As she has grown her fur has become slightly wavy on her back. 

She is kinda terrified of her fur brush though so it's a task to comb her. 

She is my father-in-law's partner in crime. She absolutely adores him. 

Here she is just a few days ago at about 6 months old. She is starting to look like an adult Lab. She loves rope toys and destroying her rope toys. She is pretty good with"Sit" but still a bit stubborn about "Nessa, Come" 

Sometimes while my in-laws are at work I go over and take her outside and we watch for birds and play. Now that it is autumn I throw leaves up into the air and she tries to catch them. 

Nessa is a wonderful dog and I am glad she found her way to our family. I hope she has a long and happy life! 

Love, Rebecca

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