A couple of weekends ago, we loaded up the big red minivan and drove up to Nebraska for one of the BEST weekends of the year…bonfire weekend! Every fall, all of Eric’s Eberspacher family gets together for a hayrack ride and big bonfire and weenie roast. I always fondly look back on this weekend, as this event was the first time Eric had brought me home to meet his family when we were first dating. This was also the first time that we both knew that we loved each other. Sigh…good memories.

Eric’s sister and her husband, Elisa and Patrick, are expecting their first baby in December, so we had two baby showers this weekend as well. I threw the one for the Yeakley side and Elisa’s hometown friends. A few months back, I decided that I wanted to do something a little bit different from the standard girl baby shower theme and went with a fall “little pumpkin” themed party, brunch style, complete with lots of yummy casseroles and pumpkin flavored goodies. So off and crafting I went once I had the idea! It turned out great and I think that Elisa really felt special and loved by the time it was all done. Patrick’s family was in town for the weekend as well from Tennessee, so I decided to have both Grandmas-to-be share about what Lis and Patrick were like as babies and give some words of encouragement to our special Mommy-to-be. It was so sweet what they shared.

 

 

The table

 

 

Love me some pennants!

 

 

Nora LOVES her Auntie Erin! She hops in her lap every chance she gets

 

 

The gorgeous Mommy-to-be! Lis borrowed some of my maternity clothes for her pregnancy, so it was especially fun to see her in my dress

 

 

Baby girl and a Chevy

 

 

Our little farm girl bringing leopard print to the tractors

  

 

My two favorite people on our favorite colored tractor

 

 

Eric’s cousin, Asha (who I threw a bridal shower for back in August) got married to Michael that weekend. This was the only good picture I got that night, as I was a bit busy out in the lobby chasing Nora around who didn’t want to sit through the ceremony

 

 

Taking a ride on the 4 wheeler

 

 

Special time with Grandpa on the farm

 

 

Nora and her pearls

 

 

My MIL on the hayrack ride.

 

 

The farm from our lane

 

 

Everyone loaded up on the hayrack ride!

 

 

Taking a ride around our pond

 

 

Nora toddling down our lane

 

 

Let the great bonfire feast begin!

 

 

The next day after everyone left, we had our big meeting with the bank. To say it went well was an understatement. Even though the quick realization that we are going to be hundreds of thousands (upon hundreds of more thousands) of dollars in debt, we got a much better understanding of how our transition to the farm is going to go. The sweet gentleman at the bank was so thorough and patient with our questions and said that financially where we are at now will be a good starting point to making our dreams come true. We meet with the architect this next Tuesday to go over the blueprints for our house, and once that is finalized, it’s back to the bank to finalize our loans and start the building process. We hope to get the foundation laid later this fall/early winter. THANK YOU to everyone who prayed for this meeting. Answered prayers all around!

 

 

Monday afternoon we took lunch to the guys out harvesting. Nora enjoyed the dirt and leftover bean stalks

 

 

Sweet girl fell asleep on Grandpa’s shoulder. Precious memories, I tell ya what.

 

All in all, it was a great weekend. We left with extremely full tummies, and even fuller hearts. We look forward to our next trip back, hopefully with more concrete plans for our house.

Another big prayer request…one of our dearest friends just lost their baby at 6 months pregnant. Katie delivered their precious little baby boy yesterday afternoon, sweet Grant Carl. Although they are devastated, they know and are trusting that God has a big plan and that He is going to use Grant’s life and story for His glory. Please join me in praying for this amazing family.