Giving Thanks...

Thanksgiving did not play out the way I had planned, but I'm thankful my sweet man was home to help. 

We had to miss Thanksgiving with my family because I was sick. 

I was bummed to not see all of my family, but I felt like death and all I wanted to do is sleep.

So I slept.

Amelia was so upset, she cried. 

And then cried some more. 

She wanted to go to her Aunt E's and see her cousins. 

Daddy saved the day. 

He got them into the kitchen and let them bake cookies. 

Amelia came around and ended up telling me, "I really wanted to go see Kandace, but it would have made me sad to leave you here all alone, so I'd rather be here with you."

At first, she was saying they could just leave me home and they could go. HA!

I sent them with their Daddy to see his side of the family on Thanksgiving Day.

I wasn't up for another meltdown over not seeing cousins.

My sister-in-law sent me these pictures while they were at her house.

They played dress-up and had a fashion show.

They had the best time with their cousins/best friends!

And even though I wasn't there to enjoy it, I count my blessings. 

These three, beautiful people are at the top of my list. 

“Thanksgiving-giving thanks in everything-

prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ.” 

-Ann Voskamp

Love to all,

Thanksgiving 2011...

We spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family this year. Amelia and I headed to my parents on Tuesday and Alex joined us on Wednesday evening. I wanted to be there to help Mama with food. She has been working so hard to get her house ready, they moved right before Thanksgiving, so I wanted to be there to help with whatever I could. I've been hosting Thanksgiving for the past few years, after my parents moved 3 hours away. I was so excited to have it at their house this year. I love hosting but being 5 months pregnant and having a toddler - I chose to hand the Thanksgiving & Christmas hosting back over to our Mamas this year! :) I made an apple pie, fudge pie, and almond green beans. I brought fresh cranberries and oranges intending on making cranberry sauce. My SIL, Sara, volunteered to do it for me and it was SO GOOD! It was Rachel Ray's recipe. So easy and delicious.

Here's Amelia posing. Her Aunt Sara was trying to show her how to stand and this was her interpretation of that. (LOL) She wore this sweet little outfit that I ordered from HERE. I actually ordered it for her birthday but since we didn't have a party, I just saved it for Thanksgiving!



I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. We had a moment of defiance at the dinner table (over sitting in a highchair) and I didn't think to pick up my camera after that. I'm happy to say that we made it through the meltdown after 3 trips to the bedroom and were able to have a happy Thanksgiving with family. (LOL) Amelia enjoyed the time with her family, especially with her cousins, even though she was sick with her first (and hopefully last) UTI over the holiday. I had these as a child and as an adult and they are NO FUN. I felt so bad for her. She's much better now and I'm so thankful for that!



Our family of three.



Here's the entire gang! My favorite part of Thanksgiving is when we write down what we're thankful for and share at the end of the night. It's neat to see my nephews and nieces mature and go from being thankful for toys and food (both wonderful things) to being thankful for Jesus and eternal life (the best thing ever)! I look forward to hearing my girls share every year as they get older. It was a Happy Thanksgiving, indeed.



O Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. -Psalm 95:1-6

Love to all,

Thanksgiving 2010

I took a break from blogging over Thanksgiving. We had my family over Wednesday evening, so I had lots to do to prepare for that. My parents came in Tuesday evening, which was SO HELPFUL. Alex and Amelia started feeling bad on Tuesday and needed lots of TLC.

My Uncle and Aunt sent us these beautiful flowers for Thanksgiving. It was such a nice surprise! I used them as the centerpiece for one of the tables.






We had so much food and it was all yummy! My S-I-L, Kerri brought Sonic ice for the drinks. She's my new best friend. My Mom also made chicken and dumplings for two of my S-I-L's...it's a family tradition of theirs to eat them on Thanksgiving, so Momma surprised them! Is she a good M-I-L or what!? :) I didn't get a picture of everything, but we had turkey, dressing, green bean bundles, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, etc. I also made a cheese ball & sausage balls for an appetizer. Everyone is always hungry upon arrival, so this time I was prepared with something to munch on before dinner!



