love these 2

This past year has been tough for various reasons.  It has been exciting (new job, passing the bar) and fun (seeing family so frequently) as well, but being apart from Em and Max is never fun.  So now that I am taking the UT bar, I need a little more time to study because I am working full time and I don't have two months to prepare like I did last time.  That necessitated Em and Max leaving for a month or so while I study - when they are around I just have no desire and I feel guilty for neglecting them.  So they went to Florida to see Missy, Jimmy, and Donna and then they will go to PA to see my family and then to Franklin to see Bob and Carol.  It was not fun saying goodbye again so soon after moving into our new home, but after I take the UT bar in February things will settle down.  Here are two pics that I snapped as I watched them go through security.  Okay, now I am going to try to force myself to be enthralled with Evidence and Contracts.

blue and orange

Max has been eating macaroni and cheese for a few weeks now, but today is the first day I let him make a total mess of himself and the floor feed it to himself.

I also made peanut butter cookies that were honestly melt-in-your-mouth good. A peanut butter cookie, you say? Indeed. I never think they are worth raving about, but these were perfection. Nate ate six. Or seven. Maybe it was six and then another seven? 

Today I let Max play with his food, and I filled Nate's belly with delicious treats. It's important to remember the little things I do so that I don't dwell so much on the things that I don't.

new kid

builder boys

Since moving in two and a half weeks ago, we've gotten our things pretty well organized and put away. I even have the holiday bins sorted and right where I want them in the closet in the office. I love our house for many reasons, but having so many closets and so much storage space has been a new experience for us. And with more space than before, our things suddenly don't seem so plentiful. One of our first furniture purchases has been a set of two stools for the kitchen. Nate put them together the other night while Max "helped." It was the cutest thing watching Max mimic his dad. He only had to watch once to know that the screws went in the holes and were turned by the Allen wrench.