Happy Thanksgiving!

Kate and I had a great Thanksgiving, although we weren't able to celebrate it with daddy.  The stomach bug has been going around (Mimi and Gigi recently had it) and Justin caught it late Wednesday night.  I knew he felt bad when he passed on hunting Thursday morning and spent the rest of the day in bed.   Mimi and Papa brought him a plate later that afternoon while Kate and I spent the rest of the day at Gigi and Granddaddy's. 

I am so blessed that I am able to share the holidays with both families.  Nanny, Mimi and Papa, Uncle Jordan and Aunt Katie all came over to my parent's house for Thanksgiving.  We shared some of our favorite Thanksgiving memories growing up and I hope our current tradition is one that continues. It was special hearing everyone's Thanksgiving memories including:

- Nanny's family ate chicken instead of turkey

- Papa's family camped and ate their Thanksgiving meal in the woods.

- Mimi's family usually had a friend or two join them for Thanksgiving

- Dad's family would come up to Tallahassee and celebrate Thanksgiving with my great-grandparents.

- Mom shared one of her favorite Thanksgiving's when I was little and both sets of grandparents and the preacher and his wife all celebrated Thanksgiving together.

- Aunt Katie remembers helping her grandmother stir the very important gravy while her dad commanded the kitchen since he's the Thanksgiving cook.

- Jordan's (worst?) Thanksgiving memory was the year he had his wisdom teeth removed six days earlier and was still not able to eat on Thanksgiving.

- My Thanksgivings are still the same as I remember them.  Our family has grown and others are not with us anymore, but I remember having Thanksgiving at my parent's house with my grandparents and great-grandmother.  One recent Thanksgiving memory I have is Kate's first Thanksgiving when she was only two months old.  I had just sat down to eat and Kate woke up from her nap at the exact same time.  We passed her around the table and while Justin was holding her, she unexpectedly pushed back from him and he almost dropped her in the mashed potatoes on his plate.  This year, we planned it so Kate ate early (her Thanksgiving meal was a couple bites of turkey, cheese and grapes) and she went down for her nap while the rest of us ate.  Perfect timing.

Kate would announce who had the privilege of pulling her around the yard in the wagon.  Uncle Jordan was the fastest and Kate's first choice.  Then Mommy.

Wednesday night we had a special Thanksgiving devo instead of class and Tim started off with a question: "What would we have today, if we only had what we thanked God for yesterday?"  I have thought a lot about this question because honestly, some days I would have a lot, but most days I wouldn't have much.  God has blessed me with a wonderful husband, a beautiful little girl, a supportive family and incredible friends. My Thanksgiving resolution is to thank God every day for everything he has blessed me with.   

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving too!

First Day of Thanksgiving Vacation

My vacation has officially started! Usually I only ask for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off, but I decided to ask off the entire week this year! Since my birthday is on Tuesday, I knew I didn't want to work that day if I didn't have to, and if I took off Wednesday too, what was the point of working Monday (Thursday and Friday are state holidays)?!  I am really looking forward to this upcoming week for many reasons, but the biggest one is being able to spend time with Kate - 9 days to be exact.

This morning we met Gigi and Grandaddy and went to Bradley's Country Days, which has been a tradition for the past several years.  We shopped (didn't buy anything except our 16 layer chocolate cake - yum!) and then let Kate ride the train ride, slide down the huge slide with mommy, and see the horses. 

Check out the slide in the background - Kate and I were fearless.

After Bradley's, we headed home and Kate took a nap before this handsome little man came over to play. 

Maddox also has an exciting week coming up because he's going to be a big brother!  We were excited to have Maddox come over and play because his parents deserved one last date night before baby M comes. 

These two were busy from the time Maddox arrived until he left - reading, cooking, coloring, play outside, doing puzzles, and blowing bubbles. 

Thanks for coming over Maddox - we had a great time! 

Thanksgiving at Good Samaritan Academy

We celebrated an early Thanksgiving with Kate at her school this morning and had a good time, although Kate wasn’t in the best mood. Aunt Katie gave Kate an adorable turkey shirt last night, but this morning it was a little dramatic getting Kate to put it on. She kept fussing at me saying, “No turkey shirt; I don't want it” but I eventually won that battle. Good thing too because that shirt is too cute not to show it off!

