Christmas Vacation 2014

The night before we left for New England, my parents came to our house to give August his Christmas presents. We ordered curry and sesame chicken, opened presents and visited into the night. August sleepily played with his new truck ("truck-ah") and mega blocks. They picked us up early the next morning so we could catch our flight to New England.

....................

August, Papi and Grandma are ready for the Christmas Eve service and party. We decorated the water with mint, cranberry and orange slices for both Christmas dinner and the Christmas Eve party. (It is delicious! Try it.) August was intrigued by all of Grandma's decorations and walked through the house requesting the all the "light" be turned on. 

....................

August was quiet and observant as we opened present Christmas morning. He took hours to open his gifts because we let him open one then play until he was ready for the next. The slow pace was very nice though it did set us back a bit on our Christmas dinner preparations. This year he got lots of trucks and puzzles, a record player and books.

....................

Grandma makes delicious honey rolls for Christmas morning that August called "cookies." We found him sneaking them off the table when we weren't watching.

....................

We were able to stay in Boston for ten days so we had lots of play time with the cousins (not pictured) and were even able to get outside a few days as the highs hit the 50s. Brandon and I snuck off for a date night to the Elm Draft House. We perused Ikea where August tried to take every Sneezy (panda bear) he spotted in everyone else's carts. I especially enjoyed watching the victorious Clemson bowl game with everyone while we ate Pizzeria Regina with Draft House popcorn.

My #together2014 Reflection

"Love Grows" pillow by Allison Reeves

This week I have created space to sit and ponder all that 2014 meant to our family. Since Summer 2013, Brandon and I had felt the Lord stirring our heart towards change. We knew God was nudging us to make conscious decisions to build the life He visioned for our family. In true God-time and fashion, this soul-changing process took much longer than we anticipated. By January 2014, I was praying Psalm 32 over our lives: "Lord, make us wise. Show us where to go. Guide us, watch over us!" We hunkered down, planned weekend events for the three of us, went on short trips and generally spend time together. We waited and we prayed and we talked to friends and family for discernment. With the news of our second pregnancy and many God-opened doors, we decided to rent our house and move back to James Island.

Our reasons for the move are various including being closer to church community, spending more time with my Grammie, preparing space for our transition to a family of four and freeing up some budget money to live generous lives. Our heart has been to welcome others into our home for meals and fellowship, to give and provide for others as so many have done for us. A constant prayer of mine is that August (and our subsequent children) would know that they are not the center of anything but a valuable part of the Kingdom. We want to structure our family life in a way that allows us to show our children the importance of generosity (of time, resources, passions, finances). 

In order to do this, we have downsized our home significantly. We live in the garage apartment behind my grandmother's house. Currently, this is a one-bedroom apartment but we are renovating the garage into living space. Brandon has been working every night and weekend to ensure that August will not be in our closet much longer. This move is unconventional and strange to some (downsizing space while growing a family, huh?), but it is certainly a calling from the Lord. We are equally excited and overwhelmed most of the time.

And so, my One Little Word for 2014, together, resulted in a year of wonderful Loy family adventures and culminated in a move to a one-bedroom residence back on our beloved James Island. The Lord has certainly shown us where to go and now I continue to ask that He "watch over us." 

I am still praying for my word and verse for 2015. I hope to share that soon as well. Thanks for listening and following us on this journey. 

A Little Loy Announcement

Things have been very quiet here over the last few weeks. I have half-written birthday posts and letters to my siblings in the drafts folder along with many September pictures and memories to share. But for a few more days, things will be quiet. This video explains why. See you in a few weeks, friends.

A New England August || Part 03: Coastal Maine

During our New England vacation, everyone was working and Grandma was still in Pennsylvania on Monday so we drove to Maine for a cliff walk. We intended to drive a bit further up the coast but we stopped in York (due to a carseat-weary toddler). I've always been blessed with beautiful white sandy beaches so seeing people in beach chairs on the small patches of sand was definitely a bit strange. In my mind why bother? but then I consider the alternative (no beach time) and I know I'd join the locals if I were one. 

