Pumpkin Time!

Fall has really set in here in the Poole House. Thankful we have had such great weather! 

We have been pumpkin patching like crazy around here recently. Last Friday, we took our annual trip to Hall Family Farm. We love this place! There are TONS of activities for the kids. Playgrounds, a fire truck, hay ride, corn maze, and of course pumpkins! We come to this farm every year for strawberry and pumpkin picking.

(ignore Landin's face, I just love how hard Clara Jane is working to carry her pumpkin) 

Some of our friends came too! Landin's favorite part of the whole trip is the hayride. It was a really fun morning. 

This was the first year that we actually carved a pumpkin. Brian took this job very, very seriously. It was pretty entertaining. Landin and Clara Jane had zero interest in feeling the pumpkin guts, but they did enjoy watching us dig it out. ;) 

Yesterday Elevation had their annual Fall party called Festi^us! We were out at Aw Shucks Farm in Monroe. We had so much fun. There was face painting, pumpkin painting, scavenger hunts,  a petting zoo, paddle boating, and A TON of food. Pastor Steven and Holly really know how to bless their staff. This is one of my most favorite parties of the year. Love celebrating together. Getting together with these people ends up being like a family reunion. A lot of us have served together for many years now and have grown families together. Words cannot explain how grateful I am to be a part of this staff family. It's really the best.

 (some of the tech team!!) 

DPK. Boone Round 2. 6yr anny.

Hi friends. Sorry, I've been spotty. I'm getting into the thick of the semester and it's keeping me super busy. I actually had a really rough week last week, but the my new rotation in the hospital reminded me to keep pushing though. Y'all.. I LOVE Labor and Delivery. Surprise, surprise. I feel like most friends would have guessed I would want to end up there, but I needed some reassurance. I was SO nervous my first day, but it all really came naturally to me. Thankful for the experience I've had and the fact that the Lord has blessed me with the rest of the semester there. I cannot wait to get back to the hospital. I mean, this could be my job people! I watched a tiny little baby take her first breaths. Nothing gets better than that!

Okay so lots has happened over the past few weeks. First, we planned a fun trip up to Asheville to go apple picking. Due to the never ending rain this fall has brought us, we didn't make it. I was super bummed, but still grateful to spend the morning with good friends at Discovery Place Kids. The whole morning made me really grateful for the people God has placed around me and my family. Here are a few shots of the kids and the whole group of kids.

Next up is our second trip to Boone! The Rose family invited us to tag along while they went up for App. State's homecoming. This family has become our family over the last couple years. We met volunteering at Elevation and quickly became friends. They bless our family more than I could explain. Their generosity and desire to love people has forever changed me. Love each of them so, so much.

While we were there I was able to visit the App. State extension site. This campus is completely run by students. It's amazing what they can do as busy students, not only that but that they want to! I wish I had something like this when I was in school. These kids are world changers. If you have friends that go to App State, send them here!

Last Friday night Brian and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary! It's really crazy to me that we have been married that long. 2 kids, 4 pets, a house, halfway through nursing school, and 6.5 years in ministry together under our belt. It's gone by SO fast. Love this man with my whole heart! Can't wait for all that year 7 is going to bring!

Happy weekend, friends! 

Soccer Mom Status.

Playing catch up on life. Once school gets rolling every thing goes so fast. So here are a few updates on the Pooles.

Landin started playing soccer! I have been so excited for him to play team sports. I honestly can't get over that he's old enough to do this. Different phase of our life has begun where we get to spend our Saturdays on ball fields. It makes me really happy. I am the most obnoxious mom out there yelling at Landin and taking a bazillion pictures. You can tell it's my first kid playing sports, but I don't even care. I can't keep a smile off my face while he plays.

Landin does really well running after the ball and kicking it. I have never played soccer before, but we are figuring out the rules together. We finally have mastered not touching the ball! Ha ;) Right now we are working on stealing the ball away from the other team. He has a hard time being aggressive out there, which make me laugh because he can be pretty aggressive with his sister. I'm sure after a few weeks he will figure it out! Last weekend was his first game and he rocked it!

Also last weekend, Brian's dad came into town and brought the kids new bikes. The were ecstatic! For some reason it made them look so much bigger to me! Clara kept telling us she was a big girl on her big girl bike. It was the sweetest.

The past week was muffins for mom at the kids school and I had to miss it. It broke my whole entire heart. I won't lie, I cried. BUT my brilliant friend Lindsay suggested I make muffins with the kids the night before and send them in. So that's what we did and Brian joined the kids on the actual day. I think it went well! Brian said they didn't even ask for me. Whew.

