Tag Archives: Dinner

Dinner with Kristee and Josh

A few weeks ago we were invited to Kristee and Josh’s house warming party at their new place in the Steele Creek area of south Charlotte.  I was not able to go to the party because Tom had the flu and Miller had pink eye at the time.  We decided that the best way to see their new house was to drive out there for dinner one night.  Kristee and I have been friends for over ten years.  She read at my wedding and then Tom and I went to her wedding last summer. Kristee and Josh are a fun couple and I was excited to go have dinner at her new house.  Their house was beautiful and just like any newly wed couple, they had more house than furniture.  The running joke of the night was that we stood up to eat in the kitchen and the fire alarms were ringing off and on when we first arrived simply due to the heat of the oven.  :)

They were gracious hosts – we ate a delicious shrimp dinner, drank good wine, and talked about life and family.  Because they are newly weds and Tom and I have been married for nine years, Josh had some really good questions for us about marriage – what keeps the marriage fun?  what allows us to be happily married and not just business partners?  Our top five pieces of advice to them was:  date nights, counseling, remember your vows, be humble, and keep God first.  Marriage is not easy, but if you continue to work at it then it will be enjoyable and lasting.

I am thankful for our friendship with Kristee and Josh and I look forward to dining with them again.  We took a group selfie before we left with the Michigan gnome….

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Doug moves

We had Doug’s family over for dinner Wednesday night for their “last supper” in Charlotte. They moved to Ellicott City, Maryland yesterday morning. I was sad to see them go. Doug and I have always been very close. Of course things have changed a bit since we’ve both gotten married, but I still find comfort in having him right around the corner. I have also really enjoy the pleasure of getting to know his boys, Gabriel and Shepherd. They are sweet, smart and funny nephews and I am glad that I got to see them every Monday and Wednesday at my moms house. My kids have gotten to know Doug and Jacqueline as well.

Our families didn’t get together too often, but the kids saw each other all day, twice a week at Grandma’s house on”Grandma Day”. Over the years the kids have grown quite close and enjoy seeing each other. Faith, Wilson and Gabriel play very well together. I think over the last year or so Gabriel and faith played together often. As for miller and shepherd they were sweet little buddies. I would come over to the house and ask “Where are the little guys?”. I would look for them and find them together under a tree or in my moms bathroom shower playing without the water on. They would go find an adventure somewhere together. I am so glad that they had these years together. I hope that their bond is sealed because of the time spent together and that the relationships pick back up easily when they see each other again. My dad is already planning dates to pick up the boys and bring them here this summer. I think the move will be hardest on my parents, specifically my Dad. I am thankful that they are only moving seven hours away. Dad plans to meet them half way to pick up the boys and bring them to Charlotte for a long weekend.

So far the family has arrived safely in Maryland but it is looking like their furniture won’t be there until next week. I am sure they aren’t too happy about that! Doug starts his new job Monday at T.Rowe Price. God has truly blessed their move from the beginning. Jacqueline got into three great schools and chose Maryland. They sold their house in three days and Doug was offered three different jobs. It has been relatively “easy”. I am sure that moving a family is never easy but it seems that God has paved the way for them. I am sure that they will make friends easily and settle into their new home with excitement.

I have been blessed to have Doug and his family in Charlotte for so many years. I am excited for them and their new adventure.

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Kindergarten Hot Dog Round Up

Faith’s new school, Covenant Day, is doing a great job of welcoming the new kindergarteners and their families. Faith gets mail from them all of the time. We have received bumper stickers, license plates, a backpack name tag, a letter from her teacher, and then there was a dinner for the kindergarten families Tuesday night. The hot dog dinner was in the middle school gym. When we arrived, Faith was given a name tag with her name and a picture of a boot on it. The boot meant that she was in Mrs. Butlers class. We could recognize the other kids in her class because they also had a boot on their name tags. Brilliant!

All of the kids were nervous when they arrived. Most clutched onto Mommy and Daddy in the beginning, but by the end of the dinner most of the kids were running around the gym or playing with the Legos and Playdough that was supplied. Faith was also able to meet Mrs. Butler and her assistant, Mrs. Townsend. They were both super nice. They gave Faith a blue t-shirt that says “Covenant” on it. She has been wearing it as a night shirt for the last two days. She still cries sometimes when she talks about going to school. She cried yesterday, said that she was nervous, and that she had never been away from me before. It was sweet that she wanted to be with me still. It makes me feel good, but I know that she is going to love kindergarten even more. I am excited for her as well!

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CDS Moms Dinner

Faith starts kindergarten in three weeks. I can’t believe it! She is going to covenant Day School in Matthews. It is a Christian school. Because it is a private school we have already had a lot of interaction with the school staff and other kindergarten families. The school held a playground date for the kids in May and there is a Cowboy Roundup in two weeks.  They also sent an email with all of the rising kindergarten mom’s email addresses.  Immediately the mothers began organizing playdates so that the kids could meet before the first day of school.  Then one of the moms organized a night out for the mothers.  On Tuesday night, twenty of the rising kindergarten mothers planned to meet at Brio in South Park.

I had met two of the mothers before, and one of them is a good friend.  Other than that, I didn’t know anyone.  On the way there I prayed that I would meet one woman that I could relate to: someone that was concerned about affording the tuition (like I am) and someone laid back and easy to know.  God immediately answered this prayer.  I walked into Brio and immediately met Jennifer.  She and I were told that the others were in the bar (which they weren’t).  This gave us time to talk for a few minutes while we ordered a drink.  We ended up sitting next to each other for dinner and we had a lot in common.  We both have three kids born in the fall, concerned about affording tuition for three kids, and she is the cheerleading coach (which I am not doing, but can relate).

When we all finally sat down we decided that it would be beneficial to introduce ourselves, tell who our kindergartener is, where we live, and if we work.  Everyone was very nice.  Two of the women I had met other places.  Two other women work with the upper school kids at CDS.  They both said that they were very impressed with the caliber of student that this school helps to produce.  The teens are compassionate, friendly and responsible.  Getting good grades is also “cool”.  Both said that if their kindergartener grows up to be this kind of person then it will be well worth the money. Very good to know.

Other than the tuition, I feel so comfortable sending Faith to this school.  I truly believe that this is where we are supposed to be sending her.  I want her in a Christian environment.  I also want her to be in a school with smaller class sizes (18 students).  Covenant Day is a great school and I feel even better about our decision after meeting the other moms.

 

Dinner with the Bishops

On Saturday night our whole family went over to Josh and Rachel Bishop’s house for dinner. I really enjoy hanging out with them. They are both so easy to talk to, our kids love each other, and we are all very relaxed about what the kids are doing and how they are behaving. It is great to have friends like them.

I have written about Rachel, Peyton and Ava before. They are who we would have four hour long play dates with on a regular basis.  Peyton and Wilson love each other because they can be rambunctious boys together.  Tonight was no different.  The kids had a great time. At one point four of them were in bed together watching a movie.

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Josh, Rachel and the kids will all be moving to Mumbai, India in June.  Josh will be a principal at an Ambassador’s school in Mumbai.  It is one of the top ten schools in the world.  An opportunity that they have been working towards for many years.  I will miss them terribly, but am excited about the opportunity to visit India in the near future.

Because they are moving and can’t take much with them, I was given this awesome, antique, Moroccan vase that was in their attic.  Rachel used to buy and sell Moroccan goods and had a few extra vases laying around (she would).  We also received a larger one as well.  Pretty cool!  What a great friend.

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