The Bruce Brood: Hi, my name's Bekah. It's been awhile.

Hey all! I can not believe it is going to be OCTOBER next week! I absolutely adore this time of year. I love the weather, the football, the slow cooker, the pumpkin and apple decor, food, scents! I just love it! That being said, it has been AWHILE since I have blogged and so much has gone on in our little life. So I am going to do two ginormous posts. Tonight- just a recap of the last month of our lives; mostly in photos. Then tomorrow (that's the plan) a post on our new home, town, how we're transitioning, etc! So stay with me! Pull up a chair and grab some cider! Or if you are my sweet friend Jenny, a woodchuck!

Our first weekend of September was spent at a beautiful wedding. Our sweet friends, Luke and Tessa, shared an amazing day with so many friends and family. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Their love for one another and their faith was so evident throughout each moment. I can not wait to see what God has in store for that amazing couple. I know sweet little babies are in their (*near*) future! (At least I hope so!) Andrew and I got to reconnect with friends we don't get to see enough of and also share some time with each other, without kids. Something we don't do often.

Days later on September 4th, Andrew and I officially closed on our home in Pittsfield. We spent that day moving our things from my parents house (mainly clothes) and our TWO storage sheds. We could not have done that day without our dads. They were such work horses and never complained or stopped. I am so thankful for the model of parenting Andrew and I have. Those two men have moved us countless times and are always there. We are definitely blessed. To help bang out the day were some of Andrew's co-workers. We got our SECOND U-Haul unloaded in no time with their help. (If you are still soaking up the fact that we had a second large U-Haul to unload, believe me, I was right there with ya! How did we ever accumulate so much STUFF??!)

I went back home that evening to wrap things up in Decatur. Andrew and his dad worked tirelessly to get the boys rooms painted, our living room painted, and the bathroom painted. One of Andrew's bosses even came to join in on the painting fun. The plan was for me to leave on Friday evening to join Andrew in Pittsfield to set up the house some more before my mom brought the boys over Saturday afternoon. That drive over Friday was hard. It was the culmination of emotions that I was no longer going to be calling Decatur home and that being a Pittsfield resident was a reality. That I was closing one chapter and opening another. Andrew and I worked into the wee hours of the night to get the furniture put together, the boxes unpacked and as organized as possible for when the boys arrived. We ended up having all the bedrooms completely put together and the kitchen and bathroom unpacked when they arrived with my mom on Saturday. There was still a lot to be done, but again, that's for a later post. ;)

The boys and I weren't in Pittsfield long before returning to Decatur. We headed back Thursday to spend some time with my in laws, my parents, as well as my brother and SIL who came into town on Friday, and my other SIL, Rachel and her boys on Saturday. Andrew stayed back to get some other projects done around the house. (Are you getting excited to see the house yet?!)

It was so fun on Saturday to have the whole family (with a few members missing) together. I love watching my boys interact with family members. My nephews, who I blogged about HERE, and Hudson and Beau are so funny together. I can't wait to watch how their relationships grow and unfold over the years; the next few especially! They are a RIOT already!

The main reason we came back to town was for a 5K/15K race called the Shoreline Classic. It was the 24th year and it is a HUGE race in the Decatur area. People come from as far as Chicago to run. Since I am preparing for a half marathon at the end of October, the 15K would be a good way to practice a running a long distance in a race setting. All summer I have been training with one of my best friends. I can honestly say I had not been that nervous about a sporting event since competing in dance at State in high school. There were so many people there. Lots of experienced runners. To say that I felt out of my league is an understatement.

Before the race

Jenny and I had learned over the summer that if we talked while we ran we didn't seem to realize how long we had been running. So we made this plan just to talk the whole race. And since we are friends, we can pretty much talk about anything and everything and not run out of things to say. It was about at mile marker six that I realized we could have driven halfway to Pittsfield, that's how long we had been running. We kept our pace up and finished all 9.2 miles in 1:37:52. (Jenny was a few seconds ahead of me when I check the "official results") It was such an amazing feeling and accomplishment. It got us even more excited for the half.

After the race I went to my mom's to pick up the boys and head back home. I walked in and was so impressed and thankful for all the hard work Andrew had done. He had done some major work while we were away. I know he worked late into the night. I am very much a person that relishes in things being and place and that feeling of being settled. He did so much work to create that environment for me. It was a blessing.

Since then we have had our little guy turn ten months, met some neighbors, and continued to do some little things around the house.

I had an impromptu MNO (Mom's Night Out) with some neighbors and their friends on my first Friday in town (that we were actually settled). We also visited a church. It was a First Christian like we attended back home but I think we will be trying a different service time; something a little more contemporary. (This mama isn't used to the organ, ok!?)

This weekend my in-laws and Andrew's grandparents came over for a day visit. We grilled out and had some delicious Apple Butterscotch bundt cake for great-grandma's birthday.

Life is starting to slow down in the sense that we are beginning to feel at home. It is still crazy busy as we gear up for fall, which has our calendar completely full, but family life is slowly but surely starting to form again. There is still lots of growing pains; lots of tests and stretches that are challenging our faith but ultimately drawing us closer to Him. We are learning. But we are together. So it is good.