September.

September was a fun, busy month. We went all over New England soaking up the last bits of warm weather before the long, cold season settles in around us.

September took us to Vermont to camp on the lake with Darren’s family. This, the same lake (and the same little town fair) that his family has gone to nearly every summer for several generations.

We took each of the kids to a mother/daughter and father/son retreat up in New Hampshire. And of course, we had to spend an evening at the Big E up in Massachusetts.

New England is lit up with fun and festivity from September through December. It’s like everyone is filling up their reserves with pumpkins and apples before we hunker down and hibernate for the long winter months.

We’ve also been busy outside, trying to finish up a million different projects before it gets too cold. Darren has been working away building the kids a treehouse — among other things.

I’ve really struggled to get this post written. My mind has been wrapped up in Hurricane Helene and the devastation brought to North Carolina (among other places). It hasn’t felt right to share fun stories and pictures when there’s so much heartache and suffering.

The Carolinas hold a special place in my heart. My husband and I met in college in South Carolina. I spent a summer in the North Carolina mountains — less than an hour from Ashville. It was there in the mountains that summer that Darren first told me he loved me.

A few years back, when we knew we wanted to relocate but weren’t sure where to go, we took a survey trip to the Ashville/Hendersonville/Brevard area. We really thought that’s where we’d end up. But ultimately, we were already getting connected to the church we’re in now and decided to move to Connecticut instead.

Brevard // 2021

It’s felt really strange the last couple of weeks, sitting in this house we just built, thinking of how close we came to building in the NC mountains instead. My heart is broken seeing what’s happened and thinking of all the heartache and devastation people are walking through right now.

We still have so many friends and family spread throughout the Carolinas and are praying for everyone as they try to heal and move forward 🖤