Hike for the Homeless

For the month of October, our church has been focused on "Servolution", i.e. serving others, whether that be by love, time, gifts, etc.

A couple of weeks ago, Layla and I had the opportunity to attend the Hike for the Homeless benefitting Safe Haven Family Shelter. Safe Haven is the only "family" shelter in the Nashville area for families with children, and provides shelter, counseling, and transitional services to 11 families a year.

The day of the hike was BEAUTIFUL. I had decided last minute to let Layla tag along and I am so glad I did. Not only were there TONS of fun things to do for kids, but it was an awesome opportunity for Layla to learn about different ways to serve others and talk about humility, hope, and adversity.



She and I had the best time together. We hiked for three miles together, (well... I carried her for two half mile sections! ha) and she carried her hiking "passport" they provided to search for particular items on the trail: berries on a tree, birds singing, a post marked #23, acorns, a tree with orange/brown/yellow leaves, etc.

*Hitching a ride...


After the hike, she got to make a Safe Haven visor, paint a pumpkin, climb a rock wall, get her face painted/hair glittered... We had (free) lunch and sat on blankets they provided to eat while we listened to live music. It was a very organized event! I was very impressed with both the number of people attending, as well as the amount of work Safe Haven volunteers put into it.



We plan to get more involved with Safe Haven (hopefully making it an outreach project for the church next month!, and will DEFINITELY attend next year with our whole family!!

West Kids Halloween Bash

I decided not to do a "catch-up" post detailing all the happenings since my disappearance. Mostly, because so much has been going on, that I can't even remember. But also, bc no one really cares! The big stuff will come up again in future posts anyway.

Moving on.

This past Saturday was my kids' Halloween party! Most of you know I luuuurve to plan parties! AND Halloween is my favorite day of the year, so combining the two for a Halloween Party?! Heaven.

We had right at 20 kids and about 20 adults out to Nathan's parents house (Nonie and Pap... we could NOT have done this without all your help! Thaaankkk yooouuu!). Best party ever!



We painted faces, bobbed for apples, had a potato sack race, a Mummy Wrap, roasted hotdogs on the fire, ate lots of sugary treats, had a hayride on the most gorgeous fall night, roasted marshmallows on the fire... so stinking fun.




















I think they had a good time!

I have internet again!!

Blogging will resume shortly :)