January-March: A Quarterly Recap

We wrapped the year of 2016 up and kicked off 2017 with dear friends who joined us at the Hanson B&B.  Shortly after Thing 4's birthday these sweet people arrived and we were nothing less than thrilled to share our home and our favorite Main St. with them.  Little did we know that just a few short months later they would be moving South and calling Franklin home as well.  Our time together included ringing in the New Year, venturing in and around downtown Franklin, the kiddos enjoyed some time together at the movie theatre, rock climbing and hanging out around the house while historic sites were seen.  Games were played, champagne sipped, dances choreographed and documentaries watched.  All in all it was a simply fantastic start to the new year and we are so grateful to have shared it with such special people.  Here are a few photos of our time together:

Mandatory Loveless photo and eats.

Board games galore!

Not the best picture of everyone on NYE but I still love it almost as much as I love all of them!

Rock climbing lesson.

Family snuggles.

From friend visits to permit tests, Thing 4 passed his written exam and was well on his way to driving.  All while Thing 3 prepared and scored a 100% on her driving test.  Marking a new season for the family with three of four kiddos licensed and one with his permit.  I wasn't sure that I would ever rejoice in the fact that my children were driving and on the road by themselves but I will say here, cue the hallelujah chorus.  Having drivers other than Husband Jared and myself has been a sweet gift.  Now of course I miss the windshield time with them, but I do still "force" them into that every so often.  What kind of mother would I be if I didn't?  

One new permitted driver.

One new licensed driver.  

January brought another house guest to the Hanson B&B, my sweet friend Holly.  This visit was filled to the brim with laughter, time around the table and all the coffee we could drink.  Julie, Holly and I played tourist, despite the fact that Holly and Julie both grew up in Franklin.  We visited new coffee shops, strolled 12th South and found our favorite view at Crema while sipping too fancy for us coffee drinks.  Let's see we began our family's journey with Juice Plus as well.  A health focused lifestyle change that has impacted all of our lives.  This on the heels of Husband Jared's major surgery he had to remedy the chronic sinus conditions he had been suffering with.  His surgery had us slow down, at least for a week, his recovery was speedy and the surgery a success, bringing full healing to him.  Praise the Lord!  Thing 3 stepped into a session leader position with Reign Ministries and a majority of her free time was spent at the barn, helping, serving and leading in some capacity or another.  It has been one of the most beautiful things to witness. 

Lifelong friends! 

A special relationship for sure.

Thing 1's birthday was celebrated along with her birthday buddy, Cousin Gemma.  Her day was spent with breakfast at home, present opening, exploring Hillsboro Village and then family dinner and cake at home.  It was quite the day and I pray we continue celebrating each other like this for years to come.  Birthdays are so special, another year of life is such a gift.  

Birthday flowers.

Sal's Pizza for birthday dinner.

Strawberry birthday cake and Baskin Robbins 

ice-cream for the birthday girls!

February is also my birthday month.  And this year, my last year in my 30's I decided to throw myself a party.  A pajama wearing, champagne sipping, brunch party!  It was quite the day, one that left a mark in the very best way.  Some of my closest friends in TN gathered in my home, wearing pajamas as we laughed the day away.  They gifted me with words of encouragement, a precious gift for my soul and a beautiful launch pad into my 39th year.  We made flower crowns, or rather, I attempted to make a flower crown, others were much more successful.  And when the sun went down we were still sitting at the table.  Sharing, telling stories and laughing together.  Such a sweet day.  Husband Jared and I spent my birthday day together exploring the city.  Coffee stops were made, we lunched at Chihuan Ale House, walked through the Farmers Market and Centennial Park and arrived home to finish the day with a family gathering.  Our people came for dinner, cake and ice-cream and hugs.  I felt so loved and am grateful for the opportunity we've had to fill our home with people we love, people we don't know and everyone in between!  In between the birthdays is another one of my favorite holidays, made up or not, Valentine's day, or LOVE day as we call it in our house.  Our love day was a bit different this year because we were on our last day of the SHRED 10, so we simplified dinner and toasted LOVE day with our Complete shakes while we played The Sheriff of Nottingham board game.  It was a fun night, and then when the SHRED ended we loaded up in the car and indulged at De Sano's pizza with pizza pie and cannolis!  A-men.  e H

The table, featuring Events by Goldman, and the chalk board featuring Thing 3's art work! 

Our brunch group, minus a few that were either on their way out or hadn't yet arrived! 

Me and my flower crown!  

Book Club ladies!

Naked cake with Italian meringue frosting, 

a new favorite created by Thing 3. 

Our Valentine celebration: JP Complete shakes!  

Another part of our JP journey, salad in a jar party!  

And after all this, another house guest graced us with her presence.  Albeit a short visit it was still ever so sweet.  We love Laura with all our hearts, every single one of us and we consider her a member of the family.  She was in town for a wedding and extended her stay for a night so she could hang out with us.  First stop: brunch at Pinewood Social, then home for cookie baking and catching up and coffee drinking.  

Family fav.

All the coffee and all the brunch please.

Cookie baking 101.  

Onto the end of our quarterly recap, Thing 4's high school footie season began and during one of the first tournaments he injured himself and off we went to urgent care.  Thankfully, it was minor and only sprained which meant his time off would be limited to 2-3 weeks.  Still, it meant he had to sit still, use crutches and ice and elevate.  I will say the down time was welcomed by this Mama, but I don't ever like to see my Things hurting.  No fun at all.  As an Auntie I so enjoy any one on one time I can have with my nieces and nephews.  A dear friend's sons were in their high school play, Cinderella and so Thing 3 and I took the Horel girls to see the play and had a slumber party!  We played with candy wands and watched attentively as Cinderella and her fairy godmother danced across the stage.  It was a night to remember!  We finally cashed in on our Christmas present from the year before, a session in our home with a private chef.  The Things did a majority of the work, learning some helpful tips and short cuts and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner.  Even Chef Joanna joined us around the table.  Our weather come March was mostly amazing and we took full advantage of it with walks to downtown.  Polo joined us quite often and he was rewarded with pup cups for his hard work!  That makes for one happy dog.  

Ice and elevate.  

Look disappointed that you're on the couch and not on the pitch.  

Magic wands are a necessity. 

All smiles at the play.

Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, Auntie Leanna specialty! 

Pup cup treat!

The finished product! 

Chef Joanna and her students.

Chefs in training.

And while we were having our adventures as a family of five, Thing 2 was off having her own.  She spent New Years in Spain with dear friends of ours, went skiing for the first time and celebrated at the beach.  There were travel weekends and exploring around campus and a Christmas spent serving in Northern Germany.  Her first quarter of the year was filled to the brim as well.  And even though my heart ached with how much I missed her presence I loved watching her soar.  

Additional highlights of these first few months of 2017;  Thing 4 went on a youth group retreat and came home having decided to venture on a mission trip with Royal Servants in the summer.  Thing 1 completed her first semester of college with impeccable grades.  Husband Jared and I spent a night away dreaming and planning for our year.  I was introduced to the enneagram and my book club began reading through the Bible together, cover to cover.  To my best recollection that was January-March in the Hanson household.  As always, I am almost certain something important was left out.  I tried people.  I tried.  Onward and upward.  Or something like that.