We arrived at school about 10:30 to see the kids come out with their feathered headbands on (guess who wouldn’t wear theirs) and sing songs and tell the parents what they were thankful for. After the short program, Kate’s class enjoyed their Thanksgiving feast and showed off their Thanksgiving place mats. Each family brought a different item to contribute to the meal (ours was mac and cheese – mommy is thankful for Publix!). Again, it took some convincing to get Kate to cooperate and sit down and eat her lunch, which ended up being more of a nibble than a feast.

The interesting part of lunch was during my conversation with Ms. Sam (Kate’s teacher), I found out two secrets my little girl has been hiding from me:

1. She can count to 5 in SPANISH!

2. She has become the class kisser! Apparently she grabs her friend, pulls them in, and plants one right on the lips. I promise her daddy and I will start teaching her to kiss her friends on the cheek. 

Mommy and Daddy's little turkey.

Close up of the turkey shirt.

Another adorable shirt Mrs. Katie made for Kate that I had to share - I love it!  Kate has the perfect pair of jeggings to go with her shirt.

Thank you Aunt Katie and Mrs. Katie for the wonderful shirts.  One day Kate will appreciate how cute she looks in all her pictures! 

Katie's Baby Shower

Sunday afternoon I had the privilege to help host Katie Mundie's baby shower at Meredith Sullivan's house.  Katie is expecting a little girl (name to be announced) and we are so excited for them.  The Mundie's moved to Tallahassee a couple months ago and we have been so blessed to have them!  Their little boy, Maddox, is in Kate's bible class and he is quickly becoming Kate's favorite guy.  Sunday night when we were leaving church, she kept repeating "My Maddox, My Maddox" when we drove off.  Lucky for her we will see then soon!

Back to the shower - Meredith did a wonderful job, as always. She is so creative and the purple pumpkin theme was perfect for a November shower.

A couple weekends ago Meredith and I went to the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins for the shower.  I saw the ribbon idea on etsy and we thought it would be cute to use at the shower.  I think the white pumpkin with the gold ribbon was my favorite.

The food choices included hot bacon and cheese dip, pumpkin bread, fruit, purple pumpkin cookies and turtle cookies.  Everything was wonderful - and the centerpiece was another creation of Meredith's.  She cut the top of a pumpkin, filled it with flowers, and wrote "Our little pumpkin is on her way". 

Katie and her mom

Katie and the hostesses

(myself, Laura, Meredith and Lindsey)

Two cute Christmas ornaments for baby M.

Just a sample of the gifts.  It's so much fun shopping for a girl!

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween!  I thought Halloween couldn’t get any better as a child, but I think it’s just as fun or more so now that I’m a parent.   I had the best time last night and had been looking forward to it all day.  Raymond, Tracy, and Audrey joined us along with Daniel, Katie and Maddox Mundie and Jordan and Katie Cowart!  My parents were excited to have everyone over and fed us BBQ chicken sandwiches, baked beans, chips and cookies for dinner before we ventured out. 

My little Seminole - Go Noles!

When I was trying to take her picture the neighbor's dog started barking and this is the reaction you get when Kate wants you to listen.  She gasps, puts her hand to her ear and says, "Hear the (fill in the blank)?"  I just thought it was a funny expression.

The girls.  Maddox was getting into his costume.

So cute! 

All loaded up and ready to go.  The wagon was a big hit.

Our wonderful friends and family - thanks for a fantastic night.  I hope everyone had as much fun as we did!  Thanks again to my Mom and Dad - we really appreciate it!

When we left Mom and Dad's, we made a quick stop by Mimi and Papa's house.  Kate went up to the door and when opened it, Minnie Mouse was sitting there in her rocking chair with a basket of candy.  Kate preceded to pour the entire basket into her bucket, but I think Daddy put most of it back before we left.  Kate was only trick-or-treater #2 that evening for Mimi and Papa (at 8:30pm). 

Hope everyone had a great Halloween too!