Year In Review: July - November

As I look back at these pictures from the warmer days, I am thankful for the ever-changing seasons. This Christmas season is sweeping me up in all the happy moments in which it has to offer. Not much I love more than gift-giving or retrieving a new bundle of cards from the mailbox. We enjoyed walking the Marion Walkway of Lights last weekend on a brisk Saturday evening. It truly put me in the Christmas spirit. Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a little boy is a privilege too. I cannot even count how many times Bennett said "look" as we passed the many light displays. He was in awe!

JULY

Now to remember back to what we were up to back in July. Grandma coaxed Bennett to get into the water during our July 4th gathering, back at the pond. He has never loved water, but we were proud of him for trying it out.

Nate celebrated his birthday, early July. We gifted him some binoculars, Bennett went to grab his toy binoculars, and I thought it called for a picture. It is precious to see how much Bennett looks up to his father. I am so thankful that my little guy has such a wonderful role model in his daddy.

More trips to the park!

My family was off to Branson, Missouri at the end of July for vacation. We hit up a few parks on the way to Branson, and a park in Terra Haute, IN offered a train ride. No way could we pass that up.

We did some sight-seeing via a golf cart ride. That was our version of hiking for the week.

I would say that they definitely look like siblings.

Here we were lining the grandchildren up, oldest to youngest, for my mom's Christmas photo.

Grandpa, Coy, and Bennett.

I sure enjoyed having Dana spend the weekends with us when she would come see Alec, during their engagement. She would take time, away from her studies, to accompany me to the parks and coffee shops, always willing to play with my kids. Let's face it, she still tags along with me and my crazies=)

AUGUST

Tim, Crystal, and their six kids came out to visit us early August. We tried to make it fun. Golf cart rides and spending time at the pond were enough to entertain their crew.

Lacie and Bennett really enjoy playing with each other

Calla with her big cousin Sawyer.

Nate's work also sponsored a trip to the zoo. We got to feed some lettuce to the giraffe.

Love spending time with my favorites!

Dana's wedding was beautiful. I was honored to be part of it!

She made such a stunning bride, and she was a great sport planning a wedding during such an uncertain period of time. Thankfully their wedding went as normal as possible.

My handsome date.

SEPTEMBER

September brought some more motivations for a few projects. I went out on a limb and tried peel-and-stick wallpaper for the first time in Bennett's room.

I like how it turned out, but it was a bit time-consuming.

Here I painted a few pumpkins that we picked from our patch.

OCTOBER

Nate and I went to Shipshewana, just the two of us, for a quick get-away. We stayed at the Blue Gate Inn and had a nice, relaxing time. We had never left Calla overnight before, but she was perfectly fine and thoroughly enjoyed getting spoiled at Grandma's house.

These pictures give me all the fall feels again. Sunday morning photos on the back patio.

I. AM. BLESSED.

We met Nate's family at a park near Lima, Ohio one Sunday afternoon. Cousin Austyn is holding Calla here!

NOVEMBER

We have been updating the carpet in a few of the rooms in our house. New carpet makes things feel so fresh and clean. In October we did two bedrooms and in November we had the living room done.

A strong wind came through and took down our apple trees one weekend.

Bennett thoroughly enjoyed helping Daddy in the back-ho.

My brother's kids came to stay with us for a couple days. I got to test out being a mom to six kids. I liked it, but I still do not see six kids in my future. 

Here Nate is dropping the oldest three off at the bus.

We were off to Ohio, to celebrate Thanksgiving with Nate's family. Calla enjoyed chilling in this chair.

Grandma and Grandpa carving the turkey.

Lacie and Bennett play so well together!

I would say that about wraps things up. Our December has not been too eventful yet, but the next few days are sure to make up for that. Thankful that we have the opportunity to celebrate Christ's birth. "Tis not the manger, but the cross, which sets the Spirit free." 

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas season!

Year In Review: January - June

As I scrolled through the hundreds of photos from this past year, I realized that it actually has been somewhat of an eventful year for us. Let me take you on a walk down Zollinger memory lane.

January

The beginning of the year started out with a bang, which involved getting my wisdom tooth removed. I guess I can call myself blessed since I only possessed one wisdom tooth total, but it was still quite an ordeal. The tooth was causing havoc and it needed to come out. I did not take it very easy afterwards (it is called mom life folks), which caused the bleeding not to clot. I then developed a tooth infection. TALK.ABOUT.PAINFUL. It was a rough experience. I told Nate that I would have rather given birth than go through such intense mouth pain. 

Thankfully my mouth began to feel a bit better in time for our trip to Sarasota, Florida. We enjoy basking in some warmer weather at some point during the Winter.

