January in the South

I have to say that this is the first time in my life I have said to myself, "I love January...what a great month!" Usually by the end of January, I am sick of the snow and cold and ready for a tropical vacation. This year, I am 1000 miles south and experiencing a very mild winter in the panhandle. I can count on one had the number of times I have had to wear a coat this month. It has been sunny in the 60's and 70's almost every day. Ahhhhhhh...... ok.-- sorry to make those of you up north jealous:) Anyway, I know it's crazy, but living in this weather makes me a happier person.

A few random pics from this week:

1. I am really trying to get into a better walking routine. I try to walk 4-5 mornings a week for 30 minutes. Pepper is always looking at me with her sad eyes to take me with her, but most of the time I don't take her on my power walks because she likes to stop and sniff every 50 feet. But I had pity on her one morning and took her down to the beach. Here she is scoping out the seagulls and sandpipers...





2. Soccer: After playing recreational soccer last fall, Alex has shown an interest in playing more competitively. A new league has formed in this area called the Gulf South Dynamo, and it is affiliated with the Houston Dynamo ( a professional league). He is attending a skills training camp once a week to brush up on his skills before try outs. This is him before his practice Wednesday. I had to tear him away from his tablet.






3. Miss Caroline: She is loving basketball and has decided to try her hand at art classes. She is going to take a little break from piano to do the art. We are a one sport, one artistic class family.
I don't like to get overscheduled with stuff. This is sis after her bath tonight. I love this picture because it has been so humid down here-- her hair is so frizzy! (kind of like her mother's.....)
She's gonna just love that I posted this picture of her:)

Other news: We are loving our new church! I attend a community ladies Bible study there once a week, the kids enjoy children's church and JOY club (afterschool program). What a blessing to have found a place to worship. I am so thankful each day for God's love and grace to me and my family. It has been a long road to get here and we still have obstacles (a house to sell in Indiana, for one!) but we feel the Spirit's presence and guidance as we build a life here in Florida. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Random Pictures

Hello there! Sorry for the long absence from the blog. We have just been doing life... school, work, homework, piano, basketball, church..... getting back into the routine! I have not been good about taking pictures... but here are a few random ones!

We have been so blessed to have my parents in town for three weeks! They are staying at their house about 20 minutes away and my grandmother is with them, as well. It is always so nice for us and the kids to spend time with them. Here, Alex is working with my mom to create his pizza pan for the wall of our restaurant. I have had the pans since June, but since I have about zero creative talent in the art department, I let Grandma do this project with them. I will post pictures of them soon!

A pretty sunset from my parents' porch overlooking Topsail State Park.

My cleaning sidekick.... my mom helped me clean all of the windows and screens in our house the other day, and this nosy neighbor followed us around the entire time.

And when you don't have any other pictures to post, you pull out some cute ones from the archives......

Miss Caroline Sizzle Stick in Florida 2005. Those chunky little squeezable cheeks!

And talk about cheeks and dimples... Mr. Imp Face. On.the. Go. at age 1. 2002
He still gets this same look when he is about to do something naughty:)

Happy New Year!

Well, it was our first New Years down here at the beach, and the weather couldn't have been better. So, we took advantage and spent as much time as possible at the beach!


We were so happy to see our friends from Atlanta! They own a house in our neighborhood and come down frequently to get away from the big city. Their two boys are around the same ages as Alex and Caroline, so they really enjoy hanging out together. What a blessing!

New Year's Eve we went to our first beach bonfire. Lots of food, fireworks and fun.. here's a picture of all of the kids there. They had a blast!


And New Year's Day we got to spend with some new friends at their beach in Dune Allen (about 15 minutes down the way.) They had a cool "river" running from a coastal dune lake into the ocean at their beach.



And we ended the day having pizza with my parents, my aunt and uncle and my grandmother!
So nice to have family here.

And finally, we started the new year with Upward Basketball! We found a league about 45 minutes from our house, which is quite a haul, but so worth it. A and C had their first game on Saturday. Go Warriors and Mustangs! After being involved in the Upward ministry for many years, it was weird to just be a parent spectator. This church in Destin did a fantastic job.


After a very exciting 2011 full of changes, the Beer family is excited to see where God leads us in 2012! Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas Rewind Part 2

The second part of our trip we spent at Jason's parents. Not only was I looking forward to seeing our human family and friends, but also this guy who I rescued few years ago....

Ted and Nancy adopted him as our old kitty would not tolerate another kitty friend in the house. Mr. Gracie is the funniest cat. I found him curled up between the coffee makers one morning. He is the only cat that I know who will play catch.


We had a get together with Jason's extended family at the assisted living where Granny (Jason's 94 year old grandmother) lives.

Granny loved the pink sequin beret she received..:) We had fun hanging out and catching up.


