April 2018 Family Update

We kicked off April with our Spring vacation. However, April 1st was also Easter. We couldn’t fathom missing our 1st Easter at New Tribe so we delayed our departure by a few hours and it was definitely worth it! The church has grown so much since we started attending around Thanksgiving, so they launched a 2nd service on Easter Sunday. It was super exciting to be a part of the inaugural 9 am service! Since then Mike has been serving in the kid’s ministry and I have become a part of the Welcome Team. After the struggle we faced last year trying to connect at various churches in the area, being a friendly face to a newcomer is something that has become near and dear to me despite how far it is outside my introverted bubble. Everyone is so genuine, friendly, and welcoming at New Tribe that it’s pretty easy to follow their lead! Our small groups (ahem, Tribe Groups) also kicked off this past month and we are enjoying getting to know other families. Our little group is just precious to me. We are all at different stages of life and spirituality but we seem to click pretty well!

Ok, back to vacation. We spent a week in Washington DC and it was fabulous! There is no way to do everything in one week but that didn’t stop us from trying. LOL! We visited…

Ford’s Theatre
Spy Museum
Museum of Natural History – The gem exhibit was a highlight for me.
Air & Space Museum – This was a favorite for Skylar.
Botanical Gardens – It was orchid season but I loved the medicinal garden best.
Museum of the Bible – Absolutely fascinating! I could have spent another day here.
Arlington Cemetery – Saw the changing of the guard and visited several other areas.
Annapolis & Chesapeake Bay
Monument Tour – We did this at night and it was spectacular. Saw Lincoln, Jefferson, MLK, Vietnam, Roosevelt, WWII, Washington Monument, and the Cherry Blossoms which smelled amazing!
Capitol Building – We had a fabulous tour guide and also got to see Representative Cooper’s office.
Library of Congress
Air & Space Hangar – This was a last-minute stop on our way out because Skylar enjoyed the other museum so much. I think we all really enjoyed this one!

Now, I did all the historical things for my people because I love them but, truly, I vacation for the food! D.C. did not disappoint. I feel like we ate our way around the world while we were there. We also stayed in an awesome Air B&B in a residential brownstone area that was perfect for us! Despite us coming home exhausted, it really was a great trip! We also had a great house sitter while we were away. Ben did a great job keeping the BFF running and feeding our critters.

Once we were home things didn’t slow down. My workload is busier than ever and Mike made the decision to change companies. It’s something we’ve been talking about since December and an opportunity presented itself so the time felt right. He’s still settling in but we think this was a really good move for us personally and for him career wise.

Softball season has also started back up. Skylar is with the same coach and many of the same girls from her team last year. They picked the team name, Blue Lightning this year and Opening Day was this past Saturday.

Many of you know that I have dealt with depression almost my entire life and anxiety in the last few years. This past fall I began taking CBD oil and it has been a game changer. Despite the winter that didn’t seem to want to end, this was my easiest cold season yet. Mike has also started taking it for his arthritis and joint pain and has finally stopped taking one million ibuprofen every day. He says he’s sleeping better and it’s helping his tummy troubles too. I’m even able to eat gluten for the first time in 3.5 years. Y’all I am such a believer in CBD oil that I became a distributor for the company. If you want more info, please let me know and I’ll be happy to share. This stuff is amazing and is helping so many people in my life.

The BFF got another upgrade this week and we checked another item off our list. Skylar has been driving our new 4-wheeler around everywhere.

This month I worked with 2 sweet families who are repeat clients. It’s always exciting to help a mama welcome a new baby when we’ve worked together before.

Our co-op has ended for this semester. We wrapped up with Field Day this past week, which is always the highlight at the end of the school year. Skylar also competed in 4H and won for 5th grade in Food Science in Wilson County. She moves on to sub-regionals this coming week. I’m so proud of her!!!

I think that will just about wrap it up for April. Stay tuned for May. Surely things will slow down a little bit. Oh wait. It’s about to be grass cutting season again. LOL!