It is astounding to me how much Calla has changed in the last year. 

She is no longer a baby.

We got to spend some quality time with Nate's parents, who were down there for an extended period, which was another good reason to go.

We scouted out many of the local parks in which Florida had to offer. At this phase of life, we are always looking for a place to let the kids run off some energy.

Traveling with young children is not the definition of relaxing, but it was definitely worth the effort.

February

February must have held time for a few projects. I gave our bathroom floor some character using WallPops vinyl floor tiles. I just placed them right over the existing linoleum.

Before: goodbye boring old linoleum. 

I love decorating with black and white. These floor tiles were user-friendly and hold up quite well. I am very happy with how it turned out!

I transformed the signs (on the left) into something more my taste (on the right). I like to find cheap signs that I can repaint and add to my decor.

Below is another sign I made for Calla's room. I must have had projects on my brain during this month. 

March

Our house got reroofed in March, specifically the two-story part. Every time a major wind storm (or not-so-major storm) would come through, we would lose a few shingles. It was time. I do not mind heights, but it did not look like a fun job if you ask me. 

I believe March was also, when our church made the decision to shut down temporarily due to COVID and limiting large gatherings was encouraged.

My family still got together every Sunday and had our own service, plus Sunday school for the kids. Although we missed going to church, it was a special time and special memories were made.

Next is the "before" photo of another project that happened during the month of March. My sister-in-law had intentions of doing a makeover on this play kitchen, but never got around to it. Now her kids are growing out of the phase where they would play with it. 

I took it off of her hands. This project took me a few weeks, but I think the final result turned out to be a major improvement.

Nate and I made a coffee table for our living room. I am pretty sure that we were on a stay-at-home order when all of these projects were happening.

April

I had to get a Sunday morning Easter picture with my baby girl. We still did our best to get dressed up and go through our normal Sunday-morning routine, even though we were not going to our typical church building.

My family had church and Easter all in one that Sunday. Bennett enjoys swinging, especially with cousins at grandma's house.

Daddy and his girl, matching and all.

The biggest event of the year took place in April. Alec and Dana became engaged! Seriously the highlight of the year. 

Alec basically become part of our family, living with my mom and dad for several months. Meanwhile, he developed feelings for Dana. Dana and I had become good friends during the years I lived in Ohio (she being from Ohio), and we kept in touch off and on.

The Lord is truly full of surprises, and it was such a privilege to see how God brought them together. Now my cute little Ohio friend is married to the love of her life, and she lives 5 minutes down the road from me. NEVER.WOULD.HAVE.GUESSED

Nate's grandpa passed away near the end of April. We traveled out to Ohio for the funeral. It was good to see familiar faces, many of which we had been distanced from for a few months. Here Calla is enjoying some time with her Grandpa Zollinger.

May

I feel a bit silly sharing my endless projects on here, but I know I will enjoy looking back on these posts  and reminiscing on what I was up to back in the year 2020. 

I got into sponge painting this year. This was my first wall to sponge. I had so much fun adding this accent wall to our stairway!

Bennett turned three years old on May 12th. He thoroughly enjoyed his day to the fullest.

We also got ourselves a dog during the month of May. After a few months, we realized that an energetic puppy was not a good fit for our family. Ivy (the dog) now lives across the road with her new owner Colten (our nephew).

We also became the home to eleven baby kittens. Our two mother cats birthed their kittens on the same day and in the same spot. No clue which kitty belonged to which mama. They were cute and cuddly, but we were glad to pass along a few to family and friends. No need for more cats around here. WE.HAVE.PLENTY.

May also included many golf cart rides. A common request from Bennett is to go across the road, to the shop, and see the machinery. It never gets old to a little boy.

June

A special baby girl hit the one year mark in June. We love our happy Calla Jade girl.

She did not mind her cake one bit. We feel so blessed to have Calla as our daughter. She is such a privilege to raise. I really think that one of the greatest gifts, you can give a child, is a sibling. Bennett and Calla have really been enjoying each other these last few months. Of course, they have their squabbles, but I know that is to be expected.

June also brought about many evenings at the family pond. Golf carts coming together and enjoying one another's company. I miss those warm evenings but am relishing in this season too.

I will wrap up with one more project. Can you believe it? Yep, more sponge painting. I went with a triangle pattern here. So much easier and quicker than wallpaper, all while getting a very similar look.

Well folks, those were the main events from the first half of our year. I enjoyed reflecting back and remembering what all went on. God has been so faithful and constant to us during this roller-coaster of a year. I know that I feel so undeserving but eternally grateful for an omnipresent and omnipotent Savior.