Christmas Eve we spent with Jason's parents... we opened presents in the morning.. the kids just couldn't wait!







We took a refreshing stroll around the neighborhood in the afternoon. The weather was quite nice... sunny and in the 40's.

Caroline brought her American Girl doll along for the walk....



Sammy (the dog) enjoyed racing the kids!

Christmas morning!

Ema makes delicious hot chocolate with a candy cane!

Our final stop is my grandmother's house on Christmas Day. She is an amazing cook and still hosts my mother's entire family at her house. I think there were over 40 people there!

Caroline and her cousin Taylor (Alex and Jackson with some shenanigans in the back...)

My dad with the kids.....
Caroline with my grandmother.....


Alex and Jackson with his puppet buddy....

We are so blessed to have wonderful families who all enjoy getting together to celebrate Christmas. We miss them lots and can't wait to see them when they come down to Florida to visit us at the beach!

Christmas Rewind Part 1

After spending 10 days on the road for Christmas, it feels good to be back home! We loved seeing family and friends- most we hadn't seen since we moved back in June.

We took off in the family SUV after school let out on the 16th. The kids had an early release day so we got out of town around noon. I told them to lay out what toys they wanted to bring with them, and this is what I got: Can you guess which one is Caroline's? :)



We pulled in my parent's drive in Noblesville a little after 1 in the morning. The next day, they were frantic to see their cousins, so we all got together at my sister's house for the kids to play. Then we took them bowling and out for Mexican food, followed by sleepovers-- the girls at one house and the boys at the other.

Sunday we all got together at my parent's for our Christmas dinner and exchange. Caroline with her nesting dolls......


Alex with his rocket....


All of the cousins.... Alex (10) Caroline (7) Taylor (9) Mya (almost 9) James (3) Lauren (7) and Jackson (12)

The brothers- in -law enjoyed hanging with each other......


Jason modeling Caroline's pink slap watch....


After 4 days in Noblesville with my family, we headed north to the lake to stay with Jason's parents. Caroline's first stop was to see her BFF Zoe... they have been friends since preschool and she misses Zoe so much! Thanks, Shannon, for having Caroline over to play!


We also stopped by the Hartman house to see Gracie and Graham. Grace wasn't in the mood to have her picture taken, but Alex and Graham had fun hanging out.

We also got to see our friends Brooks and Shelby! Caroline and Shelby are also BFF's -- they were wishing for some snow to play in, but unfortunately it didn't snow until we left!


Alex and Brooks on the computer....


It was so good to connect with our Indiana friends and family. We miss you!

Part 2 coming soon!

Christmas Performances

It's that time of year-- Christmas performances all weekend! The first was last Saturday.... we had two piano recitals in a row. The first was the "official" recital where each student performed several Christmas pieces. Alex played a jazzy version of "Let it Snow." He really got into his performance... he is such a little ham! Caroline played "O Christmas Tree", "Silent Night" and "We Wish you a Merry Christmas". They both did very well. So proud of their hard work.

The second performance took place at a retirement community in Sandestin. I don't have any pictures, but the residents really enjoyed listening. I love that the kids can share their gift of music with others.

On Sunday, the children at church put on a play and musical. Alex had a singing solo with his group.




And Caroline was an angel and sang with her little group of girls.


Finally, Santa made an early stop at our house last weekend as well, since we will be away from home on Christmas morning. Alex's main gift was an electric scooter--he was beyond thrilled. And here is sis with her beloved American Girl doll, also know as "Sissy".

It was a small, but fun celebration at our house. Teaching the children about the joy of giving to others because of the most precious gift given to us at Christmas-- Jesus our Savior-is our heart's desire as parents. It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness of decorating and parties and buying everyone the "perfect" gift. Since we have downsized and simplified, it has been much easier to focus on advent and preparing our hearts for the birth of the Lord.

We are getting ready to celebrate Christmas with our families in Indiana, so stay tuned for pictures of the crazy fun we will have!

Our Special Visitor

My close friend Shannon flew in for a few days last weekend. I was so excited to see her! The two of us became friends at church and got involved in ministry together. We shared our love of walking, cooking, reading, and blogging. Her husband Shane and Jason are good friends as well. We miss them bunches! So it was so good to spend time with her.



We took walks on the beach... it was a gorgeous weekend. The kids were so excited to hang out with her, too. We took her to one of our favorite places, Hurricane Oyster Bar.




Saturday we all got our bikes out and headed to Seaside for the afternoon.








Of course we did some shopping, indulged in some Starbucks salted mocha drink that she got me hooked on, and ate lots of good food.


This little beach kitty said hi on one of our walks....

Sunday we went to church and brunch at Another Broken Egg Cafe... the kids were fascinated with these giant Nutcrackers out front. It was a fun, relaxing 4 days. Thank you, friend, for leaving your little family and visiting us at the beach!