We invited our neighbors over for Brunch yesterday. It was so much fun!!!
40 awesome students + 5 J-Ms + 1 beautiful Sunday = good stuff. We are loving getting to know these people, who are now our friends/neighbors/students, and we are loving watching our kids’ relationships with them develop. It is all very, very cool to witness and be a part of.
Meera insisted on getting dressed up for brunch. She was the only one in a party dress, but that was just fine with her. (In the photo above she is holding her new most beloved possession– an adorable hand-made crocheted ghost that one of our favorite friends/neighbors/students gave us yesterday). Kyle was not the only one who loved the baked french toast. It was my first time making it, but it will surely be top on the menu for all future brunches. I made a double batch but it was quickly completely devoured (the last few arrivals didn’t even get to have any)! Recipe at bottom of this post.
All three of our kids are social butterflies, but Owen most of all. There is nothing he loves more than having people over. And he is always (one of) the life(s) of the party.
And look! A picture of Braydon and me! Another one of our favorite friends/neighbors/students asked to take it, and we let him, and here it is! We might actually start getting more photos of us!
Not everyone made a craft while they brunched with us. But many, many did. Toward the end, however, the bambinos couldn’t be contained indoors any longer and the activities moved outdoors for football and scootering.
We are really excited about the Residential Fellows Program. As we start to settle in we are seeing how very real the possibilities are.
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re: Baked French Toast — it was so good! I used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe. I doubled it, and added two extra eggs (so, 18 eggs total), and an additional 2 cups of milk (6 cups of milk total). Seriously easy and seriously delish!!! We also had a ham, 2 spinach quiches, 2 pumpkin/cream cheese cake logs, a huge stack of fruit-ka-bobs, a big bowl of clementines, and chips/dip/carrots, not to mention the oj, cider, pellegrino, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc….. and just about nothing was left…. one thing I’m learning– let me tell ya: college kids can eat!!!!!
So cool. Your time on campus will be something your kids talk about forever! Really, really neat.
What a nice idea to host a brunch for the students! Baked french toast is a favorite of ours, too. Looks like they all had fun. So awesome to provide a sense of home for the students with your warm hospitality and welcoming family. And, Heather , you look so pretty and happy in that photo with hubby. Your eyebrows are perfection! Ha!
You know, reading this I’m struck by not only how rich this experience is for your family, but also what an awesome example your family is for these students. Oh how I would have loved to have a relationship with a family like yours when I was in school! And as a fellow transracial adoptive mom (with a bio daughter due to arrive in a few weeks!) in a dual-career family, I LOVE what you guys are teaching these students by example, just by being who the J-Ms are.
What a great experience for all involved!
What a great way to start the year! I know this will be an amazing experience for your entire family and all the students you come across!
Those college students are so lucky that you guys are doing the residential family program! When I was in college I was SO horribly homesick much of the time. Being able to be around a family on campus would have been a wonderfully welcome blessing. Looks like it was fun for one and all! And what a great pic of you and Braydon–you look very relaxed and happy together. Hope you are enjoying getting to know your new home!
What lucky college students! Sounds like a fab day and thank you for sharing it with us too! Heather and Braydon, that’s a beautiful photo of you both!! Wow that recipe sounds amazing too…
– Kate