{Thanksgiving}

Well, I survived my first Thanksgiving. :) Thanks to my mom and Joe's mom!

I think I learned from the best. I have watched my mom enough times now, that it really wasn't too tough. The main thing I learned was to get all of your stuff chopped and ready to go prior to preparing and cooking everything. My dishes this year were: the turkey, corn casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, and sweet potatoes {PW's recipe...delicious!}. My mom brought the dressing, oyster casserole, pumpkin gingerbread trifle, and Waldorf salad. We had a table FULL of food, and lots of left overs.

Billie {Joe's mom...aka Grandma}, was a HUGE help with the turkey. She got up with me and helped season it. We used the turkey bags, and it was SO easy. I think the big difference was she made a butter with all different seasonings, and she slid that underneath the skin. I did my part by cutting up little Clementine oranges and quartered an onion and we stuffed the turkey with that. The turkey was YUMMY, and super moist.

On Wednesday, we decided to have a little photo shoot with the kids and Grandma and Papa. Grandma got Emery and Trey THE cutest outfits from My Vintage Baby. We had a good time getting some of these shots. Check out Facebook for the full albums. Here are some of the outtakes. Yep, those are my 2...if you know them, then you know that is about how it is, ALL of the time.










Don't be surprised if this is our Christmas card this year...


I hope y'all had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday. We are still fast and furious, as football season is STILL going. Round 4, here we come!

Slooooow Down

Let me know when there is a magic potion to slooooow down the hours in the day. I think that would come in super handy! It's sad when Joe and I are running around the morning that the maid comes to pick stuff up. His response this morning was, "Aren't we paying her to do that?!" I am just getting thru the day waiting for the second I pull into my garage and get the whiff of Fabuloso. You know you have a good house keeper when your garage smells good!

Moving on. Thanksgiving is at my house this year. First. Time. Ever. I am responsible for the turkey. I think I need to have Luby's on speed dial just in case.

I am making these, and I'm super excited. PW is my idol. I'm just going to throw that out there. In my next life, I want to live the ranch life.

Will y'all say a little extra prayer for our sweet friends? Their maternity shoot is still one of my favorites, you can check that out here.

Are y'all 'linked' out yet...because I could keep going.

I think I will keep going. I'm super excited to do a photo shoot with Trey and Emery in the next week or so. Grandma got them some AWESOME outfits from My Vintage Baby. I was going to show you which dress, but I think I like the element of surprise for this one.

I finally cleaned out Trey and Emery's drawers. Happy to see those 4 trash bags FULL go to great friends! That just means that all of my garage sale/consignment finds can finally go INTO their drawers. I have hit the jackpot in the last couple of weeks for their clothes. Last week at a garage sale, I found a lady who was selling her daughter's clothes {all Em's size}, for $1 or less a piece. Oh, don't let me forget to mention that they were all Gymboree, Miss-Tee-V-Us, and other boutique brands. SCORE.

I guess that's enough random-ness for one day. Joe's team plays tomorrow at 6...I'll let you guess how excited I am that I have a babysitter for the game!!!!!!!!! {the exclamation points should give you a hint!}

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day. I really can't put into words the special place that the military holds in my heart. Earlier this year, I attended a ceremony for soldiers returning home from serving a 12 month tour. Whoa, talk about touching. I had to definitely choke back lots and lots of tears while I was taking pictures...It hit home for me, because I have a hard time making it thru football season without Joe home during normal hours. After attending the home coming ceremony, I told myself that I would work really hard to not complain about the hours he puts in at the office! At least he gets to come home every night. These families sacrifice countless hours away from the ones they love, to protect us. I wish we treated every day like Veteran's Day, they deserve it.

I thought I would share this poem because it hits home for so many.

The Bravest Man I Know

by Amanda Whitney

The bravest man I know.

Is a man I've never met.

He's a man who risks his life

To save a friend,

Not only to save a friend,

But to save a nation.

Risking his life

For those he does not know.

Stepping up

Leaving loved ones behind,

So that somewhere,

Someone else won't have to.

He is a man who follows orders

Even though he knows he might die.

The bravest man I know.

Is the man who would rather die,

So one more person could go home

To see his family again.

The man who stares death in the face,

But never blinks.

The bravest man I know.

Is the man who risks his life

So one day the world may be a better place for his children.

Or any man who goes against his biggest fear.

DEATH

Just to save someone he loves.

The bravest man I know.

Is the man who fights

So another man can have the taste of sweet freedom.

Not fighting only for his own benefit,

But for many others all over the world,

Fighting to make this world a better place.

That's the bravest man I know.

Here are two of the bravest men I knew. My grandfather...



...and my dad.

This is a scrapbook page that I did for a Veteran's wall at my school. My dad served not one, but two tours of Vietnam.




Hopefully, tomorrow we all take the time to stop and honor the men and women that provide us our freedom. I know my high school students will, because I'll make them. :) We're going to watch this video:

Trick or Treat

We had a great time Sunday trick-or-treating with the kids. Joe got home earlier than expected, which during football season is a rare occurrence! I had fun making Emery's costume, while TJ Maxx was nice enough to supply me with Trey's costume. Up until Thursday, I thought Emery was going to be a wingless bumblebee! No one was selling wings separately (other than Etsy, and I didn't have time to get them in...I'm last minute like that)...and I was definitely not spending $30 for the full costume to get the wings! Thank goodness Party City came thru in the end, and it was the best 10 bucks I've ever spent! Enjoy the pictures!




On our way...


Mr. Soldier...


Sir, Yessir!


Miss Bumblebee


...and her mad face.


Have a great week!