Recently, Heather moved into an "annex house" adjoining a very gorgeous home purchased by the Darland family. The Darlands attend our church, have four amazing kids, and have adopted Heather as a virtual member of their family. Her living situation is just about as perfect as it gets - having access to this BEAUTIFUL farm property that is only a mile from where we live (suggesting how close it is to everything), but feels like its own country sanctuary. Apparently, Hillary (the mom) has had her eye on just this home forever...and finally got to jump at the chance to purchase this 102 year old historic house/property. Incredible.
So, as a joint birthday celebration and open house, Heather had folks join her Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the rain had decided to stick around (insert negative emotions about this that I'm choosing to withhold) - but no one seemed to mind as dozens of folks showed up to grill their own meat, share side dishes, and take in the farm ambiance.
Of course, our family immediately beelined to where the baby goats were. "Lola" and "Rose" are the names of these sweet little girls...
The hardest part of our visit to the goats was walking away from them and hearing them cry pitifully missing their company. I think if I lived there, they'd be inside pets...
Next stop on our tour was the rope swing. Note to self: kids give perfect gleeful smiles when playing on a rope swing for future family photography reference...
A few shots of the house and property - I had a lens on the camera that wasn't able to capture much of a wide image, but it really is just as amazing as what you are able to see.
This is Heather's little building/carport. Her apartment is adorable - so cozy, homey, and perfectly sized for her. While she loves her tiny home, she often spends a lot of her time in the main house with the rest of the family.
Kenjon showed up as well - of course, he wasn't willing to actually hold the goat himself...such a tough guy, but not at all comfortable around farm animals!!!
This is Josiah, the Darlands third child in succession - who is a year older than Brayden and a buddy of his. Tucker is the youngest of the crew, forefront in the picture and five years old. He thought Brayden was pretty cool, but was awestruck by the arrival of "Mr. Barner".
Showing just how incorporated the Darland family is with so many of our social groups, we were surprised to see Solomon show up, who came to hang out with Josiah. Nice timing to see one of Brayden's best friends spontaneously arrive. Scott and Liz Coleman also showed up with her three boys as they were preparing to have dinner with Hillary and John (the Darland parents). Lots of overlaps, it made my head spin figuring out who knew who and why.
More girls I know and treasure....Elaina and Amanda (Thursday Night Ladies), Ashley (Kaela's housemate), and, of course, the ever-upbeat Abby.
We didn't stick around all that long as our family was TUCKERED out. But, it was great to participate in the festivities surrounding Heather - proof of just how loved that girl is.
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