Happy Bday B!!

I can't believe my first born is 13!!!!!

It seems like yesterday that we brought that 8 pound cute little baby boy home from the hospital.

You have changed and grown so much during these first 13 years, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you down the road.  Stay the same funny, loveable, intelligent young man that you are, keep your focus on the Lord and you will be a success at whatever you want to do.

We are very proud of you and love you with all of our hearts.

Happy Birthday Brayden!!

Thanksgiving 2010

It was nice to head back up to North Carolina for the holiday.

We don't go back up there as much as we used to.  I guess SC is feeling more like our home now and with the children's busy schedule, there's never really time.

We enjoyed having Thanksgiving with my sister and her husband, my mom and my uncle.  The crowd was smaller than usual - hubby couldn't make it and my other sister and her family went to Georgia to visit family down there, but we enjoyed our smaller gathering.  It just meant more food for me.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

There's always dancing.

 Getting ready to dig-in.

 And, there's alway birthday cake. Both of our children are born during this festive time so we just celebrate with the family while we're home.

 Enjoyed time just sitting around & talking.  I told my mom when I saw her like this that she reminds me of those crazy great-aunts that you see in all the movies.

 I always help her decorate before we leave. Here's a sneak peek. I'll have more on this later.

Overall, it was a great and quiet holiday. Hope yours was too.

Now, to get my own Christmas decorations going.



Happy Bday G!

10 years ago today, we got the surprise of a baby girl.

It is so amazing to watch you grow into a young lady. You change so much every year and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you in the next 10 years.

Happy Birthday to you, my sweet drama queen.

I love that she still wants to play with American Girl dolls.  Please don't grow up too quickly.

Happy Birthday Gracie - we love you!!

Hittin' the Road

We're off to my mom's house in North Carolina to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Hubby won't be joining us this trip - work beckons, but he will be enjoying the holiday with some friends and their family. He will be missed.

Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Enjoy that shopping madness if you get out in it (I don't) and may you find lots of good deals. 

I can't wait for all of the delicious food and, of course, the Macy's Christmas Parade. My favorite.

We have so much to be thankful for. May everyone remember the reason for the holiday while we're all gathered around the table.

Safe travels to you and yours.

My Annual Virtual Thanksgiving

Every now and then I like to throw a little virtual get-together.  Since next week is one of my favorite holidays, I figured I'd go ahead and plan out what we would have and how the table would look.

Take a look......

A pretty but casual table setting.

This turkey sure makes a pretty presentation.  

 Love, love, love asparagus.

 This sweet potato casserole looks good but mine never has marshmallows - it's all pecan crunchy goodness.

Now, it's time for dessert. Yum.

I just loved these little pats of butter on the silver trays - adorable.

Now it's time for a nap & some football.

What's on your Thanksgiving menu?

All pictures courtesy of my favorites - Southern Living or Better Homes & Gardens.

My Baby's 10th Bday Party

10??

Really?

Where does the time go?

It is zooming by at warp speed, I tell you.

Well, she's not officially 10, yet.  The official date for that is November 27th, but with all of the Thanksgiving hoopla and the fact that we have every weekend completely booked until December 18th, her friends party had to be this past weekend.

Here are some pictures from all of the chaos, I mean fun.

Whew! I'm still recovering.  It was a sleepover party (which I vowed last year to never do again). Now I remember why.  They had a great time and about 30 minutes of sleep each - I may have had an hour.  I happily sent them on their way at 10am and then headed out for a day at the baseball field.

I'm thankful this weekend is over and that G got to make lots of memories with her friends.

Now, if I could just get that teal green nail polish out of my carpet.

Any tips?

It was a rainy day...

and the hubby was out of town....so, what's a girl to do but break out a paint brush or two?

I was tired of my plain white doors and happened to have a gallon of glossy black out in the garage and....

Voila!

Before and afters:

Front door:

Back door:

Garage door:

My son & I were talking about our house while I was painting and he said that it feels "cold" to him.  Well, that's all this mom needs as confirmation that she needs to warm things up with some color.  I've been on this neutralizing kick for a while but we just love color, so I'm looking forward to bringing it back.

I just have to make up my mind on which ones to use.

Hope you have a great week.

A busy end to October.

Hi there. Thanks for still stopping by occasionally. 

We're still going full force with hardly any time to rest - maybe that's why I'm sick right now. 

Anyhoo - let's take a look at a few things that were going on around here last week, shall we?

1. Babysat for friends - forgot how busy one year old's are.

2. Same day - Daddy's 40th birthday. 

3. Baseball tournaments & gymnastics meet at our gym (means lots of work) on the same day.
Gymnastics Scores:
vault  8.00
bars 9.125 (1st place)
beam 9.05 (2nd place)
floor 9.05 (2nd place)
AA 35.225 (2nd place)

4. Took friends kids out trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I forgot how 1 year olds don't like to be held while running in the streets or have their pictures taken in their cute costumes.

Makes me really appreciate my 9 and 12 year old children. 

5. Took daughter to pumpkin painting party at friend's house.

6. Took daughter to scary Halloween party at another friend's house straight from the ball field.

And in between all of the above - we also had to do school and clean the garage.

I'm really tired this week - I wonder why?

Hope November is a little calmer and quieter, but with Thanksgiving and both kids birthdays the week after - I'm guessing it's not.