Quick Update

Hello, everyone! Life has been very busy around here lately and I can't believe that it's already November! We got back from Arizona on October 16th and have been at full speed ever since. We have been working on a post about our trip, but have been having issues getting our pictures on our computers. Once we get that figured out, we will have a long post coming full of pictures and descriptions of our wonderful trip!!  Meanwhile, life has been full of school, work, and starting to think about Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping. What a fun time of year!!

Anyway, we will have a "real" post coming soon;). Don't get too impatient;)

~Lexi

Priorities and Life

Well, I'm not quite sure where to start. Mainly because I'm embarrassed to have let this blog slip for so long! I could give excuses and say that I've been just so busy or I could tell the truth. This blog is not at the top of my priorities. At the same time, we started this blog, so we are going to keep it up. If there is one thing I don't like to be seen as or to be, it is a quitter! However, I do think that Megan will be doing a good portion of posting and will mix things up a bit!;) Be prepared for some deep thoughts paired with some sarcasm and snarky comments!;) Anyway, we wanted to start this blog to keep people caught up on our life and give a peek into the Knapp family. Yet, It has been nearly seven months and no amount of pictures or words could fully catch you all up on what life has been like here all spring and summer! There has been so much change in each of us as individuals and life all around! We have had a lot of joy, new experiences, confusion, family bonding, strengthened friendships, learning to wait on God, and more. And God has been faithful. Need I say more?:)

Highlights of the past several months:

Paige: Starting preschool and learning how to read, the Gateway Sale, and going to see grandparents and cousins in Illinois.

Joshua & Caleb: Turning 9, the Gateway Sale, family beach vacation in May, and not having school over the summer;)

Micah: The Gateway Sale, trips to Illinois, boating, and friends visiting.

Megan: Turning 14, going to Illinois, going on a mission trip to Jamaica, giving her testimony and getting baptized, and starting high school (Not sure if this is a highlight for her, but it is a pretty big life event;)

Seth: Turning 16, getting his license, starting work at Chick-fil-a, going on a mission trip to Jamaica, going to Illinois, and starting dual-enrolled classes at a local college.

Lexi: Turning 18, graduating high school, going on a mission trip to Jamaica, traveling several times to Illinois, and new life experiences.

Mom: Turning an age that she only looks half of;), trips to Illinois, our family beach vacation, friends visiting, and her sister from Arizona visiting.

Dad: Turning an age that you can only tell by the amount of gray in his hair and not his athletic ability;), taking our family to the beach, going to Jamaica with his 3 oldest, and the few times our whole family was around the supper table.

Wow. Some experiences words can't always capture. Here are a few picture highlights:

The youngest 3 showing off and tubing on a boating trip;)

After a hard day of work in Jamaica with Mario, one of the people we met at the Deaf Village we served at.

In Jamaica, all geared up for zip lining!

One of Seth's many responsibilities of working at Chick-fil-a...wearing the cow suit on occasion!;)

A stellar group of friends made a trip down in August. So thankful for these people!

Well, that's it for a catch-up!;) We will be much more regular with posting from now on! I hope this blog never portrays us as perfect, but just gives you a peek into our life.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto Him be glory..."

~Ephesians 3:20-21a

~Lexi

We Are Alive/Blunier's Visit

No, we haven't mysteriously disappeared or fled the country or died or been really busy! Well, maybe the last one...;) But I also haven't made blogging a priority so I won't make too many excuses! Anyway, amidst school, TeenPact preparation, work, and such, we enjoyed having the three oldest Blunier kids for a week! They came with Dave and Kara on a Saturday evening and then stayed for us for the next week while their parents enjoyed a lovely week in Cancun! They fit right in to our constantly moving life and schedule! We definitely were able to do some fun, out-of-the-ordinary things, but also just enjoyed doing the simple things together! It was a wonderful week!!;)

 



They were here over Valentines Day, so we had a nice meal complete with china! Then, our moms sipped coffee by the fire while the rest of us cleaned up!;)

Eating out after doing some shopping!

And, of course, the boys got to enjoy chick-fil-a one day!;)

 Most of our mornings were spent together like this working on school...

Which was generally followed by a run! We really got inspired to run that week!