After stretching our legs along the rocky path for a bit, we continued up to Perkins Cove for a bit of lunch at The Roost. The Cove was just slammed with tourists so we only drove through to fondly recall our day alone there years ago. The Roost was not busy but we ordered our sandwiches to go so we could sit in the sunshine and let August roam a bit. 

If you've been here long, you may recall that Brandon and I just 100% love Maine. This quick morning trip had me pining again for a one-day relocation to the Polar Star State. There are no plans and no easy way to see it happening but its still a Loy dream that we hold loosely. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my stash of Maine birch that I rescued from fiery doom. It is happily scattered throughout my house now.

A New England August || Part 02: Upper Charles Trail

Caneva watches David and Chloe two days a week. While we were visiting, August enjoyed the extra cousin time. He and David are becoming good buddies. One morning, we walked a part of the Upper Charles Trail through Milford. 

David wanted to hold August's hand the whole walk. When David got out to walk, August wanted to join him. Little men...

A New England August || Part 01: Hopkinton

If you follow me on Instagram, you know we went to New England for Papi's birthday and to surprise  Grandma. We spent the majority of our days in the back yard by the lake, splashing, wagoning, fishing and exploring. August even showed up his Southern mumma by going in the icy lake. 

When he wasn't being pulled in the wagon with his cousin, August ran loops around the house, pulling the mini wagon through the soft grass. He also pushed David around on his tricycle; thanks for being such a good sport, David!

All the grandkids love Papi and August is no exception. We visited Papi's work on his birthday and got a tour of the pit. August wasn't so sure about his hard hat but he loved the various life-sized trucks. 

Family Portrait 08

Photo by: Nikon 10-second timer

Location: Lake Maspenock

Date: 8/19/2014

I've been trying to do a legs-only family portrait since January. 

We haven't nailed it until this one which harkens back to this image from last December. 

Family Portrait 07

Photo by: Allison Reeves

Location: Linville Falls

Date: 7/4/2014

Same photo as in our Linville post but I wanted to officially mark it as our July portrait.

The Old MG

August Ransom: 2014

Claire Elizabeth: 1984

Our Independence Weekend || Part 02: Clemson

Muldrow (our library)

On Saturday, we breakfasted on the back deck before wandering backroads to Clemson. We strolled the campus, explored Muldrow and walked around Death Valley. We stopped for lunch at Pot Belly's (of course) and drove through downtown Central past our old house. 

Harden (the History building)

Being back in those buildings resurfaced my love of research and study; something about the early mornings and late nights spent in Harden and Muldrow, buzzing on caffeine and exam jitters. I wish I could be a full-time student; I am also extremely content with my life today. Perhaps one day I'll go back to school. 

In the meantime, I am glad this How to Study in College book is getting so much use. Keep studying, kids. 

Our Independence Weekend || Part 01: Linville Gorge

We escaped to the Upstate last weekend for cooler weather. We knew the coast was supposed to be rainy and were feeling trapped in a heat cloud. Brandon decided it was time we cool down in some caverns. Fortunately there are caverns not too far from our good friends, the Reeves, so they were able to join us on the 4th of July for some caving and waterfall hiking. (Apparently, Nora Dog really likes me.)

Linville Cavern was really interesting and the perfect length of time for August. He wanted to walk the whole time, but it was slippery and rocky so we carried our squirmy boy. The bridge over the bottomless spring was really colorful but kind of creepy. When they turned the lights off for total darkness, August turned his head back and forth searching for light. 

We then drove up the road to hike a bit in Linville Gorge. The lookouts over Linville Falls, the most popular waterfall in the Blue Ridge, provided some beautiful views. August smiled and squealed from his spot in the hiking backpack; that kid loves to be outside. 

Exhausted from our day, we spent the evening in the pool, watching the hummingbirds and waiting on the lightning bugs. We were chilled several times throughout the beautiful, humidity-free day. We could not have asked for lovelier weather.

I am also happy to report that several things on my list of 30 were checked off. I'm working on an updated post to track my progress. Only 2.5 months left!