I love having all of my family under one roof.



It's so loud...with lots of laughter!



Amelia and Millie Beth. :)



Our family tradition is to write down what we're thankful for and to read it aloud. I love this tradition!



The little ones had lots of fun playing inside.



While the big ones had lots of fun playing outside!



Our family of three.



And this is the entire gang!



By the end of the evening, Amelia was running a high fever and was very sick.



There were about 6 of us in the bathroom at one point...giving her a bath and trying to comfort her. She was feeling so bad that she would just cry. At one point, I started crying just seeing her like that and not being able to do anything to help her. Momma & Joy were consoling me at that point! She was so sick that we ended up staying home on Thanksgiving Day vs. driving to see more family. I have to say, that even though Amelia was sick, it was still a wonderful Thanksgiving! We watched the parade, took a nap, ate leftovers, and just loved on our girl. We have so much to be thankful for.

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving too!

Love to all,

It's beginning to smell a lot like Thanksgiving...

Our church is having a Thanksgiving meal tonight, so this will be our first of three Thanksgiving meals! I have the crock pot dressing on and my home smells AMAZING. It looks "soupy" in this pic, but that's because it still has 3-4 more hours to cook.



Alex wants me to learn to make a pumpkin pie, but I haven't yet. This is what we're taking for dessert. We were in Sam's Club and Alex thought it sounded good. I don't eat pumpkin or cheesecake, so I let him pick.



Amelia and I went to the grocery store yesterday. I'm not lying when I say that I go once a month and not because I buy enough groceries for the month, but because I don't like going to the grocery store. So we eat out. Way too much. So anyway, we were at the grocery store for over an hour. Not kidding. It takes me forever. I bought the turkey for our family Thanksgiving and everything I will need to make pies, etc. I'll just have to go back and get rolls. I figured buying rolls a week ahead wouldn't be smart. Amelia was cool with being at the market for over an hour...until the last 10 minutes. She started having a meltdown. So I did what any mother would do - I grabbed a bag of mini marshmallows, tore those suckers open, and started popping them in her mouth! Mother of the Year.

Our tree is up! Alex finished putting it up a few nights ago - after Amelia and I went to bed. I just need to put the ornaments on and it will be ready. Amelia hasn't really messed with it, so I'm thinking a bare tree is the way to go. She touches the branches and then pulls away. I'm hoping it reminds her of grass (which she hates) and she won't pull the ornaments off from now until the New Year.



Oh, and I bought these at the store yesterday. They are beyond good. I realize I could dip ritz in chocolate and make them myself...but I don't wanna.



I need to go blow dry my hair now...so that I don't scare my homegroup at Thanksgiving dinner tonight.

Love to all,

Thanksgiving 2009

We have had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were able to spend time with both of our families which is always nice. We had Thanksgiving with my family on Wednesday evening.

This is our niece, Joylyn. She was DYING to hold A...it was the sweetest thing. When A was born, she told my sister that A was not Aunt Jill's baby, she was hers and that she was going to take her home with her. HA! So cute.


When my family gets together, we write down what we're each thankful for and we take turns sharing. There are always some tears and lots of laughter during this time! :)


Daddy & his baby girl


Gerry & Joy


Me and my girl. Her shirt says "Thankful for Mommy" :)


This is the whole gang! Having a large family is the best. :)


My sweet husband let me sleep all night last night, while he took care of A. I woke up this morning feeling very rested and ready for more turkey!

This is our niece, Alexandria - holding her new cousin.


Aunt Sarah taking a turn!


For this I am thankful...


And to end the evening, we went to see A Christmas Carol with some of my family. A got to see her first movie and in 3D!


Okay, so she slept through the entire thing, but how cute is she in her 3D glasses!? ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Love to all,