The boys even had a team race! Micah and Jared versus Seth and Marcus! I won't say who won...there was some debate regarding that!;)

Reading some good, or boring, books!;)

Constant smiles;)

;););)

One day, us girls made a fun lunch together! A Pinterest-inspired sandwich, salad, and a fruit smoothie!

It was so good! And no recipe either!!;)

We also enjoyed a breezy, sunny coffee run!

The younger boys did a fantastic job building a tree house in their free time!!

We played Chopped one evening! These two boys were so fun to watch cook together! Megan & Faith don't look as if they are getting along though...;)

Franticly cooking!

These guys were, well...interesting...;) No, they really did a great job!

The judges!;);)

My "team";) In last place...

Megan & Faith's team, coming in 2nd to last;)

Seth & Marcus, tied for first!

Micah & Jared, the other first place winners!

 We The kitchen was an absolute disaster! But we got it done it pretty good time!;)



Finally, Seth & Marcus built a lean-to of sorts to store firewood in for mom! I couldn't find the picture of the finished project but it turned out great!

It was a great week!! We hope you had a great time, Bluniers!;)
~Lexi

Sarasota Invite 2016

This past weekend Seth and I went to Sarasota, Florida for a church invite! We began the eight hour drive early Friday morning. It was raining terribly when we left, but it cleared up after a couple hours and the rest of our trip went great!! The weather was between 75 and 80 degrees which was a nice break from normal, cold winter weather! I absolutely relished the sun, warm Florida breeze, and ocean air for the short weekend we were there! We enjoyed a painting service project, inspiring and convicting speakers, uplifting conversations, beach volleyball, worship, and many other things over the weekend. Personally, my favorite part was meeting new people and reconnecting with those I already knew or had at least met before! The trip fueled in me a desire to travel more, meet more people, and build more relationships. Likewise, the theme of the week was evangelism and sharing the gospel, which is what the speakers talked about. I was challenged to share more, step out of my comfort zone, and be confident in Jesus!

After supper and the speaker Friday night, we headed to the Streimatter's house for worshipping around a bonfire!

Only in Florida do you see birds like this walking around in January!;)




A group picture after the painting service project. Needless to say, some people had quite a bit of paint on them!

Heading to the beach! I just stood in the water and it was freezing!

An attempt to take a nice "selfie" on the beach!;)

A busy, yet gorgeous beach!!

Most of the Atlanta young group in front of the Siesta Key beach sign!

Atlanta/Athens group picture. I don't have one of the whole group in the invite t-shirts!

Pictures after church! I love these girls!

Most of the girls from the invite!! There were people from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kansas, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri!

An interesting part of the weekend were the storms on Saturday night! Four tornadoes touched down in Florida that night and one of them was two miles away from the house where I was staying! There was debris everywhere on the way to church Sunday morning! I'm so thankful that God protected us all! It could have been much worse, two miles closer and who knows what could have happened! Praise God!!
~Lexi



Sister Time/Cousin TIme

Mom and Megan traveled to Arizona for a long weekend about two weeks ago. They left on a Thursday evening and got back on a Monday evening. They had a great time in Arizona with my Rodney, Denise, and their girls. They even enjoyed some snow, in Arizona, no less! Those of us back home survived while they were gone and actually had some fun in the process!

One of my highlights was shopping at Maurice's with Denise & our girls.  Denise & I found all kinds we liked and ended up getting several matching tops.  We had a nice lunch at Olive Garden together and surprised the girls with pedicures.  Saturday, Denise had made appointments for her & I to get a massage and then we had a long breakfast of quiet talking time.  It was wonderful!!!  Our time together is so rare we treasured every moment.  I missed my family very much and appreciated all they did so we could go.(Dana)

A few pics from Mom and Megan's trip...Aunt Denise and Mom!

Kiley, Megan, and Trinity. It was great for Megan to enjoy time with her cousins again!

They also got to ride horses! Megan thoroughly enjoyed it!

Kiley riding!

Uncle Rodney took the girls sledding one day!

And snow angels!;) I think they had a good time...;)

 

And some pictures from our time at home...Paige and I went to get groceries and run some other errands one day while they were gone. Paige was a very "grown-up" helper!!;)





We then went to chick-fil-a for a little sister date! Paige's quote of the day after getting a milkshake: "Don't drink it too fast or you will get a 'freeze brain'!";) It was special time spent with my little sister!


