Ellie’s First Christmas

The end of December 2017 brought us Ellie’s first Christmas, and we were excited to spend this milestone holiday at home with our friends and family. Step One. Get a tree. Step Two. Decorate the tree. Step Three. Hang the … Read More

Thanksgiving for Four!

In true “Traveling Shenks” fashion, Ellie’s first Thanksgiving was a busy one! Ellie hanging out with James watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. A quick family portrait before we head off. Thursday, we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with the Shenks at … Read More

The First Six Weeks

Ellie is such a wonderful addition to our family and we are so thrilled to have her! The first six weeks went by in a sleepless haze, as all parents will probably remember of those newborn days. She is often … Read More

Welcome to the World!

Our last picture as a family of three (plus Leo) taken a couple days before she arrived. She’s here! Our beautiful baby girl arrived on September 27, 2017 at 6:56 am weighing 8 lb. 9 oz. and measuring 20 in. … Read More

Springtime Weddings & A Big Boat

Two of our closest friends, Dave & Larcy, tied the knot in April and we were thrilled to be invited to their wedding celebration on a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas. James was excited to celebrate two “firsts” for him– … Read More

A Summary of Spring

Not to be confused with “a summery spring”, which we didn’t really have. This past spring in Florida was quite nice weather-wise.  This summer, however… UGH! But that’s another post. While super grateful and excited to be pregnant again, I … Read More

James Turns Eight!

On February 27, our sweet boy turned eight! He is thoughtful, kind, funny, smart, sweet… I could go on and on. We are so proud of the person that he is, so grateful to be his parents and get to … Read More

“Winter” Roundup

January and February may be winter months, but here in Florida, they definitely do not have winter weather, hence the quotation marks. Here is a bit of what we did in those couple months leading up to James’ birthday. James … Read More

Christmas in July

Well, not really. This was Christmas in December, but you get to read about it in July!  Our little family had a great Christmas at home this year and tried to focus on time together with fewer presents, feeling that … Read More