                


The kids also had school pictures done this past week and they were AMAZING! I love eCadamy so much, yall! These people bless us in so many ways. Thankful to be a part of a staff that does this for their people!!

Nursing school update: I'm just finished our first round of exams and am headed into the second. I have done really well grades wise, but it is absolutely exhausting! Really miss hanging with the kids too. It's so hard balancing everything. BUT I'm really enjoying being in the hospital this semester. I'm on the oncology/hematology floor on Tuesdays and then Levine Children's Hospital on Thursdays. I REALLY loved working in Pediatrics! Excited to see how the OB rotation goes starting next week. Can't wait to see where the Lord places me next year!

I've been reading this scripture out loud every morning before school from James 1: 2-8: " Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double minded and unstable in all they do."

Things I love about this scripture: it reminds me what persevering gives me, maturity and completeness. Yep, I want those. It tells me that when I need wisdom all I have to do is ask and he will give GENEROUSLY to ALL. I love how that is worded. I don't have to do anything but ask in full faith and he will give me the wisdom I need. Nursing school requires a lot of wisdom, y'all. Like actual wisdom from the books. More than I have. I pray this every single time I study. If you think I get good grades on my own, you are very mistaken. It also says at the end that those who don't have faith when asking are double minded and unstable in all they do, opposite of what I want. I want life of stability, so when even when I'm scared I'll choose to trust in Jesus.

So there you have it, friends. Update on life. Sorry it ended up being so long :)

Tweetsie and Boone Weekend

With Labor Day weekend approaching quickly, we didn't have any plans although Brian had already taken the weekend off at church. After thinking about it a little more, I decided we needed a mini getaway. Brian rarely takes weekends off at church and with me being in school on Fridays now, we never have a full family day together. I knew the beach would be packed, so I looked into the mountains first.

Sitting in class Friday morning, (tsk, tsk) I was googled kid friendly things to do in Boone and Tweetsie was one of the first suggestions. My boy LOVES trains. Always has. I was pretty excited about this option. Brian was taking the red eye out of California Saturday morning, so we decided it was best to go Sunday-Monday. I texted Brian with the idea and he booked the hotel within an hour. I was pretty proud of us for being so spontaneous. :)

Tweetsie was great! It wasn't really crowded. We waited in line for maybe two rides. We got there around noon and planned to stay the remainder of the day. The first thing we did when we walked in was ride the big train around the mountain. The ride was full of pretty scenery and a live show of cowboys vs. indians. Landin LOVED this!! 

The rest of the park had a bunch of carnival rides, which were really fun for the kids. I'm so glad we did it this year because Landin was almost too tall to ride the rides. Right now he's 44.5 inches so next year I think we would have been too late. 

There was also a little petting zoo with llamas, pigs, and goats. The sweet little baby goat got out of the fence and was wondering around with us. Very kid friendly little goat. The kids loved it.

Suggestions if you want to go visit Tweetsie: 1. The park is only open until 6pm, so if you go after 3pm your ticket works all day the next day. I don't think we needed the extra time, but it would be nice to have the cushion if you were worried about time. 2. If your kids are over 45 inches, it may be boring. There are some rides for bigger kids, but it's mainly for the younger ones. I don't think we will go again for this reason. 3. Bring your own snacks and water. The only food served are unhealthy carnival foods like hotdogs and pizza. We did each lunch there and the kids got a fun little Tweetsie lunch box, but I'm so glad I brought snacks for them. 

Sunday night we went into Blowing Rock and had dinner at Mellow Mushroom and ate some yummy Kilwin's ice cream. I love downtown Blowing rock! It's such a sweet little town. Best part is the big park in the middle so the kids were able to play while we waited to eat! 

We had our first hotel stay with the kids, which I was VERY nervous about but luckily everything went really well. Landin fell asleep in the car and Clara went to sleep right away when we got in the room. Then they both slept until EIGHT O'CLOCK! WHAT! It was a mountain miracle. My kids wake up between 6-630 every morning like clockwork. It was amazing!

Monday we spent the day with our friend, Hayley!! She just started her first year at Appalachian State University. We're so proud. :)  She took us for a hike around Price Lake, which was beautiful! It's perfect for those of you with little kids because it's mostly flat.

After hiking we ate lunch in Boone and went to the Mast General store for some fun toys, then headed home. We were so thankful for some time with Hayley! :) 

It was an AWESOME weekend. I'm so thankful for a little getaway with my people!