~Lexi

 

 

A New Years to Remember!!

This past New Years weekend was wonderfully memorable! Even as I sit down to write this post, it is hard to put into words all the memories had, the jokes shared, the laughter, the enriching, spiritual conversations, and the unexplainable joy of being with people so dear to you. It truly was a highlight of my 2015 (and I don't know what 2016 holds, so we will see;). Anyway, some special family friends came down for about 4 days and just "did life" with us for awhile, celebrating New Years and just spending time together! It was absolutely wonderful!

 

We got back from being in Illinois for Christmas, Monday around noon. Kate got to come back with us for the couple of days before her family got there. We treasured those two days! 



Tuesday morning we enjoyed Starbuck together! It was so special to sit in the sun and share our hearts!

And then we got straight to work!;) Well, at least some of us did...just kidding!;)

 

Wednesday evening, the rest of the Stoller family arrived at our house. We had a relaxing evening and introduced them to Live Mofia, a new favorite game at our house;)!! Thursday was full of getting stuff together for Minute-to-Win-it and other games for our New Years celebration that night (Don't worry, I have pictures;). I also discovered that my mom is not the only one that does not know how to operate my computer...;);) We celebrated New Years that evening with the Lanzes arriving at 11:30, just in time to sing in the New Year! Our night didn't end when we got home though, some of us were up till 3:30 and others till 4:30! But why sleep, right?!?;)

The sky on the way to our New Years celebration was stunning!! The heavens declare His handiwork!

The next few pictures are of Minute-to-Win-it games! This is Kyle trying to knock over Gatorade bottles with a croquet ball in pantyhose! He was on my team and did great! In fact, our team name was the "Kyle-inators";) 

How many tortillas can you flip onto a paper plate on your head with flippers!;)

Megan trying it;)



How many Mentos can you drop into a liter of Diet Coke from the top of the ladder! I think this may have been cheating!;)

The right way;)

Uhh...this is embarrassing! My parents love capturing my "attractive" moments on camera!;) How many pom-poms can you get stuck on the Vaseline on your nose in a minute?

Sicily trying...the Vaseline got everywhere and was nearly impossible to get all off!

Shooting rubber bands...

...to see how many times you can break the toilet paper in a minute! Its harder than it looks!

How many Oreos can you get into your mouth in a minute without using your hands? I'm sorry, Bryan!;)

Like I said, "attractive", right?;) I thought that I was pretty successful just getting one Oreo in my mouth, but we had a eating-Oreos-without-your-hands master in our midst who managed to get 6 Oreos in their mouth in a minute! I'll let this talented individual go anonymous though!;)

How many Starburst can you stack on the popsicle stick in a minute?

It's painful! The highest scoring team for this part got 42 Starbursts stacked! It was such a fun night!

On Friday, we just hung out at home, playing speed euchre, relaxing, playing music, and other various activities. In the evening, we played a game involving New Years resolutions/what we wanted God to work in us in 2016. It stimulated a lot of great conversation and was neat to see what was on each individual's heart. Personally, all of the great conversations were my favorite part of the weekend! Then, we played some more Live Mofia! Let's just say that Gollum imitations, darkness, and friends make for a fun and interesting game!;)

Playing music together! We had a flute, a guitar, a violin, and a piano! It was so special and beautiful!

Saturday, we played Frisbee with some people from church (which was good since we had plenty of food over the weekend) and then had pizza and games later. My team won the Frisbee tournament...in case anyone was wondering!;) Sunday was spent worshipping together while enjoying lovely people and great food!;) And then it was over. It's hard to put into words what goodbyes are like, especially when it is said to people we love so much. Megan probably said it best when she mentioned how the goodbyes are even harder when we just "do life" together for awhile and just do normal things that we used to do together. We have lived in Georgia for nearly two years and each time I watch these special people drive away it is crushing. God has blessed our friendship in so many ways though, and for that I am so thankful!! Overall, despite the hard goodbyes, we had an awesome time and are hoping to make it an annual thing!!;)

Sunday on the way home from at interesting and laughter-filled grocery store experience after church!;)



All of the kids from the Stoller, Lanz, and Knapp families, plus an extra. It was so much fun and such a wonderful group of people to spend time with!


We love you all and miss you! Next year?;)

~Lexi